"PART I\n\nI\n\nA RUNAWAY HORSE\n\n\nAll Lustadt was in an uproar.  The mad king had escaped.  Little\nknots of excited men stood upon the street corners listening to each\nlatest rumor concerning this most absorbing occurrence. Before the\npalace a great crowd surged to and fro, awaiting they knew not what.\n\nFor ten years no man of them had set eyes upon the face of the\nboy-king who had been hastened to the grim castle of Blentz upon the\ndeath of the old king, his father.\n\nThere had been murmurings then when the lad's uncle, Peter of\nBlentz, had announced to the people of Lutha the sudden mental\naffliction which had fallen upon his nephew, and more murmurings for\na time after the announcement that Peter of Blentz had been\nappointed Regent during the lifetime of the young King Leopold, \"or\nuntil God, in His infinite mercy, shall see fit to restore to us in\nfull mental vigor our beloved monarch.\"\n\nBut ten years is a long time.  The boy-king had become but a vague\nmemory to the subjects who could recall him at all.\n\nThere were many, of course, in the capital city, Lustadt, who still\nretained a mental picture of the handsome boy who had ridden out\nnearly every morning from the palace gates beside the tall, martial\nfigure of the old king, his father, for a canter across the broad\nplain which lies at the foot of the mountain town of Lustadt; but\neven these had long since given up hope that their young king would\never ascend his throne, or even that they should see him alive\nagain.\n\nPeter of Blentz had not proved a good or kind ruler. Taxes had\ndoubled during his regency. Executives and judiciary, following the\nexample of their chief, had become tyrannical and corrupt. For ten\nyears there had been small joy in Lutha.\n\nThere had been whispered rumors off and on that the young king was\ndead these many years, but not even in whispers did the men of Lutha\ndare voice the name of him whom they believed had caused his death.\nFor lesser things they had seen their friends and neighbors thrown\ninto the hitherto long-unused dungeons of the royal castle.\n\nAnd now came the rumor that Leopold of Lutha had escaped the Castle\nof Blentz and was roaming somewhere in the wild mountains or ravines\nupon the opposite side of the plain of Lustadt.\n\nPeter of Blentz was filled with rage and, possibly, fear as well.\n\n\"I tell you, Coblich,\" he cried, addressing his dark-visaged\nminister of war, \"there's more than coincidence in this matter.\nSomeone has betrayed us. That he should have escaped upon the very\neve of the arrival at Blentz of the new physician is most\nsuspicious. None but you, Coblich, had knowledge of the part that\nDr. Stein was destined to play in this matter,\" concluded Prince\nPeter pointedly.\n\nCoblich looked the Regent full in the eye.\n\n\"Your highness wrongs not only my loyalty, but my intelligence,\" he\nsaid quietly, \"by even so much as intimating that I have any guilty\nknowledge of Leopold's escape. With Leopold upon the throne of\nLutha, where, think you, my prince, would old Coblich be?\"\n\nPeter smiled.\n\n\"You are right, Coblich,\" he said.  \"I know that you would not be\nsuch a fool; but whom, then, have we to thank?\"\n\n\"The walls have ears, prince,\" replied Coblich, \"and we have not\nalways been as careful as we should in discussing the matter.\nSomething may have come to the ears of old Von der Tann. I don't for\na moment doubt but that he has his spies among the palace servants,\nor even the guard. You know the old fox has always made it a point\nto curry favor with the common soldiers. When he was minister of war\nhe treated them better than he did his officers.\"\n\n\"It seems strange, Coblich, that so shrewd a man as you should have\nbeen unable to discover some irregularity in the political life of\nPrince Ludwig von der Tann before now,\" said the prince querulously.\n\"He is the greatest menace to our peace and sovereignty. With Von\nder Tann out of the way there would be none powerful enough to\nquestion our right to the throne of Lutha--after poor Leopold passes\naway.\"\n\n\"You forget that Leopold has escaped,\" suggested Coblich, \"and that\nthere is no immediate prospect of his passing away.\"\n\n\"He must be retaken at once, Coblich!\" cried Prince Peter of Blentz.\n\"He is a dangerous maniac, and we must make this fact plain to the\npeople--this and a thorough description of him. A handsome reward\nfor his safe return to Blentz might not be out of the way, Coblich.\"\n\n\"It shall be done, your highness,\" replied Coblich.  \"And about Von\nder Tann? You have never spoken to me quite so--ah--er--pointedly\nbefore. He hunts a great deal in the Old Forest. It might be\npossible--in fact, it has happened, before--there are many accidents\nin hunting, are there not, your highness?\"\n\n\"There are, Coblich,\" replied the prince, \"and if Leopold is able he\nwill make straight for the Tann, so that there may be two hunting\ntogether in a day or so, Coblich.\"\n\n\"I understand, your highness,\" replied the minister.  \"With your\npermission, I shall go at once and dispatch troops to search the\nforest for Leopold. Captain Maenck will command them.\"\n\n\"Good, Coblich! Maenck is a most intelligent and loyal officer.  We\nmust reward him well. A baronetcy, at least, if he handles this\nmatter well,\" said Peter. \"It might not be a bad plan to hint at as\nmuch to him, Coblich.\"\n\nAnd so it happened that shortly thereafter Captain Ernst Maenck, in\ncommand of a troop of the Royal Horse Guards of Lutha, set out\ntoward the Old Forest, which lies beyond the mountains that are\nvisible upon the other side of the plain stretching out before\nLustadt. At the same time other troopers rode in many directions\nalong the highways and byways of Lutha, tacking placards upon trees\nand fence posts and beside the doors of every little rural post\noffice.\n\nThe placard told of the escape of the mad king, offering a large\nreward for his safe return to Blentz.\n\nIt was the last paragraph especially which caused a young man, the\nfollowing day in the little hamlet of Tafelberg, to whistle as he\ncarefully read it over.\n\n\"I am glad that I am not the mad king of Lutha,\" he said as he paid\nthe storekeeper for the gasoline he had just purchased and stepped\ninto the gray roadster for whose greedy maw it was destined.\n\n\"Why, mein Herr?\" asked the man.\n\n\"This notice practically gives immunity to whoever shoots down the\nking,\" replied the traveler. \"Worse still, it gives such an account\nof the maniacal ferocity of the fugitive as to warrant anyone in\nshooting him on sight.\"\n\nAs the young man spoke the storekeeper had examined his face closely\nfor the first time. A shrewd look came into the man's ordinarily\nstolid countenance. He leaned forward quite close to the other's\near.\n\n\"We of Lutha,\" he whispered, \"love our 'mad king'--no reward could\nbe offered that would tempt us to betray him. Even in\nself-protection we would not kill him, we of the mountains who\nremember him as a boy and loved his father and his grandfather,\nbefore him.\n\n\"But there are the scum of the low country in the army these days,\nwho would do anything for money, and it is these that the king must\nguard against. I could not help but note that mein Herr spoke too\nperfect German for a foreigner. Were I in mein Herr's place, I\nshould speak mostly the English, and, too, I should shave off the\n'full, reddish-brown beard.'\"\n\nWhereupon the storekeeper turned hastily back into his shop, leaving\nBarney Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., to wonder if all the\ninhabitants of Lutha were afflicted with a mental disorder similar\nto that of the unfortunate ruler.\n\n\"I don't wonder,\" soliloquized the young man, \"that he advised me to\nshave off this ridiculous crop of alfalfa. Hang election bets,\nanyway; if things had gone half right I shouldn't have had to wear\nthis badge of idiocy. And to think that it's got to be for a whole\nmonth longer! A year's a mighty long while at best, but a year in\ncompany with a full set of red whiskers is an eternity.\"\n\nThe road out of Tafelberg wound upward among tall trees toward the\npass that would lead him across the next valley on his way to the\nOld Forest, where he hoped to find some excellent shooting.\nAll his life Barney had promised himself that some day he should\nvisit his mother's native land, and now that he was here he found it\nas wild and beautiful as she had said it would be.\n\nNeither his mother nor his father had ever returned to the little\ncountry since the day, thirty years before, that the big American\nhad literally stolen his bride away, escaping across the border but\na scant half-hour ahead of the pursuing troop of Luthanian cavalry.\nBarney had often wondered why it was that neither of them would ever\nspeak of those days, or of the early life of his mother, Victoria\nRubinroth, though of the beauties of her native land Mrs. Custer\nnever tired of talking.\n\nBarney Custer was thinking of these things as his machine wound up\nthe picturesque road. Just before him was a long, heavy grade, and\nas he took it with open muffler the chugging of his motor drowned\nthe sound of pounding hoof beats rapidly approaching behind him.\n\nIt was not until he topped the grade that he heard anything unusual,\nand at the same instant a girl on horseback tore past him. The speed\nof the animal would have been enough to have told him that it was\nbeyond the control of its frail rider, even without the added\ntestimony of the broken bit that dangled beneath the tensely\noutstretched chin.\n\nFoam flecked the beast's neck and shoulders.  It was evident that\nthe horse had been running for some distance, yet its speed was\nstill that of the thoroughly frightened runaway.\n\nThe road at the point where the animal had passed Custer was cut\nfrom the hillside. At the left an embankment rose steeply to a\nheight of ten or fifteen feet. On the right there was a drop of a\nhundred feet or more into a wooded ravine. Ahead, the road\napparently ran quite straight and smooth for a considerable\ndistance.\n\nBarney Custer knew that so long as the road ran straight the girl\nmight be safe enough, for she was evidently an excellent horsewoman;\nbut he also knew that if there should be a sharp turn to the left\nahead, the horse in his blind fright would in all probability dash\nheadlong into the ravine below him.\n\nThere was but a single thing that the man might attempt if he were\nto save the girl from the almost certain death which seemed in store\nfor her, since he knew that sooner or later the road would turn, as\nall mountain roads do. The chances that he must take, if he failed,\ncould only hasten the girl's end. There was no alternative except to\nsit supinely by and see the fear-crazed horse carry its rider into\neternity, and Barney Custer was not the sort for that role.\n\nScarcely had the beast come abreast of him than his foot leaped to\nthe accelerator. Like a frightened deer the gray roadster sprang\nforward in pursuit. The road was narrow. Two machines could not have\npassed upon it. Barney took the outside that he might hold the horse\naway from the dangerous ravine.\n\nAt the sound of the whirring thing behind him the animal cast an\naffrighted glance in its direction, and with a little squeal of\nterror redoubled its frantic efforts to escape. The girl, too,\nlooked back over her shoulder. Her face was very white, but her eyes\nwere steady and brave.\n\nBarney Custer smiled up at her in encouragement, and the girl smiled\nback at him.\n\n\"She's sure a game one,\" thought Barney.\n\nNow she was calling to him.  At first he could not catch her words\nabove the pounding of the horse's hoofs and the noise of his motor.\nPresently he understood.\n\n\"Stop!\" she cried.  \"Stop or you will be killed.  The road turns to\nthe left just ahead. You'll go into the ravine at that speed.\"\n\nThe front wheel of the roadster was at the horse's right flank.\nBarney stepped upon the accelerator a little harder. There was\nbarely room between the horse and the edge of the road for the four\nwheels of the roadster, and Barney must be very careful not to touch\nthe horse. The thought of that and what it would mean to the girl\nsent a cold shudder through Barney Custer's athletic frame.\n\nThe man cast a glance to his right.  His machine drove from the left\nside, and he could not see the road at all over the right hand door.\nThe sight of tree tops waving beneath him was all that was visible.\nJust ahead the road's edge rushed swiftly beneath the right-hand\nfender; the wheels on that side must have been on the very verge of\nthe embankment.\n\nNow he was abreast the girl.  Just ahead he could see where the road\ndisappeared around a corner of the bluff at the dangerous curve the\ngirl had warned him against.\n\nCuster leaned far out over the side of his car.  The lunging of the\nhorse in his stride, and the swaying of the leaping car carried him\nfirst close to the girl and then away again. With his right hand he\nheld the car between the frantic horse and the edge of the\nembankment. His left hand, outstretched, was almost at the girl's\nwaist. The turn was just before them.\n\n\"Jump!\" cried Barney.\n\nThe girl fell backward from her mount, turning to grasp Custer's arm\nas it closed about her. At the same instant Barney closed the\nthrottle, and threw all the weight of his body upon the foot brake.\n\nThe gray roadster swerved toward the embankment as the hind wheels\nskidded on the loose surface gravel. They were at the turn. The\nhorse was just abreast the bumper. There was one chance in a\nthousand of making the turn were the running beast out of the way.\nThere was still a chance if he turned ahead of them. If he did not\nturn--Barney hated to think of what must follow.\n\nBut it was all over in a second.  The horse bolted straight ahead.\nBarney swerved the roadster to the turn. It caught the animal full\nin the side. There was a sickening lurch as the hind wheels slid\nover the embankment, and then the man shoved the girl from the\nrunning board to the road, and horse, man and roadster went over\ninto the ravine.\n\nA moment before a tall young man with a reddish-brown beard had\nstood at the turn of the road listening intently to the sound of the\nhurrying hoof beats and the purring of the racing motor car\napproaching from the distance. In his eyes lurked the look of the\nhunted. For a moment he stood in evident indecision, but just before\nthe runaway horse and the pursuing machine came into view he slipped\nover the edge of the road to slink into the underbrush far down\ntoward the bottom of the ravine.\n\nWhen Barney pushed the girl from the running board she fell heavily\nto the road, rolling over several times, but in an instant she\nscrambled to her feet, hardly the worse for the tumble other than a\nfew scratches.\n\nQuickly she ran to the edge of the embankment, a look of immense\nrelief coming to her soft, brown eyes as she saw her rescuer\nscrambling up the precipitous side of the ravine toward her.\n\n\"You are not killed?\" she cried in German.  \"It is a miracle!\"\n\n\"Not even bruised,\" reassured Barney.  \"But you?  You must have had\na nasty fall.\"\n\n\"I am not hurt at all,\" she replied.  \"But for you I should be lying\ndead, or terribly maimed down there at the bottom of that awful\nravine at this very moment. It's awful.\" She drew her shoulders\nupward in a little shudder of horror. \"But how did you escape? Even\nnow I can scarce believe it possible.\"\n\n\"I'm quite sure I don't know how I did escape,\" said Barney,\nclambering over the rim of the road to her side. \"That I had nothing\nto do with it I am positive. It was just luck. I simply dropped out\nonto that bush down there.\"\n\nThey were standing side by side, now peering down into the ravine\nwhere the car was visible, bottom side up against a tree, near the\nbase of the declivity. The horse's head could be seen protruding\nfrom beneath the wreckage.\n\n\"I'd better go down and put him out of his misery,\" said Barney, \"if\nhe is not already dead.\"\n\n\"I think he is quite dead,\" said the girl.  \"I have not seen him\nmove.\"\n\nJust then a little puff of smoke arose from the machine, followed by\na tongue of yellow flame. Barney had already started toward the\nhorse.\n\n\"Please don't go,\" begged the girl.  \"I am sure that he is quite\ndead, and it wouldn't be safe for you down there now. The gasoline\ntank may explode any minute.\"\n\nBarney stopped.\n\n\"Yes, he is dead all right,\" he said, \"but all my belongings are\ndown there. My guns, six-shooters and all my ammunition. And,\" he\nadded ruefully, \"I've heard so much about the brigands that infest\nthese mountains.\"\n\nThe girl laughed.\n\n\"Those stories are really exaggerated,\" she said.  \"I was born in\nLutha, and except for a few months each year have always lived here,\nand though I ride much I have never seen a brigand. You need not be\nafraid.\"\n\nBarney Custer looked up at her quickly, and then he grinned.  His\nonly fear had been that he would not meet brigands, for Mr. Bernard\nCuster, Jr., was young and the spirit of Romance and Adventure\nbreathed strong within him.\n\n\"Why do you smile?\" asked the girl.\n\n\"At our dilemma,\" evaded Barney.  \"Have you paused to consider our\nsituation?\"\n\nThe girl smiled, too.\n\n\"It is most unconventional,\" she said.  \"On foot and alone in the\nmountains, far from home, and we do not even know each other's\nname.\"\n\n\"Pardon me,\" cried Barney, bowing low.  \"Permit me to introduce\nmyself. I am,\" and then to the spirits of Romance and Adventure was\nadded a third, the spirit of Deviltry, \"I am the mad king of Lutha.\"\n\n\n\nII\n\nOVER THE PRECIPICE\n\nThe effect of his words upon the girl were quite different from what\nhe had expected. An American girl would have laughed, knowing that\nhe but joked. This girl did not laugh. Instead her face went white,\nand she clutched her bosom with her two hands. Her brown eyes peered\nsearchingly into the face of the man.\n\n\"Leopold!\" she cried in a suppressed voice.  \"Oh, your majesty,\nthank God that you are free--and sane!\"\n\nBefore he could prevent it the girl had seized his hand and pressed\nit to her lips.\n\nHere was a pretty muddle! Barney Custer swore at himself inwardly\nfor a boorish fool. What in the world had ever prompted him to speak\nthose ridiculous words! And now how was he to unsay them without\nmortifying this beautiful girl who had just kissed his hand?\n\nShe would never forgive that--he was sure of it.\n\nThere was but one thing to do, however, and that was to make a clean\nbreast of it. Somehow, he managed to stumble through his explanation\nof what had prompted him, and when he had finished he saw that the\ngirl was smiling indulgently at him.\n\n\"It shall be Mr. Bernard Custer if you wish it so,\" she said; \"but\nyour majesty need fear nothing from Emma von der Tann. Your secret\nis as safe with me as with yourself, as the name of Von der Tann\nmust assure you.\"\n\nShe looked to see the expression of relief and pleasure that her\nfather's name should have brought to the face of Leopold of Lutha,\nbut when he gave no indication that he had ever before heard the\nname she sighed and looked puzzled.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" she thought, \"he doubts me.  Or can it be possible that,\nafter all, his poor mind is gone?\"\n\n\"I wish,\" said Barney in a tone of entreaty, \"that you would forgive\nand forget my foolish words, and then let me accompany you to the\nend of your journey.\"\n\n\"Whither were you bound when I became the means of wrecking your\nmotor car?\" asked the girl.\n\n\"To the Old Forest,\" replied Barney.\n\nNow she was positive that she was indeed with the mad king of Lutha,\nbut she had no fear of him, for since childhood she had heard her\nfather scout the idea that Leopold was mad. For what other purpose\nwould he hasten toward the Old Forest than to take refuge in her\nfather's castle upon the banks of the Tann at the forest's verge?\n\n\"Thither was I bound also,\" she said, \"and if you would come there\nquickly and in safety I can show you a short path across the\nmountains that my father taught me years ago. It touches the main\nroad but once or twice, and much of the way passes through dense\nwoods and undergrowth where an army might hide.\"\n\n\"Hadn't we better find the nearest town,\" suggested Barney, \"where I\ncan obtain some sort of conveyance to take you home?\"\n\n\"It would not be safe,\" said the girl.  \"Peter of Blentz will have\ntroops out scouring all Lutha about Blentz and the Old Forest until\nthe king is captured.\"\n\nBarney Custer shook his head despairingly.\n\n\"Won't you please believe that I am but a plain American?\" he\nbegged.\n\nUpon the bole of a large wayside tree a fresh, new placard stared\nthem in the face. Emma von der Tann pointed at one of the\nparagraphs.\n\n\"Gray eyes, brown hair, and a full reddish-brown beard,\" she read.\n\"No matter who you may be,\" she said, \"you are safer off the\nhighways of Lutha than on them until you can find and use a razor.\"\n\n\"But I cannot shave until the fifth of November,\" said Barney.\n\nAgain the girl looked quickly into his eyes and again in her mind\nrose the question that had hovered there once before. Was he indeed,\nafter all, quite sane?\n\n\"Then please come with me the safest way to my father's,\" she urged.\n\"He will know what is best to do.\"\n\n\"He cannot make me shave,\" insisted Barney.\n\n\"Why do you wish not to shave?\" asked the girl.\n\n\"It is a matter of my honor,\" he replied.  \"I had my choice of\nwearing a green wastebasket bonnet trimmed with red roses for six\nmonths, or a beard for twelve. If I shave off the beard before the\nfifth of November I shall be without honor in the sight of all men\nor else I shall have to wear the green bonnet. The beard is bad\nenough, but the bonnet--ugh!\"\n\nEmma von der Tann was now quite assured that the poor fellow was\nindeed quite demented, but she had seen no indications of violence\nas yet, though when that too might develop there was no telling.\nHowever, he was to her Leopold of Lutha, and her father's house had\nbeen loyal to him or his ancestors for three hundred years.\n\nIf she must sacrifice her life in the attempt, nevertheless still\nmust she do all within her power to save her king from recapture and\nto lead him in safety to the castle upon the Tann.\n\n\"Come,\" she said; \"we waste time here.  Let us make haste, for the\nway is long. At best we cannot reach Tann by dark.\"\n\n\"I will do anything you wish,\" replied Barney, \"but I shall never\nforgive myself for having caused you the long and tedious journey\nthat lies before us. It would be perfectly safe to go to the nearest\ntown and secure a rig.\"\n\nEmma von der Tann had heard that it was always well to humor maniacs\nand she thought of it now. She would put the scheme to the test.\n\n\"The reason that I fear to have you go to the village,\" she said,\n\"is that I am quite sure they would catch you and shave off your\nbeard.\"\n\nBarney started to laugh, but when he saw the deep seriousness of the\ngirl's eyes he changed his mind. Then he recalled her rather\npeculiar insistence that he was a king, and it suddenly occurred to\nhim that he had been foolish not to have guessed the truth before.\n\n\"That is so,\" he agreed; \"I guess we had better do as you say,\" for\nhe had determined that the best way to handle her would be to humor\nher--he had always heard that that was the proper method for\nhandling the mentally defective. \"Where is the--er--ah--sanatorium?\"\nhe blurted out at last.\n\n\"The what?\" she asked.  \"There is no sanatorium near here, your\nmajesty, unless you refer to the Castle of Blentz.\"\n\n\"Is there no asylum for the insane near by?\"\n\n\"None that I know of, your majesty.\"\n\nFor a while they moved on in silence, each wondering what the other\nmight do next.\n\nBarney had evolved a plan.  He would try and ascertain the location\nof the institution from which the girl had escaped and then as\ngently as possible lead her back to it. It was not safe for as\nbeautiful a woman as she to be roaming through the forest in any\nsuch manner as this. He wondered what in the world the authorities\nat the asylum had been thinking of to permit her to ride out alone\nin the first place.\n\n\"From where did you ride today?\" he blurted out suddenly.\n\n\"From Tann.\"\n\n\"That is where we are going now?\"\n\n\"Yes, your majesty.\"\n\nBarney drew a breath of relief.  The way had become suddenly\ndifficult and he took the girl's arm to help her down a rather steep\nplace. At the bottom of the ravine there was a little brook.\n\n\"There used to be a fallen log across it here,\" said the girl.  \"How\nin the world am I ever to get across, your majesty?\"\n\n\"If you call me that again, I shall begin to believe that I am a\nking,\" he humored her, \"and then, being a king, I presume that it\nwouldn't be proper for me to carry you across, or would it? Never\nreally having been a king, I do not know.\"\n\n\"I think,\" replied the girl, \"that it would be eminently proper.\"\n\nShe had difficulty in keeping in mind the fact that this handsome,\nsmiling young man was a dangerous maniac, though it was easy to\nbelieve that he was the king. In fact, he looked much as she had\nalways pictured Leopold as looking. She had known him as a boy, and\nthere were many paintings and photographs of his ancestors in her\nfather's castle. She saw much resemblance between these and the\nyoung man.\n\nThe brook was very narrow, and the girl thought that it took the\nyoung man an unreasonably long time to carry her across, though she\nwas forced to admit that she was far from uncomfortable in the\nstrong arms that bore her so easily.\n\n\"Why, what are you doing?\" she cried presently.  \"You are not\ncrossing the stream at all. You are walking right up the middle of\nit!\"\n\nShe saw his face flush, and then he turned laughing eyes upon her.\n\n\"I am looking for a safe landing,\" he said.\n\nEmma von der Tann did not know whether to be frightened or amused.\nAs her eyes met the clear, gray ones of the man she could not\nbelieve that insanity lurked behind that laughing, level gaze of her\ncarrier. She found herself continually forgetting that the man was\nmad. He had turned toward the bank now, and a couple of steps\ncarried them to the low sward that fringed the little brooklet. Here\nhe lowered her to the ground.\n\n\"Your majesty is very strong,\" she said.  \"I should not have\nexpected it after the years of confinement you have suffered.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, realizing that he must humor her--it was difficult\nto remember that this lovely girl was insane. \"Let me see, now just\nwhat was I in prison for? I do not seem to be able to recall it. In\nNebraska, they used to hang men for horse stealing; so I am sure it\nmust have been something else not quite so bad. Do you happen to\nknow?\"\n\n\"When the king, your father, died you were thirteen years old,\" the\ngirl explained, hoping to reawaken the sleeping mind, \"and then your\nuncle, Prince Peter of Blentz, announced that the shock of your\nfather's death had unbalanced your mind. He shut you up in Blentz\nthen, where you have been for ten years, and he has ruled as regent.\nNow, my father says, he has recently discovered a plot to take your\nlife so that Peter may become king. But I suppose you learned of\nthat, and because of it you escaped!\"\n\n\"This Peter person is all-powerful in Lutha?\" he asked.\n\n\"He controls the army,\" the girl replied.\n\n\"And you really believe that I am the mad king Leopold?\"\n\n\"You are the king,\" she said in a convincing manner.\n\n\"You are a very brave young lady,\" he said earnestly.  \"If all the\nmad king's subjects were as loyal as you, and as brave, he would not\nhave languished for ten years behind the walls of Blentz.\"\n\n\"I am a Von der Tann,\" she said proudly, as though that was\nexplanation sufficient to account for any bravery or loyalty.\n\n\"Even a Von der Tann might, without dishonor, hesitate to accompany\na mad man through the woods,\" he replied, \"especially if she\nhappened to be a very--a very--\" He halted, flushing.\n\n\"A very what, your majesty?\" asked the girl.\n\n\"A very young woman,\" he ended lamely.\n\nEmma von der Tann knew that he had not intended saying that at all.\nBeing a woman, she knew precisely what he had meant to say, and she\ndiscovered that she would very much have liked to hear him say it.\n\n\"Suppose,\" said Barney, \"that Peter's soldiers run across us--what\nthen?\"\n\n\"They will take you back to Blentz, your majesty.\"\n\n\"And you?\"\n\n\"I do not think that they will dare lay hands on me, though it is\npossible that Peter might do so. He hates my father even more now\nthan he did when the old king lived.\"\n\n\"I wish,\" said Mr. Custer, \"that I had gone down after my guns.  Why\ndidn't you tell me, in the first place, that I was a king, and that\nI might get you in trouble if you were found with me? Why, they may\neven take me for an emperor or a mikado--who knows? And then look at\nall the trouble we'd be in.\"\n\nWhich was Barney's way of humoring a maniac.\n\n\"And they might even shave off your beautiful beard.\"\n\nWhich was the girl's way.\n\n\"Do you think that you would like me better in the green wastebasket\nhat with the red roses?\" asked Barney.\n\nA very sad look came into the girl's eyes.  It was pitiful to think\nthat this big, handsome young man, for whose return to the throne\nall Lutha had prayed for ten long years, was only a silly half-wit.\nWhat might he not have accomplished for his people had this terrible\nmisfortune not overtaken him! In every other way he seemed fitted to\nbe the savior of his country. If she could but make him remember!\n\n\"Your majesty,\" she said, \"do you not recall the time that your\nfather came upon a state visit to my father's castle? You were a\nlittle boy then. He brought you with him. I was a little girl, and\nwe played together. You would not let me call you 'highness,' but\ninsisted that I should always call you Leopold. When I forgot you\nwould accuse me of lese-majeste, and sentence me to--to punishment.\"\n\n\"What was the punishment?\" asked Barney, noticing her hesitation and\nwishing to encourage her in the pretty turn her dementia had taken.\n\nAgain the girl hesitated; she hated to say it, but if it would help\nto recall the past to that poor, dimmed mind, it was her duty.\n\n\"Every time I called you 'highness' you made me give you a--a kiss,\"\nshe almost whispered.\n\n\"I hope,\" said Barney, \"that you will be guilty of lese-majeste\noften.\"\n\n\"We were little children then, your majesty,\" the girl reminded him.\n\nHad he thought her of sound mind Mr. Custer might have taken\nadvantage of his royal prerogatives on the spot, for the girl's lips\nwere most tempting; but when he remembered the poor, weak mind,\ntears almost came to his eyes, and there sprang to his heart a great\ndesire to protect and guard this unfortunate child.\n\n\"And when I was Crown Prince what were you, way back there in the\nbeautiful days of our childhood?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"Why, I was what I still am, your majesty,\" replied the girl.\n\"Princess Emma von der Tann.\"\n\nSo the poor child, besides thinking him a king, thought herself a\nprincess! She certainly was mad. Well, he would humor her.\n\n\"Then I should call you 'your highness,' shouldn't I?\" he asked.\n\n\"You always called me Emma when we were children.\"\n\n\"Very well, then, you shall be Emma and I Leopold.  Is it a\nbargain?\"\n\n\"The king's will is law,\" she said.\n\nThey had come to a very steep hillside, up which the\nhalf-obliterated trail zigzagged toward the crest of a flat-topped\nhill. Barney went ahead, taking the girl's hand in his to help her,\nand thus they came to the top, to stand hand in hand, breathing\nheavily after the stiff climb.\n\nThe girl's hair had come loose about her temples and a lock was\nblowing over her face. Her cheeks were very red and her eyes bright.\nBarney thought he had never looked upon a lovelier picture. He\nsmiled down into her eyes and she smiled back at him.\n\n\"I wished, back there a way,\" he said, \"that that little brook had\nbeen as wide as the ocean--now I wish that this little hill had been\nas high as Mont Blanc.\"\n\n\"You like to climb?\" she asked.\n\n\"I should like to climb forever--with you,\" he said seriously.\n\nShe looked up at him quickly.  A reply was on her lips, but she\nnever uttered it, for at that moment a ruffian in picturesque rags\nleaped out from behind a near-by bush, confronting them with leveled\nrevolver. He was so close that the muzzle of the weapon almost\ntouched Barney's face. In that the fellow made his mistake.\n\n\"You see,\" said Barney unexcitedly, \"that I was right about the\nbrigands after all. What do you want, my man?\"\n\nThe man's eyes had suddenly gone wide.  He stared with open mouth at\nthe young fellow before him. Then a cunning look came into his eyes.\n\n\"I want you, your majesty,\" he said.\n\n\"Godfrey!\" exclaimed Barney.  \"Did the whole bunch escape?\"\n\n\"Quick!\" growled the man.  \"Hold up your hands.  The notice made it\nplain that you would be worth as much dead as alive, and I have no\nmind to lose you, so do not tempt me to kill you.\"\n\nBarney's hands went up, but not in the way that the brigand had\nexpected. Instead, one of them seized his weapon and shoved it\naside, while with the other Custer planted a blow between his eyes\nand sent him reeling backward. The two men closed, fighting for\npossession of the gun. In the scrimmage it was exploded, but a\nmoment later the American succeeded in wresting it from his\nadversary and hurled it into the ravine.\n\nStriking at one another, the two surged backward and forward at the\nvery edge of the hill, each searching for the other's throat. The\ngirl stood by, watching the battle with wide, frightened eyes. If\nshe could only do something to aid the king!\n\nShe saw a loose stone lying at a little distance from the fighters\nand hastened to procure it. If she could strike the brigand a single\ngood blow on the side of the head, Leopold might easily overpower\nhim. When she had gathered up the rock and turned back toward the\ntwo she saw that the man she thought to be the king was not much in\nthe way of needing outside assistance. She could not but marvel at\nthe strength and dexterity of this poor fellow who had spent almost\nhalf his life penned within the four walls of a prison. It must be,\nshe thought, the superhuman strength with which maniacs are always\ncredited.\n\nNevertheless, she hurried toward them with her weapon; but just\nbefore she reached them the brigand made a last mad effort to free\nhimself from the fingers that had found his throat. He lunged\nbackward, dragging the other with him. His foot struck upon the root\nof a tree, and together the two toppled over into the ravine.\n\nAs the girl hastened toward the spot where the two had disappeared,\nshe was startled to see three troopers of the palace cavalry headed\nby an officer break through the trees at a short distance from where\nthe battle had waged. The four men ran rapidly toward her.\n\n\"What has happened here?\" shouted the officer to Emma von der Tann;\nand then, as he came closer: \"Gott! Can it be possible that it is\nyour highness?\"\n\nThe girl paid no attention to the officer.  Instead, she hurried\ndown the steep embankment toward the underbrush into which the two\nmen had fallen. There was no sound from below, and no movement in\nthe bushes to indicate that a moment before two desperately battling\nhuman beings had dropped among them.\n\nThe soldiers were close upon the girl's heels, but it was she who\nfirst reached the two quiet figures that lay side by side upon the\nstony ground halfway down the hillside.\n\nWhen the officer stopped beside her she was sitting on the ground\nholding the head of one of the combatants in her lap.\n\nA little stream of blood trickled from a wound in the forehead.  The\nofficer stooped closer.\n\n\"He is dead?\" he asked.\n\n\"The king is dead,\" replied the Princess Emma von der Tann, a little\nsob in her voice.\n\n\"The king!\" exclaimed the officer; and then, as he bent lower over\nthe white face: \"Leopold!\"\n\nThe girl nodded.\n\n\"We were searching for him,\" said the officer, \"when we heard the\nshot.\" Then, arising, he removed his cap, saying in a very low\nvoice: \"The king is dead. Long live the king!\"\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nAN ANGRY KING\n\nThe soldiers stood behind their officer.  None of them had ever seen\nLeopold of Lutha--he had been but a name to them--they cared nothing\nfor him; but in the presence of death they were awed by the majesty\nof the king they had never known.\n\nThe hands of Emma von der Tann were chafing the wrists of the man\nwhose head rested in her lap.\n\n\"Leopold!\" she whispered.  \"Leopold, come back!  Mad king you may\nhave been, but still you were king of Lutha--my father's king--my\nking.\"\n\nThe girl nearly cried out in shocked astonishment as she saw the\neyes of the dead king open. But Emma von der Tann was quick-witted.\nShe knew for what purpose the soldiers from the palace were scouring\nthe country.\n\nHad she not thought the king dead she would have cut out her tongue\nrather than reveal his identity to these soldiers of his great\nenemy. Now she saw that Leopold lived, and she must undo the harm\nshe had innocently wrought. She bent lower over Barney's face,\ntrying to hide it from the soldiers.\n\n\"Go away, please!\" she called to them.  \"Leave me with my dead king.\nYou are Peter's men. You do not care for Leopold, living or dead. Go\nback to your new king and tell him that this poor young man can\nnever more stand between him and the throne.\"\n\nThe officer hesitated.\n\n\"We shall have to take the king's body with us, your highness,\" he\nsaid.\n\nThe officer evidently becoming suspicious, came closer, and as he\ndid so Barney Custer sat up.\n\n\"Go away!\" cried the girl, for she saw that the king was attempting\nto speak. \"My father's people will carry Leopold of Lutha in state\nto the capital of his kingdom.\"\n\n\"What's all this row about?\" he asked.  \"Can't you let a dead king\nalone if the young lady asks you to? What kind of a short sport are\nyou, anyway? Run along, now, and tie yourself outside.\"\n\nThe officer smiled, a trifle maliciously perhaps.\n\n\"Ah,\" he said, \"I am very glad indeed that you are not dead, your\nmajesty.\"\n\nBarney Custer turned his incredulous eyes upon the lieutenant.\n\n\"Et tu, Brute?\" he cried in anguished accents, letting his head fall\nback into the girl's lap. He found it very comfortable there indeed.\n\nThe officer smiled and shook his head.  Then he tapped his forehead\nmeaningly.\n\n\"I did not know,\" he said to the girl, \"that he was so bad. But\ncome--it is some distance to Blentz, and the afternoon is already\nwell spent. Your highness will accompany us.\"\n\n\"I?\" cried the girl.  \"You certainly cannot be serious.\"\n\n\"And why not, your highness?\" asked the officer.  \"We had strict\norders to arrest not only the king, but any companions who may have\nbeen involved in his escape.\"\n\n\"I had nothing whatever to do with his escape,\" said the girl,\n\"though I should have been only too glad to have aided him had the\nopportunity presented.\"\n\n\"King Peter may think differently,\" replied the man.\n\n\"The Regent, you mean?\" the girl corrected him haughtily.\n\nThe officer shrugged his shoulders.\n\n\"Regent or King, he is ruler of Lutha nevertheless, and he would\ntake away my commission were I to tell him that I had found a Von\nder Tann in company with the king and had permitted her to escape.\nYour blood convicts your highness.\"\n\n\"You are going to take me to Blentz and confine me there?\" asked the\ngirl in a very small voice and with wide incredulous eyes. \"You\nwould not dare thus to humiliate a Von der Tann?\"\n\n\"I am very sorry,\" said the officer, \"but I am a soldier, and\nsoldiers must obey their superiors. My orders are strict. You may be\nthankful,\" he added, \"that it was not Maenck who discovered you.\"\n\nAt the mention of the name the girl shuddered.\n\n\"In so far as it is in my power your highness and his majesty will\nbe accorded every consideration of dignity and courtesy while under\nmy escort. You need not entertain any fear of me,\" he concluded.\n\nBarney Custer, during this, to him, remarkable dialogue, had risen\nto his feet, and assisted the girl in rising. Now he turned and\nspoke to the officer.\n\n\"This farce,\" he said, \"has gone quite far enough.  If it is a joke\nit is becoming a very sorry one. I am not a king. I am an\nAmerican--Bernard Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A. Look at me.\nLook at me closely. Do I look like a king?\"\n\n\"Every inch, your majesty,\" replied the officer.\n\nBarney looked at the man aghast.\n\n\"Well, I am not a king,\" he said at last, \"and if you go to\narresting me and throwing me into one of your musty old dungeons\nyou will find that I am a whole lot more important than most kings.\nI'm an American citizen.\"\n\n\"Yes, your majesty,\" replied the officer, a trifle impatiently. \"But\nwe waste time in idle discussion. Will your majesty be so good as to\naccompany me without resistance?\"\n\n\"If you will first escort this young lady to a place of safety,\"\nreplied Barney.\n\n\"She will be quite safe at Blentz,\" said the lieutenant.\n\nBarney turned to look at the girl, a question in his eyes. Before\nthem stood the soldiers with drawn revolvers, and now at the summit\nof the hill a dozen more appeared in command of a sergeant. They\nwere two against nearly a score, and Barney Custer was unarmed.\n\nThe girl shook her head.\n\n\"There, is no alternative, I am afraid, your majesty,\" she said.\n\nBarney wheeled toward the officer.\n\n\"Very well, lieutenant,\" he said, \"we will accompany you.\"\n\nThe party turned back up the hillside, leaving the dead bandit where\nhe lay--the fellow's neck had been broken by the fall. A short\ndistance from where the man had confronted them the two prisoners\nwere brought to the main road where they saw still other troopers,\nand with them the horses of those who had gone into the forest on\nfoot.\n\nBarney and the girl were mounted on two of the animals, the soldiers\nwho had ridden them clambering up behind two of their comrades. A\nmoment later the troop set out along the road which leads to Blentz.\n\nThe prisoners rode near the center of the column, surrounded by\ntroopers. For a time they were both silent. Barney was wondering if\nhe had accidentally tumbled into the private grounds of Lutha's\nlargest madhouse, or if, in reality, these people mistook him for\nthe young king--it seemed incredible.\n\nIt had commenced slowly to dawn upon him that perhaps the girl was\nnot crazy after all. Had not the officer addressed her as \"your\nhighness\"? Now that he thought upon it he recalled that she did have\nquite a haughty and regal way with her at times, especially so when\nshe had addressed the officer.\n\nOf course she might be mad, after all, and possibly the bandit, too,\nbut it seemed unbelievable that the officer was mad and his entire\ntroop of cavalry should be composed of maniacs, yet they all\npersisted in speaking and acting as though he were indeed the mad\nking of Lutha and the young girl at his side a princess.\n\nFrom pitying the girl he had come to feel a little bit in awe of\nher. To the best of his knowledge he had never before associated\nwith a real princess. When he recalled that he had treated her as he\nwould an ordinary mortal, and that he had thought her demented, and\nhad tried to humor her mad whims, he felt very foolish indeed.\n\nPresently he turned a sheepish glance in her direction, to find her\nlooking at him. He saw her flush slightly as his eyes met hers.\n\n\"Can your highness ever forgive me?\" he asked.\n\n\"Forgive  you!\" she cried in astonishment.  \"For what, your\nmajesty?\"\n\n\"For thinking you insane, and for getting you into this horrible\npredicament,\" he replied. \"But especially for thinking you insane.\"\n\n\"Did you think me mad?\" she asked in wide-eyed astonishment.\n\n\"When you insisted that I was a king, yes,\" he replied. \"But now I\nbegin to believe that it must be I who am mad, after all, or else I\nbear a remarkable resemblance to Leopold of Lutha.\"\n\n\"You do, your majesty,\" replied the girl.\n\nBarney saw it was useless to attempt to convince them and so he\ndecided to give up for the time.\n\n\"Have me king, if you will,\" he said, \"but please do not call me\n'your majesty' any more. It gets on my nerves.\"\n\n\"Your will is law--Leopold,\" replied the girl, hesitating prettily\nbefore the familiar name, \"but do not forget your part of the\ncompact.\"\n\nHe smiled at her.  A princess wasn't half so terrible after all.\n\n\"And your will shall be my law, Emma,\" he said.\n\nIt was almost dark when they came to Blentz.  The castle lay far up\non the side of a steep hill above the town. It was an ancient pile,\nbut had been maintained in an excellent state of repair. As Barney\nCuster looked up at the grim towers and mighty, buttressed walls his\nheart sank. It had taken the mad king ten years to make his escape\nfrom that gloomy and forbidding pile!\n\n\"Poor child,\" he murmured, thinking of the girl.\n\nBefore the barbican the party was halted by the guard. An officer\nwith a lantern stepped out upon the lowered portcullis. The\nlieutenant who had captured them rode forward to meet him.\n\n\"A detachment of the Royal Horse Guards escorting His Majesty the\nKing, who is returning to Blentz,\" he said in reply to the officer's\nsharp challenge.\n\n\"The king!\" exclaimed the officer.  \"You have found him?\" and he\nadvanced with raised lantern searching for the monarch.\n\n\"At last,\" whispered Barney to the girl at his side, \"I shall be\nvindicated. This man, at least, who is stationed at Blentz must\nknow his king by sight.\"\n\nThe officer came quite close, holding his lantern until the\nrays fell full in Barney's face.  He scrutinized the young man\nfor a moment.  There was neither humility nor respect in his\nmanner, so that the American was sure that the fellow had\ndiscovered the imposture.\n\nFrom the bottom of his heart he hoped so.  Then the officer\nswung the lantern until its light shone upon the girl.\n\n\"And who's the wench with him?\" he asked the officer who\nhad found them.\n\nThe man was standing close beside Barney's horse, and the words were\nscarce out of his month when the American slipped from his saddle to\nthe portcullis and struck the officer full in the face.\n\n\"She is the Princess von der Tann, you boor,\" said Barney, \"and let\nthat help you remember it in future.\"\n\nThe officer scrambled to his feet, white with rage.  Whipping out\nhis sword he rushed at Barney.\n\n\"You shall die for that, you half-wit,\" he cried.\n\nLieutenant Butzow, he of the Royal Horse, rushed forward to prevent\nthe assault and Emma von der Tann sprang from her saddle and threw\nherself in front of Barney.\n\nButzow grasped the other officer's arm.\n\n\"Are you mad, Schonau?\" he cried.  \"Would you kill the king?\"\n\nThe fellow tugged to escape the grasp of Butzow.  He was crazed with\nanger.\n\n\"Why not?\" he bellowed.  \"You were a fool not to have done it\nyourself. Maenck will do it and get a baronetcy. It will mean a\ncaptaincy for me at least. Let me at him--no man can strike Karl\nSchonau and live.\"\n\n\"The king is unarmed,\" cried Emma von der Tann.  \"Would you murder\nhim in cold blood?\"\n\n\"He shall not murder him at all, your highness,\" said Lieutenant\nButzow quietly. \"Give me your sword, Lieutenant Schonau. I place you\nunder arrest. What you have just said will not please the Regent\nwhen it is reported to him. You should keep your head better when\nyou are angry.\"\n\n\"It is the truth,\" growled Schonau, regretting that his anger had\nled him into a disclosure of the plot against the king's life, but\nlike most weak characters fearing to admit himself in error even\nmore than he feared the consequences of his rash words.\n\n\"Do you intend taking my sword?\" asked Schonau suddenly, turning\ntoward Lieutenant Butzow standing beside him.\n\n\"We will forget the whole occurrence, lieutenant,\" replied Butzow,\n\"if you will promise not to harm his majesty, or offer him or the\nPrincess von der Tann further humiliation. Their position is\nsufficiently unpleasant without our adding to the degradation of\nit.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" grumbled Schonau.  \"Pass on into the courtyard.\"\n\nBarney and the girl remounted and the little cavalcade moved forward\nthrough the ballium and the great gate into the court beyond.\n\n\"Did you notice,\" said Barney to the princess, \"that even he\nbelieves me to be the king? I cannot fathom it.\"\n\nWithin the castle they were met by a number of servants and\nsoldiers. An officer escorted them to the great hall, and presently\na dark visaged captain of cavalry entered and approached them.\nButzow saluted.\n\n\"His Majesty, the King,\" he announced, \"has returned to Blentz.  In\naccordance with the commands of the Regent I deliver his august\nperson into your safe keeping, Captain Maenck.\"\n\nMaenck nodded.  He was looking at Barney with evident curiosity.\n\n\"Where did you find him?\" he asked Butzow.\n\nHe made no pretense of according to Barney the faintest indication\nof the respect that is supposed to be due to those of royal blood.\nBarney commenced to hope that he had finally come upon one who would\nknow that he was not king.\n\nButzow recounted the details of the finding of the king.  As he\nspoke, Maenck's eyes, restless and furtive, seemed to be appraising\nthe personal charms of the girl who stood just back of Barney.\n\nThe American did not like the appearance of the officer, but he saw\nthat he was evidently supreme at Blentz, and he determined to appeal\nto him in the hope that the man might believe his story and untangle\nthe ridiculous muddle that a chance resemblance to a fugitive\nmonarch had thrown him and the girl into.\n\n\"Captain,\" said Barney, stepping closer to the officer, \"there has\nbeen a mistake in identity here. I am not the king. I am an American\ntraveling for pleasure in Lutha. The fact that I have gray eyes and\nwear a full reddish-brown beard is my only offense. You are\ndoubtless familiar with the king's appearance and so you at least\nhave already seen that I am not his majesty.\n\n\"Not being the king, there is no cause to detain me longer, and as I\nam not a fugitive and never have been, this young lady has been\nguilty of no misdemeanor or crime in being in my company. Therefore\nshe too should be released. In the name of justice and common\ndecency I am sure that you will liberate us both at once and furnish\nthe Princess von der Tann, at least, with a proper escort to her\nhome.\"\n\nMaenck listened in silence until Barney had finished, a half smile\nupon his thick lips.\n\n\"I am commencing to believe that you are not so crazy as we have all\nthought,\" he said. \"Certainly,\" and he let his eyes rest upon Emma\nvon der Tann, \"you are not mentally deficient in so far as your\njudgment of a good-looking woman is concerned. I could not have made\na better selection myself.\n\n\"As for my familiarity with your appearance, you know as well as I\nthat I have never seen you before. But that is not necessary--you\nconform perfectly to the printed description of you with which the\nkingdom is flooded. Were that not enough, the fact that you were\ndiscovered with old Von der Tann's daughter is sufficient to remove\nthe least doubt as to your identity.\"\n\n\"You are governor of Blentz,\" cried Barney, \"and yet you say that\nyou have never seen the king?\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" replied Maenck.  \"After you escaped the entire\npersonnel of the garrison here was changed, even the old servants to\na man were withdrawn and others substituted. You will have\ndifficulty in again escaping, for those who aided you before are no\nlonger here.\"\n\n\"There is no man in the castle of Blentz who has ever seen the\nking?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"None who has seen him before tonight,\" replied Maenck. \"But were we\nin doubt we have the word of the Princess Emma that you are Leopold.\nDid she not admit it to you, Butzow?\"\n\n\"When she thought his majesty dead she admitted it,\" replied Butzow.\n\n\"We gain nothing by discussing the matter,\" said Maenck shortly.\n\"You are Leopold of Lutha. Prince Peter says that you are mad. All\nthat concerns me is that you do not escape again, and you may rest\nassured that while Ernst Maenck is governor of Blentz you shall not\nescape and go at large again.\n\n\"Are the royal apartments in readiness for his majesty, Dr. Stein?\"\nhe concluded, turning toward a rat-faced little man with bushy\nwhiskers, who stood just behind him.\n\nThe query was propounded in an ironical tone, and with a manner that\nmade no pretense of concealing the contempt of the speaker for the\nman he thought the king.\n\nThe eyes of the Princess Emma were blazing as she caught the scant\nrespect in Maenck's manner. She looked quickly toward Barney to see\nif he intended rebuking the man for his impertinence. She saw that\nthe king evidently intended overlooking Maenck's attitude. But Emma\nvon der Tann was of a different mind.\n\nShe had seen Maenck several times at social functions in the\ncapital. He had even tried to win a place in her favor, but she had\nalways disliked him, even before the nasty stories of his past life\nhad become common gossip, and within the year she had won his hatred\nby definitely indicating to him that he was persona non grata, in so\nfar as she was concerned. Now she turned upon him, her eyes flashing\nwith indignation.\n\n\"Do you forget, sir, that you address the king?\" she cried. \"That\nyou are without honor I have heard men say, and I may truly believe\nit now that I have seen what manner of man you are. The most\nlowly-bred boor in all Lutha would not be so ungenerous as to take\nadvantage of his king's helplessness to heap indignities upon him.\n\n\"Leopold of Lutha shall come into his own some day, and my dearest\nhope is that his first act may be to mete out to such as you the\npunishment you deserve.\"\n\nMaenck paled in anger.  His fingers twitched nervously, but he\ncontrolled his temper remarkably well, biding his time for revenge.\n\n\"Take the king to his apartments, Stein,\" he commanded curtly, \"and\nyou, Lieutenant Butzow, accompany them with a guard, nor leave until\nyou see that he is safely confined. You may return here afterward\nfor my further instructions. In the meantime I wish to examine the\nking's mistress.\"\n\nFor a moment tense silence reigned in the apartment after Maenck had\ndelivered his wanton insult.\n\nEmma von der Tann, her little chin high in the air, stood straight\nand haughty, nor was there any sign in her expression to indicate\nthat she had heard the man's words.\n\nBarney was the first to take cognizance of them.\n\n\"You cur!\" he cried, and took a step toward Maenck. \"You're going to\neat that, word for word.\"\n\nMaenck stepped back, his hand upon his sword.  Butzow laid a hand\nupon Barney's arm.\n\n\"Don't, your majesty,\" he implored, \"it will but make your position\nmore unpleasant, nor will it add to the safety of the Princess von\nder Tann for you to strike him now.\"\n\nBarney shook himself free from Butzow, and before either Stein or\nthe lieutenant could prevent had sprung upon Maenck.\n\nThe latter had not been quick enough with his sword, so that Barney\nhad struck him twice, heavily in the face before the officer was\nable to draw. Butzow had sprung to the king's side, and was\nattempting to interpose himself between Maenck and the American. In\na moment more the sword of the infuriated captain would be in the\nking's heart. Barney turned the first thrust with his forearm.\n\n\"Stop!\" cried Butzow to Maenck.  \"Are you mad, that you would kill\nthe king?\"\n\nMaenck lunged again, viciously, at the unprotected body of his\nantagonist.\n\n\"Die, you pig of an idiot!\" he screamed.\n\nButzow saw that the man really meant to murder Leopold. He seized\nBarney by the shoulder and whirled him backward. At the same instant\nhis own sword leaped from his scabbard, and now Maenck found himself\nfacing grim steel in the hand of a master swordsman.\n\nThe governor of Blentz drew back from the touch of that sharp point.\n\n\"What do you mean?\" he cried.  \"This is mutiny.\"\n\n\"When I received my commission,\" replied Butzow, quietly, \"I swore\nto protect the person of the king with my life, and while I live no\nman shall affront Leopold of Lutha in my presence, or threaten his\nsafety else he accounts to me for his act. Return your sword,\nCaptain Maenck, nor ever again draw it against the king while I be\nnear.\"\n\nSlowly Maenck sheathed his weapon.  Black hatred for Butzow and the\nman he was protecting smoldered in his eyes.\n\n\"If he wishes peace,\" said Barney, \"let him apologize to the\nprincess.\"\n\n\"You had better apologize, captain,\" counseled Butzow, \"for if the\nking should command me to do so I should have to compel you to,\" and\nthe lieutenant half drew his sword once more.\n\nThere was something in Butzow's voice that warned Maenck that his\nsubordinate would like nothing better than the king's command to run\nhim through.\n\nHe well knew the fame of Butzow's sword arm, and having no stomach\nfor an encounter with it he grumbled an apology.\n\n\"And don't let it occur again,\" warned Barney.\n\n\"Come,\" said Dr. Stein, \"your majesty should be in your apartments,\naway from all excitement, if we are to effect a cure, so that you\nmay return to your throne quickly.\"\n\nButzow formed the soldiers about the American, and the party moved\nsilently out of the great hall, leaving Captain Maenck and Princess\nEmma von der Tann its only occupants.\n\nBarney cast a troubled glance toward Maenck, and half hesitated.\n\n\"I am sorry, your majesty,\" said Butzow in a low voice, \"but you\nmust accompany us. In this the governor of Blentz is well within his\nauthority, and I must obey him.\"\n\n\"Heaven help her!\" murmured Barney.\n\n\"The governor will not dare harm her,\" said Butzow. \"Your majesty\nneed entertain no apprehension.\"\n\n\"I wouldn't trust him,\" replied the American.  \"I know his kind.\"\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nBARNEY FINDS A FRIEND\n\nAfter the party had left the room Maenck stood looking at the\nprincess for several seconds. A cunning expression supplanted the\nanger that had shown so plainly upon his face but a moment before.\nThe girl had moved to one side of the apartment and was pretending\nan interest in a large tapestry that covered the wall at that point.\nMaenck watched her with greedy eyes. Presently he spoke.\n\n\"Let us be friends,\" he said.  \"You shall be my guest at Blentz for\na long time. I doubt if Peter will care to release you soon, for he\nhas no love for your father--and it will be easier for both if we\nestablish pleasant relations from the beginning. What do you say?\"\n\n\"I shall not be at Blentz long,\" she replied, not even looking in\nMaenck's direction, \"though while I am it shall be as a prisoner and\nnot as a guest. It is incredible that one could believe me willing\nto pose as the guest of a traitor, even were he less impossible than\nthe notorious and infamous Captain Maenck.\"\n\nMaenck smiled.  He was one of those who rather pride themselves upon\nthe possession of racy reputations. He walked across the room to a\nbell cord which he pulled. Then he turned toward the girl again.\n\n\"I have given you an opportunity,\" he said, \"to lighten the burdens\nof your captivity. I hoped that you would be sensible and accept my\nadvances of friendship voluntarily,\" and he emphasized the word\n\"voluntarily,\" \"but--\"\n\nHe shrugged his shoulders.\n\nA servant had entered the apartment in response to Maenck's summons.\n\n\"Show the Princess von der Tann to her apartments,\" he commanded\nwith a sinister tone.\n\nThe man, who was in the livery of Peter of Blentz, bowed, and with a\ndeferential sign to the girl led the way from the room. Emma von der\nTann followed her guide up a winding stairway which spiraled within\na tower at the end of a long passage. On the second floor of the\ncastle the servant led her to a large and beautifully furnished\nsuite of three rooms--a bedroom, dressing-room and boudoir. After\nshowing her the rooms that were to be hers the servant left her\nalone.\n\nAs soon as he had gone the Princess von der Tann took another turn\nthrough the suite, looking to the doors and windows to ascertain how\nsecurely she might barricade herself against unwelcome visitors.\n\nShe found that the three rooms lay in an angle of the old,\nmoss-covered castle wall.\n\nThe bedroom and dressing-room were connected by a doorway, and each\nin turn had another door opening into the boudoir. The only\nconnection with the corridor without was through a single doorway\nfrom the boudoir. This door was equipped with a massive bolt, which,\nwhen she had shot it, gave her a feeling of immense relief and\nsecurity. The windows were all too high above the court on one side\nand the moat upon the other to cause her the slightest apprehension\nof danger from the outside.\n\nThe girl found the boudoir not only beautiful, but extremely\ncomfortable and cozy. A huge log-fire blazed upon the hearth, and,\nthough it was summer, its warmth was most welcome, for the night was\nchill. Across the room from the fireplace a full length oil of a\nformer Blentz princess looked down in arrogance upon the unwilling\noccupant of the room. It seemed to the girl that there was an\nexpression of annoyance upon the painted countenance that another,\nand an enemy of her house, should be making free with her\nbelongings. She wondered a little, too, that this huge oil should\nhave been hung in a lady's boudoir. It seemed singularly out of\nplace.\n\n\"If she would but smile,\" thought Emma von der Tann, \"she would\ndetract less from the otherwise pleasant surroundings, but I suppose\nshe serves her purpose in some way, whatever it may be.\"\n\nThere were papers, magazines and books upon the center table and\nmore books upon a low tier of shelves on either side of the\nfireplace. The girl tried to amuse herself by reading, but she found\nher thoughts continually reverting to the unhappy situation of the\nking, and her eyes momentarily wandered to the cold and repellent\nface of the Blentz princess.\n\nFinally she wheeled a great armchair near the fireplace, and with\nher back toward the portrait made a final attempt to submerge her\nunhappy thoughts in a current periodical.\n\n\nWhen Barney and his escort reached the apartments that had been\noccupied by the king of Lutha before his escape, Butzow and the\nsoldiers left him in company with Dr. Stein and an old servant,\nwhom the doctor introduced as his new personal attendant.\n\n\"Your majesty will find him a very attentive and faithful servant,\"\nsaid Stein. \"He will remain with you and administer your medicine at\nproper intervals.\"\n\n\"Medicine?\" ejaculated Barney.  \"What in the world do I need of\nmedicine? There is nothing the matter with me.\"\n\nStein smiled indulgently.\n\n\"Ah, your majesty,\" he said, \"if you could but realize the sad\naffliction that clouds your life! You may never sit upon your throne\nuntil the last trace of this sinister mental disorder is eradicated,\nso take your medicine voluntarily, or otherwise Joseph will be\ncompelled to administer it by force. Remember, sire, that only\nthrough this treatment will you be able to leave Blentz.\"\n\nAfter Stein had left the room Joseph bolted the door behind him.\nThen he came to where Barney stood in the center of the apartment,\nand dropping to his knees took the young man's hand in his and\nkissed it.\n\n\"God has been good indeed, your majesty,\" he whispered. \"It was He\nwho made it possible for old Joseph to deceive them and find his way\nto your side.\"\n\n\"Who are you, my man?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"I am from Tann,\" whispered the old man, in a very low voice.  \"His\nhighness, the prince, found the means to obtain service for me with\nthe new retinue that has replaced the old which permitted your\nmajesty's escape. There was another from Tann among the former\nservants here.\n\n\"It was  through his efforts that you escaped before, you will\nrecall. I have seen Fritz and learned from him the way, so that if\nyour majesty does not recall it it will make no difference, for I\nknow it well, having been over it three times already since I came\nhere, to be sure that when the time came that they should recapture\nyou I might lead you out quickly before they could slay you.\"\n\n\"You really think that they intend murdering me?\"\n\n\"There is no doubt about it, your majesty,\" replied the old man.\n\"This very bottle\"--Joseph touched the phial which Stein had left\nupon the table--\"contains the means whereby, through my hands, you\nwere to be slowly poisoned.\"\n\n\"Do you know what it is?\"\n\n\"Bichloride of mercury, your majesty.  One dose would have been\nsufficient, and after a few days--perhaps a week--you would have\ndied in great agony.\"\n\nBarney shuddered.\n\n\"But I am not the king, Joseph,\" said the young man, \"so even had\nthey succeeded in killing me it would have profited them nothing.\"\n\nJoseph shook his head sadly.\n\n\"Your majesty will pardon the presumption of one who loves him,\" he\nsaid, \"if he makes so bold as to suggest that your majesty must not\nagain deny that he is king. That only tends to corroborate the\ncontention of Prince Peter that your majesty is not--er, just sane,\nand so, incompetent to rule Lutha. But we of Tann know differently,\nand with the help of the good God we will place your majesty upon\nthe throne which Peter has kept from you all these years.\"\n\nBarney sighed.  They were determined that he should be king whether\nhe would or no. He had often thought he would like to be a king; but\nnow the realization of his boyish dreaming which seemed so imminent\nbade fair to be almost anything than pleasant.\n\nBarney suddenly realized that the old fellow was talking. He was\nexplaining how they might escape. It seemed that a secret passage\nled from this very chamber to the vaults beneath the castle and from\nthere through a narrow tunnel below the moat to a cave in the\nhillside far beyond the structure.\n\n\"They will not return again tonight to see your majesty,\" said\nJoseph, \"and so we had best make haste to leave at once. I have a\nrope and swords in readiness. We shall need the rope to make our way\ndown the hillside, but let us hope that we shall not need the\nswords.\"\n\n\"I cannot leave Blentz,\" said Barney, \"unless the Princess Emma goes\nwith us.\"\n\n\"The Princess Emma!\" cried the old man.  \"What Princess Emma?\"\n\n\"Princess von der Tann,\" replied Barney.  \"Did you not know that she\nwas captured with me!\"\n\nThe old man was visibly affected by the knowledge that his young\nmistress was a prisoner within the walls of Blentz. He seemed torn\nby conflicting emotions--his duty toward his king and his love for\nthe daughter of his old master. So it was that he seemed much\nrelieved when he found that Barney insisted upon saving the girl\nbefore any thought of their own escape should be taken into\nconsideration.\n\n\"My first duty, your majesty,\" said Joseph, \"is to bring you safely\nout of the hands of your enemies, but if you command me to try to\nbring your betrothed with us I am sure that his highness, Prince\nLudwig, would be the last to censure me for deviating thus from his\ninstructions, for if he loves another more than he loves his king it\nis his daughter, the beautiful Princess Emma.\"\n\n\"What do you mean, Joseph,\" asked Barney, \"by referring to the\nprincess as my betrothed? I never saw her before today.\"\n\n\"It has slipped your majesty's mind,\" said the old man sadly; \"but\nyou and my young mistress were betrothed many years ago while you\nwere yet but children. It was the old king's wish that you wed the\ndaughter of his best friend and most loyal subject.\"\n\nHere was a pretty pass, indeed, thought Barney.  It was sufficiently\nembarrassing to be mistaken for the king, but to be thrown into this\nfalse position in company with a beautiful young woman to whom the\nking was engaged to be married, and who, with the others, thought\nhim to be the king, was quite the last word in impossible positions.\n\nFollowing this knowledge there came to Barney the first pangs of\nregret that he was not really the king, and then the realization, so\nsudden that it almost took his breath away, that the girl was very\nbeautiful and very much to be desired. He had not thought about the\nmatter until her utter impossibility was forced upon him.\n\nIt was decided that Joseph should leave the king's apartment at once\nand discover in what part of the castle Emma von der Tann was\nimprisoned. Their further plans were to depend upon the information\ngained by the old man during his tour of investigation of the\ncastle.\n\nIn the interval of his absence Barney paced the length of his prison\ntime and time again. He thought the fellow would never return.\nPerhaps he had been detected in the act of spying, and was himself a\nprisoner in some other part of the castle! The thought came to\nBarney like a blow in the face, for he realized that then he would\nbe entirely at the mercy of his captors, and that there would be\nnone to champion the cause of the Princess von der Tann.\n\nWhen his nervous tension had about reached the breaking point there\ncame a sound of stealthy movement just outside the door of his room.\nBarney halted close to the massive panels. He heard a key fitted\nquietly and then the lock grated as it turned.\n\nBarney thought that they had surely detected Joseph's duplicity and\nhad come to make short work of the king before other traitors arose\nin their midst entirely to frustrate their plans. The young American\nstepped to the wall behind the door that he might be out of sight of\nwhoever entered. Should it prove other than Joseph, might the Lord\nhelp them! The clenched fists, square-set chin, and gleaming gray\neyes of the prisoner presaged no good for any incoming enemy.\n\nSlowly the door swung open and a man entered the room. Barney\nbreathed a deep sigh of relief--it was Joseph.\n\n\"Well?\" cried the young man from behind him, and Joseph started as\nthough Peter of Blentz himself had laid an accusing finger upon his\nshoulder. \"What news?\"\n\n\"Your majesty,\" gasped Joseph, \"how you did startle me! I found the\napartments of the princess, sire. There is a bare chance that we may\nsucceed in rescuing her, but a very bare one, indeed.\n\n\"We must traverse a main corridor of the castle to reach her suite,\nand then return by the same way. It will be a miracle if we are not\ndiscovered; but the worst of it is that next to her apartments, and\nbetween them and your majesty's, are the apartments of Captain\nMaenck.\n\n\"He is sure to be there and officers and servants may be coming and\ngoing throughout the entire night, for the man is a convivial\nfellow, sitting at cards and drink until sunrise nearly every day.\"\n\n\"And when we have brought the princess in safety to my quarters,\"\nasked Barney, \"what then? How shall we conduct her from the castle?\nYou have not told me that as yet.\"\n\nThe old man explained then the plan of escape.  It seemed that one\nof the two huge tile panels that flanked the fireplace on either\nside was in reality a door hiding the entrance to a shaft that rose\nfrom the vaults beneath the castle to the roof. At each floor there\nwas a similar secret door concealing the mouth of the passage. From\nthe vaults a corridor led through another secret panel to the tunnel\nthat wound downward to the cave in the hillside.\n\n\"Beyond that we shall find horses, your majesty,\" concluded the old\nman. \"They have been hidden in the woods since I came to Blentz.\nEach day I go there to water and feed them.\"\n\nDuring the servant's explanation Barney had been casting about in\nhis mind for some means of rescuing the princess without so great\nrisk of detection, and as the plan of the secret passageway became\nclear to him he thought that he saw a way to accomplish the thing\nwith comparative safety in so far as detection was concerned.\n\n\"Who occupies the floor above us, Joseph?\" he asked.\n\n\"It is vacant,\" replied the old man.\n\n\"Good!  Come, show me the entrance to the shaft,\" directed Barney.\n\n\"You will go without attempting to succor the Princess Emma?\"\nexclaimed the old fellow in ill-concealed chagrin.\n\n\"Far from it,\" replied Barney.  \"Bring your rope and the swords.  I\nthink we are going to find the rescuing of the Princess Emma the\neasiest part of our adventure.\"\n\nThe old man shook his head, but went to another room of the suite,\nfrom which he presently emerged with a stout rope about fifty feet\nin length and two swords. As he buckled one of the weapons to Barney\nhis eyes fell upon the American's seal ring that encircled the third\nfinger of his left hand.\n\n\"The Royal Ring of Lutha!\" exclaimed Joseph.  \"Where is it, your\nmajesty? What has become of the Royal Ring of the Kings of Lutha?\"\n\n\"I'm sure I don't know, Joseph,\" replied the young man. \"Should I be\nwearing a royal ring?\"\n\n\"The profaning miscreants!\" cried Joseph.  \"They have dared to filch\nfrom you the great ring that has been handed down from king to king\nfor three hundred years. When did they take it from you?\"\n\n\"I have never seen it, Joseph,\" replied the young man, \"and possibly\nthis fact may assure you where all else has failed that I am no true\nking of Lutha, after all.\"\n\n\"Ah, no, your majesty,\" replied the old servitor; \"it but makes\nassurance doubly sure as to your true identity, for the fact that\nyou have not the ring is positive proof that you are king and that\nthey have sought to hide the fact by removing the insignia of your\ndivine right to rule in Lutha.\"\n\nBarney could not but smile at the old fellow's remarkable logic.  He\nsaw that nothing short of a miracle would ever convince Joseph that\nhe was not the real monarch, and so, as matters of greater\nimportance were to the fore, he would have allowed the subject to\ndrop had not the man attempted to recall to the impoverished memory\nof his king a recollection of the historic and venerated relic of\nthe dead monarchs of Lutha.\n\n\"Do you not remember, sir,\" he asked, \"the great ruby that glared,\nblood-red from its center, and the four sets of golden wings that\nformed the setting? From the blood of Charlemagne was the ruby made,\nso history tells us, and the setting represented the protecting\nwings of the power of the kings of Lutha spread to the four points\nof the compass. Now your majesty must recall the royal ring, I am\nsure.\"\n\nBarney only shook his head, much to Joseph's evident sorrow.\n\n\"Never mind the ring, Joseph,\" said the young man.  \"Bring your rope\nand lead me to the floor above.\"\n\n\"The floor above? But, your majesty, we cannot reach the vaults and\ntunnel by going upward!\"\n\n\"You forget, Joseph, that we are going to fetch the Princess Emma\nfirst.\"\n\n\"But she is not on the floor above us, sire; she is upon the same\nfloor as we are,\" insisted the old man, hesitating.\n\n\"Joseph, who do you think I am?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"You are the king, my lord,\" replied the old man.\n\n\"Then do as your king commands,\" said the American sharply.\n\nJoseph turned with dubious mutterings and approached the tiled panel\nat the left of the fireplace. Here he fumbled about for a moment\nuntil his fingers found the hidden catch that held the cunningly\ndevised door in place. An instant later the panel swung inward\nbefore his touch, and standing to one side, the old fellow bowed low\nas he ushered Barney into the Stygian darkness of the space beyond\ntheir vision.\n\nJoseph halted the young man just within the doorway, cautioning him\nagainst the danger of falling into the shaft, then he closed the\npanel, and a moment later had found the lantern he had hidden there\nand lighted it. The rays disclosed to the American the rough masonry\nof the interior of a narrow, well-built shaft. A rude ladder\nstanding upon a narrow ledge beside him extended upward to lose\nitself in the shadows above. At its foot the top of another ladder\nwas visible protruding through the opening from the floor beneath.\n\nNo sooner had Joseph's lantern shown him the way than Barney was\nascending the ladder toward the floor above. At the next landing he\nwaited for the old man.\n\nJoseph put out the light and placed the lantern where they could\neasily find it upon their return. Then he cautiously slipped the\ncatch that held the panel in place and slowly opened the door until\na narrow line of lesser darkness showed from without.\n\nFor a moment they stood in silence listening for any sound from the\nchamber beyond, but as nothing occurred to indicate that the\napartment was occupied the old man opened the portal a trifle\nfurther, and finally far enough to permit his body to pass through.\nBarney followed him. They found themselves in a large, empty\nchamber, identical in size and shape with that which they had just\nquitted upon the floor below.\n\nFrom this the two passed into the corridor beyond, and thence to the\napartments at the far end of the wing, directly over those occupied\nby Emma von der Tann.\n\nBarney hastened to a window overlooking the moat.  By leaning far\nout he could see the light from the princess's chamber shining upon\nthe sill. He wished that the light was not there, for the window was\nin plain view of the guard on the lookout upon the barbican.\n\nSuddenly he caught the sound of voices from the chamber beneath.\nFor an instant he listened, and then, catching a few words of the\ndialogue, he turned hurriedly toward his companion.\n\n\"The rope, Joseph! And for God's sake be quick about it.\"\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE ESCAPE\n\nFor half an hour the Princess von der Tann succeeded admirably in\nimmersing herself in the periodical, to the exclusion of her unhappy\nthoughts and the depressing influence of the austere countenance of\nthe Blentz Princess hanging upon the wall behind her.\n\nBut presently she became unaccountably nervous.  At the slightest\nsound from the palace-life on the floor below she would start up\nwith a tremor of excitement. Once she heard footsteps in the\ncorridor before her door, but they passed on, and she thought she\ndiscerned the click of a latch a short distance further on along the\npassageway.\n\nAgain she attempted to gather up the thread of the article she had\nbeen reading, but she was unsuccessful. A stealthy scratching\nbrought her round quickly, staring in the direction of the great\nportrait. The girl would have sworn that she had heard a noise\nwithin her chamber. She shuddered at the thought that it might have\ncome from that painted thing upon the wall.\n\nWhat was the matter with her? Was she losing all control of herself\nto be frightened like a little child by ghostly noises?\n\nShe tried to return to her reading, but for the life of her she\ncould not keep her eyes off the silent, painted woman who stared and\nstared and stared in cold, threatening silence upon this ancient\nenemy of her house.\n\nPresently the girl's eyes went wide in horror.  She could feel the\nscalp upon her head contract with fright. Her terror-filled gaze was\nfrozen upon that awful figure that loomed so large and sinister\nabove her, for the thing had moved! She had seen it with her own\neyes. There could be no mistake--no hallucination of overwrought\nnerves about it. The Blentz Princess was moving slowly toward her!\n\nLike one in a trance the girl rose from her chair, her eyes glued\nupon the awful apparition that seemed creeping upon her. Slowly she\nwithdrew toward the opposite side of the chamber. As the painting\nmoved more quickly the truth flashed upon her--it was mounted on a\ndoor.\n\nThe crack of the door widened and beyond it the girl saw dimly, eyes\nfastened upon her. With difficulty she restrained a shriek. The\nportal swung wide and a man in uniform stepped into the room.\n\nIt was Maenck.\n\nEmma von der Tann gazed in unveiled abhorrence upon the leering face\nof the governor of Blentz.\n\n\"What means this intrusion?\" cried the girl.\n\n\"What would you have here?\"\n\n\"You,\" replied Maenck.\n\nThe girl crimsoned.\n\nMaenck regarded her sneeringly.\n\n\"You coward!\" she cried.  \"Leave my apartments at once. Not even\nPeter of Blentz would countenance such abhorrent treatment of a\nprisoner.\"\n\n\"You do not know Peter, my dear,\" responded Maenck. \"But you need not\nfear. You shall be my wife. Peter has promised me a baronetcy for\nthe capture of Leopold, and before I am done I shall be made a\nprince, of that you may rest assured, so you see I am not so bad a\nmatch after all.\"\n\nHe crossed over toward her and would have laid a rough hand upon her\narm.\n\nThe girl sprang away from him, running to the opposite side of the\nlibrary table at which she had been reading. Maenck started to\npursue her, when she seized a heavy, copper bowl that stood upon the\ntable and hurled it full in his face. The missile struck him a\nglancing blow, but the edge laid open the flesh of one cheek almost\nto the jaw bone.\n\nWith a cry of pain and rage Captain Ernst Maenck leaped across the\ntable full upon the young girl. With vicious, murderous fingers he\nseized upon her fair throat, shaking her as a terrier might shake a\nrat. Futilely the girl struck at the hate-contorted features so\nclose to hers.\n\n\"Stop!\" she cried.  \"You are killing me.\"\n\nThe fingers released their hold.\n\n\"No,\" muttered the man, and dragged the princess roughly across the\nroom.\n\nHalf a dozen steps he had taken when there came a sudden crash of\nbreaking glass from the window across the chamber. Both turned in\nastonishment to see the figure of a man leap into the room, carrying\nthe shattered crystal and the casement with him. In one hand was a\nnaked sword.\n\n\"The king!\" cried Emma von der Tann.\n\n\"The devil!\" muttered Maenck, as, dropping the girl, he scurried\ntoward the great painting from behind which he had found ingress to\nthe chambers of the princess.\n\nMaenck was a coward, and he had seen murder in the eyes of the man\nrushing upon him. With a bound he reached the picture which still\nstood swung wide into the room.\n\nBarney was close behind him, but fear lent wings to the governor of\nBlentz, so that he was able to dart into the passage behind the\npicture and slam the door behind him a moment before the infuriated\nman was upon him.\n\nThe American clawed at the edge of the massive frame, but all to no\navail. Then he raised his sword and slashed the canvas, hoping to\nfind a way into the place beyond, but mighty oaken panels barred his\nfurther progress. With a whispered oath he turned back toward the\ngirl.\n\n\"Thank Heaven that I was in time, Emma,\" he cried.\n\n\"Oh, Leopold, my king, but at what a price,\" replied the girl.  \"He\nwill return now with others and kill you. He is furious--so furious\nthat he scarce knows what he does.\"\n\n\"He seemed to know what he was doing when he ran for that hole in\nthe wall,\" replied Barney with a grin. \"But come, it won't pay to\nlet them find us should they return.\"\n\nTogether they hastened to the window beyond which the girl could see\na rope dangling from above. The sight of it partially solved the\nriddle of the king's almost uncanny presence upon her window sill in\nthe very nick of time.\n\nBelow, the lights in the watch tower at the outer gate were plainly\nvisible, and the twinkling of them reminded Barney of the danger of\ndetection from that quarter. Quickly he recrossed the apartment to\nthe wall-switch that operated the recently installed electric\nlights, and an instant later the chamber was in total darkness.\n\nOnce more at the girl's side Barney drew in one end of the rope and\nmade it fast about her body below her arms, leaving a sufficient\nlength terminating in a small loop to permit her to support herself\nmore comfortably with one foot within the noose. Then he stepped to\nthe outer sill, and reaching down assisted her to his side.\n\nFar below them the moonlight played upon the sluggish waters of the\nmoat. In the distance twinkled the lights of the village of Blentz.\nFrom the courtyard and the palace came faintly the sound of voices,\nand the movement of men. A horse whinnied from the stables.\n\nBarney turned his eyes upward.  He could see the head and shoulders\nof Joseph leaning from the window of the chamber directly above\nthem.\n\n\"Hoist away, Joseph!\" whispered the American, and to the girl: \"Be\nbrave. Shut your eyes and trust to Joseph and--and--\"\n\n\"And my king,\" finished the girl for him.\n\nHis arm was about her shoulders, supporting her upon the narrow\nsill. His cheek so close to hers that once he felt the soft velvet\nof it brush his own. Involuntarily his arm tightened about the\nsupple body.\n\n\"My princess!\" he murmured, and as he turned his face toward hers\ntheir lips almost touched.\n\nJoseph was pulling upon the rope from above.  They could feel it\ntighten beneath the girl's arms. Impulsively Barney Custer drew the\nsweet lips closer to his own. There was no resistance.\n\n\"I love you,\" he whispered.  The words were smothered as their lips\nmet.\n\nJoseph, above, wondered at the great weight of the Princess Emma von\nder Tann.\n\n\"I love you, Leopold, forever,\" whispered the girl, and then as\nJoseph's Herculean tugging seemed likely to drag them both from the\nnarrow sill, Barney lifted the girl upward with one hand while he\nclung to the window frame with the other. The distance to the sill\nabove was short, and a moment later Joseph had grasped the\nprincess's hand and was helping her over the ledge into the room\nbeyond.\n\nAt the same instant there came a sudden commotion from the interior\nof the room in the window of which Barney still stood waiting for\nJoseph to remove the rope from about the princess and lower it for\nhim. Barney heard the heavy feet of men, the clank of arms, and\nmuttered oaths as the searchers stumbled against the furniture.\n\nPresently one of them found the switch and instantly the room was\nflooded with light, which revealed to the American a dozen Luthanian\ntroopers headed by the murderous Maenck.\n\nBarney looked anxiously aloft.  Would Joseph never lower that rope!\nWithin the room the men were searching. He could hear Maenck\ndirecting them. Only a thin portiere screened him from their view.\nIt was but a matter of seconds before they would investigate the\nwindow through which Maenck knew the king had found ingress.\n\nYes! It had come.\n\n\"Look to the window,\" commanded Maenck.  \"He may have gone as he\ncame.\"\n\nTwo of the soldiers crossed the room toward the casement. From above\nJoseph was lowering the rope; but it was too late. The men would be\nat the window before he could clamber out of their reach.\n\n\"Hoist away!\" he whispered to Joseph.  \"Quick now, my man, and make\nyour escape with the Princess von der Tann. It is the king's\ncommand.\"\n\nAlready the soldiers were at the window.  At the sound of his voice\nthey tore aside the draperies; at the same instant the pseudo-king\nturned and leaped out into the blackness of the night.\n\nThere were exclamations of surprise and rage from the soldiers--a\nwoman's scream. Then from far below came a dull splash as the body\nof Bernard Custer struck the surface of the moat.\n\nMaenck, leaning from the window, heard the scream and the splash,\nand jumped to the conclusion that both the king and the princess had\nattempted to make their escape in this harebrained way. Immediately\nall the resources at his command were put to the task of searching\nthe moat and the adjacent woods.\n\nHe was sure that one or both of the prisoners would be stunned by\nimpact with the surface of the water, and then drowned before they\nregained consciousness, but he did not know Bernard Custer, nor the\nfacility and almost uncanny ease with which that young man could\nnegotiate a high dive into shallow water.\n\nNor did he know that upon the floor above him one Joseph was\nhastening along a dark corridor toward a secret panel in another\napartment, and that with him was the Princess Emma bound for liberty\nand safety far from the frowning walls of Blentz.\n\nAs Barney's head emerged above the surface of the moat he shook it\nvigorously to free his eyes from water, and then struck out for the\nfurther bank.\n\nLong before his pursuers had reached the courtyard and alarmed the\nwatch at the barbican, the American had crawled out upon dry land\nand hastened across the broad clearing to the patch of stunted trees\nthat grew lower down upon the steep hillside before the castle.\n\nHe shrank from the thought of leaving Blentz without knowing\npositively that Joseph had made good the escape of himself and the\nprincess, but he finally argued that even if they had been retaken,\nhe could serve her best by hastening to her father and fetching the\nonly succor that might prevail against the strength of Blentz--armed\nmen in sufficient force to storm the ancient fortress.\n\nHe had scarcely entered the wood when he heard the sound of the\nsearchers at the moat, and saw the rays of their lanterns flitting\nhither and thither as they moved back and forth along the bank.\n\nThen the young man turned his face from the castle and set forth\nacross the unfamiliar country in the direction of the Old Forest and\nthe castle Von der Tann.\n\nThe memory of the warm lips that had so recently been pressed to his\nurged him on in the service of the wondrous girl who had come so\nsuddenly into his life, bringing to him the realization of a love\nthat he knew must alter, for happiness or for sorrow, all the\nbalance of his existence, even unto death.\n\nHe dreaded the day of reckoning when, at last, she must learn that\nhe was no king. He did not have the temerity to hope that her\ncourage would be equal to the great sacrifice which the\nacknowledgment of her love for one not of noble blood must entail;\nbut he could not believe that she would cease to love him when she\nlearned the truth.\n\nSo the future looked black and cheerless to Barney Custer as he\ntrudged along the rocky, moonlit way. The only bright spot was the\nrealization that for a while at least he might be serving the one\nwoman in all the world.\n\nAll the balance of the long night the young man traversed valley and\nmountain, holding due south in the direction he supposed the Old\nForest to lie. He passed many a little farm tucked away in the\nhollow of a hillside, and quaint hamlets, and now and then the ruins\nof an ancient feudal stronghold, but no great forest of black oaks\nloomed before him to apprise him of the nearness of his goal, nor\ndid he dare to ask the correct route at any of the homes he passed.\n\nHis fatal likeness to the description of the mad king of Lutha\nwarned him from intercourse with the men of Lutha until he might\nknow which were friends and which enemies of the hapless monarch.\n\nDawn found him still upon his way, but with the determination fully\ncrystallized to hail the first man he met and ask the way to Tann.\nHe still avoided the main traveled roads, but from time to time he\nparalleled them close enough that he might have ample opportunity to\nhail the first passerby.\n\nThe road was becoming more and more mountainous and difficult.\nThere were fewer homes and no hamlets, and now he began to despair\nentirely of meeting any who could give him direction unless he\nturned and retraced his steps to the nearest farm.\n\nDirectly before him the narrow trail he had been following for the\npast few miles wound sharply about the shoulder of a protruding\ncliff. He would see what lay beyond the turn--perhaps he would find\nthe Old Forest there, after all.\n\nBut instead he found something very different, though in its way\nquite as interesting, for as he rounded the rugged bluff he came\nface to face with two evil-looking fellows astride stocky,\nrough-coated ponies.\n\nAt sight of him they drew in their mounts and eyed him suspiciously.\nNor was there great cause for wonderment in that, for the American\npresented aught but a respectable appearance. His khaki motoring\nsuit, soaked from immersion in the moat, had but partially dried\nupon him. Mud from the banks of the stagnant pool caked his legs to\nthe knees, almost hiding his once tan puttees. More mud streaked his\njacket front and stained its sleeves to the elbows. He was\nbare-headed, for his cap had remained in the moat at Blentz, and his\ndisheveled hair was tousled upon his head, while his full beard had\ndried into a weird and tangled fringe about his face. At his side\nstill hung the sword that Joseph had buckled there, and it was this\nthat caused the two men the greatest suspicion of this strange\nlooking character.\n\nThey continued to eye Barney in silence, every now and then casting\napprehensive glances beyond him, as though expecting others of his\nkind to appear in the trail at his back. And that is precisely what\nthey did fear, for the sword at Barney's side had convinced them\nthat he must be an officer of the army, and they looked to see his\ncommand following in his wake.\n\nThe young man saluted them pleasantly, asking the direction to the\nOld Forest. They thought it strange that a soldier of Lutha should\nnot know his own way about his native land, and so judged that his\nquestion was but a blind to deceive them.\n\n\"Why do you not ask your own men the way?\" parried one of the\nfellows.\n\n\"I have no men, I am alone,\" replied Barney.  \"I am a stranger in\nLutha and have lost my way.\"\n\nHe who had spoken before pointed to the sword at Barney's side.\n\n\"Strangers traveling in Lutha do not wear swords,\" he said. \"You are\nan officer. Why should you desire to conceal the fact from two\nhonest farmers? We have done nothing. Let us go our way.\"\n\nBarney looked his astonishment at this reply.\n\n\"Most certainly, go your way, my friends,\" he said laughing.  \"I\nwould not delay you if I could; but before you go please be good\nenough to tell me how to reach the Old Forest and the ancient castle\nof the Prince von der Tann.\"\n\nFor a moment the two men whispered together, then the spokesman\nturned to Barney.\n\n\"We will lead you upon the right road.  Come,\" and the two turned\ntheir horses, one of them starting slowly back up the trail while\nthe other remained waiting for Barney to pass him.\n\nThe American, suspecting nothing, voiced his thanks, and set out\nafter him who had gone before. As he passed the fellow who waited\nthe latter moved in behind him, so that Barney walked between the\ntwo. Occasionally the rider at his back turned in his saddle to scan\nthe trail behind, as though still fearful that Barney had been lying\nto them and that he would discover a company of soldiers charging\ndown upon them.\n\nThe trail became more and more difficult as they advanced, until\nBarney wondered how the little horses clung to the steep\nmountainside, where he himself had difficulty in walking without\nusing his hand to keep from falling.\n\nTwice the American attempted to break through the taciturnity of his\nguides, but his advances were met with nothing more than sultry\ngrunts or silence, and presently a suspicion began to obtrude itself\namong his thoughts that possibly these \"honest farmers\" were\nsomething more sinister than they represented themselves to be.\n\nA malign and threatening atmosphere seemed to surround them.  Even\nthe cat-like movement of their silent mounts breathed a sinister\nsecrecy, and now, for the first time, Barney noticed the short, ugly\nlooking carbines that were slung in boots at their saddle-horns.\nThen, prompted to further investigation, he dropped back beside the\nman who had been riding behind him, and as he did so he saw beneath\nthe fellow's cloak the butts of two villainous-looking pistols.\n\nAs Barney dropped back beside him the man turned his mount across\nthe narrow trail, and reining him in motioned Barney ahead.\n\n\"I have changed my mind,\" said the American, \"about going to the Old\nForest.\"\n\nHe had determined that he might as well have the thing out now as\nlater, and discover at once how he stood with these two, and whether\nor not his suspicions of them were well grounded.\n\nThe man ahead had halted at the sound of Barney's voice, and swung\nabout in the saddle.\n\n\"What's the trouble?\" he asked.\n\n\"He don't want to go to the Old Forest,\" explained his companion,\nand for the first time Barney saw one of them grin. It was not at\nall a pleasant grin, nor reassuring.\n\n\"He don't, eh?\" growled the other.  \"Well, he ain't goin', is he?\nWho ever said he was?\"\n\nAnd then he, too, laughed.\n\n\"I'm going back the way I came,\" said Barney, starting around the\nhorse that blocked his way.\n\n\"No, you ain't,\" said the horseman.  \"You're goin' with us.\"\n\nAnd Barney found himself gazing down the muzzle of one of the wicked\nlooking pistols.\n\nFor a moment he stood in silence, debating mentally the wisdom of\nattempting to rush the fellow, and then, with a shake of his head,\nhe turned back up the trail between his captors.\n\n\"Yes,\" he said, \"on second thought I have decided to go with you.\nYour logic is most convincing.\"\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nA KING'S RANSOM\n\nFor another mile the two brigands conducted their captor along the\nmountainside, then they turned into a narrow ravine near the summit\nof the hills--a deep, rocky, wooded ravine into whose black shadows\nit seemed the sun might never penetrate.\n\nA winding path led crookedly among the pines that grew thickly in\nthis sheltered hollow, until presently, after half an hour of rough\ngoing, they came upon a small natural clearing, rock-bound and\nimpregnable.\n\nAs they filed from the wood Barney saw a score of villainous fellows\nclustered about a camp fire where they seemed engaged in cooking\ntheir noonday meal. Bits of meat were roasting upon iron skewers,\nand a great iron pot boiled vigorously at one side of the blaze.\n\nAt the sound of their approach the men sprang to their feet in\nalarm, and as many weapons as there were men leaped to view; but\nwhen they saw Barney's companions they returned their pistols to\ntheir holsters, and at sight of Barney they pressed forward to\ninspect the prisoner.\n\n\"Who have we here?\" shouted a big blond giant, who affected\nextremely gaudy colors in his selection of wearing apparel, and\nwhose pistols and knife had their grips heavily ornamented with\npearl and silver.\n\n\"A stranger in Lutha he calls himself,\" replied one of Barney's\ncaptors. \"But from the sword I take it he is one of old Peter's\nwolfhounds.\"\n\n\"Well, he's found the wolves at any rate,\" replied the giant, with a\nwide grin at his witticism. \"And if Yellow Franz is the particular\nwolf you're after, my friend, why here I am,\" he concluded,\naddressing the American with a leer.\n\n\"I'm after no one,\" replied Barney.  \"I tell you I'm a stranger, and\nI lost my way in your infernal mountains. All I wish is to be set\nupon the right road to Tann, and if you will do that for me you\nshall be well paid for your trouble.\"\n\nThe giant, Yellow Franz, had come quite close to Barney and was\ninspecting him with an expression of considerable interest.\nPresently he drew a soiled and much-folded paper from his breast.\nUpon one side was a printed notice, and at the corners bits were\ntorn away as though the paper had once been tacked upon wood, and\nthen torn down without removing the tacks.\n\nAt sight of it Barney's heart sank.  The look of the thing was all\ntoo familiar. Before the yellow one had commenced to read aloud from\nit Barney had repeated to himself the words he knew were coming.\n\n\"'Gray eyes,'\" read the brigand, \"'brown hair, and a full,\nreddish-brown beard.' Herman and Friedrich, my dear children, you\nhave stumbled upon the richest haul in all Lutha. Down upon your\nmarrow-bones, you swine, and rub your low-born noses in the dirt\nbefore your king.\"\n\nThe others looked their surprise.\n\n\"The king?\" one cried.\n\n\"Behold!\" cried Yellow Franz.  \"Leopold of Lutha!\"\n\nHe waved a ham-like hand toward Barney.\n\nAmong the rough men was a young smooth-faced boy, and now with wide\neyes he pressed forward to get a nearer view of the wonderful person\nof a king.\n\n\"Take a good look at him, Rudolph,\" cried Yellow Franz. \"It is the\nfirst and will probably be the last time you will ever see a king.\nKings seldom visit the court of their fellow monarch, Yellow Franz\nof the Black Mountains.\n\n\"Come, my children, remove his majesty's sword, lest he fall and\nstick himself upon it, and then prepare the royal chamber, seeing to\nit that it be made so comfortable that Leopold will remain with us a\nlong time. Rudolph, fetch food and water for his majesty, and see to\nit that the silver plates and the golden goblets are well scoured\nand polished up.\"\n\nThey conducted Barney to a miserable lean-to shack at one side of\nthe clearing, and for a while the motley crew loitered about\nbandying coarse jests at the expense of the \"king.\" The boy,\nRudolph, brought food and water, he alone of them all evincing the\nslightest respect or awe for the royalty of their unwilling guest.\n\nAfter a time the men tired of the sport of king-baiting, for Barney\nshowed neither rancor nor outraged majesty at their keenest thrusts,\ninstead, often joining in the laugh with them at his own expense.\nThey thought it odd that the king should hold his dignity in so low\nesteem, but that he was king they never doubted, attributing his\ndenials to a disposition to deceive them, and rob them of the\n\"king's ransom\" they had already commenced to consider as their own.\n\nShortly after Barney arrived at the rendezvous he saw a messenger\ndispatched by Yellow Franz, and from the repeated gestures toward\nhimself that had accompanied the giant's instructions to his\nemissary, Barney was positive that the man's errand had to do with\nhim.\n\nAfter the men had left his prison, leaving the boy standing\nawkwardly in wide-eyed contemplation of his august charge, the\nAmerican ventured to open a conversation with his youthful keeper.\n\n\"Aren't you rather young to be starting in the bandit business,\nRudolph?\" asked Barney, who had taken a fancy to the youth.\n\n\"I do not want to be a bandit, your majesty,\" whispered the lad;\n\"but my father owes Yellow Franz a great sum of money, and as he\ncould not pay the debt Yellow Franz stole me from my home and says\nthat he will keep me until my father pays him, and that if he does\nnot pay he will make a bandit of me, and that then some day I shall\nbe caught and hanged until I am dead.\"\n\n\"Can't you escape?\" asked the young man.  \"It would seem to me that\nthere would be many opportunities for you to get away undetected.\"\n\n\"There are, but I dare not.  Yellow Franz says that if I run away he\nwill be sure to come across me some day again and that then he will\nkill me.\"\n\nBarney laughed.\n\n\"He is just talking, my boy,\" he said.  \"He thinks that by\nfrightening you he will be able to keep you from running away.\"\n\n\"Your majesty does not know him,\" whispered the youth, shuddering.\n\"He is the wickedest man in all the world. Nothing would please him\nmore than killing me, and he would have done it long since but for\ntwo things. One is that I have made myself useful about his camp,\ndoing chores and the like, and the other is that were he to kill me\nhe knows that my father would never pay him.\"\n\n\"How much does your father owe him?\"\n\n\"Five hundred marks, your majesty,\" replied Rudolph. \"Two hundred of\nthis amount is the original debt, and the balance Yellow Franz has\nadded since he captured me, so that it is really ransom money. But\nmy father is a poor man, so that it will take a long time before he\ncan accumulate so large a sum.\n\n\"You would really like to go home again, Rudolph?\"\n\n\"Oh, very much, your majesty, if I only dared.\" Barney was silent\nfor some time, thinking. Possibly he could effect his own escape\nwith the connivance of Rudolph, and at the same time free the boy.\nThe paltry ransom he could pay out of his own pocket and send to\nYellow Franz later, so that the youth need not fear the brigand's\nrevenge. It was worth thinking about, at any rate.\n\n\"How long do you imagine they will keep me, Rudolph?\" he asked after\na time.\n\n\"Yellow Franz has already sent Herman to Lustadt with a message for\nPrince Peter, telling him that you are being held for ransom, and\ndemanding the payment of a huge sum for your release. Day after\ntomorrow or the next day he should return with Prince Peter's reply.\n\n\"If it is favorable, arrangements will be made to turn you over to\nPrince Peter's agents, who will have to come to some distant meeting\nplace with the money. A week, perhaps, it will take, maybe longer.\"\n\nIt was the second day before Herman returned from Lustadt.  He rode\nin just at dark, his pony lathered from hard going.\n\nBarney and the boy saw him coming, and the youth ran forward with\nthe others to learn the news that he had brought; but Yellow Franz\nand his messenger withdrew to a hut which the brigand chief reserved\nfor his own use, nor would he permit any beside the messenger to\naccompany him to hear the report.\n\nFor half an hour Barney sat alone waiting for word from Yellow Franz\nthat arrangements had been consummated for his release, and then out\nof the darkness came Rudolph, wide-eyed and trembling.\n\n\"Oh, my king?\" he whispered.  \"What shall we do?  Peter has refused\nto ransom you alive, but he has offered a great sum for unquestioned\nproof of your death. Already he has caused a proclamation to be\nissued stating that you have been killed by bandits after escaping\nfrom Blentz, and ordering a period of national mourning. In three\nweeks he is to be crowned king of Lutha.\"\n\n\"When do they intend terminating my existence?\" queried Barney.\n\nThere was a smile upon his lips, for even now he could scarce\nbelieve that in the twentieth century there could be any such\nmedieval plotting against a king's life, and yet, on second thought,\nhad he not ample proof of the lengths to which Peter of Blentz was\nwilling to go to obtain the crown of Lutha!\n\n\"I do not know, your majesty,\" replied Rudolph, \"when they will do\nit; but soon, doubtless, since the sooner it is done the sooner they\ncan collect their pay.\"\n\nFurther conversation was interrupted by the sound of footsteps\nwithout, and an instant later Yellow Franz entered the squalid\napartment and the dim circle of light which flickered feebly from\nthe smoky lantern that hung suspended from the rafters.\n\nHe stopped just within the doorway and stood eyeing the American\nwith an ugly grin upon his vicious face. Then his eyes fell upon the\ntrembling Rudolph.\n\n\"Get out of here, you!\" he growled.  \"I've got private business with\nthis king. And see that you don't come nosing round either, or I'll\nslit that soft throat for you.\"\n\nRudolph slipped past the burly ruffian, barely dodging a brutal blow\naimed at him by the giant, and escaped into the darkness without.\n\n\"And now for you, my fine fellow,\" said the brigand, turning toward\nBarney. \"Peter says you ain't worth nothing to him--alive, but that\nyour dead body will fetch us a hundred thousand marks.\"\n\n\"Rather cheap for a king, isn't it?\" was Barney's only comment.\n\n\"That's what Herman tells him,\" replied Yellow Franz. \"But he's a\nclose one, Peter is, and so it was that or nothing.\"\n\n\"When are you going to pull off this little--er--ah--royal demise?\"\nasked Barney.\n\n\"If you mean when am I going to kill you,\" replied the bandit, \"why,\nthere ain't no particular rush about it. I'm a tender-hearted chap,\nI am. I never should have been in this business at all, but here I\nbe, and as there ain't nobody that can do a better job of the kind\nthan me, or do it so painlessly, why I just got to do it myself, and\nthat's all there is to it. But, as I says, there ain't no great\nrush. If you want to pray, why, go ahead and pray. I'll wait for\nyou.\"\n\n\"I don't remember,\" said Barney, \"when I have met so generous a\nparty as you, my friend. Your self-sacrificing magnanimity quite\noverpowers me. It reminds me of another unloved Robin Hood whom I\nonce met. It was in front of Burket's coal-yard on Ella Street, back\nin dear old Beatrice, at some unchristian hour of the night.\n\n\"After he had relieved me of a dollar and forty cents he remarked:\n'I gotta good mind to kick yer slats in fer not havin' more of de\ncush on yeh; but I'm feelin' so good about de last guy I stuck up\nI'll let youse off dis time.'\"\n\n\"I do not know what you are talking about,\" replied Yellow Franz;\n\"but if you want to pray you'd better hurry up about it.\"\n\nHe drew his pistol from its holster on the belt at his hips.\n\nNow Barney Custer had no mind to give up the ghost without a\nstruggle; but just how he was to overcome the great beast who\nconfronted him with menacing pistol was, to say the least, not\nprecisely plain. He wished the man would come a little nearer where\nhe might have some chance to close with him before the fellow could\nfire. To gain time the American assumed a prayerful attitude, but\nkept one eye on the bandit.\n\nPresently Yellow Franz showed indications of impatience. He fingered\nthe trigger of his weapon, and then slowly raised it on a line with\nBarney's chest.\n\n\"Hadn't you better come closer?\" asked the young man. \"You might\nmiss at that distance, or just wound me.\"\n\nYellow Franz grinned.\n\n\"I don't miss,\" he said, and then: \"You're certainly a game one.  If\nit wasn't for the hundred thousand marks, I'd be hanged if I'd kill\nyou.\"\n\n\"The chances are that you will be if you do,\" said Barney, \"so\nwouldn't you rather take one hundred and fifty thousand marks and\nlet me make my escape?\"\n\nYellow Franz looked at the speaker a moment through narrowed lids.\n\n\"Where would you find any one willing to pay that amount for a crazy\nking?\" he asked.\n\n\"I have told you that I am not the king,\" said Barney. \"I am an\nAmerican with a father who would gladly pay that amount on my safe\ndelivery to any American consul.\"\n\nYellow Franz shook his head and tapped his brow significantly.\n\n\"Even if you was what you are dreaming, it wouldn't pay me,\" he\nsaid.\n\n\"I'll make it two hundred thousand,\" said Barney.\n\n\"No--it's a waste of time talking about it.  It's worth more than\nmoney to me to know that I'll always have this thing on Peter, and\nthat when he's king he won't dare bother me for fear I'll publish\nthe details of this little deal. Come, you must be through praying\nby this time. I can't wait around here all night.\" Again Yellow\nFranz raised his pistol toward Barney's heart.\n\nBefore the brigand could pull the trigger, or Barney hurl himself\nupon his would-be assassin, there was a flash and a loud report from\nthe open window of the shack.\n\nWith a groan Yellow Franz crumpled to the dirt floor, and\nsimultaneously Barney was upon him and had wrested the pistol from\nhis hand; but the precaution was unnecessary for Yellow Franz would\nnever again press finger to trigger. He was dead even before Barney\nreached his side.\n\nIn possession of the weapon, the American turned toward the window\nfrom which had come the rescuing shot, and as he did so he saw the\nboy, Rudolph, clambering over the sill, white-faced and trembling.\nIn his hand was a smoking carbine, and on his brow great beads of\ncold sweat.\n\n\"God forgive me!\" murmured the youth.  \"I have killed a man.\"\n\n\"You have killed a dangerous wild beast, Rudolph,\" said Barney, \"and\nboth God and your fellow man will thank and reward you.\"\n\n\"I am glad that I killed him, though,\" went on the boy, \"for he\nwould have killed you, my king, had I not done so. Gladly would I go\nto the gallows to save my king.\"\n\n\"You are a brave lad, Rudolph,\" said Barney, \"and if ever I get out\nof the pretty pickle I'm in you'll be well rewarded for your loyalty\nto Leopold of Lutha. After all,\" thought the young man, \"being a\nkind has its redeeming features, for if the boy had not thought me\nhis monarch he would never have risked the vengeance of the\nbloodthirsty brigands in this attempt to save me.\"\n\n\"Hasten, your majesty,\" whispered the boy, tugging at the sleeve of\nBarney's jacket. \"There is no time to be lost. We must be far away\nfrom here when the others discover that Yellow Franz has been\nkilled.\"\n\nBarney stooped above the dead man, and removing his belt and\ncartridges transferred them to his own person. Then blowing out the\nlantern the two slipped out into the darkness of the night.\n\nAbout the camp fire of the brigands the entire pack was congregated.\nThey were talking together in low voices, ever and anon glancing\nexpectantly toward the shack to which their chief had gone to\ndispatch the king. It is not every day that a king is murdered, and\neven these hardened cut-throats felt the spell of awe at the thought\nof what they believed the sharp report they had heard from the shack\nportended.\n\nKeeping well to the far side of the clearing, Rudolph led Barney\naround the group of men and safely into the wood below them. From\nthis point the boy followed the trail which Barney and his captors\nhad traversed two days previously, until he came to a diverging\nravine that led steeply up through the mountains upon their right\nhand.\n\nIn the distance behind them they suddenly heard, faintly, the\nshouting of men.\n\n\"They have discovered Yellow Franz,\" whispered the boy, shuddering.\n\n\"Then they'll be after us directly,\" said Barney.\n\n\"Yes, your majesty,\" replied Rudolph, \"but in the darkness they will\nnot see that we have turned up this ravine, and so they will ride on\ndown the other. I have chosen this way because their horses cannot\nfollow us here, and thus we shall be under no great disadvantage. It\nmay be, however, that we shall have to hide in the mountains for a\nwhile, since there will be no place of safety for us between here\nand Lustadt until after the edge of their anger is dulled.\"\n\nAnd such proved to be the case, for try as they would they found it\nimpossible to reach Lustadt without detection by the brigands who\npatrolled every highway and byway from their rugged mountains to the\ncapital of Lutha.\n\nFor nearly three weeks Barney and the boy hid in caves or dense\nunderbrush by day, and by night sought some avenue which would lead\nthem past the vigilant sentries that patrolled the ways to freedom.\n\nOften they were wet by rains, nor were they ever in the warm\nsunlight for a sufficient length of time to become thoroughly dry\nand comfortable. Of food they had little, and of the poorest\nquality.\n\nThey dared not light a fire for warmth or cooking, and their light\nwas so miserable that, but for the boy's pitiful terror at the\nthought of being recaptured by the bandits, Barney would long since\nhave made a break for Lustadt, depending upon their arms and\nammunition to carry them safely through were they discovered by\ntheir enemies.\n\nRudolph had contracted a severe cold the first night, and now, it\nhaving settled upon his lungs, he had developed a persistent and\naggravating cough that caused Barney not a little apprehension.\nWhen, after nearly three weeks of suffering and privation, it became\nclear that the boy's lungs were affected, the American decided to\ntake matters into his own hands and attempt to reach Lustadt and a\ngood doctor; but before he had an opportunity to put his plan into\nexecution the entire matter was removed from his jurisdiction.\n\nIt happened like this: After a particularly fatiguing and\nuncomfortable night spent in attempting to elude the sentinels who\nblocked their way from the mountains, daylight found them near a\nlittle spring, and here they decided to rest for an hour before\nresuming their way.\n\nThe little pool lay not far from a clump of heavy bushes which would\noffer them excellent shelter, as it was Barney's intention to go\ninto hiding as soon as they had quenched their thirst at the spring.\n\nRudolph was coughing pitifully, his slender frame wracked by the\nconvulsion of each new attack. Barney had placed an arm about the\nboy to support him, for the paroxysms always left him very weak.\n\nThe young man's heart went out to the poor boy, and pangs of regret\nfilled his mind as he realized that the child's pathetic condition\nwas the direct result of his self-sacrificing attempt to save his\nking. Barney felt much like a murderer and a thief, and dreaded the\ntime when the boy should be brought to a realization of his mistake.\n\nHe had come to feel a warm affection for the loyal little lad, who\nhad suffered so uncomplainingly and whose every thought had been for\nthe safety and comfort of his king.\n\nToday, thought Barney, I'll take this child through to Lustadt even\nif every ragged brigand in Lutha lies between us and the capital;\nbut even as he spoke a sudden crashing of underbrush behind caused\nhim to wheel about, and there, not twenty paces from them, stood two\nof Yellow Franz's cutthroats.\n\nAt sight of Barney and the lad they gave voice to a shout of\ntriumph, and raising their carbines fired point-blank at the two\nfugitives.\n\nBut Barney had been equally as quick with his own weapon, and at the\nmoment that they fired he grasped Rudolph and dragged him backward\nto a great boulder behind which their bodies might be protected from\nthe fire of their enemies.\n\nBoth the bullets of the bandits' first volley had been directed at\nBarney, for it was upon his head that the great price rested. They\nhad missed him by a narrow margin, due, perhaps, to the fact that\nthe mounts of the brigands had been prancing in alarm at the\nunexpected sight of the two strangers at the very moment that their\nriders attempted to take aim and fire.\n\nBut now they had ridden back into the brush and dismounted, and\nafter hiding their ponies they came creeping out upon their bellies\nupon opposite sides of Barney's shelter.\n\nThe American saw that it would be an easy thing for them to pick him\noff if he remained where he was, and so with a word to Rudolph he\nsprang up and the boy with him. Each delivered a quick shot at the\nbandit nearest him, and then together they broke for the bushes in\nwhich the brigand's mounts were hidden.\n\nTwo shots answered theirs.  Rudolph, who was ahead of Barney,\nstumbled and threw up his hands. He would have fallen had not the\nAmerican thrown a strong arm about him.\n\n\"I'm shot, your majesty,\" murmured the boy, his head dropping\nagainst Barney's breast.\n\nWith the lad grasped close to him, the young man turned at the edge\nof the brush to meet the charge of the two ruffians. The wounding of\nthe youth had delayed them just enough to preclude their making this\ntemporary refuge in safety.\n\nAs Barney turned both the men fired simultaneously, and both missed.\nThe American raised his revolver, and with the flash of it the\nforemost brigand came to a sudden stop. An expression of\nbewilderment crossed his features. He extended his arms straight\nbefore him, the revolver slipped from his grasp, and then like a\ndying top he pivoted once drunkenly and collapsed upon the turf.\n\nAt the instant of his fall his companion and the American fired\npoint-blank at one another.\n\nBarney felt a burning sensation in his shoulder, but it was\nforgotten for the moment in the relief that came to him as he saw\nthe second rascal sprawl headlong upon his face. Then he turned his\nattention to the limp little figure that hung across his left arm.\n\nGently Barney laid the boy upon the sward, and fetching water from\nthe pool bathed his face and forced a few drops between the white\nlips. The cooling draft revived the wounded child, but brought on a\nparoxysm of coughing. When this had subsided Rudolph raised his eyes\nto those of the man bending above him.\n\n\"Thank God, your majesty is unharmed,\" he whispered. \"Now I can die\nin peace.\"\n\nThe white lids drooped lower, and with a tired sigh the boy lay\nquiet. Tears came to the young man's eyes as he let the limp body\ngently to the ground.\n\n\"Brave little heart,\" he murmured, \"you gave up your life in the\nservice of your king as truly as though you had not been all\nmistaken in the object of your veneration, and if it lies within the\npower of Barney Custer you shall not have died in vain.\"\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nTHE REAL LEOPOLD\n\nTwo hours later a horseman pushed his way between tumbled and\ntangled briers along the bottom of a deep ravine.\n\nHe was hatless, and his stained and ragged khaki betokened much\nexposure to the elements and hard and continued usage. At his\nsaddle-bow a carbine swung in its boot, and upon either hip was\nstrapped a long revolver. Ammunition in plenty filled the cross\nbelts that he had looped about his shoulders.\n\nGrim and warlike as were his trappings, no less grim was the set of\nhis strong jaw or the glint of his gray eyes, nor did the patch of\nbrown stain that had soaked through the left shoulder of his jacket\ntend to lessen the martial atmosphere which surrounded him.\nFortunate it was for the brigands of the late Yellow Franz that none\nof them chanced in the path of Barney Custer that day.\n\nFor nearly two hours the man had ridden downward out of the high\nhills in search of a dwelling at which he might ask the way to Tann;\nbut as yet he had passed but a single house, and that a long\nuntenanted ruin. He was wondering what had become of all the\ninhabitants of Lutha when his horse came to a sudden halt before an\nobstacle which entirely blocked the narrow trail at the bottom of\nthe ravine.\n\nAs the horseman's eyes fell upon the thing they went wide in\nastonishment, for it was no less than the charred remnants of the\nonce beautiful gray roadster that had brought him into this\ntwentieth century land of medieval adventure and intrigue. Barney\nsaw that the machine had been lifted from where it had fallen across\nthe horse of the Princess von der Tann, for the animal's decaying\ncarcass now lay entirely clear of it; but why this should have been\ndone, or by whom, the young man could not imagine.\n\nA glance aloft showed him the road far above him, from which he, the\nhorse and the roadster had catapulted; and with the sight of it\nthere flashed to his mind the fair face of the young girl in whose\nservice the thing had happened. Barney wondered if Joseph had been\nsuccessful in returning her to Tann, and he wondered, too, if she\nmourned for the man she had thought king--if she would be very angry\nshould she ever learn the truth.\n\nThen there came to the American's mind the figure of the shopkeeper\nof Tafelberg, and the fellow's evident loyalty to the mad king he\nhad never seen. Here was one who might aid him, thought Barney. He\nwould have the will, at least, and with the thought the young man\nturned his pony's head diagonally up the steep ravine side.\n\nIt was a tough and dangerous struggle to the road above, but at last\nby dint of strenuous efforts on the part of the sturdy little beast\nthe two finally scrambled over the edge of the road and stood once\nmore upon level footing.\n\nAfter breathing his mount for a few minutes Barney swung himself\ninto the saddle again and set off toward Tafelberg. He met no one\nupon the road, nor within the outskirts of the village, and so he\ncame to the door of the shop he sought without attracting attention.\n\nSwinging to the ground he tied the pony to one of the supporting\ncolumns of the porch-roof and a moment later had stepped within the\nshop.\n\nFrom a back room the shopkeeper presently emerged, and when he saw\nwho it was that stood before him his eyes went wide in\nconsternation.\n\n\"In the name of all the saints, your majesty,\" cried the old fellow,\n\"what has happened? How comes it that you are out of the hospital,\nand travel-stained as though from a long, hard ride? I cannot\nunderstand it, sire.\"\n\n\"Hospital?\" queried the young man.  \"What do you mean, my good\nfellow? I have been in no hospital.\"\n\n\"You were there only last evening when I inquired after you of the\ndoctor,\" insisted the shopkeeper, \"nor did any there yet suspect\nyour true identity.\"\n\n\"Last evening I was hiding far up in the mountains from Yellow\nFranz's band of cutthroats,\" replied Barney. \"Tell me what manner of\nriddle you are propounding.\"\n\nThen a sudden light of understanding flashed through Barney's mind.\n\n\"Man!\" he exclaimed.  \"Tell me--you have found the true king?  He is\nat a hospital in Tafelberg?\"\n\n\"Yes, your majesty, I have found the true king, and it is so that he\nwas at the Tafelberg sanatorium last evening. It was beside the\nremnants of your wrecked automobile that two of the men of Tafelberg\nfound you.\n\n\"One leg was pinioned beneath the machine which was on fire when\nthey discovered you. They brought you to my shop, which is the first\non the road into town, and not guessing your true identity they took\nmy word for it that you were an old acquaintance of mine and without\nmore ado turned you over to my care.\"\n\nBarney scratched his head in puzzled bewilderment.  He began to\ndoubt if he were in truth himself, or, after all, Leopold of Lutha.\nAs no one but himself could, by the wildest stretch of imagination,\nhave been in such a position, he was almost forced to the conclusion\nthat all that had passed since the instant that his car shot over\nthe edge of the road into the ravine had been but the hallucinations\nof a fever-excited brain, and that for the past three weeks he had\nbeen lying in a hospital cot instead of experiencing the strange and\ninexplicable adventures that he had believed to have befallen him.\n\nBut yet the more he thought of it the more ridiculous such a\nconclusion appeared, for it did not in the least explain the pony\ntethered without, which he plainly could see from where he stood\nwithin the shop, nor did it satisfactorily account for the blotch of\nblood upon his shoulder from a wound so fresh that the stain still\nwas damp; nor for the sword which Joseph had buckled about his waist\nwithin Blentz's forbidding walls; nor for the arms and ammunition he\nhad taken from the dead brigands--all of which he had before him as\ntangible evidence of the rationality of the past few weeks.\n\n\"My friend,\" said Barney at last, \"I cannot wonder that you have\nmistaken me for the king, since all those I have met within Lutha\nhave leaped to the same error, though not one among them made the\nslightest pretense of ever having seen his majesty. A ridiculous\nbeard started the trouble, and later a series of happenings, no one\nof which was particularly remarkable in itself, aggravated it, until\nbut a moment since I myself was almost upon the point of believing\nthat I am the king.\n\n\"But, my dear Herr Kramer, I am not the king; and when you have\naccompanied me to the hospital and seen that your patient still is\nthere, you may be willing to admit that there is some justification\nfor doubt as to my royalty.\"\n\nThe old man shook his head.\n\n\"I am not so sure of that,\" he said, \"for he who lies at the\nhospital, providing you are not he, or he you, maintains as sturdily\nas do you that he is not Leopold. If one of you, whichever be\nking--providing that you are not one and the same, and that I be not\nthe only maniac in the sad muddle--if one of you would but trust my\nloyalty and love for the true king and admit your identity, then I\nmight be of some real service to that one of you who is really\nLeopold. Herr Gott! My words are as mixed as my poor brain.\"\n\n\"If you will listen to me, Herr Kramer,\" said Barney, \"and believe\nwhat I tell you, I shall be able to unscramble your ideas in so far\nas they pertain to me and my identity. As to the man you say was\nfound beneath my car, and who now lies in the sanatorium of\nTafelberg, I cannot say until I have seen and talked with him. He\nmay be the king and he may not; but if he insists that he is not, I\nshall be the last to wish a kingship upon him. I know from sad\nexperience the hardships and burdens that the thing entails.\"\n\nThen Barney narrated carefully and in detail the principal events of\nhis life, from his birth in Beatrice to his coming to Lutha upon\npleasure. He showed Herr Kramer his watch with his monogram upon it,\nhis seal ring, and inside the pocket of his coat the label of his\ntailor, with his own name written beneath it and the date that the\ngarment had been ordered.\n\nWhen he had completed his narrative the old man shook his head.\n\n\"I cannot understand it,\" he said; \"and yet I am almost forced to\nbelieve that you are not the king.\"\n\n\"Direct me to the sanatorium,\" suggested Barney, \"and if it be\nwithin the range of possibility I shall learn whether the man who\nlies there is Leopold or another, and if he be the king I shall\nserve him as loyally as you would have served me. Together we may\nassist him to gain the safety of Tann and the protection of old\nPrince Ludwig.\"\n\n\"If you are not the king,\" said Kramer suspiciously, \"why should you\nbe so interested in aiding Leopold? You may even be an enemy. How\ncan I know?\"\n\n\"You cannot know, my good friend,\" replied Barney.  \"But had I been\nan enemy, how much more easily might I have encompassed my designs,\nwhatever they might have been, had I encouraged you to believe that\nI was king. The fact that I did not, must assure you that I have no\nulterior designs against Leopold.\"\n\nThis line of reasoning proved quite convincing to the old\nshopkeeper, and at last he consented to lead Barney to the\nsanatorium. Together they traversed the quiet village streets to the\noutskirts of the town, where in large, park-like grounds the\nwell-known sanatorium of Tafelberg is situated in quiet\nsurroundings. It is an institution for the treatment of nervous\ndiseases to which patients are brought from all parts of Europe, and\nis doubtless Lutha's principal claim upon the attention of the outer\nworld.\n\nAs the two crossed the gardens which lay between the gate and the\nmain entrance and mounted the broad steps leading to the veranda an\nold servant opened the door, and recognizing Herr Kramer, nodded\npleasantly to him.\n\n\"Your patient seems much brighter this morning, Herr Kramer,\" he\nsaid, \"and has been asking to be allowed to sit up.\"\n\n\"He is still here, then?\" questioned the shopkeeper with a sigh that\nmight have indicated either relief or resignation.\n\n\"Why, certainly.  You did not expect that he had entirely recovered\novernight, did you?\"\n\n\"No,\" replied Herr Kramer, \"not exactly.  In fact, I did not know\nwhat I should expect.\"\n\nAs the two passed him on their way to the room in which the patient\nlay, the servant eyed Herr Kramer in surprise, as though wondering\nwhat had occurred to his mentality since he had seen him the\nprevious day. He paid no attention to Barney other than to bow to\nhim as he passed, but there was another who did--an attendant\nstanding in the hallway through which the two men walked toward the\nprivate room where one of them expected to find the real mad king of\nLutha.\n\nHe was a dark-visaged fellow, sallow and small-eyed; and as his\nglance rested upon the features of the American a puzzled expression\ncrossed his face. He let his gaze follow the two as they moved on up\nthe corridor until they turned in at the door of the room they\nsought, then he followed them, entering an apartment next to that in\nwhich Herr Kramer's patient lay.\n\nAs Barney and the shopkeeper entered the small, whitewashed room,\nthe former saw upon the narrow iron cot the figure of a man of about\nhis own height. The face that turned toward them as they entered was\ncovered by a full, reddish-brown beard, and the eyes that looked up\nat them in troubled surprise were gray. Beyond these Barney could\nsee no likenesses to himself; yet they were sufficient, he realized,\nto have deceived any who might have compared one solely to the\nprinted description of the other.\n\nAt the doorway Kramer halted, motioning Barney within.\n\n\"It will be better if you talk with him alone,\" he said.  \"I am sure\nthat before both of us he will admit nothing.\"\n\nBarney nodded, and the shopkeeper of Tafelberg withdrew and closed\nthe door behind him. The American approached the bedside with a\ncheery \"Good morning.\"\n\nThe man returned the salutation with a slight inclination of his\nhead. There was a questioning look in his eyes; but dominating that\nwas a pitiful, hunted expression that touched the American's heart.\n\nThe man's left hand lay upon the coverlet.  Barney glanced at the\nthird finger. About it was a plain gold band. There was no royal\nring of the kings of Lutha in evidence, yet that was no indication\nthat the man was not Leopold; for were he the king and desirous of\nconcealing his identity, his first act would be to remove every\nsymbol of his kingship.\n\nBarney took the hand in his.\n\n\"They tell me that you are well on the road to recovery,\" he said.\n\"I am very glad that it is so.\"\n\n\"Who are you?\" asked the man.\n\n\"I am Bernard Custer, an American.  You were found beneath my car at\nthe bottom of a ravine. I feel that I owe you full reparation for\nthe injuries you received, though it is beyond me how you happened\nto be found under the machine. Unless I am truly mad, I was the only\noccupant of the roadster when it plunged over the embankment.\"\n\n\"It is very simple,\" replied the man upon the cot.  \"I chanced to be\nat the bottom of the ravine at the time and the car fell upon me.\"\n\n\"What were you doing at the bottom of the ravine?\" asked Barney\nquite suddenly, after the manner of one who administers a third\ndegree.\n\nThe man started and flushed with suspicion.\n\n\"That is my own affair,\" he said.\n\nHe tried to disengage his hand from Barney's, and as he did so the\nAmerican felt something within the fingers of the other. For an\ninstant his own fingers tightened upon those that lay within them,\nso that as the others were withdrawn his index finger pressed close\nupon the thing that had aroused his curiosity.\n\nIt was a large setting turned inward upon the third finger of the\nleft hand. The gold band that Barney had seen was but the opposite\nside of the same ring.\n\nA quick look of comprehension came to Barney's eyes.  The man upon\nthe cot evidently noted it and rightly interpreted its cause, for,\nhaving freed his hand, he now slipped it quickly beneath the\ncoverlet.\n\n\"I have passed through a series of rather remarkable adventures\nsince I came to Lutha,\" said Barney apparently quite irrelevantly,\nafter the two had remained silent for a moment. \"Shortly after my\ncar fell upon you I was mistaken for the fugitive King Leopold by\nthe young lady whose horse fell into the ravine with my car. She is\na most loyal supporter of the king, being none other than the\nPrincess Emma von der Tann. From her I learned to espouse the cause\nof Leopold.\"\n\nStep by step Barney took the man through the adventures that had\nbefallen him during the past three weeks, closing with the story of\nthe death of the boy, Rudolph.\n\n\"Above his dead body I swore to serve Leopold of Lutha as loyally as\nthe poor, mistaken child had served me, your majesty,\" and Barney\nlooked straight into the eyes of him who lay upon the little iron\ncot.\n\nFor a moment the man held his eyes upon those of the American, but\nfinally, under the latter's steady gaze, they dropped and wandered.\n\n\"Why do you address me as 'your majesty'?\" he asked irritably.\n\n\"With my forefinger I felt the ruby and the four wings of the\nsetting of the royal ring of the kings of Lutha upon the third\nfinger of your left hand,\" replied Barney.\n\nThe king started up upon his elbow, his eyes wild with apprehension.\n\n\"It is not so,\" he cried.  \"It is a lie!  I am not the king.\"\n\n\"Hush!\" admonished Barney.  \"You have nothing to fear from me.\nThere are good friends and loyal subjects in plenty to serve and\nprotect your majesty, and place you upon the throne that has been\nstolen from you. I have sworn to serve you. The old shopkeeper, Herr\nKramer, who brought me here, is an honest, loyal old soul. He would\ndie for you, your majesty. Trust us. Let us help you. Tomorrow,\nKramer tells me, Peter of Blentz is to have himself crowned as king\nin the cathedral at Lustadt.\n\n\"Will you sit supinely by and see another rob you of your kingdom,\nand then continue to rob and throttle your subjects as he has been\ndoing for the past ten years? No, you will not. Even if you do not\nwant the crown, you were born to the duties and obligations it\nentails, and for the sake of your people you must assume them now.\"\n\n\"How am I to know that you are not another of the creatures of that\nfiend of Blentz?\" cried the king. \"How am I to know that you will\nnot drag me back to the terrors of that awful castle, and to the\npoisonous potions of the new physician Peter has employed to\nassassinate me? I can trust none.\n\n\"Go away and leave me.  I do not want to be king.  I wish only to go\naway as far from Lutha as I can get and pass the balance of my life\nin peace and security. Peter may have the crown. He is welcome to\nit, for all of me. All I ask is my life and my liberty.\"\n\nBarney saw that while the king was evidently of sound mind, his was\nnot one of those iron characters and courageous hearts that would\nwillingly fight to the death for his own rights and the rights and\nhappiness of his people. Perhaps the long years of bitter\ndisappointment and misery, the tedious hours of imprisonment, and\nthe constant haunting fears for his life had reduced him to this\npitiable condition.\n\nWhatever the cause, Barney Custer was determined to overcome the\nman's aversion to assuming the duties which were rightly his, for in\nhis memory were the words of Emma von der Tann, in which she had\nmade plain to him the fate that would doubtless befall her father\nand his house were Peter of Blentz to become king of Lutha. Then,\ntoo, there was the life of the little peasant boy. Was that to be\ngiven up uselessly for a king with so mean a spirit that he would\nnot take a scepter when it was forced upon him?\n\nAnd the people of Lutha?  Were they to be further and continually\nrobbed and downtrodden beneath the heel of Peter's scoundrelly\nofficials because their true king chose to evade the\nresponsibilities that were his by birth?\n\nFor half an hour Barney pleaded and argued with the king, until he\ninfused in the weak character of the young man a part of his own\ntireless enthusiasm and courage. Leopold commenced to take heart and\nsee things in a brighter and more engaging light. Finally he became\nquite excited about the prospects, and at last Barney obtained a\nwilling promise from him that he would consent to being placed upon\nhis throne and would go to Lustadt at any time that Barney should\ncome for him with a force from the retainers of Prince Ludwig von\nder Tann.\n\n\"Let us hope,\" cried the king, \"that the luck of the reigning house\nof Lutha has been at last restored. Not since my aunt, the Princess\nVictoria, ran away with a foreigner has good fortune shone upon my\nhouse. It was when my father was still a young man--before he had\nyet come to the throne--and though his reign was marked with great\npeace and prosperity for the people of Lutha, his own private\nfortunes were most unhappy.\n\n\"My mother died at my birth, and the last days of my father's life\nwere filled with suffering from the cancer that was slowly killing\nhim. Let us pray, Herr Custer, that you have brought new life to the\nfortunes of my house.\"\n\n\"Amen, your majesty,\" said Barney.  \"And now I'll be off for\nTann--there must not be a moment lost if we are to bring you to\nLustadt in time for the coronation. Herr Kramer will watch over you,\nbut as none here guesses your true identity you are safer here than\nanywhere else in Lutha. Good-bye, your majesty. Be of good heart.\nWe'll have you on the road to Lustadt and the throne tomorrow\nmorning.\"\n\nAfter Barney Custer had closed the door of the king's chamber behind\nhim and hurried down the corridor, the door of the room next the\nking's opened quietly and a dark-visaged fellow, sallow and\nsmall-eyed, emerged. Upon his lips was a smile of cunning\nsatisfaction, as he hastened to the office of the medical director\nand obtained a leave of absence for twenty-four hours.\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nTHE CORONATION DAY\n\nToward dusk of the day upon which the mad king of Lutha had been\nfound, a dust-covered horseman reined in before the great gate of\nthe castle of Prince Ludwig von der Tann. The unsettled political\nconditions which overhung the little kingdom of Lutha were evident\nin the return to medievalism which the raised portcullis and the\narmed guard upon the barbican of the ancient feudal fortress\nrevealed. Not for a hundred years before had these things been done\nother than as a part of the ceremonials of a fete day, or in honor\nof visiting royalty.\n\nAt the challenge from the gate Barney replied that he bore a message\nfor the prince. Slowly the portcullis sank into position across the\nmoat and an officer advanced to meet the rider.\n\n\"The prince has ridden to Lustadt with a large retinue,\" he said,\n\"to attend the coronation of Peter of Blentz tomorrow.\"\n\n\"Prince Ludwig von der Tann has gone to attend the coronation of\nPeter!\" cried Barney in amazement. \"Has the Princess Emma returned\nfrom her captivity in the castle of Blentz?\"\n\n\"She is with her father now, having returned nearly three weeks\nago,\" replied the officer, \"and Peter has disclaimed responsibility\nfor the outrage, promising that those responsible shall be punished.\nHe has convinced Prince Ludwig that Leopold is dead, and for the\nsake of Lutha--to save her from civil strife--my prince has patched\na truce with Peter; though unless I mistake the character of the\nlatter and the temper of the former it will be short-lived.\n\n\"To demonstrate to the people,\" continued the officer, \"that Prince\nLudwig and Peter are good friends, the great Von der Tann will\nattend the coronation, but that he takes little stock in the\nsincerity of the Prince of Blentz would be apparent could the latter\nhave a peep beneath the cloaks and look into the loyal hearts of the\nmen of Tann who rode down to Lustadt today.\"\n\nBarney did not wait to hear more.  He was glad that in the gathering\ndusk the officer had not seen his face plainly enough to mistake him\nfor the king. With a parting, \"Then I must ride to Lustadt with my\nmessage for the prince,\" he wheeled his tired mount and trotted down\nthe steep trail from Tann toward the highway which leads to the\ncapital.\n\nAll night Barney rode.  Three times he wandered from the way and was\nforced to stop at farmhouses to inquire the proper direction; but\ndarkness hid his features from the sleepy eyes of those who answered\nhis summons, and daylight found him still forging ahead in the\ndirection of the capital of Lutha.\n\nThe American was sunk in unhappy meditation as his weary little\nmount plodded slowly along the dusty road. For hours the man had not\nbeen able to urge the beast out of a walk. The loss of time\nconsequent upon his having followed wrong roads during the night and\nthe exhaustion of the pony which retarded his speed to what seemed\nlittle better than a snail's pace seemed to assure the failure of\nhis mission, for at best he could not reach Lustadt before noon.\n\nThere was no possibility of bringing Leopold to his capital in time\nfor the coronation, and but a bare possibility that Prince Ludwig\nwould accept the word of an entire stranger that Leopold lived, for\nthe acknowledgment of such a condition by the old prince could\nresult in nothing less than an immediate resort to arms by the two\nfactions. It was certain that Peter would be infinitely more anxious\nto proceed with his coronation should it be rumored that Leopold\nlived, and equally certain that Prince Ludwig would interpose every\nobstacle, even to armed resistance, to prevent the consummation of\nthe ceremony.\n\nYet there seemed to Barney no other alternative than to place before\nthe king's one powerful friend the information that he had. It would\nthen rest with Ludwig to do what he thought advisable.\n\nAn hour from Lustadt the road wound through a dense forest, whose\npleasant shade was a grateful relief to both horse and rider from\nthe hot sun beneath which they had been journeying the greater part\nof the morning. Barney was still lost in thought, his eyes bent\nforward, when at a sudden turning of the road he came face to face\nwith a troop of horse that were entering the main highway at this\npoint from an unfrequented byroad.\n\nAt sight of them the American instinctively wheeled his mount in an\neffort to escape, but at a command from an officer a half dozen\ntroopers spurred after him, their fresh horses soon overtaking his\njaded pony.\n\nFor a moment Barney contemplated resistance, for these were troopers\nof the Royal Horse, the body which was now Peter's most effective\npersonal tool; but even as his hand slipped to the butt of one of\nthe revolvers at his hip, the young man saw the foolish futility of\nsuch a course, and with a shrug and a smile he drew rein and turned\nto face the advancing soldiers.\n\nAs he did so the officer rode up, and at sight of Barney's face gave\nan exclamation of astonishment. The officer was Butzow.\n\n\"Well met, your majesty,\" he cried saluting.  \"We are riding to the\ncoronation. We shall be just in time.\"\n\n\"To see Peter of Blentz rob Leopold of a crown,\" said the American\nin a disgusted tone.\n\n\"To see Leopold of Lutha come into his own, your majesty.  Long live\nthe king!\" cried the officer.\n\nBarney thought the man either poking fun at him because he was not\nthe king, or, thinking he was Leopold, taking a mean advantage of\nhis helplessness to bait him. Yet this last suspicion seemed unfair\nto Butzow, who at Blentz had given ample evidence that he was a\ngentleman, and of far different caliber from Maenck and the others\nwho served Peter.\n\nIf he could but convince the man that he was no king and thus gain\nhis liberty long enough to reach Prince Ludwig's ear, his mission\nwould have been served in so far as it lay in his power to serve it.\nFor some minutes Barney expended his best eloquence and logic upon\nthe cavalry officer in an effort to convince him that he was not\nLeopold.\n\nThe king had given the American his great ring to safeguard for him\nuntil it should be less dangerous for Leopold to wear it, and for\nfear that at the last moment someone within the sanatorium might\nrecognize it and bear word to Peter of the king's whereabouts.\nBarney had worn it turned in upon the third finger of his left hand,\nand now he slipped it surreptitiously into his breeches pocket lest\nButzow should see it and by it be convinced that Barney was indeed\nLeopold.\n\n\"Never mind who you are,\" cried Butzow, thinking to humor the king's\nstrange obsession. \"You look enough like Leopold to be his twin, and\nyou must help us save Lutha from Peter of Blentz.\"\n\nThe American showed in his expression the surprise he felt at these\nwords from an officer of the prince regent.\n\n\"You wonder at my change of heart?\" asked Butzow.\n\n\"How can I do otherwise?\"\n\n\"I cannot blame you,\" said the officer.  \"Yet I think that when you\nknow the truth you will see that I have done only that which I\nbelieved to be the duty of a patriotic officer and a true\ngentleman.\"\n\nThey had rejoined the troop by this time, and the entire company was\nonce more headed toward Lustadt. Butzow had commanded one of the\ntroopers to exchange horses with Barney, bringing the jaded animal\ninto the city slowly, and now freshly mounted the American was\nmaking better time toward his destination. His spirits rose, and as\nthey galloped along the highway, he listened with renewed interest\nto the story which Lieutenant Butzow narrated in detail.\n\nIt seemed that Butzow had been absent from Lutha for a number of\nyears as military attache to the Luthanian legation at a foreign\ncourt. He had known nothing of the true condition at home until his\nreturn, when he saw such scoundrels as Coblich, Maenck, and Stein\nhigh in the favor of the prince regent. For some time before the\nevents that had transpired after he had brought Barney and the\nPrincess Emma to Blentz he had commenced to have his doubts as to\nthe true patriotism of Peter of Blentz; and when he had learned\nthrough the unguarded words of Schonau that there was a real\nfoundation for the rumor that the regent had plotted the\nassassination of the king his suspicions had crystallized into\nknowledge, and he had sworn to serve his king before all\nothers--were he sane or mad. From this loyalty he could not be\nshaken.\n\n\"And what do you intend doing now?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"I intend placing you upon the throne of your ancestors, sire,\"\nreplied Butzow; \"nor will Peter of Blentz dare the wrath of the\npeople by attempting to interpose any obstacle. When he sees Leopold\nof Lutha ride into the capital of his kingdom at the head of even so\nsmall a force as ours he will know that the end of his own power is\nat hand, for he is not such a fool that he does not perfectly\nrealize that he is the most cordially hated man in all Lutha, and\nthat only those attend upon him who hope to profit through his\nsuccess or who fear his evil nature.\"\n\n\"If Peter is crowned today,\" asked Barney, \"will it prevent Leopold\nregaining his throne?\"\n\n\"It is difficult to say,\" replied Butzow; \"but the chances are that\nthe throne would be lost to him forever. To regain it he would have\nto plunge Lutha into a bitter civil war, for once Peter is\nproclaimed king he will have the law upon his side, and with the\nresources of the State behind him--the treasury and the army--he\nwill feel in no mood to relinquish the scepter without a struggle. I\ndoubt much that you will ever sit upon your throne, sire, unless you\ndo so within the very next hour.\"\n\nFor some time Barney rode in silence.  He saw that only by a master\nstroke could the crown be saved for the true king. Was it worth it?\nThe man was happier without a crown. Barney had come to believe that\nno man lived who could be happy in possession of one. Then there\ncame before his mind's eye the delicate, patrician face of Emma von\nder Tann.\n\nWould Peter of Blentz be true to his new promises to the house of\nVon der Tann? Barney doubted it. He recalled all that it might mean\nof danger and suffering to the girl whose kisses he still felt upon\nhis lips as though it had been but now that hers had placed them\nthere. He recalled the limp little body of the boy, Rudolph, and the\nSpartan loyalty with which the little fellow had given his life in\nthe service of the man he had thought king. The pitiful figure of\nthe fear-haunted man upon the iron cot at Tafelberg rose before him\nand cried for vengeance.\n\nTo this man was the woman he loved betrothed!  He knew that he might\nnever wed the Princess Emma. Even were she not promised to another,\nthe iron shackles of convention and age-old customs must forever\nseparate her from an untitled American. But if he couldn't have her\nhe still could serve her!\n\n\"For her sake,\" he muttered.\n\n\"Did your majesty speak?\" asked Butzow.\n\n\"Yes, lieutenant.  We urge greater haste, for if we are to be\ncrowned today we have no time to lose.\"\n\nButzow smiled a relieved smile.  The king had at last regained his\nsenses!\n\n\nWithin the ancient cathedral at Lustadt a great and gorgeously\nattired assemblage had congregated. All the nobles of Lutha were\ngathered there with their wives, their children, and their\nretainers. There were the newer nobility of the lowlands--many whose\npatents dated but since the regency of Peter--and there were the\nproud nobility of the highlands--the old nobility of which Prince\nLudwig von der Tann was the chief.\n\nIt was noticeable that though a truce had been made between Ludwig\nand Peter, yet the former chancellor of the kingdom did not stand\nupon the chancel with the other dignitaries of the State and court.\n\nFew there were who knew that he had been invited to occupy a place\nof honor there, and had replied that he would take no active part in\nthe making of any king in Lutha whose veins did not pulse to the\nflow of the blood of the house in whose service he had grown gray.\n\nClose packed were the retainers of the old prince so that their\ngreat number was scarcely noticeable, though quite so was the fact\nthat they kept their cloaks on, presenting a somber appearance in\nthe midst of all the glitter of gold and gleam of jewels that\nsurrounded them--a grim, business-like appearance that cast a chill\nupon Peter of Blentz as his eyes scanned the multitude of faces\nbelow him.\n\nHe would have shown his indignation at this seeming affront had he\ndared; but until the crown was safely upon his head and the royal\nscepter in his hand Peter had no mind to do aught that might\njeopardize the attainment of the power he had sought for the past\nten years.\n\nThe solemn ceremony was all but completed; the Bishop of Lustadt had\nreceived the great golden crown from the purple cushion upon which\nit had been borne at the head of the procession which accompanied\nPeter up the broad center aisle of the cathedral. He had raised it\nabove the head of the prince regent, and was repeating the solemn\nwords which precede the placing of the golden circlet upon the man's\nbrow. In another moment Peter of Blentz would be proclaimed the king\nof Lutha.\n\nBy her father's side stood Emma von der Tann.  Upon her haughty,\nhigh-bred face there was no sign of the emotions which ran riot\nwithin her fair bosom. In the act that she was witnessing she saw\nthe eventual ruin of her father's house. That Peter would long want\nfor an excuse to break and humble his ancient enemy she did not\nbelieve; but this was not the only cause for the sorrow that\noverwhelmed her.\n\nHer most poignant grief, like that of her father, was for the dead\nking, Leopold; but to the sorrow of the loyal subject was added the\ngrief of the loving woman, bereft. Close to her heart she hugged the\nmemory of the brief hours spent with the man whom she had been\ntaught since childhood to look upon as her future husband, but for\nwhom the all-consuming fires of love had only been fanned to life\nwithin her since that moment, now three weeks gone, that he had\ncrushed her to his breast to cover her lips with kisses for the\nshort moment ere he sacrificed his life to save her from a fate\nworse than death.\n\nBefore her stood the Nemesis of her dead king.  The last act of the\nhideous crime against the man she had loved was nearing its close.\nAs the crown, poised over the head of Peter of Blentz, sank slowly\ndownward the girl felt that she could scarce restrain her desire to\nshriek aloud a protest against the wicked act--the crowning of a\nmurderer king of her beloved Lutha.\n\nA glance at the old man at her side showed her the stern, commanding\nfeatures of her sire molded in an expression of haughty dignity;\nonly the slight movement of the muscles of the strong jaw revealed\nthe tensity of the hidden emotions of the stern old warrior. He was\nmeeting disappointment and defeat as a Von der Tann should--brave to\nthe end.\n\nThe crown had all but touched the head of Peter of Blentz when a\nsudden commotion at the back of the cathedral caused the bishop to\nlook up in ill-concealed annoyance. At the sight that met his eyes\nhis hands halted in mid-air.\n\nThe great audience turned as one toward the doors at the end of the\nlong central aisle. There, through the wide-swung portals, they saw\nmounted men forcing their way into the cathedral. The great horses\nshouldered aside the foot-soldiers that attempted to bar their way,\nand twenty troopers of the Royal Horse thundered to the very foot of\nthe chancel steps.\n\nAt their head rode Lieutenant Butzow and a tall young man in soiled\nand tattered khaki, whose gray eyes and full reddish-brown beard\nbrought an exclamation from Captain Maenck who commanded the guard\nabout Peter of Blentz.\n\n\"Mein Gott--the king!\" cried Maenck, and at the words Peter went\nwhite.\n\nIn open-mouthed astonishment the spectators saw the hurrying\ntroopers and heard Butzow's \"The king! The king! Make way for\nLeopold, King of Lutha!\"\n\nAnd a girl saw, and as she saw her heart leaped to her mouth.  Her\nsmall hand gripped the sleeve of her father's coat. \"The king,\nfather,\" she cried. \"It is the king.\"\n\nOld Von der Tann, the light of a new hope firing his eyes, threw\naside his cloak and leaped to the chancel steps beside Butzow and\nthe others who were mounting them. Behind him a hundred cloaks\ndropped from the shoulders of his fighting men, exposing not silks\nand satins and fine velvet, but the coarse tan of khaki, and grim\ncartridge belts well filled, and stern revolvers slung to well-worn\nservice belts.\n\nAs Butzow and Barney stepped upon the chancel Peter of Blentz leaped\nforward. \"What mad treason is this?\" he fairly screamed.\n\n\"The days of treason are now past, prince,\" replied Butzow\nmeaningly. \"Here is not treason, but Leopold of Lutha come to claim\nhis crown which he inherited from his father.\"\n\n\"It is a plot,\" cried Peter, \"to place an impostor upon the throne!\nThis man is not the king.\"\n\nFor a moment there was silence.  The people had not taken sides as\nyet. They awaited a leader. Old Von der Tann scrutinized the\nAmerican closely.\n\n\"How may we know that you are Leopold?\" he asked. \"For ten years we\nhave not seen our king.\"\n\n\"The governor of Blentz has already acknowledged his identity,\"\ncried Butzow. \"Maenck was the first to proclaim the presence of the\nputative king.\"\n\nAt that someone near the chancel cried: \"Long live Leopold, king of\nLutha!\" and at the words the whole assemblage raised their voices in\na tumultuous: \"Long live the king!\"\n\nPeter of Blentz turned toward Maenck.  \"The guard!\" he cried.\n\"Arrest those traitors, and restore order in the cathedral. Let the\ncoronation proceed.\"\n\nMaenck took a step toward Barney and Butzow, when old Prince von der\nTann interposed his giant frame with grim resolve.\n\n\"Hold!\"  He spoke in a low, stern voice that brought the cowardly\nMaenck to a sudden halt.\n\nThe men of Tann had pressed eagerly forward until they stood, with\nbared swords, a solid rank of fighting men in grim semicircle behind\ntheir chief. There were cries from different parts of the cathedral\nof: \"Crown Leopold, our true king! Down with Peter! Down with the\nassassin!\"\n\n\"Enough of this,\" cried Peter.  \"Clear the cathedral!\"\n\nHe drew his own sword, and with half a hundred loyal retainers at\nhis back pressed forward to clear the chancel. There was a brief\nfight, from which Barney, much to his disgust, was barred by the\nmighty figure of the old prince and the stalwart sword-arm of\nButzow. He did get one crack at Maenck, and had the satisfaction of\nseeing blood spurt from a flesh wound across the fellow's cheek.\n\n\"That for the Princess Emma,\" he called to the governor of Blentz,\nand then men crowded between them and he did not see the captain\nagain during the battle.\n\nWhen Peter saw that more than half of the palace guard were shouting\nfor Leopold, and fighting side by side with the men of Tann, he\nrealized the futility of further armed resistance at this time.\nSlowly he withdrew, and at last the fighting ceased and some\nsemblance of order was restored within the cathedral.\n\nFearfully, the bishop emerged from hiding, his robes disheveled and\nhis miter askew. Butzow grasped him none too reverently by the arm\nand dragged him before Barney. The crown of Lutha dangled in the\npriest's palsied hands.\n\n\"Crown the king!\" cried the lieutenant.  \"Crown Leopold, king of\nLutha!\"\n\nA mad roar of acclaim greeted this demand, and again from all parts\nof the cathedral rose the same wild cry. But in the lull that\nfollowed there were some who demanded proof of the tattered young\nman who stood before them and claimed that he was king.\n\n\"Let Prince Ludwig speak!\" cried a dozen voices.\n\n\"Yes, Prince Ludwig!  Prince Ludwig!\" took up the throng.\n\nPrince Ludwig von der Tann turned toward the bearded young man.\nSilence fell upon the crowded cathedral. Peter of Blentz stood\nawaiting the outcome, ready to demand the crown upon the first\nindication of wavering belief in the man he knew was not Leopold.\n\n\"How may we know that you are really Leopold?\" again asked Ludwig of\nBarney.\n\nThe American raised his left hand, upon the third finger of which\ngleamed the great ruby of the royal ring of the kings of Lutha. Even\nPeter of Blentz started back in surprise as his eyes fell upon the\nring.\n\nWhere had the man come upon it?\n\nPrince von der Tann dropped to one knee before Mr. Bernard Custer of\nBeatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., and lifted that gentleman's hand to his\nlips, and as the people of Lutha saw the act they went mad with joy.\n\nSlowly Prince Ludwig rose and addressed the bishop. \"Leopold, the\nrightful heir to the throne of Lutha, is here. Let the coronation\nproceed.\"\n\nThe quiet of the sepulcher fell upon the assemblage as the holy man\nraised the crown above the head of the king. Barney saw from the\ncorner of his eye the sea of faces upturned toward him. He saw the\nrelief and happiness upon the stern countenance of the old prince.\n\nHe hated to dash all their new found joy by the announcement that he\nwas not the king. He could not do that, for the moment he did Peter\nwould step forward and demand that his own coronation continue. How\nwas he to save the throne for Leopold?\n\nAmong the faces beneath him he suddenly descried that of a beautiful\nyoung girl whose eyes, filled with the tears of a great happiness\nand a greater love, were upturned to his. To reveal his true\nidentity would lose him this girl forever. None save Peter knew that\nhe was not the king. All save Peter would hail him gladly as Leopold\nof Lutha. How easily he might win a throne and the woman he loved by\na moment of seeming passive compliance.\n\nThe temptation was great, and then he recalled the boy, lying dead\nfor his king in the desolate mountains, and the pathetic light in\nthe eyes of the sorrowful man at Tafelberg, and the great trust and\nconfidence in the heart of the woman who had shown that she loved\nhim.\n\nSlowly Barney Custer raised his palm toward the bishop in a gesture\nof restraint.\n\n\"There are those who doubt that I am king,\" he said.  \"In these\ncircumstances there should be no coronation in Lutha until all\ndoubts are allayed and all may unite in accepting without question\nthe royal right of the true Leopold to the crown of his father. Let\nthe coronation wait, then, until another day, and all will be well.\"\n\n\"It must take place before noon of the fifth day of November, or not\nuntil a year later,\" said Prince Ludwig. \"In the meantime the Prince\nRegent must continue to rule. For the sake of Lutha the coronation\nmust take place today, your majesty.\"\n\n\"What is the date?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"The third, sire.\"\n\n\"Let the coronation wait until the fifth.\"\n\n\"But your majesty,\" interposed Von der Tann, \"all may be lost in two\ndays.\"\n\n\"It is the king's command,\" said Barney quietly.\n\n\"But Peter of Blentz will rule for these two days, and in that time\nwith the army at his command there is no telling what he may\naccomplish,\" insisted the old man.\n\n\"Peter of Blentz shall not rule Lutha for two days, or two minutes,\"\nreplied Barney. \"We shall rule. Lieutenant Butzow, you may place\nPrince Peter, Coblich, Maenck, and Stein under arrest. We charge\nthem with treason against their king, and conspiring to assassinate\ntheir rightful monarch.\"\n\nButzow smiled as he turned with his troopers at his back to execute\nthis most welcome of commissions; but in a moment he was again at\nBarney's side.\n\n\"They have fled, your majesty,\" he said.  \"Shall I ride to Blentz\nafter them?\"\n\n\"Let them go,\" replied the American, and then, with his retinue\nabout him the new king of Lutha passed down the broad aisle of the\ncathedral of Lustadt and took his way to the royal palace between\nranks of saluting soldiery backed by cheering thousands.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE KING'S GUESTS\n\nOnce within the palace Barney sought the seclusion of a small room\noff the audience chamber. Here he summoned Butzow.\n\n\"Lieutenant,\" said the American, \"for the sake of a woman, a dead\nchild and an unhappy king I have become dictator of Lutha for\nforty-eight hours; but at noon upon the fifth this farce must cease.\nThen we must place the true Leopold upon the throne, or a new\ndictator must replace me.\n\n\"In vain I have tried to convince you that I am not the king, and\ntoday in the cathedral so great was the temptation to take advantage\nof the odd train of circumstances that had placed a crown within my\nreach that I all but surrendered to it--not for the crown of gold,\nButzow, but for an infinitely more sacred diadem which belongs to\nhim to whom by right of birth and lineage, belongs the crown of\nLutha. I do not ask you to understand--it is not necessary--but this\nyou must know and believe: that I am not Leopold, and that the true\nLeopold lies in hiding in the sanatorium at Tafelberg, from which\nyou and I, Butzow, must fetch him to Lustadt before noon on the\nfifth.\"\n\n\"But, sire--\" commenced Butzow, when Barney raised his hand.\n\n\"Enough of that, Butzow!\" he cried almost irritably.  \"I am sick of\nbeing 'sired' and 'majestied'--my name is Custer. Call me that when\nothers are not present. Believe what you will, but ride with me in\nsecrecy to Tafelberg tonight, and together we shall bring back\nLeopold of Lutha. Then we may call Prince Ludwig into our\nconfidence, and none need ever know of the substitution.\n\n\"I doubt if many had a sufficiently close view of me today to\nrealize the trick that I have played upon them, and if they note a\ndifference they will attribute it to the change in apparel, for we\nshall see to it that the king is fittingly garbed before we exhibit\nhim to his subjects, while hereafter I shall continue in khaki,\nwhich becomes me better than ermine.\"\n\nButzow shook his head.\n\n\"King or dictator,\" he said, \"it is all the same, and I must obey\nwhatever commands you see fit to give, and so I will ride to\nTafelberg tonight, though what we shall find there I cannot imagine,\nunless there are two Leopolds of Lutha. But shall we also find\nanother royal ring upon the finger of this other king?\"\n\nBarney smiled.  \"You're a typical hard-headed Dutchman, Butzow,\" he\nsaid.\n\nThe lieutenant drew himself up haughtily.  \"I am not a Dutchman,\nyour majesty. I am a Luthanian.\"\n\nBarney laughed.  \"Whatever else you may be, Butzow, you're a brick,\"\nhe said, laying his hand upon the other's arm.\n\nButzow looked at him narrowly.\n\n\"From your speech,\" he said, \"and the occasional Americanisms into\nwhich you fall I might believe that you were other than the king but\nfor the ring.\"\n\n\"It is my commission from the king,\" replied Barney.  \"Leopold\nplaced it upon my finger in token of his royal authority to act in\nhis behalf. Tonight, then Butzow, you and I shall ride to Tafelberg.\nHave three good horses. We must lead one for the king.\"\n\nButzow saluted and left the apartment.  For an hour or two the\nAmerican was busy with tailors whom he had ordered sent to the\npalace to measure him for the numerous garments of a royal wardrobe,\nfor he knew the king to be near enough his own size that he might\neasily wear clothes that had been fitted to Barney; and it was part\nof his plan to have everything in readiness for the substitution\nwhich was to take place the morning of the coronation.\n\nThen there were foreign dignitaries, and the heads of numerous\ndomestic and civic delegations to be given audience. Old Von der\nTann stood close behind Barney prompting him upon the royal duties\nthat had fallen so suddenly upon his shoulders, and none thought it\nstrange that he was unfamiliar with the craft of kingship, for was\nit not common knowledge that he had been kept a close prisoner in\nBlentz since boyhood, nor been given any coaching for the duties\nPeter of Blentz never intended he should perform?\n\nAfter it was all over Prince Ludwig's grim and leathery face relaxed\ninto a smile of satisfaction.\n\n\"None who witnessed the conduct of your first audience, sire,\" he\nsaid, \"could for a moment doubt your royal lineage--if ever a man\nwas born to kingship, your majesty, it be you.\"\n\nBarney smiled, a bit ruefully, however, for in his mind's eye he saw\na future moment when the proud old Prince von der Tann would know\nthe truth of the imposture that had been played upon him, and the\nyoung man foresaw that he would have a rather unpleasant half-hour.\n\nAt a little distance from them Barney saw Emma von der Tann\nsurrounded by a group of officials and palace officers. Since he had\ncome to Lustadt that day he had had no word with her, and now he\ncrossed toward her, amused as the throng parted to form an aisle for\nhim, the men saluting and the women curtsying low.\n\nHe took both of the girl's hands in his, and, drawing one through\nhis arm, took advantage of the prerogatives of kingship to lead her\naway from the throng of courtiers.\n\n\"I thought that I should never be done with all the tiresome\nbusiness which seems to devolve upon kings,\" he said, laughing. \"All\nthe while that I should have been bending my royal intellect to\nmatters of state, I was wondering just how a king might find a way\nto see the woman he loves without interruptions from the horde that\ndogs his footsteps.\"\n\n\"You seem to have found a way, Leopold,\" she whispered, pressing his\narm close to her. \"Kings usually do.\"\n\n\"It is not because I am a king that I found a way, Emma,\" he\nreplied. \"It is because I am an American.\"\n\nShe looked up at him with an expression of pleading in her eyes.\n\n\"Why do you persist?\" she cried.  \"You have come into your own, and\nthere is no longer aught to fear from Peter or any other. To me at\nleast, it is most unkind still to deny your identity.\"\n\n\"I wonder,\" said Barney, \"if your love could withstand the knowledge\nthat I am not the king.\"\n\n\"It is the MAN I love, Leopold,\" the girl replied.\n\n\"You think so now,\" he said, \"but wait until the test comes, and\nwhen it does, remember that I have always done my best to undeceive\nyou. I know that you are not for such as I, my princess, and when I\nhave returned your true king to you all that I shall ask is that you\nbe happy with him.\"\n\n\"I shall always be happy with my king,\" she whispered, and the look\nthat she gave him made Barney Custer curse the fate that had failed\nto make him a king by birth.\n\nAn hour later darkness had fallen upon the little city of Lustadt,\nand from a small gateway in the rear of the palace grounds two\nhorsemen rode out into the ill-paved street and turned their mounts'\nheads toward the north. At the side of one trotted a led horse.\n\nAs they passed beneath the glare of an arc-light before a cafe at\nthe side of the public square, a diner sitting at a table upon the\nwalk spied the tall figure and the bearded face of him who rode a\nfew feet in advance of his companion. Leaping to his feet the man\nwaved his napkin above his head.\n\n\"Long live the king!\" he cried.  \"God save Leopold of Lutha!\"\n\nAnd amid the din of cheering that followed, Barney Custer of\nBeatrice and Lieutenant Butzow of the Royal Horse rode out into the\nnight upon the road to Tafelberg.\n\n\nWhen Peter of Blentz had escaped from the cathedral he had hastily\nmounted with a handful of his followers and hurried out of Lustadt\nalong the road toward his formidable fortress at Blentz. Half way\nupon the journey he had met a dusty and travel-stained horseman\nhastening toward the capital city that Peter and his lieutenants had\njust left.\n\nAt sight of the prince regent the fellow reined in and saluted.\n\n\"May I have a word in private with your highness?\" he asked.  \"I\nhave news of the greatest importance for your ears alone.\"\n\nPeter drew to one side with the man.\n\n\"Well,\" he asked, \"and what news have you for Peter of Blentz?\"\n\nThe man leaned from his horse close to Peter's ear.\n\n\"The king is in Tafelberg, your highness,\" he said.\n\n\"The king is dead,\" snapped Peter.  \"There is an impostor in the\npalace at Lustadt. But the real Leopold of Lutha was slain by Yellow\nFranz's band of brigands weeks ago.\"\n\n\"I heard the man at Tafelberg tell another that he was the king,\"\ninsisted the fellow. \"Through the keyhole of his room I saw him take\na great ring from his finger--a ring with a mighty ruby set in its\ncenter--and give it to the other. Both were bearded men with gray\neyes--either might have passed for the king by the description upon\nthe placards that have covered Lutha for the past month. At first he\ndenied his identity, but when the other had convinced him that he\nsought only the king's welfare he at last admitted that he was\nLeopold.\"\n\n\"Where is he now?\" cried Peter.\n\n\"He is still in the sanatorium at Tafelberg.  In room twenty-seven.\nThe other promised to return for him and take him to Lustadt, but\nwhen I left Tafelberg he had not yet done so, and if you hasten you\nmay reach there before they take him away, and if there be any\nreward for my loyalty to you, prince, my name is Ferrath.\"\n\n\"Ride with us and if you have told the truth, fellow, there shall be\na reward and if not--then there shall be deserts,\" and Peter of\nBlentz wheeled his horse and with his company galloped on toward\nTafelberg.\n\nAs he rode he talked with his lieutenants Coblich, Maenck, and\nStein, and among them it was decided that it would be best that\nPeter stop at Blentz for the night while the others rode on to\nTafelberg.\n\n\"Do not bring Leopold to Blentz,\" directed Peter, \"for if it be he\nwho lies at Tafelberg and they find him gone it will be toward\nBlentz that they will first look. Take him--\"\n\nThe Regent leaned from his saddle so that his mouth was close to the\near of Coblich, that none of the troopers might hear.\n\nCoblich nodded his head.\n\n\"And, Coblich, the fewer that ride to Tafelberg tonight the surer\nthe success of the mission. Take Maenck, Stein and one other with\nyou. I shall keep this man with me, for it may prove but a plot to\nlure me to Tafelberg.\"\n\nPeter scowled at the now frightened hospital attendant.\n\n\"Tomorrow I shall be riding through the lowlands, Coblich, and so\nyou may not find means to communicate with me, but before noon of\nthe fifth have word at your town house in Lustadt for me of the\nsuccess of your venture.\"\n\nThey had reached the point now where the road to Tafelberg branches\nfrom that to Blentz, and the four who were to fetch the king wheeled\ntheir horses into the left-hand fork and cantered off upon their\nmission.\n\nThe direct road between Lustadt and Tafelberg is but little more\nthan half the distance of that which Coblich and his companions had\nto traverse because of the wide detour they had made by riding\nalmost to Blentz first, and so it was that when they cantered into\nthe little mountain town near midnight Barney Custer and Lieutenant\nButzow were but a mile or two behind them.\n\nHad the latter had even the faintest of suspicions that the identity\nof the hiding place of the king might come to the knowledge of Peter\nof Blentz they could have reached Tafelberg ahead of Coblich and his\nparty, but all unsuspecting they rode slowly to conserve the energy\nof their mounts for the return trip.\n\nIn silence the two men approached the grounds surrounding the\nsanatorium. In the soft dirt of the road the hoofs of their mounts\nmade no sound, and the shadows of the trees that border the front of\nthe enclosure hid them from the view of the trooper who held four\nriderless horses in a little patch of moonlight that broke through\nthe opening in the trees at the main gate of the institution.\n\nBarney was the first to see the animals and the man.\n\n\"S-s-st,\" he hissed, reining in his horse.\n\nButzow drew alongside the American.\n\n\"What can it mean?\" asked Barney.  \"That fellow is a trooper, but I\ncannot make out his uniform.\"\n\n\"Wait here,\" said Butzow, and slipping from his horse he crept\ncloser to the man, hugging the dense shadows close to the trees.\n\nBarney reined in nearer the low wall.  From his saddle he could see\nthe grounds beyond through the branches of a tree. As he looked his\nattention was suddenly riveted upon a sight that sent his heart into\nhis throat.\n\nThree men were dragging a struggling, half-naked figure down the\ngravel walk from the sanatorium toward the gate. One kept a hand\nclapped across the mouth of the prisoner, who struck and fought his\nassailants with all the frenzy of despair.\n\nBarney leaped from his saddle and ran headlong after Butzow.  The\nlieutenant had reached the gate but an instant ahead of him when the\ntrooper, turning suddenly at some slight sound of the officer's foot\nupon the ground, detected the man creeping upon him. In an instant\nthe fellow had whipped out a revolver, and raising it fired\npoint-blank at Butzow's chest; but in the same instant a figure shot\nout of the shadows beside him, and with the report of the revolver a\nheavy fist caught the trooper on the side of the chin, crumpling him\nto the ground as if he were dead.\n\nThe blow had been in time to deflect the muzzle of the firearm, and\nthe bullet whistled harmlessly past the lieutenant.\n\n\"Your majesty!\" exclaimed Butzow excitedly.  \"Go back. He might have\nkilled you.\"\n\nBarney leaped to the other's side and grasping him by the shoulders\nwheeled him about so that he faced the gate.\n\n\"There, Butzow,\" he cried, \"there is your king, and from the looks\nof it he never needed a loyal subject more than he does this moment.\nCome!\" Without waiting to see if the other followed him, Barney\nCuster leaped through the gate full in the faces of the astonished\ntrio that was dragging Leopold of Lutha from his sanctuary.\n\nAt sight of the American the king gave a muffled cry of relief, and\nthen Barney was upon those who held him. A stinging uppercut lifted\nCoblich clear of the ground to drop him, dazed and bewildered, at\nthe foot of the monarch he had outraged. Maenck drew a revolver only\nto have it struck from his hand by the sword of Butzow, who had\nfollowed closely upon the American's heels.\n\nBarney, seizing the king by the arm, started on a run for the\ngateway. In his wake came Butzow with a drawn sword beating back\nStein, who was armed with a cavalry saber, and Maenck who had now\ndrawn his own sword.\n\nThe American saw that the two were pressing Butzow much too closely\nfor safety and that Coblich had now recovered from the effects of\nthe blow and was in pursuit, drawing his saber as he ran. Barney\nthrust the king behind him and turned to face the enemy, at Butzow's\nside.\n\nThe three men rushed upon the two who stood between them and their\nprey. The moonlight was now full in the faces of Butzow and the\nAmerican. For the first time Maenck and the others saw who it was\nthat had interrupted them.\n\n\"The impostor!\" cried the governor of Blentz.  \"The false king!\"\n\nImbued with temporary courage by the knowledge that his side had the\nadvantage of superior numbers he launched himself full upon the\nAmerican. To his surprise he met a sword-arm that none might have\nexpected in an American, for Barney Custer had been a pupil of the\nredoubtable Colonel Monstery, who was, as Barney was wont to say,\n\"one of the thanwhomest of fencing masters.\"\n\nQuickly Maenck fell back to give place to Stein, but not before the\nAmerican's point had found him twice to leave him streaming blood\nfrom two deep flesh wounds.\n\nNeither of those who fought in the service of the king saw the\ntrembling, weak-kneed figure, which had stood behind them, turn and\nscurry through the gateway, leaving the men who battled for him to\ntheir fate.\n\nThe trooper whom Barney had felled had regained consciousness and as\nhe came to his feet rubbing his swollen jaw he saw a disheveled,\nhalf-dressed figure running toward him from the sanatorium grounds.\nThe fellow was no fool, and knowing the purpose of the expedition as\nhe did he was quick to jump to the conclusion that this fleeing\npersonification of abject terror was Leopold of Lutha; and so it was\nthat as the king emerged from the gateway in search of freedom he\nran straight into the widespread arms of the trooper.\n\nMaenck and Coblich had seen the king's break for liberty, and the\nlatter maneuvered to get himself between Butzow and the open gate\nthat he might follow after the fleeing monarch.\n\nAt the same instant Maenck, seeing that Stein was being worsted by\nthe American, rushed in upon the latter, and thus relieved, the\nrat-faced doctor was enabled to swing a heavy cut at Barney which\nstruck him a glancing blow upon the head, sending him stunned and\nbleeding to the sward.\n\nCoblich and the governor of Blentz hastened toward the gate, pausing\nfor an instant to overwhelm Butzow. In the fierce scrimmage that\nfollowed the lieutenant was overthrown, though not before his sword\nhad passed through the heart of the rat-faced one. Deserting their\nfallen comrade the two dashed through the gate, where to their\nimmense relief they found Leopold safe in the hands of the trooper.\n\nAn instant later the precious trio, with Leopold upon the horse of\nthe late Dr. Stein, were galloping swiftly into the darkness of the\nwood that lies at the outskirts of Tafelberg.\n\nWhen Barney regained consciousness he found himself upon a cot\nwithin the sanatorium. Close beside him lay Butzow, and above them\nstood an interne and several nurses. No sooner had the American\nregained his scattered wits than he leaped to the floor. The interne\nand the nurses tried to force him back upon the cot, thinking that\nhe was in the throes of a delirium, and it required his best efforts\nto convince them that he was quite rational.\n\nDuring the melee Butzow regained consciousness; his wound being as\nsuperficial as that of the American, the two men were soon donning\ntheir clothing, and, half-dressed, rushing toward the outer gate.\n\nThe interne had told them that when he had reached the scene of the\nconflict in company with the gardener he had found them and another\nlying upon the sward.\n\nTheir companion, he said, was quite dead.\n\n\"That must have been Stein,\" said Butzow.  \"And the others had\nescaped with the king!\"\n\n\"The king?\" cried the interne.\n\n\"Yes, the king, man--Leopold of Lutha.  Did you not know that he who\nhas lain here for three weeks was the king?\" replied Butzow.\n\nThe interne accompanied them to the gate and beyond, but everywhere\nwas silence. The king was gone.\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nON THE BATTLEFIELD\n\nAll that night and the following day Barney Custer and his aide rode\nin search of the missing king.\n\nThey came to Blentz, and there Butzow rode boldly into the great\ncourt, admitted by virtue of the fact that the guard upon the gate\nknew him only as an officer of the royal guard whom they believed\nstill loyal to Peter of Blentz.\n\nThe lieutenant learned that the king was not there, nor had he been\nsince his escape. He also learned that Peter was abroad in the\nlowland recruiting followers to aid him forcibly to regain the crown\nof Lutha.\n\nThe lieutenant did not wait to hear more, but, hurrying from the\ncastle, rode to Barney where the latter had remained in hiding in\nthe wood below the moat--the same wood through which he had stumbled\na few weeks previously after his escape from the stagnant waters of\nthe moat.\n\n\"The king is not here,\" said Butzow to him, as soon as the former\nreached his side. \"Peter is recruiting an army to aid him in seizing\nthe palace at Lustadt, and king or no king, we must ride for the\ncapital in time to check that move. Thank God,\" he added, \"that we\nshall have a king to place upon the throne of Lutha at noon tomorrow\nin spite of all that Peter can do.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" asked Barney.  \"Have you any clue to the\nwhereabouts of Leopold?\"\n\n\"I saw the man at Tafelberg whom you say is king,\" replied Butzow.\n\"I saw him tremble and whimper in the face of danger. I saw him run\nwhen he might have seized something, even a stone, and fought at the\nsides of the men who were come to rescue him. And I saw you there\nalso.\n\n\"The truth and the falsity of this whole strange business is beyond\nme, but this I know: if you are not the king today I pray God that\nthe other may not find his way to Lustadt before noon tomorrow, for\nby then a brave man will sit upon the throne of Lutha, your\nmajesty.\"\n\nBarney laid his hand upon the shoulder of the other.\n\n\"It cannot be, my friend,\" he said.  \"There is more than a throne at\nstake for me, but to win them both I could not do the thing you\nsuggest. If Leopold of Lutha lives he must be crowned tomorrow.\"\n\n\"And if he does not live?\" asked Butzow.\n\nBarney Custer shrugged his shoulders.\n\nIt was dusk when the two entered the palace grounds in Lustadt.  The\nsight of Barney threw the servants and functionaries of the royal\nhousehold into wild excitement and confusion. Men ran hither and\nthither bearing the glad tidings that the king had returned.\n\nOld von der Tann was announced within ten minutes after Barney\nreached his apartments. He urged upon the American the necessity for\ngreater caution in the future.\n\n\"Your majesty's life is never safe while Peter of Blentz is abroad\nin Lutha,\" cried he.\n\n\"It was to save your king from Peter that we rode from Lustadt last\nnight,\" replied Barney, but the old prince did not catch the double\nmeaning of the words.\n\nWhile they talked a young officer of cavalry begged an audience.  He\nhad important news for the king, he said. From him Barney learned\nthat Peter of Blentz had succeeded in recruiting a fair-sized army\nin the lowlands. Two regiments of government infantry and a squadron\nof cavalry had united forces with him, for there were those who\nstill accepted him as regent, believing his contention that the true\nking was dead, and that he whose coronation was to be attempted was\nbut the puppet of old Von der Tann.\n\nThe morning of November 5 broke clear and cold.  The old town of\nLustadt was awakened with a start at daybreak by the booming of\ncannon. Mounted messengers galloped hither and thither through the\nsteep, winding streets. Troops, foot and horse, moved at the double\nfrom the barracks along the King's Road to the fortifications which\nguard the entrance to the city at the foot of Margaretha Street.\n\nUpon the heights above the town Barney Custer and the old Prince von\nder Tann stood surrounded by officers and aides watching the advance\nof a skirmish line up the slopes toward Lustadt. Behind, the thin\nline columns of troops were marching under cover of two batteries of\nfield artillery that Peter of Blentz had placed upon a wooden knoll\nto the southeast of the city.\n\nThe guns upon the single fort that, overlooking the broad valley,\nguarded the entire southern exposure of the city were answering the\nfire of Prince Peter's artillery, while several machine guns had\nbeen placed to sweep the slope up which the skirmish line was\nadvancing.\n\nThe trees that masked the enemy's pieces extended upward along the\nridge and the eastern edge of the city. Barney saw that a force of\nmen might easily reach a commanding position from that direction and\nenter Lustadt almost in rear of the fortifications. Below him a\nsquadron of the Royal Horse were just emerging from their stables,\ntaking their way toward the plain to join in a concerted movement\nagainst the troops that were advancing toward the fort.\n\nHe turned to an aide de camp standing just behind him.\n\n\"Intercept that squadron and direct the major to move due east along\nthe King's Road to the grove,\" he commanded. \"We will join him\nthere.\"\n\nAnd as the officer spurred down the steep and narrow street the\nAmerican, followed by Von der Tann and his staff, wheeled and\ngalloped eastward.\n\nTen minutes later the party entered the wood at the edge of town,\nwhere the squadron soon joined them. Von der Tann was mystified at\nthe purpose of this change in the position of the general staff,\nsince from the wood they could see nothing of the battle waging upon\nthe slope. During his brief intercourse with the man he thought king\nhe had quite forgotten that there had been any question as to the\nyoung man's sanity, for he had given no indication of possessing\naught but a well-balanced mind. Now, however, he commenced to have\nmisgivings, if not of his sanity, then as to his judgment at least.\n\n\"I fear, your majesty,\" he ventured, \"that we are putting ourselves\ntoo much out of touch with the main body of the army. We can neither\nsee nor accomplish anything from this position.\"\n\n\"We were too far away to accomplish much upon the top of that\nmountain,\" replied Barney, \"but we're going to commence doing things\nnow. You will please to ride back along the King's Road and take\ndirect command of the troops mobilized near the fort.\n\n\"Direct the artillery to redouble their fire upon the enemy's\nbattery for five minutes, and then to cease firing into the wood\nentirely. At the same instant you may order a cautious advance\nagainst the troops advancing up the slope.\n\n\"When you see us emerge upon the west side of the grove where the\nenemy's guns are now, you may order a charge, and we will take them\nsimultaneously upon their right flank with a cavalry charge.\"\n\n\"But, your majesty,\" exclaimed Von der Tann dubiously, \"where will\nyou be in the mean time?\"\n\n\"We shall be with the major's squadron, and when you see us emerging\nfrom the grove, you will know that we have taken Peter's guns and\nthat everything is over except the shouting.\"\n\n\"You are not going to accompany the charge!\" cried the old prince.\n\n\"We are going to lead it,\" and the pseudo-king of Lutha wheeled his\nmount as though to indicate that the time for talking was past.\n\nWith a signal to the major commanding the squadron of Royal Horse,\nhe moved eastward into the wood. Prince Ludwig hesitated a moment as\nthough to question further the wisdom of the move, but finally with\na shake of his head he trotted off in the direction of the fort.\n\nFive minutes later the enemy were delighted to note that the fire\nupon their concealed battery had suddenly ceased.\n\nThen Peter saw a force of foot-soldiers deploy from the city and\nadvance slowly in line of skirmishers down the slope to meet his own\nfiring line.\n\nImmediately he did what Barney had expected that he would--turned\nthe fire of his artillery toward the southwest, directly away from\nthe point from which the American and the crack squadron were\nadvancing.\n\nSo it came that the cavalrymen crept through the woods upon the rear\nof the guns, unseen; the noise of their advance was drowned by the\ndetonation of the cannon.\n\nThe first that the artillerymen knew of the enemy in their rear was\na shout of warning from one of the powder-men at a caisson, who had\ncaught a glimpse of the grim line advancing through the trees at his\nrear.\n\nInstantly an effort was made to wheel several of the pieces about\nand train them upon the advancing horsemen; but even had there been\ntime, a shout that rose from several of Peter's artillerymen as the\nRoyal Horse broke into full view would doubtless have prevented the\nmaneuver, for at sight of the tall, bearded, young man who galloped\nin front of the now charging cavalrymen there rose a shout of \"The\nking! The king!\"\n\nWith the force of an avalanche the Royal Horse rode through those\ntwo batteries of field artillery; and in the thick of the fight that\nfollowed rode the American, a smile upon his face, for in his ears\nrang the wild shouts of his troopers: \"For the king! For the king!\"\n\nIn the moment that the enemy made their first determined stand a\nbullet brought down the great bay upon which Barney rode. A dozen of\nPeter's men rushed forward to seize the man stumbling to his feet.\nAs many more of the Royal Horse closed around him, and there, for\nfive minutes, was waged as fierce a battle for possession of a king\nas was ever fought.\n\nBut already many of the artillerymen had deserted the guns that had\nnot yet been attacked, for the magic name of king had turned their\nblood to water. Fifty or more raised a white flag and surrendered\nwithout striking a blow, and when, at last, Barney and his little\nbodyguard fought their way through those who surrounded them they\nfound the balance of the field already won.\n\nUpon the slope below the city the loyal troops were advancing upon\nthe enemy. Old Prince Ludwig paced back and forth behind them,\napparently oblivious to the rain of bullets about him. Every moment\nhe turned his eyes toward the wooded ridge from which there now\nbelched an almost continuous fusillade of shells upon the advancing\nroyalists.\n\nQuite suddenly the cannonading ceased and the old man halted in his\ntracks, his gaze riveted upon the wood. For several minutes he saw\nno sign of what was transpiring behind that screen of sere and\nyellow autumn leaves, and then a man came running out, and after him\nanother and another.\n\nThe prince raised his field glasses to his eyes.  He almost cried\naloud in his relief--the uniforms of the fugitives were those of\nartillerymen, and only cavalry had accompanied the king. A moment\nlater there appeared in the center of his lenses a tall figure with\na full beard. He rode, swinging his saber above his head, and behind\nhim at full gallop came a squadron of the Royal Horse.\n\nOld von der Tann could restrain himself no longer.\n\n\"The king!  The king!\" he cried to those about him, pointing in the\ndirection of the wood.\n\nThe officers gathered there and the soldiery before him heard and\ntook up the cry, and then from the old man's lips came the command,\n\"Charge!\" and a thousand men tore down the slopes of Lustadt upon\nthe forces of Peter of Blentz, while from the east the king charged\ntheir right flank at the head of the Royal Horse.\n\nPeter of Blentz saw that the day was lost, for the troops upon the\nright were crumpling before the false king while he and his\ncavalrymen were yet a half mile distant. Before the retreat could\nbecome a rout the prince regent ordered his forces to fall back\nslowly upon a suburb that lies in the valley below the city.\n\nOnce safely there he raised a white flag, asking a conference with\nPrince Ludwig.\n\n\"Your majesty,\" said the old man, \"what answer shall we send the\ntraitor who even now ignores the presence of his king?\"\n\n\"Treat with him,\" replied the American.  \"He may be honest enough in\nhis belief that I am an impostor.\"\n\nVon der Tann shrugged his shoulders, but did as Barney bid, and for\nhalf an hour the young man waited with Butzow while Von der Tann and\nPeter met halfway between the forces for their conference.\n\nA dozen members of the most powerful of the older nobility\naccompanied Ludwig. When they returned their faces were a picture of\npuzzled bewilderment. With them were several officers, soldiers and\ncivilians from Peter's contingency.\n\n\"What said he?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"He said, your majesty,\" replied Von der Tann, \"that he is confident\nyou are not the king, and that these men he has sent with me knew\nthe king well at Blentz. As proof that you are not the king he has\noffered the evidence of your own denials--made not only to his\nofficers and soldiers, but to the man who is now your loyal\nlieutenant, Butzow, and to the Princess Emma von der Tann, my\ndaughter.\n\n\"He insists that he is fighting for the welfare of Lutha, while we\nare traitors, attempting to seat an impostor upon the throne of the\ndead Leopold. I will admit that we are at a loss, your majesty, to\nknow where lies the truth and where the falsity in this matter.\n\n\"We seek only to serve our country and our king but there are those\namong us who, to be entirely frank, are not yet convinced that you\nare Leopold. The result of the conference may not, then, meet with\nthe hearty approval of your majesty.\"\n\n\"What was the result?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"It was decided that all hostilities cease, and that Prince Peter be\ngiven an opportunity to establish the validity of his claim that\nyour majesty is an impostor. If he is able to do so to the entire\nsatisfaction of a majority of the old nobility, we have agreed to\nsupport him in a return to his regency.\"\n\nFor a moment there was deep silence.  Many of the nobles stood with\naverted faces and eyes upon the ground.\n\nThe American, a half-smile upon his face, turned toward the men of\nPeter who had come to denounce him. He knew what their verdict would\nbe. He knew that if he were to save the throne for Leopold he must\nhold it at any cost until Leopold should be found.\n\nTroopers were scouring the country about Lustadt as far as Blentz in\nsearch of Maenck and Coblich. Could they locate these two and arrest\nthem \"with all found in their company,\" as his order read, he felt\nsure that he would be able to deliver the missing king to his\nsubjects in time for the coronation at noon.\n\nBarney looked straight into the eyes of old Von der Tann.\n\n\"You have given us the opinion of others, Prince Ludwig,\" he said.\n\"Now you may tell us your own views of the matter.\"\n\n\"I shall have to abide by the decision of the majority,\" replied the\nold man. \"But I have seen your majesty under fire, and if you are\nnot the king, for Lutha's sake you ought to be.\"\n\n\"He is not Leopold,\" said one of the officers who had accompanied\nthe prince from Peter's camp. \"I was governor of Blentz for three\nyears and as familiar with the king's face as with that of my own\nbrother.\"\n\n\"No,\" cried several of the others, \"this man is not the king.\"\n\nSeveral of the nobles drew away from Barney.  Others looked at him\nquestioningly.\n\nButzow stepped close to his side, and it was noticeable that the\ntroopers, and even the officers, of the Royal Horse which Barney had\nled in the charge upon the two batteries in the wood, pressed a\nlittle closer to the American. This fact did not escape Butzow's\nnotice.\n\n\"If you are content to take the word of the servants of a traitor\nand a would-be regicide,\" he cried, \"I am not. There has been no\nproof advanced that this man is not the king. In so far as I am\nconcerned he is the king, nor ever do I expect to serve another more\nworthy of the title.\n\n\"If Peter of Blentz has real proof--not the testimony of his own\nfaction--that Leopold of Lutha is dead, let him bring it forward\nbefore noon today, for at noon we shall crown a king in the\ncathedral at Lustadt, and I for one pray to God that it may be he\nwho has led us in battle today.\"\n\nA shout of applause rose from the Royal Horse, and from the\nfoot-soldiers who had seen the king charge across the plain,\nscattering the enemy before him.\n\nBarney, appreciating the advantage in the sudden turn affairs had\ntaken following Butzow's words, swung to his saddle.\n\n\"Until Peter of Blentz brings to Lustadt one with a better claim to\nthe throne,\" he said, \"we shall continue to rule Lutha, nor shall\nother than Leopold be crowned her king. We approve of the amnesty\nyou have granted, Prince Ludwig, and Peter of Blentz is free to\nenter Lustadt, as he will, so long as he does not plot against the\ntrue king.\n\n\"Major,\" he added, turning to the commander of the squadron at his\nback, \"we are returning to the palace. Your squadron will escort us,\nremaining on guard there about the grounds. Prince Ludwig, you will\nsee that machine guns are placed about the palace and commanding the\napproaches to the cathedral.\"\n\nWith a nod to the cavalry major he wheeled his horse and trotted up\nthe slope toward Lustadt.\n\nWith a grim smile Prince Ludwig von der Tann mounted his horse and\nrode toward the fort. At his side were several of the nobles of\nLutha. They looked at him in astonishment.\n\n\"You are doing his bidding, although you do not know that he is the\ntrue king?\" asked one of them.\n\n\"Were he an impostor,\" replied the old man, \"he would have insisted\nby word of mouth that he is king. But not once has he said that he\nis Leopold. Instead, he has proved his kingship by his acts.\"\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nA TIMELY INTERVENTION\n\nNine o'clock found Barney Custer pacing up and down his apartments\nin the palace. No clue as to the whereabouts of Coblich, Maenck or\nthe king had been discovered. One by one his troopers had returned\nto Butzow empty-handed, and as much at a loss as to the hiding-place\nof their quarry as when they had set out upon their search.\n\nPeter of Blentz and his retainers had entered the city and already\nhad commenced to gather at the cathedral.\n\nPeter, at the residence of Coblich, had succeeded in gathering about\nhim many of the older nobility whom he pledged to support him in\ncase he could prove to them that the man who occupied the royal\npalace was not Leopold of Lutha.\n\nThey agreed to support him in his regency if he produced proof that\nthe true Leopold was dead, and Peter of Blentz waited with growing\nanxiety the coming of Coblich with word that he had the king in\ncustody. Peter was staking all on a single daring move which he had\ndecided to make in his game of intrigue.\n\nAs Barney paced within the palace, waiting for word that Leopold had\nbeen found, Peter of Blentz was filled with equal apprehension as\nhe, too, waited for the same tidings. At last he heard the pound of\nhoofs upon the pavement without and a moment later Coblich, his\nclothing streaked with dirt, blood caked upon his face from a wound\nacross the forehead, rushed into the presence of the prince regent.\n\nPeter drew him hurriedly into a small study on the first floor.\n\n\"Well?\" he whispered, as the two faced each other.\n\n\"We have him,\" replied Coblich.  \"But we had the devil's own time\ngetting him. Stein was killed and Maenck and I both wounded, and all\nmorning we have spent the time hiding from troopers who seemed to be\nsearching for us. Only fifteen minutes since did we reach the\nhiding-place that you instructed us to use. But we have him, your\nhighness, and he is in such a state of cowardly terror that he is\nready to agree to anything, if you will but spare his life and set\nhim free across the border.\"\n\n\"It is too late for that now, Coblich,\" replied Peter. \"There is but\none way that Leopold of Lutha can serve me now, and that is--dead.\nWere his corpse to be carried into the cathedral of Lustadt before\nnoon today, and were those who fetched it to swear that the king was\nkilled by the impostor after being dragged from the hospital at\nTafelberg where you and Maenck had located him, and from which you\nwere attempting to rescue him, I believe that the people would tear\nour enemies to pieces. What say you, Coblich?\"\n\nThe other stared at Peter of Blentz for several seconds while the\natrocity of his chief's plan filtered through his brain.\n\n\"My God!\" he exclaimed at last.  \"You mean that you wish me to\nmurder Leopold with my own hands?\"\n\n\"You put it too crudely, my dear Coblich,\" replied the other.\n\n\"I cannot do it,\" muttered Coblich.  \"I have never killed a man in\nmy life. I am getting old. No, I could never do it. I should not\nsleep nights.\"\n\n\"If it is not done, Coblich, and Leopold comes into his own,\" said\nPeter slowly, \"you will be caught and hanged higher than Haman. And\nif you do not do it, and the impostor is crowned today, then you\nwill be either hanged officially or knifed unofficially, and without\nany choice in the matter whatsoever. Nothing, Coblich, but the dead\nbody of the true Leopold can save your neck. You have your choice,\ntherefore, of letting him live to prove your treason, or letting him\ndie and becoming chancellor of Lutha.\"\n\nSlowly Coblich turned toward the door.  \"You are right,\" he said,\n\"but may God have mercy on my soul. I never thought that I should\nhave to do it with my own hands.\"\n\nSo saying he left the room and a moment later Peter of Blentz smiled\nas he heard the pounding of a horse's hoofs upon the pavement\nwithout.\n\nThen the Regent entered the room he had recently quitted and spoke\nto the nobles of Lutha who were gathered there.\n\n\"Coblich has found the body of the murdered king,\" he said.  \"I have\ndirected him to bring it to the cathedral. He came upon the impostor\nand his confederate, Lieutenant Butzow, as they were bearing the\ncorpse from the hospital at Tafelberg where the king has lain\nunknown since the rumor was spread by Von der Tann that he had been\nkilled by bandits.\n\n\"He was not killed until last evening, my lords, and you shall see\ntoday the fresh wounds upon him. When the time comes that we can\npresent this grisly evidence of the guilt of the impostor and those\nwho uphold him, I shall expect you all to stand at my side, as you\nhave promised.\"\n\nWith one accord the noblemen pledged anew their allegiance to Peter\nof Blentz if he could produce one-quarter of the evidence he claimed\nto possess.\n\n\"All that we wish to know positively is,\" said one, \"that the man\nwho bears the title of king today is really Leopold of Lutha, or\nthat he is not. If not then he stands convicted of treason, and we\nshall know how to conduct ourselves.\"\n\nTogether the party rode to the cathedral, the majority of the older\nnobility now openly espousing the cause of the Regent.\n\n\nAt the palace Barney was about distracted.  Butzow was urging him to\ntake the crown whether he was Leopold or not, for the young\nlieutenant saw no hope for Lutha, if either the scoundrelly Regent\nor the cowardly man whom Barney had assured him was the true king\nshould come into power.\n\nIt was eleven o'clock.  In another hour Barney knew that he must\nhave found some new solution of his dilemma, for there seemed little\nprobability that the king would be located in the brief interval\nthat remained before the coronation. He wondered what they did to\npeople who stole thrones. For a time he figured his chances of\nreaching the border ahead of the enraged populace. All had depended\nupon the finding of the king, and he had been so sure that it could\nbe accomplished in time, for Coblich and Maenck had had but a few\nhours in which to conceal the monarch before the search was well\nunder way.\n\nArmed with the king's warrants, his troopers had ridden through the\ncountry, searching houses, and questioning all whom they met.\nPatrols had guarded every road that the fugitives might take either\nto Lustadt, Blentz, or the border; but no king had been found and no\ntrace of his abductors.\n\nPrince von der Tann, Barney was convinced, was on the point of\ndeserting him, and going over to the other side. It was true that\nthe old man had carried out his instructions relative to the placing\nof the machine guns; but they might be used as well against him,\nwhere they stood, as for him.\n\nFrom his window he could see the broad avenue which passes before\nthe royal palace of Lutha. It was crowded with throngs moving toward\nthe cathedral. Presently there came a knock upon the closed door of\nhis chamber.\n\nAt his \"Enter\" a functionary announced: \"His Royal Highness Ludwig,\nPrince von der Tann!\"\n\nThe old man was much perturbed at the rumors he had heard relative\nto the assassination of the true Leopold. Soldier-like, he blurted\nout his suspicions and his ultimatum.\n\n\"None but the royal blood of Rubinroth may reign in Lutha while\nthere be a Rubinroth left to reign and old Von der Tann lives,\" he\ncried in conclusion.\n\nAt the name \"Rubinroth\" Barney started.  It was his mother's name.\nSuddenly the truth flashed upon him. He understood now the reticence\nof both his father and mother relative to her early life.\n\n\"Prince Ludwig,\" said the young man earnestly, \"I have only the good\nof Lutha in my heart. For three weeks I have labored and risked\ndeath a hundred times to place the legitimate heir to the crown of\nLutha upon his throne. I--\"\n\nHe hesitated, not knowing just how to commence the confession he was\ndetermined to make, though he was positive that it would place Peter\nof Blentz upon the throne, since the old prince had promised to\nsupport the Regent could it be proved that Barney was an impostor.\n\n\"I,\" he started again, and then there came an interruption at the\ndoor.\n\n\"A messenger, your majesty,\" announced the doorman, \"who says that\nhe must have audience at once upon a matter of life and death to the\nking.\"\n\n\"We will see him in the ante-chamber,\" replied Barney, moving toward\nthe door. \"Await us here, Prince Ludwig.\"\n\nA moment later he re-entered the apartment.  There was an expression\nof renewed hope upon his face.\n\n\"As we were about to remark, my dear prince,\" he said, \"I swear that\nthe royal blood of the Rubinroths flows in my veins, and as God is\nmy judge, none other than the true Leopold of Lutha shall be crowned\ntoday. And now we must prepare for the coronation. If there be\ntrouble in the cathedral, Prince Ludwig, we look to your sword in\nprotection of the king.\"\n\n\"When I am with you, sire,\" said Von der Tann, \"I know that you are\nking. When I saw how you led the troops in battle, I prayed that\nthere could be no mistake. God give that I am right. But God help\nyou if you are playing with old Ludwig von der Tann.\"\n\nWhen the old man had left the apartment Barney summoned an aide and\nsent for Butzow. Then he hurried to the bath that adjoined the\napartment, and when the lieutenant of horse was announced Barney\ncalled through a soapy lather for his confederate to enter.\n\n\"What are you doing, sire?\" cried Butzow in amazement.\n\n\"Cut out the 'sire,' old man,\" shouted Barney Custer of Beatrice.\n\"this is the fifth of November and I am shaving off this alfalfa.\nThe king is found!\"\n\n\"What?\" cried Butzow, and upon his face there was little to indicate\nthe rejoicing that a loyal subject of Leopold of Lutha should have\nfelt at that announcement.\n\n\"There is a man in the next room,\" went on Barney, \"who can lead us\nto the spot where Coblich and Maenck guard the king. Get him in\nhere.\"\n\nButzow hastened to comply with the American's instructions, and a\nmoment later returned to the apartment with the old shopkeeper of\nTafelberg.\n\nAs Barney shaved he issued directions to the two.  Within the room\nto the east, he said, there were the king's coronation robes, and in\na smaller dressingroom beyond they would find a long gray cloak.\n\nThey were to wrap all these in a bundle which the old shopkeeper was\nto carry.\n\n\"And, Butzow,\" added Barney, \"look to my revolvers and your own, and\nlay my sword out as well. The chances are that we shall have to use\nthem before we are ten minutes older.\"\n\nIn an incredibly short space of time the young man emerged from the\nbath, his luxuriant beard gone forever, he hoped. Butzow looked at\nhim with a smile.\n\n\"I must say that the beard did not add greatly to your majesty's\ngood looks,\" he said.\n\n\"Never mind the bouquets, old man,\" cried Barney, cramming his arms\ninto the sleeves of his khaki jacket and buckling sword and revolver\nabout him, as he hurried toward a small door that opened upon the\nopposite side of the apartment to that through which his visitors\nhad been conducted.\n\nTogether the three hastened through a narrow, little-used corridor\nand down a flight of well-worn stone steps to a door that let upon\nthe rear court of the palace.\n\nThere were grooms and servants there, and soldiers too, who saluted\nButzow, according the old shopkeeper and the smooth-faced young\nstranger only cursory glances. It was evident that without his beard\nit was not likely that Barney would be again mistaken for the king.\n\nAt the stables Butzow requisitioned three horses, and soon the trio\nwas galloping through a little-frequented street toward the\nnorthern, hilly environs of Lustadt. They rode in silence until they\ncame to an old stone building, whose boarded windows and general\nappearance of dilapidation proclaimed its long tenantless condition.\nRank weeds, now rustling dry and yellow in the November wind, choked\nwhat once might have been a luxuriant garden. A stone wall, which\nhad at one time entirely surrounded the grounds, had been almost\ncompletely removed from the front to serve as foundation stone for a\nsmaller edifice farther down the mountainside.\n\nThe horsemen avoided this break in the wall, coming up instead upon\nthe rear side where their approach was wholly screened from the\nbuilding by the wall upon that exposure.\n\nClose in they dismounted, and leaving the animals in charge of the\nshopkeeper of Tafelberg, Barney and Butzow hastened toward a small\npostern-gate which swung, groaning, upon a single rusted hinge. Each\nfelt that there was no time for caution or stratagem. Instead all\ndepended upon the very boldness and rashness of their attack, and so\nas they came through into the courtyard the two dashed headlong for\nthe building.\n\nChance accomplished for them what no amount of careful execution\nmight have done, and they came within the ruin unnoticed by the four\nwho occupied the old, darkened library.\n\nPossibly the fact that one of the men had himself just entered and\nwas excitedly talking to the others may have drowned the noisy\napproach of the two. However that may be, it is a fact that Barney\nand the cavalry officer came to the very door of the library\nunheard.\n\nThere they halted, listening.  Coblich was speaking.\n\n\"The Regent commands it, Maenck,\" he was saying.  \"It is the only\nthing that can save our necks. He said that you had better be the\none to do it, since it was your carelessness that permitted the\nfellow to escape from Blentz.\"\n\nHuddled in a far corner of the room was an abject figure trembling\nin terror. At the words of Coblich it staggered to its feet. It was\nthe king.\n\n\"Have pity--have pity!\" he cried.  \"Do not kill me, and I will go\naway where none will ever know that I live. You can tell Peter that\nI am dead. Tell him anything, only spare my life. Oh, why did I ever\nlisten to the cursed fool who tempted me to think of regaining the\ncrown that has brought me only misery and suffering--the crown that\nhas now placed the sentence of death upon me.\"\n\n\"Why not let him go?\" suggested the trooper, who up to this time had\nnot spoken. \"If we don't kill him, we can't be hanged for his\nmurder.\"\n\n\"Don't be too sure of that,\" exclaimed Maenck.  \"If he goes away and\nnever returns, what proof can we offer that we did not kill him,\nshould we be charged with the crime? And if we let him go, and later\nhe returns and gains his throne, he will see that we are hanged\nanyway for treason.\n\n\"The safest thing to do is to put him where he at least cannot come\nback to threaten us, and having done so upon the orders of Peter,\nlet the king's blood be upon Peter's head. I, at least, shall obey\nmy master, and let you two bear witness that I did the thing with my\nown hand.\" So saying he drew his sword and crossed toward the king.\n\nBut Captain Ernst Maenck never reached his sovereign.\n\nAs the terrified shriek of the sorry monarch rang through the\ninterior of the desolate ruin another sound mingled with it,\nhalf-drowning the piercing wail of terror.\n\nIt was the sharp crack of a revolver, and even as it spoke Maenck\nlunged awkwardly forward, stumbled, and collapsed at Leopold's feet.\nWith a moan the king shrank back from the grisly thing that touched\nhis boot, and then two men were in the center of the room, and\nthings were happening with a rapidity that was bewildering.\n\nAbout all that he could afterward recall with any distinctness was\nthe terrified face of Coblich, as he rushed past him toward a door\nin the opposite side of the room, and the horrid leer upon the face\nof the dead trooper, who foolishly, had made a move to draw his\nrevolver.\n\n\nWithin the cathedral at Lustadt excitement was at fever heat.  It\nlacked but two minutes of noon, and as yet no king had come to claim\nthe crown. Rumors were running riot through the close-packed\naudience.\n\nOne man had heard the king's chamberlain report to Prince von der\nTann that the master of ceremonies had found the king's apartments\nvacant when he had gone to urge the monarch to hasten his\npreparations for the coronation.\n\nAnother had seen Butzow and two strangers galloping north through\nthe city. A third told of a little old man who had come to the king\nwith an urgent message.\n\nPeter of Blentz and Prince Ludwig were talking in whispers at the\nfoot of the chancel steps. Peter ascended the steps and facing the\nassemblage raised a silencing hand.\n\n\"He who claimed to be Leopold of Lutha,\" he said, \"was but a mad\nadventurer. He would have seized the throne of the Rubinroths had\nhis nerve not failed him at the last moment. He has fled. The true\nking is dead. Now I, Prince Regent of Lutha, declare the throne\nvacant, and announce myself king!\"\n\nThere were a few scattered cheers and some hissing.  A score of the\nnobles rose as though to protest, but before any could take a step\nthe attention of all was directed toward the sorry figure of a\nwhite-faced man who scurried up the broad center aisle.\n\nIt was Coblich.\n\nHe ran to Peter's side, and though he attempted to speak in a\nwhisper, so out of breath, and so filled with hysterical terror was\nhe that his words came out in gasps that were audible to many of\nthose who stood near by.\n\n\"Maenck is dead,\" he cried.  \"The impostor has stolen the king.\"\n\nPeter of Blentz went white as his lieutenant.  Von der Tann heard\nand demanded an explanation.\n\n\"You said that Leopold was dead,\" he said accusingly.\n\nPeter regained his self-control quickly.\n\n\"Coblich is excited,\" he explained.  \"He means that the impostor has\nstolen the body of the king that Coblich and Maenck had discovered\nand were bringing to Lustadt.\"\n\nVon der Tann looked troubled.\n\nHe knew not what to make of the series of wild tales that had come\nto his ears within the past hour. He had hoped that the young man\nwhom he had last seen in the king's apartments was the true Leopold.\nHe would have been glad to have served such a one, but there had\nbeen many inexplicable occurrences which tended to cast a doubt upon\nthe man's claims--and yet, had he ever claimed to be the king? It\nsuddenly occurred to the old prince that he had not. On the contrary\nhe had repeatedly stated to Prince Ludwig's daughter and to\nLieutenant Butzow that he was not Leopold.\n\nIt seemed that they had all been so anxious to believe him king that\nthey had forced the false position upon him, and now if he had\nindeed committed the atrocity that Coblich charged against him, who\ncould wonder? With less provocation men had before attempted to\nseize thrones by more dastardly means.\n\nPeter of Blentz was speaking.\n\n\"Let the coronation proceed,\" he cried, \"that Lutha may have a true\nking to frustrate the plans of the impostor and the traitors who had\nsupported him.\"\n\nHe cast a meaning glance at Prince von der Tann.\n\nThere were many cries for Peter of Blentz.  \"Let's have done with\ntreason, and place upon the throne of Lutha one whom we know to be\nboth a Luthanian and sane. Down with the mad king! Down with the\nimpostor!\"\n\nPeter turned to ascend the chancel steps.\n\nVon der Tann still hesitated.  Below him upon one side of the aisle\nwere massed his own retainers. Opposite them were the men of the\nRegent, and dividing the two the parallel ranks of Horse Guards\nstretched from the chancel down the broad aisle to the great doors.\nThese were strongly for the impostor, if impostor he was, who had\nled them to victory over the men of the Blentz faction.\n\nVon der Tann knew that they would fight to the last ditch for their\nhero should he come to claim the crown. Yet how would they fight--to\nwhich side would they cleave, were he to attempt to frustrate the\ndesign of the Regent to seize the throne of Lutha?\n\nAlready Peter of Blentz had approached the bishop, who, eager to\npropitiate whoever seemed most likely to become king, gave the\nsignal for the procession that was to mark the solemn bearing of the\ncrown of Lutha up the aisle to the chancel.\n\nOutside the cathedral there was the sudden blare of trumpets.  The\ngreat doors swung violently open, and the entire throng were upon\ntheir feet in an instant as a trooper of the Royal Horse shouted:\n\"The king! The king! Make way for Leopold of Lutha!\"\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nTHE GRATITUDE OF A KING\n\nAt the cry silence fell upon the throng.  Every head was turned\ntoward the great doors through which the head of a procession was\njust visible. It was a grim looking procession--the head of it, at\nleast.\n\nThere were four khaki-clad trumpeters from the Royal Horse Guards,\nthe gay and resplendent uniforms which they should have donned today\nconspicuous for their absence. From their brazen bugles sounded\nanother loud fanfare, and then they separated, two upon each side of\nthe aisle, and between them marched three men.\n\nOne was tall, with gray eyes and had a reddish-brown beard.  He was\nfully clothed in the coronation robes of Leopold. Upon his either\nhand walked the others--Lieutenant Butzow and a gray-eyed,\nsmooth-faced, square-jawed stranger.\n\nBehind them marched the balance of the Royal Horse Guards that were\nnot already on duty within the cathedral. As the eyes of the\nmultitude fell upon the man in the coronation robes there were cries\nof: \"The king! Impostor!\" and \"Von der Tann's puppet!\"\n\n\"Denounce him!\" whispered one of Peter's henchmen in his master's\near.\n\nThe Regent moved closer to the aisle, that he might meet the\nimpostor at the foot of the chancel steps. The procession was moving\nsteadily up the aisle.\n\nAmong the clan of Von der Tann a young girl with wide eyes was\nbending forward that she might have a better look at the face of the\nking. As he came opposite her her eyes filled with horror, and then\nshe saw the eyes of the smooth-faced stranger at the king's side.\nThey were brave, laughing eyes, and as they looked straight into her\nown the truth flashed upon her, and the girl gave a gasp of dismay\nas she realized that the king of Lutha and the king of her heart\nwere not one and the same.\n\nAt last the head of the procession was almost at the foot of the\nchancel steps. There were murmurs of: \"It is not the king,\" and \"Who\nis this new impostor?\"\n\nLeopold's eyes were searching the faces of the close-packed nobility\nabout the chancel. At last they fell upon the face of Peter. The\nyoung man halted not two paces from the Regent. The man went white\nas the king's eyes bored straight into his miserable soul.\n\n\"Peter of Blentz,\" cried the young man, \"as God is your judge, tell\nthe truth today. Who am I?\"\n\nThe legs of the Prince Regent trembled.  He sank upon his knees,\nraising his hands in supplication toward the other. \"Have pity on\nme, your majesty, have pity!\" he cried.\n\n\"Who am I, man?\" insisted the king.\n\n\"You are Leopold Rubinroth, sire, by the grace of God, king of\nLutha,\" cried the frightened man. \"Have mercy on an old man, your\nmajesty.\"\n\n\"Wait!  Am I mad?  Was I ever mad?\"\n\n\"As God is my judge, sire, no!\" replied Peter of Blentz.\n\nLeopold turned to Butzow.\n\n\"Remove the traitor from our presence,\" he commanded, and at a word\nfrom the lieutenant a dozen guardsmen seized the trembling man and\nhustled him from the cathedral amid hisses and execrations.\n\n\nFollowing the coronation the king was closeted in his private\naudience chamber in the palace with Prince Ludwig.\n\n\"I cannot understand what has happened, even now, your majesty,\" the\nold man was saying. \"That you are the true Leopold is all that I am\npositive of, for the discomfiture of Prince Peter evidenced that\nfact all too plainly. But who the impostor was who ruled Lutha in\nyour name for two days, disappearing as miraculously as he came, I\ncannot guess.\n\n\"But for another miracle which preserved you for us in the nick of\ntime he might now be wearing the crown of Lutha in your stead.\nHaving Peter of Blentz safely in custody our next immediate task\nshould be to hunt down the impostor and bring him to justice also;\nthough\"--and the old prince sighed--\"he was indeed a brave man, and\na noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle.\"\n\nThe king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of the\n\"impostor,\" but at the old man's praise of the other's bravery a\nslight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of a scowl crossed his\nbrow.\n\n\"Wait,\" he said, \"we shall not have to look far for your\n'impostor,'\" and summoning an aide he dispatched him for \"Lieutenant\nButzow and Mr. Custer.\"\n\nA moment later the two entered the audience chamber. Barney found\nthat Leopold the king, surrounded by comforts and safety, was a very\ndifferent person from Leopold the fugitive. The weak face now wore\nan expression of arrogance, though the king spoke most graciously to\nthe American.\n\n\"Here, Von der Tann,\" said Leopold, \"is your 'impostor.' But for him\nI should doubtless be dead by now, or once again a prisoner at\nBlentz.\"\n\nBarney and Butzow found it necessary to repeat their stories several\ntimes before the old man could fully grasp all that had transpired\nbeneath his very nose without his being aware of scarce a single\ndetail of it.\n\nWhen he was finally convinced that they were telling the truth, he\nextended his hand to the American.\n\n\"I knelt to you once, young man,\" he said, \"and kissed your hand.  I\nshould be filled with bitterness and rage toward you. On the\ncontrary, I find that I am proud to have served in the retinue of\nsuch an impostor as you, for you upheld the prestige of the house of\nRubinroth upon the battlefield, and though you might have had a\ncrown, you refused it and brought the true king into his own.\"\n\nLeopold sat tapping his foot upon the carpet.  It was all very well\nif he, the king, chose to praise the American, but there was no need\nfor old von der Tann to slop over so. The king did not like it. As a\nmatter of fact, he found himself becoming very jealous of the man\nwho had placed him upon his throne.\n\n\"There is only one thing that I can harbor against you,\" continued\nPrince Ludwig, \"and that is that in a single instance you deceived\nme, for an hour before the coronation you told me that you were a\nRubinroth.\"\n\n\"I told you, prince,\" corrected Barney, \"that the royal blood of\nRubinroth flowed in my veins, and so it does. I am the son of the\nrunaway Princess Victoria of Lutha.\"\n\nBoth Leopold and Ludwig looked their surprise, and to the king's\neyes came a sudden look of fear. With the royal blood in his veins,\nwhat was there to prevent this popular hero from some day striving\nfor the throne he had once refused? Leopold knew that the minds of\nmen were wont to change most unaccountably.\n\n\"Butzow,\" he said suddenly to the lieutenant of horse, \"how many do\nyou imagine know positively that he who has ruled Lutha for the past\ntwo days and he who was crowned in the cathedral this noon are not\none and the same?\"\n\n\"Only a few besides those who are in this room, your majesty,\"\nreplied Butzow. \"Peter and Coblich have known it from the first, and\nthen there is Kramer, the loyal old shopkeeper of Tafelberg, who\nfollowed Coblich and Maenck all night and half a day as they dragged\nthe king to the hiding-place where we found him. Other than these\nthere may be those who guess the truth, but there are none who\nknow.\"\n\nFor a moment the king sat in thought.  Then he rose and commenced\npacing back and forth the length of the apartment.\n\n\"Why should they ever know?\" he said at last, halting before the\nthree men who had been standing watching him. \"For the sake of Lutha\nthey should never know that another than the true king sat upon the\nthrone even for an hour.\"\n\nHe was thinking of the comparison that might be drawn between the\nheroic figure of the American and his own colorless part in the\nevents which had led up to his coronation. In his heart of hearts he\nfelt that old Von der Tann rather regretted that the American had\nnot been the king, and he hated the old man accordingly, and was\ncommencing to hate the American as well.\n\nPrince Ludwig stood looking at the carpet after the king had spoken.\nHis judgment told him that the king's suggestion was a wise one; but\nhe was sorry and ashamed that it had come from Leopold. Butzow's\nlips almost showed the contempt that he felt for the ingratitude of\nhis king.\n\nBarney Custer was the first to speak.\n\n\"I think his majesty is quite right,\" he said, \"and tonight I can\nleave the palace after dark and cross the border some time tomorrow\nevening. The people need never know the truth.\"\n\nLeopold looked relieved.\n\n\"We must reward you, Mr. Custer,\" he said.  \"Name that which it lies\nwithin our power to grant you and it shall be yours.\"\n\nBarney thought of the girl he loved; but he did not mention her\nname, for he knew that she was not for him now.\n\n\"There is nothing, your majesty,\" he said.\n\n\"A money reward,\" Leopold started to suggest, and then Barney Custer\nlost his temper.\n\nA flush mounted to his face, his chin went up, and there came to his\nlips bitter words of sarcasm. With an effort, however, he held his\ntongue, and, turning his back upon the king, his broad shoulders\nproclaiming the contempt he felt, he walked slowly out of the room.\n\nVon der Tann and Butzow and Leopold of Lutha stood in silence as the\nAmerican passed out of sight beyond the portal.\n\nThe manner of his going had been an affront to the king, and the\nyoung ruler had gone red with anger.\n\n\"Butzow,\" he cried, \"bring the fellow back; he shall be taught a\nlesson in the deference that is due kings.\"\n\nButzow hesitated.  \"He has risked his life a dozen times for your\nmajesty,\" said the lieutenant.\n\nLeopold flushed.\n\n\"Do not humiliate him, sire,\" advised Von der Tann.  \"He has earned\na greater reward at your hands than that.\"\n\nThe king resumed his pacing for a moment, coming to a halt once more\nbefore the two.\n\n\"We shall take no notice of his insolence,\" he said, \"and that shall\nbe our royal reward for his services. More than he deserves, we dare\nsay, at that.\"\n\nAs Barney hastened through the palace on his way to his new quarters\nto obtain his arms and order his horse saddled, he came suddenly\nupon a girlish figure gazing sadly from a window upon the drear\nNovember world--her heart as sad as the day.\n\nAt the sound of his footstep she turned, and as her eyes met the\ngray ones of the man she stood poised as though of half a mind to\nfly. For a moment neither spoke.\n\n\"Can your highness forgive?\" he asked.\n\nFor answer the girl buried her face in her hands and dropped upon\nthe cushioned window seat before her. The American came close and\nknelt at her side.\n\n\"Don't,\" he begged as he saw her shoulders rise to the sudden\nsobbing that racked her slender frame. \"Don't!\"\n\nHe thought that she wept from mortification that she had given her\nkisses to another than the king.\n\n\"None knows,\" he continued, \"what has passed between us.  None but\nyou and I need ever know. I tried to make you understand that I was\nnot Leopold; but you would not believe. It is not my fault that I\nloved you. It is not my fault that I shall always love you. Tell me\nthat you forgive me my part in the chain of strange circumstances\nthat deceived you into an acknowledgment of a love that you intended\nfor another. Forgive me, Emma!\"\n\nDown the corridor behind them a tall figure approached on silent,\nnoiseless feet. At sight of the two at the window seat it halted. It\nwas the king.\n\nThe girl looked up suddenly into the eyes of the American bending so\nclose above her.\n\n\"I can never forgive you,\" she cried, \"for not being the king, for I\nam betrothed to him--and I love you!\"\n\nBefore she could prevent him, Barney Custer had taken her in his\narms, and though at first she made a pretense of attempting to\nescape, at last she lay quite still. Her arms found their way about\nthe man's neck, and her lips returned the kisses that his were\nshowering upon her upturned mouth.\n\nPresently her glance wandered above the shoulder of the American,\nand of a sudden her eyes filled with terror, and, with a little gasp\nof consternation, she struggled to free herself.\n\n\"Let me go!\" she whispered.  \"Let me go--the king!\"\n\nBarney sprang to his feet and, turning, faced Leopold. The king had\ngone quite white.\n\n\"Failing to rob me of my crown,\" he cried in a trembling voice, \"you\nnow seek to rob me of my betrothed! Go to your father at once, and\nas for you--you shall learn what it means for you thus to meddle in\nthe affairs of kings.\"\n\nBarney saw the terrible position in which his love had placed the\nPrincess Emma. His only thought now was for her. Bowing low before\nher he spoke so that the king might hear, yet as though his words\nwere for her ears alone.\n\n\"Your highness knows the truth, now,\" he said, \"and that after all I\nam not the king. I can only ask that you will forgive me the\ndeception. Now go to your father as the king commands.\"\n\nSlowly the girl turned away.  Her heart was torn between love for\nthis man, and her duty toward the other to whom she had been\nbetrothed in childhood. The hereditary instinct of obedience to her\nsovereign was strong within her, and the bonds of custom and society\nheld her in their relentless shackles. With a sob she passed up the\ncorridor, curtsying to the king as she passed him.\n\nWhen she had gone Leopold turned to the American. There was an evil\nlook in the little gray eyes of the monarch.\n\n\"You may go your way,\" he said coldly.  \"We shall give you\nforty-eight hours to leave Lutha. Should you ever return your life\nshall be the forfeit.\"\n\nThe American kept back the hot words that were ready upon the end of\nhis tongue. For her sake he must bow to fate. With a slight\ninclination of his head toward Leopold he wheeled and resumed his\nway toward his quarters.\n\nHalf an hour later as he was about to descend to the courtyard where\na trooper of the Royal Horse held his waiting mount, Butzow burst\nsuddenly into his room.\n\n\"For God's sake,\" cried the lieutenant, \"get out of this. The king\nhas changed his mind, and there is an officer of the guard on his\nway here now with a file of soldiers to place you under arrest.\nLeopold swears that he will hang you for treason. Princess Emma has\nspurned him, and he is wild with rage.\"\n\nThe dismal November twilight had given place to bleak night as two\nmen cantered from the palace courtyard and turned their horses'\nheads northward toward Lutha's nearest boundary. All night they\nrode, stopping at daylight before a distant farm to feed and water\ntheir mounts and snatch a mouthful for themselves. Then onward once\nagain they pressed in their mad flight.\n\nNow that day had come they caught occasional glimpses of a body of\nhorsemen far behind them, but the border was near, and their start\nsuch that there was no danger of their being overtaken.\n\n\"For the thousandth time, Butzow,\" said one of the men, \"will you\nturn back before it is too late?\"\n\nBut the other only shook his head obstinately, and so they came to\nthe great granite monument which marks the boundary between Lutha\nand her powerful neighbor upon the north.\n\nBarney held out his hand.  \"Good-bye, old man,\" he said. \"If I've\nlearned the ingratitude of kings here in Lutha, I have found\nsomething that more than compensates me--the friendship of a brave\nman. Now hurry back and tell them that I escaped across the border\njust as I was about to fall into your hands and they will think that\nyou have been pursuing me instead of aiding in my escape across the\nborder.\"\n\nBut again Butzow shook his head.\n\n\"I have fought shoulder to shoulder with you, my friend,\" he said.\n\"I have called you king, and after that I could never serve the\ncoward who sits now upon the throne of Lutha. I have made up my mind\nduring this long ride from Lustadt, and I have come to the decision\nthat I should prefer to raise corn in Nebraska with you rather than\nserve in the court of an ingrate.\"\n\n\"Well, you are an obstinate Dutchman, after all,\" replied the\nAmerican with a smile, placing his hand affectionately upon the\nshoulder of his comrade.\n\nThere was a clatter of horses' hoofs upon the gravel of the road\nbehind them.\n\nThe two men put spurs to their mounts, and Barney Custer galloped\nacross the northern boundary of Lutha just ahead of a troop of\nLuthanian cavalry, as had his father thirty years before; but a\nroyal princess had accompanied the father--only a soldier\naccompanied the son.\n\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\n\nI\n\nBARNEY RETURNS TO LUTHA\n\n\"What's the matter, Vic?\" asked Barney Custer of his sister.  \"You\nlook peeved.\"\n\n\"I am peeved,\" replied the girl, smiling.  \"I am terribly peeved.  I\ndon't want to play bridge this afternoon. I want to go motoring with\nLieutenant Butzow. This is his last day with us.\"\n\n\"Yes.  I know it is, and I hate to think of it,\" replied Barney;\n\"but why in the world do you have to play bridge if you don't want\nto?\"\n\n\"I promised Margaret that I'd go.  They're short one, and she's\ncoming after me in her car.\"\n\n\"Where are you going to play--at the champion lady bridge player's\non Fourth Street?\" asked Barney, grinning.\n\nHis sister answered with a nod and a smile.  \"Where you brought down\nthe wrath of the lady champion upon your head the other night when\nyou were letting your mind wander across to Lutha and the Old\nForest, instead of paying attention to the game,\" she added.\n\n\"Well, cheer up, Vic,\" cried her brother.  \"Bert'll probably set\nfire to the car, the way he did to their first one, and then you\nwon't have to go.\"\n\n\"Oh, yes, I would; Margaret would send him after me in that\nawful-looking, unwashed Ford runabout of his,\" answered the girl.\n\n\"And then you WOULD go,\" said Barney.\n\n\"You bet I would,\" laughed Victoria.  \"I'd go in a wheelbarrow with\nBert.\"\n\nBut she didn't have to; and after she had driven off with her chum,\nBarney and Butzow strolled down through the little city of Beatrice\nto the corn mill in which the former was interested.\n\n\"I'm mighty sorry that you have to leave us, Butzow,\" said Barney's\npartner. \"It's bad enough to lose you, but I'm afraid it will mean\nthe loss of Barney, too. He's been hunting for some excuse to get\nback to Lutha, and with you there and a war in sight I'm afraid\nnothing can hold him.\"\n\n\"I don't know but that it may be just as well for my friends here\nthat I leave,\" said Butzow seriously. \"I did not tell you, Barney,\nall there is in this letter\"--he tapped his breastpocket, where the\nforeign-looking envelope reposed with its contents.\n\nCuster looked at him inquiringly.\n\n\"Besides saying that war between Austria and Serbia seems\nunavoidable and that Lutha doubtless will be drawn into it, my\ninformant warns me that Leopold had sent emissaries to America to\nsearch for you, Barney, and myself. What his purpose may be my\nfriend does not know, but he warns us to be upon our guard. Von der\nTann wants me to return to Lutha. He has promised to protect me, and\nwith the country in danger there is nothing else for me to do. I\nmust go.\"\n\n\"I wish I could go with you,\" said Barney.  \"If it wasn't for this\ndinged old mill I would; but Bert wants to go away this summer, and\nas I have been away most of the time for the past two years, it's up\nto me to stay.\"\n\nAs the three men talked the afternoon wore on.  Heavy clouds\ngathered in the sky; a storm was brewing. Outside, a man, skulking\nbehind a box car on the siding, watched the entrance through which\nthe three had gone. He watched the workmen, and as quitting time\ncame and he saw them leaving for their homes he moved more\nrestlessly, transferring the package which he held from one hand to\nanother many times, yet always gingerly.\n\nAt last all had left.  The man started from behind the box car, only\nto jump back as the watchman appeared around the end of one of the\nbuildings. He watched the guardian of the property make his rounds;\nhe saw him enter his office, and then he crept forward toward the\nbuilding, holding his queer package in his right hand.\n\nIn the office the watchman came upon the three friends. At sight of\nhim they looked at one another in surprise.\n\n\"Why, what time is it?\" exclaimed Custer, and as he looked at his\nwatch he rose with a laugh. \"Late to dinner again,\" he cried. \"Come\non, we'll go out this other way.\" And with a cheery good night to\nthe watchman Barney and his friends hastened from the building.\n\nUpon the opposite side the stranger approached the doorway to the\nmill. The rain was falling in blinding sheets. Ominously the thunder\nroared. Vivid flashes of lightning shot the heavens. The watchman,\ncoming suddenly from the doorway, his hat brim pulled low over his\neyes, passed within a couple of paces of the stranger without seeing\nhim.\n\nFive minutes later there was a blinding glare accompanied by a\ndeafening roar. It was as though nature had marshaled all her forces\nin one mighty, devastating effort. At the same instant the walls of\nthe great mill burst asunder, a nebulous mass of burning gas shot\nheavenward, and then the flames settled down to complete the\ndestruction of the ruin.\n\nIt was the following morning that Victoria and Barney Custer, with\nLieutenant Butzow and Custer's partner, stood contemplating the\nsmoldering wreckage.\n\n\"And to think,\" said Barney, \"that yesterday this muss was the\nlargest corn mill west of anywhere. I guess we can both take\nvacations now, Bert.\"\n\n\"Who would have thought that a single bolt of lightning could have\nresulted in such havoc?\" mused Victoria.\n\n\"Who would?\" agreed Lieutenant Butzow, and then, with a sudden\nnarrowing of his eyes and a quick glance at Barney, \"if it WAS\nlightning.\"\n\nThe American looked at the Luthanian.  \"You think--\" he started.\n\n\"I don't dare think,\" replied Butzow, \"because of the fear of what\nthis may mean to you and Miss Victoria if it was not lightning that\ndestroyed the mill. I shouldn't have spoken of it but that it may\nurge you to greater caution, which I cannot but think is most\nnecessary since the warning I received from Lutha.\"\n\n\"Why should Leopold seek to harm me now?\" asked Barney.  \"It has\nbeen almost two years since you and I placed him upon his throne,\nonly to be rewarded with threats and hatred. In that time neither of\nus has returned to Lutha nor in any way conspired against the king.\nI cannot fathom his motives.\"\n\n\"There is the Princess Emma von der Tann,\" Butzow reminded him.\n\"She still repulses him. He may think that, with you removed\ndefinitely and permanently, all will then be plain sailing for him\nin that direction. Evidently he does not know the princess.\"\n\n\nAn hour later they were all bidding Butzow good-bye at the station.\nVictoria Custer was genuinely grieved to see him go, for she liked\nthis soldierly young officer of the Royal Horse Guards immensely.\n\n\"You must come back to America soon,\" she urged.\n\nHe looked down at her from the steps of the moving train. There was\nsomething in his expression that she had never seen there before.\n\n\"I want to come back soon,\" he answered, \"to--to Beatrice,\" and he\nflushed and smiled at his own stumbling tongue.\n\nFor about a week Barney Custer moped disconsolately, principally\nabout the ruins of the corn mill. He was in everyone's way and\naccomplished nothing.\n\n\"I was never intended for a captain of industry,\" he confided to his\npartner for the hundredth time. \"I wish some excuse would pop up to\nwhich I might hang a reason for beating it to Europe. There's\nsomething doing there. Nearly everybody has declared war upon\neverybody else, and here I am stagnating in peace. I'd even welcome\na tornado.\"\n\nHis excuse was to come sooner than he imagined.  That night, after\nthe other members of his family had retired, Barney sat smoking\nwithin a screened porch off the living-room. His thoughts were upon\na trim little figure in riding togs, as he had first seen it nearly\ntwo years before, clinging desperately to a runaway horse upon the\nnarrow mountain road above Tafelberg.\n\nHe lived that thrilling experience through again as he had many\ntimes before. He even smiled as he recalled the series of events\nthat had resulted from his resemblance to the mad king of Lutha.\n\nThey had come to a culmination at the time when the king, whom\nBarney had placed upon a throne at the risk of his own life,\ndiscovered that his savior loved the girl to whom the king had been\nbetrothed since childhood and that the girl returned the American's\nlove even after she knew that he had but played the part of a king.\n\nBarney's cigar, forgotten, had long since died out.  Not even its\nformer fitful glow proclaimed his presence upon the porch, whose\nblack shadows completely enveloped him. Before him stretched a wide\nacreage of lawn, tree dotted at the side of the house. Bushes hid\nthe stone wall that marked the boundary of the Custer grounds and\nextended here and there out upon the sward among the trees. The\nnight was moonless but clear. A faint light pervaded the scene.\n\nBarney sat staring straight ahead, but his gaze did not stop upon\nthe familiar objects of the foreground. Instead it spanned two\ncontinents and an ocean to rest upon the little spot of woodland and\nrugged mountain and lowland that is Lutha. It was with an effort\nthat the man suddenly focused his attention upon that which lay\ndirectly before him. A shadow among the trees had moved!\n\nBarney Custer sat perfectly still, but now he was suddenly alert and\nwatchful. Again the shadow moved where no shadow should be moving.\nIt crossed from the shade of one tree to another. Barney came\ncautiously to his feet. Silently he entered the house, running\nquickly to a side door that opened upon the grounds. As he drew it\nback its hinges gave forth no sound. Barney looked toward the spot\nwhere he had seen the shadow. Again he saw it scuttle hurriedly\nbeneath another tree nearer the house. This time there was no doubt.\nIt was a man!\n\nDirectly before the door where Barney stood was a pergola,\nivy-covered. Behind this he slid, and, running its length, came out\namong the trees behind the night prowler. Now he saw him distinctly.\nThe fellow was bearded, and in his right hand he carried a package.\nInstantly Barney recalled Butzow's comment upon the destruction of\nthe mill--\"if it WAS lightning!\"\n\nCold sweat broke from every pore of his body.  His mother and father\nwere there in the house, and Vic--all sleeping peacefully. He ran\nquickly toward the menacing figure, and as he did so he saw the\nother halt behind a great tree and strike a match. In the glow of\nthe flame he saw it touch close to the package that the fellow held,\nand then he was upon him.\n\nThere was a brief and terrific struggle.  The stranger hurled the\npackage toward the house. Barney caught him by the throat, beating\nhim heavily in the face; and then, realizing what the package was,\nhe hurled the fellow from him, and sprang toward the hissing and\nsputtering missile where it lay close to the foundation wall of the\nhouse, though in the instant of his close contact with the man he\nhad recognized through the disguising beard the features of Captain\nErnst Maenck, the principal tool of Peter of Blentz.\n\nQuick though Barney was to reach the bomb and extinguish the fuse,\nMaenck had disappeared before he returned to search for him; and,\nthough he roused the gardener and chauffeur and took turns with them\nin standing guard the balance of the night, the would-be assassin\ndid not return.\n\nThere was no question in Barney Custer's mind as to whom the bomb\nwas intended for. That Maenck had hurled it toward the house after\nBarney had seized him was merely the result of accident and the\nman's desire to get the death-dealing missile as far from himself as\npossible before it exploded. That it would have wrecked the house in\nthe hope of reaching him, had he not fortunately interfered, was too\nevident to the American to be questioned.\n\nAnd so he decided before the night was spent to put himself as far\nfrom his family as possible, lest some future attempt upon his life\nmight endanger theirs. Then, too, righteous anger and a desire for\nrevenge prompted his decision. He would run Maenck to earth and have\nan accounting with him. It was evident that his life would not be\nworth a farthing so long as the fellow was at liberty.\n\nBefore dawn he swore the gardener and chauffeur to silence, and at\nbreakfast announced his intention of leaving that day for New York\nto seek a commission as correspondent with an old classmate, who\nowned the New York Evening National. At the hotel Barney inquired of\nthe proprietor relative to a bearded stranger, but the man had had\nno one of that description registered. Chance, however, gave him a\nclue. His roadster was in a repair shop, and as he stopped in to get\nit he overheard a conversation that told him all he wanted to know.\nAs he stood talking with the foreman a dust-covered automobile\npulled into the garage.\n\n\"Hello, Bill,\" called the foreman to the driver.  \"Where you been so\nearly?\"\n\n\"Took a guy to Lincoln,\" replied the other.  \"He was in an awful\nhurry. I bet we broke all the records for that stretch of road this\nmorning--I never knew the old boat had it in her.\"\n\n\"Who was it?\" asked Barney.\n\n\"I dunno,\" replied the driver.  \"Talked like a furriner, and looked\nthe part. Bushy black beard. Said he was a German army officer, an'\nhad to beat it back on account of the war. Seemed to me like he was\nmighty anxious to get back there an' be killed.\"\n\nBarney waited to hear no more.  He did not even go home to say\ngood-bye to his family. Instead he leaped into his gray roadster--a\nlater model of the one he had lost in Lutha--and the last that\nBeatrice, Nebraska, saw of him was a whirling cloud of dust as he\nraced north out of town toward Lincoln.\n\nHe was five minutes too late into the capital city to catch the\neastbound limited that Maenck must have taken; but he caught the\nnext through train for Chicago, and the second day thereafter found\nhim in New York. There he had little difficulty in obtaining the\ndesired credentials from his newspaper friend, especially since\nBarney offered to pay all his own expenses and donate to the paper\nanything he found time to write.\n\nPassenger steamers were still sailing, though irregularly, and after\nscanning the passenger-lists of three he found the name he sought.\n\"Captain Ernst Maenck, Lutha.\" So he had not been mistaken, after\nall. It was Maenck he had apprehended on his father's grounds.\nEvidently the man had little fear of being followed, for he had made\nno effort to hide his identity in booking passage for Europe.\n\nThe steamer he had caught had sailed that very morning. Barney was\nnot so sorry, after all, for he had had time during his trip from\nBeatrice to do considerable thinking, and had found it rather\ndifficult to determine just what to do should he have overtaken\nMaenck in the United States. He couldn't kill the man in cold blood,\njustly as he may have deserved the fate, and the thought of causing\nhis arrest and dragging his own name into the publicity of court\nproceedings was little less distasteful to him.\n\nFurthermore, the pursuit of Maenck now gave Barney a legitimate\nexcuse for returning to Lutha, or at least to the close neighborhood\nof the little kingdom, where he might await the outcome of events\nand be ready to give his services in the cause of the house of Von\nder Tann should they be required.\n\nBy going directly to Italy and entering Austria from that country\nBarney managed to arrive within the boundaries of the dual monarchy\nwith comparatively few delays. Nor did he encounter any considerable\nbodies of troops until he reached the little town of Burgova, which\nlies not far from the Serbian frontier. Beyond this point his\ncredentials would not carry him. The emperor's officers were polite,\nbut firm. No newspaper correspondents could be permitted nearer the\nfront than Burgova.\n\nThere was nothing to be done, therefore, but wait until some\npropitious event gave him the opportunity to approach more closely\nthe Serbian boundary and Lutha. In the meantime he would communicate\nwith Butzow, who might be able to obtain passes for him to some\nvillage nearer the Luthanian frontier, when it should be an easy\nmatter to cross through to Serbia. He was sure the Serbian\nauthorities would object less strenuously to his presence.\n\nThe inn at which he applied for accommodations was already overrun\nby officers, but the proprietor, with scant apologies for a\ncivilian, offered him a little box of a room in the attic. The place\nwas scarce more than a closet, and for that Barney was in a way\nthankful since the limited space could accommodate but a single cot,\nthus insuring him the privacy that a larger chamber would have\nprecluded.\n\nHe was very tired after his long and comfortless land journey, so\nafter an early dinner he went immediately to his room and to bed.\nHow long he slept he did not know, but some time during the night he\nwas awakened by the sound of voices apparently close to his ear.\n\nFor a moment he thought the speakers must be in his own room, so\ndistinctly did he overhear each word of their conversation; but\npresently he discovered that they were upon the opposite side of a\nthin partition in an adjoining room. But half awake, and with the\nsole idea of getting back to sleep again as quickly as possible,\nBarney paid only the slightest attention to the meaning of the words\nthat fell upon his ears, until, like a bomb, a sentence broke\nthrough his sleepy faculties, banishing Morpheus upon the instant.\n\n\"It will take but little now to turn Leopold against Von der Tann.\"\nThe speaker evidently was an Austrian. \"Already I have half\nconvinced him that the old man aspires to the throne. Leopold fears\nthe loyalty of his army, which is for Von der Tann body and soul. He\nknows that Von der Tann is strongly anti-Austrian, and I have made\nit plain to him that if he allows his kingdom to take sides with\nSerbia he will have no kingdom when the war is over--it will be a\npart of Austria.\n\n\"It was with greater difficulty, however, my dear Peter, that I\nconvinced him that you, Von Coblich, and Captain Maenck were his\nmost loyal friends. He fears you yet, but, nevertheless, he has\npardoned you all. Do not forget when you return to your dear Lutha\nthat you owe your repatriation to Count Zellerndorf of Austria.\"\n\n\"You may be assured that we shall never forget,\" replied another\nvoice that Barney recognized at once as belonging to Prince Peter of\nBlentz, the one time regent of Lutha.\n\n\"It is not for myself,\" continued Count Zellerndorf, \"that I crave\nyour gratitude, but for my emperor. You may do much to win his\nundying gratitude, while for yourselves you may win to almost any\nheight with the friendship of Austria behind you. I am sure that\nshould any accident, which God forfend, deprive Lutha of her king,\nnone would make a more welcome successor in the eyes of Austria than\nour good friend Peter.\"\n\nBarney could almost see the smile of satisfaction upon the thin lips\nof Peter of Blentz as this broad hint fell from the lips of the\nAustrian diplomat--a hint that seemed to the American little short\nof the death sentence of Leopold, King of Lutha.\n\n\"We owed you much before, count,\" said Peter.  \"But for you we\nshould have been hanged a year ago--without your aid we should never\nhave been able to escape from the fortress of Lustadt or cross the\nborder into Austria-Hungary. I am sorry that Maenck failed in his\nmission, for had he not we would have had concrete evidence to\npresent to the king that we are indeed his loyal supporters. It\nwould have dispelled at once such fears and doubts as he may still\nentertain of our fealty.\"\n\n\"Yes, I, too, am sorry,\" agreed Zellerndorf.  \"I can assure you that\nthe news we hoped Captain Maenck would bring from America would have\ngone a long way toward restoring you to the confidence and good\ngraces of the king.\"\n\n\"I did my best,\" came another voice that caused Barney's eyes to go\nwide in astonishment, for it was none other than the voice of Maenck\nhimself. \"Twice I risked hanging to get him and only came away after\nI had been recognized.\"\n\n\"It is too bad,\" sighed Zellerndorf; \"though it may not be without\nits advantages after all, for now we still have this second bugbear\nto frighten Leopold with. So long, of course, as the American lives\nthere is always the chance that he may return and seek to gain the\nthrone. The fact that his mother was a Rubinroth princess might make\nit easy for Von der Tann to place him upon the throne without much\nopposition, and if he married the old man's daughter it is easy to\nconceive that the prince might favor such a move. At any rate, it\nshould not be difficult to persuade Leopold of the possibility of\nsuch a thing.\n\n\"Under the circumstances Leopold is almost convinced that his only\nhope of salvation lies in cementing friendly relations with the most\npowerful of Von der Tann's enemies, of which you three gentlemen\nstand preeminently in the foreground, and of assuring to himself the\nsupport of Austria. And now, gentlemen,\" he went on after a pause,\n\"good night. I have handed Prince Peter the necessary military\npasses to carry you safely through our lines, and tomorrow you may\nbe in Blentz if you wish.\"\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nCONDEMNED TO DEATH\n\nFor some time Barney Custer lay there in the dark revolving in his\nmind all that he had overheard through the partition--the thin\npartition which alone lay between himself and three men who would be\nonly too glad to embrace the first opportunity to destroy him. But\nhis fears were not for himself so much as for the daughter of old\nVon der Tann, and for all that might befall that princely house were\nthese three unhung rascals to gain Lutha and have their way with the\nweak and cowardly king who reigned there.\n\nIf he could but reach Von der Tann's ear and through him the king\nbefore the conspirators came to Lutha! But how might he accomplish\nit? Count Zellerndorf's parting words to the three had shown that\nmilitary passes were necessary to enable one to reach Lutha.\n\nHis papers were practically worthless even inside the lines. That\nthey would carry him through the lines he had not the slightest\nhope. There were two things to be accomplished if possible. One was\nto cross the frontier into Lutha; and the other, which of course was\nquite out of the question, was to prevent Peter of Blentz, Von\nCoblich, and Maenck from doing so. But was that altogether\nimpossible?\n\nThe idea that followed that question came so suddenly that it\nbrought Barney Custer out onto the floor in a bound, to don his\nclothes and sneak into the hall outside his room with the stealth of\na professional second-story man.\n\nTo the right of his own door was the door to the apartment in which\nthe three conspirators slept. At least, Barney hoped they slept. He\nbent close to the keyhole and listened. From within came no sound\nother than the regular breathing of the inmates. It had been at\nleast half an hour since the American had heard the conversation\ncease. A glance through the keyhole showed no light within the room.\nStealthily Barney turned the knob. Had they bolted the door? He felt\nthe tumbler move to the pressure--soundlessly. Then he pushed gently\ninward. The door swung.\n\nA moment later he stood in the room.  Dimly he could see two beds--a\nlarge one and a smaller. Peter of Blentz would be alone upon the\nsmaller bed, his henchmen sleeping together in the larger. Barney\ncrept toward the lone sleeper. At the bedside he fumbled in the dark\ngroping for the man's clothing--for the coat, in the breastpocket of\nwhich he hoped to find the military pass that might carry him safely\nout of Austria-Hungary and into Lutha. On the foot of the bed he\nfound some garments. Gingerly he felt them over, seeking the coat.\n\nAt last he found it.  His fingers, steady even under the nervous\ntension of this unaccustomed labor, discovered the inner pocket and\nthe folded paper. There were several of them; Barney took them all.\n\nSo far he made no noise.  None of the sleepers had stirred. Now he\ntook a step toward the doorway and--kicked a shoe that lay in his\npath. The slight noise in that quiet room sounded to Barney's ears\nlike the fall of a brick wall. Peter of Blentz stirred, turning in\nhis sleep. Behind him Barney heard one of the men in the other bed\nmove. He turned his head in that direction. Either Maenck or Coblich\nwas sitting up peering through the darkness.\n\n\"Is that you, Prince Peter?\"  The voice was Maenck's.\n\n\"What's the matter?\" persisted Maenck.\n\n\"I'm going for a drink of water,\" replied the American, and stepped\ntoward the door.\n\nBehind him Peter of Blentz sat up in bed.\n\n\"That you, Maenck?\" he called.\n\nInstantly Maenck was out of bed, for the first voice had come from\nthe vicinity of the doorway; both could not be Peter's.\n\n\"Quick!\" he cried; \"there's someone in our room.\"\n\nBarney leaped for the doorway, and upon his heels came the three\nconspirators. Maenck was closest to him--so close that Barney was\nforced to turn at the top of the stairs. In the darkness he was just\nconscious of the form of the man who was almost upon him. Then he\nswung a vicious blow for the other's face--a blow that landed, for\nthere was a cry of pain and anger as Maenck stumbled back into the\narms of the two behind him. From below came the sound of footsteps\nhurrying up the stairs to the accompaniment of a clanking saber.\nBarney's retreat was cut off.\n\nTurning, he dodged into his own room before the enemy could locate\nhim or even extricate themselves from the confusion of Maenck's\nsudden collision with the other two. But what could Barney gain by\nthe slight delay that would be immediately followed by his\napprehension?\n\nHe didn't know.  All that he was sure of was that there had been no\nother place to go than this little room. As he entered the first\nthing that his eyes fell upon was the small square window. Here at\nleast was some slight encouragement.\n\nHe ran toward it.  The lower sash was raised.  As the door behind\nhim opened to admit Peter of Blentz and his companions, Barney\nslipped through into the night, hanging by his hands from the sill\nwithout. What lay beneath or how far the drop he could not guess,\nbut that certain death menaced him from above he knew from the\nconversation he had overheard earlier in the evening.\n\nFor an instant he hung suspended.  He heard the men groping about\nthe room. Evidently they were in some fear of the unknown assailant\nthey sought, for they did not move about with undue rashness.\nPresently one of them struck a light--Barney could see its flare\nlighten the window casing for an instant.\n\n\"The room is empty,\" came a voice from above him.\n\n\"Look to the window!\" cried Peter of Blentz, and then Barney Custer\nlet go his hold upon the sill and dropped into the blackness below.\n\nHis fall was a short one, for the window had been directly over a\nlow shed at the side of the inn. Upon the roof of this the American\nlanded, and from there he dropped to the courtyard without mishap.\nGlancing up, he saw the heads of three men peering from the window\nof the room he had just quitted.\n\n\"There he is!\" cried one, and instantly the three turned back into\nthe room. As Barney fled from the courtyard he heard the rattle of\nhasty footsteps upon the rickety stairway of the inn.\n\nChoosing an alley rather than a street in which he might run upon\nsoldiers at any moment, he moved quickly yet cautiously away from\nthe inn. Behind him he could hear the voices of many men. They were\nraised to a high pitch by excitement. It was clear to Barney that\nthere were many more than the original three--Prince Peter had, in\nall probability, enlisted the aid of the military.\n\nCould he but reach the frontier with his stolen passes he would be\ncomparatively safe, for the rugged mountains of Lutha offered many\nplaces of concealment, and, too, there were few Luthanians who did\nnot hate Peter of Blentz most cordially--among the men of the\nmountains at least. Once there he could defy a dozen Blentz princes\nfor the little time that would be required to carry him into Serbia\nand comparative safety.\n\nAs he approached a cross street a couple of squares from the inn he\nfound it necessary to pass beneath a street lamp. For a moment he\npaused in the shadows of the alley listening. Hearing nothing moving\nin the street, Barney was about to make a swift spring for the\nshadows upon the opposite side when it occurred to him that it might\nbe safer to make assurance doubly sure by having a look up and down\nthe street before emerging into the light.\n\nIt was just as well that he did, for as he thrust his head around\nthe corner of the building the first thing that his eyes fell upon\nwas the figure of an Austrian sentry, scarcely three paces from him.\nThe soldier was standing in a listening attitude, his head half\nturned away from the American. The sounds coming from the direction\nof the inn were apparently what had attracted his attention.\n\nBehind him, Barney was sure he heard evidences of pursuit.  Before\nhim was certain detection should he attempt to cross the street. On\neither hand rose the walls of buildings. That he was trapped there\nseemed little doubt.\n\nHe continued to stand motionless, watching the Austrian soldier.\nShould the fellow turn toward him, he had but to withdraw his head\nwithin the shadow of the building that hid his body. Possibly the\nman might turn and take his beat in the opposite direction. In which\ncase Barney was sure he could dodge across the street, undetected.\n\nAlready the vague threat of pursuit from the direction of the inn\nhad developed into a certainty--he could hear men moving toward him\nthrough the alley from the rear. Would the sentry never move!\nEvidently not, until he heard the others coming through the alley.\nThen he would turn, and the devil would be to pay for the American.\n\nBarney was about hopeless.  He had been in the war zone long enough\nto know that it might prove a very disagreeable matter to be caught\nsneaking through back alleys at night. There was a single chance--a\nsort of forlorn hope--and that was to risk fate and make a dash\nbeneath the sentry's nose for the opposite alley mouth.\n\n\"Well, here goes,\" thought Barney.  He had heard that many of the\nAustrians were excellent shots. Visions of Beatrice, Nebraska,\nswarmed his memory. They were pleasant visions, made doubly alluring\nby the thought that the realities of them might never again be for\nhim.\n\nHe turned once more toward the sounds of pursuit--the men upon his\ntrack could not be over a square away--there was not an instant to\nbe lost. And then from above him, upon the opposite side of the\nalley, came a low: \"S-s-t!\"\n\nBarney looked up.  Very dimly he could see the dark outline of a\nwindow some dozen feet from the pavement, and framed within it the\nlighter blotch that might have been a human face. Again came the\nchallenging: \"S-s-t!\" Yes, there was someone above, signaling to\nhim.\n\n\"S-s-t!\" replied Barney.  He knew that he had been discovered, and\ncould think of no better plan for throwing the discoverer off his\nguard than to reply.\n\nThen a soft voice floated down to him--a woman's voice!\n\n\"Is that you?\"  The tongue was Serbian.  Barney could understand it,\nthough he spoke it but indifferently.\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied truthfully.\n\n\"Thank Heaven!\" came the voice from above.  \"I have been watching\nyou, and thought you one of the Austrian pigs. Quick! They are\ncoming--I can hear them;\" and at the same instant Barney saw\nsomething drop from the window to the ground. He crossed the alley\nquickly, and could have shouted in relief for what he found\nthere--the end of a knotted rope dangling from above.\n\nHis pursuers were almost upon him when he seized the rude ladder to\nclamber upward. At the window's ledge a firm, young hand reached out\nand, seizing his own, almost dragged him through the window. He\nturned to look back into the alley. He had been just in time; the\nAustrian sentry, alarmed by the sound of approaching footsteps down\nthe alley, had stepped into view. He stood there now with leveled\nrifle, a challenge upon his lips. From the advancing party came a\nsatisfactory reply.\n\nAt the same instant the girl beside him in the Stygian blackness of\nthe room threw her arms about Barney's neck and drew his face down\nto hers.\n\n\"Oh, Stefan,\" she whispered, \"what a narrow escape!  It makes me\ntremble to think of it. They would have shot you, my Stefan!\"\n\nThe American put an arm about the girl's shoulders, and raised one\nhand to her cheek--it might have been in caress, but it wasn't. It\nwas to smother the cry of alarm he anticipated would follow the\ndiscovery that he was not \"Stefan.\" He bent his lips close to her\near.\n\n\"Do not make an outcry,\" he whispered in very poor Serbian.  \"I am\nnot Stefan; but I am a friend.\"\n\nThe exclamation of surprise or fright that he had expected was not\nforthcoming. The girl lowered her arms from about his neck.\n\n\"Who are you?\" she asked in a low whisper.\n\n\"I am an American war correspondent,\" replied Barney, \"but if the\nAustrians get hold of me now it will be mighty difficult to convince\nthem that I am not a spy.\" And then a sudden determination came to\nhim to trust his fate to this unknown girl, whose face, even, he had\nnever seen. \"I am entirely at your mercy,\" he said. \"There are\nAustrian soldiers in the street below. You have but to call to them\nto send me before the firing squad--or, you can let me remain here\nuntil I can find an opportunity to get away in safety. I am trying\nto reach Serbia.\"\n\n\"Why do you wish to reach Serbia?\" asked the girl suspiciously.\n\n\"I have discovered too many enemies in Austria tonight to make it\nsafe for me to remain,\" he replied, \"and, further, my original\nintention was to report the war from the Serbian side.\"\n\nThe girl hesitated for a while, evidently in thought.\n\n\"They are moving on,\" suggested Barney.  \"If you are going to give\nme up you'd better do it at once.\"\n\n\"I'm not going to give you up,\" replied the girl.  \"I'm going to\nkeep you prisoner until Stefan returns--he will know best what to do\nwith you. Now you must come with me and be locked up. Do not try to\nescape--I have a revolver in my hand,\" and to give her prisoner\nphysical proof of the weapon he could not see she thrust the muzzle\nagainst his side.\n\n\"I'll take your word for the gun,\" said Barney, \"if you'll just turn\nit in the other direction. Go ahead--I'll follow you.\"\n\n\"No, you won't,\" replied the girl.  \"You'll go first; but before\nthat you'll raise your hands above your head. I want to search you.\"\n\nBarney did as he was bid and a moment later felt deft fingers\nrunning over his clothing in search of concealed weapons. Satisfied\nat last that he was unarmed, the girl directed him to precede her,\nguiding his steps from behind with a hand upon his arm. Occasionally\nhe felt the muzzle of her revolver touch his body. It was a most\nunpleasant sensation.\n\nThey crossed the room to a door which his captor directed him to\nopen, and after they had passed through and she had closed it behind\nthem the girl struck a match and lit a candle which stood upon a\nlittle bracket on the partition wall. The dim light of the tallow\ndip showed Barney that he was in a narrow hall from which several\ndoors opened into different rooms. At one end of the hall a stairway\nled to the floor below, while at the opposite end another flight\ndisappeared into the darkness above.\n\n\"This way,\" said the girl, motioning toward the stairs that led\nupward.\n\nBarney had turned toward her as she struck the match, obtaining an\nexcellent view of her features. They were clear-cut and regular. Her\neyes were large and very dark. Dark also was her hair, which was\npiled in great heaps upon her finely shaped head. Altogether the\nface was one not easily to be forgotten. Barney could scarce have\ntold whether the girl was beautiful or not, but that she was\nstriking there could be no doubt.\n\nHe preceded her up the stairway to a door at the top.  At her\ndirection he turned the knob and entered a small room in which was a\ncot, an ancient dresser and a single chair.\n\n\"You will remain here,\" she said, \"until Stefan returns. Stefan will\nknow what to do with you.\" Then she left him, taking the light with\nher, and Barney heard a key turn in the lock of the door after she\nhad closed it. Presently her footfalls died out as she descended to\nthe lower floors.\n\n\"Anyhow,\" thought the American, \"this is better than the Austrians.\nI don't know what Stefan will do with me, but I have a rather vivid\nidea of what the Austrians would have done to me if they'd caught me\nsneaking through the alleys of Burgova at midnight.\"\n\nThrowing himself on the cot Barney was soon asleep, for though his\npredicament was one that, under ordinary circumstances might have\nmade sleep impossible, yet he had so long been without the boon of\nslumber that tired nature would no longer be denied.\n\nWhen he awoke it was broad daylight.  The sun was pouring in through\na skylight in the ceiling of his tiny chamber. Aside from this there\nwere no windows in the room. The sound of voices came to him with an\nuncanny distinctness that made it seem that the speakers must be in\nthis very chamber, but a glance about the blank walls convinced him\nthat he was alone.\n\nPresently he espied a small opening in the wall at the head of his\ncot. He rose and examined it. The voices appeared to be coming from\nit. In fact, they were. The opening was at the top of a narrow shaft\nthat seemed to lead to the basement of the structure--apparently\nonce the shaft of a dumb-waiter or a chute for refuse or soiled\nclothes.\n\nBarney put his ear close to it.  The voices that came from below\nwere those of a man and a woman. He heard every word distinctly.\n\n\"We must search the house, fraulein,\" came in the deep voice of a\nman.\n\n\"Whom do you seek?\" inquired a woman's voice.  Barney recognized it\nas the voice of his captor.\n\n\"A Serbian spy, Stefan Drontoff,\" replied the man.  \"Do you know\nhim?\"\n\nThere was a considerable pause on the girl's part before she\nanswered, and then her reply was in such a low voice that Barney\ncould barely hear it.\n\n\"I do not know him,\" she said.  \"There are several men who lodge\nhere. What may this Stefan Drontoff look like?\"\n\n\"I have never seen him,\" replied the officer; \"but by arresting all\nthe men in the house we must get this Stefan also, if he is here.\"\n\n\"Oh!\" cried the girl, a new note in her voice, \"I guess I know now\nwhom you mean. There is one man here I have heard them call Stefan,\nthough for the moment I had forgotten it. He is in the small\nattic-room at the head of the stairs. Here is a key that will fit\nthe lock. Yes, I am sure that he is Stefan. You will find him there,\nand it should be easy to take him, for I know that he is unarmed. He\ntold me so last night when he came in.\"\n\n\"The devil!\" muttered Barney Custer; but whether he referred to his\npredicament or to the girl it would be impossible to tell. Already\nthe sound of heavy boots on the stairs announced the coming of\nmen--several of them. Barney heard the rattle of accouterments--the\nclank of a scabbard--the scraping of gun butts against the walls.\nThe Austrians were coming!\n\nHe looked about.  There was no way of escape except the door and the\nskylight, and the door was impossible.\n\nQuickly he tilted the cot against the door, wedging its legs against\na crack in the floor--that would stop them for a minute or two. Then\nhe wheeled the dresser beneath the skylight and, placing the chair\non top of it, scrambled to the seat of the latter. His head was at\nthe height of the skylight. To force the skylight from its frame\nrequired but a moment. A key entered the lock of the door from the\nopposite side and turned. He knew that someone without was pushing.\nThen he heard an oath and heavy battering upon the panels. A moment\nlater he had drawn himself through the skylight and stood upon the\nroof of the building. Before him stretched a series of uneven roofs\nto the end of the street. Barney did not hesitate. He started on a\nrapid trot toward the adjoining roof. From that he clambered to a\nhigher one beyond.\n\nOn he went, now leaping narrow courts, now dropping to low sheds and\nagain clambering to the heights of the higher buildings, until he\nhad come almost to the end of the row. Suddenly, behind him he heard\na hoarse shout, followed by the report of a rifle. With a whir, a\nbullet flew a few inches above his head. He had gained the last\nroof--a large, level roof--and at the shot he turned to see how near\nto him were his pursuers.\n\nFatal turn!\n\nScarce had he taken his eyes from the path ahead than his foot fell\nupon a glass skylight, and with a loud crash he plunged through amid\na shower of broken glass.\n\nHis fall was a short one.  Directly beneath the skylight was a bed,\nand on the bed a fat Austrian infantry captain. Barney lit upon the\npit of the captain's stomach. With a howl of pain the officer\ncatapulted Barney to the floor. There were three other beds in the\nroom, and in each bed one or two other officers. Before the American\ncould regain his feet they were all sitting on him--all except the\ninfantry captain. He lay shrieking and cursing in a painful attempt\nto regain his breath, every atom of which Barney had knocked out of\nhim.\n\nThe officers sitting on Barney alternately beat him and questioned\nhim, interspersing their interrogations with lurid profanity.\n\n\"If you will get off of me,\" at last shouted the American, \"I shall\nbe glad to explain--and apologize.\"\n\nThey let him up, scowling ferociously.  He had promised to explain,\nbut now that he was confronted by the immediate necessity of an\nexplanation that would prove at all satisfactory as to how he\nhappened to be wandering around the rooftops of Burgova, he\ndiscovered that his powers of invention were entirely inadequate.\nThe need for explaining, however, was suddenly removed. A shadow\nfell upon them from above, and as they glanced up Barney saw the\nfigure of an officer surrounded by several soldiers looking down\nupon him.\n\n\"Ah, you have him!\" cried the newcomer in evident satisfaction.\n\"It is well. Hold him until we descend.\"\n\nA moment later he and his escort had dropped through the broken\nskylight to the floor beside them.\n\n\"Who is the mad man?\" cried the captain who had broken Barney's\nfall. \"The assassin! He tried to murder me.\"\n\n\"I cannot doubt it,\" replied the officer who had just descended,\n\"for the fellow is no other than Stefan Drontoff, the famous Serbian\nspy!\"\n\n\"Himmel!\" ejaculated the officers in chorus.  \"You have done a good\nday's work, lieutenant.\"\n\n\"The firing squad will do a better work in a few minutes,\" replied\nthe lieutenant, with a grim pointedness that took Barney's breath\naway.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nBEFORE THE FIRING SQUAD\n\nThey marched Barney before the staff where he urged his American\nnationality, pointing to his credentials and passes in support of\nhis contention.\n\nThe general before whom he had been brought shrugged his shoulders.\n\"They are all Americans as soon as they are caught,\" he said; \"but\nwhy did you not claim to be Prince Peter of Blentz? You have his\npasses as well. How can you expect us to believe your story when you\nhave in your possession passes for different men?\n\n\"We have every respect for our friends the Americans.  I would even\nstretch a point rather than chance harming an American; but you will\nadmit that the evidence is all against you. You were found in the\nvery building where Drontoff was known to stay while in Burgova. The\nyoung woman whose mother keeps the place directed our officer to\nyour room, and you tried to escape, which I do not think that an\ninnocent American would have done.\n\n\"However, as I have said, I will go to almost any length rather than\nchance a mistake in the case of one who from his appearance might\npass more readily for an American than a Serbian. I have sent for\nPrince Peter of Blentz. If you can satisfactorily explain to him how\nyou chance to be in possession of military passes bearing his name I\nshall be very glad to give you the benefit of every other doubt.\"\n\nPeter of Blentz.  Send for Peter of Blentz!  Barney wondered just\nwhat kind of a sensation it was to stand facing a firing squad. He\nhoped that his knees wouldn't tremble--they felt a trifle weak even\nnow. There was a chance that the man might not recall his face, but\na very slight chance. It had been his remarkable likeness to Leopold\nof Lutha that had resulted in the snatching of a crown from Prince\nPeter's head.\n\nLikely indeed that he would ever forget his, Barney's, face, though\nhe had seen it but once without the red beard that had so added to\nBarney's likeness to the king. But Maenck would be along, of course,\nand Maenck would have no doubts--he had seen Barney too recently in\nBeatrice to fail to recognize him now.\n\nSeveral men were entering the room where Barney stood before the\ngeneral and his staff. A glance revealed to the prisoner that Peter\nof Blentz had come, and with him Von Coblich and Maenck. At the same\ninstant Peter's eyes met Barney's, and the former, white and\nwide-eyed came almost to a dead halt, grasping hurriedly at the arm\nof Maenck who walked beside him.\n\n\"My God!\" was all that Barney heard him say, but he spoke a name\nthat the American did not hear. Maenck also looked his surprise, but\nhis expression was suddenly changed to one of malevolent cunning and\ngratification. He turned toward Prince Peter with a few\nlow-whispered words. A look of relief crossed the face of the Blentz\nprince.\n\n\"You appear to know the gentleman,\" said the general who had been\nconducting Barney's examination. \"He has been arrested as a Serbian\nspy, and military passes in your name were found upon his person\ntogether with the papers of an American newspaper correspondent,\nwhich he claims to be. He is charged with being Stefan Drontoff,\nwhom we long have been anxious to apprehend. Do you chance to know\nanything about him, Prince Peter?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Peter of Blentz, \"I know him well by sight. He\nentered my room last night and stole the military passes from my\ncoat--we all saw him and pursued him, but he got away in the dark.\nThere can be no doubt but that he is the Serbian spy.\"\n\n\"He insists that he is Bernard Custer, an American,\" urged the\ngeneral, who, it seemed to Barney, was anxious to make no mistake,\nand to give the prisoner every reasonable chance--a state of mind\nthat rather surprised him in a European military chieftain, all of\nwhom appeared to share the popular obsession regarding the\nprevalence of spies.\n\n\"Pardon me, general,\" interrupted Maenck.  \"I am well acquainted\nwith Mr. Custer, who spent some time in Lutha a couple of years ago.\nThis man is not he.\"\n\n\"That is sufficient, gentlemen, I thank you,\" said the general.  He\ndid not again look at the prisoner, but turned to a lieutenant who\nstood near-by. \"You may remove the prisoner,\" he directed. \"He will\nbe destroyed with the others--here is the order,\" and he handed the\nsubaltern a printed form upon which many names were filled in and at\nthe bottom of which the general had just signed his own. It had\nevidently been waiting the outcome of the examination of Stefan\nDrontoff.\n\nSurrounded by soldiers, Barney Custer walked from the presence of\nthe military court. It was to him as though he moved in a strange\nworld of dreams. He saw the look of satisfaction upon the face of\nPeter of Blentz as he passed him, and the open sneer of Maenck. As\nyet he did not fully realize what it all meant--that he was marching\nto his death! For the last time he was looking upon the faces of his\nfellow men; for the last time he had seen the sun rise, never again\nto see it set.\n\nHe was to be \"destroyed.\"  He had heard that expression used many\ntimes in connection with useless horses, or vicious dogs.\nMechanically he drew a cigarette from his pocket and lighted it.\nThere was no bravado in the act. On the contrary it was done almost\nunconsciously. The soldiers marched him through the streets of\nBurgova. The men were entirely impassive--even so early in the war\nthey had become accustomed to this grim duty. The young officer who\ncommanded them was more nervous than the prisoner--it was his first\ndetail with a firing squad. He looked wonderingly at Barney,\nexpecting momentarily to see the man collapse, or at least show some\nsign of terror at his close impending fate; but the American walked\nsilently toward his death, puffing leisurely at his cigarette.\n\nAt last, after what seemed a long time, his guard turned in at a\nlarge gateway in a brick wall surrounding a factory. As they entered\nBarney saw twenty or thirty men in civilian dress, guarded by a\ndozen infantrymen. They were standing before the wall of a low brick\nbuilding. Barney noticed that there were no windows in the wall. It\nsuddenly occurred to him that there was something peculiarly grim\nand sinister in the appearance of the dead, blank surface of\nweather-stained brick. For the first time since he had faced the\nmilitary court he awakened to a full realization of what it all\nmeant to him--he was going to be lined up against that ominous brick\nwall with these other men--they were going to shoot them.\n\nA momentary madness seized him.  He looked about upon the other\nprisoners and guards. A sudden break for liberty might give him\ntemporary respite. He could seize a rifle from the nearest soldier,\nand at least have the satisfaction of selling his life dearly. As he\nlooked he saw more soldiers entering the factory yard.\n\nA sudden apathy overwhelmed him.  What was the use? He could not\nescape. Why should he wish to kill these soldiers? It was not they\nwho were responsible for his plight--they were but obeying orders.\nThe close presence of death made life seem very desirable. These\nmen, too, desired life. Why should he take it from them uselessly?\nAt best he might kill one or two, but in the end he would be killed\nas surely as though he took his place before the brick wall with the\nothers.\n\nHe noticed now that these others evinced no inclination to contest\ntheir fates. Why should he, then? Doubtless many of them were as\ninnocent as he, and all loved life as well. He saw that several were\nweeping silently. Others stood with bowed heads gazing at the\nhard-packed earth of the factory yard. Ah, what visions were their\neyes beholding for the last time! What memories of happy firesides!\nWhat dear, loved faces were limned upon that sordid clay!\n\nHis reveries were interrupted by the hoarse voice of a sergeant,\nbreaking rudely in upon the silence and the dumb terror. The fellow\nwas herding the prisoners into position. When he was done Barney\nfound himself in the front rank of the little, hopeless band.\nOpposite them, at a few paces, stood the firing squad, their gun\nbutts resting upon the ground.\n\nThe young lieutenant stood at one side.  He issued some instructions\nin a low tone, then he raised his voice.\n\n\"Ready!\" he commanded.  Fascinated by the horror of it, Barney\nwatched the rifles raised smartly to the soldiers' hips--the\nmovement was as precise as though the men were upon parade. Every\nbolt clicked in unison with its fellows.\n\n\"Aim!\"  the pieces leaped to the hollows of the men's shoulders.\nThe leveled barrels were upon a line with the breasts of the\ncondemned. A man at Barney's right moaned. Another sobbed.\n\n\"Fire!\"  There was the hideous roar of the volley.  Barney Custer\ncrumpled forward to the ground, and three bodies fell upon his. A\nmoment later there was a second volley--all had not fallen at the\nfirst. Then the soldiers came among the bodies, searching for signs\nof life; but evidently the two volleys had done their work. The\nsergeant formed his men in line. The lieutenant marched them away.\nOnly silence remained on guard above the pitiful dead in the factory\nyard.\n\nThe day wore on and still the stiffening corpses lay where they had\nfallen. Twilight came and then darkness. A head appeared above the\ntop of the wall that had enclosed the grounds. Eyes peered through\nthe night and keen ears listened for any sign of life within. At\nlast, evidently satisfied that the place was deserted, a man crawled\nover the summit of the wall and dropped to the ground within. Here\nagain he paused, peering and listening.\n\nWhat strange business had he here among the dead that demanded such\ncaution in its pursuit? Presently he advanced toward the pile of\ncorpses. Quickly he tore open coats and searched pockets. He ran his\nfingers along the fingers of the dead. Two rings had rewarded his\nsearch and he was busy with a third that encircled the finger of a\nbody that lay beneath three others. It would not come off. He pulled\nand tugged, and then he drew a knife from his pocket.\n\nBut he did not sever the digit.  Instead he shrank back with a\nmuffled scream of terror. The corpse that he would have mutilated\nhad staggered suddenly to its feet, flinging the dead bodies to one\nside as it rose.\n\n\"You fiend!\" broke from the lips of the dead man, and the ghoul\nturned and fled, gibbering in his fright.\n\nThe tramp of soldiers in the street beyond ceased suddenly at the\nsound from within the factory yard. It was a detail of the guard\nmarching to the relief of sentries. A moment later the gates swung\nopen and a score of soldiers entered. They saw a figure dodging\ntoward the wall a dozen paces from them, but they did not see the\nother that ran swiftly around the corner of the factory.\n\nThis other was Barney Custer of Beatrice.  When the command to fire\nhad been given to the squad of riflemen, a single bullet had creased\nthe top of his head, stunning him. All day he had lain there\nunconscious. It had been the tugging of the ghoul at his ring that\nhad roused him to life at last.\n\nBehind him, as he scurried around the end of the factory building,\nhe heard the scattering fire of half a dozen rifles, followed by a\nscream--the fleeing hyena had been hit. Barney crouched in the\nshadow of a pile of junk. He heard the voices of soldiers as they\ngathered about the wounded man, questioning him, and a moment later\nthe imperious tones of an officer issuing instructions to his men to\nsearch the yard. That he must be discovered seemed a certainty to\nthe American. He crouched further back in the shadows close to the\nwall, stepping with the utmost caution.\n\nPresently to his chagrin his foot touched the metal cover of a\nmanhole; there was a resultant rattling that smote upon Barney's\nears and nerves with all the hideous clatter of a boiler shop. He\nhalted, petrified, for an instant. He was no coward, but after being\nso near death, life had never looked more inviting, and he knew that\nto be discovered meant certain extinction this time.\n\nThe soldiers were circling the building.  Already he could hear them\nnearing his position. In another moment they would round the corner\nof the building and be upon him. For an instant he contemplated a\nbold rush for the fence. In fact, he had gathered himself for the\nleaping start and the quick sprint across the open under the noses\nof the soldiers who still remained beside the dying ghoul, when his\nmind suddenly reverted to the manhole beneath his feet. Here lay a\nhiding place, at least until the soldiers had departed.\n\nBarney stooped and raised the heavy lid, sliding it to one side.\nHow deep was the black chasm beneath he could not even guess.\nDoubtless it led into a coal bunker, or it might open over a pit of\ngreat depth. There was no way to discover other than to plumb the\nabyss with his body. Above was death--below, a chance of safety.\n\nThe soldiers were quite close when Barney lowered himself through\nthe manhole. Clinging with his fingers to the upper edge his feet\nstill swung in space. How far beneath was the bottom? He heard the\nscraping of the heavy shoes of the searchers close above him, and\nthen he closed his eyes, released the grasp of his fingers, and\ndropped.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nA RACE TO LUTHA\n\nBarney's fall was not more than four or five feet.  He found himself\nupon a slippery floor of masonry over which two or three inches of\nwater ran sluggishly. Above him he heard the soldiers pass the open\nmanhole. It was evident that in the darkness they had missed it.\n\nFor a few minutes the fugitive remained motionless, then, hearing no\nsounds from above he started to grope about his retreat. Upon two\nsides were blank, circular walls, upon the other two circular\nopenings about four feet in diameter. It was through these openings\nthat the tiny stream of water trickled.\n\nBarney came to the conclusion that he had dropped into a sewer.  To\nget out the way he had entered appeared impossible. He could not\nleap upward from the slimy, concave bottom the distance he had\ndropped. To follow the sewer upward would lead him nowhere nearer\nescape. There remained no hope but to follow the trickling stream\ndownward toward the river, into which his judgment told him the\nentire sewer system of the city must lead.\n\nStooping, he entered the ill-smelling circular conduit, groping his\nway slowly along. As he went the water deepened. It was half way to\nhis knees when he plunged unexpectedly into another tube running at\nright angles to the first. The bottom of this tube was lower than\nthat of the one which emptied into it, so that Barney now found\nhimself in a swiftly running stream of filth that reached above his\nknees. Downward he followed this flood--faster now for the fear of\nthe deadly gases which might overpower him before he could reach the\nriver.\n\nThe water deepened gradually as he went on.  At last he reached a\npoint where, with his head scraping against the roof of the sewer,\nhis chin was just above the surface of the stream. A few more steps\nwould be all that he could take in this direction without drowning.\nCould he retrace his way against the swift current? He did not know.\nHe was weakened from the effects of his wound, from lack of food and\nfrom the exertions of the past hour. Well, he would go on as far as\nhe could. The river lay ahead of him somewhere. Behind was only the\nhostile city.\n\nHe took another step.  His foot found no support.  He surged\nbackward in an attempt to regain his footing, but the power of the\nflood was too much for him. He was swept forward to plunge into\nwater that surged above his head as he sank. An instant later he had\nregained the surface and as his head emerged he opened his eyes.\n\nHe looked up into a starlit heaven!  He had reached the mouth of the\nsewer and was in the river. For a moment he lay still, floating upon\nhis back to rest. Above him he heard the tread of a sentry along the\nriver front, and the sound of men's voices.\n\nThe sweet, fresh air, the star-shot void above, acted as a powerful\ntonic to his shattered hopes and overwrought nerves. He lay inhaling\ngreat lungsful of pure, invigorating air. He listened to the voices\nof the Austrian soldiery above him. All the buoyancy of his inherent\nAmericanism returned to him.\n\n\"This is no place for a minister's son,\" he murmured, and turning\nover struck out for the opposite shore. The river was not wide, and\nBarney was soon nearing the bank along which he could see occasional\ncamp fires. Here, too, were Austrians. He dropped down-stream below\nthese, and at last approached the shore where a wood grew close to\nthe water's edge. The bank here was steep, and the American had some\ndifficulty in finding a place where he could clamber up the\nprecipitous wall of rock. But finally he was successful, finding\nhimself in a little clump of bushes on the river's brim. Here he lay\nresting and listening--always listening. It seemed to Barney that\nhis ears ached with the constant strain of unflagging duty that his\nvery existence demanded of them.\n\nHearing nothing, he crawled at last from his hiding place with the\npurpose of making his way toward the south and to the frontier as\nrapidly as possible. He could hope only to travel by night, and he\nguessed that this night must be nearly spent. Stooping, he moved\ncautiously away from the river. Through the shadows of the wood he\nmade his way for perhaps a hundred yards when he was suddenly\nconfronted by a figure that stepped from behind the bole of a tree.\n\n\"Halt!  Who goes there?\" came the challenge.\n\nBarney's heart stood still.  With all his care he had run straight\ninto the arms of an Austrian sentry. To run would be to be shot. To\nadvance would mean capture, and that too would mean death.\n\nFor the barest fraction of an instant he hesitated, and then his\nquick American wits came to his aid. Feigning intoxication he\nanswered the challenge in dubious Austrian that he hoped his maudlin\ntongue would excuse.\n\n\"Friend,\" he answered thickly.  \"Friend with a drink--have one?\"\nAnd he staggered drunkenly forward, banking all upon the credulity\nand thirst of the soldier who confronted him with fixed bayonet.\n\nThat the sentry was both credulous and thirsty was evidenced by the\nfact that he let Barney come within reach of his gun. Instantly the\ndrunken Austrian was transformed into a very sober and active engine\nof destruction. Seizing the barrel of the piece Barney jerked it to\none side and toward him, and at the same instant he leaped for the\nthroat of the sentry.\n\nSo quickly was this accomplished that the Austrian had time only for\na single cry, and that was choked in his windpipe by the steel\nfingers of the American. Together both men fell heavily to the\nground, Barney retaining his hold upon the other's throat.\n\nStriking and clutching at one another they fought in silence for a\ncouple of minutes, then the soldier's struggles began to weaken. He\nsquirmed and gasped for breath. His mouth opened and his tongue\nprotruded. His eyes started from their sockets. Barney closed his\nfingers more tightly upon the bearded throat. He rained heavy blows\nupon the upturned face. The beating fists of his adversary waved\nwildly now--the blows that reached Barney were pitifully weak.\nPresently they ceased. The man struggled violently for an instant,\ntwitched spasmodically and lay still.\n\nBarney clung to him for several minutes longer, until there was not\nthe slightest indication of remaining life. The perpetration of the\ndeed sickened him; but he knew that his act was warranted, for it\nhad been either his life or the other's. He dragged the body back to\nthe bushes in which he had been hiding. There he stripped off the\nAustrian uniform, put his own clothes upon the corpse and rolled it\ninto the river.\n\nDressed as an Austrian private, Barney Custer shouldered the dead\nsoldier's gun and walked boldly through the wood to the south.\nMomentarily he expected to run upon other soldiers, but though he\nkept straight on his way for hours he encountered none. The thin\nline of sentries along the river had been posted only to double the\npreventive measures that had been taken to keep Serbian spies either\nfrom entering or leaving the city.\n\nToward dawn, at the darkest period of the night, Barney saw lights\nahead of him. Apparently he was approaching a village. He went more\ncautiously now, but all his care did not prevent him from running\nfor the second time that night almost into the arms of a sentry.\nThis time, however, Barney saw the soldier before he himself was\ndiscovered. It was upon the edge of the town, in an orchard, that\nthe sentinel was posted. Barney, approaching through the trees,\ndarting from one to another, was within a few paces of the man\nbefore he saw him.\n\nThe American remained quietly in the shadow of a tree waiting for an\nopportunity to escape, but before it came he heard the approach of a\nsmall body of troops. They were coming from the village directly\ntoward the orchard. They passed the sentry and marched within a\ndozen feet of the tree behind which Barney was hiding.\n\nAs they came opposite him he slipped around the tree to the opposite\nside. The sentry had resumed his pacing, and was now out of sight\nmomentarily among the trees further on. He could not see the\nAmerican, but there were others who could. They came in the shape of\na non-commissioned officer and a detachment of the guard to relieve\nthe sentry. Barney almost bumped into them as he rounded the tree.\nThere was no escape--the non-commissioned officer was within two\nfeet of him when Barney discovered him. \"What are you doing here?\"\nshouted the sergeant with an oath. \"Your post is there,\" and he\npointed toward the position where Barney had seen the sentry.\n\nAt first Barney could scarce believe his ears.  In the darkness the\nsergeant had mistaken him for the sentinel! Could he carry it out?\nAnd if so might it not lead him into worse predicament? No, Barney\ndecided, nothing could be worse. To be caught masquerading in the\nuniform of an Austrian soldier within the Austrian lines was to\nplumb the uttermost depth of guilt--nothing that he might do now\ncould make his position worse.\n\nHe faced the sergeant, snapping his piece to present, hoping that\nthis was the proper thing to do. Then he stumbled through a brief\nexcuse. The officer in command of the troops that had just passed\nhad demanded the way of him, and he had but stepped a few paces from\nhis post to point out the road to his superior.\n\nThe sergeant grunted and ordered him to fall in.  Another man took\nhis place on duty. They were far from the enemy and discipline was\nlax, so the thing was accomplished which under other circumstances\nwould have been well nigh impossible. A moment later Barney found\nhimself marching back toward the village, to all intents and\npurposes an Austrian private.\n\nBefore a low, windowless shed that had been converted into barracks\nfor the guard, the detail was dismissed. The men broke ranks and\nsought their blankets within the shed, tired from their lonely vigil\nupon sentry duty.\n\nBarney loitered until the last.  All the others had entered. He\ndared not, for he knew that any moment the sentry upon the post from\nwhich he had been taken would appear upon the scene, after\ndiscovering another of his comrades. He was certain to inquire of\nthe sergeant. They would be puzzled, of course, and, being soldiers,\nthey would be suspicious. There would be an investigation, which\nwould start in the barracks of the guard. That neighborhood would at\nonce become a most unhealthy spot for Barney Custer, of Beatrice,\nNebraska.\n\nWhen the last of the soldiers had entered the shed Barney glanced\nquickly about. No one appeared to notice him. He walked directly\npast the doorway to the end of the building. Around this he found a\nyard, deeply shadowed. He entered it, crossed it, and passed out\ninto an alley beyond. At the first cross-street his way was blocked\nby the sight of another sentry--the world seemed composed entirely\nof Austrian sentries. Barney wondered if the entire Austrian army\nwas kept perpetually upon sentry duty; he had scarce been able to\nturn without bumping into one.\n\nHe turned back into the alley and at last found a crooked passageway\nbetween buildings that he hoped might lead him to a spot where there\nwas no sentry, and from which he could find his way out of the\nvillage toward the south. The passage, after devious windings, led\ninto a large, open court, but when Barney attempted to leave the\ncourt upon the opposite side he found the ubiquitous sentries upon\nguard there.\n\nEvidently there would be no escape while the Austrians remained in\nthe town. There was nothing to do, therefore, but hide until the\nhappy moment of their departure arrived. He returned to the\ncourtyard, and after a short search discovered a shed in one corner\nthat had evidently been used to stable a horse, for there was straw\nat one end of it and a stall in the other. Barney sat down upon the\nstraw to wait developments. Tired nature would be denied no longer.\nHis eyes closed, his head drooped upon his breast. In three minutes\nfrom the time he entered the shed he was stretched full length upon\nthe straw, fast asleep.\n\nThe chugging of a motor awakened him.  It was broad daylight.  Many\nsounds came from the courtyard without. It did not take Barney long\nto gather his scattered wits--in an instant he was wide awake. He\nglanced about. He was the only occupant of the shed. Rising, he\napproached a small window that looked out upon the court. All was\nlife and movement. A dozen military cars either stood about or moved\nin and out of the wide gates at the opposite end of the enclosure.\nOfficers and soldiers moved briskly through a doorway that led into\na large building that flanked the court upon one side. While Barney\nslept the headquarters of an Austrian army corps had moved in and\ntaken possession of the building, the back of which abutted upon the\ncourt where lay his modest little shed.\n\nBarney took it all in at a single glance, but his eyes hung long and\ngreedily upon the great, high-powered machines that chugged or\npurred about him.\n\nGad!  If he could but be behind the wheel of such a car for an hour!\nThe frontier could not be over fifty miles to the south, of that he\nwas quite positive; and what would fifty miles be to one of those\nmachines?\n\nBarney sighed as a great, gray-painted car whizzed into the\ncourtyard and pulled up before the doorway. Two officers jumped out\nand ran up the steps. The driver, a young man in a uniform not\nunlike that which Barney wore, drew the car around to the end of the\ncourtyard close beside Barney's shed. Here he left it and entered\nthe building into which his passengers had gone. By reaching through\nthe window Barney could have touched the fender of the machine. A\nfew seconds' start in that and it would take more than an Austrian\narmy corps to stop him this side of the border. Thus mused Barney,\nknowing already that the mad scheme that had been born within his\nbrain would be put to action before he was many minutes older.\n\nThere were many soldiers on guard about the courtyard. The greatest\ndanger lay in arousing the suspicions of one of these should he\nchance to see Barney emerge from the shed and enter the car.\n\n\"The proper thing,\" thought Barney, \"is to come from the building\ninto which everyone seems to pass, and the only way to be seen\ncoming out of it is to get into it; but how the devil am I to get\ninto it?\"\n\nThe longer he thought the more convinced he became that utter\nrecklessness and boldness would be his only salvation. Briskly he\nwalked from the shed out into the courtyard beneath the eyes of the\nsentries, the officers, the soldiers, and the military drivers. He\nmoved straight among them toward the doorway of the headquarters as\nthough bent upon important business--which, indeed, he was. At least\nit was quite the most important business to Barney Custer that that\nyoung gentleman could recall having ventured upon for some time.\n\nNo one paid the slightest attention to him.  He had left his gun in\nthe shed for he noticed that only the men on guard carried them.\nWithout an instant's hesitation he ran briskly up the short flight\nof steps and entered the headquarters building. Inside was another\nsentry who barred his way questioningly. Evidently one must state\none's business to this person before going farther. Barney, without\nany loss of time or composure, stepped up to the guard.\n\n\"Has General Kampf passed in this morning?\" he asked blithely.\nBarney had never heard of any \"General Kampf,\" nor had the sentry,\nsince there was no such person in the Austrian army. But he did\nknow, however, that there were altogether too many generals for any\none soldier to know the names of them all.\n\n\"I do not know the general by sight,\" replied the sentry.\n\nHere was a pretty mess, indeed.  Doubtless the sergeant would know a\ngreat deal more than would be good for Barney Custer. The young man\nlooked toward the door through which he had just entered. His sole\nobject in coming into the spider's parlor had been to make it\npossible for him to come out again in full view of all the guards\nand officers and military chauffeurs, that their suspicions might\nnot be aroused when he put his contemplated coup to the test.\n\nHe glanced toward the door.  Machines were whizzing in and out of\nthe courtyard. Officers on foot were passing and repassing. The\nsentry in the hallway was on the point of calling his sergeant.\n\n\"Ah!\" cried Barney.  \"There is the general now,\" and without waiting\nto cast even a parting glance at the guard he stepped quickly\nthrough the doorway and ran down the steps into the courtyard.\nLooking neither to right nor to left, and with a convincing air of\nself-confidence and important business, he walked directly to the\nbig, gray machine that stood beside the little shed at the end of\nthe courtyard.\n\nTo crank it and leap to the driver's seat required but a moment.\nThe big car moved smoothly forward. A turn of the steering wheel\nbrought it around headed toward the wide gates. Barney shifted to\nsecond speed, stepped on the accelerator and the cut-out\nsimultaneously, and with a noise like the rattle of a machine gun,\nshot out of the courtyard.\n\nNone who saw his departure could have guessed from the manner of it\nthat the young man at the wheel of the gray car was stealing the\nmachine or that his life depended upon escape without detection. It\nwas the very boldness of his act that crowned it with success.\n\nOnce in the street Barney turned toward the south.  Cars were\npassing up and down in both directions, usually at high speed. Their\nnumbers protected the fugitive. Momentarily he expected to be\nhalted; but he passed out of the village without mishap and reached\na country road which, except for a lane down its center along which\nautomobiles were moving, was blocked with troops marching southward.\nThrough this soldier-walled lane Barney drove for half an hour.\n\nFrom a great distance, toward the southeast, he could hear the boom\nof cannon and the bursting of shells. Presently the road forked. The\ntroops were moving along the road on the left toward the distant\nbattle line. Not a man or machine was turning into the right fork,\nthe road toward the south that Barney wished to take.\n\nCould he successfully pass through the marching soldiers at his\nright? Among all those officers there surely would be one who would\nquestion the purpose and destination of this private soldier who\ndrove alone in the direction of the nearby frontier.\n\nThe moment had come when he must stake everything on his ability to\ngain the open road beyond the plodding mass of troops. Diminishing\nthe speed of the car Barney turned it in toward the marching men at\nthe same time sounding his horn loudly. An infantry captain,\nmarching beside his company, was directly in front of the car. He\nlooked up at the American. Barney saluted and pointed toward the\nright-hand fork.\n\nThe captain turned and shouted a command to his men. Those who had\nnot passed in front of the car halted. Barney shot through the\nlittle lane they had opened, which immediately closed up behind him.\nHe was through! He was upon the open road! Ahead, as far as he could\nsee, there was no sign of any living creature to bar his way, and\nthe frontier could not be more than twenty-five miles away.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE TRAITOR KING\n\nIn his castle at Lustadt, Leopold of Lutha paced nervously back and\nforth between his great desk and the window that overlooked the\nroyal gardens. Upon the opposite side of the desk stood an old\nman--a tall, straight, old man with the bearing of a soldier and the\nhead of a lion. His keen, gray eyes were upon the king, and sorrow\nwas written upon his face. He was Ludwig von der Tann, chancellor of\nthe kingdom of Lutha.\n\nAt last the king stopped his pacing and faced the old man, though he\ncould not meet those eagle eyes squarely, try as he would. It was\nhis inability to do so, possibly, that added to his anger. Weak\nhimself, he feared this strong man and envied him his strength,\nwhich, in a weak nature, is but a step from hatred. There evidently\nhad been a long pause in their conversation, yet the king's next\nwords took up the thread of their argument where it had broken.\n\n\"You speak as though I had no right to do it,\" he snapped. \"One\nmight think that you were the king from the manner with which you\nupbraid and reproach me. I tell you, Prince von der Tann, that I\nshall stand it no longer.\"\n\nThe king approached the desk and pounded heavily upon its polished\nsurface with his fist. The physical act of violence imparted to him\na certain substitute for the moral courage which he lacked.\n\n\"I will tell you, sir, that I am king.  It was not necessary that I\nconsult you or any other man before pardoning Prince Peter and his\nassociates. I have investigated the matter thoroughly and I am\nconvinced that they have been taught a sufficient lesson and that\nhereafter they will be my most loyal subjects.\"\n\nHe hesitated.  \"Their presence here,\" he added, \"may prove an\nantidote to the ambitions of others who lately have taken it upon\nthemselves to rule Lutha for me.\"\n\nThere was no mistaking the king's meaning, but Prince Ludwig did not\nshow by any change of expression that the shot had struck him in a\nvulnerable spot; nor, upon the other hand, did he ignore the\ninsinuation. There was only sorrow in his voice when he replied.\n\n\"Sire,\" he said, \"for some time I have been aware of the activity of\nthose who would like to see Peter of Blentz returned to favor with\nyour majesty. I have warned you, only to see that my motives were\nalways misconstrued. There is a greater power at work, your majesty,\nthan any of us--greater than Lutha itself. One that will stop at\nnothing in order to gain its ends. It cares naught for Peter of\nBlentz, naught for me, naught for you. It cares only for Lutha. For\nstrategic purposes it must have Lutha. It will trample you under\nfoot to gain its end, and then it will cast Peter of Blentz aside.\nYou have insinuated, sire, that I am ambitious. I am. I am ambitious\nto maintain the integrity and freedom of Lutha.\n\n\"For three hundred years the Von der Tanns have labored and fought\nfor the welfare of Lutha. It was a Von der Tann that put the first\nRubinroth king upon the throne of Lutha. To the last they were loyal\nto the former dynasty while that dynasty was loyal to Lutha. Only\nwhen the king attempted to sell the freedom of his people to a\npowerful neighbor did the Von der Tanns rise against him.\n\n\"Sire! the Von der Tanns have always been loyal to the house of\nRubinroth. And but a single thing rises superior within their\nbreasts to that loyalty, and that is their loyalty to Lutha.\" He\npaused for an instant before concluding. \"And I, sire, am a Von der\nTann.\"\n\nThere could be no mistaking the old man's meaning.  So long as\nLeopold was loyal to his people and their interests Ludwig von der\nTann would be loyal to Leopold. The king was cowed. He was very much\nafraid of this grim old warrior. He chafed beneath his censure.\n\n\"You are always scolding me,\" he cried irritably.  \"I am getting\ntired of it. And now you threaten me. Do you call that loyalty? Do\nyou call it loyalty to refuse to compel your daughter to keep her\nplighted troth? If you wish to prove your loyalty command the\nPrincess Emma to fulfil the promise you made my father--command her\nto wed me at once.\"\n\nVon der Tann looked the king straight in the eyes.\n\n\"I cannot do that,\" he said.  \"She has told me that she will kill\nherself rather than wed with your majesty. She is all I have left,\nsire. What good would be accomplished by robbing me of her if you\ncould not gain her by the act? Win her confidence and love, sire. It\nmay be done. Thus only may happiness result to you and to her.\"\n\n\"You see,\" exclaimed the king, \"what your loyalty amounts to!  I\nbelieve that you are saving her for the impostor--I have heard as\nmuch hinted at before this. Nor do I doubt that she would gladly\nconnive with the fellow if she thought there was a chance of his\nseizing the throne.\"\n\nVon der Tann paled.  For the first time righteous indignation and\nanger got the better of him. He took a step toward the king.\n\n\"Stop!\" he commanded.  \"No man, not even my king, may speak such\nwords to a Von der Tann.\"\n\nIn an antechamber just outside the room a man sat near the door that\nled into the apartment where the king and his chancellor quarreled.\nHe had been straining his ears to catch the conversation which he\ncould hear rising and falling in the adjoining chamber, but till now\nhe had been unsuccessful. Then came Prince Ludwig's last words\nbooming loudly through the paneled door, and the man smiled. He was\nCount Zellerndorf, the Austrian minister to Lutha.\n\nThe king's outraged majesty goaded him to an angry retort.\n\n\"You forget yourself, Prince von der Tann,\" he cried. \"Leave our\npresence. When we again desire to be insulted we shall send for\nyou.\"\n\nAs the chancellor passed into the antechamber Count Zellerndorf rose\nand greeted him warmly, almost effusively. Von der Tann returned his\nsalutations with courtesy but with no answering warmth. Then he\npassed on out of the palace.\n\n\"The old fox must have heard,\" he mused as he mounted his horse and\nturned his face toward Tann and the Old Forest.\n\nWhen Count Zellerndorf of Austria entered the presence of Leopold of\nLutha he found that young ruler much disturbed. He had resumed his\nrestless pacing between desk and window, and as the Austrian entered\nhe scarce paused to receive his salutation. Count Zellerndorf was a\nfrequent visitor at the palace. There were few formalities between\nthis astute diplomat and the young king; those had passed gradually\naway as their acquaintance and friendship ripened.\n\n\"Prince Ludwig appeared angry when he passed through the\nantechamber,\" ventured Zellerndorf. \"Evidently your majesty found\ncause to rebuke him.\"\n\nThe king nodded and looked narrowly at the Austrian. \"The Prince von\nder Tann insinuated that Austria's only wish in connection with\nLutha is to seize her,\" he said.\n\nZellerndorf raised his hands in well-simulated horror.\n\n\"Your majesty!\" he exclaimed.  \"It cannot be that the prince has\ngone to such lengths to turn you against your best friend, my\nemperor. If he has I can only attribute it to his own ambitions. I\nhave hesitated to speak to you of this matter, your majesty, but now\nthat the honor of my own ruler is questioned I must defend him.\n\n\"Bear with me then, should what I have to say wound you.  I well\nknow the confidence which the house of Von der Tann has enjoyed for\ncenturies in Lutha; but I must brave your wrath in the interest of\nright. I must tell you that it is common gossip in Vienna that Von\nder Tann aspires to the throne of Lutha either for himself or for\nhis daughter through the American impostor who once sat upon your\nthrone for a few days. And let me tell you more.\n\n\"The American will never again menace you--he was arrested in\nBurgova as a spy and executed. He is dead; but not so are Von der\nTann's ambitions. When he learns that he no longer may rely upon the\nstrain of the Rubinroth blood that flowed in the veins of the\nAmerican from his royal mother, the runaway Princess Victoria, there\nwill remain to him only the other alternative of seizing the throne\nfor himself. He is a very ambitious man, your majesty. Already he\nhas caused it to become current gossip that he is the real power\nbehind the throne of Lutha--that your majesty is but a figure-head,\nthe puppet of Von der Tann.\"\n\nZellerndorf paused.  He saw the flush of shame and anger that\nsuffused the king's face, and then he shot the bolt that he had come\nto fire, but which he had not dared to hope would find its target so\ndenuded of defense.\n\n\"Your majesty,\" he whispered, coming quite close to the king, \"all\nLutha is inclined to believe that you fear Prince von der Tann. Only\na few of us know the truth to be the contrary. For the sake of your\nprestige you must take some step to counteract this belief and stamp\nit out for good and all. I have planned a way--hear it.\n\n\"Von der Tann's hatred of Peter of Blentz is well known. No man in\nLutha believes that he would permit you to have any intercourse with\nPeter. I have brought from Blentz an invitation to your majesty to\nhonor the Blentz prince with your presence as a guest for the\nensuing week. Accept it, your majesty.\n\n\"Nothing could more conclusively prove to the most skeptical that\nyou are still the king, and that Von der Tann, nor any other, may\nnot dare to dictate to you. It will be the most splendid stroke of\nstatesmanship that you could achieve at the present moment.\"\n\nFor an instant the king stood in thought.  He still feared Peter of\nBlentz as the devil is reputed to fear holy water, though for\nconverse reasons. Yet he was very angry with Von der Tann. It would\nindeed be an excellent way to teach the presumptuous chancellor his\nplace.\n\nLeopold almost smiled as he thought of the chagrin with which Prince\nLudwig would receive the news that he had gone to Blentz as the\nguest of Peter. It was the last impetus that was required by his\nweak, vindictive nature to press it to a decision.\n\n\"Very well,\" he said, \"I will go tomorrow.\"\n\nIt was late the following day that Prince von der Tann received in\nhis castle in the Old Forest word that an Austrian army had crossed\nthe Luthanian frontier--the neutrality of Lutha had been violated.\nThe old chancellor set out immediately for Lustadt. At the palace he\nsought an interview with the king only to learn that Leopold had\ndeparted earlier in the day to visit Peter of Blentz.\n\nThere was but one thing to do and that was to follow the king to\nBlentz. Some action must be taken immediately--it would never do to\nlet this breach of treaty pass unnoticed.\n\nThe Serbian minister who had sent word to the chancellor of the\ninvasion by the Austrian troops was closeted with him for an hour\nafter his arrival at the palace. It was clear to both these men that\nthe hand of Zellerndorf was plainly in evidence in both the\nimportant moves that had occurred in Lutha within the past\ntwenty-four hours--the luring of the king to Blentz and the entrance\nof Austrian soldiery into Lutha.\n\nFollowing his interview with the Serbian minister Von der Tann rode\ntoward Blentz with only his staff in attendance. It was long past\nmidnight when the lights of the town appeared directly ahead of the\nlittle party. They rode at a trot along the road which passes\nthrough the village to wind upward again toward the ancient feudal\ncastle that looks down from its hilltop upon the town.\n\nAt the edge of the village Von der Tann was thunderstruck by a\nchallenge from a sentry posted in the road, nor was his dismay\nlessened when he discovered that the man was an Austrian.\n\n\"What is the meaning of this?\" he cried angrily.  \"What are Austrian\nsoldiers doing barring the roads of Lutha to the chancellor of\nLutha?\"\n\nThe sentry called an officer.  The latter was extremely suave.  He\nregretted the incident, but his orders were most positive--no one\ncould be permitted to pass through the lines without an order from\nthe general commanding. He would go at once to the general and see\nif he could procure the necessary order. Would the prince be so good\nas to await his return? Von der Tann turned on the young officer,\nhis face purpling with rage.\n\n\"I will pass nowhere within the boundaries of Lutha,\" he said, \"upon\nthe order of an Austrian. You may tell your general that my only\nregret is that I have not with me tonight the necessary force to\npass through his lines to my king--another time I shall not be so\nhandicapped,\" and Ludwig, Prince von der Tann, wheeled his mount and\nspurred away in the direction of Lustadt, at his heels an extremely\nangry and revengeful staff.\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nA TRAP IS SPRUNG\n\nLong before Prince von der Tann reached Lustadt he had come to the\nconclusion that Leopold was in virtue a prisoner in Blentz. To prove\nhis conclusion he directed one of his staff to return to Blentz and\nattempt to have audience with the king.\n\n\"Risk anything,\" he instructed the officer to whom he had entrusted\nthe mission. \"Submit, if necessary, to the humiliation of seeking an\nAustrian pass through the lines to the castle. See the king at any\ncost and deliver this message to him and to him alone and secretly.\nTell him my fears, and that if I do not have word from him within\ntwenty-four hours I shall assume that he is indeed a prisoner.\n\n\"I shall then direct the mobilization of the army and take such\nsteps as seem fit to rescue him and drive the invaders from the soil\nof Lutha. If you do not return I shall understand that you are held\nprisoner by the Austrians and that my worst fears have been\nrealized.\"\n\nBut Prince Ludwig was one who believed in being forehanded and so it\nhappened that the orders for the mobilization of the army of Lutha\nwere issued within fifteen minutes of his return to Lustadt. It\nwould do no harm, thought the old man, with a grim smile, to get\nthings well under way a day ahead of time. This accomplished, he\nsummoned the Serbian minister, with what purpose and to what effect\nbecame historically evident several days later. When, after\ntwenty-four hours' absence, his aide had not returned from Blentz,\nthe chancellor had no regrets for his forehandedness.\n\nIn the castle of Peter of Blentz the king of Lutha was being\nentertained royally. He was told nothing of the attempt of his\nchancellor to see him, nor did he know that a messenger from Prince\nvon der Tann was being held a prisoner in the camp of the Austrians\nin the village. He was surrounded by the creatures of Prince Peter\nand by Peter's staunch allies, the Austrian minister and the\nAustrian officers attached to the expeditionary force occupying the\ntown. They told him that they had positive information that the\nSerbians already had crossed the frontier into Lutha, and that the\npresence of the Austrian troops was purely for the protection of\nLutha.\n\nIt was not until the morning following the rebuff of Prince von der\nTann that Peter of Blentz, Count Zellerndorf and Maenck heard of the\noccurrence. They were chagrined by the accident, for they were not\nready to deliver their final stroke. The young officer of the guard\nhad, of course, but followed his instructions--who would have\nthought that old Von der Tann would come to Blentz! That he\nsuspected their motives seemed apparent, and now that his rebuff at\nthe gates had aroused his ire and, doubtless, crystallized his\nsuspicions, they might find in him a very ugly obstacle to the\nfruition of their plans.\n\nWith Von der Tann actively opposed to them, the value of having the\nking upon their side would be greatly minimized. The people and the\narmy had every confidence in the old chancellor. Even if he opposed\nthe king there was reason to believe that they might still side with\nhim.\n\n\"What is to be done?\" asked Zellerndorf.  \"Is there no way either to\nwin or force Von der Tann to acquiescence?\"\n\n\"I think we can accomplish it,\" said Prince Peter, after a moment of\nthought. \"Let us see Leopold. His mind has been prepared to receive\nalmost gratefully any insinuations against the loyalty of Von der\nTann. With proper evidence the king may easily be persuaded to order\nthe chancellor's arrest--possibly his execution as well.\"\n\nSo they saw the king, only to meet a stubborn refusal upon the part\nof Leopold to accede to their suggestions. He still was madly in\nlove with Von der Tann's daughter, and he knew that a blow delivered\nat her father would only tend to increase her bitterness toward him.\nThe conspirators were nonplussed.\n\nThey had looked for a comparatively easy road to the consummation of\ntheir desires. What in the world could be the cause of the king's\nstubborn desire to protect the man they knew he feared, hated, and\nmistrusted with all the energy of his suspicious nature? It was the\nking himself who answered their unspoken question.\n\n\"I cannot believe in the disloyalty of Prince Ludwig,\" he said, \"nor\ncould I, even if I desired it, take such drastic steps as you\nsuggest. Some day the Princess Emma, his daughter, will be my\nqueen.\"\n\nCount Zellerndorf was the first to grasp the possibilities that lay\nin the suggestion the king's words carried.\n\n\"Your majesty,\" he cried, \"there is a way to unite all factions in\nLutha. It would be better to insure the loyalty of Von der Tann\nthrough bonds of kinship than to antagonize him. Marry the Princess\nEmma at once.\n\n\"Wait, your majesty,\" he added, as Leopold raised an objecting hand.\n\"I am well informed as to the strange obstinacy of the princess, but\nfor the welfare of the state--yes, for the sake of your very throne,\nsire--you should exert your royal prerogatives and command the\nPrincess Emma to carry out the terms of your betrothal.\"\n\n\"What do you mean, Zellerndorf?\" asked the king.\n\n\"I mean, sire, that we should bring the princess here and compel her\nto marry you.\"\n\nLeopold shook his head.  \"You do not know her,\" he said. \"You do not\nknow the Von der Tann nature--one cannot force a Von der Tann.\"\n\n\"Pardon, sire,\" urged Zellerndorf, \"but I think it can be\naccomplished. If the Princess Emma knew that your majesty believed\nher father to be a traitor--that the order for his arrest and\nexecution but awaited your signature--I doubt not that she would\ngladly become queen of Lutha, with her father's life and liberty as\na wedding gift.\"\n\nFor several minutes no one spoke after Count Zellerndorf had ceased.\nLeopold sat looking at the toe of his boot. Peter of Blentz, Maenck,\nand the Austrian watched him intently. The possibilities of the plan\nwere sinking deep into the minds of all four. At last the king rose.\nHe was mumbling to himself as though unconscious of the presence of\nthe others.\n\n\"She is a stubborn jade,\" he mumbled.  \"It would be an excellent\nlesson for her. She needs to be taught that I am her king,\" and then\nas though his conscience required a sop, \"I shall be very good to\nher. Afterward she will be happy.\" He turned toward Zellerndorf.\n\"You think it can be done?\"\n\n\"Most assuredly, your majesty.  We shall take immediate steps to\nfetch the Princess Emma to Blentz,\" and the Austrian rose and backed\nfrom the apartment lest the king change his mind. Prince Peter and\nMaenck followed him.\n\n\nPrincess Emma von der Tann sat in her boudoir in her father's castle\nin the Old Forest. Except for servants, she was alone in the\nfortress, for Prince von der Tann was in Lustadt. Her mind was\noccupied with memories of the young American who had entered her\nlife under such strange circumstances two years before--memories\nthat had been awakened by the return of Lieutenant Otto Butzow to\nLutha. He had come directly to her father and had been attached to\nthe prince's personal staff.\n\nFrom him she had heard a great deal about Barney Custer, and the old\ninterest, never a moment forgotten during these two years, was\nreawakened to all its former intensity.\n\nButzow had accompanied Prince Ludwig to Lustadt, but Princess Emma\nwould not go with them. For two years she had not entered the\ncapital, and much of that period had been spent in Paris. Only\nwithin the past fortnight had she returned to Lutha.\n\nIn the middle of the morning her reveries were interrupted by the\nentrance of a servant bearing a message. She had to read it twice\nbefore she could realize its purport; though it was plainly\nworded--the shock of it had stunned her. It was dated at Lustadt and\nsigned by one of the palace functionaries:\n\n\nPrince von der Tann has suffered a slight stroke.  Do not be\nalarmed, but come at once. The two troopers who bear this message\nwill act as your escort.\n\n\nIt required but a few minutes for the girl to change to her riding\nclothes, and when she ran down into the court she found her horse\nawaiting her in the hands of her groom, while close by two mounted\ntroopers raised their hands to their helmets in salute.\n\nA moment later the three clattered over the drawbridge and along the\nroad that leads toward Lustadt. The escort rode a short distance\nbehind the girl, and they were hard put to it to hold the mad pace\nwhich she set them.\n\nA few miles from Tann the road forks.  One branch leads toward the\ncapital and the other winds over the hills in the direction of\nBlentz. The fork occurs within the boundaries of the Old Forest.\nGreat trees overhang the winding road, casting a twilight shade even\nat high noon. It is a lonely spot, far from any habitation.\n\nAs the Princess Emma approached the fork she reined in her mount,\nfor across the road to Lustadt a dozen horsemen barred her way. At\nfirst she thought nothing of it, turning her horse's head to the\nrighthand side of the road to pass the party, all of whom were in\nuniform; but as she did so one of the men reined directly in her\npath. The act was obviously intentional.\n\nThe girl looked quickly up into the man's face, and her own went\nwhite. He who stopped her way was Captain Ernst Maenck. She had not\nseen the man for two years, but she had good cause to remember him\nas the governor of the castle of Blentz and the man who had\nattempted to take advantage of her helplessness when she had been a\nprisoner in Prince Peter's fortress. Now she looked straight into\nthe fellow's eyes.\n\n\"Let me pass, please,\" she said coldly.\n\n\"I am sorry,\" replied Maenck with an evil smile; \"but the king's\norders are that you accompany me to Blentz--the king is there.\"\n\nFor answer the girl drove her spur into her mount's side. The animal\nleaped forward, striking Maenck's horse on the shoulder and half\nturning him aside, but the man clutched at the girl's bridle-rein,\nand, seizing it, brought her to a stop.\n\n\"You may as well come voluntarily, for come you must,\" he said.  \"It\nwill be easier for you.\"\n\n\"I shall not come voluntarily,\" she replied.  \"If you take me to\nBlentz you will have to take me by force, and if my king is not\nsufficiently a gentleman to demand an accounting of you, I am at\nleast more fortunate in the possession of a father who will.\"\n\n\"Your father will scarce wish to question the acts of his king,\"\nsaid Maenck--\"his king and the husband of his daughter.\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\" she cried.\n\n\"That before you are many hours older, your highness, you will be\nqueen of Lutha.\"\n\nThe Princess Emma turned toward her tardy escort that had just\narrived upon the scene.\n\n\"This person has stopped me,\" she said, \"and will not permit me to\ncontinue toward Lustadt. Make a way for me; you are armed!\"\n\nMaenck smiled.  \"Both of them are my men,\" he explained.\n\nThe girl saw it all now--the whole scheme to lure her to Blentz.\nEven then, though, she could not believe the king had been one of\nthe conspirators of the plot.\n\nWeak as he was he was still a Rubinroth, and it was difficult for a\nVon der Tann to believe in the duplicity of a member of the house\nthey had served so loyally for centuries. With bowed head the\nprincess turned her horse into the road that led toward Blentz. Half\nthe troopers preceded her, the balance following behind.\n\nMaenck wondered at the promptness of her surrender.\n\n\"To be a queen--ah! that was the great temptation,\" he thought but\nhe did not know what was passing in the girl's mind. She had seen\nthat escape for the moment was impossible, and so had decided to\nbide her time until a more propitious chance should come. In silence\nshe rode among her captors. The thought of being brought to Blentz\nalive was unbearable.\n\nSomewhere along the road there would be an opportunity to escape.\nHer horse was fleet; with a short start he could easily outdistance\nthese heavier cavalry animals and as a last resort she could--she\nmust--find some way to end her life, rather than to be dragged to\nthe altar beside Leopold of Lutha.\n\nSince childhood Emma von der Tann had ridden these hilly roads.  She\nknew every lane and bypath for miles around. She knew the short\ncuts, the gullies and ravines. She knew where one might, with a good\njumper, save a wide detour, and as she rode toward Blentz she passed\nin review through her mind each of the many spots where a sudden\nbreak for liberty might have the best chance to succeed.\n\nAnd at last she hit upon the place where a quick turn would take her\nfrom the main road into the roughest sort of going for one not\nfamiliar with the trail. Maenck and his soldiers had already\npartially relaxed their vigilance. The officer had come to the\nconclusion that his prisoner was resigned to her fate and that,\nafter all, the fate of being forced to be queen did not appear so\ndark to her.\n\nThey had wound up a wooded hill and were half way up to the summit.\nThe princess was riding close to the right-hand side of the road.\nQuite suddenly, and before a hand could be raised to stay her, she\nwheeled her mount between two trees, struck home her spur, and was\ngone into the wood upon the steep hillside.\n\nWith an oath, Maenck cried to his men to be after her. He himself\nspurred into the forest at the point where the girl had disappeared.\nSo sudden had been her break for liberty and so quickly had the\nfoliage swallowed her that there was something almost uncanny in it.\n\nA hundred yards from the road the trees were further apart, and\nthrough them the pursuers caught a glimpse of their quarry. The girl\nwas riding like mad along the rough, uneven hillside. Her mount,\nsurefooted as a chamois, seemed in his element. But two of the\nhorses of her pursuers were as swift, and under the cruel spurs of\ntheir riders were closing up on their fugitive. The girl urged her\nhorse to greater speed, yet still the two behind closed in.\n\nA hundred yards ahead lay a deep and narrow gully, hid by bushes\nthat grew rankly along its verge. Straight toward this the Princess\nEmma von der Tann rode. Behind her came her pursuers--two quite\nclose and the others trailing farther in the rear. The girl reined\nin a trifle, letting the troopers that were closest to her gain\nuntil they were but a few strides behind, then she put spur to her\nhorse and drove him at topmost speed straight toward the gully. At\nthe bushes she spoke a low word in his backlaid ears, raised him\nquickly with the bit, leaning forward as he rose in air. Like a bird\nthat animal took the bushes and the gully beyond, while close behind\nhim crashed the two luckless troopers.\n\nEmma von der Tann cast a single backward glance over her shoulder,\nas her horse regained his stride upon the opposite side of the\ngully, to see her two foremost pursuers plunging headlong into it.\nThen she shook free her reins and gave her mount his head along a\nnarrow trail that both had followed many times before.\n\nBehind her, Maenck and the balance of his men came to a sudden stop\nat the edge of the gully. Below them one of the troopers was\nstruggling to his feet. The other lay very still beneath his\nmotionless horse. With an angry oath Maenck directed one of his men\nto remain and help the two who had plunged over the brink, then with\nthe others he rode along the gully searching for a crossing.\n\nBefore they found one their captive was a mile ahead of them, and,\nbarring accident, quite beyond recapture. She was making for a\nhighway that would lead her to Lustadt. Ordinarily she had been wont\nto bear a little to the north-east at this point and strike back\ninto the road that she had just left; but today she feared to do so\nlest she be cut off before she gained the north and south highroad\nwhich the other road crossed a little farther on.\n\nTo her right was a small farm across which she had never ridden, for\nshe always had made it a point never to trespass upon fenced\ngrounds. On the opposite side of the farm was a wood, and somewhere\nbeyond that a small stream which the highroad crossed upon a little\nbridge. It was all new country to her, but it must be ventured.\n\nShe took the fence at the edge of the clearing and then reined in a\nmoment to look behind her. A mile away she saw the head and\nshoulders of a horseman above some low bushes--the pursuers had\nfound a way through the gully.\n\nTurning once more to her flight the girl rode rapidly across the\nfields toward the wood. Here she found a high wire fence so close to\nthickly growing trees upon the opposite side that she dared not\nattempt to jump it--there was no point at which she would not have\nbeen raked from the saddle by overhanging boughs. Slipping to the\nground she attacked the barrier with her bare hands, attempting to\ntear away the staples that held the wire in place. For several\nminutes she surged and tugged upon the unyielding metal strand. An\noccasional backward glance revealed to her horrified eyes the rapid\napproach of her enemies. One of them was far in advance of the\nothers--in another moment he would be upon her.\n\nWith redoubled fury she turned again to the fence.  A superhuman\neffort brought away a staple. One wire was down and an instant later\ntwo more. Standing with one foot upon the wires to keep them from\ntangling about her horse's legs, she pulled her mount across into\nthe wood. The foremost horseman was close upon her as she finally\nsucceeded in urging the animal across the fallen wires.\n\nThe girl sprang to her horse's side just as the man reached the\nfence. The wires, released from her weight, sprang up breast high\nagainst his horse. He leaped from the saddle the instant that the\ngirl was swinging into her own. Then the fellow jumped the fence and\ncaught her bridle.\n\nShe struck at him with her whip, lashing him across the head and\nface, but he clung tightly, dragged hither and thither by the\nfrightened horse, until at last he managed to reach the girl's arm\nand drag her to the ground.\n\nAlmost at the same instant a man, unkempt and disheveled, sprang\nfrom behind a tree and with a single blow stretched the trooper\nunconscious upon the ground.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nBARNEY TO THE RESCUE\n\nAs Barney Custer raced along the Austrian highroad toward the\nfrontier and Lutha, his spirits rose to a pitch of buoyancy to which\nthey had been strangers for the past several days. For the first\ntime in many hours it seemed possible to Barney to entertain\nreasonable hopes of escape from the extremely dangerous predicament\ninto which he had gotten himself.\n\nHe was even humming a gay little tune as he drove into a tiny hamlet\nthrough which the road wound. No sign of military appeared to fill\nhim with apprehension. He was very hungry and the odor of cooking\nfell gratefully upon his nostrils. He drew up before the single inn,\nand presently, washed and brushed, was sitting before the first meal\nhe had seen for two days. In the enjoyment of the food he almost\nforgot the dangers he had passed through, or that other dangers\nmight be lying in wait for him at his elbow.\n\nFrom the landlord he learned that the frontier lay but three miles\nto the south of the hamlet. Three miles! Three miles to Lutha! What\nif there was a price upon his head in that kingdom? It was HER home.\nIt had been his mother's birthplace. He loved it.\n\nFurther, he must enter there and reach the ear of old Prince von der\nTann. Once more he must save the king who had shown such scant\ngratitude upon another occasion.\n\nFor Leopold, Barney Custer did not give the snap of his fingers; but\nwhat Leopold, the king, stood for in the lives and sentiments of the\nLuthanians--of the Von der Tanns--was very dear to the American\nbecause it was dear to a trim, young girl and to a rugged, leonine,\nold man, of both of whom Barney was inordinately fond. And possibly,\ntoo, it was dear to him because of the royal blood his mother had\nbequeathed him.\n\nHis meal disposed of to the last morsel, and paid for, Barney\nentered the stolen car and resumed his journey toward Lutha. That he\ncould remain there he knew to be impossible, but in delivering his\nnews to Prince Ludwig he might have an opportunity to see the\nPrincess Emma once again--it would be worth risking his life for, of\nthat he was perfectly satisfied. And then he could go across into\nSerbia with the new credentials that he had no doubt Prince von der\nTann would furnish him for the asking to replace those the Austrians\nhad confiscated.\n\nAt the frontier Barney was halted by an Austrian customs officer;\nbut when the latter recognized the military car and the Austrian\nuniform of the driver he waved him through without comment. Upon the\nother side the American expected possible difficulty with the\nLuthanian customs officer, but to his surprise he found the little\nbuilding deserted, and none to bar his way. At last he was in\nLutha--by noon on the following day he should be at Tann.\n\nTo reach the Old Forest by the best roads it was necessary to bear a\nlittle to the southeast, passing through Tafelberg and striking the\nnorth and south highway between that point and Lustadt, to which he\ncould hold until reaching the east and west road that runs through\nboth Tann and Blentz on its way across the kingdom.\n\nThe temptation to stop for a few minutes in Tafelberg for a visit\nwith his old friend Herr Kramer was strong, but fear that he might\nbe recognized by others, who would not guard his secret so well as\nthe shopkeeper of Tafelberg would, decided him to keep on his way.\nSo he flew through the familiar main street of the quaint old\nvillage at a speed that was little, if any less, than fifty miles an\nhour.\n\nOn he raced toward the south, his speed often necessarily diminished\nupon the winding mountain roads, but for the most part clinging to a\nreckless mileage that caused the few natives he encountered to flee\nto the safety of the bordering fields, there to stand in\nopen-mouthed awe.\n\nHalfway between Tafelberg and the crossroad into which he purposed\nturning to the west toward Tann there is an S-curve where the bases\nof two small hills meet. The road here is narrow and\ntreacherous--fifteen miles an hour is almost a reckless speed at\nwhich to travel around the curves of the S. Beyond are open fields\nupon either side of the road.\n\nBarney took the turns carefully and had just emerged into the last\nleg of the S when he saw, to his consternation, a half-dozen\nAustrian infantrymen lolling beside the road. An officer stood near\nthem talking with a sergeant. To turn back in that narrow road was\nimpossible. He could only go ahead and trust to his uniform and the\nmilitary car to carry him safely through. Before he reached the\ngroup of soldiers the fields upon either hand came into view. They\nwere dotted with tents, wagons, motor-vans and artillery. What did\nit mean? What was this Austrian army doing in Lutha?\n\nAlready the officer had seen him.  This was doubtless an outpost,\nhowever clumsily placed it might be for strategic purposes. To pass\nit was Barney's only hope. He had passed through one Austrian\narmy--why not another? He approached the outpost at a moderate rate\nof speed--to tear toward it at the rate his heart desired would be\nto awaken not suspicion only but positive conviction that his\npurposes and motives were ulterior.\n\nThe officer stepped toward the road as though to halt him.  Barney\npretended to be fussing with some refractory piece of controlling\nmechanism beneath the cowl--apparently he did not see the officer.\nHe was just opposite him when the latter shouted to him. Barney\nstraightened up quickly and saluted, but did not stop.\n\n\"Halt!\" cried the officer.\n\nBarney pointed down the road in the direction in which he was\nheaded.\n\n\"Halt!\" repeated the officer, running to the car.\n\nBarney glanced ahead.  Two hundred yards farther on was another\npost--beyond that he saw no soldiers. He turned and shouted a volley\nof intentionally unintelligible jargon at the officer, continuing to\npoint ahead of him.\n\nHe hoped to confuse the man for the few seconds necessary for him to\nreach the last post. If the soldiers there saw that he had been\npermitted to pass through the first they doubtless would not hinder\nhis further passage. That they were watching him Barney could see.\n\nHe had passed the officer now.  There was no necessity for\ndalliance. He pressed the accelerator down a trifle. The car moved\nforward at increased speed. A final angry shout broke from the\nofficer behind him, followed by a quick command. Barney did not have\nto wait long to learn the tenor of the order, for almost immediately\na shot sounded from behind and a bullet whirred above his head.\nAnother shot and another followed.\n\nBarney was pressing the accelerator downward to the limit.  The car\nresponded nobly--there was no sputtering, no choking. Just a rapid\nrush of increasing momentum as the machine gained headway by leaps\nand bounds.\n\nThe bullets were ripping the air all about him.  Just ahead the\nsecond outpost stood directly in the center of the road. There were\nthree soldiers and they were taking deliberate aim, as carefully as\nthough upon the rifle range. It seemed to Barney that they couldn't\nmiss him. He swerved the car suddenly from one side of the road to\nthe other. At the rate that it was going the move was fraught with\nbut little less danger than the supine facing of the leveled guns\nahead.\n\nThe three rifles spoke almost simultaneously.  The glass of the\nwindshield shattered in Barney's face. There was a hole in the\nleft-hand front fender that had not been there before.\n\n\"Rotten shooting,\" commented Barney Custer, of Beatrice.\n\nThe soldiers still stood in the center of the road firing at the\nswaying car as, lurching from side to side, it bore down upon them.\nBarney sounded the raucous military horn; but the soldiers seemed\nunconscious of their danger--they still stood there pumping lead\ntoward the onrushing Juggernaut. At the last instant they attempted\nto rush from its path; but they were too late.\n\nAt over sixty miles an hour the huge, gray monster bore down upon\nthem. One of them fell beneath the wheels--the two others were\nthrown high in air as the bumper struck them. The body of the man\nwho had fallen beneath the wheels threw the car half way across the\nroad--only iron nerve and strong arms held it from the ditch upon\nthe opposite side.\n\nBarney Custer had never been nearer death than at that moment--not\neven when he faced the firing squad before the factory wall in\nBurgova. He had done that without a tremor--he had heard the bullets\nof the outpost whistling about his head a moment before, with a\nsmile upon his lips--he had faced the leveled rifles of the three he\nhad ridden down and he had not quailed. But now, his machine in the\ncenter of the road again, he shook like a leaf, still in the grip of\nthe sickening nausea of that awful moment when the mighty, insensate\nmonster beneath him had reeled drunkenly in its mad flight, swerving\ntoward the ditch and destruction.\n\nFor a few minutes he held to his rapid pace before he looked around,\nand then it was to see two cars climbing into the road from the\nencampment in the field and heading toward him in pursuit. Barney\ngrinned. Once more he was master of his nerves. They'd have a merry\nchase, he thought, and again he accelerated the speed of the car.\nOnce before he had had it up to seventy-five miles, and for a\nmoment, when he had had no opportunity to even glance at the\nspeedometer, much higher. Now he was to find the maximum limit of\nthe possibilities of the brave car he had come to look upon with\nreal affection.\n\nThe road ahead was comparatively straight and level.  Behind him\ncame the enemy. Barney watched the road rushing rapidly out of sight\nbeneath the gray fenders. He glanced occasionally at the\nspeedometer. Seventy-five miles an hour. Seventy-seven! \"Going\nsome,\" murmured Barney as he saw the needle vibrate up to eighty.\nGradually he nursed her up and up to greater speed.\n\nEighty-five!  The trees were racing by him in an indistinct blur of\ngreen. The fences were thin, wavering lines--the road a white-gray\nribbon, ironed by the terrific speed to smooth unwrinkledness. He\ncould not take his eyes from the business of steering to glance\nbehind; but presently there broke faintly through the whir of the\nwind beating against his ears the faint report of a gun. He was\nbeing fired upon again. He pressed down still further upon the\naccelerator. The car answered to the pressure. The needle rose\nsteadily until it reached ninety miles an hour--and topped it.\n\nThen from somewhere in the radiator hose a hissing and a spurt of\nsteam. Barney was dumbfounded. He had filled the cooling system at\nthe inn where he had eaten. It had been working perfectly before and\nsince. What could have happened? There could be but a single\nexplanation. A bullet from the gun of one of the three men who had\nattempted to stop him at the second outpost had penetrated the\nradiator, and had slowly drained it.\n\nBarney knew that the end was near, since the usefulness of the car\nin furthering his escape was over. At the speed he was going it\nwould be but a short time before the superheated pistons expanding\nin their cylinders would tear the motor to pieces. Barney felt that\nhe would be lucky if he himself were not killed when it happened.\n\nHe reduced his speed and glanced behind.  His pursuers had not\ngained upon him, but they still were coming. A bend in the road shut\nthem from his view. A little way ahead the road crossed over a river\nupon a wooden bridge. On the opposite side and to the right of the\nroad was a wood. It seemed to offer the most likely possibilities of\nconcealment in the vicinity. If he could but throw his pursuers off\nthe trail for a while he might succeed in escaping through the wood,\neventually reaching Tann on foot. He had a rather hazy idea of the\nexact direction of the town and castle, but that he could find them\neventually he was sure.\n\nThe sight of the river and the bridge he was nearing suggested a\nplan, and the ominous grating of the overheated motor warned him\nthat whatever he was to do he must do at once. As he neared the\nbridge he reduced the speed of the car to fifteen miles an hour, and\nset the hand throttle to hold it there. Still gripping the steering\nwheel with one hand, he climbed over the left-hand door to the\nrunning board. As the front wheels of the car ran up onto the bridge\nBarney gave the steering wheel a sudden turn to the right, and\njumped.\n\nThe car veered toward the wooden handrail, there was a splintering\nof stanchions, as, with a crash, the big machine plunged through\nthem headforemost into the river. Without waiting to give even a\nglance at his handiwork Barney Custer ran across the bridge, leaped\nthe fence upon the right-hand side and plunged into the shelter of\nthe wood.\n\nThen he turned to look back up the road in the direction from which\nhis pursuers were coming. They were not in sight--they had not seen\nhis ruse. The water in the river was of sufficient depth to\ncompletely cover the car--no sign of it appeared above the surface.\n\nBarney turned into the wood smiling.  His scheme had worked well.\nThe occupants of the two cars following him might not note the\nbroken handrail, or, if they did, might not connect it with Barney\nin any way. In this event they would continue in the direction of\nLustadt, wondering what in the world had become of their quarry. Or,\nif they guessed that his car had gone over into the river, they\nwould doubtless believe that its driver had gone with it. In either\nevent Barney would be given ample time to find his way to Tann.\n\nHe wished that he might find other clothes, since if he were dressed\notherwise there would be no reason to imagine that his pursuers\nwould recognize him should they come upon him. None of them could\npossibly have gained a sufficiently good look at his features to\nrecognize them again.\n\nThe Austrian uniform, however, would convict him, or at least lay\nhim under suspicion, and in Barney's present case, suspicion was as\ngood as conviction were he to fall into the hands of the Austrians.\nThe garb had served its purpose well in aiding in his escape from\nAustria, but now it was more of a menace than an asset.\n\nFor a week Barney Custer wandered through the woods and mountains of\nLutha. He did not dare approach or question any human being. Several\ntimes he had seen Austrian cavalry that seemed to be scouring the\ncountry for some purpose that the American could easily believe was\nclosely connected with himself. At least he did not feel disposed to\nstop them, as they cantered past his hiding place, to inquire the\nnature of their business.\n\nSuch farmhouses as he came upon he gave a wide berth except at\nnight, and then he only approached them stealthily for such\nprovender as he might filch. Before the week was up he had become an\nexpert chicken thief, being able to rob a roost as quietly as the\nmost finished carpetbagger on the sunny side of Mason and Dixon's\nline.\n\nA careless housewife, leaving her lord and master's rough shirt and\ntrousers hanging upon the line overnight, had made possible for\nBarney the coveted change in raiment. Now he was barged as a\nLuthanian peasant. He was hatless, since the lady had failed to hang\nout her mate's woolen cap, and Barney had not dared retain a single\nvestige of the damning Austrian uniform.\n\nWhat the peasant woman thought when she discovered the empty line\nthe following morning Barney could only guess, but he was morally\ncertain that her grief was more than tempered by the gold piece he\nhad wrapped in a bit of cloth torn from the soldier's coat he had\nworn, which he pinned on the line where the shirt and pants had\nbeen.\n\nIt was somewhere near noon upon the seventh day that Barney skirting\na little stream, followed through the concealing shade of a forest\ntoward the west. In his peasant dress he now felt safer to approach\na farmhouse and inquire his way to Tann, for he had come a\nsufficient distance from the spot where he had stolen his new\nclothes to hope that they would not be recognized or that the news\nof their theft had not preceded him.\n\nAs he walked he heard the sound of the feet of a horse galloping\nover a dry field--muffled, rapid thud approaching closer upon his\nright hand. Barney remained motionless. He was sure that the rider\nwould not enter the wood which, with its low-hanging boughs and\nthick underbrush, was ill adapted to equestrianism.\n\nCloser and closer came the sound until it ceased suddenly scarce a\nhundred yards from where the American hid. He waited in silence to\ndiscover what would happen next. Would the rider enter the wood on\nfoot? What was his purpose? Was it another Austrian who had by some\nmiracle discovered the whereabouts of the fugitive? Barney could\nscarce believe it possible.\n\nPresently he heard another horse approaching at the same mad gallop.\nHe heard the sound of rapid, almost frantic efforts of some nature\nwhere the first horse had come to a stop. He heard a voice urging\nthe animal forward--pleading, threatening. A woman's voice. Barney's\nexcitement became intense in sympathy with the subdued excitement of\nthe woman whom he could not as yet see.\n\nA moment later the second rider came to a stop at the same point at\nwhich the first had reined in. A man's voice rose roughly. \"Halt!\"\nit cried. \"In the name of the king, halt!\" The American could no\nlonger resist the temptation to see what was going on so close to\nhim \"in the name of the king.\"\n\nHe advanced from behind his tree until he saw the two figures--a\nman's and a woman's. Some bushes intervened--he could not get a\nclear view of them, yet there was something about the figure of the\nwoman, whose back was toward him as she struggled to mount her\nfrightened horse, that caused him to leap rapidly toward her. He\nrounded a tree a few paces from her just as the man--a trooper in\nthe uniform of the house of Blentz--caught her arm and dragged her\nfrom the saddle. At the same instant Barney recognized the girl--it\nwas Princess Emma.\n\nBefore either the trooper or the princess were aware of his presence\nhe had leaped to the man's side and dealt him a blow that stretched\nhim at full length upon the ground--stunned.\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nAN ADVENTUROUS DAY\n\nFor an instant the two stood looking at one another.  The girl's\neyes were wide with incredulity, with hope, with fear. She was the\nfirst to break the silence.\n\n\"Who are you?\" she breathed in a half whisper.\n\n\"I don't wonder that you ask,\" returned the man.  \"I must look like\na scarecrow. I'm Barney Custer. Don't you remember me now? Who did\nyou think I was?\"\n\nThe girl took a step toward him.  Her eyes lighted with relief.\n\n\"Captain Maenck told me that you were dead,\" she said, \"that you had\nbeen shot as a spy in Austria, and then there is that uncanny\nresemblance to the king--since he has shaved his beard it is\ninfinitely more remarkable. I thought you might be he. He has been\nat Blentz and I knew that it was quite possible that he had\ndiscovered treachery upon the part of Prince Peter. In which case he\nmight have escaped in disguise. I really wasn't sure that you were\nnot he until you spoke.\"\n\nBarney stooped and removed the bandoleer of cartridges from the\nfallen trooper, as well as his revolver and carbine. Then he took\nthe girl's hand and together they turned into the wood. Behind them\ncame the sound of pursuit. They heard the loud words of Maenck as he\nordered his three remaining men into the wood on foot. As he\nadvanced, Barney looked to the magazine of his carbine and the\ncylinder of his revolver.\n\n\"Why were they pursuing you?\" he asked.\n\n\"They were taking me to Blentz to force me to wed Leopold,\" she\nreplied. \"They told me that my father's life depended upon my\nconsenting; but I should not have done so. The honor of my house is\nmore precious than the life of any of its members. I escaped them a\nfew miles back, and they were following to overtake me.\"\n\nA noise behind them caused Barney to turn.  One of the troopers had\ncome into view. He carried his carbine in his hands and at sight of\nthe man with the fugitive girl he raised it to his shoulder; but as\nthe American turned toward him his eyes went wide and his jaw\ndropped.\n\nInstantly Barney knew that the fellow had noted his resemblance to\nthe king. Barney's body was concealed from the view of the other by\na bush which grew between them, so the man saw only the face of the\nAmerican. The fellow turned and shouted to Maenck: \"The king is with\nher.\"\n\n\"Nonsense,\" came the reply from farther back in the wood. \"If there\nis a man with her and he will not surrender, shoot him.\" At the\nwords Barney and the girl turned once more to their flight. From\nbehind came the command to halt--\"Halt! or I fire.\" Just ahead\nBarney saw the river.\n\nThey were sure to be taken there if he was unable to gain the time\nnecessary to make good a crossing. Upon the opposite side was a\ncontinuation of the wood. Behind them the leading trooper was\ncrashing through the underbrush in renewed pursuit. He came in sight\nof them again, just as they reached the river bank. Once more his\ncarbine was leveled. Barney pushed the girl to her knees behind a\nbush. Then he wheeled and fired, so quickly that the man with the\nalready leveled gun had no time to anticipate his act.\n\nWith a cry the fellow threw his hands above his head, staggered\nforward and plunged full length upon his face. Barney gathered the\nprincess in his arms and plunged into the shallow stream. The girl\nheld his carbine as he stumbled over the rocky bottom. The water\ndeepened rapidly--the opposite shore seemed a long way off and\nbehind there were three more enemies in hot pursuit.\n\nUnder ordinary circumstances Barney could have found it in his heart\nto wish the little Luthanian river as broad as the Mississippi, for\nonly under such circumstances as these could he ever hope to hold\nthe Princess Emma in his arms. Two years before she had told him\nthat she loved him; but at the same time she had given him to\nunderstand that their love was hopeless. She might refuse to wed the\nking; but that she should ever wed another while the king lived was\nimpossible, unless Leopold saw fit to release her from her betrothal\nto him and sanction her marriage to another. That he ever would do\nthis was to those who knew him not even remotely possible.\n\nHe loved Emma von der Tann and he hated Barney Custer--hated him\nwith a jealous hatred that was almost fanatic in its intensity. And\neven that the Princess Emma von der Tann would wed him were she free\nto wed was a question that was not at all clear in the mind of\nBarney Custer. He knew something of the traditions of this noble\nfamily--of the pride of caste, of the fetish of blood that\ninexorably dictated the ordering of their lives.\n\nThe girl had just said that the honor of her house was more precious\nthan the life of any of its members. How much more precious would it\nbe to her than her own material happiness! Barney Custer sighed and\nstruggled through the swirling waters that were now above his hips.\nIf he pressed the lithe form closer to him than necessity demanded,\nwho may blame him?\n\nThe girl, whose face was toward the bank they had just quitted, gave\nno evidence of displeasure if she noted the fierce pressure of his\nmuscles. Her eyes were riveted upon the wood behind. Presently a man\nemerged. He called to them in a loud and threatening tone.\n\nBarney redoubled his Herculean efforts to gain the opposite bank.\nHe was in midstream now and the water had risen to his waist. The\ngirl saw Maenck and the other trooper emerge from the underbrush\nbeside the first. Maenck was crazed with anger. He shook his fist\nand screamed aloud his threatening commands to halt, and then, of a\nsudden, gave an order to one of the men at his side. Immediately the\nfellow raised his carbine and fired at the escaping couple.\n\nThe bullet struck the water behind them.  At the sound of the report\nthe girl raised the gun she held and leveled it at the group behind\nher. She pulled the trigger. There was a sharp report, and one of\nthe troopers fell. Then she fired again, quickly, and again and\nagain. She did not score another hit, but she had the satisfaction\nof seeing Maenck and the last of his troopers dodge back to the\nsafety of protecting trees.\n\n\"The cowards!\" muttered Barney as the enemy's shot announced his\nsinister intention; \"they might have hit your highness.\"\n\nThe girl did not reply until she had ceased firing.\n\n\"Captain Maenck is notoriously a coward,\" she said.  \"He is hiding\nbehind a tree now with one of his men--I hit the other.\"\n\n\"You hit one of them!\" exclaimed Barney enthusiastically.\n\n\"Yes,\" said the girl.  \"I have shot a man.  I often wondered what\nthe sensation must be to have done such a thing. I should feel\nterribly, but I don't. They were firing at you, trying to shoot you\nin the back while you were defenseless. I am not sorry--I cannot be;\nbut I only wish that it had been Captain Maenck.\"\n\nIn a short time Barney reached the bank and, helping the girl up,\nclimbed to her side. A couple of shots followed them as they left\nthe river, but did not fall dangerously near. Barney took the\ncarbine and replied, then both of them disappeared into the wood.\n\nFor the balance of the day they tramped on in the direction of\nLustadt, making but little progress owing to the fear of\napprehension. They did not dare utilize the high road, for they were\nstill too close to Blentz. Their only hope lay in reaching the\nprotection of Prince von der Tann before they should be recaptured\nby the king's emissaries. At dusk they came to the outskirts of a\ntown. Here they hid until darkness settled, for Barney had\ndetermined to enter the place after dark and hire horses.\n\nThe American marveled at the bravery and endurance of the girl.  He\nhad always supposed that a princess was so carefully guarded from\nfatigue and privation all her life that the least exertion would\nprove her undoing; but no hardy peasant girl could have endured more\nbravely the hardships and dangers through which the Princess Emma\nhad passed since the sun rose that morning.\n\nAt last darkness came, and with it they approached and entered the\nvillage. They kept to unlighted side streets until they met a\nvillager, of whom they inquired their way to some private house\nwhere they might obtain refreshments. The fellow scrutinized them\nwith evident suspicion.\n\n\"There is an inn yonder,\" he said, pointing toward the main street.\n\"You can obtain food there. Why should respectable folk want to go\nelsewhere than to the public inn? And if you are afraid to go there\nyou must have very good reasons for not wanting to be seen, and--\"\nhe stopped short as though assailed by an idea. \"Wait,\" he cried,\nexcitedly, \"I will go and see if I can find a place for you. Wait\nright here,\" and off he ran toward the inn.\n\n\"I don't like the looks of that,\" said Barney, after the man had\nleft them. \"He's gone to report us to someone. Come, we'd better get\nout of here before he comes back.\"\n\nThe two turned up a side street away from the inn.  They had gone\nbut a short distance when they heard the sound of voices and the\nthud of horses' feet behind them. The horses were coming at a walk\nand with them were several men on foot. Barney took the princess'\nhand and drew her up a hedge bordered driveway that led into private\ngrounds. In the shadows of the hedge they waited for the party\nbehind them to pass. It might be no one searching for them, but it\nwas just as well to be on the safe side--they were still near\nBlentz. Before the men reached their hiding place a motor car\nfollowed and caught up with them, and as the party came opposite the\ndriveway Barney and the princess overheard a portion of their\nconversation.\n\n\"Some of you go back and search the street behind the inn--they may\nnot have come this way.\" The speaker was in the motor car. \"We will\nfollow along this road for a bit and then turn into the Lustadt\nhighway. If you don't find them go back along the road toward Tann.\"\n\nIn her excitement the Princess Emma had not noticed that Barney\nCuster still held her hand in his. Now he pressed it. \"It is\nMaenck's voice,\" he whispered. \"Every road will be guarded.\"\n\nFor a moment he was silent, thinking.  The searching party had\npassed on. They could still hear the purring of the motor as\nMaenck's car moved slowly up the street.\n\n\"This is a driveway,\" murmured Barney.  \"People who build driveways\ninto their grounds usually have something to drive. Whatever it is\nit should be at the other end of the driveway. Let's see if it will\ncarry two.\"\n\nStill in the shadow of the hedge they moved cautiously toward the\nupper end of the private road until presently they saw a building\nlooming in their path.\n\n\"A garage?\" whispered Barney.\n\n\"Or a barn,\" suggested the princess.\n\n\"In either event it should contain something that can go,\" returned\nthe American. \"Let us hope that it can go like--like--ah--the wind.\"\n\n\"And carry two,\" supplemented the princess.\n\n\"Wait here,\" said Barney.  \"If I get caught, run.  Whatever happens\nyou mustn't be caught.\"\n\nPrincess Emma dropped back close to the hedge and Barney approached\nthe building, which proved to be a private garage. The doors were\nlocked, as also were the three windows. Barney passed entirely\naround the structure halting at last upon the darkest side. Here was\na window. Barney tried to loosen the catch with the blade of his\npocket knife, but it wouldn't unfasten. His endeavors resulted only\nin snapping short the blade of his knife. For a moment he stood\ncontemplating the baffling window. He dared not break the glass for\nfear of arousing the inmates of the house which, though he could not\nsee it, might be close at hand.\n\nPresently he recalled a scene he had witnessed on State Street in\nChicago several years before--a crowd standing before the window of\na jeweler's shop inspecting a neat little hole that a thief had cut\nin the glass with a diamond and through which he had inserted his\nhand and brought forth several hundred dollars worth of loot. But\nBarney Custer wore no diamond--he would as soon have worn a\ncelluloid collar. But women wore diamonds. Doubtless the Princess\nEmma had one. He ran quickly to her side.\n\n\"Have you a diamond ring?\" he whispered.\n\n\"Gracious!\" she exclaimed, \"you are progressing rapidly,\" and\nslipped a solitaire from her finger to his hand.\n\n\"Thanks,\" said Barney.  \"I need the practice; but wait and you'll\nsee that a diamond may be infinitely more valuable than even the\nbroker claims,\" and he was gone again into the shadows of the\ngarage. Here upon the window pane he scratched a rough deep circle,\nclose to the catch. A quick blow sent the glass clattering to the\nfloor within. For a minute Barney stood listening for any sign that\nthe noise had attracted attention, but hearing nothing he ran his\nhand through the hole that he had made and unlatched the frame. A\nmoment later he had crawled within.\n\nBefore him, in the darkness, stood a roadster.  He ran his hand over\nthe pedals and levers, breathing a sigh of relief as his touch\nrevealed the familiar control of a standard make. Then he went to\nthe double doors. They opened easily and silently.\n\nOnce outside he hastened to the side of the waiting girl.\n\n\"It's a machine,\" he whispered.  \"We must both be in it when it\nleaves the garage--it's the through express for Lustadt and makes no\nstops for passengers or freight.\"\n\nHe led her back to the garage and helped her into the seat beside\nhim. As silently as possible he ran the machine into the driveway. A\nhundred yards to the left, half hidden by intervening trees and\nshrubbery, rose the dark bulk of a house. A subdued light shone\nthrough the drawn blinds of several windows--the only sign of life\nabout the premises until the car had cleared the garage and was\nmoving slowly down the driveway. Then a door opened in the house\nletting out a flood of light in which the figure of a man was\nsilhouetted. A voice broke the silence.\n\n\"Who are you?  What are you doing there?  Come back!\"\n\nThe man in the doorway called excitedly, \"Friedrich!  Come! Come\nquickly! Someone is stealing the automobile,\" and the speaker came\nrunning toward the driveway at top speed. Behind him came Friedrich.\nBoth were shouting, waving their arms and threatening. Their\ncombined din might have aroused the dead.\n\nBarney sought speed--silence now was useless.  He turned to the left\ninto the street away from the center of the town. In this direction\nhad gone the automobile with Maenck, but by taking the first\nrighthand turn Barney hoped to elude the captain. In a moment\nFriedrich and the other were hopelessly distanced. It was with a\nsigh of relief that the American turned the car into the dark\nshadows beneath the overarching trees of the first cross street.\n\nHe was running without lights along an unknown way; and beside him\nwas the most precious burden that Barney Custer might ever expect to\ncarry. Under these circumstances his speed was greatly reduced from\nwhat he would have wished, but at that he was forced to accept grave\nrisks. The road might end abruptly at the brink of a ravine--it\nmight swerve perilously close to a stone quarry--or plunge headlong\ninto a pond or river. Barney shuddered at the possibilities; but\nnothing of the sort happened. The street ran straight out of the\ntown into a country road, rather heavy with sand. In the open the\npossibilities of speed were increased, for the night, though\nmoonless, was clear, and the road visible for some distance ahead.\n\nThe fugitives were congratulating themselves upon the excellent\nchance they now had to reach Lustadt. There was only Maenck and his\ncompanion ahead of them in the other car, and as there were several\nroads by which one might reach the main highway the chances were\nfair that Prince Peter's aide would miss them completely.\n\nAlready escape seemed assured when the pounding of horses' hoofs\nupon the roadway behind them arose to blast their new found hope.\nBarney increased the speed of the car. It leaped ahead in response\nto his foot; but the road was heavy, and the sides of the ruts\ngripping the tires retarded the speed. For a mile they held the lead\nof the galloping horsemen. The shouts of their pursuers fell clearly\nupon their ears, and the Princess Emma, turning in her seat, could\neasily see the four who followed. At last the car began to draw\naway--the distance between it and the riders grew gradually greater.\n\n\"I believe we are going to make it,\" whispered the girl, her voice\ntense with excitement. \"If you could only go a little faster, Mr.\nCuster, I'm sure that we will.\"\n\n\"She's reached her limit in this sand,\" replied the man, \"and\nthere's a grade just ahead--we may find better going beyond, but\nthey're bound to gain on us before we reach the top.\"\n\nThe girl strained her eyes into the night before them.  On the right\nof the road stood an ancient ruin--grim and forbidding. As her eyes\nrested upon it she gave a little exclamation of relief.\n\n\"I know where we are now,\" she cried.  \"The hill ahead is sandy, and\nthere is a quarter of a mile of sand beyond, but then we strike the\nLustadt highway, and if we can reach it ahead of them their horses\nwill have to go ninety miles an hour to catch us--provided this car\npossesses any such speed possibilities.\"\n\n\"If it can go forty we are safe enough,\" replied Barney; \"but we'll\ngive it a chance to go as fast as it can--the farther we are from\nthe vicinity of Blentz the safer I shall feel for the welfare of\nyour highness.\"\n\nA shot rang behind them, and a bullet whistled high above their\nheads. The princess seized the carbine that rested on the seat\nbetween them.\n\n\"Shall I?\" she asked, turning its muzzle back over the lowered top.\n\n\"Better not,\" answered the man.  \"They are only trying to frighten\nus into surrendering--that shot was much too high to have been aimed\nat us--they are shooting over our heads purposely. If they\ndeliberately attempt to pot us later, then go for them, but to do it\nnow would only draw their fire upon us. I doubt if they wish to harm\nyour highness, but they certainly would fire to hit in\nself-defense.\"\n\nThe girl lowered the firearm.  \"I am becoming perfectly\nbloodthirsty,\" she said, \"but it makes me furious to be hunted like\na wild animal in my native land, and by the command of my king, at\nthat. And to think that you who placed him upon his throne, you who\nhave risked your life many times for him, will find no protection at\nhis hands should you be captured is maddening. Ach, Gott, if I were\na man!\"\n\n\"I thank God that you are not, your highness,\" returned Barney\nfervently.\n\nGently she laid her hand upon his where it gripped the steering\nwheel.\n\n\"No,\" she said, \"I was wrong--I do not need to be a man while there\nstill be such men as you, my friend; but I would that I were not the\nunhappy woman whom Fate had bound to an ingrate king--to a miserable\ncoward!\"\n\nThey had reached the grade at last, and the motor was straining to\nthe Herculean task imposed upon it.\n\nGrinding and grating in second speed the car toiled upward through\nthe clinging sand. The pace was snail-like. Behind, the horsemen\nwere gaining rapidly. The labored breathing of their mounts was\naudible even above the noise of the motor, so close were they. The\ntop of the ascent lay but a few yards ahead, and the pursuers were\nbut a few yards behind.\n\n\"Halt!\" came from behind, and then a shot.  The ping of the bullet\nand the scream of the ricochet warned the man and the girl that\nthose behind them were becoming desperate--the bullet had struck one\nof the rear fenders. Without again asking assent the princess turned\nand, kneeling upon the cushion of the seat, fired at the nearest\nhorseman. The horse stumbled and plunged to his knees. Another, just\nbehind, ran upon him, and the two rolled over together with their\nriders. Two more shots were fired by the remaining horsemen and\nanswered by the girl in the automobile, and then the car topped the\nhill, shot into high, and with renewed speed forged into the last\nquarter-mile of heavy going toward the good road ahead; but now the\ngrade was slightly downward and all the advantage was upon the side\nof the fugitives.\n\nHowever, their margin would be but scant when they reached the\nhighway, for behind them the remaining troopers were spurring their\njaded horses to a final spurt of speed. At last the white ribbon of\nthe main road became visible. To the right they saw the headlights\nof a machine. It was Maenck probably, doubtless attracted their way\nby the shooting.\n\nBut the machine was a mile away and could not possibly reach the\nintersection of the two roads before they had turned to the left\ntoward Lustadt. Then the incident would resolve itself into a simple\ntest of speed between the two cars--and the ability and nerve of the\ndrivers. Barney hadn't the slightest doubt now as to the outcome.\nHis borrowed car was a good one, in good condition. And in the\nmatter of driving he rather prided himself that he needn't take his\nhat off to anyone when it came to ability and nerve.\n\nThey were only about fifty feet from the highway.  The girl touched\nhis hand again. \"We're safe,\" she cried, her voice vibrant with\nexcitement, \"we're safe at last.\" From beneath the bonnet, as though\nin answer to her statement, came a sickly, sucking sputter. The\nmomentum of the car diminished. The throbbing of the engine ceased.\nThey sat in silence as the machine coasted toward the highway and\ncame to a dead stop, with its front wheels upon the road to safety.\nThe girl turned toward Barney with an exclamation of surprise and\ninterrogation.\n\n\"The jig's up,\" he groaned; \"we're out of gasoline!\"\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE CAPTURE\n\nThe capture of Princess Emma von der Tann and Barney Custer was a\nrelatively simple matter. Open fields spread in all directions about\nthe crossroads at which their car had come to its humiliating stop.\nThere was no cover. To have sought escape by flight, thus in the\nopen, would have been to expose the princess to the fire of the\ntroopers. Barney could not do this. He preferred to surrender and\ntrust to chance to open the way to escape later.\n\nWhen Captain Ernst Maenck drove up he found the prisoners disarmed,\nstanding beside the now-useless car. He alighted from his own\nmachine and with a low bow saluted the princess, an ironical smile\nupon his thin lips. Then he turned his attention toward her\ncompanion.\n\n\"Who are you?\" he demanded gruffly.  In the darkness he failed to\nrecognize the American whom he thought dead in Austria.\n\n\"A servant of the house of Von der Tann,\" replied Barney.\n\n\"You deserve shooting,\" growled the officer, \"but we'll leave that\nto Prince Peter and the king. When I tell them the trouble you have\ncaused us--well, God help you.\"\n\nThe journey to Blentz was a short one.  They had been much nearer\nthat grim fortress than either had guessed. At the outskirts of the\ntown they were challenged by Austrian sentries, through which Maenck\npassed with ease after the sentinel had summoned an officer. From\nthis man Maenck received the password that would carry them through\nthe line of outposts between the town and the castle--\"Slankamen.\"\nBarney, who overheard the word, made a mental note of it.\n\nAt last they reached the dreary castle of Peter of Blentz. In the\ncourtyard Austrian soldiers mingled with the men of the bodyguard of\nthe king of Lutha. Within, the king's officers fraternized with the\nofficers of the emperor. Maenck led his prisoners to the great hall\nwhich was filled with officers and officials of both Austria and\nLutha.\n\nThe king was not there.  Maenck learned that he had retired to his\napartments a few minutes earlier in company with Prince Peter of\nBlentz and Von Coblich. He sent a servant to announce his return\nwith the Princess von der Tann and a man who had attempted to\nprevent her being brought to Blentz.\n\nBarney had, as far as possible, kept his face averted from Maenck\nsince they had entered the lighted castle. He hoped to escape\nrecognition, for he knew that if his identity were guessed it might\ngo hard with the princess. As for himself, it might go even harder,\nbut of that he gave scarcely a thought--the safety of the princess\nwas paramount.\n\nAfter a few minutes of waiting the servant returned with the king's\ncommand to fetch the prisoners to his apartments. The face of the\nPrincess Emma was haggard. For the first time Barney saw signs of\nfear upon her countenance. With leaden steps they accompanied their\nguard up the winding stairway to the tower rooms that had been\nfurnished for the king. They were the same in which Emma von der\nTann had been imprisoned two years before.\n\nOn either side of the doorway stood a soldier of the king's\nbodyguard. As Captain Maenck approached they saluted. A servant\nopened the door and they passed into the room. Before them were\nPeter of Blentz and Von Coblich standing beside a table at which\nLeopold of Lutha was sitting. The eyes of the three men were upon\nthe doorway as the little party entered. The king's face was flushed\nwith wine. He rose as his eyes rested upon the face of the princess.\n\n\"Greetings, your highness,\" he cried with an attempt at cordiality.\n\nThe girl looked straight into his eyes, coldly, and then bent her\nknee in formal curtsy. The king was about to speak again when his\neyes wandered to the face of the American. Instantly his own went\nwhite and then scarlet. The eyes of Peter of Blentz followed those\nof the king, widening in astonishment as they rested upon the\nfeatures of Barney Custer.\n\n\"You told me he was dead,\" shouted the king.  \"What is the meaning\nof this, Captain Maenck?\"\n\nMaenck looked at his male prisoner and staggered back as though\nstruck between the eyes.\n\n\"Mein Gott,\" he exclaimed, \"the impostor!\"\n\n\"You told me he was dead,\" repeated the king accusingly.\n\n\"As God is my judge, your majesty,\" cried Peter of Blentz, \"this man\nwas shot by an Austrian firing squad in Burgova over a week ago.\"\n\n\"Sire,\" exclaimed Maenck, \"this is the first sight I have had of the\nprisoners except in the darkness of the night; until this instant I\nhad not the remotest suspicion of his identity. He told me that he\nwas a servant of the house of Von der Tann.\"\n\n\"I told you the truth, then,\" interjected Barney.\n\n\"Silence, you ingrate!\" cried the king.\n\n\"Ingrate?\" repeated Barney.  \"You have the effrontery to call me an\ningrate? You miserable puppy.\"\n\nA silence, menacing in its intensity, fell upon the little\nassemblage. The king trembled. His rage choked him. The others\nlooked as though they scarce could believe the testimony of their\nown ears. All there, with the possible exception of the king, knew\nthat he deserved even more degrading appellations; but they were\nEuropeans, and to Europeans a king is a king--that they can never\nforget. It had been the inherent suggestion of kingship that had\nbent the knee of the Princess Emma before the man she despised.\n\nBut to the American a king was only what he made himself.  In this\ninstance he was not even a man in the estimation of Barney Custer.\nMaenck took a step toward the prisoner--a menacing step, for his\nhand had gone to his sword. Barney met him with a level look from\nbetween narrowed lids. Maenck hesitated, for he was a great coward.\nPeter of Blentz spoke:\n\n\"Sire,\" he said, \"the fellow knows that he is already as good as\ndead, and so in his bravado he dares affront you. He has been\nconvicted of spying by the Austrians. He is still a spy. It is\nunnecessary to repeat the formality of a trial.\"\n\nLeopold at last found his voice, though it trembled and broke as he\nspoke.\n\n\"Carry out the sentence of the Austrian court in the morning,\" he\nsaid. \"A volley now might arouse the garrison in the town and be\nmisconstrued.\"\n\nMaenck ordered Barney escorted from the apartment, then he turned\ntoward the king.\n\n\"And the other prisoner, sire?\" he inquired.\n\n\"There is no other prisoner,\" he said.  \"Her highness, the Princess\nvon der Tann, is a guest of Prince Peter. She will be escorted to\nher apartment at once.\"\n\n\"Her highness, the Princess von der Tann, is not a guest of Prince\nPeter.\" The girl's voice was low and cold. \"If Mr. Custer is a\nprisoner, her highness, too, is a prisoner. If he is to be shot, she\ndemands a like fate. To die by the side of a MAN would be infinitely\npreferable to living by the side of your majesty.\"\n\nOnce again Leopold of Lutha reddened.  For a moment he paced the\nroom angrily to hide his emotion. Then he turned once to Maenck.\n\n\"Escort the prisoner to the north tower,\" he commanded, \"and this\ninsolent girl to the chambers next to ours. Tomorrow we shall talk\nwith her again.\"\n\nOutside the room Barney turned for a last look at the princess as he\nwas being led in one direction and she in another. A smile of\nencouragement was on his lips and cold hopelessness in his heart.\nShe answered the smile and her lips formed a silent \"good-bye.\" They\nformed something else, too--three words which he was sure he could\nnot have mistaken, and then they parted, he for the death chamber\nand she for what fate she could but guess.\n\nAs his guard halted before a door at the far end of a long corridor\nBarney Custer sensed a sudden familiarity in his surroundings. He\nwas conscious of that sensation which is common to all of us--of\nhaving lived through a scene at some former time, to each minutest\ndetail.\n\nAs the door opened and he was pushed into the room he realized that\nthere was excellent foundation for the impression--he immediately\nrecognized the apartment as the same in which he had once before\nbeen imprisoned. At that time he had been mistaken for the mad king\nwho had escaped from the clutches of Peter of Blentz. The same king\nwas now visiting as a guest the fortress in which he had spent ten\nbitter years as a prisoner.\n\n\"Say your prayers, my friend,\" admonished Maenck, as he was about to\nleave him alone, \"for at dawn you die--and this time the firing\nsquad will make a better job of it.\"\n\nBarney did not answer him, and the captain departed, locking the\ndoor after him and leaving two men on guard in the corridor. Alone,\nBarney looked about the room. It was in no wise changed since his\nformer visit to it. He recalled the incidents of the hour of his\nimprisonment here, thought of old Joseph who had aided his escape,\nlooked at the paneled fireplace, whose secret, it was evident, not\neven the master of Blentz was familiar with--and grinned.\n\n\"'For at dawn you die!'\" he repeated to himself, still smiling\nbroadly. Then he crossed quickly to the fireplace, running his\nfingers along the edge of one of the large tiled panels that hid the\nentrance to the well-like shaft that rose from the cellars beneath\nto the towers above and which opened through similar concealed exits\nupon each floor. If the floor above should be untenanted he might be\nable to reach it as he and Joseph had done two years ago when they\nopened the secret panel in the fireplace and climbed a hidden ladder\nto the room overhead; and then by vacant corridors reached the far\nend of the castle above the suite in which the princess had been\nconfined and near which Barney had every reason to believe she was\nnow imprisoned.\n\nCarefully Barney's fingers traversed the edges of the panel. No\nhidden latch rewarded his search. Again and again he examined the\nperfectly fitted joints until he was convinced either that there was\nno latch there or that it was hid beyond possibility of discovery.\nWith each succeeding minute the American's heart and hopes sank\nlower and lower. Two years had elapsed since he had seen the secret\nportal swing to the touch of Joseph's fingers. One may forget much\nin two years; but that he was at work upon the right panel Barney\nwas positive. However, it would do no harm to examine its mate which\nresembled it in minutest detail.\n\nAlmost indifferently Barney turned his attention to the other panel.\nHe ran his fingers over it, his eyes following them. What was that?\nA finger-print? Upon the left side half way up a tiny smudge was\nvisible. Barney examined it more carefully. A round, white figure of\nthe conventional design that was burned into the tile bore the\ntelltale smudge.\n\nOtherwise it differed apparently in no way from the numerous other\nround, white figures that were repeated many times in the scheme of\ndecoration. Barney placed his thumb exactly over the mark that\nanother thumb had left there and pushed. The figure sank into the\npanel beneath the pressure. Barney pushed harder, breathless with\nsuspense. The panel swung in at his effort. The American could have\nwhooped with delight.\n\nA moment more and he stood upon the opposite side of the secret door\nin utter darkness, for he had quickly closed it after him. To strike\na match was but the matter of a moment. The wavering light revealed\nthe top of the ladder that led downward and the foot of another\nleading aloft. He struck still more matches in search of the rope.\nIt was not there, but his quest revealed the fact that the well at\nthis point was much larger than he had imagined--it broadened into a\nsmall chamber.\n\nThe light of many matches finally led him to the discovery of a\npassageway directly behind the fireplace. It was narrow, and after\nspanning the chimney descended by a few rough steps to a slightly\nlower level. It led toward the opposite end of the castle. Could it\nbe possible that it connected directly with the apartments in the\nfarther tower--in the tower where the king was and the Princess\nEmma? Barney could scarce hope for any such good luck, but at least\nit was worth investigating--it must lead somewhere.\n\nHe followed it warily, feeling his way with hands and feet and\noccasionally striking a match. It was evident that the corridor lay\nin the thick wall of the castle, midway between the bottoms of the\nwindows of the second floor and the tops of those upon the\nfirst--this would account for the slightly lower level of the\npassage from the floor of the second story.\n\nBarney had traversed some distance in the darkness along the\nforgotten corridor when the sound of voices came to him from beyond\nthe wall at his right. He stopped, motionless, pressing his ear\nagainst the side wall. As he did so he became aware of the fact that\nat this point the wall was of wood--a large panel of hardwood. Now\nhe could hear even the words of the speaker upon the opposite side.\n\n\"Fetch her here, captain, and I will talk with her alone.\" The voice\nwas the king's. \"And, captain, you might remove the guard from\nbefore the door temporarily. I shall not require them, nor do I wish\nthem to overhear my conversation with the princess.\"\n\nBarney could hear the officer acknowledge the commands of the king,\nand then he heard a door close. The man had gone to fetch the\nprincess. The American struck a match and examined the panel before\nhim. It reached to the top of the passageway and was some three feet\nin width.\n\nAt one side were three hinges, and at the other an ancient spring\nlock. For an instant Barney stood in indecision. What should he do?\nHis entry into the apartments of the king would result in alarming\nthe entire fortress. Were he sure the king was alone it might be\naccomplished. Should he enter now or wait until the Princess Emma\nhad been brought to the king?\n\nWith the question came the answer--a bold and daring scheme.  His\nfingers sought the lock. Very gently, he unlatched it and pushed\noutward upon the panel. Suddenly the great doorway gave beneath his\ntouch. It opened a crack letting a flood of light into his dark cell\nthat almost blinded him.\n\nFor a moment he could see nothing, and then out of the glaring blur\ngrew the figure of a man sitting at a table--with his back toward\nthe panel.\n\nIt was the king, and he was alone.  Noiselessly Barney Custer\nentered the apartment, closing the panel after him. At his back now\nwas the great oil painting of the Blentz princess that had hid the\nsecret entrance to the room. He crossed the thick rugs until he\nstood behind the king. Then he clapped one hand over the mouth of\nthe monarch of Lutha and threw the other arm about his neck.\n\n\"Make the slightest outcry and I shall kill you,\" he whispered in\nthe ear of the terrified man.\n\nAcross the room Barney saw a revolver lying upon a small table.  He\nraised the king to his feet and, turning his back toward the weapon\ndragged him across the apartment until the table was within easy\nreach. Then he snatched up the revolver and swung the king around\ninto a chair facing him, the muzzle of the gun pressed against his\nface.\n\n\"Silence,\" he whispered.\n\nThe king, white and trembling, gasped as his eyes fell upon the face\nof the American.\n\n\"You?\"  His voice was barely audible.\n\n\"Take off your clothes--every stitch of them--and if any one asks\nfor admittance, deny them. Quick, now,\" as the king hesitated. \"My\nlife is forfeited unless I can escape. If I am apprehended I shall\nsee that you pay for my recapture with your life--if any one enters\nthis room without my sanction they will enter it to find a dead king\nupon the floor; do you understand?\"\n\nThe king made no reply other than to commence divesting himself of\nhis clothing. Barney followed his example, but not before he had\ncrossed to the door that opened into the main corridor and shot the\nbolt upon the inside. When both men had removed their clothing\nBarney pointed to the little pile of soiled peasant garb that he had\nworn.\n\n\"Put those on,\" he commanded.\n\nThe king hesitated, drawing back in disgust.  Barney paused,\nhalf-way into the royal union suit, and leveled the revolver at\nLeopold. The king picked up one of the garments gingerly between the\ntips of his thumb and finger.\n\n\"Hurry!\" admonished the American, drawing the silk half-hose of the\nruler of Lutha over his foot. \"If you don't hurry,\" he added,\n\"someone may interrupt us, and you know what the result would be--to\nyou.\"\n\nScowling, Leopold donned the rough garments.  Barney, fully clothed\nin the uniform the king had been wearing, stepped across the\napartment to where the king's sword and helmet lay upon the side\ntable that had also borne the revolver. He placed the helmet upon\nhis head and buckled the sword-belt about his waist, then he faced\nthe king, behind whom was a cheval glass. In it Barney saw his\nimage. The king was looking at the American, his eyes wide and his\njaw dropped. Barney did not wonder at his consternation. He himself\nwas dumbfounded by the likeness which he bore to the king. It was\npositively uncanny. He approached Leopold.\n\n\"Remove your rings,\" he said, holding out his hand.  The king did as\nhe was bid, and Barney slipped the two baubles upon his fingers. One\nof them was the royal ring of the kings of Lutha.\n\nThe American now blindfolded the king and led him toward the panel\nwhich had given him ingress to the room. Through it the two men\npassed, Barney closing the panel after them. Then he conducted the\nking back along the dark passageway to the room which the American\nhad but recently quitted. At the back of the panel which led into\nhis former prison Barney halted and listened. No sound came from\nbeyond the partition. Gently Barney opened the secret door a\ntrifle--just enough to permit him a quick survey of the interior of\nthe apartment. It was empty. A smile crossed his face as he thought\nof the difficulty Leopold might encounter the following morning in\nconvincing his jailers that he was not the American.\n\nThen he recalled his reflection in the cheval glass and frowned.\nCould Leopold convince them? He doubted it--and what then? The\nAmerican was sentenced to be shot at dawn. They would shoot the king\ninstead. Then there would be none to whom to return the kingship.\nWhat would he do with it? The temptation was great. Again a throne\nlay within his grasp--a throne and the woman he loved. None might\never know unless he chose to tell--his resemblance to Leopold was\ntoo perfect. It defied detection.\n\nWith an exclamation of impatience he wheeled about and dragged the\nfrightened monarch back to the room from which he had stolen him. As\nhe entered he heard a knock at the door.\n\n\"Do not disturb me now,\" he called.  \"Come again in half an hour.\"\n\n\"But it is Her Highness, Princess Emma, sire,\" came a voice from\nbeyond the door. \"You summoned her.\"\n\n\"She may return to her apartments,\" replied Barney.\n\nAll the time he kept his revolver leveled at the king, from his eyes\nhe had removed the blind after they had entered the apartment. He\ncrossed to the table where the king had been sitting when he\nsurprised him, motioning the ragged ruler to follow and be seated.\n\n\"Take that pen,\" he said, \"and write a full pardon for Mr. Bernard\nCuster, and an order requiring that he be furnished with money and\nset at liberty at dawn.\"\n\nThe king did as he was bid.  For a moment the American stood looking\nat him before he spoke again.\n\n\"You do not deserve what I am going to do for you,\" he said.  \"And\nLutha deserves a better king than the one my act will give her; but\nI am neither a thief nor a murderer, and so I must forbear leaving\nyou to your just deserts and return your throne to you. I shall do\nso after I have insured my own safety and done what I can for\nLutha--what you are too little a man and king to do yourself.\n\n\"So soon as they liberate you in the morning, make the best of your\nway to Brosnov, on the Serbian frontier. Await me there. When I can,\nI shall come. Again we may exchange clothing and you can return to\nLustadt. I shall cross over into Siberia out of your reach, for I\nknow you too well to believe that any sense of honor or gratitude\nwould prevent you signing my death-warrant at the first opportunity.\nNow, come!\"\n\nOnce again Barney led the blindfolded king through the dark corridor\nto the room in the opposite tower--to the prison of the American. At\nthe open panel he shoved him into the apartment. Then he drew the\ndoor quietly to, leaving the king upon the inside, and retraced his\nsteps to the royal apartments. Crossing to the center table, he\ntouched an electric button. A moment later an officer knocked at the\ndoor, which, in the meantime, Barney had unbolted.\n\n\"Enter!\" said the American.  He stood with his back toward the door\nuntil he heard it close behind the officer. When he turned he was\napparently examining his revolver. If the officer suspected his\nidentity, it was just as well to be prepared. Slowly he raised his\neyes to the newcomer, who stood stiffly at salute. The officer\nlooked him full in the face.\n\n\"I answered your majesty's summons,\" said the man.\n\n\"Oh, yes!\" returned the American.  \"You may fetch the Princess\nEmma.\"\n\nThe officer saluted once more and backed out of the apartment.\nBarney walked to the table and sat down. A tin box of cigarettes lay\nbeside the lamp. Barney lighted one of them. The king had good taste\nin the selection of tobacco, he thought. Well, a man must need have\nsome redeeming characteristics.\n\nOutside, in the corridor, he heard voices, and again the knock at\nthe door. He bade them enter. As the door opened Emma von der Tann,\nher head thrown back and a flush of anger on her face, entered the\nroom. Behind her was the officer who had been despatched to bring\nher. Barney nodded to the latter.\n\n\"You may go,\" he said.  He drew a chair from the table and asked the\nprincess to be seated. She ignored his request.\n\n\"What do you wish of me?\" she asked.  She was looking straight into\nhis eyes. The officer had withdrawn and closed the door after him.\nThey were alone, with nothing to fear; yet she did not recognize\nhim.\n\n\"You are the king,\" she continued in cold, level tones, \"but if you\nare also a gentleman, you will at once order me returned to my\nfather at Lustadt, and with me the man to whom you owe so much. I do\nnot expect it of you, but I wish to give you the chance.\n\n\"I shall not go without him.  I am betrothed to you; but until\ntonight I should rather have died than wed you. Now I am ready to\ncompromise. If you will set Mr. Custer at liberty in Serbia and\nreturn me unharmed to my father, I will fulfill my part of our\nbetrothal.\"\n\nBarney Custer looked straight into the girl's face for a long\nmoment. A half smile played upon his lips at the thought of her\nsurprise when she learned the truth, when suddenly it dawned upon\nhim that she and he were both much safer if no one, not even her\nloyal self, guessed that he was other than the king. It is not\ndifficult to live a part, but often it is difficult to act one. Some\nlittle word or look, were she to know that he was Barney Custer,\nmight betray them; no, it was better to leave her in ignorance,\nthough his conscience pricked him for the disloyalty that his act\nimplied.\n\nIt seemed a poor return for her courage and loyalty to him that her\nstatement to the man she thought king had revealed. He marveled that\na Von der Tann could have spoken those words--a Von der Tann who but\nthe day before had refused to save her father's life at the loss of\nthe family honor. It seemed incredible to the American that he had\nwon such love from such a woman. Again came the mighty temptation to\nkeep the crown and the girl both; but with a straightening of his\nbroad shoulders he threw it from him.\n\nShe was promised to the king, and while he masqueraded in the king's\nclothes, he at least would act the part that a king should. He drew\na folded paper from his inside pocket and handed it to the girl.\n\n\"Here is the American's pardon,\" he said, \"drawn up and signed by\nthe king's own hand.\"\n\nShe opened it and, glancing through it hurriedly, looked up at the\nman before her with a questioning expression in her eyes.\n\n\"You came, then,\" she said, \"to a realization of the enormity of\nyour ingratitude?\"\n\nThe man shrugged.\n\n\"He will never die at my command,\" he said.\n\n\"I thank your majesty,\" she said simply.  \"As a Von der Tann, I have\ntried to believe that a Rubinroth could not be guilty of such\nbaseness. And now, tell me what your answer is to my proposition.\"\n\n\"We shall return to Lustadt tonight,\" he replied.  \"I fear the\npurpose of Prince Peter. In fact, it may be difficult--even\nimpossible--for us to leave Blentz; but we can at least make the\nattempt.\"\n\n\"Can we not take Mr. Custer with us?\" she asked.  \"Prince Peter may\ndisregard your majesty's commands and, after you are gone, have him\nshot. Do not forget that he kept the crown from Peter of Blentz--it\nis certain that Prince Peter will never forget it.\"\n\n\"I give you my word, your highness, that I know positively that if I\nleave Blentz tonight Prince Peter will not have Mr. Custer shot in\nthe morning, and it will so greatly jeopardize his own plans if we\nattempt to release the prisoner that in all probability we ourselves\nwill be unable to escape.\"\n\nShe looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.\n\n\"You give me your word that he will be safe?\" she asked.\n\n\"My royal word,\" he replied.\n\n\"Very well, let us leave at once.\"\n\nBarney touched the bell once more, and presently an officer of the\nBlentz faction answered the summons. As the man closed the door and\napproached, saluting, Barney stepped close to him.\n\n\"We are leaving for Tann tonight,\" he said, \"at once.  You will\nconduct us from the castle and procure horses for us. All the time I\nshall walk at your elbow, and in my hand I shall carry this,\" and he\ndisplayed the king's revolver. \"At the first indication of defection\nupon your part I shall kill you. Do you perfectly understand me?\"\n\n\"But, your majesty,\" exclaimed the officer, \"why is it necessary\nthat you leave thus surreptitiously? May not the king go and come in\nhis own kingdom as he desires? Let me announce your wishes to Prince\nPeter that he may furnish you with a proper escort. Doubtless he\nwill wish to accompany you himself, sire.\"\n\n\"You will do precisely what I say without further comment,\" snapped\nBarney. \"Now get a--\" He had been about to say: \"Now get a move on\nyou,\" when it occurred to him that this was not precisely the sort\nof language that kings were supposed to use to their inferiors. So\nhe changed it. \"Now get a couple of horses for her highness and\nmyself, as well as your own, for you will accompany us to Tann.\"\n\nThe officer looked at the weapon in the king's hand.  He measured\nthe distance between himself and the king. He well knew the reputed\ncowardice of Leopold. Could he make the leap and strike up the\nking's hand before the timorous monarch found even the courage of\nthe cornered rat to fire at him? Then his eyes sought the face of\nthe king, searching for the signs of nervous terror that would make\nhis conquest an easy one; but what he saw in the eyes that bored\nstraight into his brought his own to the floor at the king's feet.\n\nWhat new force animated Leopold of Lutha?  Those were not the eyes\nof a coward. No fear was reflected in their steely glitter. The\nofficer mumbled an apology, saluted, and turned toward the door. At\nhis elbow walked the impostor; a cavalry cape that had belonged to\nthe king now covered his shoulders and hid the weapon that pressed\nits hard warning now and again into the short-ribs of the Blentz\nofficer. Just behind the American came the Princess Emma von der\nTann.\n\nThe three passed through the deserted corridors of the sleeping\ncastle, taking a route at Barney's suggestion that led them to the\nstable courtyard without necessitating traversing the main corridors\nor the great hall or the guardroom, in all of which there still were\nAustrian and Blentz soldiers, whose duties or pleasures had kept\nthem from their blankets.\n\nAt the stables a sleepy groom answered the summons of the officer,\nwhom Barney had warned not to divulge the identity of himself or the\nprincess. He left the princess in the shadows outside the building.\nAfter what seemed an eternity to the American, three horses were led\ninto the courtyard, saddled, and bridled. The party mounted and\napproached the gates. Here, Barney knew, might be encountered the\nmost serious obstacle in their path. He rode close to the side of\ntheir unwilling conductor. Leaning forward in his saddle, he\nwhispered in the man's ear.\n\n\"Failure to pass us through the gates,\" he said, \"will be the signal\nfor your death.\"\n\nThe man reined in his mount and turned toward the American.\n\n\"I doubt if they will pass even me without a written order from\nPrince Peter,\" he said. \"If they refuse, you must reveal your\nidentity. The guard is composed of Luthanians--I doubt if they will\ndare refuse your majesty.\"\n\nThen they rode on up to the gates.  A soldier stepped from the\nsentry box and challenged them.\n\n\"Lower the drawbridge,\" ordered the officer.  \"It is Captain\nKrantzwort on a mission for the king.\"\n\nThe soldier approached, raising a lantern, which he had brought from\nthe sentry box, and inspected the captain's face. He seemed ill at\nease. In the light of the lantern, the American saw that he was\nscarce more than a boy--doubtless a recruit. He saw the expression\nof fear and awe with which he regarded the officer, and it occurred\nto him that the effect of the king's presence upon him would be\nabsolutely overpowering. Still the soldier hesitated.\n\n\"My orders are very strict, sir,\" he said.  \"I am to let no one\nleave without a written order from Prince Peter. If the sergeant or\nthe lieutenant were here they would know what to do; but they are\nboth at the castle--only two other soldiers are at the gates with\nme. Wait, and I will send one of them for the lieutenant.\"\n\n\"No,\" interposed the American.  \"You will send for no one, my man.\nCome closer--look at my face.\"\n\nThe soldier approached, holding his lantern above his head.  As its\nfeeble rays fell upon the face and uniform of the man on horseback,\nthe sentry gave a little gasp of astonishment.\n\n\"Now, lower the drawbridge,\" said Barney Custer, \"it is your king's\ncommand.\"\n\nQuickly the fellow hastened to obey the order.  The chains creaked\nand the windlass groaned as the heavy planking sank to place across\nthe moat.\n\nAs Barney passed the soldier he handed him the pardon Leopold had\nwritten for the American.\n\n\"Give this to your lieutenant,\" he said, \"and tell him to hand it to\nPrince Peter before dawn tomorrow. Do not fail.\"\n\nA moment later the three were riding down the winding road toward\nBlentz. Barney had no further need of the officer who rode with\nthem. He would be glad to be rid of him, for he anticipated that the\nfellow might find ample opportunity to betray them as they passed\nthrough the Austrian lines, which they must do to reach Lustadt.\n\nHe had told the captain that they were going to Tann in order that,\nshould the man find opportunity to institute pursuit, he might be\nthrown off the track. The Austrian sentries were no great distance\nahead when Barney ordered a halt.\n\n\"Dismount,\" he directed the captain, leaping to the ground himself\nat the same time. \"Put your hands behind your back.\"\n\nThe officer did as he was bid, and Barney bound his wrists securely\nwith a strap and buckle that he had removed from the cantle of his\nsaddle as he rode. Then he led him off the road among some weeds and\ncompelled him to lie down, after which he bound his ankles together\nand stuffed a gag in his mouth, securing it in place with a bit of\nstick and the chinstrap from the man's helmet. The threat of the\nrevolver kept Captain Krantzwort silent and obedient throughout the\nhasty operations.\n\n\"Good-bye, captain,\" whispered Barney, \"and let me suggest that you\ndevote the time until your discovery and release in pondering the\nvalue of winning your king's confidence in the future. Had you\nchosen your associates more carefully in the past, this need not\nhave occurred.\"\n\nBarney unsaddled the captain's horse and turned him loose, then he\nremounted and, with the princess at his side, rode down toward\nBlentz.\n\n\n\nX\n\nA NEW KING IN LUTHA\n\nAs the two riders approached the edge of the village of Blentz a\nsentry barred their way. To his challenge the American replied that\nthey were \"friends from the castle.\"\n\n\"Advance,\" directed the sentry, \"and give the countersign.\"\n\nBarney rode to the fellow's side, and leaning from the saddle\nwhispered in his ear the word \"Slankamen.\"\n\nWould it pass them out as it had passed Maenck in? Barney scarcely\nbreathed as he awaited the result of his experiment. The soldier\nbrought his rifle to present and directed them to pass. With a sigh\nof relief that was almost audible the two rode into the village and\nthe Austrian lines.\n\nOnce within they met with no further obstacle until they reached the\nlast line of sentries upon the far side of the town. It was with\nmore confidence that Barney gave the countersign here, nor was he\nsurprised that the soldier passed them readily; and now they were\nupon the highroad to Lustadt, with nothing more to bar their way.\n\nFor hours they rode on in silence.  Barney wanted to talk with his\ncompanion, but as king he found nothing to say to her. The girl's\nmind was filled with morbid reflections of the past few hours and\ndumb terror for the future. She would keep her promise to the king;\nbut after--life would not be worth the living; why should she live?\nShe glanced at the man beside her in the light of the coming dawn.\nAh, why was he so like her American in outward appearances only?\nTheir own mothers could scarce have distinguished them, and yet in\ncharacter no two men could have differed more widely. The man turned\nto her.\n\n\"We are almost there,\" he said.  \"You must be very tired.\"\n\nThe words reflected a consideration that had never been a\ncharacteristic of Leopold. The girl began to wonder if there might\nnot possibly be a vein of nobility in the man, after all, that she\nhad never discovered. Since she had entered his apartments at Blentz\nhe had been in every way a different man from the Leopold she had\nknown of old. The boldness of his escape from Blentz supposed a\ncourage that the king had never given the slightest indication of in\nthe past. Could it be that he was making a genuine effort to become\na man--to win her respect?\n\nThey were approaching Lustadt as the sun rose.  A troop of horse was\njust emerging from the north gate. As it neared them they saw that\nthe cavalrymen wore the uniforms of the Royal Horse Guard. At their\nhead rode a lieutenant. As his eyes fell upon the face of the\nprincess and her companion, he brought his troopers to a halt, and,\nwith incredulity plain upon his countenance, advanced to meet them,\nhis hand raised in salute to the king. It was Butzow.\n\nNow Barney was sure that he would be recognized.  For two years he\nand the Luthanian officer had been inseparable. Surely Butzow would\npenetrate his disguise. He returned his friend's salute, looked him\nfull in the eyes, and asked where he was riding.\n\n\"To Blentz, your majesty,\" replied Butzow, \"to demand an audience.\nI bear important word from Prince von der Tann. He has learned the\nAustrians are moving an entire army corps into Lutha, together with\nsiege howitzers. Serbia has demanded that all Austrian troops be\nwithdrawn from Luthanian territory at once, and has offered to\nassist your majesty in maintaining your neutrality by force, if\nnecessary.\"\n\nAs Butzow spoke his eyes were often upon the Princess Emma, and it\nwas quite evident that he was much puzzled to account for her\npresence with the king. She was supposed to be at Tann, and Butzow\nknew well enough her estimate of Leopold to know that she would not\nbe in his company of her own volition. His expression as he\naddressed the man he supposed to be his king was far from\ndeferential. Barney could scarce repress a smile.\n\n\"We will ride at once to the palace,\" he said.  \"At the gate you may\ninstruct one of your sergeants to telephone to Prince von der Tann\nthat the king is returning and will grant him audience immediately.\nYou and your detachment will act as our escort.\"\n\nButzow saluted and turned to his troopers, giving the necessary\ncommands that brought them about in the wake of the pseudo-king.\nOnce again Barney Custer, of Beatrice, rode into Lustadt as king of\nLutha. The few people upon the streets turned to look at him as he\npassed, but there was little demonstration of love or enthusiasm.\n\nLeopold had awakened no emotions of this sort in the hearts of his\nsubjects. Some there were who still remembered the gallant actions\nof their ruler on the field of battle when his forces had defeated\nthose of the regent, upon that other occasion when this same\nAmerican had sat upon the throne of Lutha for two days and had led\nthe little army to victory; but since then the true king had been\nwith them daily in his true colors. Arrogance, haughtiness, and\npetty tyranny had marked his reign. Taxes had gone even higher than\nunder the corrupt influence of the Blentz regime. The king's days\nwere spent in bed; his nights in dissipation. Old Ludwig von der\nTann seemed Lutha's only friend at court. Him the people loved and\ntrusted.\n\nIt was the old chancellor who met them as they entered the\npalace--the Princess Emma, Lieutenant Butzow, and the false king. As\nthe old man's eyes fell upon his daughter, he gave an exclamation of\nsurprise and of incredulity. He looked from her to the American.\n\n\"What is the meaning of this, your majesty?\" he cried in a voice\nhoarse with emotion. \"What does her highness in your company?\"\n\nThere was neither fear nor respect in Prince Ludwig's tone--only\nanger. He was demanding an accounting from Leopold, the man; not\nfrom Leopold, the king. Barney raised his hand.\n\n\"Wait,\" he said, \"before you judge.  The princess was brought to\nBlentz by Prince Peter. She will tell you that I have aided her to\nescape and that I have accorded her only such treatment as a woman\nhas a right to expect from a king.\"\n\nThe girl inclined her head.\n\n\"His majesty has been most kind,\" she said.  \"He has treated me with\nevery consideration and respect, and I am convinced that he was not\na willing party to my arrest and forcible detention at Blentz; or,\"\nshe added, \"if he was, he regretted his action later and has made\nfull reparation by bringing me to Lustadt.\"\n\nPrince von der Tann found difficulty in hiding his surprise at this\nevidence of chivalry in the cowardly king. But for his daughter's\ntestimony he could not have believed it possible that it lay within\nthe nature of Leopold of Lutha to have done what he had done within\nthe past few hours.\n\nHe bowed low before the man who wore the king's uniform.  The\nAmerican extended his hand, and Von der Tann, taking it in his own,\nraised it to his lips.\n\n\"And now,\" said Barney briskly, \"let us go to my apartments and get\nto work. Your highness\"--and he turned toward the Princess\nEmma--\"must be greatly fatigued. Lieutenant Butzow, you will see\nthat a suite is prepared for her highness. Afterward you may call\nupon Count Zellerndorf, whom I understand returned to Lustadt\nyesterday, and notify him that I will receive him in an hour. Inform\nthe Serbian minister that I desire his presence at the palace\nimmediately. Lose no time, lieutenant, and be sure to impress upon\nthe Serbian minister that immediately means immediately.\"\n\nButzow saluted and the Princess Emma curtsied, as the king turned\nand, slipping his arm through that of Prince Ludwig, walked away in\nthe direction of the royal apartments. Once at the king's desk\nBarney turned toward the chancellor. In his mind was the\ndetermination to save Lutha if Lutha could be saved. He had been\nforced to place the king in a position where he would be helpless,\nthough that he would have been equally as helpless upon his throne\nthe American did not doubt for an instant. However, the course of\nevents had placed within his hands the power to serve not only Lutha\nbut the house of Von der Tann as well. He would do in the king's\nplace what the king should have done if the king had been a man.\n\n\"Now, Prince Ludwig,\" he said, \"tell me just what conditions we must\nface. Remember that I have been at Blentz and that there the King of\nLutha is not apt to learn all that transpires in Lustadt.\"\n\n\"Sire,\" replied the chancellor, \"we face a grave crisis.  Not only\nis there within Lutha the small force of Austrian troops that\nsurround Blentz, but now an entire army corps has crossed the\nborder. Unquestionably they are marching on Lustadt. The emperor is\ngoing to take no chances. He sent the first force into Lutha to\ncompel Serbian intervention and draw Serbian troops from the\nAustro-Serbian battle line. Serbia has withheld her forces at my\nrequest, but she will not withhold them for long. We must make a\ndeclaration at once. If we declare against Austria we are faced by\nthe menace of the Austrian troops already within our boundaries, but\nwe shall have Serbia to help us.\n\n\"A Serbian army corps is on the frontier at this moment awaiting\nword from Lutha. If it is adverse to Austria that army corps will\ncross the border and march to our assistance. If it is favorable to\nAustria it will none the less cross into Lutha, but as enemies\ninstead of allies. Serbia has acted honorably toward Lutha. She has\nnot violated our neutrality. She has no desire to increase her\npossessions in this direction.\n\n\"On the other hand, Austria has violated her treaty with us.  She\nhas marched troops into our country and occupied the town of Blentz.\nConstantly in the past she has incited internal discord. She is\nopenly championing the Blentz cause, which at last I trust your\nmajesty has discovered is inimical to your interests.\n\n\"If Austria is victorious in her war with Serbia, she will find some\npretext to hold Lutha whether Lutha takes her stand either for or\nagainst her. And most certainly is this true if it occurs that\nAustrian troops are still within the boundaries of Lutha when peace\nis negotiated. Not only our honor but our very existence demands\nthat there be no Austrian troops in Lutha at the close of this war.\nIf we cannot force them across the border we can at least make such\nan effort as will win us the respect of the world and a voice in the\npeace negotiations.\n\n\"If we must bow to the surrender of our national integrity, let us\ndo so only after we have exhausted every resource of the country in\nour country's defense. In the past your majesty has not appeared to\nrealize the menace of your most powerful neighbor. I beg of you,\nsire, to trust me. Believe that I have only the interests of Lutha\nat heart, and let us work together for the salvation of our country\nand your majesty's throne.\"\n\nBarney laid his hand upon the old man's shoulder.  It seemed a shame\nto carry the deception further, but the American well knew that only\nso could he accomplish aught for Lutha or the Von der Tanns. Once\nthe old chancellor suspected the truth as to his identity he would\nbe the first to denounce him.\n\n\"I think that you and I can work together, Prince Ludwig,\" he said.\n\"I have sent for the Serbian and Austrian ministers. The former\nshould be here immediately.\"\n\nNor did they have long to wait before the tall Slav was announced.\nBarney lost no time in getting down to business. He asked no\nquestions. What Von der Tann had told him, what he had seen with his\nown eyes since he had entered Lutha, and what he had overheard in\nthe inn at Burgova was sufficient evidence that the fate of Lutha\nhung upon the prompt and energetic decisions of the man who sat upon\nLutha's throne for the next few days.\n\nHad Leopold been the present incumbent Lutha would have been lost,\nfor that he would play directly into the hands of Austria was not to\nbe questioned. Were Von der Tann to seize the reins of government a\nstate of revolution would exist that would divide the state into two\nbitter factions, weaken its defense, and give Austria what she most\ndesired--a plausible pretext for intervention.\n\nLutha's only hope lay in united defense of her liberties under the\nleadership of the one man whom all acknowledged king--Leopold. Very\nwell, Barney Custer, of Beatrice, would be Leopold for a few days,\nsince the real Leopold had proven himself incompetent to meet the\nemergency.\n\nGeneral Petko, the Serbian minister to Lutha, brought to the\naudience the memory of a series of unpleasant encounters with the\nking. Leopold had never exerted himself to hide his pro-Austrian\nsentiments. Austria was a powerful country--Serbia, a relatively\nweak neighbor. Leopold, being a royal snob, had courted the favor of\nthe emperor and turned up his nose at Serbia. The general was\nprepared for a repetition of the veiled affronts that Leopold\ndelighted in according him; but this time he brought with him a\nreply that for two years he had been living in the hope of some day\nbeing able to deliver to the young monarch he so cordially despised.\n\nIt was an ultimatum from his government--an ultimatum couched in\nterms from which all diplomatic suavity had been stripped. If Barney\nCuster, of Beatrice, could have read it he would have smiled, for in\nplain American it might have been described as announcing to Leopold\nprecisely \"where he got off.\" But Barney did not have the\nopportunity to read it, since that ultimatum was never delivered.\n\nBarney took the wind all out of it by his first words.  \"Your\nexcellency may wonder why it is that we have summoned you at such an\nearly hour,\" he said.\n\nGeneral Petko inclined his head in deferential acknowledgment of the\ntruth of the inference.\n\n\"It is because we have learned from our chancellor,\" continued the\nAmerican, \"that Serbia has mobilized an entire army corps upon the\nLuthanian frontier. Am I correctly informed?\"\n\nGeneral Petko squared his shoulders and bowed in assent. At the same\ntime he reached into his breast-pocket for the ultimatum.\n\n\"Good!\" exclaimed Barney, and then he leaned close to the ear of the\nSerbian. \"How long will it take to move that army corps to Lustadt?\"\n\nGeneral Petko gasped and returned the ultimatum to his pocket.\n\n\"Sire!\" he cried, his face lighting with incredulity.  \"You mean--\"\n\n\"I mean,\" said the American, \"that if Serbia will loan Lutha an army\ncorps until the Austrians have evacuated Luthanian territory, Lutha\nwill loan Serbia an army corps until such time as peace is declared\nbetween Serbia and Austria. Other than this neither government will\nincur any obligations to the other.\n\n\"We may not need your help, but it will do us no harm to have them\nwell on the way toward Lustadt as quickly as possible. Count\nZellerndorf will be here in a few minutes. We shall, through him,\ngive Austria twenty-four hours to withdraw all her troops beyond our\nfrontiers. The army of Lutha is mobilized before Lustadt. It is not\na large army, but with the help of Serbia it should be able to drive\nthe Austrians from the country, provided they do not leave of their\nown accord.\"\n\nGeneral Petko smiled.  So did the American and the chancellor.  Each\nknew that Austria would not withdraw her army from Lutha.\n\n\"With your majesty's permission I will withdraw,\" said the Serbian,\n\"and transmit Lutha's proposition to my government; but I may say\nthat your majesty need have no apprehension but that a Serbian army\ncorps will be crossing into Lutha before noon today.\"\n\n\"And now, Prince Ludwig,\" said the American after the Serbian had\nbowed himself out of the apartment, \"I suggest that you take\nimmediate steps to entrench a strong force north of Lustadt along\nthe road to Blentz.\"\n\nVon der Tann smiled as he replied.  \"It is already done, sire,\" he\nsaid.\n\n\"But I passed in along the road this morning,\" said Barney, \"and saw\nnothing of such preparations.\"\n\n\"The trenches and the soldiers were there, nevertheless, sire,\"\nreplied the old man, \"only a little gap was left on either side of\nthe highway that those who came and went might not suspect our plans\nand carry word of them to the Austrians. A few hours will complete\nthe link across the road.\"\n\n\"Good!  Let it be completed at once.  Here is Count Zellerndorf\nnow,\" as the minister was announced.\n\nVon der Tann bowed himself out as the Austrian entered the king's\npresence. For the first time in two years the chancellor felt that\nthe destiny of Lutha was safe in the hands of her king. What had\ncaused the metamorphosis in Leopold he could not guess. He did not\nseem to be the same man that had whined and growled at their last\naudience a week before.\n\nThe Austrian minister entered the king's presence with an expression\nof ill-concealed surprise upon his face. Two days before he had left\nLeopold safely ensconced at Blentz, where he was to have remained\nindefinitely. He glanced hurriedly about the room in search of\nPrince Peter or another of the conspirators who should have been\nwith the king. He saw no one. The king was speaking. The Austrian's\neyes went wider, not only at the words, but at the tone of voice.\n\n\"Count Zellerndorf,\" said the American, \"you were doubtless aware of\nthe embarrassment under which the king of Lutha was compelled at\nBlentz to witness the entry of a foreign army within his domain. But\nwe are not now at Blentz. We have summoned you that you may receive\nfrom us, and transmit to your emperor, the expression of our\nsurprise and dismay at the unwarranted violation of Luthanian\nneutrality.\"\n\n\"But, your majesty--\" interrupted the Austrian.\n\n\"But nothing, your excellency,\" snapped the American. \"The moment\nfor diplomacy is passed; the time for action has come. You will\noblige us by transmitting to your government at once a request that\nevery Austrian soldier now in Lutha be withdrawn by noon tomorrow.\"\n\nZellerndorf looked his astonishment.\n\n\"Are you mad, sire?\" he cried.  \"It will mean war!\"\n\n\"It is what Austria has been looking for,\" snapped the American,\n\"and what people look for they usually get, especially if they\nchance to be looking for trouble. When can you expect a reply from\nVienna?\"\n\n\"By noon, your majesty,\" replied the Austrian, \"but are you\nirretrievably bound to your present policy? Remember the power of\nAustria, sire. Think of your throne. Think--\"\n\n\"We have thought of everything,\" interrupted Barney. \"A throne means\nless to us than you may imagine, count; but the honor of Lutha means\na great deal.\"\n\n\n\nXI\n\nTHE BATTLE\n\nAt five o'clock that afternoon the sidewalks bordering Margaretha\nStreet were crowded with promenaders. The little tables before the\ncafes were filled. Nearly everyone spoke of the great war and of the\nperil which menaced Lutha. Upon many a lip was open disgust at the\nsupine attitude of Leopold of Lutha in the face of an Austrian\ninvasion of his country. Discontent was open. It was ripening to\nsomething worse for Leopold than an Austrian invasion.\n\nPresently a sergeant of the Royal Horse Guards cantered down the\nstreet from the palace. He stopped here and there, and, dismounting,\ntacked placards in conspicuous places. At the notice, and in each\ninstance cheers and shouting followed the sergeant as he rode on to\nthe next stop.\n\nNow, at each point men and women were gathered, eagerly awaiting an\nexplanation of the jubilation farther up the street. Those whom the\nsergeant passed called to him for an explanation, and not receiving\nit, followed in a quickly growing mob that filled Margaretha Street\nfrom wall to wall. When he dismounted he had almost to fight his way\nto the post or door upon which he was to tack the next placard. The\ncrowd surged about him in its anxiety to read what the placard bore,\nand then, between the cheering and yelling, those in the front\npassed back to the crowd the tidings that filled them with so great\nrejoicing.\n\n\"Leopold has declared war on Austria!\"  \"The king calls for\nvolunteers!\" \"Long live the king!\"\n\n\nThe battle of Lustadt has passed into history.  Outside of the\nlittle kingdom of Lutha it received but passing notice by the world\nat large, whose attention was riveted upon the great conflicts along\nthe banks of the Meuse, the Marne, and the Aisne. But in Lutha! Ah,\nit will be told and retold, handed down from mouth to mouth and from\ngeneration to generation to the end of time.\n\nHow the cavalry that the king sent north toward Blentz met the\nadvancing Austrian army. How, fighting, they fell back upon the\ninfantry which lay, a thin line that stretched east and west across\nthe north of Lustadt, in its first line of trenches. A pitifully\nweak line it was, numerically, in comparison with the forces of the\ninvaders; but it stood its ground heroically, and from the heights\nto the north of the city the fire from the forts helped to hold the\nenemy in check for many hours.\n\nAnd then the enemy succeeded in bringing up their heavy artillery to\nthe ridge that lies three miles north of the forts. Shells were\nbursting in the trenches, the forts, and the city. To the south a\nstream of terror-stricken refugees was pouring out of Lustadt along\nthe King's Road. Rich and poor, animated by a common impulse, filled\nthe narrow street that led to the city's southern gate. Carts drawn\nby dogs, laden donkeys, French limousines, victorias,\nwheelbarrows--every conceivable wheeled vehicle and beast of\nburden--were jammed in a seemingly inextricable tangle in the mad\nrush for safety.\n\nRumor passed back and forth through the fleeing thousands.  Now came\nword that Fort No. 2 had been silenced by the Austrian guns.\nImmediately followed news that the Luthanian line was falling back\nupon the city. Fear turned to panic. Men fought to outdistance their\nneighbors.\n\nA shell burst upon a roof-top in an adjoining square.\n\nWomen fainted and were trampled.  Hoarse shouts of anger mingled\nwith screams of terror, and then into the midst of it from\nMargaretha Street rode a man on horseback. Behind him were a score\nof officers. A trumpeter raised his instrument to his lips, and\nabove the din of the fleeing multitude rose the sharp, triple call\nthat announces the coming of the king. The mob halted and turned.\n\nLooking down upon them from his saddle was Leopold of Lutha.  His\npalm was raised for silence and there was a smile upon his lips.\nQuite suddenly, and as by a miracle, fear left them. They made a\nline for him and his staff to ride through. One of the officers\nturned in his saddle to address a civilian friend in an automobile.\n\n\"His majesty is riding to the firing line,\" he said and he raised\nhis voice that many might hear. Quickly the word passed from mouth\nto mouth, and as Barney Custer, of Beatrice, passed along Margaretha\nStreet he was followed by a mad din of cheering that drowned the\nbooming of the distant cannon and the bursting of the shells above\nthe city.\n\nThe balance of the day the pseudo-king rode back and forth along his\nlines. Three of his staff were killed and two horses were shot from\nbeneath him, but from the moment that he appeared the Luthanian line\nceased to waver or fall back. The advanced trenches that they had\nabandoned to the Austrians they took again at the point of the\nbayonet. Charge after charge they repulsed, and all the time there\nhovered above the enemy Lutha's sole aeroplane, watching, watching,\never watching for the coming of the allies. Somewhere to the\nnortheast the Serbians were advancing toward Lustadt. Would they\ncome in time?\n\nIt was five o'clock in the morning of the second day, and though the\nLuthanian line still held, Barney Custer knew that it could not hold\nfor long. The Austrian artillery fire, which had been rather wild\nthe preceding day, had now become of deadly accuracy. Each bursting\nshell filled some part of the trenches with dead and wounded, and\nthough their places were taken by fresh men from the reserve, there\nwould soon be no reserve left to call upon.\n\nAt his left, in the rear, the American had massed the bulk of his\nreserves, and at the foot of the heights north of the city and just\nbelow the forts the major portion of the cavalry was drawn up in the\nshelter of a little ravine. Barney's eyes were fixed upon the\nsoaring aeroplane.\n\nIn his hand was his watch.  He would wait another fifteen minutes,\nand if by then the signal had not come that the Serbians were\napproaching, he would strike the blow that he had decided upon. From\ntime to time he glanced at his watch.\n\nThe fifteen minutes had almost elapsed when there fluttered from the\ntiny monoplane a paper parachute. It dropped for several hundred\nfeet before it spread to the air pressure and floated more gently\ntoward the earth and a moment later there burst from its basket a\npuff of white smoke. Two more parachutes followed the first and two\nmore puffs of smoke. Then the machine darted rapidly off toward the\nnortheast.\n\nBarney turned to Prince von der Tann with a smile.  \"They are none\ntoo soon,\" he said.\n\nThe old prince bowed in acquiescence.  He had been very happy for\ntwo days. Lutha might be defeated now, but she could never be\nsubdued. She had a king at last--a real king. Gott! How he had\nchanged. It reminded Prince von der Tann of the day he had ridden\nbeside the impostor two years before in the battle with the forces\nof Peter of Blentz. Many times he had caught himself scrutinizing\nthe face of the monarch, searching for some proof that after all he\nwas not Leopold.\n\n\"Direct the commanders of forts three and four to concentrate their\nfire on the enemy's guns directly north of Fort No. 3,\" Barney\ndirected an aide. \"Simultaneously let the cavalry and Colonel\nKazov's infantry make a determined assault on the Austrian\ntrenches.\"\n\nThen he turned his horse toward the left of his line, where, a\nlittle to the rear, lay the fresh troops that he had been holding in\nreadiness against this very moment. As he galloped across the plain,\nhis staff at his heels, shrapnel burst about them. Von der Tann\nspurred to his side.\n\n\"Sire,\" he cried, \"it is unnecessary that you take such grave risks.\nYour staff is ready and willing to perform such service that you may\nbe preserved to your people and your throne.\"\n\n\"I believe the men fight better when they think their king is\nwatching them,\" said the American simply.\n\n\"I know it, sire,\" replied Von der Tann, \"but even so, Lutha could\nill afford to lose you now. I thank God, your majesty, that I have\nlived to see this day--to see the last of the Rubinroths upholding\nthe glorious traditions of the Rubinroth blood.\"\n\nBarney led the reserves slowly through the wood to the rear of the\nextreme left of his line. The attack upon the Austrian right center\nappeared to be meeting with much greater success than the American\ndared to hope for. Already, through his glasses, he could see\nindications that the enemy was concentrating a larger force at this\npoint to repulse the vicious assaults of the Luthanians. To do this\nthey must be drawing from their reserves back of other portions of\ntheir line.\n\nIt was what Barney had desired.  The three bombs from the aeroplane\nhad told him that the Serbians had been sighted three miles away.\nAlready they were engaging the Austrians. He could hear the rattle\nof rifles and quick-firers and the roar of cannon far to the\nnortheast. And now he gave the word to the commander of the reserve.\n\nAt a rapid trot the men moved forward behind the extreme left end of\nthe Luthanian left wing. They were almost upon the Austrians before\nthey emerged from the shelter of the wood, and then with hoarse\nshouts and leveled bayonets they charged the enemy's position. The\nfight there was the bloodiest of the two long days. Back and forth\nthe tide of battle surged. In the thick of it rode the false king\nencouraging his men to greater effort. Slowly at last they bore the\nAustrians from their trenches. Back and back they bore them until\nretreat became a rout. The Austrian right was crumpled back upon its\ncenter!\n\nHere the enemy made a determined stand; but just before dark a great\nshouting arose from the heights to their left, where the bulk of\ntheir artillery was stationed. Both the Luthanian and Austrian\ntroops engaged in the plain saw Austrian infantry and artillery\nrunning down the slopes in disorderly rout. Upon their heads came a\ncheering line of soldiers firing as they ran, and above them waved\nthe battleflag of Serbia.\n\nA mighty shout rose from the Luthanian ranks--an answering groan\nfrom the throats of the Austrians. Hemmed in between the two lines\nof allies, the Austrians were helpless. Their artillery was\ncaptured, retreat cut off. There was but a single alternative to\nmassacre--the white flag.\n\nA few regiments between Lustadt and Blentz, but nearer the latter\ntown, escaped back into Austria, the balance Barney arranged with\nthe Serbian minister to have taken back to Serbia as prisoners of\nwar. The Luthanian army corps that the American had promised the\nSerbs was to be utilized along the Austrian frontier to prevent the\npassage of Austrian troops into Serbia through Lutha.\n\nThe return to Lustadt after the battle was made through cheering\ntroops and along streets choked with joy-mad citizenry. The name of\nthe soldier-king was upon every tongue. Men went wild with\nenthusiasm as the tall figure rode slowly through the crowd toward\nthe palace.\n\nVon der Tann, grim and martial, found his lids damp with the\nmoisture of a great happiness. Even now with all the proofs of\nreality about him, it seemed impossible that this scene could be\naught but the ephemeral vapors of a dream--that Leopold of Lutha,\nthe coward, the craven, could have become in a single day the heroic\nfigure that had loomed so large upon the battlefield of Lustadt--the\nsimple, modest gentleman who received the plaudits of his subjects\nwith bowed head and humble mien.\n\nAs Barney Custer rode up Margaretha Street toward the royal palace\nof the kings of Lutha, a dust-covered horseman in the uniform of an\nofficer of the Horse Guards entered Lustadt from the south. It was\nthe young aide of Prince von der Tann's staff, who had been sent to\nBlentz nearly a week earlier with a message for the king, and who\nhad been captured and held by the Austrians.\n\nDuring the battle before Lustadt all the Austrian troops had been\nwithdrawn from Blentz and hurried to the front. It was then that the\naide had been transferred to the castle, from which he had escaped\nearly that morning. To reach Lustadt he had been compelled to circle\nthe Austrian position, coming to Lustadt from the south.\n\nOnce within the city he rode straight to the palace, flung himself\nfrom his jaded mount, and entered the left wing of the building--the\nwing in which the private apartments of the chancellor were located.\n\nHere he inquired for the Princess Emma, learning with evident relief\nthat she was there. A moment later, white with dust, his face\nstreamed with sweat, he was ushered into her presence.\n\n\"Your highness,\" he blurted, \"the king's commands have been\ndisregarded--the American is to be shot tomorrow. I have just\nescaped from Blentz. Peter is furious. He realizes that whether the\nAustrians win or lose, his standing with the king is gone forever.\n\n\"In a fit of rage he has ordered that Mr. Custer be sacrificed to\nhis desire for revenge, in the hope that it will insure for him the\nfavor of the Austrians. Something must be done at once if he is to\nbe saved.\"\n\nFor a moment the girl swayed as though about to fall. The young\nofficer stepped quickly to support her, but before he reached her\nside she had regained complete mastery of herself. From the street\nwithout there rose the blare of trumpets and the cheering of the\npopulace.\n\nThrough senses numb with the cold of anguish the meaning of the\ntumult slowly filtered to her brain--the king had come. He was\nreturning from the battlefield, covered with honors and flushed with\nglory--the man who was to be her husband; but there was no rejoicing\nin the heart of the Princess Emma.\n\nInstead, there was a dull ache and impotent rebellion at the\ninjustice of the thing--that Leopold should be reaping these great\nrewards, while he who had made it possible for him to be a king at\nall was to die on the morrow because of what he had done to place\nthe Rubinroth upon his throne.\n\n\"Perhaps Lieutenant Butzow might find a way,\" suggested the officer.\n\"He or your father; they are both fond of Mr. Custer.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said the girl dully, \"see Lieutenant Butzow--he would do the\nmost.\"\n\nThe officer bowed and hastened from the apartment in search of\nButzow. The girl approached the window and stood there for a long\ntime, looking out at the surging multitude that pressed around the\npalace gates, filling Margaretha Street with a solid mass of happy\nfaces.\n\nThey cheered the king, the chancellor, the army; but most often they\ncheered the king. From a despised monarch Leopold had risen in a\nsingle bound to the position of a national idol.\n\nRepeatedly he was called to the balcony over the grand entrance that\nthe people might feast their eyes on him. The princess wondered how\nlong it was before she herself would be forced to offer her\ncongratulations and, perchance, suffer his caresses. She shivered\nand cringed at the thought, and then there came a knock upon the\ndoor, and in answer to her permission it opened, and the king stood\nupon the threshold alone.\n\nAt a glance the man took in the pain and sorrow mirrored upon the\ngirl's face. He stepped quickly across the room toward her.\n\n\"What is it?\" he asked.  \"What is the matter?\"\n\nFor a moment he had forgotten the part that he had been\nplaying--forgot that the Princess Emma was ignorant of his identity.\nHe had come to her to share with her the happiness of the hour--the\nglory of the victorious arms of Lutha. For a time he had almost\nforgotten that he was not the king, and now he was forgetting that\nhe was not Barney Custer to the girl who stood before him with\nmisery and hopelessness writ so large upon her countenance.\n\nFor a brief instant the girl did not reply.  She was weighing the\nproblematical value of an attempt to enlist the king in the cause of\nthe American. Leopold had shown a spark of magnanimity when he had\nwritten a pardon for Mr. Custer; might he not rise again above his\npetty jealousy and save the American's life? It was a forlorn hope\nto the woman who knew the true Leopold so well; but it was a hope.\n\n\"What is the matter?\" the king repeated.\n\n\"I have just received word that Prince Peter has ignored your\ncommands, sire,\" replied the girl, \"and that Mr. Custer is to be\nshot tomorrow.\"\n\nBarney's eyes went wide with incredulity.  Here was a pretty pass,\nindeed! The princess came close to him and seized his arm.\n\n\"You promised, sire,\" she said, \"that he would not be harmed--you\ngave your royal word. You can save him. You have an army at your\ncommand. Do not forget that he once saved you.\"\n\nThe note of appeal in her voice and the sorrow in her eyes gave\nBarney Custer a twinge of compunction. The necessity for longer\nconcealing his identity in so far as the salvation of Lutha was\nconcerned seemed past; but the American had intended to carry the\ndeception to the end.\n\nHe had given the matter much thought, but he could find no grounds\nfor belief that Emma von der Tann would be any happier in the\nknowledge that her future husband had had nothing to do with the\nvictory of his army. If she was doomed to a life at his side, why\nnot permit her the grain of comfort that she might derive from the\nmemory of her husband's achievements upon the battlefield of\nLustadt? Why rob her of that little?\n\nBut now, face to face with her, and with the evidence of her\nsuffering so plain before him, Barney's intentions wavered. Like\nmost fighting men, he was tender in his dealings with women. And now\nthe last straw came in the form of a single tiny tear that trickled\ndown the girl's cheek. He seized the hand that lay upon his arm.\n\n\"Your highness,\" he said, \"do not grieve for the American. He is not\nworth it. He has deceived you. He is not at Blentz.\"\n\nThe girl drew her hand from his and straightened to her full height.\n\n\"What do you mean, sire?\" she exclaimed.  \"Mr. Custer would not\ndeceive me even if he had an opportunity--which he has not had. But\nif he is not at Blentz, where is he?\"\n\nBarney bowed his head and looked at the floor.\n\n\"He is here, your highness, asking your forgiveness,\" he said.\n\nThere was a puzzled expression upon the girl's face as she looked at\nthe man before her. She did not understand. Why should she? Barney\ndrew a diamond ring from his little finger and held it out to her.\n\n\"You gave it to me to cut a hole in the window of the garage where I\nstole the automobile,\" he said. \"I forgot to return it. Now do you\nknow who I am?\"\n\nEmma von der Tann's eyes showed her incredulity; then, act by act,\nshe recalled all that this man had said and done since they had\nescaped from Blentz that had been so unlike the king she knew.\n\n\"When did you assume the king's identity?\" she asked.\n\nBarney told her all that had transpired in the king's apartments at\nBlentz before she had been conducted to the king's presence.\n\n\"And Leopold is there now?\" she asked.\n\n\"He is there,\" replied Barney, \"and he is to be shot in the\nmorning.\"\n\n\"Gott!\" exclaimed the girl.  \"What are we to do?\"\n\n\"There is but one thing to do,\" replied the American, \"and that is\nfor Butzow and me to ride to Blentz as fast as horses will carry us\nand rescue the king.\"\n\n\"And then?\" asked the girl, a shadow crossing her face.\n\n\"And then Barney Custer will have to beat it for the boundary,\" he\nreplied with a sorry smile.\n\nShe came quite close to him, laying her hands upon his shoulders.\n\n\"I cannot give you up now,\" she said simply.  \"I have tried to be\nloyal to Leopold and the promise that my father made his king when I\nwas only a little girl; but since I thought that you were to be\nshot, I have wished a thousand times that I had gone with you to\nAmerica two years ago. Take me with you now, Barney. We can send\nLieutenant Butzow to rescue the king, and before he has returned we\ncan be safe across the Serbian frontier.\"\n\nThe American shook his head.\n\n\"I got the king into this mess and I must get him out,\" he said.\n\"He may deserve to be shot, but it is up to me to prevent it, if I\ncan. And there is your father to consider. If Butzow rides to Blentz\nand rescues the king, it may be difficult to get him back to Lustadt\nwithout the truth of his identity and mine becoming known. With me\nthere, the change can be effected easily, and not even Butzow need\nknow what has happened.\n\n\"If the people should guess that it was not Leopold who won the\nbattle of Lustadt there might be the devil to pay, and your father\nwould go down along with the throne. No, I must stay until Leopold\nis safe in Lustadt. But there is a hope for us. I may be able to\nwrest from Leopold his sanction of our marriage. I shall not\nhesitate to use threats to get it, and I rather imagine that he will\nbe in such a terror-stricken condition that he will assent to any\nterms for his release from Blentz. If he gives me such a paper,\nEmma, will you marry me?\"\n\nPerhaps there never had been a stranger proposal than this; but to\nneither did it seem strange. For two years each had known the love\nof the other. The girl's betrothal to the king had prevented an\navowal of their love while Barney posed in his own identity. Now\nthey merely accepted the conditions that had existed for two years\nas though a matter of fact which had been often discussed between\nthem.\n\n\"Of course I'll marry you,\" said the princess.  \"Why in the world\nwould I want you to take me to America otherwise?\"\n\nAs Barney Custer took her in his arms he was happier than he had\never before been in all his life, and so, too, was the Princess Emma\nvon der Tann.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nLEOPOLD WAITS FOR DAWN\n\nAfter the American had shoved him through the secret doorway into\nthe tower room of the castle of Blentz, Leopold had stood for\nseveral minutes waiting for the next command from his captor.\nPresently, hearing no sound other than that of his own breathing,\nthe king ventured to speak. He asked the American what he purposed\ndoing with him next.\n\nThere was no reply.  For another minute the king listened intently;\nthen he raised his hands and removed the bandage from his eyes. He\nlooked about him. The room was vacant except for himself. He\nrecognized it as the one in which he had spent ten years of his life\nas a prisoner. He shuddered. What had become of the American? He\napproached the door and listened. Beyond the panels he could hear\nthe two soldiers on guard there conversing. He called to them.\n\n\"What do you want?\" shouted one of the men through the closed door.\n\n\"I want Prince Peter!\" yelled the king.  \"Send him at once!\"\n\nThe soldiers laughed.\n\n\"He wants Prince Peter,\" they mocked.  \"Wouldn't you rather have us\nsend the king to you?\" they asked.\n\n\"I am the king!\" yelled Leopold.  \"I am the king!  Open the door,\npigs, or it will go hard with you! I shall have you both shot in the\nmorning if you do not open the door and fetch Prince Peter.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" exclaimed one of the soldiers.  \"Then there will be three of\nus shot together.\"\n\nLeopold went white.  He had not connected the sentence of the\nAmerican with himself; but now, quite vividly, he realized what it\nmight mean to him if he failed before dawn to convince someone that\nhe was not the American. Peter would not be awake at so early an\nhour, and if he had no better success with others than he was having\nwith these soldiers, it was possible that he might be led out and\nshot before his identity was discovered. The thing was preposterous.\nThe king's knees became suddenly quite weak. They shook, and his\nlegs gave beneath his weight so that he had to lean against the back\nof a chair to keep from falling.\n\nOnce more he turned to the soldiers.  This time he pleaded with\nthem, begging them to carry word to Prince Peter that a terrible\nmistake had been made, and that it was the king and not the American\nwho was confined in the death chamber. But the soldiers only laughed\nat him, and finally threatened to come in and beat him if he again\ninterrupted their conversation.\n\nIt was a white and shaken prisoner that the officer of the guard\nfound when he entered the room at dawn. The man before him, his face\nstreaked with tears of terror and self-pity, fell upon his knees\nbefore him, beseeching him to carry word to Peter of Blentz, that he\nwas the king. The officer drew away with a gesture of disgust.\n\n\"I might well believe from your actions that you are Leopold,\" he\nsaid; \"for, by Heaven, you do not act as I have always imagined the\nAmerican would act in the face of danger. He has a reputation for\nbravery that would suffer could his admirers see him now.\"\n\n\"But I am not the American,\" pleaded the king.  \"I tell you that the\nAmerican came to my apartments last night, overpowered me, forced me\nto change clothing with him, and then led me back here.\"\n\nA sudden inspiration came to the king with the memory of all that\nhad transpired during that humiliating encounter with the American.\n\n\"I signed a pardon for him!\" he cried.  \"He forced me to do so.  If\nyou think I am the American, you cannot kill me now, for there is a\npardon signed by the king, and an order for the American's immediate\nrelease. Where is it? Do not tell me that Prince Peter did not\nreceive it.\"\n\n\"He received it,\" replied the officer, \"and I am here to acquaint\nyou with the fact, but Prince Peter said nothing about your release.\nAll he told me was that you were not to be shot this morning,\" and\nthe man emphasized the last two words.\n\nLeopold of Lutha spent two awful days a prisoner at Blentz, not\nknowing at what moment Prince Peter might see fit to carry out the\nverdict of the Austrian court martial. He could convince no one that\nhe was the king. Peter would not even grant him an audience. Upon\nthe evening of the third day, word came that the Austrians had been\ndefeated before Lustadt, and those that were not prisoners were\nretreating through Blentz toward the Austrian frontier.\n\nThe news filtered to Leopold's prison room through the servant who\nbrought him his scant and rough fare. The king was utterly\ndisheartened before this word reached him. For the moment he seemed\nto see a ray of hope, for, since the impostor had been victorious,\nhe would be in a position to force Peter of Blentz to give up the\ntrue king.\n\nThere was the chance that the American, flushed with success and\npower, might elect to hold the crown he had seized. Who would guess\nthe transfer that had been effected, or, guessing, would dare voice\nhis suspicions in the face of the power and popularity that Leopold\nknew such a victory as the impostor had won must have given him in\nthe hearts and minds of the people of Lutha? Still, there was a bare\npossibility that the American would be as good as his word, and\nreturn the crown as he had promised. Though he hated to admit it,\nthe king had every reason to believe that the impostor was a man of\nhonor, whose bare word was as good as another's bond.\n\nHe was commencing, under this line of reasoning, to achieve a\ncertain hopeful content when the door to his prison opened and Peter\nof Blentz, black and scowling, entered. At his elbow was Captain\nErnst Maenck.\n\n\"Leopold has defeated the Austrians,\" announced the former.  \"Until\nyou returned to Lutha he considered the Austrians his best friends.\nI do not know how you could have reached or influenced him. It is to\nlearn how you accomplished it that I am here. The fact that he\nsigned your pardon indicates that his attitude toward you changed\nsuddenly--almost within an hour. There is something at the bottom of\nit all, and that something I must know.\"\n\n\"I am Leopold!\" cried the king.  \"Don't you recognize me, Prince\nPeter? Look at me! Maenck must know me. It was I who wrote and\nsigned the American's pardon--at the point of the American's\nrevolver. He forced me to exchange clothing with him, and then he\nbrought me here to this room and left me.\"\n\nThe two men looked at the speaker and smiled.\n\n\"You bank too strongly, my friend,\" said Peter of Blentz, \"upon your\nresemblance to the king of Lutha. I will admit that it is strong,\nbut not so strong as to convince me of the truth of so improbable a\nstory. How in the world could the American have brought you through\nthe castle, from one end to the other, unseen? There was a guard\nbefore the king's door and another before this. No, Herr Custer, you\nwill have to concoct a more plausible tale.\n\n\"No,\" and Peter of Blentz scowled savagely, as though to impress\nupon his listener the importance of his next utterance, \"there were\nmore than you and the king involved in his sudden departure from\nBlentz and in his hasty change of policy toward Austria. To be quite\ncandid, it seems to me that it may be necessary to my future\nwelfare--vitally necessary, I may say--to know precisely how all\nthis occurred, and just what influence you have over Leopold of\nLutha. Who was it that acted as the go-between in the king's\nnegotiations with you, or rather, yours with the king? And what\nargument did you bring to bear to force Leopold to the action he\ntook?\"\n\n\"I have told you all that I know about the matter,\" whined the king.\n\"The American appeared suddenly in my apartment. When he brought me\nhere he first blindfolded me. I have no idea by what route we\ntraveled through the castle, and unless your guards outside this\ndoor were bribed they can tell you more about how we got in here\nthan I can--provided we entered through that doorway,\" and the king\npointed to the door which had just opened to admit his two visitors.\n\n\"Oh, pshaw!\" exclaimed Maenck.  \"There is but one door to this\nroom--if the king came in here at all, he came through that door.\"\n\n\"Enough!\" cried Peter of Blentz.  \"I shall not be trifled with\nlonger. I shall give you until tomorrow morning to make a full\nexplanation of the truth and to form some plan whereby you may\nutilize once more whatever influence you had over Leopold to the end\nthat he grant to myself and my associates his royal assurance that\nour lives and property will be safe in Lutha.\"\n\n\"But I tell you it is impossible,\" wailed the king.\n\n\"I think not,\" sneered Prince Peter, \"especially when I tell you\nthat if you do not accede to my wishes the order of the Austrian\nmilitary court that sentenced you to death at Burgova will be\ncarried out in the morning.\"\n\nWith his final words the two men turned and left the room.  Behind\nthem, upon the floor, inarticulate with terror, knelt Leopold of\nLutha, his hands outstretched in supplication.\n\nThe long night wore its weary way to dawn at last.  The sleepless\nman, alternately tossing upon his bed and pacing the floor, looked\nfearfully from time to time at the window through which the\nlightening of the sky would proclaim the coming day and his last\nhour on earth. His windows faced the west. At the foot of the hill\nbeneath the castle nestled the village of Blentz, once more\nenveloped in peaceful silence since the Austrians were gone.\n\nAn unmistakable lessening of the darkness in the east had just\nannounced the proximity of day, when the king heard a clatter of\nhorses' hoofs upon the road before the castle. The sound ceased at\nthe gates and a loud voice broke out upon the stillness of the dying\nnight demanding entrance \"in the name of the king.\"\n\nNew hope burst aflame in the breast of the condemned man.  The\nimpostor had not forsaken him. Leopold ran to the window, leaning\nfar out. He heard the voices of the sentries in the barbican as they\nconversed with the newcomers. Then silence came, broken only by the\nrapid footsteps of a soldier hastening from the gate to the castle.\nHis hobnail shoes pounding upon the cobbles of the courtyard echoed\namong the angles of the lofty walls. When he had entered the castle\nthe silence became oppressive. For five minutes there was no sound\nother than the pawing of the horses outside the barbican and the\nsubdued conversation of their riders.\n\nPresently the soldier emerged from the castle.  With him was an\nofficer. The two went to the barbican. Again there was a parley\nbetween the horsemen and the guard. Leopold could hear the officer\ndemanding terms. He would lower the drawbridge and admit them upon\nconditions.\n\nOne of these the king overheard--it concerned an assurance of full\npardon for Peter of Blentz and the garrison; and again Leopold heard\nthe officer addressing someone as \"your majesty.\"\n\nAh, the impostor was there in person.  Ach, Gott!  How Leopold of\nLutha hated him, and yet, in the hands of this American lay not only\nhis throne but his very life as well.\n\nEvidently the negotiations proved unsuccessful for after a time the\nparty wheeled their horses from the gate and rode back toward\nBlentz. As the sound of the iron-shod hoofs diminished in the\ndistance, with them diminished the hopes of the king.\n\nWhen they ceased entirely his hopes were at an end, to be supplanted\nby renewed terror at the turning of the knob of his prison door as\nit swung open to admit Maenck and a squad of soldiers.\n\n\"Come!\" ordered the captain.  \"The king has refused to intercede in\nyour behalf. When he returns with his army he will find your body at\nthe foot of the west wall in the courtyard.\"\n\nWith an ear-piercing shriek that rang through the grim old castle,\nLeopold of Lutha flung his arms above his head and lunged forward\nupon his face. Roughly the soldiers seized the unconscious man and\ndragged him from the room.\n\nAlong the corridor they hauled him and down the winding stairs\nwithin the north tower to the narrow slit of a door that opened upon\nthe courtyard. To the foot of the west wall they brought him,\ntossing him brutally to the stone flagging. Here one of the soldiers\nbrought a flagon of water and dashed it in the face of the king. The\ncold douche returned Leopold to a consciousness of the nearness of\nhis impending fate.\n\nHe saw the little squad of soldiers before him.  He saw the cold,\ngray wall behind, and, above, the cold, gray sky of early dawn. The\ndismal men leaning upon their shadowy guns seemed unearthly specters\nin the weird light of the hour that is neither God's day nor devil's\nnight. With difficulty two of them dragged Leopold to his feet.\n\nThen the dismal men formed in line before him at the opposite side\nof the courtyard. Maenck stood to the left of them. He was giving\ncommands. They fell upon the doomed man's ears with all the cruelty\nof physical blows. Tears coursed down his white cheeks. With\nincoherent mumblings he begged for his life. Leopold, King of Lutha,\ntrembling in the face of death!\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nTHE TWO KINGS\n\nTwenty troopers had ridden with Lieutenant Butzow and the false king\nfrom Lustadt to Blentz. During the long, hard ride there had been\nlittle or no conversation between the American and his friend, for\nButzow was still unsuspicious of the true identity of the man who\nposed as the ruler of Lutha. The lieutenant was all anxiety to reach\nBlentz and rescue the American he thought imprisoned there and in\ndanger of being shot.\n\nAt the gate they were refused admittance unless the king would\naccept conditions. Barney refused--there was another way to gain\nentrance to Blentz that not even the master of Blentz knew. Butzow\nurged him to accede to anything to save the life of the American. He\nrecalled all that the latter had done in the service of Lutha and\nLeopold. Barney leaned close to the other's ear.\n\n\"If they have not already shot him,\" he whispered, \"we shall save\nthe prisoner yet. Let them think that we give up and are returning\nto Lustadt. Then follow me.\"\n\nSlowly the little cavalcade rode down from the castle of Blentz\ntoward the village. Just out of sight of the grim pile where the\nroad wound down into a ravine Barney turned his horse's head up the\nnarrow defile. In single file Butzow and the troopers followed until\nthe rank undergrowth precluded farther advance. Here the American\ndirected that they dismount, and, leaving the horses in charge of\nthree troopers, set out once more with the balance of the company on\nfoot.\n\nIt was with difficulty that the men forced their way through the\nbushes, but they had not gone far when their leader stopped before a\nsheer wall of earth and stone, covered with densely growing\nshrubbery. Here he groped in the dim light, feeling his way with his\nhands before him, while at his heels came his followers. At last he\nseparated a wall of bushes and disappeared within the aperture his\nhands had made. One by one his men followed, finding themselves in\ninky darkness, but upon a smooth stone floor and with stone walls\nclose upon either hand. Those who lifted their hands above their\nheads discovered an arched stone ceiling close above them.\n\nAlong this buried corridor the \"king\" led them, for though he had\nnever traversed it himself the Princess Emma had, and from her he\nhad received minute directions. Occasionally he struck a match, and\npresently in the fitful glare of one of these he and those directly\nbehind him saw the foot of a ladder that disappeared in the Stygian\ndarkness above.\n\n\"Follow me up this, very quietly,\" he said to those behind him.  \"Up\nto the third landing.\"\n\nThey did as he bid them.  At the third landing Barney felt for the\nlatch he knew was there--he was on familiar ground now. Finding it\nhe pushed open the door it held in place, and through a tiny crack\nsurveyed the room beyond. It was vacant. The American threw the door\nwide and stepped within. Directly behind him was Butzow, his eyes\nwide in wonderment. After him filed the troopers until seventeen of\nthem stood behind their lieutenant and the \"king.\"\n\nThrough the window overlooking the courtyard came a piteous wailing.\nBarney ran to the casement and looked out. Butzow was at his side.\n\n\"Himmel!\" ejaculated the Luthanian.  \"They are about to shoot him.\nQuick, your majesty,\" and without waiting to see if he were followed\nthe lieutenant raced for the door of the apartment. Close behind him\ncame the American and the seventeen.\n\nIt took but a moment to reach the stairway down which the rescuers\ntumbled pell-mell.\n\nMaenck was giving his commands to the firing squad with fiendish\ndeliberation and delay. He seemed to enjoy dragging out the agony\nthat the condemned man suffered. But it was this very cruelty that\ncaused Maenck's undoing and saved the life of Leopold of Lutha. Just\nbefore he gave the word to fire Maenck paused and laughed aloud at\nthe pitiable figure trembling and whining against the stone wall\nbefore him, and during that pause a commotion arose at the tower\ndoorway behind the firing squad.\n\nMaenck turned to discover the cause of the interruption, and as he\nturned he saw the figure of the king leaping toward him with leveled\nrevolver. At the king's back a company of troopers of the Royal\nHorse Guard was pouring into the courtyard.\n\nMaenck snatched his own revolver from his hip and fired point-blank\nat the \"king.\" The firing squad had turned at the sound of assault\nfrom the rear. Some of them discharged their pieces at the advancing\ntroopers. Butzow gave a command and seventeen carbines poured their\ndeadly hail into the ranks of the Blentz retainers. At Maenck's shot\nthe \"king\" staggered and fell to the pavement.\n\nMaenck leaped across his prostrate form, yelling to his men \"Shoot\nthe American.\" Then he was lost to Barney's sight in the\nhand-to-hand scrimmage that was taking place. The American tried to\nregain his feet, but the shock of the wound in his breast had\napparently paralyzed him for the moment. A Blentz soldier was\nrunning toward the prisoner standing open-mouthed against the wall.\nThe fellow's rifle was raised to his hip--his intention was only too\nobvious.\n\nBarney drew himself painfully and slowly to one elbow. The man was\nrapidly nearing the true Leopold. In another moment he would shoot.\nThe American raised his revolver and, taking careful aim, fired. The\nsoldier shrieked, covered his face with his hands, spun around once,\nand dropped at the king's feet.\n\nThe troopers under Butzow were forcing the men of Blentz toward the\nfar end of the courtyard. Two of the Blentz faction were standing a\nlittle apart, backing slowly away and at the same time deliberately\nfiring at the king. Barney seemed the only one who noticed them.\nOnce again he raised his revolver and fired. One of the men sat down\nsuddenly, looked vacantly about him, and then rolled over upon his\nside. The other fired once more at the king and the same instant\nBarney fired at the soldier. Soldier and king--would-be assassin and\nhis victim--fell simultaneously. Barney grimaced. The wound in his\nbreast was painful. He had done his best to save the king. It was no\nfault of his that he had failed. It was a long way to Beatrice. He\nwondered if Emma von der Tann would be on the station platform,\nawaiting him--then he swooned.\n\nButzow and his seventeen had it all their own way in the courtyard\nand castle of Blentz. After the first resistance the soldiery of\nPeter fled to the guardroom. Butzow followed them, and there they\nlaid down their arms. Then the lieutenant returned to the courtyard\nto look for the king and Barney Custer. He found them both, and both\nwere wounded. He had them carried to the royal apartments in the\nnorth tower. When Barney regained consciousness he found the\nscowling portrait of the Blentz princess frowning down upon him. He\nlay upon a great bed where the soldiers, thinking him king, had\nplaced him. Opposite him, against the farther wall, the real king\nlay upon a cot. Butzow was working over him.\n\n\"Not so bad, after all, Barney,\" the lieutenant was saying. \"Only a\nflesh wound in the calf of the leg.\"\n\nThe king made no reply.  He was afraid to declare his identity.\nFirst he must learn the intentions of the impostor. He only closed\nhis eyes wearily. Presently he asked a question.\n\n\"Is he badly wounded?\" and he indicated the figure upon the great\nbed.\n\nButzow turned and crossed to where the American lay. He saw that the\nlatter's eyes were open and that he was conscious.\n\n\"How does your majesty feel?\" he asked.  There was more respect in\nhis tone than ever before. One of the Blentz soldiers had told him\nhow the \"king,\" after being wounded by Maenck, had raised himself\nupon his elbow and saved the prisoner's life by shooting three of\nhis assailants.\n\n\"I thought I was done for,\" answered Barney Custer, \"but I rather\nguess the bullet struck only a glancing blow. It couldn't have\nentered my lungs, for I neither cough nor spit blood. To tell you\nthe truth, I feel surprisingly fit. How's the prisoner?\"\n\n\"Only a flesh wound in the calf of his left leg, sire,\" replied\nButzow.\n\n\"I am glad,\" was Barney's only comment.  He didn't want to be king\nof Lutha; but he had foreseen that with the death of the king his\nimposture might be forced upon him for life.\n\nAfter Butzow and one of the troopers had washed and dressed the\nwounds of both men Barney asked them to leave the room.\n\n\"I wish to sleep,\" he said.  \"If I require you I will ring.\"\n\nSaluting, the two backed from the apartment.  Just as they were\npassing through the doorway the American called out to Butzow.\n\n\"You have Peter of Blentz and Maenck in custody?\" he asked.\n\n\"I regret having to report to your majesty,\" replied the officer,\n\"that both must have escaped. A thorough search of the entire castle\nhas failed to reveal them.\"\n\nBarney scowled.  He had hoped to place these two conspirators once\nand for all where they would never again threaten the peace of the\nthrone of Lutha--in hell. For a moment he lay in thought. Then he\naddressed the officer again.\n\n\"Leave your force here,\" he said, \"to guard us.  Ride, yourself, to\nLustadt and inform Prince von der Tann that it is the king's desire\nthat every effort be made to capture these two men. Have them\nbrought to Lustadt immediately they are apprehended. Bring them dead\nor alive.\"\n\nAgain Butzow saluted and prepared to leave the room.\n\n\"Wait,\" said Barney.  \"Convey our greetings to the Princess von der\nTann, and inform her that my wound is of small importance, as is\nalso that of the--Mr. Custer. You may go, lieutenant.\"\n\nWhen they were alone Barney turned toward the king. The other lay\nupon his side glaring at the American. When he caught the latter's\neyes upon him he spoke.\n\n\"What do you intend doing with me?\" he said.  \"Are you going to keep\nyour word and return my identity?\"\n\n\"I have promised,\" replied Barney, \"and what I promise I always\nperform.\"\n\n\"Then exchange clothing with me at once,\" cried the king, half\nrising from his cot.\n\n\"Not so fast, my friend,\" rejoined the American.  \"There are a few\ntrifling details to be arranged before we resume our proper\npersonalities.\"\n\n\"Do you realize that you should be hanged for what you have done?\"\nsnarled the king. \"You assaulted me, stole my clothing, left me here\nto be shot by Peter, and sat upon my throne in Lustadt while I lay a\nprisoner condemned to death.\"\n\n\"And do you realize,\" replied Barney, \"that by so doing I saved your\nfoolish little throne for you; that I drove the invaders from your\ndominions; that I have unmasked your enemies, and that I have once\nagain proven to you that the Prince von der Tann is your best friend\nand most loyal supporter?\"\n\n\"You laid your plebeian hands upon me,\" cried the king, raising his\nvoice. \"You humiliated me, and you shall suffer for it.\"\n\nBarney Custer eyed the king for a long moment before he spoke again.\nIt was difficult to believe that the man was so devoid of gratitude,\nand so blind as not to see that even the rough treatment that he had\nreceived at the American's hands was as nothing by comparison with\nthe service that the American had done him. Apparently Leopold had\nalready forgotten that three times Barney Custer had saved his life\nin the courtyard below. From the man's demeanor, now that his life\nwas no longer at stake, Barney caught an inkling of what his\nattitude might be when once again he was returned to the despotic\npower of his kingship.\n\n\"It is futile to reason with you,\" he said.  \"There is only one way\nto handle such as you. At present I hold the power to coerce you,\nand I shall continue to hold that power until I am safely out of\nyour two-by-four kingdom. If you do as I say you shall have your\nthrone back again. If you refuse, why by Heaven you shall never have\nit. I'll stay king of Lutha myself.\"\n\n\"What are your terms?\" asked the king.\n\n\"That Prince Peter of Blentz, Captain Ernst Maenck, and old Von\nCoblich be tried, convicted, and hanged for high treason,\" replied\nthe American.\n\n\"That is easy,\" said the king.  \"I should do so anyway immediately I\nresumed my throne. Now get up and give me my clothes. Take this cot\nand I will take the bed. None will know of the exchange.\"\n\n\"Again you are too fast,\" answered Barney.  \"There is another\ncondition.\"\n\n\"Well?\"\n\n\"You must promise upon your royal honor that Ludwig, Prince von der\nTann, remain chancellor of Lutha during your life or his.\"\n\n\"Very well,\" assented the king.  \"I promise,\" and again he half rose\nfrom his cot.\n\n\"Hold on a minute,\" admonished the American; \"there is yet one more\ncondition of which I have not made mention.\"\n\n\"What, another?\" exclaimed Leopold testily.  \"How much do you want\nfor returning to me what you have stolen?\"\n\n\"So far I have asked for nothing for myself,\" replied Barney.  \"Now\nI am coming to that part of the agreement. The Princess Emma von der\nTann is betrothed to you. She does not love you. She has honored me\nwith her affection, but she will not wed until she has been formally\nreleased from her promise to wed Leopold of Lutha. The king must\nsign such a release and also a sanction of her marriage to Barney\nCuster, of Beatrice. Do you understand what I want?\"\n\nThe king went livid.  He came to his feet beside the cot. For the\nmoment, his wound was forgotten. He tottered toward the impostor.\n\n\"You scoundrel!\" he screamed.  \"You scoundrel!  You have stolen my\nidentity and my throne and now you wish to steal the woman who loves\nme.\"\n\n\"Don't get excited, Leo,\" warned the American, \"and don't talk so\nloud. The Princess doesn't love you, and you know it as well as I.\nShe will never marry you. If you want your dinky throne back you'll\nhave to do as I desire; that is, sign the release and the sanction.\n\n\"Now let's don't have any heroics about it.  You have the\nproposition. Now I am going to sleep. In the meantime you may think\nit over. If the papers are not ready when it comes time for us to\nleave, and from the way I feel now I rather think I shall be ready\nto mount a horse by morning, I shall ride back to Lustadt as king of\nLutha, and I shall marry her highness into the bargain, and you may\ngo hang!\n\n\"How the devil you will earn a living with that king job taken away\nfrom you I don't know. You're a long way from New York, and in the\npresent state of carnage in Europe I rather doubt that there are\nmany headwaiters jobs open this side of the American metropolis, and\nI can't for the moment think of anything else at which you would\nshine--with all due respect to some excellent headwaiters I have\nknown.\"\n\nFor some time the king remained silent.  He was thinking. He\nrealized that it lay in the power of the American to do precisely\nwhat he had threatened to do. No one would doubt his identity. Even\nPeter of Blentz had not recognized the real king despite Leopold's\nrepeated and hysterical claims.\n\nLieutenant Butzow, the American's best friend, had no more suspected\nthe exchange of identities. Von der Tann, too, must have been\ndeceived. Everyone had been deceived. There was no hope that the\npeople, who really saw so little of their king, would guess the\ndeception that was being played upon them. Leopold groaned. Barney\nopened his eyes and turned toward him.\n\n\"What's the matter?\" he asked.\n\n\"I will sign the release and the sanction of her highness' marriage\nto you,\" said the king.\n\n\"Good!\" exclaimed the American.  \"You will then go at once to\nBrosnov as originally planned. I will return to Lustadt and get her\nhighness, and we will immediately leave Lutha via Brosnov. There you\nand I will effect a change of raiment, and you will ride back to\nLustadt with the small guard that accompanies her highness and me to\nthe frontier.\"\n\n\"Why do you not remain in Lustadt?\" asked the king. \"You could as\nwell be married there as elsewhere.\"\n\n\"Because I don't trust your majesty,\" replied the American. \"It must\nbe done precisely as I say or not at all. Are you agreeable?\"\n\nThe king assented with a grumpy nod.\n\n\"Then get up and write as I dictate,\" said Barney.  Leopold of Lutha\ndid as he was bid. The result was two short, crisply worded\ndocuments. At the bottom of each was the signature of Leopold of\nLutha. Barney took the two papers and carefully tucked them beneath\nhis pillow.\n\n\"Now let's sleep,\" he said.  \"It is getting late and we both need\nthe rest. In the morning we have long rides ahead of us. Good\nnight.\"\n\nThe king did not respond.  In a short time Barney was fast asleep.\nThe light still burned.\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\n\"THE KING'S WILL IS LAW\"\n\nThe Blentz princess frowned down upon the king and impostor\nimpartially from her great gilt frame. It must have been close to\nmidnight that the painting moved--just a fraction of an inch. Then\nit remained motionless for a time. Again it moved. This time it\nrevealed a narrow crack at its edge. In the crack an eye shone.\n\nOne of the sleepers moved.  He opened his eyes.  Stealthily he\nraised himself on his elbow and gazed at the other across the\napartment. He listened intently. The regular breathing of the\nsleeper proclaimed the soundness of his slumber. Gingerly the man\nplaced one foot upon the floor. The eye glued to the crack at the\nedge of the great, gilt frame of the Blentz princess remained\nfastened upon him. He let his other foot slip to the floor beside\nthe first. Carefully he raised himself until he stood erect upon the\nfloor. Then, on tiptoe he started across the room.\n\nThe eye in the dark followed him.  The man reached the side of the\nsleeper. Bending over he listened intently to the other's breathing.\nSatisfied that slumber was profound he stepped quickly to a wardrobe\nin which a soldier had hung the clothing of both the king and the\nAmerican. He took down the uniform of the former, casting from time\nto time apprehensive glances toward the sleeper. The latter did not\nstir, and the other passed to the little dressing-room adjoining.\n\nA few minutes later he reentered the apartment fully clothed and\nwearing the accouterments of Leopold of Lutha. In his hand was a\ndrawn sword. Silently and swiftly he crossed to the side of the\nsleeping man. The eye at the crack beside the gilded frame pressed\ncloser to the aperture. The sword was raised above the body of the\nslumberer--its point hovered above his heart. The face of the man\nwho wielded it was hard with firm resolve.\n\nHis muscles tensed to drive home the blade, but something held his\nhand. His face paled. His shoulders contracted with a little\nshudder, and he turned toward the door of the apartment, almost\nrunning across the floor in his anxiety to escape. The eye in the\ndark maintained its unblinking vigilance.\n\nWith his hand upon the knob a sudden thought stayed the fugitive's\nflight. He glanced quickly back at the sleeper--he had not moved.\nThen the man who wore the uniform of the king of Lutha recrossed the\napartment to the bed, reached beneath one of the pillows and\nwithdrew two neatly folded official-looking documents. These he\nplaced in the breastpocket of his uniform. A moment later he was\nwalking down the spiral stairway to the main floor of the castle.\n\nIn the guardroom the troopers of the Royal Horse who were not on\nguard were stretched in slumber. Only a corporal remained awake. As\nthe man entered the guardroom the corporal glanced up, and as his\neyes fell upon the newcomer, he sprang to his feet, saluting.\n\n\"Turn out the guard!\" he cried.  \"Turn out the guard for his\nmajesty, the king!\"\n\nThe sleeping soldiers, but half awake, scrambled to their feet,\ntheir muscles reacting to the command that their brains but half\nperceived. They snatched their guns from the racks and formed a line\nbehind the corporal. The king raised his fingers to the vizor of his\nhelmet in acknowledgment of their salute.\n\n\"Saddle up quietly, corporal,\" he said.  \"We shall ride to Lustadt\ntonight.\"\n\nThe non-commissioned officer saluted.  \"And an extra horse for Herr\nCuster?\" he said.\n\nThe king shook his head.  \"The man died of his wound about an hour\nago,\" he said. \"While you are saddling up I shall arrange with some\nof the Blentz servants for his burial--now hurry!\"\n\nThe corporal marched his troopers from the guardroom toward the\nstables. The man in the king's clothes touched a bell which was\nobviously a servant call. He waited impatiently a reply to his\nsummons, tapping his finger-tips against the sword-scabbard that was\nbelted to his side. At last a sleepy-eyed man responded--a man who\nhad grown gray in the service of Peter of Blentz. At sight of the\nking he opened his eyes in astonishment, pulled his foretop, and\nbowed uneasily.\n\n\"Come closer,\" whispered the king.  The man did so, and the king\nspoke in his ear earnestly, but in scarce audible tones. The eyes of\nthe listener narrowed to mere slits--of avarice and cunning, cruelly\ncold and calculating. The speaker searched through the pockets of\nthe king's clothes that covered him. At last he withdrew a roll of\nbills. The amount must have been a large one, but he did not stop to\ncount it. He held the money under the eyes of the servant. The\nfellow's claw-like fingers reached for the tempting wealth. He\nnodded his head affirmatively.\n\n\"You may trust me, sire,\" he whispered.\n\nThe king slipped the money into the other's palm.  \"And as much\nmore,\" he said, \"when I receive proof that my wishes have been\nfulfilled.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sire,\" said the servant.\n\nThe king looked steadily into the other's face before he spoke\nagain.\n\n\"And if you fail me,\" he said, \"may God have mercy on your soul.\"\nThen he wheeled and left the guardroom, walking out into the\ncourtyard where the soldiers were busy saddling their mounts.\n\nA few minutes later the party clattered over the drawbridge and down\nthe road toward Blentz and Lustadt. From a window of the apartments\nof Peter of Blentz a man watched them depart. When they passed\nacross a strip of moonlit road, and he had counted them, he smiled\nwith relief.\n\nA moment later he entered a panel beside the huge fireplace in the\nwest wall and disappeared. There he struck a match, found a candle\nand lighted it. Walking a few steps he came to a figure sleeping\nupon a pile of clothing. He stooped and shook the sleeper by the\nshoulder.\n\n\"Wake up!\" he cried in a subdued voice.  \"Wake up, Prince Peter; I\nhave good news for you.\"\n\nThe other opened his eyes, stretched, and at last sat up.\n\n\"What is it, Maenck?\" he asked querulously.\n\n\"Great news, my prince,\" replied the other.\n\n\"While you have been sleeping many things have transpired within the\nwalls of your castle. The king's troopers have departed; but that is\na small matter compared with the other. Here, behind the portrait of\nyour great-grandmother, I have listened and watched all night. I\nopened the secret door a fraction of an inch--just enough to permit\nme to look into the apartment where the king and the American lay\nwounded. They had been talking as I opened the door, but after that\nthey ceased--the king falling asleep at once--the American feigning\nslumber. For a long time I watched, but nothing happened until near\nmidnight. Then the American arose and donned the king's clothes.\n\n\"He approached Leopold with drawn sword, but when he would have\nthrust it through the heart of the sleeping man his nerve failed\nhim. Then he stole some papers from the room and left. Just now he\nhas ridden out toward Lustadt with the men of the Royal Horse who\ncaptured the castle yesterday.\"\n\nBefore Maenck was half-way through his narrative, Peter of Blentz\nwas wide awake and all attention. His eyes glowed with suddenly\naroused interest.\n\n\"Somewhere in this, prince,\" concluded Maenck, \"there must lie the\nseed of fortune for you and me.\"\n\nPeter nodded.  \"Yes,\" he mused, \"there must.\"\n\nFor a time both men were buried in thought.  Suddenly Maenck snapped\nhis fingers. \"I have it!\" he cried. He bent toward Prince Peter's\near and whispered his plan. When he was done the Blentz prince\ngrasped his hand.\n\n\"Just the thing, Maenck!\" he cried.  \"Just the thing.  Leopold will\nnever again listen to idle gossip directed against our loyalty. If I\nknow him--and who should know him better--he will heap honors upon\nyou, my Maenck; and as for me, he will at least forgive me and take\nme back into his confidence. Lose no time now, my friend. We are\nfree now to go and come, since the king's soldiers have been\nwithdrawn.\"\n\nIn the garden back of the castle an old man was busy digging a hole.\nIt was a long, narrow hole, and, when it was completed, nearly four\nfeet deep. It looked like a grave. When he had finished the old man\nhobbled to a shed that leaned against the south wall. Here were\nboards, tools, and a bench. It was the castle workshop. The old man\nselected a number of rough pine boards. These he measured and sawed,\nfitted and nailed, working all the balance of the night. By dawn, he\nhad a long, narrow box, just a trifle smaller than the hole he had\ndug in the garden. The box resembled a crude coffin. When it was\nquite finished, including a cover, he dragged it out into the garden\nand set it upon two boards that spanned the hole, so that it rested\nprecisely over the excavation.\n\nAll these precautions methodically made, he returned to the castle.\nIn a little storeroom he searched for and found an ax. With his\nthumb he felt of the edge--for an ax it was marvelously sharp. The\nold fellow grinned and shook his head, as one who appreciates in\nanticipation the consummation of a good joke. Then he crept\nnoiselessly through the castle's corridors and up the spiral\nstairway in the north tower. In one hand was the sharp ax.\n\n\nThe moment Lieutenant Butzow had reached Lustadt he had gone\ndirectly to Prince von der Tann; but the moment his message had been\ndelivered to the chancellor he sought out the chancellor's daughter,\nto tell her all that had occurred at Blentz.\n\n\"I saw but little of Mr. Custer,\" he said.  \"He was very quiet.  I\nthink all that he has been through has unnerved him. He was slightly\nwounded in the left leg. The king was wounded in the breast. His\nmajesty conducted himself in a most valiant and generous manner.\nWounded, he lay upon his stomach in the courtyard of the castle and\ndefended Mr. Custer, who was, of course, unarmed. The king shot\nthree of Prince Peter's soldiers who were attempting to assassinate\nMr. Custer.\"\n\nEmma von der Tann smiled.  It was evident that Lieutenant Butzow had\nnot discovered the deception that had been practiced upon him in\ncommon with all Lutha--she being the only exception. It seemed\nincredible that this good friend of the American had not seen in the\nheroism of the man who wore the king's clothes the attributes and\near-marks of Barney Custer. She glowed with pride at the narration\nof his heroism, though she suffered with him because of his wound.\n\nIt was not yet noon when the detachment of the Royal Horse arrived\nin Lustadt from Blentz. At their head rode one whom all upon the\nstreets of the capital greeted enthusiastically as king. The party\nrode directly to the royal palace, and the king retired immediately\nto his apartments. A half hour later an officer of the king's\nhousehold knocked upon the door of the Princess Emma von der Tann's\nboudoir. In accord with her summons he entered, saluted\nrespectfully, and handed her a note.\n\nIt was written upon the personal stationary of Leopold of Lutha.\nThe girl read and reread it. For some time she could not seem to\ngrasp the enormity of the thing that had overwhelmed her--the daring\nof the action that the message explained. The note was short and to\nthe point, and was signed only with initials.\n\n\n\nDEAREST EMMA:\n\nThe king died of his wounds just before midnight.  I\nshall keep the throne.  There is no other way.  None\nknows and none must ever know the truth.  Your father\nalone may suspect; but if we are married at once our\nalliance will cement him and his faction to us.  Send\nword by the bearer that you agree with the wisdom\nof my plan, and that we may be wed at once--this\nafternoon, in fact.\n\nThe people may wonder for a few days at the strange\nhaste, but my answer shall be that I am going to the\nfront with my troops.  The son and many of the high\nofficials of the Kaiser have already established the\nprecedent, marrying hurriedly upon the eve of their\ndeparture for the front.\n\nWith every assurance of my undying love, believe me,\n\nYours,\nB. C.\n\n\nThe girl walked slowly across the room to her writing table.  The\nofficer stood in respectful silence awaiting the answer that the\nking had told him to bring. The princess sat down before the carved\nbit of furniture. Mechanically she drew a piece of note paper from a\ndrawer. Many times she dipped her pen in the ink before she could\ndetermine what reply to send. Ages of ingrained royalistic\nprinciples were shocked and shattered by the enormity of the thing\nthe man she loved had asked of her, and yet cold reason told her\nthat it was the only way.\n\nLutha would be lost should the truth be known--that the king was\ndead, for there was no heir of closer blood connection with the\nroyal house than Prince Peter of Blentz, whose great-grandmother had\nbeen a Rubinroth princess. Slowly, at last, she wrote as follows:\n\n\nSIRE:\n\nThe king's will is law.\n\nEMMA\n\n\n\nThat was all.  Placing the note in an envelope she sealed it and\nhanded it to the officer, who bowed and left the room.\n\nA half hour later officers of the Royal Horse were riding through\nthe streets of Lustadt. Some announced to the people upon the\nstreets the coming marriage of the king and princess. Others rode to\nthe houses of the nobility with the king's command that they be\npresent at the ceremony in the old cathedral at four o'clock that\nafternoon.\n\nNever had there been such bustling about the royal palace or in the\npalaces of the nobles of Lutha. The buzz and hum of excited\nconversation filled the whole town. That the choice of the king met\nthe approval of his subjects was more than evident. Upon every lip\nwas praise and love of the Princess Emma von der Tann. The future of\nLutha seemed assured with a king who could fight joined in marriage\nto a daughter of the warrior line of Von der Tann.\n\nThe princess was busy up to the last minute.  She had not seen her\nfuture husband since his return from Blentz, for he, too, had been\nbusy. Twice he had sent word to her, but on both occasions had\nregretted that he could not come personally because of the pressure\nof state matters and the preparations for the ceremony that was to\ntake place in the cathedral in so short a time.\n\nAt last the hour arrived.  The cathedral was filled to overflowing.\nAfter the custom of Lutha, the bride had walked alone up the broad\ncenter aisle to the foot of the chancel. Guardsmen lining the way on\neither hand stood rigidly at salute until she stopped at the end of\nthe soft, rose-strewn carpet and turned to await the coming of the\nking.\n\nPresently the doors at the opposite end of the cathedral opened.\nThere was a fanfare of trumpets, and up the center aisle toward the\nwaiting girl walked the royal groom. It seemed ages to the princess\nsince she had seen her lover. Her eyes devoured him as he approached\nher. She noticed that he limped, and wondered; but for a moment the\nfact carried no special suggestion to her brain.\n\nThe people had risen as the king entered.  Again, the pieces of the\nguardsmen had snapped to present; but silence, intense and utter,\nreigned over the vast assembly. The only movement was the measured\nstride of the king as he advanced to claim his bride.\n\nAt the head of each line of guardsmen, nearest the chancel and upon\neither side of the bridal party, the ranks were formed of\ncommissioned officers. Butzow was among them. He, too, out of the\ncorner of his eye watched the advancing figure. Suddenly he noted\nthe limp, and gave a little involuntary gasp. He looked at the\nPrincess Emma, and saw her eyes suddenly widen with consternation.\n\nSlowly at first, and then in a sudden tidal wave of memory, Butzow's\nstory of the fight in the courtyard at Blentz came back to her.\n\n\"I saw but little of Mr. Custer,\" he had said.  \"He was slightly\nwounded in the left leg. The king was wounded in the breast.\" But\nLieutenant Butzow had not known the true identity of either.\n\nThe real Leopold it was who had been wounded in the left leg, and\nthe man who was approaching her up the broad cathedral aisle was\nlimping noticeably--and favoring his left leg. The man to whom she\nwas to be married was not Barney Custer--he was Leopold of Lutha!\n\nA hundred mad schemes rioted through her brain.  The wedding must\nnot go on! But how was she to avert it? The king was within a few\npaces of her now. There was a smile upon his lips, and in that smile\nshe saw the final confirmation of her fears. When Leopold of Lutha\nsmiled his upper lip curved just a trifle into a shadow of a sneer.\nIt was a trivial characteristic that Barney Custer did not share in\ncommon with the king.\n\nHalf mad with terror, the girl seized upon the only subterfuge which\nseemed at all likely to succeed. It would, at least, give her a\nslight reprieve--a little time in which to think, and possibly find\nan avenue from her predicament.\n\nShe staggered forward a step, clapped her two hands above her heart,\nand reeled as though to fall. Butzow, who had been watching her\nnarrowly, sprang forward and caught her in his arms, where she lay\nlimp with closed eyes as though in a dead faint. The king ran\nforward. The people craned their necks. A sudden burst of\nexclamations rose throughout the cathedral, and then Lieutenant\nButzow, shouldering his way past the chancel, carried the Princess\nEmma to a little anteroom off the east transept. Behind him walked\nthe king, the bishop, and Prince Ludwig.\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nMAENCK BLUNDERS\n\nAfter a hurried breakfast Peter of Blentz and Captain Ernst Maenck\nleft the castle of Blentz. Prince Peter rode north toward the\nfrontier, Austria, and safety, Captain Maenck rode south toward\nLustadt. Neither knew that general orders had been issued to\nsoldiery and gendarmerie of Lutha to capture them dead or alive. So\nPrince Peter rode carelessly; but Captain Maenck, because of the\nnature of his business and the proximity of enemies about Lustadt,\nproceeded with circumspection.\n\nPrince Peter was arrested at Tafelberg, and, though he stormed and\nraged and threatened, he was immediately packed off under heavy\nguard back toward Lustadt.\n\nCaptain Ernst Maenck was more fortunate.  He reached the capital of\nLutha in safety, though he had to hide on several occasions from\ndetachments of troops moving toward the north. Once within the city\nhe rode rapidly to the house of a friend. Here he learned that which\nset him into a fine state of excitement and profanity. The king and\nthe Princess Emma von der Tann were to be wed that very afternoon!\nIt lacked but half an hour to four o'clock.\n\nMaenck grabbed his cap and dashed from the house before his\nastonished friend could ask a single question. He hurried straight\ntoward the cathedral. The king had just arrived, and entered when\nMaenck came up, breathless. The guard at the doorway did not\nrecognize him. If they had they would have arrested him. Instead\nthey contented themselves with refusing him admission, and when he\ninsisted they threatened him with arrest.\n\nTo be arrested now would be to ruin his fine plan, so he turned and\nwalked away. At the first cross street he turned up the side of the\ncathedral. The grounds were walled up on this side, and he sought in\nvain for entrance. At the rear he discovered a limousine standing in\nthe alley where its chauffeur had left it after depositing his\npassengers at the front door of the cathedral. The top of the\nlimousine was but a foot or two below the top of the wall.\n\nMaenck clambered to the hood of the machine, and from there to the\ntop. A moment later he dropped to the earth inside the cathedral\ngrounds. Before him were many windows. Most of them were too high\nfor him to reach, and the others that he tried at first were\nsecurely fastened. Passing around the end of the building, he at\nlast discovered one that was open--it led into the east transept.\n\nMaenck crawled through.  He was within the building that held the\nman he sought. He found himself in a small room--evidently a\ndressing-room. There were two doors leading from it. He approached\none and listened. He heard the tones of subdued conversation beyond.\n\nVery cautiously he opened the door a crack.  He could not believe\nthe good fortune that was revealed before him. On a couch lay the\nPrincess Emma von der Tann. Beside her her father. At the door was\nLieutenant Butzow. The bishop and a doctor were talking at the head\nof the couch. Pacing up and down the room, resplendent in the\nmarriage robes of a king of Lutha, was the man he sought.\n\nMaenck drew his revolver.  He broke the barrel, and saw that there\nwas a good cartridge in each chamber of the cylinder. He closed it\nquietly. Then he threw open the door, stepped into the room, took\ndeliberate aim, and fired.\n\nThe old man with the ax moved cautiously along the corridor upon the\nsecond floor of the Castle of Blentz until he came to a certain\ndoor. Gently he turned the knob and pushed the door inward. Holding\nthe ax behind his back, he entered. In his pocket was a great roll\nof money, and there was to be an equal amount waiting him at Lustadt\nwhen his mission had been fulfilled.\n\nOnce within the room, he looked quickly about him. Upon a great bed\nlay the figure of a man asleep. His face was turned toward the\nopposite wall away from the side of the bed nearer the menacing\nfigure of the old servant. On tiptoe the man with the ax approached.\nThe neck of his victim lay uncovered before him. He swung the ax\nbehind him. A single blow, as mighty as his ancient muscles could\ndeliver, would suffice.\n\nBarney Custer opened his eyes.  Directly opposite him upon the wall\nwas a dark-toned photogravure of a hunting scene. It tilted slightly\nforward upon its wire support. As Barney's eyes opened it chanced that\nthey were directed straight upon the shiny glass of the picture. The\nlight from the window struck the glass in such a way as to transform\nit into a mirror. The American's eyes were glued with horror upon\nthe reflection that he saw there--an old man swinging a huge ax down\nupon his head.\n\nIt is an open question as to which of the two was the most surprised\nat the cat-like swiftness of the movement that carried Barney Custer\nout of that bed and landed him in temporary safety upon the opposite\nside.\n\nWith a snarl the old man ran around the foot of the bed to corner\nhis prey between the bed and the wall. He was swinging the ax as\nthough to hurl it. So close was he that Barney guessed it would be\ndifficult for him to miss his mark. The least he could expect would\nbe a frightful wound. To have attempted to escape would have\nnecessitated turning his back to his adversary, inviting instant\ndeath. To grapple with a man thus armed appeared an equally hopeless\nalternative.\n\nShoulder-high beside him hung the photogravure that had already\nsaved his life once. Why not again? He snatched it from its\nhangings, lifted it above his head in both hands, and hurled it at\nthe head of the old man. The glass shattered full upon the ancient's\ncrown, the man's head went through the picture, and the frame\nsettled over his shoulders. At the same instant Barney Custer leaped\nacross the bed, seized a light chair, and turned to face his foe\nupon more even terms.\n\nThe old man did not pause to remove the frame from about his neck.\nBlood trickled down his forehead and cheeks from deep gashes that\nthe broken glass had made. Now he was in a berserker rage.\n\nAs he charged again he uttered a peculiar whistling noise from\nbetween his set teeth. To the American it sounded like the hissing\nof a snake, and as he would have met a snake he met the venomous\nattack of the old man.\n\nWhen the short battle was over the Blentz servitor lay unconscious\nupon the floor, while above him leaned the American, uninjured,\nripping long strips from a sheet torn from the bed, twisting them\ninto rope-like strands and, with them, binding the wrists and ankles\nof his defeated foe. Finally he stuffed a gag between the toothless\ngums.\n\nRunning to the wardrobe, he discovered that the king's uniform was\ngone. That, with the witness of the empty bed, told him the whole\nstory. The American smiled. \"More nerve than I gave him credit for,\"\nhe mused, as he walked back to his bed and reached under the pillow\nfor the two papers he had forced the king to sign. They, too, were\ngone. Slowly Barney Custer realized his plight, as there filtered\nthrough his mind a suggestion of the possibilities of the trick that\nhad been played upon him.\n\nWhy should Leopold wish these papers?  Of course, he might merely\nhave taken them that he might destroy them; but something told\nBarney Custer that such was not the case. And something, too, told\nhim whither the king had ridden and what he would do there when he\narrived.\n\nHe ran back to the wardrobe.  In it hung the peasant attire that he\nhad stolen from the line of the careless house frau, and later\nwished upon his majesty the king. Barney grinned as he recalled the\nroyal disgust with which Leopold had fingered the soiled garments.\nHe scarce blamed him. Looking further toward the back of the\nwardrobe, the American discovered other clothing.\n\nHe dragged it all out upon the floor.  There was an old shooting\njacket, several pairs of trousers and breeches, and a hunting coat.\nIn a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe he found many old shoes,\nputtees, and boots.\n\nFrom this miscellany he selected riding breeches, a pair of boots,\nand the red hunting coat as the only articles that fitted his rather\nlarge frame. Hastily he dressed, and, taking the ax the old man had\nbrought to the room as the only weapon available, he walked boldly\ninto the corridor, down the spiral stairway and into the guardroom.\n\nBarney Custer was prepared to fight.  He was desperate. He could\nhave slunk from the Castle of Blentz as he had entered it--through\nthe secret passageway to the ravine; but to attempt to reach Lustadt\non foot was not at all compatible with the urgent haste that he felt\nnecessary. He must have a horse, and a horse he would have if he had\nto fight his way through a Blentz army.\n\nBut there were no armed retainers left at Blentz.  The guardroom was\nvacant; but there were arms there and ammunition. Barney\ncommandeered a sword and a revolver, then he walked into the\ncourtyard and crossed to the stables. The way took him by the\ngarden. In it he saw a coffin-like box resting upon planks above a\ngrave-like excavation. Barney investigated. The box was empty. Once\nagain he grinned. \"It is not always wise,\" he mused, \"to count your\ncorpses before they're dead. What a lot of work the old man might\nhave spared himself if he'd only caught his cadaver first--or at\nleast tried to.\"\n\nPassing on by his own grave, he came to the stables.  A groom was\ncurrying a strong, clean-limbed hunter haltered in the doorway. The\nman looked up as Barney approached him. A puzzled expression entered\nthe fellow's eyes. He was a young man--a stupid-looking lout. It was\nevident that he half recognized the face of the newcomer as one he\nhad seen before. Barney nodded to him.\n\n\"Never mind finishing,\" he said.  \"I am in a hurry.  You may saddle\nhim at once.\" The voice was authoritative--it brooked no demur. The\ngroom touched his forehead, dropped the currycomb and brush, and\nturned back into the stable to fetch saddle and bridle.\n\nFive minutes later Barney was riding toward the gate. The portcullis\nwas raised--the drawbridge spanned the moat--no guard was there to\nbar his way. The sunlight flooded the green valley, stretching\nlazily below him in the soft warmth of a mellow autumn morning.\nBehind him he had left the brooding shadows of the grim old\nfortress--the cold, cruel, depressing stronghold of intrigue,\ntreason, and sudden death.\n\nHe threw back his shoulders and filled his lungs with the sweet,\npure air of freedom. He was a new man. The wound in his breast was\nforgotten. Lightly he touched his spurs to the hunter's sides.\nTossing his head and curveting, the animal broke into a long, easy\ntrot. Where the road dipped into the ravine and down through the\nvillage to the valley the rider drew his restless mount into a walk;\nbut, once in the valley, he let him out. Barney took the short road\nto Lustadt. It would cut ten miles off the distance that the main\nwagonroad covered, and it was a good road for a horseman. It should\nbring him to Lustadt by one o'clock or a little after. The road\nwound through the hills to the east of the main highway, and was\nscarcely more than a trail where it crossed the Ru River upon a\nnarrow bridge that spanned the deep mountain gorge that walls the Ru\nfor ten miles through the hills.\n\nWhen Barney reached the river his hopes sank.  The bridge was\ngone--dynamited by the Austrians in their retreat. The nearest\nbridge was at the crossing of the main highway over ten miles to the\nsouthwest. There, too, the river might be forded even if the\nAustrians had destroyed that bridge also; but here or elsewhere in\nthe hills there could be no fording--the banks of the Ru were\nperpendicular cliffs.\n\nThe misfortune would add nearly twenty miles to his journey--he\ncould not now hope to reach Lustadt before late in the afternoon.\nTurning his horse back along the trail he had come, he retraced his\nway until he reached a narrow bridle path that led toward the\nsouthwest. The trail was rough and indistinct, yet he pushed\nforward, even more rapidly than safety might have suggested. The\nnoble beast beneath him was all loyalty and ambition.\n\n\"Take it easy, old boy,\" whispered Barney into the slim, pointed\nears that moved ceaselessly backward and forward, \"you'll get your\nchance when we strike the highway, never fear.\"\n\nAnd he did.\n\n\nSo unexpected had been Maenck's entrance into the room in the east\ntransept, so sudden his attack, that it was all over before a hand\ncould be raised to stay him. At the report of his revolver the king\nsank to the floor. At almost the same instant Lieutenant Butzow\nwhipped a revolver from beneath his tunic and fired at the assassin.\nMaenck staggered forward and stumbled across the body of the king.\nButzow was upon him instantly, wresting the revolver from his\nfingers. Prince Ludwig ran to the king's side and, kneeling there,\nraised Leopold's head in his arms. The bishop and the doctor bent\nover the limp form. The Princess Emma stood a little apart. She had\nleaped from the couch where she had been lying. Her eyes were wide\nin horror. Her palms pressed to her cheeks.\n\nIt was upon this scene that a hatless, dust-covered man in a red\nhunting coat burst through the door that had admitted Maenck. The\nman had seen and recognized the conspirator as he climbed to the top\nof the limousine and dropped within the cathedral grounds, and he\nhad followed close upon his heels.\n\nNo one seemed to note his entrance.  All ears were turned toward the\ndoctor, who was speaking.\n\n\"The king is dead,\" he said.\n\nMaenck raised himself upon an elbow.  He spoke feebly.\n\n\"You fools,\" he cried.  \"That man was not the king.  I saw him steal\nthe king's clothes at Blentz and I followed him here. He is the\nAmerican--the impostor.\" Then his eyes, circling the faces about him\nto note the results of his announcements, fell upon the face of the\nman in the red hunting coat. Amazement and wonder were in his face.\nSlowly he raised his finger and pointed.\n\n\"There is the king,\" he said.\n\nEvery eye turned in the direction he indicated.  Exclamations of\nsurprise and incredulity burst from every lip. The old chancellor\nlooked from the man in the red hunting coat to the still form of the\nman upon the floor in the blood-spattered marriage garments of a\nking of Lutha. He let the king's head gently down upon the carpet,\nand then he rose to his feet and faced the man in the red hunting\ncoat.\n\n\"Who are you?\" he demanded.\n\nBefore Barney could speak Lieutenant Butzow spoke.\n\n\"He is the king, your highness,\" he said.  \"I rode with him to\nBlentz to free Mr. Custer. Both were wounded in the courtyard in the\nfight that took place there. I helped to dress their wounds. The\nking was wounded in the breast--Mr. Custer in the left leg.\"\n\nPrince von der Tann looked puzzled.  Again he turned his eyes\nquestioningly toward the newcomer.\n\n\"Is this the truth?\" he asked.\n\nBarney looked toward the Princess Emma.  In her eyes he could read\nthe relief that the sight of him alive had brought her. Since she\nhad recognized the king she had believed that Barney was dead. The\ntemptation was great--he dreaded losing her, and he feared he would\nlose her when her father learned the truth of the deception that had\nbeen practiced upon him. He might lose even more--men had lost their\nheads for tampering with the affairs of kings.\n\n\"Well?\" persisted the chancellor.\n\n\"Lieutenant Butzow is partially correct--he honestly believes that\nhe is entirely so,\" replied the American. \"He did ride with me from\nLustadt to Blentz to save the man who lies dead here at your feet.\nThe lieutenant thought that he was riding with his king, just as\nyour highness thought that he was riding with his king during the\nbattle of Lustadt. You were both wrong--you were riding with Mr.\nBernard Custer, of Beatrice. I am he. I have no apologies to make.\nWhat I did I would do again. I did it for Lutha and for the woman I\nlove. She knows and the king knew that I intended restoring his\nidentity to him with no one the wiser for the interchange that had\ntaken place. The king upset my plans by stealing back his identity\nwhile I slept, with the result that you see before you upon the\nfloor. He has died as he had lived--futilely.\"\n\nAs he spoke the Princess Emma had crossed the room toward him.  Now\nshe stood at his side, her hand in his. Tense silence reigned in the\napartment. The old chancellor stood with bowed head, buried in\nthought. All eyes were upon him except those of the doctor, who had\nturned his attention from the dead king to the wounded assassin.\nButzow stood looking at Barney Custer in open relief and admiration.\nHe had been trying to vindicate his friend in his own mind ever\nsince he had discovered, as he believed, that Barney had tricked\nLeopold after the latter had saved his life at Blentz and ridden to\nLustadt in the king's guise. Now that he knew the whole truth he\nrealized how stupid he had been not to guess that the man who had\nled the victorious Luthanian army before Lustadt could not have been\nthe cowardly Leopold.\n\nPresently the chancellor broke the silence.\n\n\"You say that Leopold of Lutha lived futilely.  You are right; but\nwhen you say that he has died futilely, you are, I believe, wrong.\nLiving, he gave us a poor weakling. Dying, he leaves the throne to a\nbrave man, in whose veins flows the blood of the Rubinroths,\nhereditary rulers of Lutha.\n\n\"You are the only rightful successor to the throne of Lutha,\" he\nargued, \"other than Peter of Blentz. Your mother's marriage to a\nforeigner did not bar the succession of her offspring. Aside from\nthe fact that Peter of Blentz is out of the question, is the more\nimportant fact that your line is closer to the throne than his. He\nknew it, and this knowledge was the real basis of his hatred of\nyou.\"\n\nAs the old chancellor ceased speaking he drew his sword and raised\nit on high above his head.\n\n\"The king is dead,\" he said.  \"Long live the king!\"\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nKING OF LUTHA\n\nBarney Custer, of Beatrice, had no desire to be king of Lutha.  He\nlost no time in saying so. All that he wanted of Lutha was the girl\nhe had found there, as his father before him had found the girl of\nhis choice. Von der Tann pleaded with him.\n\n\"Twice have I fought under you, sire,\" he urged.  \"Twice, and only\ntwice since the old king died, have I felt that the future of Lutha\nwas safe in the hands of her ruler, and both these times it was you\nwho sat upon the throne. Do not desert us now. Let me live to see\nLutha once more happy, with a true Rubinroth upon the throne and my\ndaughter at his side.\"\n\nButzow added his pleas to those of the old chancellor. The American\nhesitated.\n\n\"Let us leave it to the representatives of the people and to the\nhouse of nobles,\" he suggested.\n\nThe chancellor of Lutha explained the situation to both houses.\nTheir reply was unanimous. He carried it to the American, who\nawaited the decision of Lutha in the royal apartments of the palace.\nWith him was the Princess Emma von der Tann.\n\n\"The people of Lutha will have no other king, sire,\" said the old\nman.\n\nBarney turned toward the girl.\n\n\"There is no other way, my lord king,\" she said with grave dignity.\n\"With her blood your mother bequeathed you a duty which you may not\nshirk. It is not for you or for me to choose. God chose for you when\nyou were born.\"\n\nBarney Custer took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.\n\n\"Let the King of Lutha,\" he said, \"be the first to salute Lutha's\nqueen.\"\n\nAnd so Barney Custer, of Beatrice, was crowned King of Lutha, and\nEmma became his queen. Maenck died of his wound on the floor of the\nlittle room in the east transept of the cathedral of Lustadt beside\nthe body of the king he had slain. Prince Peter of Blentz was tried\nby the highest court of Lutha on the charge of treason; he was found\nguilty and hanged. Von Coblich committed suicide on the eve of his\narrest. Lieutenant Otto Butzow was ennobled and given the\nconfiscated estates of the Blentz prince. He became a general in the\narmy of Lutha, and was sent to the front in command of the army\ncorps that guarded the northern frontier of the little kingdom."