第31章 IX THE KING'S GUESTS(1)

ONCE WITHIN the palace Barney sought the seclusion of a small room off the audience chamber. Here he summoned Butzow.

"Lieutenant," said the American, "for the sake of a woman, a dead child and an unhappy king I have become dictator of Lutha for forty-eight hours; but at noon upon the fifth this farce must cease. Then we must place the true Leopold upon the throne, or a new dictator must replace me.

"In vain I have tried to convince you that I am not the king, and today in the cathedral so great was the tempta-tion to take advantage of the odd train of circumstances that had placed a crown within my reach that I all but surrendered to it--not for the crown of gold, Butzow, but for an infinitely more sacred diadem which belongs to him to whom by right of birth and lineage, belongs the crown of Lutha. I do not ask you to understand--it is not neces-sary--but this you must know and believe: that I am not Leopold, and that the true Leopold lies in hiding in the sanatorium at Tafelberg, from which you and I, Butzow, must fetch him to Lustadt before noon on the fifth.""But, sire--" commenced Butzow, when Barney raised his hand.

"Enough of that, Butzow!" he cried almost irritably. "Iam sick of being 'sired' and 'majestied'--my name is Custer.

Call me that when others are not present. Believe what you will, but ride with me in secrecy to Tafelberg tonight, and together we shall bring back Leopold of Lutha. Then we may call Prince Ludwig into our confidence, and none need ever know of the substitution.

"I doubt if many had a sufficiently close view of me to-day to realize the trick that I have played upon them, and if they note a difference they will attribute it to the change in apparel, for we shall see to it that the king is fittingly garbed before we exhibit him to his subjects, while here-after I shall continue in khaki, which becomes me better than ermine."Butzow shook his head.

"King or dictator," he said, "it is all the same, and I must obey whatever commands you see fit to give, and so I will ride to Tafelberg tonight, though what we shall find there I cannot imagine, unless there are two Leopolds of Lutha.

But shall we also find another royal ring upon the finger of this other king?"Barney smiled. "You're a typical hard-headed Dutchman, Butzow," he said.

The lieutenant drew himself up haughtily. "I am not a Dutchman, your majesty. I am a Luthanian."Barney laughed. "Whatever else you may be, Butzow, you're a brick," he said, laying his hand upon the other's arm.

Butzow looked at him narrowly.

"From your speech," he said, "and the occasional Ameri-canisms into which you fall I might believe that you were other than the king but for the ring.""It is my commission from the king," replied Barney. "Leo-pold placed it upon my finger in token of his royal authority to act in his behalf. Tonight, then Butzow, you and I shall ride to Tafelberg. Have three good horses. We must lead one for the king."Butzow saluted and left the apartment. For an hour or two the American was busy with tailors whom he had or-dered sent to the palace to measure him for the numerous garments of a royal wardrobe, for he knew the king to be near enough his own size that he might easily wear clothes that had been fitted to Barney; and it was part of his plan to have everything in readiness for the substitution which was to take place the morning of the coronation.

Then there were foreign dignitaries, and the heads of numerous domestic and civic delegations to be given audi-ence. Old Von der Tann stood close behind Barney prompt-ing him upon the royal duties that had fallen so suddenly upon his shoulders, and none thought it strange that he was unfamiliar with the craft of kingship, for was it not common knowledge that he had been kept a close prisoner in Blentz since boyhood, nor been given any coaching for the duties Peter of Blentz never intended he should perform?

After it was all over Prince Ludwig's grim and leathery face relaxed into a smile of satisfaction.

"None who witnessed the conduct of your first audience, sire," he said, "could for a moment doubt your royal line-age--if ever a man was born to kingship, your majesty, it be you."Barney smiled, a bit ruefully, however, for in his mind's eye he saw a future moment when the proud old Prince von der Tann would know the truth of the imposture that had been played upon him, and the young man foresaw that he would have a rather unpleasant half-hour.

At a little distance from them Barney saw Emma von der Tann surrounded by a group of officials and palace officers.

Since he had come to Lustadt that day he had had no word with her, and now he crossed toward her, amused as the throng parted to form an aisle for him, the men saluting and the women curtsying low.

He took both of the girl's hands in his, and, drawing one through his arm, took advantage of the prerogatives of king-ship to lead her away from the throng of courtiers.

"I thought that I should never be done with all the tire-some business which seems to devolve upon kings," he said, laughing. "All the while that I should have been bending my royal intellect to matters of state, I was wondering just how a king might find a way to see the woman he loves without interruptions from the horde that dogs his foot-steps."

"You seem to have found a way, Leopold," she whis-pered, pressing his arm close to her. "Kings usually do.""It is not because I am a king that I found a way, Emma,"he replied. "It is because I am an American."She looked up at him with an expression of pleading in her eyes.

"Why do you persist?" she cried. "You have come into your own, and there is no longer aught to fear from Peter or any other. To me at least, it is most unkind still to deny your identity.""I wonder," said Barney, "if your love could withstand the knowledge that I am not the king.""It is the MAN I love, Leopold," the girl replied.