Chapter III
AN ANGRY KING
The soldiers stood behind their officer. None of them had ever seen
Leopold of Lutha–he had been but a name to them–they cared nothing
for him; but in the presence of death they were awed by the majesty
of the king they had never known.
The hands of Emma von der Tann were chafing the wrists of the man
whose head rested in her lap.
"Leopold!" she whispered. "Leopold, come back! Mad king you may
have been, but still you were king of Lutha–my father's king–my
king."
The girl nearly cried out in shocked astonishment as she saw the
eyes of the dead king open. But Emma von der Tann was quick-witted. She knew for what purpose the soldiers from the palace were scouring the country.
Had she not thought the king dead she would have cut out her tongue
rather than reveal his identity to these soldiers of his great
enemy. Now she saw that Leopold lived, and she must undo the harm
she had innocently wrought. She bent lower over Barney's face, trying to hide it from the soldiers.
"Go away, please!" she called to them. "Leave me with my dead king. You are Peter's men. You do not care for Leopold, living or dead. Go back to your new king and tell him that this poor young man can never more stand between him and the throne."
The officer hesitated.
"We shall have to take the king's body with us, your highness," he
said.
The officer evidently becoming suspicious, came closer, and as he
did so Barney Custer sat up.
"Go away!" cried the girl, for she saw that the king was attempting
to speak. "My father's people will carry Leopold of Lutha in state
to the capital of his kingdom."
"What's all this row about?" he asked. "Can't you let a dead king
alone if the young lady asks you to? What kind of a short sport are
you, anyway? Run along, now, and tie yourself outside."
The officer smiled, a trifle maliciously perhaps.
"Ah," he said, "I am very glad indeed that you are not dead, your
majesty."
Barney Custer turned his incredulous eyes upon the lieutenant.
"Et tu, Brute?" he cried in anguished accents, letting his head fall
back into the girl's lap. He found it very comfortable there indeed.
The officer smiled and shook his head. Then he tapped his forehead
meaningly.
"I did not know," he said to the girl, "that he was so bad. But
come–it is some distance to Blentz, and the afternoon is already
well spent. Your highness will accompany us."
"I?" cried the girl. "You certainly cannot be serious."
"And why not, your highness?" asked the officer. "We had strict
orders to arrest not only the king, but any companions who may have
been involved in his escape."
"I had nothing whatever to do with his escape," said the girl, "though I should have been only too glad to have aided him had the opportunity presented."
"King Peter may think differently," replied the man.
"The Regent, you mean?" the girl corrected him haughtily.
The officer shrugged his shoulders.
"Regent or King, he is ruler of Lutha nevertheless, and he would
take away my commission were I to tell him that I had found a Von
der Tann in company with the king and had permitted her to escape. Your blood convicts your highness."
"You are going to take me to Blentz and confine me there?" asked the
girl in a very small voice and with wide incredulous eyes. "You
would not dare thus to humiliate a Von der Tann?"
"I am very sorry," said the officer, "but I am a soldier, and
soldiers must obey their superiors. My orders are strict. You may be
thankful," he added, "that it was not Maenck who discovered you."
At the mention of the name the girl shuddered.
"In so far as it is in my power your highness and his majesty will
be accorded every consideration of dignity and courtesy while under
my escort. You need not entertain any fear of me," he concluded.
Barney Custer, during this, to him, remarkable dialogue, had risen
to his feet, and assisted the girl in rising. Now he turned and
spoke to the officer.
"This farce," he said, "has gone quite far enough. If it is a joke
it is becoming a very sorry one. I am not a king. I am an
American–Bernard Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A. Look at me. Look at me closely. Do I look like a king?"
"Every inch, your majesty," replied the officer.
Barney looked at the man aghast.