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 sol-diers 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 lieu-tenant.
"Et tu, Brute?" he cried in anguished accents, letting his head fall back into the girl's lap. He found it very com-fortable 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 com-panions 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 Ihad found a Von der Tann in company with the king and had permitted her to escape. Your blood convicts your high-ness."
"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.
"Well, I am not a king," he said at last, "and if you go to arresting me and throwing me into one of your musty old dungeons you will find that I am a whole lot more important than most kings. I'm an American citizen.""Yes, your majesty," replied the officer, a trifle impatiently.
"But we waste time in idle discussion. Will your majesty be so good as to accompany me without resistance?""If you will first escort this young lady to a place of safety," replied Barney.
"She will be quite safe at Blentz," said the lieutenant.
Barney turned to look at the girl, a question in his eyes.
Before them stood the soldiers with drawn revolvers, and now at the summit of the hill a dozen more appeared in command of a sergeant. They were two against nearly a score, and Barney Custer was unarmed.
The girl shook her head.
"There, is no alternative, I am afraid, your majesty," she said.
Barney wheeled toward the officer.
"Very well, lieutenant," he said, "we will accompany you."The party turned back up the hillside, leaving the dead bandit where he lay--the fellow's neck had been broken by the fall. A short distance from where the man had confronted them the two prisoners were brought to the main road where they saw still other troopers, and with them the horses of those who had gone into the forest on foot.
Barney and the girl were mounted on two of the animals, the soldiers who had ridden them clambering up behind two of their comrades. A moment later the troop set out along the road which leads to Blentz.
The prisoners rode near the center of the column, sur-rounded by troopers. For a time they were both silent. Bar-ney was wondering if he had accidentally tumbled into the private grounds of Lutha's largest madhouse, or if, in reality, these people mistook him for the young king--it seemed incredible.