AT THE CRY silence fell upon the throng. Every head was turned toward the great doors through which the head of a procession was just visible. It was a grim looking procession --the head of it, at least.
There were four khaki-clad trumpeters from the Royal Horse Guards, the gay and resplendent uniforms which they should have donned today conspicuous for their absence.
From their brazen bugles sounded another loud fanfare, and then they separated, two upon each side of the aisle, and between them marched three men.
One was tall, with gray eyes and had a reddish-brown beard. He was fully clothed in the coronation robes of Leo-pold. Upon his either hand walked the others--Lieutenant Butzow and a gray-eyed, smooth-faced, square-jawed stran-ger.
Behind them marched the balance of the Royal Horse Guards that were not already on duty within the cathedral.
As the eyes of the multitude fell upon the man in the coronation robes there were cries of: "The king! Impostor!"and "Von der Tann's puppet!"
"Denounce him!" whispered one of Peter's henchmen in his master's ear.
The Regent moved closer to the aisle, that he might meet the impostor at the foot of the chancel steps. The pro-cession was moving steadily up the aisle.
Among the clan of Von der Tann a young girl with wide eyes was bending forward that she might have a better look at the face of the king. As he came opposite her her eyes filled with horror, and then she saw the eyes of the smooth-faced stranger at the king's side. They were brave, laughing eyes, and as they looked straight into her own the truth flashed upon her, and the girl gave a gasp of dismay as she realized that the king of Lutha and the king of her heart were not one and the same.
At last the head of the procession was almost at the foot of the chancel steps. There were murmurs of: "It is not the king," and "Who is this new impostor?"Leopold's eyes were searching the faces of the close-packed nobility about the chancel. At last they fell upon the face of Peter. The young man halted not two paces from the Regent. The man went white as the king's eyes bored straight into his miserable soul.
"Peter of Blentz," cried the young man, "as God is your judge, tell the truth today. Who am I?"The legs of the Prince Regent trembled. He sank upon his knees, raising his hands in supplication toward the other.
"Have pity on me, your majesty, have pity!" he cried.
"Who am I, man?" insisted the king.
"You are Leopold Rubinroth, sire, by the grace of God, king of Lutha," cried the frightened man. "Have mercy on an old man, your majesty.""Wait! Am I mad? Was I ever mad?"
"As God is my judge, sire, no!" replied Peter of Blentz.
Leopold turned to Butzow.
"Remove the traitor from our presence," he commanded, and at a word from the lieutenant a dozen guardsmen seized the trembling man and hustled him from the cathedral amid hisses and execrations.
Following the coronation the king was closeted in his private audience chamber in the palace with Prince Lud-wig.
"I cannot understand what has happened, even now, your majesty," the old man was saying. "That you are the true Leopold is all that I am positive of, for the discomfiture of Prince Peter evidenced that fact all too plainly. But who the impostor was who ruled Lutha in your name for two days, disappearing as miraculously as he came, I cannot guess.
"But for another miracle which preserved you for us in the nick of time he might now be wearing the crown of Lutha in your stead. Having Peter of Blentz safely in cus-tody our next immediate task should be to hunt down the impostor and bring him to justice also; though"--and the old prince sighed--"he was indeed a brave man, and a noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle."The king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of the "impostor," but at the old man's praise of the other's bravery a slight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of a scowl crossed his brow.
"Wait," he said, "we shall not have to look far for your 'impostor,'" and summoning an aide he dispatched him for "Lieutenant Butzow and Mr. Custer."A moment later the two entered the audience chamber.
Barney found that Leopold the king, surrounded by com-forts and safety, was a very different person from Leopold the fugitive. The weak face now wore an expression of ar-rogance, though the king spoke most graciously to the American.
"Here, Von der Tann," said Leopold, "is your 'impostor.'
But for him I should doubtless be dead by now, or once again a prisoner at Blentz."Barney and Butzow found it necessary to repeat their stories several times before the old man could fully grasp all that had transpired beneath his very nose without his being aware of scarce a single detail of it.
When he was finally convinced that they were telling the truth, he extended his hand to the American.
"I knelt to you once, young man," he said, "and kissed your hand. I should be filled with bitterness and rage to-ward you. On the contrary, I find that I am proud to have served in the retinue of such an impostor as you, for you upheld the prestige of the house of Rubinroth upon the battlefield, and though you might have had a crown, you refused it and brought the true king into his own."Leopold sat tapping his foot upon the carpet. It was all very well if he, the king, chose to praise the American, but there was no need for old von der Tann to slop over so.
The king did not like it. As a matter of fact, he found him-self becoming very jealous of the man who had placed him upon his throne.
