"Not so fast, my friend," rejoined the American. "There are a few trifling details to be arranged before we resume our proper personalities.""Do you realize that you should be hanged for what you have done?" snarled the king. "You assaulted me, stole my clothing, left me here to be shot by Peter, and sat upon my throne in Lustadt while I lay a prisoner condemned to death.""And do you realize," replied Barney, "that by so doing I saved your foolish little throne for you; that I drove the invaders from your dominions; that I have unmasked your enemies, and that I have once again proven to you that the Prince von der Tann is your best friend and most loyal supporter?""You laid your plebeian hands upon me," cried the king, raising his voice. "You humiliated me, and you shall suffer for it."Barney Custer eyed the king for a long moment before he spoke again. It was difficult to believe that the man was so devoid of gratitude, and so blind as not to see that even the rough treatment that he had received at the American's hands was as nothing by comparison with the service that the American had done him. Apparently Leopold had al-ready forgotten that three times Barney Custer had saved his life in the courtyard below. From the man's demeanor, now that his life was no longer at stake, Barney caught an inkling of what his attitude might be when once again he was returned to the despotic power of his kingship.
"It is futile to reason with you," he said. "There is only one way to handle such as you. At present I hold the power to coerce you, and I shall continue to hold that power until I am safely out of your two-by-four kingdom. If you do as I say you shall have your throne back again. If you refuse, why by Heaven you shall never have it. I'll stay king of Lutha myself.""What are your terms?" asked the king.
"That Prince Peter of Blentz, Captain Ernst Maenck, and old Von Coblich be tried, convicted, and hanged for high treason," replied the American.
"That is easy," said the king. "I should do so anyway immediately I resumed my throne. Now get up and give me my clothes. Take this cot and I will take the bed.
None will know of the exchange."
"Again you are too fast," answered Barney. "There is an-other condition."
"Well?"
"You must promise upon your royal honor that Ludwig, Prince von der Tann, remain chancellor of Lutha during your life or his.""Very well," assented the king. "I promise," and again he half rose from his cot.
"Hold on a minute," admonished the American; "there is yet one more condition of which I have not made mention.""What, another?" exclaimed Leopold testily. "How much do you want for returning to me what you have stolen?""So far I have asked for nothing for myself," replied Bar-ney. "Now I am coming to that part of the agreement.
The Princess Emma von der Tann is betrothed to you. She does not love you. She has honored me with her affection, but she will not wed until she has been formally released from her promise to wed Leopold of Lutha. The king must sign such a release and also a sanction of her marriage to Barney Custer, of Beatrice. Do you understand what Iwant?"
The king went livid. He came to his feet beside the cot.
For the moment, his wound was forgotten. He tottered to-ward the impostor.
"You scoundrel!" he screamed. "You scoundrel! You have stolen my identity and my throne and now you wish to steal the woman who loves me.""Don't get excited, Leo," warned the American, "and don't talk so loud. The Princess doesn't love you, and you know it as well as I. She will never marry you. If you want your dinky throne back you'll have to do as I desire; that is, sign the release and the sanction.
"Now let's don't have any heroics about it. You have the proposition. Now I am going to sleep. In the meantime you may think it over. If the papers are not ready when it comes time for us to leave, and from the way I feel now Irather think I shall be ready to mount a horse by morning, I shall ride back to Lustadt as king of Lutha, and I shall marry her highness into the bargain, and you may go hang!
"How the devil you will earn a living with that king job taken away from you I don't know. You're a long way from New York, and in the present state of carnage in Europe I rather doubt that there are many headwaiters jobs open this side of the American metropolis, and I can't for the moment think of anything else at which you would shine--with all due respect to some excellent headwaiters I have known."For some time the king remained silent. He was thinking.
He realized that it lay in the power of the American to do precisely what he had threatened to do. No one would doubt his identity. Even Peter of Blentz had not recognized the real king despite Leopold's repeated and hysterical claims.
Lieutenant Butzow, the American's best friend, had no more suspected the exchange of identities. Von der Tann, too, must have been deceived. Everyone had been deceived.
There was no hope that the people, who really saw so little of their king, would guess the deception that was being played upon them. Leopold groaned. Barney opened his eyes and turned toward him.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
"I will sign the release and the sanction of her highness' marriage to you," said the king.
"Good!" exclaimed the American. "You will then go at once to Brosnov as originally planned. I will return to Lus-tadt and get her highness, and we will immediately leave Lutha via Brosnov. There you and I will effect a change of raiment, and you will ride back to Lustadt with the small guard that accompanies her highness and me to the frontier.""Why do you not remain in Lustadt?" asked the king.
"You could as well be married there as elsewhere.""Because I don't trust your majesty," replied the American.
"It must be done precisely as I say or not at all. Are you agreeable?"The king assented with a grumpy nod.
"Then get up and write as I dictate," said Barney. Leo-pold of Lutha did as he was bid. The result was two short, crisply worded documents. At the bottom of each was the signature of Leopold of Lutha. Barney took the two papers and carefully tucked them beneath his pillow.
"Now let's sleep," he said. "It is getting late and we both need the rest. In the morning we have long rides ahead of us. Good night."The king did not respond. In a short time Barney was fast asleep. The light still burned.
