Truxton King | Page 7

way, sir. Their coach was demolished, you remember. I--I will not go
into the details. You know them, of course. God alone preserved the
little Prince. He was travelling with them, on the way from London to
Edelweiss. By some strange intervention of Providence he had gone
with his governess and other members of the party to the luggage van
in the fore part of the train, which had stopped on a side track below the
station. The collision was from the rear, a broken rail throwing a
locomotive into the Princess's coach. This providential escape of the
young Prince preserved the unbroken line of the present royal family. If
he had been killed, the dynasty would have come to an end, and, I am
telling no secret, sir, when I say that a new form of government would
have followed."
"What sort of government?"
"A more modern system, sir. Perhaps socialistic. I can't say. At all
events, a new dynasty could not have been formed. The people would
have rejected it. But Prince Robin was spared and, if I do say it, sir, he
is the manliest little prince in all the world. You should see him ride
and fence and shoot--and he is but seven!"
"I say, Mr. Spantz, I don't believe I've told you that your niece is a most
remarkably beau--"

"As I was saying, sir," interrupted Spantz, so pointedly that Truxton
flushed, "the little Prince is the idol of all the people. Under the present
regency he is obliged to reside in the principality until his fifteenth year,
after which he may be permitted to travel abroad. Graustark intends to
preserve him to herself if it is in her power to do so. Woe betide the
man who thinks or does ill toward little Prince Robin."
King was suddenly conscious of a strange intentness of gaze on the old
man's part. A peculiar, indescribable chill swept over him; he had a
distinct, vivid impression that some subtle power was exercising itself
upon him--a power that, for the briefest instant, held him in a grip of
iron. What it was, he could not have told; it passed almost immediately.
Something in the old man's eyes, perhaps--or was it something in the
queer smile that flickered about his lips?
"My dear Mr. Spantz," he hastened to say, as if a defence were
necessary, "please don't get it into your head that I'm thinking ill of the
Prince. I daresay he's a fine little chap and I'm sorry he's--er--lost his
parents."
Spantz laughed, a soft, mirthless gurgle that caused Truxton to wonder
why he had made the effort at all. "I imagine His Serene Highness has
little to fear from any American," he said quietly. "He has been taught
to love and respect the men of his father's land. He loves America quite
as dearly as he loves Graustark." Despite the seeming sincerity of the
remark, Truxton was vaguely conscious that a peculiar harshness had
crept into the other's voice. He glanced sharply at the old man's face.
For the first time he noticed something sinister--yes, evil--in the
leathery countenance; a stealthiness in the hard smile that seemed to
transform it at once into a pronounced leer. Like a flash there darted
into the American's active brain a conviction that there could be no
common relationship between this flinty old man and the delicate,
refined girl he had seen in the shop. Now he recalled the fact that her
dark eyes had a look of sadness and dejection in their depths, and that
her face was peculiarly white and unsmiling.
Spantz was eyeing him narrowly. "You do not appear interested in our
royal family," he ventured coldly.

Truxton hastened to assure him that he was keenly interested.
Especially so, now that I appreciate that the little Prince is the last of
his race."
"There are three regents, sir, in charge of the affairs of state--Count
Halfont, the Duke of Perse and Baron Jasto Dangloss, who is minister
of police. Count Halfont is a granduncle of the Prince, by marriage. The
Duke of Perse is the father of the unhappy Countess Ingomede, the
young and beautiful wife of the exiled "Iron Count" Marlanx. No doubt
you've heard of him."
"I've read something about him. Sort of a gay old bounder, wasn't he?
Seems to me I recall the stories that were printed about him a few years
ago. I remember that he was banished from the principality and his
estates seized by the Crown."
"Quite true, sir. He was banished in 1901 and now resides on his estates
in Austria. Three years ago, in Buda Pesth, he was married to Ingomede,
the daughter of the Duke. Count Marlanx has great influence at the
Austrian court. Despite the fact that he is