The Princess Dehra Part 32

When Moore had gone, the Archduke took up the letter and envelope and again examined them; looked for a water mark-there was none; went over the writing-man's or woman's he could not decide; postmarked at the main office in Dornlitz at ten P.M. of yesterday; not a scintilla any place to indicate the origin. Well, it did not matter; he would accept the offer; and there was an end of it, now-the solution could come this afternoon at four. So he put up the letter, and pushed the b.u.t.ton for his secretary, quite forgetting to telephone the Princess as to borrowing her Adjutant.

Then, after a while, she, herself, called him; and as they finished their talk, the bell sounded the first stroke of noon.

He arose, and hooking the frogs of his dark green jacket, the gold braid of his marshal's insignia heavy on the sleeve, he went over to the large window, and raising the sash stood in full view of the avenue.

It was the hour when it was busiest; on the sidewalks a pus.h.i.+ng, hurrying, good-natured crowd, at their mid-day recreation; in the road-way, a tangled ma.s.s of vehicles-not of the society folk, they came three hours later, but the wagons, and drays and vans of trade and traffic. He recognized an occasional face in the throng, usually some officer hurrying to Headquarters for the reception he always held for half an hour at noon. To-day it would have to start five minutes late.

Presently some one caught sight of him, and saluted with raised hat; others looked up, and did the same; and in a moment the crowd was pa.s.sing in review, the men uncovering, the women greeting him with smiles. He answered with bows and hand-waves; and if a bit of satisfied pride stirred his heart and warmed his face, small wonder. He was still new in his royalty; and even if he were not, at this critical period, such demonstration of esteem by the general populace would have been very gratifying and particularly welcome. And he stayed a trifle longer than the required time; then, with a last bow and a wave of especial graciousness, he turned away, and rang for the doors to be opened.

It was the Archduke's rule that entire informality should be observed at these affairs, and he emphasized it by sauntering around, speaking to everyone, and not obliging them to go up to him, for a stiff bow and a word. He laughed with this group, joked with another, argued with a third, until not a man but had come under his eye, at least for an instant, and he under theirs. He had begun the receptions soon after he became Governor of Dornlitz, more particularly for the purpose of getting acquainted with the officers on duty under him; but it was not limited to them-any one was welcome-and the result had been rather more satisfactory than even he had hoped for. There was not an official in his district to whom he had not given a hearty hand-shake and a pleasant word; and as he happened to have a truly royal knack of remembering faces, and the names that went with them, many a young lieutenant-and indeed, not a few higher in rank-had gone away with a flattered heart and an ardent enthusiasm, openly proclaimed, for the Marshal-Prince who would condescend to remember an unimportant subordinate, and seem glad to see him again, and to tell him so. And the contrast it offered to the Duke of Lotzen's ungracious and domineering ways was little to the latter's advantage; and the fruit of it had been ripening fast, within these last few weeks.

So, to-day, the room was crowded, and the welcome the Archduke received was such as might have made even Lotzen pause and think, had he seen it.

And this thought occurred to Armand; and he ran his eyes over the many faces, wondering which of them belonged, to-day, to the Duke's spy; for that there usually was one present he had no doubt.

And presently he found him; and, catching his eye, motioned for him to approach.

"I am glad to see you, Monsieur le Comte," he said, relieving himself from offering his hand by readjusting his sword. "When was it I saw you last?"

Count Bigler's lips twitched with suppressed amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Here, Your Highness?" he answered, "I am ashamed to confess I haven't been here for many weeks."

"Yet, surely, Count, I've seen you somewhere since then, and very recently, too-where was it?"

Bigler feigned to think.-"One sees Your Highness so many times, it is difficult to remember the last ... on the Field of Mars, last Monday, wasn't it?"

The Archduke shook his head. "No," he said, "no; it was in the evening-I recall that very distinctly." Then he looked with deliberate inference at the bandaged ear-"oh, I have it: it was at the De Saure's; you were there when I came, and you left first and-rather hurriedly. It all comes back to me now. Surely, Count, you can't have forgot such a pleasant evening!"

Bigler a.s.sumed a look of guileless innocence.

"It is not permitted to contradict Your Highness," he answered, "but I may, I think, at least venture the truism:-what one has not remembered, one cannot forget."

"Or restated, my dear Count, to be quite in point:-what is inconvenient to remember, is best denied."

"Just as Your Highness will have it," Bigler grinned, and impudently fingered his ear.

"And confidentially, Count," said Armand smilingly, "while we are dealing in truisms, I give you these two:-'every man's patience has its limit,'

and, 'who plays with fire gets burnt'-fatally."

Bigler's grin broadened.

"Is Your Highness the man with the patience or the man with the fire?" he asked.

"Study it out, sir," said the Archduke, as he pa.s.sed on; "and let your master help you; the answer may concern you both."

The last thing before leaving his office, that afternoon, he wrote a note to the American Amba.s.sador, enclosing the anonymous letter, and telling him his intention in reference to it; and adding that if Courtney had not heard from him by morning he should do whatever he thought best. This he dispatched by an orderly; and then, choosing a long, light sword, he rang for his horse.

Just outside his door, he met General Durand and stopped for a word with him; as they separated he saw Ferdinand of Lotzen coming down the corridor.

Between them it had long been a salute given and acknowledged, but now the Duke halted, fingers at visor.

"May I have a word with Your Highness?" he said.

Armand's hand dropped slowly, and he only half paused in his walk.

"I'm in a particular hurry, cousin," he replied, "won't to-morrow do as well?"

Lotzen's eye-brows went up.

"Isn't to-morrow rather uncertain for-both of us?" he asked.

"Yes," said the Archduke instantly, "yes, it is; and hence what need of talk between us, at least so late in the day. Wait until we have a to-morrow."

"What I wish to say has nothing to do with futures, cousin, only with the past, with the De Saure house-oh! that surprises you, does it?"

"Not half as much as the amazing mess you made of it," said Armand.

"That, my dear cousin, is just what I came to explain," said Lotzen quickly. "I had nothing whatever to do with the silly affair; it was a clever idea, but sadly bungled; I heard of it only the next day, and I want to a.s.sure you it was not my work-though, as I say, it was a clever idea-too clever, indeed, to be wasted so fruitlessly."

The Archduke regarded him in speculative silence;-just what manner of man was this; and what could be his ulterior purpose in such an astonis.h.i.+ng avowal!

"Will you tell me, cousin," he asked, "why you should trouble to disclaim partic.i.p.ation in an outrage, whose only offense, in your eyes, was its failure?"

Again Lotzen's eye-brows went up. "I thought you would understand that it is in justice to myself; I would not have you think me guilty of so stupid a piece of work."

"Doubtless, then, it will gratify you, monsieur, that I never doubted your complicity, however much I may have marvelled at the unskilled execution-you would have arranged it rather differently. Indeed, I was sorry that you, yourself, were not in command. I left a message, both upstairs and down, that I thought you might understand."

Lotzen smiled, rather warmly for him.

"I understood," he said; "your writing was exceedingly legible."

"And I sent you another message, a little while ago, by the man with the wounded ear," said the Archduke, his eyes upon the other's bandaged hand.

"I suppose you got it?"

The Duke laughed and held up his hand, the back and palm covered with plaster.

"This wasn't made by a bullet, cousin;" he replied; "I got it this morning from a new pet I was trying to train.-No, I didn't get your last message."

"Better get it to-day, cousin," said the Archduke, as he turned away; "to-morrow is rather uncertain."

XV FOUR O'CLOCK AT THE INN

Ten miles out, on the t.i.tian Road, is the Inn of the Twisted Pines.

Something more than two centuries of storms and suns.h.i.+ne have left its logs and plaster wrinkled and weather-beaten, yet the house stands as stanch and strong as the day the last pin was driven, and the painted sign and the bunch of furze hung above the entrance.

The old soldier who built it had lived long enough to marry a young wife, and leave it to her and a st.u.r.dy boy; and, thereafter, there was always a son to take the father's place; and with the heirs.h.i.+p seemed to go the inherited obligation to maintain the house exactly as received. No modernity showed itself within or without; the cooking alone varied, as it reflected the skill or whim of the particular mistress; and it chanced that the present one was of unusual ability in that particular; and the knowledge of it coming to the Capital, had brought not a little trade of riding parties and the officers of the garrison.