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 I had found a Von

der Tann in company with the king and had permitted her to escape.

Your blood convicts your highness."

"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?"

<<BackPagesTo menuNext>>