A Son of the Immortals

by Louis Tracy

  CHAPTER IX

  MUTTERINGS OF STORM

  Before Joan's carriage had traveled a hundred yards it was halted by aloud command. An officer, galloping at the head of a detachment ofcavalry, sought news of the King, and an escorted vehicle coming fromthe upper end of Fuerst Michaelstrasse promised developments. Joan wasstartled back into consciousness by the sudden stoppage. The excitedbabble going on without was incomprehensible and therefore alarming, nordid the polite assurances of the officer, as he bent in the saddle andpeered in at the window while he aired his best French, serve to stillthis fresh tumult in her veins.

  "What is he saying?" she asked Felix, turning her frightened eyes fromthe urbane personage on horseback to Poluski's intent face.

  "He was sent to rescue the King," was the explanation. "He says thebodyguard received warning less than two minutes ago."

  "Tell him the King is safe now."

  "Oh, he knows that already. What puzzled him is the fact that the troopsat the War Ministry, which lies beyond the President's house, shouldhave reached there before him."

  "What does it matter, since help came in time? Please bid the coachmango on. I--I would like to be the first to let Princess Delgrado knowthat her son has escaped from those horrid men. Who were they? Whyshould they want to kill Alec?"

  Felix did not obey her bequest instantly. He exchanged some hasty wordswith the strange officer, who chanced to be Drakovitch, and answeredJoan's questions only when the cab resumed its journey. "Have youforgotten the part played by the Seventh Regiment in the recent historyof Delgratz?" he cried.

  "I remember something about them. Alec disbanded them. Oh--they were thesoldiers who revolted and murdered the late King and Queen."

  "Exactly. Do women ever read the newspapers intelligently, I wonder? Youstate a most remarkable fact, considering that this is Delgratz and yourfuture capital, as coolly as if it had happened in Kamchatka."

  "But still I do not understand why they should turn against Alec. I haveat least sufficient intelligence to recall the avowed object of theircrime,--the restoration of the Delgrado line."

  Felix smiled. If Joan was able to defend herself, she was certainlymaking a rapid recovery. "That is a mere hazy recollection of theirafterthought. Of all despotisms, save me from a military one, andsoldiers who slay Kings are the worst of despots. If there were noKings, there would be few soldiers, Joan. Put that valuable truism awayamong the other wise saws that govern your life. You will appreciate itstruth, and the even greater truth of its converse, when you are a Queen.But soldiers are stupid creatures, obviously so, since killing is noargument, or the word philosopher would mean a man armed with abludgeon. If they do away with a tyrant and elect his successor, theyare apt to acquire the habit. Soldiers are meant to obey, not to rule,and these Kosnovian Kingmakers were not patriots but cutthroats."

  Joan buried her face in her hands. The thought came unbidden that insome inexplicable way she shared with the infamous Seventh Regiment alarge measure of responsibility for Alec's dangerous kingship.

  "Mademoiselle is ill. Why trouble her with your silly chatter?" demandedPauline angrily.

  "Eh, what the deuce? My name isn't Balaam," retorted Felix.

  "Nor am I a donkey, monsieur. If it wasn't for you, miladi would now behappy in her little apartment in the Place de la Sorbonne. I keep myears open, me!"

  "I said nothing about your ears, Madame Pauline," tittered Felix.

  The Frenchwoman's homely features reddened, and a vitriolic reply wasonly half averted by the lurching of the carriage through a gateway.Joan looked out, and her eyes were moist.

  "I possess two good friends in Delgratz, and I hope they will notquarrel on my account," she said, with a piteous smile that silenced thewoman. Poluski's mouth twisted.

  "We are not quarreling, my belle," he cried. "Pauline thinks I broughtyou here, whereas your presence is clearly an act of Providence. Being amodest person, I naturally protested."

  If Joan was not utterly bewildered by the whirligig of events, and morethan ever unnerved now at the near prospect of meeting Prince andPrincess Delgrado in the perhaps unwelcome guise of their son'saffianced wife, she would certainly have discovered that Felix wassaying the first thing that came uppermost in his mind. The outcome musthave been a quick mental review of the day's incidents in order to hitupon the special item he was trying to conceal, though it is probablethat no girl of Joan's candid nature would ever guess the suspicionrapidly maturing to a settled belief in the Pole's acute brain.

  For Captain Drakovitch, the officer who led the bodyguard in theirbelated ride to the King's aid, had told him that a waiter, JohnSobieski by name, had arrived breathless at the President's house manyminutes before the actual alarm was given. Sobieski had sobbed out someincoherent words about the King, and the Seventh Regiment; but PrinceMichael, who was in the courtyard, snapped up the man immediately,bidding him hold his tongue, and hurrying him inside the building. Oncethere, Sobieski became more confused than ever. Prince Michael obviouslyregarded him as a crazy rumor-monger until Nesimir appeared. The latter,by reason of his local knowledge, instantly appreciated the truesignificance of an attack on the King in a crowded thoroughfare by agang whom Sobieski was sure he had identified correctly.

  Nevertheless, precious time had been consumed by the elder Delgrado'sinterference. The President acted with promptitude; but the outcome wasclear. If it had not been for Bosko, the King must have fallen.

  "Gods!" vowed Drakovitch in his emphatic story to Felix, "there were welounging about smoking cigarettes while his Majesty was in a fair way tobe cut in pieces! A nice state of affairs! If some one had not warnedStampoff, we might have been too late!"

  "Better not mention it in public," was Poluski's advice. "The merenotion of the resultant disaster would make Prince Michael seriouslyill. Moreover, such things grow in the telling, and the story will betraced back to you."

  The other had agreed, and Felix followed his own counsel by withholdingfrom Joan all knowledge of the unpleasant mischance that had nearly costthe lives of the King and his companions in the besieged hotel. But histhoughts were busy, and, when he found Sobieski detained in theentrance hall, he consigned Joan and her maid to the care of a servant,briefly explaining that they were to be taken to Princess Delgrado, andforthwith questioned his fellow countryman.

  Sobieski was quaking with fear. The scornful disbelief expressed byPrince Michael had discomfited him at the beginning, and now he waspractically under arrest until his connection with the outrage wasinvestigated officially. One of Stampoff's messengers had alreadyannounced the King's safety, or by this time Sobieski must have becomethe lunatic Prince Michael took him to be.

  "What then, my friend, they did not credit your tale, I hear?" saidFelix genially, and the sound of his voice drove some of the misery fromthe waiter's pallid cheeks.

  "It was my fault, monsieur. I ran so fast that I lost my breath and thegentleman could not understand me."

  "Ah, is that it? Did you speak Polish?"

  "No, no, monsieur. I always speak Serbian here."

  "And what did you say?"

  "Just what you told me to say,--that the King was in danger and that thePresident was to send troops instantly to the Fuerst Michaelstrasse. Thenthe old gentleman, he whom they call Prince Michael, came up and said hedid not believe a word of it."

  "Mon Dieu! He understood you, it appears?"

  "Perhaps not, monsieur. I made a hash of it, especially when I told himMonsieur Poluski sent me."

  "Sure you mentioned that?"

  "Quite sure, monsieur. It was then he ordered me inside the house. Themention of your name seemed to annoy him. For a little while he couldsay nothing but 'Poluski, Poluski! Is he in it?' I swore you had nothingto do with the plot, monsieur, but had acted throughout as the King'sfriend; then he stormed at me again, and called me a blockhead forcoming to the palace with such a mad story. He asked me what I thoughtwould have been the consequence if the Princess heard me, and I sai
d Iknew nothing about any Princess; I was only quite sure the King would beslain if some one did not hasten to his rescue."

  "But some one had more sense, some one listened?" said Felix dryly.

  "Ah, yes. When the President came down the stairs, Prince Michael wentto meet him, laughing all the time at my romancing, as he called it. ButI shouted out, being quite desperate then, and Monsieur Nesimir heardme. Of course, by that time, I was in such a state that my knees shook.I was certain the King would be found dead, and perhaps you, monsieur,and then would there be no one to prove that I was not mixed up in theaffair, so people would think I ran to the palace in order to save myown skin. I nearly dropped with fear, feeling that so many minutes werebeing lost, and that made me more nervous than ever when I wasanswering Monsieur Nesimir's questions."

  Poluski's worn face exhibited no more emotion than if he was a gravenimage, but his voice was sympathetic. "At any rate, everything has endedhappily, friend John," said he. "The King is alive, you did your duty,and you will find him not unmindful of your services. By whose order areyou detained here?"

  The excited waiter began to snivel. "I don't know, monsieur. Prayintercede for me and have me set at liberty, or I shall lose mysituation if it gets about that I have been arrested. My patron willhave nothing to do with politics. He says his business is to sell beerand coffee, and all parties are equally fond of his goods."

  Felix, who was already being eyed askance by the presidential hangers-onin the entrance lobby, returned to the courtyard and appealed to theofficer in charge of the escort. A brief conversation with an officialelicited the fact that Sobieski awaited Prince Michael's commands.

  "Then bring Prince Michael here," said Poluski.

  "Monsieur!" An astounded flunky could say no more; but this impudenthunchback was in no wise abashed.

  "Exactly, Monsieur Felix Poluski wishes to see his Excellency at once.Tell him that, and it will suffice."

  The lackey was forced to yield, and, much to his surprise, PrinceMichael did not hesitate an instant in obeying that imperative summons.An expression of annoyance flitted across his florid features when hefound Poluski standing near the trembling waiter; but he tackled thesituation with nonchalance.

  "Have you been here long, Felix?" he inquired. "No one told me you hadarrived. Your young lady friend has been taken to the Princess--at herown request, I am given to understand. Dreadful business, thisunforeseen attack on my son, isn't it? I must confess that I didn'tcredit a word of it when this poor fellow rushed in with his brokentale. Ah, by the way, I gave some orders in my alarm that may have beenmisinterpreted." He dug a hand into a pocket; but withdrew it, empty.

  "His Majesty will see to it that you are suitably rewarded," he said toSobieski. "Meanwhile, you have my hearty thanks, and I regret that anyhasty words of mine should have caused you inconvenience. You can go atonce, of course."

  Sobieski made off, well pleased that his stormy career in the whirlpoolof state affairs was ended. But Felix shook hands with him and saidquietly:

  "I will not forget."

  Prince Michael seized Poluski's arm with a fine assumption of dignifiedcordiality. "So it was really you who sent that stammering youth withsuch an astounding message? Come, then. Tell me all about it. Was Alecactually in peril?"

  He drew Felix up the stairs, out of earshot of the servants andorderlies in the wide hall. Felix sniffed.

  "Odd thing," he grinned. "You are a Prince and I am an anarchist, yetboth of us need a nip of brandy when we are disturbed. But I have thebetter of you in one respect, my dear Michael. My hand doesn't shake.Now, yours----"

  The clasp on his arm loosened, lost some of its friendliness, and PrinceDelgrado stood for an instant on the stairs.

  "I tried to show a calm front before the others; but the predicament myson was in found the weak place in my armor," he said.

  "My case exactly," said Felix. "Joan diagnosed the symptoms, and dosedme with cognac. You, I imagine, were your own physician."

  "Ah, since you mention the lady, who is she?"

  "Joan? A female divinity, one of the few charming women left in theworld."

  "Admirable! One can associate those qualities with residence in Paris;but in Delgratz, Felix, one finds them unusual--shall I say out ofplace?"

  "If I were you, Monseigneur, I would learn to regard her in a totallydifferent light. Joan ought to be at home here, because she is yourprospective daughter in law."

  Michael Delgrado could govern his nervous system with some measure ofsuccess when words were the only weapons that threatened. He did notflinch now; but threw open the door of the nearest room on the upperfloor. It chanced to be the apartment in which President Nesimir hadreceived Alec and Stampoff on that memorable morning, barely a monthago, when the young King came to Delgratz to claim his patrimony.Neither man was aware of the coincidence that led Michael to slam thedoor, place his back against it, and gurgle a question:

  "Are you jesting, Felix?"

  "Quarter of an hour ago I was on the point of being introduced to a grimpersonage who would have squeezed the last joke out of me," saidPoluski. "His name was Death, Pallida Mors, who steps with even stridefrom the huts of the poor to the palace of the King, and he gave me sucha fright that I shall be in no mood all day for any display of humor.Why, man, don't you realize that I have been under this roof fully fiveminutes without experiencing the slightest desire to sing?"

  "But, Felix, do be in earnest for once. What is this you tell me? Howcan Alexis III. marry this woman, this adventuress?"

  Poluski's big gray eyes narrowed into slits, and the hump on hisshoulders became more pronounced as his head drooped forward a little;but his smooth tones did not falter, and his uneasy hearer thought hefound a note of friendly commiseration in them.

  "A hard word, Michael, hard and unjust. Joan is no adventuress," hesaid. "We old birds are too ready to condemn a young and pretty womanwho falls in love with a King; but in the present instance criticism isdisarmed, since Joan was in love with Alec when he had no more worldlywealth than the endowment of your princely name, and when his chance ofbecoming King of Kosnovia was as remote as--what shall I say?--well, asyour own."

  Michael came away from the door and stood looking out at the window. Itafforded a partial view of the courtyard and the fairly wide streetbeyond the gate. "I know, of course, that your ideas and mine on thesesubjects differ very greatly," he said after a pause, and with aperceptible return to his grandiose manner; "but as you say rightly,both of us are old enough to realize that a reigning King can marry nonebut a Princess of some royal house. Again, the King of Kosnovia mustmarry a Serb. There you have two fixed principles, so to speak, each ofwhich renders it impossible for a lady who rejoices apparently in noother name than Joan----"

  "Joan Vernon," put in Felix, producing a cigarcase, an exact replica ofthat containing the bombs, and selecting one of the long thin cigars hefavored.

  "Ah, certainly. The Princess spoke to her in Vienna, and ascertained hername then. Well, Miss Joan Vernon cannot, by the very nature of things,become Queen of Kosnovia. It is not that I disapprove of the notion,Felix; it is simply impossible."

  Poluski struck a match and began to smoke furiously. Delgrado probablyexpected him to say something; but he waited in vain, since Felix seemedto be far more perturbed by the suspected existence of a hole in theouter wrapping of the cigar, and futile efforts to close it with the tipof a finger, than by the princely hinting at a morganatic marriage.

  Perforce, Prince Michael resumed the discussion. "I am stating the factscalmly and without prejudice," he said. "I assume that you are notmisleading me or that some sort of lovers' vows exists between theseyoung people?"

  He paused again. Poluski was triumphant. He had found the hole, appliedthe surgical method of a tourniquet by pressure, and the cigar wasdrawing perfectly.

  "Having said so much, Felix, you might be sufficiently communicative inother respects," growled Delgrado, turning angrily from the window.

&nb
sp; "_Parbleu!_ I left you to do the talking, Monseigneur. This devil of acigar has been bored by a weevil, and was broken winded till I stoppedthe leak. You were saying?"

  "That Alec Delgrado might have married your young friend; but KingAlexis III. cannot."

  "He will," said Felix, grinning complacently.

  "If he does, it will cost him his throne."

  "Poof! For a man of the world, Michael, you utter opinions that aresingularly inept. I think you were driving just now at the acceptedtheory of royal alliances? If it holds good for Alec, it affects you,his father. You didn't marry a Princess, but happily secured a good,honest American lady, sufficiently endowed with good, honest Americandollars to keep you in luxury throughout your useless life. If there issome law which says that Alec cannot make Joan a Queen, the same lawwould prevent him from being a King. But it doesn't. King he is, andKing he will remain as long as it pleases God to keep him in good healthand save him from the miserable rascals who tried to assassinate himto-day--and their like. What you want, Michael, is a friend who is notafraid to warn you. Now, for the hour, kindly regard me as filling thatuseful capacity. After twenty-five years of extravagance you havemanaged, I suppose, to exhaust your excellent wife's fortune. You cameto Delgratz this morning for the express purpose of drawing freshsupplies from the Kosnovian treasury. Well, you haven't met your sonyet; but when you suggest that he should begin to impoverish his peopleto maintain you in idle pomp in Paris, I fancy you will find himadamant. That is not his theory of governing. If it was, he wouldneither marry Joan nor be alive at this moment, since Heaven saw fit tointrust me with the control of both his bride and his life.

  "One thing more I have to say, Michael, and then I have finished, unlessyou press me too hardly. Let us suppose Alec had fallen in to-day'sattempt. Whom do you think would succeed him? Michael V. Not for fiveminutes! You know now, and I have known all along, that the realinstigator of the May outbreak was Julius Marulitch and his Greek bearleader, Constantine Beliani. You were inspired, Michael, when youresigned your claims in favor of your son. Those two meant to put youforward as their puppet and shove you to the wall as soon as theDelgrado line was restored and they were able to pull the strings herein safety. They never dreamed that Alec, the careless, happy-go-luckyboy, the polo player and haunter of studios, would prove a stumblingblock in the path of royal progress. You were a mere pawn, Michael. Theycounted on pushing you out of the way as easily as if you were a baby ina perambulator. What was true a month ago is more true now. Go down onyour knees and thank Heaven that it saw fit to preserve your son's lifethis afternoon; for his life alone stands between you and the abyss!

  "Now, I have spoken, and--name of a good little gray man!--you don'tseem to like the hearing. But do not forget what I have said, Michael. Ihave poured forth a stream of golden words. It will be well for you ifyou are never called on to apply other test to their value than your ownjudgment; for as sure as the day dawns that you dream of reigning inDelgratz, so surely will you dig your own grave with a shovel lent bythe devil."

  Poluski ceased, and apparently expected no answer. He, too, went to awindow and gazed out at the sunlit vista of graveled courtyard andyellow buildings.

  Already there were long patches of shade; for the day was closing. Afoot regiment marched past the palace gates, and Prince Michael mighthave remembered that in Delgratz a sentry with a loaded rifle guardseach street after sunset. But his bloated face was curiously haggard,and his prominent eyes looked at the soldiers with the unconsciousaspect of a man whose castle in Spain had suddenly proved itself themost deceptive of mirages. Perhaps, for a brief space, he saw himself asFelix saw him, and a species of horror may have fallen on him at themere conceit that another man was able to peep into his heart andsurprise there the foul notion that had seized him when John Sobieskibrought the tidings of his son's desperate plight.

  Be that as it may, Prince Michael Delgrado offered no reply to thedecrepit, poverty stricken artist who had dared to unmask him in suchexceedingly plain terms. Not a word passed between them during manyminutes. The shuffling tramp and dust of the regiment died away, and thethoroughfare beyond the gates had resumed its normal condition when anew animation was given to the courtyard by a loud order and the hurriedassembly of the guard.

  "Good!" said Felix contentedly. "Here comes the King! Your Excellencywill now receive confirmation of some of my statements. As for the rest,if I am proved right in some respects, it will be a first rate idea toaccept the remainder without proof."

  Delgrado shot a baleful glance at the hunchback; but ignored hiscomment. "If it is not indiscreet of a parent to betray some interest ina son's prospective happiness, may I venture again to inquire who MissJoan Vernon is?"

  "I think I answered you."

  "In general terms. Feminine divinity and charm should be thecharacteristics of all brides; but these delectable beings do not enterthe world fully formed, like Venus Aphrodite newly risen from the sea ofCyprus."

  "Oh, to me it suffices that she exists, and is Joan. I have known her awhole year, during her student life in Paris, in fact. Your simile waswell chosen, Monseigneur. Aphrodite came with the spring, and so cameJoan."

  "And before Paris?"

  "The New England section of America, I believe. Her mother died whenJoan was a child; her father was in the navy and was drowned."

  "An artist, you say?"

  "Artistic would be the better description. She is too rich ever to paintwell."

  "Rich!"

  "As artists go. She has an income of two hundred pounds a year."

  "Ah, bah!"

  "Don't be so contemptuous of five thousand francs. They go a longway--with care. I believe that my dear Joan spends all her money ondress, and keeps soup in the pot by copying pictures. But she will makea lovely Queen. _Saperlotte!_ I must paint her in purple and ermine."

  Yielding to the spell of the vision thus conjured up, Felix forgot hisracked nerves and sang lustily a stanza from "Masaniello." PrinceMichael flung out of the room to meet his son; but the strains followedhim down the stairs.

  Yet Poluski was thinking while he sang, and the burden of his thoughtwas that this anxious father had asked him no word as to the scene inthat bullet swept room, nor the means whereby Alec and his friends weresnatched from death.

  Very different was the meeting between Joan and Princess Delgrado. Thepanic stricken mother, scarce crediting the assurance given her by thePresident's family that there were no grounds for the disquieting rumorsthat arose from Sobieski's appeal for help, was in an agony of dreadwhen the first undoubted version of the true occurrence was brought byStampoff's courier.

  The arrival of Joan, of one who had actually been in her son's companyuntil the danger was passed, though helping to dispel her terror,aroused a consuming desire to learn exactly what had happened. Joan, ofcourse, could only describe the siege and their state of suspense untilthe soldiers cleared the street of the would-be assassins. As to themotive of the outrage or the manner in which it reached its suddencrisis, she had no more knowledge than the Princess, and a quite naturalquestion occurred to the older woman when Joan told how Felix Poluskihad startled the King and herself by his warning cry.

  "My son had gone to visit you, then?" she said, not without a shadow ofresentment at the fact that he had discovered this girl's whereaboutsreadily enough, though seemingly there was none to tell him that hisfather and mother were in the city and longing to see him.

  Joan flushed at the words; but her answer carried conviction. "I do notyet understand just how or when Felix discovered that the King's lifewas threatened," she said; "but there can be no doubt it was a ruse onhis part to distract the attention of the mob when he told his Majestythat I was in the hotel.--I chanced to be looking out--and I was veryangry with Felix when I saw that he had stopped the King and wasevidently informing him of my presence."

  "Then my son did not know you were in Delgratz?"

  "He had no notion I was any nearer than Paris."

&
nbsp; "What an amazing chapter of accidents that you should be in Delgratzto-day, and, under Providence, become the means of saving Alec's life;for it is quite clear to me now that had he gone a few yards farther hewould have been shot down without mercy!"

  Joan colored even more deeply. Her pride demanded that she should nolonger sail under a false flag, yet it was a seeming breach of maidenlyreserve that she should announce her own betrothal. It would have comeeasier if she could claim more consideration from this kind faced,pleasant voiced woman than was warranted by the casual acquaintance of arailway journey. But Alec had sent her to his mother, and Joan's naturewould not permit her to carry on the deception, though it might becapable of the most plausible explanation afterward.

  "I feel I ought to tell you," she said, and the blood suddenly ebbedaway from her face to her throbbing heart. "Alec and I were friends inParis. We were fond of each other; but gave not much heed to it, since Iwas poor and he told me he had his way to make in the world. He wrote tome a few days ago, asking me to marry him. I did not know what to say,when chance threw in my way a commission to copy a picture in this verycity. Put in such words, it all sounds very mad and unconvincing; but itis true, and it is equally true that I should never have acknowledgedto-day that I returned his love if--if I did not think--for a few awfulminutes--that we should both be killed. And--and--I wanted to die in hisarms!"

  Joan began to cry, and Princess Delgrado cried too, and it was in tearsthat King Alexis III. found them when he had returned Prince Michael'sstately greeting and was told that the young American lady who had comefrom the shattered hotel was in his mother's room.