Behind the Throne

by William Le Queux

his private cabinet atthe Ministry of War at nine o'clock in the morning, and frequently senthome by his private secretary urgent papers which he could examine andinitial after dinner, as he had done that day. His wife and daughterwere up at the villa near Florence for the vintage, and he was alone andundisturbed. He had not even troubled to change for dinner, but wasstill in the linen suit he had worn during the day, and had merelyexchanged his white coat for an easy black alpaca one.

  As Minister of War, his salary was one thousand pounds sterling perannum, an amount quite inadequate for his needs. True, he travelledfree in his private saloon on the railway, but yet he had a mostuncomfortable time of it owing to the fact that he was expected by hisfriends to repay them for services rendered with the gift of offices,favours, introductions, and recommendations. Wherever he went he wasbesieged by a host of people who wanted favours, exemptions of theirsons from military service, increased stipend, or the redressing of someact of official injustice or petty tyranny.

  His wife, too, was pestered with "recommendations" to him; for withoutrecommendations nothing could be obtained. If he went to inspect thegarrison of a provincial town, the prefect, the mayor, the head of the_carabinieri_, and the most prominent citizens called on him every day;while when in the country the wheezy village band played operatic airsoutside his window every evening, alternated with a chorus of childrenfrom the elementary schools.

  His sovereign, King Humbert, although good-natured and brave, was tooeasy-going and lacking in moral stamina to make a really strong monarch,hence the whole Cabinet, from the Prime Minister downwards, were guiltyof grave irregularities, if not of actual corruption. The fault,however, lay with the system, rather than with the men. How could aCabinet Minister entertain lavishly and keep up appearances upon a merethousand pounds a year, when he had no private means?

  Happily, the present hard-working, cultivated king, Victor Emmanuel theThird, has mastered all the details of state business, and has swept hisCabinet clean of those men who abused their position under his lamentedfather, until the whole face of Italian politics has entirely changedsince the days when Camillo Morini held office as head of the army.

  Under the late King Humbert, Ministers were often chosen, not becausethey were capable statesmen, but simply because it was necessary that aparticular region should be represented in the Cabinet, so as not toarouse local jealousies. In any case, their tenure of office was tooprecarious and too short to enable them to do much good work, andwhatever the Minister managed to do would probably be undone by hissuccessor.

  Morini would have gone out of office half a dozen times had he notsucceeded, by judicious bribery, in obtaining protection from hisenemies. Indeed, he only retained office by dint of his own ingenuityand clever diplomacy towards those who were ever trying to hound himdown. Not only did he bear the great responsibility of the army, but,in common with other members of the Cabinet, the greater part of hisactivity was absorbed in the manipulation of party groups in the Chamberand in studying parliamentary exigencies. He had to judiciouslysubsidise certain newspapers in view of a general election, make use ofthe secret service fund in certain quarters, and be careful not toshower too many favours on one province; for if he offended anyparticular town, the local deputy, hitherto a staunch ministerialist,would turn and rend him.

  Truly his position, head of an army costing sixteen millions annually,and with a multitude of people bent on getting something out of him, wasthe reverse of comfortable. He would have resigned long ago had hedared, but resignation or dismissal from office would, he knew only toowell, spell ruin to him. So he was held there in an office of briberyand dishonesty, which he had grown to regard with bitter hatred. He hadserved through three administrations, it was true, and was a trustedservant of his king, yet the daily worry of it all, the ever-presentfear of exposure and of downfall, held him in constant apprehension of afuture ruin and obscurity.

  The dead silence of the night was unbroken save by the scratching of hisquill as he scribbled his signature upon one after another of the pileof various papers at his elbow.

  He wrote mechanically, for he was reflecting upon that scene in hiscabinet when the captain of Cacciatori Alpini had broken his swordacross his knee.

  "A clever fellow!" he murmured. "He thought to bluff me, but he did notknow how closely I had had him watched. If I did not know all that Ido, I really believe I should have thought him innocent. A good actor.I will send his broken sword as a present to that doddering old fool,his general--as a souvenir of his visit to Rome without leave!" helaughed to himself, still continuing to sign the commissions anddecrees.

  Of a sudden there was a rap at the big white doors at the end of thedimly lit room, and a gorgeously dressed man-servant in stockings andgold-laced coat advanced to the table, saying--

  "The Onorevole Ricci desires to see your Excellency."

  "Pig's head! Didn't I give orders that I was not at home?" he cried,turning furiously upon the man.

  "But your Excellency is always at home to the Signor Deputato?" theservant reminded him, surprised at the sudden outburst of anger.

  "Ah!" growled his master. "Yes, you are right, Antonio! I forgot thatI told you I was always at home to him. I must see him, I suppose," hesighed, and when the man had gone his brow contracted, his teethclenched; yet almost before he could recover his self-possession thelong white doors reopened, and his visitor--a short, dark-bearded,middle-aged man in evening dress--was ushered in.

  "Ah, my dear Camillo!" he cried enthusiastically, advancing towards theMinister, who rose and took his hand. "I only arrived in Rome thisafternoon, and heard you had returned from England. Well, and how areyou after your holiday? I suppose I may take a cigar?" he asked,crossing to the cigar-box, opening it, and selecting one.

  "The rest was welcome," answered the other calmly, stretching his armsabove his head and glancing furtively at the new-comer as though he heldhim in some suspicion. He was a pleasant-looking man, a trifle stout,with a round, sun-bronzed face, as though fond of good living, while hisperfectly fitting dress-suit was cut in a style which showed it to bethe garment of a London tailor. He possessed the careless, easy mannerof the gentleman, striking a match and lighting his cigar with afamiliarity which showed that he was no stranger to the Minister's roof.

  "I too have been in the country for quite a long while," he said--"atAsti. I have to visit the electors now and then just to make thempromises and put them in a good-humour."

  "Or they would hound you out, Vito--eh?--just as the Socialists wouldthrow me out if they could," laughed His Excellency drily, walking tothe cigar-box, selecting one, and lighting it.

  "And Her Excellency and the signorina?" inquired the deputy.

  "They are up at the villa. They always go there for the vintage."

  "Of course, Rome in September is only fit for us politicians and theEnglish tourists. I wonder you are back so early."

  "Duty, my dear Vito," replied the other. "One day, when you areMinister, you will find that you had much more leisure as advocate inTurin and deputy for Asti."

  "I suppose so," he laughed. Then he added, "I met Angelo in the club anhour ago. He has also been in England, it seems. I think I shall go toEngland next summer--if you invite me."

  "Which is not likely."

  "Why?"

  "Because when I am in England I like to be away from all my officialduties," frankly answered Morini. "They don't even know who or what Iam--and I delight in keeping them in ignorance."

  "Then why did you invite Angelo? I am jealous, you see."

  "Because I wished to consult him upon a confidential matter."

  "Regarding an army contract tendered you by a German firm," replied theother, carelessly blowing a cloud of smoke from his lips as he stoodwith his back to the huge open grate. "You may as well tell the truth,my dear friend."

  The Minister, starting, looked at him sharply, and asked--

  "How did you know?"

  "Never min
d how I know, Camillo. It is, as you see, useless for you totry and deceive me. You have given the contract to those Germans--for aconsideration. But don't think that I blame you. Why, I should do thevery same thing myself. I get a little in my own small way out ofcertain people in Asti, but not enough. That's why I am compelled, somuch against my will, to come to you."

  "Ah!" groaned the Minister, facing him quickly and determinedly. "Thesame old story--eh? Money."

  "Like air, it is a necessity of life," he replied, smiling. "I havebeen in want of it for a month past, but preferred to wait rather thanto trouble you while you were on holiday."

  "But you surely get enough now!" protested His Excellency. "I'veobtained a dozen different