A Dash for a Throne

by Arthur W. Marchmont

  CHAPTER V

  THE SCENT OF TREACHERY

  When I reached the castle, Captain von Krugen met me with severalstories about steps which von Nauheim had taken to contest my authority.Orders I had given had been countermanded, and several arrangementschanged. These things were small in themselves, but as his object wasevidently to fight my influence and dispute my authority, I deemed itbest to put my foot down at once.

  I sent for all to whom the contradictory instructions had been given,and then requested von Nauheim's presence. At first he would not come,and then I sent the captain to tell him exactly what I meant to do, andthat if he did not come every man and woman in the place would be warnedto take no orders from him under pain of instant dismissal. Von Krugencarried the message with glee, and it roused the count to such angerthat he came at once in a fury. Without giving him time to speak, Isaid:

  "I sent for you, Count von Nauheim, because these good people here arein some difficulty as to where they are to look for orders. Will youexplain to them that, although the Prince has left his fortune to hisdaughter, the castle passes to me with the headship of the house, andthat, as at times like these there can be only one master, they musttake their orders from me, and that where any instructions clash withmine they must be referred to me?"

  He eyed me angrily, but could not dispute what I implied.

  "I am no mouthpiece for you," he answered sullenly. "I have beenaccustomed to control matters here, for an obvious reason known to everyone, that I have the honor to be the Countess Minna's affianced husband.What object, then, have you for any change?"

  "Will you tell them what I have said, or will you compel me to issueperemptory orders, and cancel openly what you have done?" I asked in aquick, resolute tone, but low enough to be heard only by him.

  "If you dare to humiliate me in that way----" he began.

  "Quick, decide," I interposed sharply. "There can't be two mastershere."

  He hesitated, glancing first at and then away from me, while I kept myeyes fixed steadily on his face.

  "Quick," I repeated sternly.

  "Curse you, I'll make you pay for this!" he swore under his breath, witha vicious scowl. Then aloud, "Of course you people will understand thatfor the moment the present Prince here is your master," and with a waveof the hand he indicated me. He did it as ungraciously as he dared, andas soon as he had finished he left the room.

  The effect of the incident was twofold--it strengthened my authority inthe castle, and it made it more difficult than ever for me to draw back.But I had no thought now of doing that. I felt that I had cut off myretreat; and that, although I would much rather have told the CountessMinna exactly what my position was, any such candor was for the momentat least quite out of the question.

  Of the girl herself I saw nothing during the next few days, and I passedthe time absorbing all the information I could get, and trying to form aplan of campaign.

  I guessed that nothing would be done by the agents of the Ostenburgfamily until a sufficient time had elapsed after the Prince's funeral tomake it plain what we intended to do; and I judged that their next movewould be determined by our own acts.

  The funeral took place and directly afterward von Nauheim left thecastle without acquainting me with his plans; and for four or five daysfollowing the Countess Minna gave no sign of a desire to see me. I beganto grow impatient. I had no wish to force myself on her or into herconfidence, but it was imperative that I should at least learn herwishes both in regard to von Nauheim and the big scheme of which hermarriage was a part. In the mean time von Krugen was urging me to cometo a decision to strike a blow to show our friends in Munich that wewere going on with the matter.

  I had come to the conclusion, however, that there was no chance whateverof carrying through any such plot as the old Prince had attempted. If ithad ever been practicable to carry it out successfully, the chance hadpassed when the son, Gustav, had been killed. Up to that time there had,indeed, been a pretty widespread sympathy with the movement; and if abold coup had been made, the lunatic King kidnapped, the young fellowproclaimed, and the Prince's power, shrewdness, and enormous influencethrown into the scales, it was possible that enough strength might havebeen paraded in the country to force the hands of the ImperialGovernment. But with the death of the son went half the support; and nowwith the death of the Prince I judged that more than half the remainderwould go. It seemed to me, therefore, a sheer impossibility to carrysuch a scheme through successfully. The utmost I could hope to achievewould be to make such terms as should secure the safety of the CountessMinna, as well as of those who had been concerned in the plot thus far.

  Obviously they were compromised up to the hilt; and the manner in whichGustav's death had been compassed showed that among the Ostenburginterest there were men of great daring and recklessness ready to go toany length in defence of their own. They were on the winning side now,moreover, and I deemed it certain that to whatever lengths they might gothey were pretty certain to secure the covert sanction of theauthorities at Berlin. Berlin would side with the successful, Ireckoned. Thus the more closely I probed the situation the less I likedit.

  But in these desperate circumstances, where each man who took a part wasplaying with his life, what was a coward like von Nauheim doing? Even ifhe was angling to get possession of the wealth which would be theportion of the countess, he was not the man to run his neck into anoose: and whoever married the Countess Minna would inevitably have aspart of that dowry the implacable enmity of her enemies.

  What, then, ought I to do? My instincts were all in favor of strikingsome kind of blow, and of being the attacker instead of waiting to beattacked. We appeared to be in danger of being squeezed out ofexistence. Our supporters were falling away, our position growingweaker, and our resources becoming feebler the longer we waited. If wecould only effect some little thing, it seemed that we should be in abetter position to negotiate than if we merely did nothing. But whatcould we do?

  There was another serious danger in delay, moreover, arising out of theconsummate uncertainty of my own position. It was one thing to bemistaken for the rightful heir to the Prince, but quite another toattempt to make good that claim legally; and I soon had a sharp reminderof this.

  The old lawyer who had acted for the Prince came to me a few days afterthe funeral for his instructions. I expressed in a general way what Iwished, and then he said:

  "There are certain of the estates which have always gone with the title,and should go now. It would be possible to make a claim to them againstthe actual provisions of the will."

  He put it suggestively.

  "I shall make no claim," I answered. "I do not for a moment intend tointerfere with the Prince's disposition of matters."

  "But he would have wished you to have them, I know. Indeed, I haveletters from him to that effect."

  "I shall not interfere with the will," I returned, rather abruptly.

  "They are very rich estates."

  "That makes no difference to me."

  "The cost of maintaining the dignity of your Highness's title andposition will be very heavy, and without them scarcely practicable."

  "I have my private fortune, and that will and must suffice."

  "Indeed!" he exclaimed in surprise. "I thought I knew to a mark theextent of your mother's small income. It is derived almost entirely fromthe Graffenheim property; and I understand that within the last few daysyou have ordered it to be sold. Do you not intend your affairs to remainin my hands?"

  Here was clearly a mess I had not foreseen. The real man was getting ridof his German property when he turned Frenchman.

  "You will certainly have my confidence, my dear sir," I said, in acarefully courteous manner. "And of course my affairs will remain inyour hands. This, however, is only a very small thing, and I did notknow of my uncle's death when I put it in hand."

  "The Prince was always desirous of purchasing that property, because, asyou know, it lies in the midst of the Gramberg estates. If y
ou wish tosell it I should advise the Countess Minna to purchase it."

  "I shall not sell it to the Countess Minna," I said, at a loss how toparry him. "I mean that probably I shall withdraw it from salealtogether now."

  He looked at me in such surprise that I saw he knew something which mademy reply ridiculous; but, being afraid to offend me, he said no moreabout it, and answered:

  "That is, of course, just as you will. Then should I get on with thepreparation of the papers of formal proof of your succession?"

  "I don't know what is wanted," said I indifferently, though the man'swords had sprung a mine under my very feet.

  "Mere formalities, of course; just tracing your descent. Thecertificates of birth and such matters."

  "Oh, yes; whatever is necessary you may prepare. Will it take long?"

  His answer would tell me what time I should have for the whole business.

  "No. A day or two--not more."

  The reply filled me with consternation. I could not possibly make alegal claim to what did not belong to me; and yet I must havetime--weeks, at least, and probably months. I let no sign of my feelingshow in my face, but sat impassively thoughtful. Then, as if debating apoint, I answered:

  "You will have to create some delay in the matter. It is useless keepingmy confidence from you. This will of the Prince's leaves me nothing butthe castle, and that seems to have been about the only part of hisproperty that he had mortgaged; so that practically there is nothing.Whether I shall accept the inheritance, therefore--and, of course, thetitle with it--is a question I have yet to decide; and I must have aslong a time for that decision as possible; but, mark you, no one mustknow of this but yourself. This is my first confidential commission toyou. Certain things might determine me at once; but marriages cannot bearranged in a week. You understand? And I have no fancy for the life ofa man weighted with a big title and no means to support it properly."

  He bowed as if in acquiescence, although this glaring contradiction ofwhat I had said only a minute before obviously perplexed anddisconcerted him.

  "And now that you have my confidence," I said, laying great stress onthe word, "tell me how long can we postpone these formalities--or, inother words, how long can I have to carry out my--my plan?" And Ismiled slightly, as though the plan were some such matrimonial one as Ihad hinted at.

  "A month, perhaps two months, without provoking much comment--of course,provided there is no opposition," he replied cautiously.

  "I will find a way to deal with any opposition," said I promptly. "Andnow we understand one another."

  With that I dismissed him. I saw the danger of this new development. Theleast suspicion would inevitably cause inquiry; and the most superficialinquiry would as inevitably bring the whole house of cards tumblingabout my ears. But I had certainly one month, and perhaps two; and Imust put the time to the best use I could.

  The question of what that use should be was considerably influenced byvon Nauheim, who returned that night, and immediately sought aninterview with me. I noticed at once a marked change in his attitude.

  "I want a confidential talk with you, Prince," he said; "and before webegin I wish to say I am very sorry I made a bear of myself to youbefore the funeral. But I was frightfully upset at the Prince's suddendeath. It seemed to me that all our plans were going to the devil, andit was impossible for a man who had had only a student's career likeyours to be of any use in such a case as ours. I own that I tried tofrighten you into leaving here without going into matters; and then itwas I saw what a different kind of man you were. But I was too wild toown it."

  "And what has changed you since?"

  "I've been in Munich in conference with our friends there to ascertainwhat effect the Prince's death will have."

  "Well?"

  "Von Krugen tells me you know everything, and the long and short of itis that if you'll join us we shall all be only too glad to have yourhelp. I need scarcely tell you that those who stand by us now will reapthe harvest when we've succeeded. It's deuced hard on you to have thewhole of the Prince's fortune left away to Minna. Once this thing getsthrough she won't want it, of course; and it'll be my business to seethat the Gramberg estates go with the title. I give you my word onthat."

  The man was lying, of course; but it wouldn't do to show that I knew it.

  "I don't think the terms are high enough," said I quietly, as ifweighing them. "The risk is enormous."

  "It might be if we were not certain of success."

  "And we certainly are not."

  "Why, what can stand in the way? The feeling against the King growsevery day. What do you think is his last freak? Another confoundedpalace, and this time underground. It will cost millions ofmarks--millions. Do you suppose the people are going to put up foreverwith this sort of thing? It has only just leaked out in Munich; and Itell you, man, the whole country will take fire and clamor for hisdeposition. There never was such a chance, and never will be suchanother."

  There was a ring of sincerity in this indignation quite foreign to hisusual manner, and I could not understand it.

  "And what is your plan?" I asked.

  "To strike--and strike at once," he cried loudly, dashing his fist downon the table, "while Munich is mad with anger."

  It was plausible enough, but I knew the man for a scoundrel.

  "And my cousin--what does she say?" I asked.

  "She can have no choice," he returned readily. "She must leave thesethings to us. She has a kind of reluctance, I know, and her heart hasnever been really in the work. But she is pledged to the finger-tips andcan't draw back--at least without betraying the lot of us, as well asruining herself. Sometimes I wish, indeed, that she had more spirit. HadI known she felt so strongly I should never have gone in so deepmyself."

  "Before I decide anything I must know her wishes," I said.

  "Her wishes will be ours--if we make her understand that the alternativewill be the ruin of all who have taken up her cause, and probably thedeath of every man here. Of course you'll force this home upon her?"

  "It must first be forced home on me," said I.

  "You know von Krugen's views," he urged.

  He was showing too much earnestness now, and his whole manner wassuggestive of a secret purpose. What it was I could not guess, ofcourse; but no one could fail to read it in his manner.

  "Yes, I know von Krugen's views; but I am accustomed to form my ownopinions and to act on my own judgment."

  "If you will come with me to Munich, I will give you plenty of facts toconvince you."

  He spoke with an assumption of lightness in his tone, and accompaniedthe words with a shrug of the shoulders, as of indifference. But the manwas as easy to read as a book in some respects. I saw instantly that hehad approached one of the chief points at which he had been aiming.

  "Of course I will go with you to Munich," I answered readily; and amomentary flash of pleasure in his eyes gave me the clew I needed. Itwas at Munich that Minna's brother had been inveigled into the duel andkilled, and this man had come back from there with some such planagainst myself. My death would leave the girl absolutely without afriend in the world.

  The game was indeed becoming engrossing in its interests; and at thatmoment I began to see the course I would take to cut the coils whichthreatened her.

  "Before I go," I added, after a pause that was scarcely perceptible forall the revelation that had come to me in it, "I will see my cousin, andhear from her lips what she wishes."

  "We will see her at once," he answered instantly.

  "With your permission, I will see her alone."

  "That is rather a strange request, Prince," he returned in a tone ofsurprise, "considering she is my promised wife. What reason have you formaking it?"

  "I wish her to speak freely to me, unfettered by either you or vonKrugen's insistent persuasions. She will speak more freely alone, and,as head of the house, I choose my own steps."

  "I see no reason for it," he replied sharply. "Do you suggest Iintimidate
her?"

  "I suggest nothing," I returned quietly. "I get my information in my ownway, that is all. If you object to my doing that, I decline to get it inyours. My visit to Munich can stand over meanwhile."

  "But things can't wait; this business must be done at once."

  "Then the short cut to it must be as I prefer to direct."

  The mask nearly fell from him. He bit his lips, and I saw the anger rushto his eyes and face; but he checked it, and, though he had to fighthard to keep from breaking out, he answered sufficiently calmly:

  "Oh, if you set so much store by it as all that, certainly see heralone. You will find out no more than I have said."

  But I had a different opinion; and I sent up a message at once to theCountess Minna to ask for an interview immediately.

  "And when shall we start for Munich?" I asked when the messenger hadgone. "To-morrow?"

  "The sooner the better," he replied; and again I caught a fleeting,stealthy glint of pleasure in his eyes.