An expression of admiration came into Brennen's face. "Clever!" hemurmured to himself. "Mighty clever! I never saw anything better doneon the stage. What a pity----"
He broke off abruptly as the purring of a motor car became audible inthe room, and turned swiftly to his companion.
"That must be him, Jack," he said tersely. "He's overdue now. Listen!"
An instant later, as the car stopped outside, with a grinding of brakes,he went on swiftly: "Better slip down and make sure about it. Hager'sthere, but we don't want anything to go wrong. I'll take a peep out ofthe window."
The tall fellow hastily left the room, while Brennen stepped quickly toone of the windows and drew up a corner of the shade. Lawrence, hisbrain whirling and every nerve tense, stood dazedly for a second, thenbegan to walk nervously up and down the floor. In a few moments hewould know. Unless he was very much mistaken, the whole bafflingmystery would swiftly be revealed to him, and he could scarcely restrainhis impatience.
The closing of a door downstairs made him turn hastily in thatdirection; then his glance trailed back to the long mirror placed in themiddle of the wall opposite the windows. Even in his perturbed state ofmind, he noticed how like the black walnut frame was, in shape and size,to a doorway, and wondered why, with all the other looking-glasses aboutthe room, another had been inserted here.
Of course it was a mirror, for, dim as the light was at this distancefrom the shaded lamp, he could see his own figure outlined in the glass,and even make out every detail of his face and clothes.
Then suddenly a puzzled wrinkle came into his forehead. There wassomething odd about the reflection. The background was dark, and showedno sign of the lamp on the marble-topped table. Curious, Barry took asingle step forward to discover what was the matter, then stopped stillas if turned to stone.
The reflection in the glass had smiled.
For the fraction of a second Lawrence felt that he was going mad. Then,in a flash, he realized the truth. It was not a mirror at all, but adoorway, in which stood a man who looked at him out of his own eyes,smiled at him with his own smile; whose face and figure, down to thesmallest detail, could not have been more like Barry's if the two hadbeen bronze statues cast from the same mold. Even their clothes were ofstrikingly similar style.
*CHAPTER XLIII.*
*HIS SECOND HALF.*
The rattle of the window shade and the tramping of a number of feet onthe stairs brought Barry to himself with a start just as the unknown puthis finger to his lips and stepped noiselessly back into the shadow.
"Face round, but stand where you are," breathed the unknown.
Lawrence obeyed instinctively, and the next instant the hall door openedto admit several men. The first was well on in years, with a tall,splendid figure and a noble, distinguished face. He seemed in the gripof some great, though partially suppressed, emotion; and, as he caughtsight of Barry, he sprang hastily toward him, both hands outstretched.
"Oscar!" he cried, in a deep, vibrating voice which held a distinctlyforeign intonation. "My dear boy! I----"
The words died in a queer, gurgling sound. One of the men by the doorcried out sharply; another drew his breath through his teeth with anodd, whistling noise. Then silence--tense, vibrating silence--fell uponthe room as out of the shadows appeared the other man and movednoiselessly forward to Barry's side.
He did not speak or stir after he had taken up his position there. Thetwo men, so absolutely, unbelievably alike, stood shoulder to shoulder,motionless as statues, while the seconds ticked away and those whowitnessed the amazing spectacle stared and stared with dazed faces,unable to credit the evidence of their senses.
Once only did Barry's gaze waver from the stunned countenance of theolder man to the other end of the room, where Shirley Rives stoodbending far over the table, her face absolutely white, and her wide,dark eyes staring at him as if she were looking at a ghost.
At last a laugh, clear, hearty, and full of mirth, came from the man athis side, and broke the spell.
"Rather good, don't you think, uncle?" the newcomer chuckled, steppingforward a little.
"_Gott in Himmel!_" breathed the older man. "You are----"
"Of course. Don't you know me? I never supposed that you would bedeceived."
With a swift motion, the other caught his hands and drew him over to thelight.
"Let me look at you!" he exclaimed, speaking German in his agitation."I cannot tell! I do not know! I feel as if the whole world had beenturned topsy-turvy."
For a long minute he gazed searchingly into the young man's face, whilethe others moved unconsciously closer to the two, Barry quite as dazedand bewildered as any of them. Suddenly he threw back his gray head andflung one arm impulsively around the young fellow's shoulder.
"You _are_ Oscar!" he exclaimed. "I know it!"
For a second he was silent. Then he turned swiftly toward the group ofmen who had entered with him, and singled out one with his flashingeyes.
"What does this mean, Baron Hager?" he demanded imperiously. "How dareyou play such a trick upon me? It is infamous!"
It was the man with the beard who stepped forward; and Barry saw that hewas trembling in every limb, while beads of perspiration stood out onhis forehead.
"Your highness!" he gasped. "I--I---- It is not a trick. I--havenever seen--this man before."
"Never seen him! Nonsense! I'm not a child. How did he get here? Whatis he doing in this house? Who is he?"
Hager stared helplessly at Lawrence, and then his bewildered eyeswandered dazedly to the smiling double. His emotion was so great,however, that he did not speak, and it was Brennen who answered.
"I can tell you that," he said shortly. "He's the man we've beentrailing all over New York, thinking he was your nephew. He's the manwe decoyed here to-night for you to meet. If he ain't the right one,we're a lot of suckers, that's all."
"He's my second half, uncle," interposed the young man, smiling. "Itisn't everybody who can have such a good time, you know."
"Is that the truth, Oscar?" demanded the older man. "Has he beenpassing himself off for you all this time?"
"Exactly, and he did it wonderfully well, too. I owe him an everlastingdebt----"
The sentence was never finished. As he stood there, unable to make heador tail of what was being said, Barry had a horrible conviction thatsomehow his curiosity was never going to be gratified. He had come asclose as this several times before to learning the name of the man he soresembled, and he was determined to take no more chances.
"My dear fellow," he burst out, unable longer to contain himself, "ifyou owe me anything at all, for Heaven's sake pay me now by telling mewho on earth you are."
"You mean to say you do not know!" exclaimed the older manincredulously. "Why, such a thing is preposterous."
The laughter vanished suddenly from the nephew's face, and, steppingswiftly forward, he caught Barry's hand in a firm grip.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Lawrence," he said contritely. "I've beenfearfully discourteous. Please forgive me, and do not think meungrateful for what you have done. I am Prince Oscar, of Ostrau, andthis is my uncle, the Grand Duke Frederick."
*CHAPTER XLIV.*
*THE RIDDLE SOLVED.*
In the brief silence which followed there came to Barry's ears the soundof a quick gasp, followed by a strangled sob, from the girl at thetable. And in that second, as he stood holding his own hand, as itwere, and gazing into his own eyes, he realized with a rush of joy thatthis was what had troubled Shirley. They had told her that he was thecrown prince of an Old World kingdom, and it was small wonder she hadbeen dismayed.
"I am more than happy at meeting your highness at last," he went on thenext instant, gazing into the pleasant face of the young foreigner. Thenhis lips twitched and curved into an involuntary smile. "It seems as ifI had known you all my life instead of
a scant ten minutes."
The prince laughed delightedly. From the very beginning he hadapparently enjoyed the situation to the full, and there was a total lackof royal dignity and stiffness about him which was refreshing.
"It's the greatest lark I ever had," he chuckled. "Haven't you begun tosee the fun of it yet, uncle?"
The grand duke sighed. "Are you never going to be serious?" he askedsadly. "Do you mean to go through life taking everything as a jest,content to remain an irresponsible boy always?"
The prince straightened suddenly, and there came into his handsome facean expression which was very far from boyish. His jaw squared, and hepressed his lips firmly together as he stood regarding his uncle out ofclear, level, uncompromising eyes.
"It isn't any use, uncle," he said abruptly. "My mind is made up, andnothing you can say will induce me to change."
The grand duke's lips parted as if he meant to speak, but closed swiftlyagain, and he darted a significant glance at the man with the beard.
"Be so good as to leave us, baron," he said curtly.
Baron Hager gave a start and turned hastily toward the door, followedclosely by his two compatriots and the American detectives. Brennenbrought up the rear, moving with evident reluctance, as if there werenumberless points about the affair he was pining to have cleared up.
"By the way, Mr. Brennen," Lawrence called after him, struck by a suddenthought, "whatever you've done to my two friends, I'd be obliged if youwould undo it at once."
The detective nodded sourly and closed the door behind him. As hedisappeared, Barry realized that it would be more graceful for him alsoto leave the room; but, when he made a move to do so, the crown princecaught him by the arm.
"Please stay," he said quietly. "Mr. Lawrence is my friend, uncle.Whatever you say before him will go no farther."
"As you will," returned the grand duke indifferently. He hesitated aninstant, his eyes fixed pleadingly upon his nephew's face. "Oscar," hewent on swiftly, "your father, the king, has sent me to beg of you tocome home to your family, your people, your country. He wants you. Heneeds you. You cannot realize the nature of the step you have taken.You acted hastily--heedlessly. For the honor of the throne, Oscar, Ibeg of you--I beseech you--to give up your harebrained scheme and resumeagain the place in life to which you were born."
There was no gleam of mirth in the face of the crown prince now. It wasfirm and serious and a little white; his eyes were fixed unfalteringlyon his uncle's face.
"And what of my wife?" he asked quietly. A flicker of pain flashed intothe grand duke's face and was gone.
"There are ways----" he began hesitatingly.
"Ways!" broke in the prince swiftly. "What ways? You mean a morganaticmarriage, I suppose. You know that is impossible, even if I wouldconsider it. She is an American girl."
Lawrence, standing a little behind the duke, listening with an interesthe made no attempt to conceal, noticed how the faint, foreignintonation--it could hardly be called an accent--in the young man'svoice was intensified in a moment of excitement.
The grand duke did not answer at once, and, when finally he spoke, therewas a hopeless undercurrent in his voice which showed clearly that hehad little hope of his argument meeting with success.
"Under the laws of Ostrau," he said in a low tone, "a woman withoutroyal or noble blood cannot marry into the reigning family. She,therefore, has no standing as your wife. In Ostrau the bond does notexist, and you would be free to marry your father's choice, PrincessOlga, of Gratz."
The young man's lips curled and his eyes narrowed. "Never!" he exclaimedimpulsively. "She's ten years too old and a thousand times impossible.Luckily," he went on more composedly, "we're in America, not Ostrau, andI propose to stay here. I'm beastly sorry, uncle, for your sake. We'vealways been great pals, and ever since I was a kid I've loved you morethan my august father. I'd do anything else for you gladly, but this isimpossible. I'll renounce my rights to the succession for myself and myheirs forever. Let Maurice be crown prince, can't you? He'll make alot better king than I ever could. All I want is to be let alone; to befree to live my own life and be happy in my own way. Ostrau stifles mewith its foolish, cramping etiquette and narrow bigotry. It's ruinedyour life, and I'll take precious good care----"
He broke off abruptly as the grand duke groaned and covered his facewith one hand.
"Forgive me, uncle!" the prince begged. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Iforgot myself. But you understand," he went on softly, "because you,too, have suffered."
*CHAPTER XLV.*
*THE GIFT OF THE RING.*
The older man did not answer at once, and Lawrence, feeling as if he hadno right to listen, moved slowly backward till he touched the table.Then he turned suddenly and looked down quizzically into Shirley's eyes.
"You--understand?" he whispered gently.
She nodded swiftly. "What must you think of me?" she murmured a littleunsteadily. "I didn't believe it at first, but they swore it--was true;and, somehow, things fitted in, and--and---- Do you think you'll everforgive me?"
One hand stole across the table, and the strong brown fingers closedover the tiny gloved ones.
"Did you really think I wouldn't?" he questioned softly, gazing into herwonderful eyes with an expression in his own which swiftly brought herlong lashes sweeping down on crimsoning cheek.
"Well?" he queried as she made no answer.
"I--I hoped," she faltered.
It was the voice of the grand duke, weary, sorrowful, but full of anunmistakable resignation, which broke the silence.
"I cannot blame you, Oscar," he was saying quietly. "I have clung tothe old traditions because there seemed no other way--perhaps I lackedthe courage to do what you have done--and my life turned to dust andashes. I love you too well ever to wish to see that happen to you. Haveyou any--plans?"
"Heaps of them, uncle," the prince answered jauntily. "I'm going tobecome an American citizen. I think I'll buy a big place in the Southand turn farmer. I've money enough."
The two at the table saw the old man wince slightly, but in an instanthe had recovered his composure.
"What a thoroughbred he is!" Barry whispered admiringly. He hadapparently forgotten to release Shirley's hand, but she seemed tooabsorbed to notice the lapse.
"There will be no difficulty on that score," the duke remarked. "Yourestates belong to you personally, and their sale should net a million ormore."
Suddenly he gave a start and arose swiftly to his feet.
"I beg your pardon, Oscar," he ejaculated, in chagrin. "Mypreoccupation has made me forget entirely my desire to meet your--wife.This lady is----"
He glanced at Shirley with a courtly inclination, just in time to seeher snatch her hand from Barry's grasp and spring to her feet withblazing cheeks. The prince saw it, too, and his eyes twinkled.
"I have not the honor," he said quietly. "My wife is just recoveringfrom an illness which has been the cause of most of these complications.Mr. Lawrence, will you be so good as to present us?"
With swiftly recovered composure, Shirley acknowledged the introductionwith a naive dignity; and, when they had all seated themselves again,the prince begged for a recital of Barry's adventures.
"Extraordinary and most diverting," he said when the tale had been told."Perhaps a little more amusing in retrospect. My dear Mr. Lawrence, Ifeel more than ever indebted to you for what you have done. When Istarted the ball rolling last Monday morning I had no conception of thestrenuous experiences I was bringing upon you. You see, I had leftOstrau secretly with only Watkins, my American secretary, who has beenwith me for years, but I was almost certain of being followed. I hoped,however, that we should succeed in losing ourselves somewhere in theSouth or West before our trail was picked up. I should explain, perhaps,that my wife and I were married in Paris, where she was spending thewinter. She was Miss Isabel Patterson, of Baltimore. We sailed underassumed nam
es; or, rather, under a name I used in England during ourexile----"
"I beg your pardon," Lawrence put in, "but was it Nordstrom?"
"Why, yes. How did you know?"
"I met a friend of yours who had known you at Cambridge. He was anEnglishman named Brandon."
"John Brandon!" exclaimed the prince. "Of course! We were greatfriends during my university days, but I haven't seen him in years. Yousee, Mr. Lawrence, our family was exiled from Ostrau until the timelyrevolution three years ago which restored my father to power. I wasbrought up in England, and, as we were very poor, indeed, I went throughRugby and Cambridge under the name of Nordstrom, which is one of ourfamily names. It would have been absurd for a poverty-strickenindividual to be strutting about as a prince. What times we had!" hesighed. "I think they were the happiest days of my life--until now.But I am digressing. Unfortunately for our plans, my wife was taken illjust as we were on the point of leaving New York. I knew that thepursuit would be keen, and, unless attention was diverted from us toanother quarter, we would be hunted out, no matter how carefully we hidourselves in New York. Considering my wife's health, I was most anxiousto avoid anything of that sort until she was recovered.
"I was at my wits' end," he continued, "and could think of nothing untilone day, while waiting with Watkins in the Pennsylvania Station for aphysician from Philadelphia, whom I knew well, and who had promised tocome on, I suddenly caught sight of you. I was simply stumped, ofcourse; then, like a flash, I realized that here was the way out, whichI had hitherto been searching for in vain. It took but a moment for meto outline a plan to Watkins, arrange my bill case, and place the ringin it. You see, that had been given me by the Rajah of Sind when Itoured India two years ago, and I had scarcely had it off my fingersince then. If an added mark of identification were needed, that wouldamply suffice.
The Riddle and the Ring; or, Won by Nerve Page 17
