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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1922)
The Princess Dehra BY JOHN R$ED SCOTT. Copyright. 190*. by John Ree<! Scott — CHAPTER III. The Royal Council. Count Epping was the last of the five ministers to arrive at the council, the following morning, lie caine in, a few minutes be fore the hour, acknowledged with grave courtesy, but brief words, the greetings of the other's, and when his secretary had put his dispatch box on the table he im mediately opened it, and busied himself with his papers. It was his way—and none of them had ever seen him otherwise; but now’ there seemed to be a special sig nificance in his silence and pre occupation. J he failure ol the court jour nal to appear that morning had broken a custom that ante-dated the memory of man, and the in formation which was promptly conveyed to the ministers that at was delayed until evening, and by the personal order of the prime minister, had provoked both amazement and expectancy. It could mean only that the pa per was being held for something that must he in that day’s is sue, and as they had promptly disclaimed to one another alb re sponsibility, the inference was not difficult that it had to do wit lithe new king's first proc lamation. “The count was at the castle last evening,” Duval, the war minister, had remarked, “and I assumed it was to submit the proclamation and have it signed.” Baron Retz, the minister of justice, shrugged hjs shoulders. “May he you assumed correct ly,” he remarked. The others looked at him with quick interest, hut got only a smile and another shrug. “Then why didn't he sign it?” Duval demanded. The baron leaned hack in his chair and studied the ceiling. “When you say 'lie’, you mean •-?” “The king, of course,” the other snapped., “Who the devil else would 1 mean?” “And by 'the king’,” drawled Rotz, “you mean-?” There was a sudden silence — then General Duval brought his fist down on the table with a bang. “Monsieur le Baron,” he ex claimed, “you understand per fectly whom I meant by the king —the Archduke Armand. If he is not the king, and you know it, it is your duly as a member of the council to disclose the fact to us forthwith; this is no time nor place to indulge in innuendoes.” The baron’s small grey eyes turned slowly and, for a brief instant, lingered, with a dull glit ter, on the war minister’s face. “My dear general,” he laughed, “you are so precipitate. If you ever lead an army you will deal only iu frontal attacks •—and defeats. I assure you I knowr nothing; but to restate your own question : if the Arch duke Armand be the king, why didn’t he sign the proclama tion?” Steuben, the grey bearded min ister of the interior, cut in with a growl. “What is the profit of all these wonderful theories!” he demand ed, eyeing Retz. “The ordinary and reasonable explanation is that the proclamation is to be submitted to us this morning.” “In which event,” said the baron, “we shall have the ex planation in a very few minutes,” and resumed his study of the ceiling. “And in the meantime,” re marked Admiral Marquand, “l am moved to inquire, where is the duke of Lotzen! ” Steuben gave a gruff laugh. “Doubtless the department of justice can also offer a violent presumption on that subject.” “On the contrary, my friend,” said Retz, “it will offer the very natural presumption that the Duke of Lotzen is hastening to Dornlitz ; to the funeral—and the coronation.” “Whose coronation!” Duval asked quickly. “My dear General,” said the Baron, “there can’t be two kings of Valeria, and it would seem that the army has spoken for the Archduke Armand.” “And the department of jus tice for whom!” the general ex claimed. A faint sneer played over Retz’s lips. “Monsieur le Gener al forgets that when the army speaks, justice is bound aud gagged.” It was at that moment that Const. Epping had entered. When the clock on the mantel chimed the rour the count sat down and motioned the others to attend. “Will not the king be pres ent, T” Iietz asked casually, as he took his place. The prime minister looked at him in studious comprehension. “Patience, monsieur, pati ence,” he said softly, “his majes ty will doubtless join us in prop er time. Have yoq, any business that requires his personal atten tion” The baron shook his head. “No—nothing. I was only curi ous as to what uniform he would wear.” A faint smile touched the count’s thin lips. ‘‘‘Hut more particularly curi ous ns to who would wear it,” he remarked dryly. Retz swung around and faced him. “My lord,” he said, “I would ask you, who is king of Valeria: the Archduke Armand or Ferdi nand of Lotzen.” The old minister’s smile chilled to a sneer. “That is a most astonishing question from the chief law of ficer of the kingdom,” he said. “Rut not so astonishing as that he should be compelled to ask it,” was the quick answer. “Is there, then, monsieur, any doubt in your mind as to the eld est male of the House of Dal berg?” “None whatever; but can you assure us that he is king!” “What has my ussurance to do with the matter?” the count asked. “By the laws of the Dal bergs the crown has always passed to the eldest male.” The baron laughed quietly. “At last we near the point—the laws. There is no doubt that, by birth, the Archduke Armand is the eldest male; yet what of the decree of the Great Henry as to Hugo? As I remember, Fred erick explained enough of it to I he council to cover Armand’s as sumption of his ancestor’s rank and estates, but said no word as to the crown.” He leaned for ward and looked the old count in the eyes. “And I ask you now, my lord, if under the decree, Ar mand became the heir presump tive, why was it that, at all our sessions, tin* Duke of Lotzen, un til his banishment, retained his place on the king's right, and Ar mand sat oti the left? Is it not a fair inference, from the actions of the three men who know the exact words of the decree, that, though it restored Hugo’s heir to archdueal rank, it specifically barred him from crown?” The prime minister had lis tened with an impassive facj and now he nodded curtly. “There might be some weight to your argument, Monsieur le liaroil,” he said, “if you dis played a more judicial spirit in itsj presentation—and if you did not know otherwise.” “I shall not permit even you-” Retz broke in. The count silenced him with a wave'of his hand. “You have sat at this board with us, and since the Duke of Lotzen’s ab sence, at least, you have seen our dead master treat the Arch duke Armand, in every way, as his successor; and on one oc casion, in your hearing and to your knowledge—for I saw you slyly note the exact words, on your cuff—he referred to him as the one who would ‘come after.' Hence, l say, you are not honest with the council." “I felicitate your lordship on your powers of observation and recollection," said Retz suave ly; “they are vastly more effec tive and timely than mine, which, I confess, hesitate at miracles. But with due modesty. I submit there is a fery simple way to settle this question quickly and finally. Let us have the exact words of Henry’s decree. I am well aware it is unprecedented for any but a Dalberg to see the Dalberg laws; but we are facing an uaprecendented condition. Never before has a Dalberg king failed to have a son to follow him. Now, we hearken back for gener ations, with a mysterious juggle intervening; and it is for him who claims the throne to prove his title. Before the coming of the American there was no ques tion that Lotzen was the heir pre sumptive. Did he lose the place when Armand became an arch-„ duket The decree alone can de termine ; let it be submitted to the royal council for inspection." “The minister of justice is overdoing his part," said the old count, addressing the other min isters. “It is not for him nor his de partment to dictate the method by which Dalbergs shall decide their kingship, nor does it lie in the mouth of any of us to demand an inspection of the, book of laws. So much for principle and an cient custom. It may be ftie pleasure of the archduke to con firm his right by exhibiting to us the laws; or the Duke of Lotzen may challenge his title, and so force their submission to us or to the house of nobles for decis ion. But, as the matter stands now, the council has no discre tion. We must accept the eldest male Dalberg as king of Valeria; and, as you very well know" (looking directly at Eetz) “none but a I)jilberg may dispute his claim—do you, Monsieur le Bar on, wish to be understood as speaking for the Duke of Lot zenT Retz leaned back in his chair and laughed. “No no, my lord, no, no!” he said. “I speak no more for Lotzen than you do for Armand.” “So it would be seen—though not with the same motives,” the Count sneered—then arose hast ily. “The king, my lords, the king!” he exclaimed, as the door in the far corner opened ,?nd Ar mand entered, unattended, and behind him came a man-servanf bearing a brass-bound, black oak box, inlaid with silver. Never had any of the council seen it, yet instantly all surmised what it contained; and, courtiers though they were, they (save the old count) started at it so curi ously that the archduke, with an amused glance at the latter, turned and motioned the servant to precede him. “Place it before his excellency, the prime minister,” he said; and now the stares shifted, in un feigned astonishment to Armand —while the Count’s thin lips twitched ever so slightly, and, for an instant, faded blue eyes actually sparkled, as they ling ered in calm derision on the bar on’s face. And Retz, turning suddenly, caught the look and straightway realized he had been outplayed. He understood, now, that the count had been aware, all along, of the archduke’s purpose to pro duce the laws to the council, this morning, and that he, by his very persistence, had given the grim old diploniat an opportunity to demonstrate, in the most effec tive fashion, the unprecedented honor Armand was now doing them. It was irritating enough to be out manoeuvered, but to have his own ammunition seized and used to enhance another’s triumph was scaring to his pride; and, in truth, this was not the first time the Prime Minister had left his scar and a score to settle between them. “Be seated, my lords,” said Armand, “and accept my apolo< gies for my tardiness,” and he took the chair at the head of the table. Count Eppir.g drew his sword and raised it high. “Valeria hails the head of the house of Dalberg as the king!” he cried. And back from the others, as their blades rang together above the table, came the echo: “We hail the Dalberg King!” It was the ancient formula, which had always been used to welcome the new ruler upon his first entrance to the royal coun cil. And it had come as yet another scar to Retz, for it put him to the choice—whether to play the fool now, or the dastard later—and that with every eye upon him, even the archduke’s, whose glance had instinctively followed the others’. Yet he had made it instantly, smiling mockingly at the count; and his voice rang loud and his sword was the last to fall. * But Armand kuew nothing of this old ceremony, and the sur prise of it brought him sharply to his feet, with his hand at the salute, while his face and brow went ruddy and his fingers chill. It was for him to speak, he knew, yet speak he could not. But when led by Count Epping, they crowded close about him and bent knee and would have kissed his hand, he drew back and waved them up. “I thank you, my lords, I thank you from my heart,” he said gravely, “though not yet will I assume to accept either the homage or the greeting. They belong to him who is king of Valeria, and whether I be he I do not know\ As the eldest male, the presumption is with me; yet as the monarch has full power to choose his sucetesor from any of the Dalbergs. it may have been his pleasure, under the peculiar condit’ons now exisiting, to name another as his heir. Hence it is my purpose to submit to you the book of laws, that you may in spect the “decrees and ascertain to whom the crown descends. I am informed this is a proceeding utterly unknown; that the Dal berg laws, are seen only by Dal berg eyes. Yet, as I apprehend there will be another claimant, who will have a hearty following, and as, in the jgnd, it is the laws that will decide between us, it is best they should decide now. If, by them, I am king of Valeria I will assume the crown and its prerogativen; and if I am not king, then I will do homage to him who is, and join with you in his service.” He paused, and instantly Gen eral Duval flashed up his sword. “God save your royal high ness!” he cried. “God grant that you be king.” And as the-others gave it back for answer, their blades locked above the archdnke’s head, the corridor behind them swung open, and Ferdinand of Lotzen entered and, unnoticed, came slowly down the room. All night, with a clear track and a special train, he had been speeding to the capital, anxious and fearful, for in an inter regnum hours count as days against the absent claimant to a throne. But when, at the station, he learned from Baron Rosen that the proclamation had not yet been issued and the council had been called for 10 o’clock, the prospect brightened, and he hurried to the palace. Yet there was small encrntr agement in the scene before him, though the words of the acclaim and the black box on the table puzzled him. Why, with the laws at their disposal, should thero be any doubt as to who was king ! So he leaned upon a chair and waited, a contemptuous smile on his lips, a storm of hate an danger in his heart. Those shouts, thoso swords, those ar dent faces should all have been his; would all have been his, but for this foreigner, this American, this usurper, this thief. And his fingers closed about his sword's hilt and, for the shadow of an instant, he was tempted t6 spring in and drive the blade through his rival’s throat. But instead he laughedJand when at the sound they whirled around, he laughed again, searching the while every face with his crafty eyes, and, save in Retz’s, finding no trace of confusion nor regret. “A pretty picture, messieurs,” he jeered, “truly, a pretty pic ture—pray don’t let me disturb it; though I might inquire, since when has the royal council of Valeria gone in for private thea tricals I” And Armand promptly gave him back his laugh. “Our cousin of Lotzen appears in good time,” he said very soft ly. “Will he not come into the picture!” Ferdinand shook his head. “In pictures of that sort, there can be but one central figure,” he an swered. The archduke swung his hand toward the ministers. “True, quite,” said he; “but there is ample space for your royal highness in the back ground.” Lotzen’s face went white, and he measured Armand with the steady stare of implacable hate, though on his lips the sneering smile still lingered. And presently he answered: “I trust, monsieur, you will not mistake my meaning, when ^ as sure you that there isn’t spaice enough in such a picture to con tain us both.” “It is a positive pleasure, Mon sieur le Due,” returned Armand quickly, “to find, at last, one matter in which our minds can meet. ’ ’ And so, for a time, they stood at gaze, while the others watched them, Avondering and in silence! Then the archduke spoke again : “And now, my dear cousin, since Ave understand each other, I suggest Ave permit the royal council to continue its session. Be seated, messicurd*;” and Avith a nod to the ministers, he resumed his place at the head of the table. 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