The Princess Dehra Read online

  VI THE REWARD OF A MEDDLER

  When Ferdinand of Lotzen left the Council, he passed leisurely down thecorridor toward one of the private exits. The pressing business that wasdemanding his immediate attention seemed to bother him no longer, and heeven took the trouble to acknowledge the salute of the guard who pacedbefore the main stairway; whereat the man stared after him in unfeignedsurprise, until the Duke, suddenly looking back, caught him in theact--and with a frown sent him to the about-face and the far end of hisbeat.

  So no one saw His Highness step quickly over and try the door of theKing's library, and, when it opened to him--as he had anticipated itwould, the Princess having come that way to the Council--go in and closeit softly behind him. Dropping the lock, he went to the door of theprivate cabinet (which was between the library and the room used for theCouncil meetings) and listened. Hearing nothing, he opened it verycautiously and peered inside; no one was there and he fixed the door abit ajar, so as to be warned if anyone entered from the Council.

  The library was a large room, paneled ceiling and sides in wood paintedan ivory white; the great, wide windows were half hidden by the Gobelinblue tapestries that hung in folds to the floor; heavy bookcases ofcarved mahogany lined the walls; the furniture was of the massive Empirestyle, but the desk was a big, oblong, flat-topped affair that had beenmade over Frederick's own design--and which more than compensated inutility for what it lacked in artistry. It pleased its owner and sofulfilled its mission. It stood a little way back from the center of theroom, the great crystal chandelier above its outer edge, and all thedoors directly in focus of the revolving chair behind it.

  It was to this chair that the Duke went and began hurriedly to go throughthe papers on the desk, yet taking the utmost care not to disturb theirarrangement, and replacing them exactly as he found them. Evidentlywhatever he was seeking was of the sort that needed no examination toprove it, for he passed over letters and written documents without aglance at their contents. It was not on the desk and he began on thedrawers, none of which was locked. One after another was searched withoutsuccess, and the Duke's brow went blacker and blacker, until, as the lastproved barren, he flung himself into the chair, and again ran over thedocuments on top--and again without finding what he sought.

  "It was only a chance," he muttered, sending his glance around the room,"only a feeble chance;... 'He was blotting a page as I entered,' was whatshe said ... and if it were a fresh blotter it might tell the story." Hewent over to the vault, the front of which was painted white and paneledto correspond to the walls, and tried the door.... "Locked, ofcourse----"

  Suddenly he turned toward the King's cabinet, listening; then sprangquickly behind one of the window curtains; and its swaying had not ceasedwhen the Princess and Armand entered, on their return from the Council.

  Unseen, he was also unseeing; yet hearing, he had little need foreyes--it was easy to picture all that occurred:--Dehra's pointing out thepositions of the King, the Laws and the box; the entry of Adolph; theopening of the vault; the valet's return with the box; his dismissal; thelocking again of the vault. But what then happened always puzzled theDuke--that it was something unexpected was proved by the sudden silence,and pause, before either of them moved, followed at once by the closingof the corridor door.

  He waited a moment, until he was sure they had gone, then went to thedesk. What had disturbed the American and the Princess--why had theirtalk ceased so abruptly--why did they wait, unmoving, and then go outtogether and still unspeaking?... Had they seen him?... Impossible; eventhe window did not show through the tapestry; and he had been against thewall.... His gloves--had he let them lie somewhere?... no, they weredrawn through his sword belt.... He studied the desk top--the floor--thechairs.... They told him nothing;... and, yet, it was very queer.... Hadany part of him been exposed beyond the curtain? He went back and gotbehind it ... it completely covered him--and as he stood there thecabinet door opened and Adolph came in softly.

  He glanced around quickly, then went straight to the vault and began toturn the knob, while the Duke, one eye just beyond the curtain's edge,watched him curiously. Could it be that this servant was familiar withthe combination of the lock, that only the King and Dehra were supposedto know! If so ... the bolts shot back, the door opened, and the valetdisappeared in the vault. In a moment he came out with the box; butLotzen did not see him, having drawn behind the curtain; nor did heventure again to look out except when assured that Adolph's back wastoward him.

  Placing the box on the desk, the valet laid back the lid and with anotherfurtive look around, went swiftly across to the wall, where hung the big,life-sized portrait of the King, the escutcheon, on the top of the heavygold frame, almost against the ceiling. Under it was a tall,straight-backed chair, with high arms; and, mounting on them, Adolphreached behind the picture and, from the space between it and the wall,drew out an ancient book, leather-bound and metal-hinged:--the Laws ofthe Dalbergs.

  With a faint chuckle, he sprang down and started toward the box; thenstopped--the Book slipped from his fingers--he gasped--his eyes widenedin terrified amazement--his face took on the gray pallor of awful fear;for the Duke of Lotzen had emerged from behind the window curtain and wascoming slowly toward him.

  "You seem startled, Adolph," said the Duke, with an amused smile,"doubtless you thought you were alone." He sat down in the revolvingchair. "May I trouble you to give me the Book--the floor is hardly theplace for the Laws of the Dalbergs."

  The valet's composure had returned, in a measure, at the tone of theother's voice, but his hand still trembled as he picked up the Book andcarried it to the desk.

  "Thank you, Adolph," said Lotzen, "thank you ... you seem a trifle shaky,sit down and rest" (indicating a chair near by). "I shall need youpresently."

  He watched the man until he had obeyed, then opened the Laws and turnedquickly to the last decree.

  Across the page lay a fresh, white blotter, used but twice, he noticed,as he turned it over. He had come for this very bit of paper, that Dehrahad casually mentioned in her story to the Council--hoping vaguely thatthe King had let it lie, and that it had not been destroyed by theservants who cared for the desk. He would have been amply satisfied withthe faint chance it might give him of guessing the decree from the fewwords the mirror would disclose. But, now, he had no need for guesses normirrors; and with a light laugh he laid the blotter aside. Surely, theGoddess of Fortune was with him! And to Ferdinand of Lotzen this meantmuch; for to him there was only one other Divinity, and that other was afemale, too.

  Thrice he read Frederick's decree; first rapidly, then slowly, then wordby word, as it were.

  And all the while Adolph watched him covertly, a sly smile in his small,black eyes. He had quite recovered from his fright--though he might beled to pretend otherwise--indeed, now that he had time to think, he couldfind no reason why the Duke should punish him; rather did he deserve anample reward for having kept the Laws from the Council. In fact, whyshould he not demand a reward, if it were not offered?--demand itdiscreetly, to be sure, but none the less demand it. And, as the Dukeread, and re-read, the reward piled higher, and visions of Paris (it isstrange how, under certain conditions, the thoughts of a certain sort ofpeople turn to Paris as instinctively as the needle to the Pole) dancedbefore his eyes.... And presently he forgot the Duke, and the Laws, andDornlitz--he was sitting at a little table along the Boulevard desItaliens, an absinthe at his hand, a merry girl, with sparkling eyes andperfumed hair, at his elbow, a sensuous waltz song in his ears, andlight, and life, and love, and lingerie in every breath of air....

  "Dreaming, Adolph," said Lotzen, "dreaming?... of what, pray?"

  "Of Paris, my lord," he answered unthinkingly.

  The Duke regarded him in frowning surprise.

  "Paris!" he muttered, "Paris! has everyone gone Paris mad?"

  "It was of the Boulevards, my lord--the music and the lights and the----"

  "Sh
ut up!" exclaimed Lotzen; "to the devil with your Paris and itsBoulevards!... How did this Book get behind that picture?"

  "I put it there, monsieur."--The reward was not piled quite as high as hehad fancied.

  "Why?"

  "To hide it, monsieur--until I could replace it in the box."--The rewardwas dwindling marvellously fast.

  "Then you stole the Laws of the Dalbergs?"

  Adolph did not answer.... It was queer how chilly the room had got. Ithad seemed warm enough, a moment ago.

  The Duke regarded him meditatively.

  "Come," he said presently; "tell me how you managed it. My time isshort--speak up."

  The valet slunk a furtive look at his face; it was expressionlesslypitiless.--The reward had disappeared.

  "Your Highness will believe me?" he asked.

  "Believe you, Adolph! surely--a valet never lies! Go on."

  The man gulped--ran his tongue over his lips--gulped again--then began,his voice husky, full of quavers and sudden stops; while the Duke, withsteady gaze and searching eye, drove him on as with a lash.

  "Your Highness heard my story to the Council," said Adolph; "all of itwas true except as to the last time I saw the Book of Laws.... I happenedto witness the scene between Her Royal Highness and the King. It was justas she related it, monsieur. When she had gone, His Majesty sat, doingnothing--and presently he dropped asleep.... I came to the room a numberof times, and always that Book stared at me, and my curiosity as to thedecree grew hotter every minute. After a while, the King awoke and toldme to put the Book in the box and return it to its place in thevault--then he went over to the sideboard and poured out a drink....Here, monsieur, was my opportunity--I laid the Book in the box andlowered the lid, but slipped in an envelope to prevent it locking, thenput it in the vault--which the King himself closed. After he had retired,I opened the vault and got out the Book----"

  "How did you know the combination?" the Duke asked.

  "By--by--watching the King, monsieur ... I had picked up the numbers oneby one ... long ago."

  Lotzen tossed him a bit of paper and a pencil.

  "Write out the combination," he ordered--and smiled at the servant'strembling hand and labored motions.... "Thank you;"--glancing at thepaper and dropping it carelessly in his pocket--"proceed--you had justgot the Book out of the vault."

  "While I was examining it, monsieur," Adolph resumed, "I thought I heardthe King moving about in his room. I sprang inside the vault, drew thedoor shut, but not quite tight, and tried to put the Book in the box. ButI must have been nervous, monsieur, for, in some way, I struck the lidand knocked it down; and it locked, leaving the book in my hand. I couldnot open the box--the only key was under the King's pillow, on his watchchain. What was to be done? I dared not try for it that night; the Kingwas too light a sleeper;--nor did I dare leave the Book in the vault,there was no place to conceal it, and he was sure to go in there in themorning. What was to do, monsieur? I listened--everything seemed quiet; Iopened the door very slowly--no one was in the room--I stepped out, andthe King's portrait confronted me--I stared at it a moment, frightened asthough it were my master--then, of a sudden, I knew I had found thehiding place, and I sprang up and put the Book behind the picture.... Andin the morning, monsieur, I forgot the Book--forgot it until His Majestyhad gone to the city.--Then, in desperation, I tried every key I couldfind--tried to pick the lock--in vain.... I knew the Archduke Armand wasto dine here that evening, and from what the King had said to thePrincess I knew, also, the Book would have to be in the box before then.I felt, however, that I would have a good chance at the key when mymaster dressed for dinner. Then, my lord, came the awful news of hisdeath, and once again I forgot the Book--nor ever thought of it, until Isaw the Council gather--and then----" he threw up his hand, expressively.

  "And, now, what were you about to do?" asked Lotzen.

  "Put the Book in the box, monsieur, and return it to its place in thevault."

  The Duke looked at him in surprise.

  "Clever, clever, indeed," he muttered.... "I thought you gave the key toHer Highness."

  Adolph smiled--his spirit was never long in travail. "I did, monsieur--Ididn't need it;--and it was a good play to give it up at once. Neverhaving had the key to the box, it could not be I who replaced the Book."

  Lotzen studied the little valet a bit.

  "Clever," he repeated, "clever ... quite too clever, I fear." He leanedacross and tried the closed lid of the box; it lifted to his hand--andout on the desk dropped the little square of folded paper that had heldthe lock just out of catch.

  "Altogether, too clever," he concluded, picking it up and looking at it.

  "I fixed that in the Council chamber," Adolph explained; then he staredknowingly at the Duke--"monsieur was behind the curtain when I broughtback the box."

  Decidedly, this fellow was not to Lotzen's liking. He made no replybeyond a quick, sidelong glance, drumming with his finger tips softly onhis knee. Then he turned to the desk and tapped the Book of Laws.

  "You read this, I suppose, Adolph?" he remarked indifferently.

  "King Frederick's, you mean?--yes, my lord, I did; but that is all--I hadno time to read more."

  The Duke nodded, his eyes on the Book.

  The valet was becoming uneasy; he fidgeted in his chair, locked andunlocked his hands, listened toward all the doors.

  "My lord," he said, at length, "we may be found here!"

  Lotzen closed the Book. "True, Adolph, true," he answered, getting up andstepping back. "Put the Laws in the box--don't let it lock."

  The valet sprang to obey; and as he leaned across the desk--his back tothe Duke--and dropped the Book into the box, Ferdinand of Lotzen whippedout his sword, and, with the sure hand of the skilled fencer, drove therapier-like blade through the man's heart.

  Without cry or struggle, Adolph sank forward; and the box locked, as thelid fell under him.

  For a moment, the Duke held the body with his sword; then he slowly drewout the blade and wiped it on his handkerchief; while the dead manslipped from the desk and crumpled on the floor.

  Lotzen looked down at him and shrugged his shoulders.

  "You poor fool," he muttered--"why did you read what didn't concernyou!"... He stooped and turned the body on its face. "No blood!--a neatthrust, truly."

  He knew the room overlooked the King's private gardens, and, going to awindow, he cautiously raised the sash. It was as he had thought:--belowwas a thick hedge of box-wood, that grew to within a foot of the palacewall, which at that point was blank. Fortune was still his friend, itseemed; and, with a smile, he carried the valet's body to the windowand--after a quick survey of the garden to assure that no one was insight--balanced it an instant on the casement, then dropped it behind thehedge.

  Drawing down the window he rearranged the curtains and returned to thedesk.

  "Damnation!" he exclaimed, as his eyes fell upon the box--"Locked!--thefool must have fallen on it."

  He stood looking at it, frowning in indecision. He had intended to takethe Book with him, trusting to conceal it under his short cavalrycape--but the box was impossible; not only was it considerably largerthan the Laws, but its weight was amazing for its size.... Then he sawthe open vault, and what to do was plain--he would follow the valet'splan. None now would look in the box, and, for a time, the Book would besafer there than with him; later, he could arrange to get it--he knew thecombination.... He laughed cynically--it was a pretty game, and thepleasanter because it would be played directly under the American's eye.

  He carried the box into the vault, closed and locked the door, and,returning to the desk, put in place the papers disarranged by the valet'sfall. Among them lay the blotter that had been in the Book of Laws. Hestudied it a moment ... made as though to tear it ... then folded it andput it in the inside pocket of his jacket. A last glance around the roomassured him that everything was as he had found it. With a satisfiedsmile, he turned toward the corridor door, and his eyes rested on theportrait of Hi
s late Majesty. He stopped, and the smile changed to asneer, and doffing his cap he bowed mockingly.

  "My thanks, Sire, for dying so opportunely," he said; "may the devil keepyou."