Mr. Smith took a pair of revolvers from a desk, handed one to me and put
the other in his pocket.
"Come," he said, "it is time."
The three of us went out to the car. I felt cool, and made some
cheerful remark to Carruthers.
"Good old Splosh, what is it to be, 150 not out?"
"Or a duck," I said.
Sluben, who understood a little English, looked at Mr. Smith with a
puzzled expression on his face.
"It is all right, Baron," he said, answering the look, "his Majesty is
talking of an English game."
"But the duck, Count, is it alive or for dinner?"
This was too much for us; and we laughed heartily while explaining.
I think our high spirits must have been contagious, for we were
continually laughing all the way to the Palace, where we entered by a
back door.
Colonel Woolgast was waiting. After assuring us that all was well, he,
at my request, led the way to a room on the same floor as the Royal
apartments.
Here, as Mr. Smith had stated, I found the uniforms laid out, and Bauen
waiting.
In twenty minutes I was dressed, and looked at myself in a tall cheval
glass.
I looked very nice indeed, the white and gold uniform set off my figure
to the utmost, while the plumed helmet added to my height and general
impressiveness. Even Carruthers admitted that I looked like a King, and
a fine one, too, which was great praise from him, who was not given to
paying me compliments.
I wore across my chest the broad ribbon of the "Star of Rudarlia" with
its splendid insignia in diamonds and gold, which Mr. Smith fastened to
my tunic.
At length, all was ready, and Woolgast slipped from the room.
Ten minutes later, came the sullen boom of a cannon; and the people who
heard it knew that King Ivan was dead.
*CHAPTER VII*
I walked to the window and looked out into the square below. As I did
so, I noticed an unusual stir among the people who were passing. Every
one seemed to be flocking to the Palace; the gates were wide open; and a
continual stream of motor-cars and carriages kept entering and leaving.
This was evidently an unusual sight, for the ordinary passers-by
gathered at the entrances to watch, and most probably wonder. Then I
noticed newspapers being sold, and the hum of many excited voices could
be heard. I turned to Mr. Smith.
"Can they know already, do you think?"
"Undoubtedly, I have seen to that, and in all the chief cities of your
Majesty's kingdom; they will know as fast as the telegrams can be sent."
Woolgast had left the room, but now returned and came up to where I was
standing.
"I have to report, your Majesty, that Prince Alexis has just entered the
Palace, and been arrested."
"That is good news, Colonel; I was fearing that he might be
troublesome."
I think Mr. Smith had rather feared the same thing, for I heard him
heave a sigh of relief.
"That eases my mind," he said. "It will be a bloodless _coup d'etat_,
after all."
"Thanks to the excellence of your plans."
"And the loyal co-operation of all those people who knew; a single word
might have spoilt all. As it is, there is nothing now to prevent your
Majesty entering the throne room."
"I am ready."
"Then let us go."
He threw open the door and I passed out. My body-guard were drawn up
ready to attend me; I saluted them as I came out of the room, and they
fell in behind me. This affair was not to be marked by much state, but
Mr. Smith had seen to it that there was enough. That is to say, there
were ushers and heralds, with other functionaries, who preceded me to
clear the way, and throw wide the great doors which led into the throne
room. I felt that I would sooner have seen the spectacle from the other
end, or in one of the galleries; but that was not to be, so I entered
bravely, although my heart did beat a trifle more rapidly than usual.
The place seemed packed from floor to roof; whichever way I turned,
there were smiling faces. A deafening shout greeted me. These good
people evidently could not restrain their joy at thoughts of the
restoration of the beloved dynasty of the Stephanovitchs.
I stood on the edge of the dais, and smiled for very joy at the
acclamations; pride, too, had its way, and I was pleased to think that I
was King. It was so much nicer than I had anticipated. Mr. Smith, by my
side, held up his hand, and almost immediately there was silence.
A gorgeous figure, clad in robes which no King could rival, stepped
forward; there was a fanfare of trumpets, and then:
"King Ivan is dead, God save King Victor!"
"Speak to them," said Mr. Smith.
"Rudarlians"--how funny my voice sounded, I could hardly believe that I
was speaking--"I am the son of Merlin. I am your King, Rudarlia is my
country. Help me therefore to undo the errors of my predecessor; give
me your loyalty, and together we will give new life to our beloved
country, and keep her clean from tyrannous injustice. Help me, and we
will make it a proud boast when a man can say: 'I am a Rudarlian.'"
For the second time that day, my words seemed to meet with approval, for
my stepping back was the signal for another hurricane of cheers. I
thought they would never stop, and that low fellow Carruthers said, loud
enough for me to hear, to Mr. Smith:
"He ought to get in with a thumping majority."
Mr. Smith had told me that from time immemorial, on such occasions, the
King always walked straight down the hall and up a broad stairway at the
other end, and so back to his own apartments. As it had been the
custom, I saw no reason to break away from it, so once more the heralds
cleared the way for me; and I passed through the long hall, between two
lines of bowing people, who laughed and cried at the same time.
Under my father's rule there had been a golden age for Rudarlia, and
this must account for the extraordinary enthusiasm with which I was
greeted. We went, some dozen in all, to a room overlooking the main
entrance to the Palace; and from there we watched the people gathering
in hundreds, to hear from those who passed out--whatever they did hear.
They seemed pleased with the news, whatever it was, for they turned
their faces to the Palace and shouted. It was not only the people who
appeared gay, but presently the shops as well; flags and coloured
ribbons began to be displayed. Then men came with great placards: "God
Save Victor II., Merlin's Son," in red letters on a yellow ground. Some
one had stage-managed the thing very well, nothing had been forgotten.
As I looked down upon the heaving mass of men and women, an irresistible
longing came over me to ride out among them, to go to the Cathedral, and
thank God that no blood had been shed in this, my triumph.
"Count," I said, turning to Mr. Smith, "is there any reason why I should
not go now to the Cathedral?"
He looked at me hesitatingly for a moment.
"Not if your Majesty wills it," he said quickly.
"Then I will go, for there are a number of good citizens in danger of
being crushed, down there, in their eagerness to catch sight of me."
"I will order your Majesty's carriage."
"No! I will ride."
Colonel Woolgast had returned; and I told him of my intention.
He looked anxious; and asked whether he should call out troops to line
the way.
"Troops?" I said, perhaps foolhardily. "No, Colonel, just my own
body-guard, half to clear a way, and the other half to follow. I will
begin, as I intend to go on, by trusting the people. Count Zeula, I
should be pleased if you would ride with me; and you, too, gentlemen, if
so inclined."
"Thank God we shall have a King," I heard some one mutter, and then Mr.
Smith and I were alone again, waiting for our horses.
"Am I wise?" I asked.
"Yes, Victor, I think you are, only I am nervous for your safety."
"I feel that nothing could hurt me to-day," I said, laughing. "But
there is one thing I have forgotten, I wish Bauen to ride with us, to
let the people see that loyalty such as his is not forgotten by my
family."
"God made you a King before ever you came to Rudarlia, Victor."
And, at something in his voice, I felt myself blushing.
I shall never forget that ride. The great cry that arose as the
body-guard wheeled into the courtyard; the instantaneous sundering of
the crowd to make a way as the gates were swung open.
Unaffectedly I rejoiced, as I rode through them, some ten yards behind
the last rank of the vanguard, with Mr. Smith half a length behind me;
Woolgast, Carruthers, Bauen and the rest two lengths behind him again.
I was almost deafened by the shouts of welcome that arose from the
crowd.
A child, escaping from his mother's restraining hand, ran under my
horse's feet. In a moment I was out of my saddle, and had the little
thing in my arms, sobbing, frightened, but unhurt.
A halt had been called; and the mother, a poor ragged woman, approached,
terrified, trembling. I gave the boy into her arms, with two or three
pieces of gold.
"Take him, my good woman," I said, "and keep him, for one day Rudarlia
may have need of him."
The crowd grew delirious; they burst through the restraining arms,
surrounded me, cheering and blessing me. For some little time they were
hysterical in their expressions of loyalty, until I had to stand up in
my stirrups and ask them to make way for me. At the sound of my voice
they once again surged back, and our cortege passed on.
Luckily, it was not a great way to the Cathedral, or I doubt if we
should have reached it before nightfall. As it was, it was six o'clock
before we started on our homeward journey.
So dense was the crowd, that we went at a walk the whole way; the more
adventurous would press forward, and touching my boot, bridle, anything,
were contented.
They were a good-natured mass of people; and, although the jostling and
discomfort must have been appalling, I heard never a single oath or
bad-tempered remark, only blessings, and heart-felt utterances of joy.
We were within sight of the Palace, when I saw the escort which rode
before me divide into two parts, and down the middle came six beautiful
girls, carrying great bunches of flowers; some enthusiast had organised
the party, and ransacked a florist's shop evidently.
The crowd swept back, and left a clear space around them.
One little maid, who was in advance, came timidly up to me, as I sat on
my horse, laughing down at them.
She was too tongue-tied to say anything, so she just held up a bunch of
white roses for me to take. She was so tiny, and looked so sweetly
pretty, that I could not resist dismounting; and, picking up the little
one, kissed her, at the same time taking the roses, and fastening them
somehow into my tunic.
Seeing this, some wit in the crowd called out:
"The others want payment too."
And this idea caught on to such an extent that I was obliged to kiss all
the other blushing five, to the delight of the onlookers. Mr. Smith
laughed heartily; and even the stern-faced troopers looked away to hide
their emotion.
That, however, was the last delay we had; and shortly after we turned in
through the Palace gates.
Jove! how hot and tired I was, I remember it to this day, and the
gorgeous relief when, in my own apartments, I bathed and put on cool
evening dress.
In spite of fatigue, there was an immense amount of work to be got
through that night; I don't know how many times I put my signature to
papers handed me by Mr. Smith, but it seemed millions.
I had sent a telegram to my mother, just a few words, saying that all
was well.
At Mr. Smith's suggestion, I had invited some twenty or thirty people to
take supper with me, and at eleven o'clock I vowed that I would work no
more. At which Mr. Smith and Baron Sluben laughed, and said that they
had been wondering when I meant to stop; and only then did I realise
that it had been my place to call a halt, not theirs.
Twice, during these hours of writing, I had been obliged to leave the
room, and show myself to the people who stood outside the Palace gates,
cheering continuously; but, as it grew towards midnight, the crowd had
dwindled, and I could feel more at rest.
I think my first supper-party was a success, the late King's chef being
one of the best in Europe.
Naturally enough, high spirits reigned supreme, as one and all there,
with the single exception of myself, had worked for years for what had
happened this day.
The guests were all very great people in the realm; and, when supper was
finished, we withdrew to another room to hold a Council of War, to
decide what should be done with Prince Alexis and his following.
There were some whose advice was distinctly Machiavellian, desiring to
stamp out all of Ivan's race. They had forgotten, perhaps, that I was
related to him. There were others, who thought that imprisonment for
life was the thing; while the majority, of which I was one, held in
favour of exile.
That was for Alexis and his chief advisers; the minor characters would
have to live on their estates, under certain conditions, or leave the
country, the choice to be theirs. And so, after a somewhat lengthy
debate, it was decided.
Perhaps we were too lenient, knowing as we did the kind of men with whom
we dealt; but severity was abhorrent to me who had been so short a while
King.
It was long past midnight when I went to my room to sleep; and even then
I did not go direct, for I was obliged to pass the door of the room
where Ivan's body lay. A trooper of my body-guard had been placed on
guard there, and I stopped to say a word to him; as I did so, the sound
of weeping reached my ears.