“And four weeks ago I received the freedom of an English town from a successful grocer! Hartzel, my blood races! Here are romance, adventure! I am your debtor for life!” “That debt may be liquidated at any moment,” he said grimly. For a minute his old face softened, and then it was as hard as ever. I knew that some touch of remorse had stabbed him. The game was nothing to me; he was staking my life for a cause in which I had no concern. Then came the thought of his country. No life mattered then. That night we lay in a small town, and I was shown secretly to a few of the town’s chief men; and the next night we slept in the General’s house at Tsalburg. The rumor of my coming circulated furiously. At eleven o’clock, when I was preparing to rest, tired with my long journey, a mob assembled in the square outside and sang the national anthem for an hour or so. Hartzel harangued them from the balcony. I was fatigued. I could not be disturbed, but on the morrow their King would meet them. That was the purport of his speech. The national anthem broke out again, and presently, with the poetical inspiration of the nation, they sang a legendary serenade. Hartzel came to my room and sat on the edge of my bed. I was nearly dead with fatigue, but he was inexorable. “Tomorrow will see the crucial test of our scheme, so you must listen. There are two factions in Ertaria. In the late King’s reign I kept the Tertourgkis in abeyance.” “The Tertourgkis!” I cried, memory stirring me. “They had some feud with the reigning family and—and there was a daughter.” “You remember?” he said. “Prince Tertourgki is an old man. His wealth and his lands go to this daughter, his only child. She is very beautiful.” “She was a beautiful child, dark and serene as night.” “The Prince has claims to the throne. He is the descendant of the Tertourgkis, who reigned in the fifteenth century. They were despots, and a revolution set the Borros on the throne. The Prince has never abrogated his claim. There is a second cousin——” “My General, the rest is easy to decipher. The second cousin has aspirations for the hand of the Princess Marie; he is the puppet of the Russians; the Tertourgkis’ influence is great; we fear the loyalty of the army; we must deal quickly with the second cousin.” “You are quick at guessing,” the General answered slowly. “You know——” “On my word, nothing—nothing but the name of the Princess Marie. When the world was younger, General, there was a large garden and a young schoolboy—he thought himself a man—and a little child and flowers. Together they made a happy time. The sun was always shining. The little child worshiped the big schoolboy—and he graciously permitted it.” “Your father’s house! Ah, well, you know something, but not all. As the King lay dying I—I arranged a marriage between the Princess Marie and the absent Paul.” I sat up in bed. “The Prince Paul!” I exclaimed.