Harold MacGrath - The Princess Elopes
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Harold MacGrath >> The Princess Elopes
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"It is necessary that a gentleman should be present. The caretaker is
not a gentleman. I have said that Steinbock is a rascal. As I review
the events, I begin to look upon your arrival as timely. Steinbock is
not a reliable quantity."
"I begin to perceive."
"He is to receive one thousand crowns for his part in the ceremony;
then he is to leave the country."
"But the priest's signature, the notary's seal, the iron-clad
formalities which attend all these things!" I stammered.
"You will recollect that her Highness is a princess of the blood.
Seldom is she refused anything in Barscheit." She went to a small
secretary and produced a certificate, duly sealed and signed. There
lacked nothing but Steinbock's name.
"But the rascal will boast about it! He may blackmail all of you. He
may convince the public that he has really married her Highness."
"I thank not. We have not moved in this blindly. Steinbock we know to
have forged the name of the minister of finance. We hold this sword
above his head. And if he should speak or boast of it, your word would
hold greater weight than his. Do you understand now?"
"Yes, I understand. But I believe that I am genuinely sorry to have
blundered into this castle to-night."
"Oh, if you lack courage!"--carelessly.
I laughed. "I am not afraid of twenty Steinbocks."
Her laughter echoed mine. "Come, Mr.--by the way, I believe I do not
know your name."
"Warrington--Arthur Warrington."
"That is a very good English name, and a gentleman possessing it will
never leave two women in a predicament like this. You will understand
that we dare not trust any one at court. Relative to her Highness, the
duke succeeds in bribing all."
"But a rascal like Steinbock!"
"I know,"--a bit wearily.
"It is pardonable to say that I believe her Highness has been very
foolish."
The girl made a gesture which conceded this fact. "It is too late to
retreat, as I have told you. Steinbock is already on the way. We must
trust him. But you?"
"After all, what does a consulate amount to?"
This seemed to be answer enough. She extended her hand in a royal
fashion. I took it in one of mine, bent and kissed it respectfully.
Apparently she had expected the old-fashioned handshake familiar to our
common race, for I observed that she started as my lips came into
contact with the back of her hand. As for me, when my lips touched the
satin flesh I knew that it was all over.
"Your Highness!" she called.
The princess returned. She looked at me with a mixture of fierceness
and defiance, humility and supplication. I had always supposed her to
be a sort of hobbledehoy; instead, she was one of those rare creatures
who possess all the varying moods of the sex. I could readily imagine
all the young fellows falling violently in love with her; all the young
fellows save one. I glanced furtively at the Honorable Betty.
"He knows all?" asked her Highness, her chin tilted aggressively.
"Everything."
"What must you think of me?" There was that in her Highness' tone
which dared me to express any opinion that was not totally
complimentary.
"I am not sufficiently well-born to pass an opinion upon your Highness'
actions," I replied, with excusable irony.
"Excellent!" she exclaimed. "I have grown weary of sycophants. You
are not afraid of me at all."
"Not in the slightest degree," I declared.
"You will not regret what you are about to do. I can make it very
pleasant for you in Barscheit--or very unpleasant." But this
threatening supplement was made harmless by the accompanying smile.
"May I offer the advice of rather a worldly man?"
"Well?"
"When Steinbock comes bid him go about his business."
The Honorable Betty nodded approvingly, but her Highness shrugged.
"Since you are decided,"--and I bowed. "Now, what time does this
fellow put in his appearance?"
Her Highness beamed upon the Honorable Betty. "I like the way he says
'this fellow'; it reassures me. He is due at nine o'clock; that is to
say, in half an hour. I will give you these directions. I do not wish
Steinbock to know of your presence here. You will hide in the salon,
close to the portieres, within call. Moreover, I shall have to impose
upon you the disagreeable duty of playing the listener. Let nothing
escape your ear or your eye. I am not certain of this fellow
Steinbock, though I hold a sword above his head."
"But where are your men?" I asked.
She smiled. "There is no one here but Leopold."
"Your Highness to meet Steinbock alone?"
"I have no fear of him; he knows who I am."
"Everything shall be done as you wish." I secretly hoped I might have
the opportunity to punch Steinbock's head.
"Thank you." The transition of her moods always left me in wonder.
"Play something; it is impossible to talk." She perched herself on the
broad arm of the Honorable Betty's chair, and her arm rested lightly
but affectionately on her shoulder.
It was something for a man to gain the confidence, in so short a time,
of two such women. I felt as brave as Bavard. So I sat down before
the piano and played. My two accomplishments are horseback riding and
music, and I candidly tell you that I am as reckless at one as at the
other. I had a good memory. I played something from Chaminade, as her
fancies are always airy and agreeable and unmelancholy. I was
attacking _The Flatterer_ when her Highness touched my arm.
"Hark!"
We all listened intently. The sound of beating hoofs came distinctly.
A single horseman was galloping along the highway toward the castle.
The sound grew nearer and nearer; presently it ceased. I rose quietly.
"It is time I hid myself, for doubtless this rider is the man."
The princess paled for a moment, while her companion nervously plucked
at the edges of her handkerchief.
"Go," said the former; "and be watchful."
I then took up my position behind the portieres. Truly I had stumbled
into an adventure; but how to stumble out again? If the duke got wind
of it, it would mean my recall, and I was of a mind, just then, that I
was going to be particularly fond of Barscheit.
All was silent. A door closed, and then came the tread of feet. I
peered through the portieres shortly to see the entrance of two men,
one of whom was the old caretaker. His companion was a dark, handsome
fellow, of Hungarian gipsy type. There was a devil-may-care air about
him that fitted him well. It was Steinbock. He was dressed with
scrupulous care, in spite of the fact that he wore riding clothes. It
is possible that he recognized the importance of the event. One did
not write one's name under a princess' signature every day, even in
mockery. There was a half-smile on his face that I did not like.
"Your Highness sees that I am prompt,"--uncovering.
"It is well. Let us proceed at once to conclude the matter in hand,"
she said.
"Wholly at your service!"
(Hang the fellow's impudence! How dared he use that jovial tone?)
I heard the crackle of parchment. The certificate was being unfolded.
(It occurred to me that while she was about it the princess might just
as well have forged the rascal's name and wholly dispensed with his
services. The whole affair struck me as being ineffective; nothing
would come of it. If she tried to make the duke believe that she had
married Steinbock, her uncle would probe the matter to the bottom, and
in the end cover her with ridicule. But you can not tell a young woman
anything, when she is a princess and in the habit of having her own
way. It is remarkable how stupid clever women can be at times. The
Honorable Betty understood, but her Highness would not be convinced.
Thus she suffered this needless affront. Pardon this parenthesis, but
when one talks from behind a curtain the parenthesis is the only
available thing.) There was silence. I saw Steinbock poise the pen,
then scribble on the parchment. It was done. I stirred restlessly.
"There!" cried Steinbock. His voice did not lack a certain triumph.
"And now for the duplicate!"
Her Highness stuffed the document into the bosom of her dress. "There
will be no duplicate." The frigidity of her tones would have congealed
the blood of an ordinary rascal. But Steinbock was not ordinary.
"But suppose the duke comes to me for verification?" he reasoned.
"You will be on the other side of the frontier. Here are your thousand
crowns."
The barb of her contempt penetrated even his thick epidermis. His
smile hardened.
"I was once a gentleman; I did not always accept money for aiding in
shady transactions."
"Neither your sentiments nor your opinions are required. Now, observe
me carefully," continued her Highness. "I shall give you twenty-four
hours to cross the frontier in any direction you choose. If after that
time you are found in Barscheit, I promise to hand you over to the
police."
"It has been a great day," said the rascal, with a laugh. "A thousand
crowns!"
I separated the portieres an inch. He stood at the side of the piano,
upon which he leaned an elbow. He was certainly handsome, much sought
after by women of a low class. The princess stood at Steinbock's left
and the Honorable Betty at his right, erect, their faces expressing
nothing, so forced was the repose.
"I never expected so great an honor. To wed a princess, when that
princess is your Highness! Faith, it is fine!"
"You may go at once," interrupted her Highness, her voice rising a key.
"Remember, you have only twenty-four hours between you and prison. You
waste valuable time."
"What! you wish to be rid of me so soon? Why, this is the bridal
night. One does not part with one's wife at this rate."
Leopold, the caretaker, made a warning gesture.
"Come, Leopold, I must have my jest," laughed Steinbock.
"Within certain bounds," returned the old man phlegmatically. "It is
high time you were off. You are foolhardy to match your chances with
justice. Prison stares you in the face."
"Bah! Do you believe it?"
"It is a positive fact," added the princess.
"But to leave like this has the pang of death!" Steinbock remonstrated,
"What! shall I be off without having even kissed the bride?"
"The bargain is concluded on all sides; you have your thousand crowns."
"But not love's tribute. I must have that. It is worth a thousand
crowns. Besides," with a perceptible change in his manner, "shall I
forget the contempt with which you have always looked upon me, even in
the old days that were fair and prosperous? Scarcely! Opportunity is
a thing that can not be permitted to pass thus lightly." Then I
observed his nose wrinkle; he was sniffing. "Tobacco! I did not know
that you smoked, Leopold."
"Begone!" cried the old fellow, his hands opening and shutting.
"Presently!" With a laugh he sprang toward her Highness, but Leopold
was too quick for him.
There was a short struggle, and I saw the valiant old man reel, fall
and strike his head on the stone of the hearth. He lay perfectly
motionless. So unexpected was this scene to my eyes that for a time I
was without any particular sense of movement. I stood like stone.
With an evil laugh Steinbock sprang toward her Highness again. Quick
as light she snatched up my crop, which lay on the table, and struck
the rascal full across the eyes, again and again and again, following
him as he stepped backward. Her defense was magnificent. But, as fate
determined to have it, Steinbock finally succeeded in wresting the
stick from her grasp. He was wild with pain and chagrin. It was then
I awoke to the fact that I was needed.
I rushed out, hot with anger. I caught Steinbock by the collar just in
time to prevent his lips from touching her cheek. I flung him to the
floor, and knelt upon his chest. I am ashamed to confess it, but I
recollect slapping the fellow's face as he struggled under me.
"You scoundrel!" I cried, breathing hard.
"Kill him!" whispered her Highness. She was furious; the blood of her
marauding ancestors swept over her cheeks, and if ever I saw murder in
a woman's eyes it was at that moment.
"Hush, Hildegarde, hush!" The English girl caught the princess in her
arms and drew her back. "Don't let me hear you talk like that. It is
all over."
"Get up," I said to Steinbock, as I set him free.
He crawled to his feet. He was very much disordered, and there were
livid welts on his face. He shook himself, eying me evilly. There was
murder in his eyes, too.
"Empty your pockets of those thousand crowns!"--peremptorily.
"I was certain that I smelled tobacco," he sneered. "It would seem
that there are other bridegrooms than myself."
"Those crowns, or I'll break every bone in your body!" I balled my
fists. Nothing would have pleased me better at that moment than to
pummel the life out of him.
Slowly he drew out the purse. It was one of those limp silk affairs so
much affected by our ancestors. He balanced it on his hand. Its ends
bulged with gold and bank-notes. Before I was aware of his intention,
he swung one end of it in so deft a manner that it struck me squarely
between the eyes. With a crash of glass he disappeared through the
window. The blow dazed me only for a moment, and I was hot to be on
his tracks. The Honorable Betty stopped me.
"He may shoot you!" she cried. "Don't go!"
Although half through the window, I crawled back, brushing my sleeves.
Something warm trickled down my nose.
"You have been cut!" exclaimed her Highness.
"It is nothing. I beg of you to let me follow. It will be all over
with that fellow at large."
"Not at all." Her Highness' eyes sparkled wickedly. "He will make for
the nearest frontier. He knows now that I shall not hesitate a moment
to put his affairs in the hands of the police."
"He will boast of what he has done."
"Not till he has spent those thousand crowns." She crossed the room
and knelt at the side of Leopold, dashing some water into his face.
Presently he opened his eyes. "He is only stunned. Poor Leopold!"
I helped the old man to his feet, and he rubbed the back of his head
grimly. He drew a revolver from his pocket.
"I had forgotten all about it," he said contritely. "Shall I follow
him, your Highness?"
"Let him go. It doesn't matter now. Betty, you were right, as you
always are. I have played the part of a silly fool. I _would_ have my
own way in the matter. Well, I have this worthless paper. At least I
can frighten the duke, and that is something."
"Oh, my dear, if only you would have listened to my advice!" the other
girl said. There was deep discouragement in her tones. "I warned you
so often that it would come to this end."
"Let us drop the matter entirely," said her Highness.
I gazed admiringly at her--to see her sink suddenly into a chair and
weep abandonedly! Leopold eyed her mournfully, while the English girl
rushed to her side and flung her arms around her soothingly.
"I am very unhappy," said the princess, lifting her head and shaking
the tears from her eyes. "I am harassed on all sides; I am not allowed
any will of my own. I wish I were a peasant!--Thank you, thank you!
But for you that wretch would have kissed me." She held out her hand
to me, and I bent to one knee as I kissed it. She was worthy to be the
wife of the finest fellow in all the world. I was very sorry for her,
and thought many uncomplimentary things of the duke.
"I shall not ask you to forget my weakness," she said.
"It is already forgotten, your Highness."
Under such circumstances I met the Princess Hildegarde of Barscheit;
and I never betrayed her confidence until this writing, when I have her
express permission.
Of Hermann Steinbock I never saw anything more. Thus the only villain
passes from the scene. As I have repeatedly remarked, doubtless to
your weariness, this is not my story at all; but in parenthesis I may
add that between the Honorable Betty Moore and myself there sprang up a
friendship which later ripened into something infinitely stronger.
This, then, was the state of affairs when, one month later, Max
Scharfenstein poked his handsome blond head over the frontier of
Barscheit; cue (as the dramatist would say), enter hero.
IV
He came straight to the consulate, and I was so glad to see him that I
sat him down in front of the sideboard and left orders that I was at
home to no one. We had been class-mates and room-mates at college, and
two better friends never lived. We spent the whole night in recounting
the good old days, sighed a little over the departed ones, and praised
or criticized the living. Hadn't they been times, though? The nights
we had stolen up to Philadelphia to see the shows, the great
Thanksgiving games in New York, the commencements, and all that!
Max had come out of the far West. He was a foundling who had been
adopted by a wealthy German ranchman named Scharfenstein, which name
Max assumed as his own, it being as good as any. Nobody knew anything
about Max's antecedents, but he was so big and handsome and jolly that
no one cared a hang. For all that he did not know his parentage, he
was a gentleman, something that has to be bred in the bone. Once or
twice I remember seeing him angry; in anger he was arrogant, deadly,
but calm. He was a god in track-linen, for he was what few big men
are, quick and agile. The big fellow who is cat-like in his movements
is the most formidable of athletes. One thing that invariably amused
me was his inordinate love of uniforms. He would always stop when he
saw a soldier or the picture of one, and his love of arms was little
short of a mania. He was an expert fencer and a dead shot besides.
(Pardon the parenthesis, but I feel it my duty to warn you that nobody
fights a duel in this little history, and nobody gets killed.)
On leaving college he went in for medicine, and his appearance in the
capital city of Barscheit was due obviously to the great medical
college, famous the world over for its nerve specialists. This was
Max's first adventure in the land of gutturals. I explained to him,
and partly unraveled, the tangle of laws; as to the language, he spoke
that, not like a native, but as one.
Max was very fond of the society of women, and at college we used to
twit him about it, for he was always eager to meet a new face, trusting
that the new one might be the ideal for which he was searching.
"Well, you old Dutchman," said I, "have you ever found that ideal woman
of yours?"
"Bah!"--lighting a pipe. "She will never be found. A horse and a
trusty dog for me; those two you may eventually grow to understand. Of
course I don't say, if the woman came along--the right one--I mightn't
go under, I'm philosopher enough to admit that possibility. I want her
tall, hair like corn-silk, eyes like the cornflower, of brilliant
intellect, reserved, and dignified, and patient. I want a woman, not
humorous, but who understands humor, and I have never heard of one.
So, you see, it's all smoke; and I never talk woman these times unless
I'm smoking,"--with a gesture which explained that he had given up the
idea altogether. "A doctor sees so much of women that he finally sees
nothing of woman."
"Oh, if you resort to epigrams, I can see that it's all over."
"All over. I'm so used to being alone that I shouldn't know what to do
with a wife." He puffed seriously.
Ah! the futility of our desires, of our castles, of our dreams! The
complacency with which we jog along in what we deem to be our own
particular groove! I recall a girl friend of my youth who was going to
be a celibate, a great reformer, and toward that end was studying for
the pulpit. She is now the mother of several children, the most
peaceful and unorative woman I know. You see, humanity goes whirring
over various side-tracks, thinking them to be the main line, till fate
puts its peculiar but happy hand to the switch. Scharfenstein had been
plugging away over rusty rails and grass-grown ties--till he came to
Barscheit.
"Hope is the wings of the heart," said I, when I thought the pause had
grown long enough. "You still hope?"
"In a way. If I recollect, you had an affair once,"--shrewdly.
I smoked on. I wasn't quite ready to speak.
"You were always on the hunt for ideals, too, as I remember; hope
you'll find her."
"Max, my boy, I am solemnly convinced that I have."
"Good Lord, you don't mean to tell me that you are _hooked_?" he cried.
"I see no reason why you should use that particular tone," I answered
stiffly.
"Oh, come now; tell me all about it. Who is she, and when's the
wedding?"
"I don't know when the wedding's going to be, but I'm mighty sure that
I have met the one girl. Max, there never was a girl like her. Witty
she is, and wise; as beautiful as a summer's dawn; merry and brave;
rides, drives, plays the 'cello, dances like a moon-shadow; and all
that,"--with a wave of the hand.
"You've got it bad. Remember how you used to write poetry at college?
Who is she, if I may ask?"
"The Honorable Betty Moore, at present the guest of her Highness, the
Princess Hildegarde,"--with pardonable pride.
Max whistled. "You're a lucky beggar. One by one we turn traitor to
our native land. A Britisher! I never should have believed it of you,
of the man whose class declamation was on the fiery subject of
patriotism. But is it all on one side?"
"I don't know, Max; sometimes I think so, and then I don't."
"How long have you known her?"
"Little more than a month."
"A month? Everything moves swiftly these days, except European railway
cars."
"There's a romance, Max, but another besides her is concerned, and I
can not tell you. Some day, when everything quiets down, I'll get you
into a corner with a bottle, and you will find it worth while."
"The bottle?"
"Both."
"From rumors I've heard, this princess is a great one for larks; rides
bicycles and automobiles, and generally raises the deuce. What sort is
she?"
"If you are going to remain in Barscheit, my boy, take a friendly
warning. Do not make any foolish attempt to see her. She is more
fascinating than a roulette table."
This was a sly dig. Max smiled. A recent letter from him had told of
an encounter with the goddess of Monte Carlo. Fortune had been all
things but favorable.
"I'm not afraid of your princess; besides, I came here to study."
"And study hard, my boy, study hard. Her Highness is not the only
pretty woman in Barscheit. There's a raft of them."
"I'll paddle close to the shore," with a smile.
"By the way, I'll wake you up Thursday."
"How?"--lazily.
"A bout at Mueller's Rathskeller. Half a dozen American lads, one of
whom is called home. Just fixed up his passports for him. You'll be
as welcome as the flowers in the spring. Some of the lads will be in
your classes."
"Put me down. It will be like old times. I went to the reunion last
June. Everything was in its place but you. Hang it, why can't time
always go on as it did then?"
"Time, unlike our watches, never has to go to the jeweler's for
repairs," said I owlishly.
Max leaned over, took my bull-terrier by the neck and deposited him on
his lap.
"Good pup, Artie--if he's anything like his master. Three years, my
boy, since I saw you. And here you are, doing nothing and lallygagging
at court with the nobility. I wish I had had an uncle who was a
senator. 'Pull' is everything these days."
"You Dutchman, I won this place on my own merit,"--indignantly.
"Forget it!"--grinning.
"You are impertinent."
"But truthful, always."
And then we smoked a while in silence. The silent friend is the best
of the lot. He knows that he hasn't got to talk unless he wants to,
and likewise that it is during these lapses of speech that the vine of
friendship grows and tightens about the heart. When you sit beside a
man and feel that you need not labor to entertain him it's a good sign
that you thoroughly understand each other. I was first to speak.
"I don't understand why you should go in for medicine so thoroughly.
It can't be money, for heaven knows your father left you a yearly
income which alone would be a fortune to me."
"Chivalry shivers these days; the chill of money is on everything. A
man must do something--a man who is neither a sloth nor a fool. A man
must have something to put his whole heart into; and I despise money as
money. I give away the bulk of my income."
"Marry, and then you will not have to," I said flippantly.
"You're a sad dog. Do you know, I've been thinking about epigrams."
"No!"
"Yes. I find that an epigram is produced by the same cause that
produces the pearl in the oyster."
"That is to say, a healthy mentality never superinduces an epigram?
Fudge!" said I, yanking the pup from his lap on to mine. "According to
your diagnosis, your own mind is diseased."
"Have I cracked an epigram?"--with pained surprise.
"Well, you nearly bent one," I compromised. Then we both laughed, and
the pup started up and licked my face before I could prevent him.
"Did I ever show you this?"--taking out a locket which was attached to
one end of his watch-chain. He passed the trinket to me.
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