The INDOMITABLE GEORGE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 31, 5 February 1910, Page 13

The INDOMITABLE GEORGE.

CV Q. FREDERIC TURNER, M.A. •i Her of "Frost and Friendship," "The Conversion of Claud," "The Toad and * uw " the Amuan." "The Bicycle Hide," eto.

CHAPTER XII. THE SIMPLE POLICY. -no royal palace of Weidenbruck—the J£££. « ie ; * called. *tt« a leaden mm of tae sea god which stands in its nml courtyard—is a Renaissance "SStare of considerable size and dignity. S ma in facade, a pompom, Paliadian ?te of superimposed pilasters, stone Sa and floral swags, fronts tne kon.g":f;=e a w-ide thoroughfare joining the suburb, with the Cathedra f, 're Internal! v. there is a fine set of a florid chapel, and the famon! muscUeUaal, an apartment decoratS itrith shells, coral, pieces ot amber, trWe, *n.l porphyry, and other semimateria!. It was into this apartEat seintiUaung with light and colour, thai Trafford found himself ushered on Jj° arrival at the royal domain. General Meyer, resplendent in a pale Hue and er au<i sundry brilSant orders, received him and presented ". , t0 jus wife, a handsome tody of Ameri£n orieta, and an ultra-Republican love Tfiwrv? launders was there, also with w wife, the latter beautiful and stately a statue, in an empire gown o! with red at her ■ijest "There was an old gentleman ftTa billowy white moustache, and <i T0 -jn<r officer of the Guides. There were the diplomatic representatives of France and England- and a bevy of court ladies ,rith die expensive paraphernalia of 'tone-! egrets, and voluminous trains. The decorative one. and the setting sumptnona only needing the sun of the royal presence to gild the refined gold of the exhilarating scene. Saunders took an early opportunity of fczvins Trafford apart. "Jlv boy," the former began, "the £ins. Meyer and myself have been having g little private conversation about you." "A most interesting topic, to be sure." Mlost. The conclusion we arrived at (Baa that'you had been making an idiotic 855 of yourself." ••Details, dear flatterer," demanded Irafford. "This sister business!" expostulated gaunders. "Why, e\erybody knows you arrived at the Hotel Coneordia. by yourself, and without expectation of a "sit from any relative." "Everybody knows it?" queried Trafford blandly. "By everybody I mean the police, who itndy most' things, and particularly the visitors' list- at the ' Coneordia.' The hall-porter of that excellent hotel is one of Meyers most trusted agents, and there is not'the slightest doubt that it was the Princess Mathilde who enjoyed the privileze of claiming you as a brother." ""A half-brother," corrected Trafford.

" Anyway," said Saunders, "it is established beyond a doubt that you nave helped the Princess by every means in j-our po rer." ■'Then we will admit what is universally knovrn," said Trafford coolly. "Only, I don't agree with your description of mc e= an. idiotic ass. I came out here for excitement, and as you don't seem willhs to provide us with it, I am finding , it for myself. Besides, the Princess i≤ a Esfendid little person, and to cultivate her society i= the act not of an ass, but of a ■jJakfiopher.'' "Tilt sort of philosophy leads to the £trafebnrg," retorted Saunders. "Be •trained, my rrieml. I know more about this" charming country tha n yon do. You have won the King's Prize. Wrap it in tissue paper, smTtake it by the midnight express to iTienai. There is excellent skating to be had there —and you may come across your half-sister.' , '"My dear humorist," said Trafford, Emilias? and twirling his moustache. " I liave no further use for half-sisters."

Saunders started in amazement, not a{ the words themselves, but at their tone, end tie twinkle that accompanied them.

■'Looney, Looney Trafford," he said solemnly. "Do you suppose a Schattenierg sets her cap at a commoner? If Efle wins a throne, as she may for all 1 know, you will be put in a row with ether gallant dupes of her witchery, and you will be allowed to kiss her hand every first and second Thursdays. Give it up, man," went on Saunders more heartily. " Give up playing poodle-dog to beauty in distress. You will get plenty ef scars and very few lumps of sugar. Moreover, you may take it from mc that a sterner policy of suppression is being pursued. There are important arrests impending. 1.

"Important arrests!" echoed Trafford, laughing softly. " Winy, I "was the means of spoiling one this afternoon. I •K-as i n the Strafeburg with the Princess t>mh ileyer turned up with foot and !rorse to arrest the poor child. Not wuMng to witness a patietic scene, I unscrewed the spikes of the Iron Maiden, find popped ilathilde yon Schattenberg bade the barbarous contrivance. Needissi to say, no one, not even Meyer bought of looking inside such an impossble hiding-place. So you see, mon caoux, important arrests sometimes fail to come off."

'"Sometimes, but not invariably/* said a voice close by Trafford's ear. Trafford Juddered rather than started, for he recognised t!ie acid tones of General i%er, and he was getting used to finding that gentleman near him when he wiieved him iar away. But the words depressed him, nevertheless, for they held » note of ruthless certainty that belled of damp walls and barred windows. He realised that he had made *£ enemy, a personal enemy, who was Sot likely to respect the liberty of a yottng foreigner who baulked his choicest fchemes.

_'"! stepped across the room to warn you 01 tie King's entrance," went on the General suavely. '"His Majesty is on •« point of entering the chamber." ' A door was Sung open by liveried and powdered menials. The company drew Jtseli into two lines, and between them, filing, portly, debonnair, walked the Big, iiaif-patherie, half-humorous figure of the King, He bowed to right and left, jsannuring conventional terms of greettog to all and sundry. "To-night," he said, referring to Ms jfcarle; tunic, "I am an English Colonel. jpwt is in honour of Mr. Trafford, who "M won my skating prize. I am a great admirer of the nation to which he has &c priviledge to belong." Trafford bowed, and took the King's which was extended to him. . To-morrow I shall be a German AdCnral," went on the monarch, "but the W after to-morrow I shall be a Grimi°r I am going to Weissheim — ■iVeissheiia, land of clean snovr, bright PSS, and crisp, invigorating air! Fare™«fi then, to Weidenbrack, with its penetrating chilliness, its vile, rheumatic fogs, Wα its viler and more deadly intrigues. *ten hurrah for aid and skate and toboggan, aad the good granite curling-

stone that sings its way from crampit to tee over the faultless ice. What say rou, Saunders?"

"I say hurrah for winter sport, your Majesty, and a curse on fogs, meteorological and political!"

Dinner was a meal of splendid dullness. Excellent viands, faultless champagne, and a gorgeous display of plate were not m themselves sufficient to counteract the atmosphere of well-bred boredom that sat heavy on the cornpan}. - The King made desperate efforts to sustain his role of exuberant geniality, but his wonted spirits flagged visibly as the evening wore on, and it was clear that the events of the morning h-ad left him depressed and heart weary. Saunders, indeed, chatted volubly to Meyer's better-half, a lady who talked politics with a reckless freedom and loudness of speech that were palliated by occasional flashes of common sense. Merer himself glass in eye, tasting each dish and sipping each wine with the slow gusto of tne connoisseur, maintained an epigrammatic conversation with Mrs. Saunders, whose ready tongue had nearly as keen an edge as his own. But poor Trafford, despite a healthy appetite and an appreciation, of his high honour, was enjoying himself but little. The lady whom he was privileged to sit next to, the Frau Gcneralin yon Eilderbaum, nee Fraulein yon Holder, formerly maid of honour to the ex-Queen, was a wife of the General with the enawy moustache, and her sole topic of conversation was her husband. She was a lady of immense proportions and a more than corresponding appetite, and her devotion to her spouse -would have been more romantic, had she possessed features as well as contours. During the meal Trafford was much enlightened as to the loyal and devoted career of General yon Bilderbaum and the digestive capacities of an ex-maid of honour.

"The General fought with distinction in the trenches at Offen in '84, and he took part also with great distinction in the hill fighting round about Kurdeburg in '86. In 'S7 " Fortunately for Trafford the flow of the worthy" lady's recital was checked. A menial, pompous in plush and yellow braid, put his powdered head between him and hie persecutrix, whispering in his ear, "TTU Majesty will take wine with you, sir."

Trafford looked up to the end of the table where the King sat. King Karl, with raised glass and a resumption of his genial smile, was endeavouring to catch his eve.

Trafford raised his glass and. flushed. It is not given to every man to be toasted by a reigning sovereign, and Trafford felt a sense of pride that surged up in. his bosom with no litvle strength Then the incongruity of his positi?n struck him. There was he, eating the King's food, and drinking the King's •wine, and at the same time pledged "to help and abet his most Telentless enemy. Xay, more, he had sworn to abuse his hospitality that evening by gleaning any facts winch might help "the rebellious Princess to continue free to work out her ambitious and subversive propoganda. And now he was signalled out for especial honour, and he blushed, not because the eyea of the ladies regarded him with frank admiration, not because Meyer looked sideways at him -with sneering inscrutability, but because his host, the King, regarded Him with a glance that was all welcome and good fellowship. And in the emotion and excitement of the moment Trafford recalled Saunders' favourable opinion of King Karl, rather than the Princess Mathilde'e sinister suggestion of the torture-chamber. But just as; with mixed feelings and mantled cheek, he threw back his head to empty his glass, a noise from outside attracted his attention. It was a low, humming noise at first, with sharp notes rising from its depths. But it grew louder, and something in its swelling vibrations checked the glass untasted in his hand, lien and women looked at each other, and the conversation ceased automatically. Louder tho noise grew—louder, till it was like the Toaring of a great wind or the snarling of innumerable wild beasts. And yet, besides its note of wrath and menace, it held a subtone of deep, insistent purpose. Fair cheeks began to blanch, and an air of pained expectancy hung heavy on the throng. For there was no longer any possibility of mistaking its import. It was the hoarse murmur of a mob, Tvherein the mad fury of beast and element were blended with human hatred, and dominated by human intelligence.

Meyer sipped his wine composedly, but his face was a sickly green. General yon Bilderbaum flushed peony, and Trafford felt big pulses beating in different parts of his body. The situation was intolerable in its frozen anxiety. With an oath the King rose to his feet, threw back the great purple curtains that masked the windows, and flung open the tall casements. A redoubled Toar of voices flowed in with a stream of icy air. The ladies shuddered in their decollete gowns, but Trafford, heedless alike of frost and etiquette, was on the balcony in an instant by the King's side, looking down on the great street. The other men followed suit immediately, and the sight that met their gaze was a stirring one. The broad Konigstrasse, which ran past the palace, was packed with a dense and swaying throng.

In the midst of a bevy of dark-coated police, walked a tell figure, handcuffed, bareheaded, his clothes torn as if he had been taken with violence, yet retaining withal an air of fierce scorn and tameless pride. On each side of the police tramped companies of infantry with fixed bayonets. At the head and at the rear of the little procession rodo formidable detachments of the King's Dragoons. And surging behind, menacing, furious, determined, yet held in check by the cold logic of steel and ■bullet, pressed and swayed and shouted a great mass of turbulent humanity. "They are arresting Father Bernhardt," drawled General Meyer, who surveyed the scene through Ms eyeglas3 and with a slight smile. "This is an example of the straightforward policy of repression." "At any rate, he is being arrested," said the King. "Under your system he was always on the point of being arrested. Once inside the Strafeburg, Father Bernhardt will not derive much assistance from his noisy friends out here."

"Once inside the Strafeburg! yes," sneered Meyer. "But there is still a quarter of a mile to be traversed; and unless I mis-read the temper of the <n>od iWeidienbruckers, there will be same sort of attempt at a rescue in a minute or two."

'•"Why don't they fire on the mob?" spluttered out General yon Jtilderbaum,

stifling a fine mlHary oath in his billowy moustache.

"Because I ordered the Colonel com-' ■manding the Dragoons not to fire unless a rescue was actually Being attempted, ,, said Meyer. "Revolutions are stupid things, and are test avoided "when possible."

"I'd fire on the brutes if I were ia command," murmured the old General with suppressed fierceness, as the crowd pressed close at the heels of the last file of Dragoons.

Hardly had he spoken when a harsh order rang out above the growling of the mob, the rear rank swung their horses round, and with a click of carbines a volley Tang out into the icy air. A bullet struck the stonework of the palace, not far from the King's head, for the soldiers had fired purposely in the air. Karl never even winced. His features wore a look of pained distress that no personal danger could accentuate. General Meyer quietly took cover behind a friendly pilaster, but Trafford, wildly excited by the novel ecen«, ■watched eagerly the quick panic of the mob. Helter-skelter they ran, tumbling over each other in a frenzied effort to avoid the stern reprisal they had so ruthlessly invited.

"A whiff of grape shot," said Saunders. "A little firmness, a little sternness even, and a deal of trouble is saved. Another volley in the air, half a dozen executions, and a. few sharp sentenced of imprisonment, and a desperate situation will give way to normal tranquility."

"I believe you are right," sighed the King.

"I don't," said Meyer, and as he spoke the crowd come, back again, surging and rebellious, shouting with rage and shamo and furious determination.

"See, a woman is leading them on!" cried the young officer of the Guides.

"So I perceive," said Meyer, turning to Trafford, who stood next him. "It ■is the young lady whose arrest I strove to bring about this afternoon in the Strafeburg. It would perhaps have been better for her if my purpose had been fulfilled."

Trafford drew in his breath, and grasped the hand-rail of the iron balcony with a vice-like grip.

"They won't fire on her!" he said, in a choked voice.

"I think so," said Meyer, smoothly. "A rescue is certainly being attempted."

For a moment it certainly seemed that the torrent of frenzied humanity would bear down and engulf the thin ranks of soldiery; but once again the rear rank swung their horses round, once again there was a precise ripple of small arms, and once again there waa the spluttering crack of levelled carbines.

Trafford, -white as a sheet, trembling with suppressed emotion, shut his eyes. When he opened them the compact mass of the crowd had melted into scattered groups fleeing for dear life in every direction. Only, on the trampled snow of the Konigstrasse, lay a number of dark and prostrate objects, some feebly moving, some stark still. Trafford turned violently from the balcony and entered the dining-room with the intention of making an instant departure. Wild-eyed, heedleas of good manners, court conventions, or everything, indeed, but a dominating desire to break out into the stricken thoroughfare, he dashed madly through the great room. In the dooTway a hand, a flool feminine hand, checked him, and he found himself looking into the unemotional grey eyee of Mrs. Robert Saunders. "Where are you going?" she asked, firmly. "Into the street." "Why?" "Murder has been done. Some one may need succour." "The wounded will be looked after," said Mrs. Saunders, calmly, "and by more capable hands than youTa. Your departure now without a formal leavetaking of his Alajesty would produce the worst impression. As my husband's friend, your conduct would reflect on him. I must ask. you to be prudent."

Trafford's eyes flamed furiously at bhe maddening check. His whole system was quivering with the intense desire to ■find relief for tortured nerves in vigorous action. Thero was a strange pain, too, in his heart, a queer, stabbing sensation that he neither analysed nor understood. All he knew was that the Palace walls cramped him like a narrow cell, that he needed air, the air of the Konigstrasse. And yet nothing short of rude violence could have brushed aside the well-de-veloped young lady who blocked his exit with such exasperating vis inertiae. With a really fine effort of self-control he mastered himself. "I will be prudent," he said, bitterly. "Thank you." "It woul«i never do," went on Trafford, ironically, "for your husband to fall out of favour with the humane King Karl. He might wake to find himselfi.in the dungeons of the Strafeburg," an* with a polite bow he returned through, the din-ing-room to the balcony. "Well," he asked of Saunders, "does peace reign at Weidenbruck?" "There seems to be trouble in the direction of Grass-market," replied Saunders, pointing to a quarter from which distant sounds of shouting were faintly audible. Almost as ihe spoke, a red glare lit up the heavens with a rosy, flickering glow. "Incendiarism!" muttered old General Bilderbaum, feeling instinctively for hi 3 sword. The King whispered something in General Meyer's ear. The Conimander-in-Chief nodded. "I gave the order fen minutes ago, sire," he replied. "Lieutenant Kysper is now on- his way to the Guides' barracks. The policy of straightforward repression shall be given a full trial." (To be continues next Saturday.!