THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15558, 16 March 1914, Page 3

THE HEIR TO THE THRONE.

BY ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT, Author of "By Right of Sword," " A Dash for a Throne." " For Love or Crown," "When I was Ct&f," "in the Name of the People," "The Mao Who Was Dead." "The Queen's Advocate," "In the Name of a Woman," " A Courier of Fortune," etc.

COPYRIGHT. CHAPTER XIX.— (Continued.) Von BEHGSTEra sneered in triumph. "Perhaps you will now permit me to resume my writing, or have- you any other theatrical display to make?" But his triumph did not last long. "The baron can easily give you proof that he is speaking in good faith, Sir lan, and that you are doiug him an injustice," interposed Drago at this point in a smooth, suave tone. Von Bergstein turned with a quick start at the interruption and the same expression of uneasy questioning doubt which 1 had noticed before chased the look of triumph from his face. " What proof?" I asked. " What do you mean, you?" cried Von Bergstein angrily. " I suggest merely that you would wish to allay Sir lan's suspicions, baron," replied Drago, smiling. "How does this man come to be with you, Sir Ian?" " What proof?" I asked Drago again, ignoring the question. m The two men stared at one . another : Drago confident, smiling and affable, save ■ for the light in his eyes; von Bergstein I trying to conceal his growing uneasiness '. under a simulation of indignant anger. ■ The pause was full charged with meaning. "One part of his assertion at least is easily proved," said Drago at length in answer to'my question; but his eyes never left, von Bergstein's face. "Have a care, Drago," muttered the latter. " Why do you not answer Sir lan Calmadale's question?" i "I have answered it." " Does it not occur to you that I might | also desire to know the facts?" He was playing with the man as deliberately as ever cat played with bird. " I do not concern myself with the curio- ; sity of a man like you," was the reply; . but that he was intensely concerned was as plain as print. " You - should ask the baron to show, you the secret correspondence ; between him and Duke Volassa, Sir lan. . I; is in that safe;" and he pointed to it.-v "I suppose you have paid this man to make up these lies," said von Bergstein as I turned to him. j At this Drago's assumption of coolness , dropped from him like a cloak, and in a . moment he was at the baron's side. "Do ■ you dare to say I am lying," he cried in a tone of fierce concentrated rage. " Your keys?" and he almost hissed the words at him as he stretched out his hand, «rembl- , ing with fury. " You shall all anpwer for this outrage," i said von Bergstein. " Your keys," cried Drago again. Von Bergstein was obviously easier in mind, and affecting great indignation took the keys out and held them out to Drago. ] He took them, but only to toss them ' away, and before I could guess his intention he drew a dagger and raisecT his hand to strike. "Stop that," cried Valtoun. But the Hungarian turned and snarled at us. If either of you move a step, this goes home." Von Bergstein seemed overwhelmed with terror, and he cringed and cowered under the uplifted blade. He knew full well that the man who held it would not shrink from killing him. "You lying dog, to think of cheating me even now. Out with the truth or, by the Virgin, I'll have your life for it." The spasm of terror robbed the*baron of the power to speak, and for a. moment or two of tense, grim silence, he strove in vain to get the words out. "She—she is—is with Volassa," he stammered. Drago laughed malignant, cruel, triumphant laugh it was; and with a swiftness and strength which amazed me he dropped the knife, twisted the man in his grip this way and that, as if he were a child, searched him and drew out a paper from a secret pocket. A glance at it satisfied him, and thrusting the. baron e away he handed the paper to me., > It revealed all the facts I wished to * know about Evala's disappearance. CHAPTER XX. V BY BIGHT OF SWORD.; I have never seen a man so utterly discomfited, so broken on the wheel of terror, as Baron von Bergstein at that moment. He was incapable of even a , pretence of rallying. He fell to the , ground when Drago thrust him away, and r he crawled to a chair, pulled himself up ' into it, and leant back, staring at us, wide- { eyed and helpless, starting and trembling a with fresh alarm every time that Drago's B eyes turned in his direction. r "It is Volassa's writing," said Drago, joining Valtoun and me as we read the paper he had taken. " What will you do, .Sir Ian?" "Go to this place and bring the countess away." * He raised his eyebrows. " You will tnd him very different from this miserable carrion here," he said, jerking his head contemptuously toward von Bergstein. "He will hold on to her with .all his teeth; arid he has many and can bite, deep." " You mean we shall find many other men in the house." "Few or many, they will be picked L men, and will stand by him to the last. He has schemed and planned tor months to secure the countess and would risk his life to keep her." " He shall have the chance," I answered. " I'm going there, if I have to go alone." ; Drago had a plan. It was that we should go and watch the house to see that Evala was not taken away until the next day, at any rate, and that in "the meantime we should obtain such help as would enable us to prevent any such attempt or i. rescue her if the attempt was made, d There was a good deal to be said in its 18 favour, and Valtoun approved it. i- "I have no patience for that," I del. clared. "It might mean a long siege of II the house and that would be impossible. U No, I am going there at once." 8 " You will not even eet foot inside the door," protested Drago. "And if you 0 did, you would be helpless, or shot for a thief." There was reason enough in the objection but to leave Evala in such a plight for one unnecessary hour was unthinkable. And then an idea occurred to me. "I will get inside the house, and. what is more, get face to face with Duke '■ Volassa himself. Von Bergstein shall go with us } he will be admitted readily enough, and shall take me with him." * "And you would be thrown out five minutes afterwards," said Drago. " V ol- - assa would not listen to a word." But Valtoun understood me. " It's the best way, lan. I'm with you. If he's what Drago here says, he'll meet you." " You mean you would risk your life in a fight with him," protested Drago. "lou could not stand before his sword for a moment. Sir lan." Then another and better plan occurred to me; one which would render it unnecessary to take von Bergstein with me. - beckoned Drago up and asked him whe- , ther he would go with me. It was, as I ' had anticipated, a matter of money with him; and he told me what he was to have had for his share in the scheme. " If you will do what I want now, I will pay you that sum. My plan is to force von Bergstein to write a letter to Volassa, saying that he had heard of a plan to rescue the countess; that he is sending , you to tell him about it; that you are ' bringing with you two of the men who nave given the information; and that the matter is one of the highest moment and urgency." • ' "It is good:" he said emphatically. 1"It what about he said emphatically. " But what about von Bergstein meanwhile?"- "' ? ->; ,^>-

' "Well take Mat with its sad drop hint half-way." "It will do; yes ; but it will be danger* ous when he knows the truth; lean tell m you one or two things for the; letter which. ' "i will convince him that it is genuine?' - -"-""-: As soon as the letter was concocted, I '*- '' left it to Drago to make von Bergstein, '■'■' write it. He did this with a clever mix- -' ture of threat and cunning, leading the "?%'■ old traitor to believe that he would be * left at the Chase and in that way able- j; - - to take immediate steps to checkmate the--- - attempt the instant «e left. DragowentTmuch farther in this than I could have ','. gone, pledging his word that von Bergstein would be left in peace the moment he had penned the letter. I let him do the task in his own way. We were dealing with a past-master in trickery and lies, and it was no moment to be squeamish about' the means to gain ' our end. Evala's safety and freedom -» were at stake; and that was all in all to me. When von Bergstein had finished theletter, however, and I told him he was to go with us to the car, he understood and began to protest vigorously. But he was clay in Drago's hands, and was soon silenced. Then Valtoun had a suggestion- "If you're going to fight this Volassa, lan, you'd better have the swords ready." " I can get them here," said Drago, and went away for the purpose. The instant he had left the room von Bergstein seemed to rally from his overpowering feai. " Have you counted the cost of what you are going to do?" he asked me. I did not answer him. I had no intention of discussing matters with him. "If you are so set on this, will you let. me suggest a much easier plan by which it can be accomplished* You have beaten me ; 1 admit that freely ; but there is a way in which the countess can be brought back here without such risk to you or such disastrous results to me. To serve myself rather than to save you, is my object; I make no pretence. Will you listen to me?" " No. I have chosen my own course," I said curtly. " But what harm can there be in listening to an alternative plan?" he asked, coming closer to me and spreading his hands in protest. You are a vindictive man and if I show you" "I don't want to hear.any more," I interposed. With another flourish of the hands he turned from me to Valtoun. "Lord Valtoun, I appeal to you- Sir lan is . taking an altogether unnecessary risk which can be easily avoided. What I mean is—" I was too engrossed by my thoughts to guess his real objec, but a moment' later it was clear enough. Under the pretence of engaging me in conversation he had distracted my attention while he edged near to the table in the hope of raising an alarm; and he made a sudden rush for the bells. But Valtoun had seen his purpose and was in time to seize his wrist and frustrate it. Very clever, but we can do Without your friends just now," he said; and t0.,, prevent any further trouble, we collared y and held him until Drago came back. We left the house by the way we had ' , entered it; the Hungarian taking charge of von Bergstein, who was like a help- -' less puppet in his hands. We reached the car without trouble, and when we - were some three or four miles from St. Albans, where the housf; was to which , Evala had been taken, we dropped the baron and left him by the roadside, fuming with rage and cursing us volubly. Valtoun had now shed his suspicions of Drago's good faith, and we discussed very earnestly the prospects of the ven- r ture. . .; "My hope is that we shall get to this ; Volassa without any trouble," 1 said. ~,-, \ "Drago put me up to a sort of secret signal which von Bergstein uses in his letters to Volassa, which will convince him of the genuineness of this one." "And if we do get in, what then?" "You heard what he said about the fellow's skill with the sword ■, and I hope to find him only too ready to settle the thing that way." "I doubt it, lan. There's too much i at stake for him. Besides, 1 don't iike > that part of .the tiling at all. In the i first place, you may find' jumtoo mucn .to handle. Then again, this isn't Hun- , gary; and he'll know he can't carry through a thing like this in England when he finds we know all about it. If I . were you, I'd have the police in it. Run. , on into St. Alban's and tell them what's going- on in the house and get them to jj', | follow us to the place and make a search.": "We can do that afterwards." "But we shall be in the house, man." " .. "Well, they can't murder us.' They:, -.*:'■ might detain' us; but you're forgetting . that Branch won't be inside -with. us. I'll* tell him that if he don't return in an ' ; hour or so, he's to fetch the police." • * i ' "True. I hadn't thought of that," he replied in a tone of relief. " v And we don't want any fuss of that / sort, if it can be avoided. But will . , be a.useful reminder for this Vokssa." \" And if he does what you want arid ~' then beats you?" ' , ' "It's the fortune of war." * v [ 'VAnd if you t beat him! sfou don't mean to— go to extremes? It might \ be a devilish awkward business here in ' England, you .know."' " I shan't hurt him more than I can" j help; butit's the fortune of war for him '.',, just as for me." When we reached the house I gave :■ ' Branch his orders. He was to wait -- close by for two hours, and if neither '' ' Valtoun nor I returned in that time, he was to hurry to the police at St. Albans and tell him enough to bring them out i to our help. It was now nearly ten o'clock,; and the lights i«i the house showed that there t were • plenty of people astir in it. No. j sort of difficulty was made about admitting us. owing to. the good luck that the . man wno came to the door knew Drago. The letter was taken at once to Volassa, , and after a very short delay we. were all led to a large room where he was sitting ' ' 'with a companion, whom I judged to be his secretary. Volassa had the letter in his hand, and after a short, sharp, halt-contemptuous glance at us, he began to question Drago. I had thus a good opportunity of observing him. He was a handsome man, ' dark, with regular features and' a heavy ' black moustache, quick, observant eyes, -~ I and an air of authority, determination, . and power. He was about my own - height, or perhaps an inch shorter, with i an upright carriage which spoke of a military training. I read him as an • honourable, straight-going, ambitious man, i who had set this purpose before him and . was ready to risk all he had in carrying • it through, i He put his questions sharply to Drago, 1 as if the latter were one of the inferior 1 but necessary instruments which had to . be used in the execution of his plans - and when he turned to us his manner was" ' even less tolerant. He regarded us as spies who had betrayed our employers, and would betray him in turn if it paid' t US. * ' "This letter says you can give me information of an attempt to take the Countess Evalva from this house," he said ! with a scarcely concealed curl of the lip. "Yes," I answered very quietly. "This is it." > The reply puzzled him. "It mentions i Sir lan Calmadale and a Lord Valtoun as the prime movers." i "I am Sir lan Calmadale and my friend i is Lord Valtoun." (To be continued daily.)-