The State Journal (Mulhall, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 60, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1919 Page: 2 of 8
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THE MULHALL STATE JOURNAL
LONG LIVE THE KING
By Mary
Roberts Rinehart
Copyright, 1917, by the Ridgway Company
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Copyright, 1917, by Mary Roberta Rinehart
CHAPTER XIX—Continued.
—18—
"Bad work!" said the other man.
"Ayel" said Haeckei. Then, speak-
(Ug very slowly, and with difficulty, "I
do not understand."
"The king is dead."
"Aye," observed Haeckel, *1111 un-
comprehending. And then, "Dead—
the king?"
"Dead. Hear the bell."
"Then—" But he could not at once
formulate the thought In hla mind.
Bpeech eniue hard. He was still In a
rloud.
"They Bay," Bald the other man,
"that the crown prince is missing, that
he has been stolen. The people are
tfeualed."
He went on, dilating on the rumors.
6till Haeckel labored. The king ! The
crown prince! There was something
that he was to do. It was Just be-
yond him, but he could not remember.
Then, by accident, the other man
touched the hidden spring of his mern-
•ry.
"There are some who think that
Uettllch—"
"Mettllch!" That was the word.
With It the curtain split, as It were,
the cloud was gone. Haeckei put a
hand to his head.
A few mlnutea later, a strange figure
flashed out of the hospital. The night
watchman had Joined the mob, and
was at that moment selecting a rifle
from a cart. Around the cart were
students, etlll In their carnival finery,
wearing the colors of his own corps.
Haeckel, desperate of eye, pallid and
gaunt, clad still in bis hospital shirt
and trousers, Haeckel climbed on to
the wagon, and mounted to the seat,
a strange swaying figure, with a band-
age on his head. In spite of that,
there were some who knew him.
"Haeckel I" they cried. The word
ipread. The crowd of students pressed
close.
"What would you do?" he cried to
fheui. "You know me. You see me
now. I have been done almost to
tenth by those you would aid. Aye,
arm yourselves, but not against your
king. We have sworn to stand to-
gether. I call on you, men of my
corps, to follow me. There are those
who tonight will murder the little king
and put King Mob on the throne. And
they be those who have tortured me.
Look at me I This they have done to
me." He tore the bnndage off. and
ihowed his scarred head. "Quick I" he
cried. "I know where they hide, these
•pawn of hell. Who will follow me?
To the kingl"
"To the king!"
They took up the cry, a few at first,
Ihen all of them. More than his words,
the gaunt and wounded figure of
Haeckel In the cart fought for him.
He reeled before them. Two leaped
Up and steadied htm, finally, Indeed,
took him on their shoulders, and led
the way. They made p wedje of men,
and pushed through the mob.
"To the little king!" was the cry
they raised, and ran, a flying wedge of
Then Haeckei Killed Him.
white, fantastic figures. Those who
w«re unarmed seized weapons from the
crowd as they passed. Urged by
Haeckel, they ran through the streets.
Haeckel knew. It was because he
bad known that they had done away
with him. His mind, working now with
almost unnatural activity, flew ahead
to the house in the Itoad of the Good
Children, and to what might be enact-
ing there. His eyes burned. Now at
last he would thwnrt them, unless—
Just before they turned Into the
■treet, n horsenmn hnd dashed out
of It and flung himself out of the sad-
dle. The door wns bolted, hut It
opened to his rtug, and Nlkky faced
the concierge, Nlkky. with a drawn re-
volver In bis hand, and a face deathly
white.
He had had no time to fire, no time
even l" «peak The revolver Hew out
of his hand at one blow from the fiall-
llke arms of the concierge. llehlnd
him somewhere was coming, Nlkky
knew, a detachment of cavalry. But
he had outdistanced them, riding freu-
zledly, had leaped hedges and ditches
across the park. He must hold this
man until they rime.
Struggling In the grasp of the con-
cierge, he yet listened for them. From
the first he knew it was a losing bat-
tle. He hnd lost before. Ilut he
fought fiercely, with the strength of a
dozen. His frenzy was equaled by that
of the other man, and his weight was
less by a half. He went down finally
ntid lay still, a battered, twisted fig-
ure.
Hut Black Humbert, breathing hard,
hud heard sounds In the street, and
put up the chain. He stood at bay, a
huge, shaken figure at the foot of the
stone Rtalrcase. He was for flight
now. But surely—outside at the door
some one guve the secret knock of the
tribunal, and followed It by the pass-
word. He breathed again, friends, of
course, como for the ammunition. But,
to be certain, he went to the window
of his bureau, and looked out through
the bars. Students!
"Coming!" he called. And kicked at
Nlkky's quiet figure as he passed It.
Then he unbolted the door, dropped the
chain, and opened the door.
Standing before him, backed by a
great crowd of fantastic figures, was
Haeckel.
They did not kill him at once. At
the points of a dozen bayonets. Intend-
ed for vastly different work, they
forced him up the staircase, flight after
flight. At first he cried pitifully that
he knew nothing of the royal child,
then he tried to barter what he knew
for his life. They Jeered at him,
pricked him shamefully from behind
with daggers.
At the top of the Inst flight he turned
nnd faced them. "Gentlemen, friends!"
he implored. "I have done him no
harm. It wns never In my mind to do
him an Injury. I—"
"He Is In the room where you kept
me?" asked Haeckel, In a low voice.
"He Is there, and safe."
Then Haeckel killed him. He struck
him with a duggor, and his great body
fell on the stairs. He was still mov-
ing and groaning, us they Bwarmed
over him.
Haeckel faced the crowd. "There
are others," he said. "I know them all.
When we have finished here, we will
go on."
They were fearful of frightening the
little king aud only two went back,
with the key that Haeckel had taken
from the body of Muck Humbert. They
unlocked the door of the back room,
to find his majesty sitting on a chair,
with a rather moist handkerchief In
his band. He wus not at all fright-
ened, however, and was weeping for
hla grandfather.
"Hjis the carriage come?" hs de-
manded. "1 am waiting for a car-
riage."
They assured him that a carriage
was on the way, and were very much
at a loss.
"I w ould ltk« to go quickly," he said.
"I stn afraid—my grandfather—Nlk-
ky I"
For there stood Nlkky In the door-
way, a stnggerlng, whlte-llpped Nlkky.
He was not too weak to pick the chll&
up. however, and carry him to the
bead of the stairs. They had moved
| the body of the concierge, by his or-
der. So he stood there, the boy In his
arms, and the students, only an hour
before In revolt against him, cheered
mightily
They met the detachment of caval-
ry at the door, and thus, In state, rode
back to the palace where he was to
rule. King Otto the Ninth. A very sad
little king, for Nlkky had answered Ills
question honestly. A king who mopped
Ills eyes with a very dirty handker-
chief. A weary little king, too, with
already a touch of Indigestion!
Behind them, In the house on the
Koad of the Good Children, Haeckel,
In an access of fury, ordered the body
of the concierge flung from a window.
It lay below, a twisted and shapeless
thing, beside the pieces of old Adel-
bert'i broken sword.
CHAPTER XX.
The Lincoln Penny.
And so, at last, King Otto the Ninth
reached his ulace, and was hurried
up the stairs to the room where the
council waited. Not at all a royal fig-
ure, but u tired little boy In gray trou-
sers, a short black Eton coat, and a
rolling collar which had once been
white. .
He gave one glance around the mom.
"My grandfather!" he said. And fell
to crying Into his dirty pocket-hand-
kerchief.
The chancellor eyed grimly from un-
der his shaggy brows the disreputable
figure of his sovereign. Then he went
toward him, and put his hand on his
head.
"He was very eager for this rest.
Otto," he said.
Then he knelt and very solemnly
and with Infinite tenderness, he kissed
the small, not overelean, hand.
One by one the council flld the BSme
thing.
King Otto straightened his shoulders
and put away the handkerchief. It
had occurred to him that he was a
man now and must uct a man's part
In the world.
"May I see him?" he asked. "I—
didn't see him before."
"Your people are waiting, sire," the
chancellor said gravely. "To a ruler,
his people must come first."
And so, In the clear light from the
room behind him, Otto the Ninth first
stood before his people. They looked
up, and hard eyes grew soft, tense
muscles relaxed. They saw the erect-
news of the small figure, the steadi-
ness of the blue eyes that had fought
back their tears, the honesty and fire
and courage of this Binall boy who
was the king.
Let such of the revolutionists as re-
mained scream before the parliament
house. Let the flames burn and the
drums beat. The solid citizens, the
great mass of the people, looked up
at the king and cheered mlghtly. Rev-
olution had that night received Its
death blow at the hands of a child.
The mob prepared to go home to bed.
While King Otto stood on the bal-
cony, down below in the crowd an
American woman looked up, nnd sud-
denly caught her husband by the arm.
"Robert," she said, "Robert, It is
Bobby's little friend!"
"Nonsense I" he retorted. "It's
rather dramatic, Isn't It? Nothing
like this at home I See, they've
crowned him already."
But Bobby's mother looked with the
clear eyes of most women, and all
mothers.
"They have not crowned him," she
said, smiling, with tears In her eyes.
"The absurd little king! They have
forgotten to take off Ills paper crown!"
• ••• •
The dead king lay In state in the
royal chapel. Tall candles burned at
his head and feet, set In long black
standards. His uniform lay at his
feet, his cap, his sword. The flag of
his country was draped across him. He
looked very rested.
In a small private chapel nearby
lay old Adelbert. They could not do
him too much honor. He, too, looked
rested, and he, too, was covered by
the flag, and no one would have
guessed that a part of him had died
long before, and lay burled on a bat-
tlefield. It was, unfortunntely, his old
uniform that he wore. They had add-
ed his regimental flag to the national
one, and on It they had set his shabby
cap. He, too, might have been a king.
There were candles at his head and
feet, also; but alas, he had now no
sword.
Thus it happened that old Adelbert
the traitor lay In state in the palace,
and that monks, In long brown robes,
knelt and prayed by him. Perhaps he
needed their prayers. But perhaps, In
the great accounting, things are bal-
anced up. the good agalnat the bad. In
that case, who knows?
The paiace mourned and the palace
rejoiced. Haeckel had told what he
knew and the leaden of the terrorists
were In prison. Some, In high places,
would be hanged with a silken cordj
as was their due. And others would
be esthetlcally disposed of. The wny
was not yet clear ahead, but the crisis
was passed and safely.
Early In the evening, soon after he
had appeared on the balcony, the court
had rworn fealty to Otto the Ninth.
Ho had stood on the dais In the throne
room, very much washed and brushed
by that time, nnd the ceremony had
taken place. Such a shout from re-
lieved throats as went up, such a clat-
ter as swords were drawn from scab-
bards and held upright In the nir.
"Otto!" they cried. And again,
"Otto."
The little king had turned quite pale
with excitement.
Late in the evening Nlkky Larisch
went to the council room. The coun-
cil had dispersed, and Mettltch sat
alone. When Nlkky was announced he
frowned. Then, very faintly, he
smiled. But he wns stern enough when
the young soldier entered. Nlkky
came to the point at once.
"I hnve come," he said, "to know
what I am to do, sir."
"Do?" asked the chancellor, coldly
"Whether the crown—whether the
king Is safe or not," said Nlkky. look-
ing dogged and not at all now like the
picture of his mother. "I am guilty of
—of all that happened."
The chancellor had meant to be very
hard. But he hnd come through
great deal, and besides, he snw some-
thing Nlkky did not mean him to see.
He was used to reading men. He saw
that the boy hnd come to the breaking
point.
"Sit down," he snld, "nnd tell me
about It."
But Nlkky would not sit. He stood,
looking straight ahead, and told the
story. He left nothing out, the scene
on the roof, his broken promise.
"Although," he ^dded, his only word
of extenuation, "God knowa I tried to
keep It."
Then the message from Countess
Loschek, nnd his long wait In her bou
dolr, to return to the thing he hnd
found. As he went on, the chancellor's
hand touched a button.
"Bring here at once Conntess Los
chek," he snld, to the servant who
came. "Take two of the guard, aud
bring her."
Then, remembering the work he had
to do, he took another sip of milk.
'These things you have done," he said
to Nlkky. "And weak nnd wicked
enough they are. But, on the other
hand, you found the king."
"Others found him also. Besides,
that does not affect my guilt, sir," said
Nlkky steadily.
Suddenly the chancellor got up and,
going to Nlkky, put both hands on his
shoulders.
• ••••••
Quite to the end now, with the coun-
tess not In her rooms or anywhere In
the palace. With the bonfires burned
to cold ashes, and the streets deserted.
With the police making enreful search
for certain men whose names Haeckel
had given, and tearing frenzied pla-
cards from the walls. With Miss
Braithwaite still lying in her drugged
sleep, watched over by the sisters who
had cared for the dead king, and with
Karl, across the mountains, dreaming
of a bride who would never be his.
Quite to the end. Only a word or
two now, and we may leave the little
king to fulfill his splendid destiny. Not
a quiet life, we may be certain. Per-
haps not a very peaceful or untroubled
one. But a brave and steadfast and
honornble one, be sure of that.
Whnt should we gain by following
Olga Loschek, eating her heart out In
England, of the committee of ten, cower-
ing In Its cells? They had fnlled, as the
wicked, sooner or later, must fall. Or
Karl, growing fat In a prosperous land,
allkb greedy for conquest and too In-
dolent for bnttle?
To finish the dny, then, and close
with midnight.
Nlkky first, a subdued and rather
battered Nlkky. He as possessed by
a desire, not Indeed unknown to lov-
ers, to revisit the place where he and
Hedwig had met before. The roof—
no less. Not even then that he hoped
for himself any more than he had
hoped before. But at least it could
not be Karl.
He felt that he could relinquish her
more easily since It wns not Karl. As
If, poor Nlkky, It would ever make any
difference who it was, so it were not
he!
Strangely enough, Hedwig also had
had a fanjy to visit the roof. She
could not sleep.
So she had dismissed her mnld and
gone through Hubert's rooms to the
roof. Nlkky found her there.
Hedwig did not turn her head. She
knew his steps, hnd renlly known he
must come, since she was calling him,
actually calling, with all her deter-
mined youag will. Oh, she was shame-
less !
But now that he had come, It was
Nlkky who Implored, nnd Hedwig who
held off.
Vy only thought In all the world,"
he said. "Can you ever forgive me?"
This was tactless. No lover should
ever remind hla lady that he has with-
stood her.
"For what?" said Hedwig coolly.
"For loving you so." This was much
better, quite strategic, Indeed. A
trench gained!
"Do you really love me? I won-
der."
But Nlkky was tired of words, and
rather nfraid of them. They were not
his weapons. He trusted more, as has
been said somewhere else, In his two
strong arms.
"Too much ever to let you go," he
said. Which means nothing unless
we tnke It for granted that she was In
his arms. And she was, Indeed.
The king hnving been examined and
given some digestive tablets by the
court physicians—n group which,
strangely enough, did not Include Doc-
tor Weiderman—had been given a
warm bath and put to bed.
There was much formality as to the
process now, several gentlemen cling-
ing to their hereditary right to hang
around nnd be nuisances during the
ceremony. But at last he was left
alone with Oskar.
Alone, of course, as much as a king
Is ever alone, which, what with extra
sentries and so on, Is not exactly soli-
tary confinement.
"Oskar!" said the king from hla pil-
low.
"Majesty!"
Oskar was gathering the royal gar-
ments, which the physicians hnd or-
dered burned, In case of germs.
"Did you ever eat American Ice
cream?"
"No, majesty. Not that 1 recall."
"It is very delicious," observed the
king, and settled down In his sheets.
He yawned, then sat up suddenly—
"Oskar!"
"Yes, majesty!"
"There Is something In my trousers
pocket. I almost forgot it. Plense
bring them here."«
Sitting up In bed, and under Oskar's
disapproving eye, because he, too, was
Infected with the germ idea, King
Otto the Ninth felt around In his small
pockets, until at last he had found
what he wanted.
"Have I o small box anywhere, a
very small box?" he Inquired.
"The one in which your mnjesty's
seal ring enme Is here. Also there is
one In the study which contained
srayons."
1"I'll have the ring box," said his
majesty.
Aud soon the Lincoln penny rested
on a cushion of white velvet, on which
were the royal arms.
King Otto looked cnrefully at the
penny and then closed the lid.
"Whenever I am disagreeable, Os-
kar," he said, "or don't care to study,
or—or do things that you think my
grandfather would not have done, I
wish you'd bring me this box. You'd
better keep it near you."
He lay back and yawned again.
"Did you ever hear of Abraham Lin-
coin, Oskar?" he asked.
"I—I have heard the name, majes-
ty," Oskar ventured cautiously.
"My grandfather thought he was a
—great—man." His voice trailed off.
"I—should—like—"
The excitements and sorrows of the
day left him gently. He stretched his
small limbs luxuriously, nnd half
turned upon his face. Oskar, who
hated disorder, drew the covering In
stiff and geometrical exactness across
his small figure, and tiptoed out of the
room.
Some time after midnight the chan-
cellor passed the guard and came Into
the room. There, standing by the bed,
he prayed a soldier's prayer, and Into
It went all his hopes for his country,
his grief for h's dead comrade and
sovereign, his loyalty to his new Ring.
King Otto, who was, for all the di-
gestive tablets, not sleeping well,
w.\
things. They are both quite easy.*
His tone was anxious.
"What are they?"
"You wouldn't like to promise first,
would you?"
The chancellor smiled In the dark-
ness.
"Good strategy, but I am an «ld sol-
dier, majesty. What are they?"
"First, I would like to have a dogj
one to keep with me."
"I—probably that can be arranged."
"Thank you. I do want a dog.
And—" he hesitated.
"Yes, majesty?"
"I am very fond of Nlkky," snld the
king. "And he is not very happy. He
looks sad, sometimes. I—I would like
him to marry Hedwig, so we can all
be together the rest of our lives."
The chancellor hesitated. But, aftef
all, why not? He had followed ambi-
tion all his life, and where had It
brought him? An old man, whoso only;
happiness lay in this child In his ama.
"Perhaps," he said gently, "that can
be arranged also."
The night air blew uoftly through the
open windows. The little Elng smiled,
contentedly, and closed his eyes.
"I'm getting rather sleepy," he said.
"But if I'm not too heavy, I'd like you
to hold me a little longer."
"You are not too heavy, majesty."
Soon the chancellor, worn not with
one day, but with many, was nodding.
Ills eyes closed under his fierce eye-
brows. Finally they both slept. The
room was silent.
Something slipped out of the little
king's hand and rolled to the floor.
It was the box containing the Lin-
coln penny.
[THE END.]
REFUGEES IN RICH ATTIRE
Finally They Both Slept.
roused and saw him there, and Bat
upright at once.
"Is It morning?" he asked, blinking.
"No, majesty. Lie down and Bleep
again."
"Would you mind sitting down for
a little while? That Is, if you are not
sleepy."
"I am not sleepy," said the chan-
cellor, and drew up a great chair. "If
I stay, will you try to sleep?"
"Do you mind if I talk a little? It
may make me drowsy."
"Talk If you like, majesty," said the
old man.
King Otto eyed him gravely.
"Would you mind if I got on your
knee?" he asked, nlmost timidly. In
all his life no one had so held him,
and yet Bobby, that very evening, had
climbed on his father's knee as though
It was very generally done. "I would
like to try how It feels."
"Come, then," snld the chancellor.
The king climbed out of bed and up
on his lap. His chancellor reached
over and dragged a blanket from the
bed.
"For fear of a cold!" he said, and
draped it about the little figure. "Now,
how Is that?"
"It Is very comfortable. May I put
my head back?"
Long, long years since the chancellor
had sat thus, with a child In his arms.
Hla sturdy old arms encircled the boy
closely.
"I want to tell about running away,"
said the king, wide-eyed In the dusk.
"I am sorry. This time I am going to
promise not to do It again."
"Make the promise to yourself,
majesty. It Is the best way."
"I will. I Intend to be a very good
king."
"God grant it, mnjesty."
"Like Abraham Llucoln?"
"I,ike Abraham Lincoln," said the
chancellor gravely.
The king, for all his boasted wake-
fulness, yawned again, and squirmed
closer to the oid man's breast.
"And like my grandfather," he
added.
"God grant that, also."
This time It was the chancellor who
yawned, a yawn that was half a sigh.
He was very weary, and very sad.
Suddenly, after a silence, the king
spoke: "May a king do nnythlng he
wants?"
"Not at all," said the chancellor
hastily.
"But, If It will not hurt the people?
I want to do two things or have two
English Writer Describes Grotesque
Figures He Saw During the
Italian Retreat
Amid nil the chaos of the Italian re<
treat one kept on meeting utterly In-
congruous figures, for alongside of
others rond-worn, shabby and dirty, to
be clenn and well dressed Is to be
grotesque.
Amid this multitude of haggard, un-
washed, unshaven, dead beat males,
I noticed two Italian ladles treading
delicately over the rough ballast of
the railway track. They had naturally
brought with them In that flight the
most valuable of their possessions,
which were of a kind conveniently car-
ried on their persons. Against thle
gray background of mud and rubbish
and a disbanded army their two fig-
ures glittered with a brilliance that
would have been conspicuous in the
Rue de la I'alx.
Heavy sable furs and muffs almost
bowed their shoulders; each finger had
two or three rings that flashed In the
light; round their necks were gold
chains hung with pendants, and yet
Instead of the air of eelf-satlsfled o+
tentatlon that might well have gone
with a display so lavish, they were only
two pathetically little, frightened, per-
plexed faces, nnd an uncertain gait
that did not promise much further
progress along that ankle-wrenching
rail wny line.—G. Ward Price in the
Century Magazine.
As to Remarkable Longevity.
We have all read of Thomas Parr,
who lived to be one hundred and fifty-
two. Likewise of the countess of Des-
mond, one hundred and forty-five;
Margaret Patten, one hundred and
thirty-seven; Thomas Damme, one
hundred and sixty-four; John Rovln,
one hundred and seventy-two; and Pe-
ter Torton, who reached the age of one
hundred and elghty-flve. But these
cases of extraordinary longevity lack
proof.
In the dayB when those personi
lived no accurate chronological recorde
were kept, and dates of occurrencee
were usually fixed by associating them
In memory with other events bflleved
to have happened about the same time.
A man's Identity wns liable to be con-
fused with that of a grandfather of
the same name.
Nowadays nobody lives to any such
ages. Why Imagine that the extreme
limits of longevity have shrunk within
the last two or three centuries?
Great Tibetan Industry.
By far the largest herds of mush
deer are to be found on the southern
shores of the Koko-Nor, and the sup-
ply of musk there (at T'aoehou) 1
larger than the quantity that cornel
through Sungpan, In fact, great quan-
tities of musk do not come to Sungpan
at all, but are sent east to Yuchow,
In Honnn, where a fair Is held In the
ninth nnd tenth moons, many of the
Sungpan traders visiting this place. At
Tachlenlu musk Is the most valuable
export, practically every hong reeking
with It, and nearly all the Tibetans
who come from the far Interior bring
some with them. The price of medium
musk there Is thirteen times Its weight
In silver.
Best Methods.
An ounce of prevention Is worth-
well, you know what It is. The best
way to put out a fire Is not to let It
start. The best war to cure a cold Is
not to have one.
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Calkins, R. T. The State Journal (Mulhall, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 60, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1919, newspaper, February 6, 1919; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc159894/m1/2/: accessed March 30, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.