The captain turned and shouted a command to his men.  Those who had not passed in front of the car halted.  Barney shot through the little lane they had opened, which immediately closed up behind him.  He was through!  He was upon the open road!  Ahead, as far as he could see, there was no sign of any living creature to bar his way, and the frontier could not be more than twenty-five miles away.

V

THE TRAITOR KING

In his castle at Lustadt, Leopold of Lutha paced nervously back and forth between his great desk and the window that overlooked the royal gardens.  Upon the opposite side of the desk stood an old man—­a tall, straight, old man with the bearing of a soldier and the head of a lion.  His keen, gray eyes were upon the king, and sorrow was written upon his face.  He was Ludwig von der Tann, chancellor of the kingdom of Lutha.

At last the king stopped his pacing and faced the old man, though he could not meet those eagle eyes squarely, try as he would.  It was his inability to do so, possibly, that added to his anger.  Weak himself, he feared this strong man and envied him his strength, which, in a weak nature, is but a step from hatred.  There evidently had been a long pause in their conversation, yet the king’s next words took up the thread of their argument where it had broken.

“You speak as though I had no right to do it,” he snapped.  “One might think that you were the king from the manner with which you upbraid and reproach me.  I tell you, Prince von der Tann, that I shall stand it no longer.”

The king approached the desk and pounded heavily upon its polished surface with his fist.  The physical act of violence imparted to him a certain substitute for the moral courage which he lacked.

“I will tell you, sir, that I am king.  It was not necessary that I consult you or any other man before pardoning Prince Peter and his associates.  I have investigated the matter thoroughly and I am convinced that they have been taught a sufficient lesson and that hereafter they will be my most loyal subjects.”

He hesitated.  “Their presence here,” he added, “may prove an antidote to the ambitions of others who lately have taken it upon themselves to rule Lutha for me.”

There was no mistaking the king’s meaning, but Prince Ludwig did not show by any change of expression that the shot had struck him in a vulnerable spot; nor, upon the other hand, did he ignore the insinuation.  There was only sorrow in his voice when he replied.

“Sire,” he said, “for some time I have been aware of the activity of those who would like to see Peter of Blentz returned to favor with your majesty.  I have warned you, only to see that my motives were always misconstrued.  There is a greater power at work, your majesty, than any of us—­greater than Lutha itself.  One that will stop at nothing in order to gain its ends.  It cares naught for Peter of Blentz, naught for me, naught for you.  It cares only for Lutha.  For strategic purposes it must have Lutha.  It will trample you under foot to gain its end, and then it will cast Peter of Blentz aside.  You have insinuated, sire, that I am ambitious.  I am.  I am ambitious to maintain the integrity and freedom of Lutha.