Prince von der Tann dropped to one knee before Mr. Bernard Custer of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A., and lifted that gentleman’s hand to his lips, and as the people of Lutha saw the act they went mad with joy.

Slowly Prince Ludwig rose and addressed the bishop.  “Leopold, the rightful heir to the throne of Lutha, is here.  Let the coronation proceed.”

The quiet of the sepulcher fell upon the assemblage as the holy man raised the crown above the head of the king.  Barney saw from the corner of his eye the sea of faces upturned toward him.  He saw the relief and happiness upon the stern countenance of the old prince.

He hated to dash all their new found joy by the announcement that he was not the king.  He could not do that, for the moment he did Peter would step forward and demand that his own coronation continue.  How was he to save the throne for Leopold?

Among the faces beneath him he suddenly descried that of a beautiful young girl whose eyes, filled with the tears of a great happiness and a greater love, were upturned to his.  To reveal his true identity would lose him this girl forever.  None save Peter knew that he was not the king.  All save Peter would hail him gladly as Leopold of Lutha.  How easily he might win a throne and the woman he loved by a moment of seeming passive compliance.

The temptation was great, and then he recalled the boy, lying dead for his king in the desolate mountains, and the pathetic light in the eyes of the sorrowful man at Tafelberg, and the great trust and confidence in the heart of the woman who had shown that she loved him.

Slowly Barney Custer raised his palm toward the bishop in a gesture of restraint.

“There are those who doubt that I am king,” he said.  “In these circumstances there should be no coronation in Lutha until all doubts are allayed and all may unite in accepting without question the royal right of the true Leopold to the crown of his father.  Let the coronation wait, then, until another day, and all will be well.”

“It must take place before noon of the fifth day of November, or not until a year later,” said Prince Ludwig.  “In the meantime the Prince Regent must continue to rule.  For the sake of Lutha the coronation must take place today, your majesty.”

“What is the date?” asked Barney.

“The third, sire.”

“Let the coronation wait until the fifth.”

“But your majesty,” interposed Von der Tann, “all may be lost in two days.”

“It is the king’s command,” said Barney quietly.

“But Peter of Blentz will rule for these two days, and in that time with the army at his command there is no telling what he may accomplish,” insisted the old man.

“Peter of Blentz shall not rule Lutha for two days, or two minutes,” replied Barney.  “We shall rule.  Lieutenant Butzow, you may place Prince Peter, Coblich, Maenck, and Stein under arrest.  We charge them with treason against their king, and conspiring to assassinate their rightful monarch.”