e object of impressing upon all whom it may concern
that we who are taking the side of the Queen are fully prepared to
suppress with a strong hand any attempt to deprive her of any of her
rights or of her liberty."

"By Kuhlacan!" ejaculated Lyga. "Are ye prepared to adopt such
stringent measures? We Uluans are a little apt to deprecate force, a
little apt to parley and bargain, to compromise. I think that, as a
people, we are so timorous that we would concede almost anything in
order to avoid strong measures. And that is where Sachar has already
the advantage. He is not timorous; on the contrary, he is bold,
courageous, overbearing--he frightens people into surrendering to his
will. And if ye also are prepared to be firm, resolute, fearless, I
believe ye will conquer; for if once the people can be brought to
realise that your determination is as strong and unshrinking as that of
Sachar, there are many who will fear to join him, lest he fall and they
fall with him. But it will not be well that the Queen shall be
personally involved in the struggle which I foresee. She must remain
personally aloof, passive and detached from it. The issues will be of
too grim and strenuous a character for her to be brought into personal
contact with them. She is too young, too inexperienced, too
tender-hearted to grapple successfully with them; at a critical moment
when perhaps her throne, her liberty, possibly even her very life, may
be hanging in the balance, she might be tempted to yield, rather than
fight for what is rightfully her own, in order to avert bloodshed. That
is a trait of her character upon which Sachar will confidently reckon,
therefore we who have her interests at heart must safeguard her from the
effects of untimely weakness by inducing her to invest you with full
power and authority to act in her behalf as may seem to you best,
without being obliged first to submit the point to her. Thus, you and
Sachar, not she, will be responsible for what may happen. Does such a
prospect make you shrink?"

"It does not, friend Lyga," answered Dick.

"I am glad to hear you say so," returned Lyga, "for your view accurately
coincides with my own. Would that I were young enough actively to
support you! But what matters? My brain will be worth more to you than
thews and sinews, and I tell you, my Lord Dick, that the best my brain
can offer is and shall be at all times freely yours. I am ready, if
need be, to back my w