and good. If not, gentlemen,
I shall starve him out or blow the Castle down about his smart little
ears. You shudder! Well, I can't blame you. I shudder myself sometimes
when I think of it. There will be a great deal of royal blood, you know.
Ah, that reminds me: It may interest you to hear that I expect to
establish a new nobility in Graustark. The present house of lords is
objectionable to me. I trust I may now be addressing at least a few of
the future noble lords of Graustark. Good day, gentlemen. That is all
for the present. Kindly inform me if any of my soldiers or followers
overstep the bounds of prudence. Rapine and ribaldry will not be
tolerated."

The dignitaries and great men of the city went away, dazed and
depressed, looking at each other from bloodshot eyes. Not one friend had
Marlanx in that group, and he knew it well. He did not expect them to
submit at once or even remotely. They might have smiled, whereas they
frowned, if they could have seen him pacing the floor of his office, the
moment the doors closed behind their backs, clenching his hands and
cursing furiously.

At the Castle the deepest gloom prevailed. It was like a nightmare to
the beleaguered household, a dream from which there seemed to be no
awakening. Colonel Quinnox's first act after posting his forces in
position to repel attacks from the now well-recognised enemy, was to
make sure of the safety of his royal master. Inside the walls of the
Castle grounds he, as commander of the Royal Guard, ruled supreme.
General Braze tore off his own epaulets and presented himself to Quinnox
as a soldier of the file; lords and dukes, pages and ministers, followed
the example of the head of the War Department. No one stood on the
dignity of his position; no one does, as a rule, with the executioner
staring him in the face. Every man took up arms for the defence of the
Castle, its Prince and its lovely women.

Prince Robin, quite recovered from his fright, donned the uniform of a
Colonel of the Royal Dragoons, buckled on his jewelled sword, and, with
boyish zeal, demanded Colonel Quinnox's reasons for not going forth to
slay the rioters.

"What is the army for, Colonel Quinnox?" he asked with impatient wonder.

It was late in the afternoon and the Prince was seated in the chair of
state, presiding over the hurriedly called Council meeting. Notably
absent were Baron Dangloss and the Duke of Perse. Chief officers of the
Guard and the commissioned men