if he
knew that he was awake and would hear him.

"He has given all his life to Samavia!" he said. "When you traveled
from country to country, and lived in holes and corners, it was because
by doing it he could escape spies, and see the people who must be made
to understand. No one else could have made them listen. An emperor
would have begun to listen when he had seen his face and heard his
voice. And he could be silent, and wait for the right time to speak.
He could keep still when other men could not. He could keep his face
still--and his hands--and his eyes. Now all Samavia knows what he has
done, and that he has been the greatest patriot in the world. We both
saw what Samavians were like that night in the cavern. They will go
mad with joy when they see his face!"

"They have seen it now," said Marco, in a low voice from his bed.

Then there was a long silence, though it was not quite silence because
The Rat's breathing was so quick and hard.

"He--must have been at that coronation!" he said at last. "The
King--what will the King do to--repay him?"

Marco did not answer. His breathing could be heard also. His mind was
picturing that same coronation--the shattered, roofless cathedral, the
ruins of the ancient and magnificent high altar, the multitude of
kneeling, famine-scourged people, the battle-worn, wounded and bandaged
soldiery! And the King! And his father! Where had his father stood
when the King was crowned? Surely, he had stood at the King's right
hand, and the people had adored and acclaimed them equally!

"King Ivor!" he murmured as if he were in a dream. "King Ivor!"

The Rat started up on his elbow.

"You will see him," he cried out. "He's not a dream any longer. The
Game is not a game now--and it is ended--it is won! It was real--HE was
real! Marco, I don't believe you hear."

"Yes, I do," answered Marco, "but it is almost more a dream than when
it was one."

"The greatest patriot in the world is like a king himself!" raved The
Rat. "If there is no bigger honor to give him, he will be made a
prince--and Commander-in-Chief--and Prime Minister! Can't you hear
those Samavians shouting, and singing, and praying? You'll see it
all! Do you remember the mountain climber who was going to save the
shoes he made for the Bearer of the Sign? He said a great day might
come when one could show them to the people. It's come! He'll show
them! I know how they'll take it!" His voi