sat biting his
finger-nails, as was a trick of his when he was excited or angry.

"Tell you what!" he exclaimed suddenly. "This was what happened. It
was some of the Maranovitch fellows that tried to kill him. They meant
to kill his father and make their own man king, and they knew the
people wouldn't stand it if young Ivor was alive. They just stabbed
him in the back, the fiends! I dare say they heard the old shepherd
coming, and left him for dead and ran."

"Right, oh! That was it!" the lads agreed. "Yer right there, Rat!"

"When he got well," The Rat went on feverishly, still biting his nails,
"he couldn't go back. He was only a boy. The other fellow had been
crowned, and his followers felt strong because they'd just conquered
the country. He could have done nothing without an army, and he was
too young to raise one. Perhaps he thought he'd wait till he was old
enough to know what to do. I dare say he went away and had to work for
his living as if he'd never been a prince at all. Then perhaps
sometime he married somebody and had a son, and told him as a secret
who he was and all about Samavia." The Rat began to look vengeful.
"If I'd bin him I'd have told him not to forget what the Maranovitch
had done to me. I'd have told him that if I couldn't get back the
throne, he must see what he could do when he grew to be a man. And I'd
have made him swear, if he got it back, to take it out of them or their
children or their children's children in torture and killing. I'd have
made him swear not to leave a Maranovitch alive. And I'd have told him
that, if he couldn't do it in his life, he must pass the oath on to his
son and his son's son, as long as there was a Fedorovitch on earth.
Wouldn't you?" he demanded hotly of Marco.

Marco's blood was also hot, but it was a different kind of blood, and
he had talked too much to a very sane man.

"No," he said slowly. "What would have been the use? It wouldn't have
done Samavia any good, and it wouldn't have done him any good to
torture and kill people. Better keep them alive and make them do
things for the country. If you're a patriot, you think of the
country." He wanted to add "That's what my father says," but he did
not.

"Torture 'em first and then attend to the country," snapped The Rat.
"What would you have told your son if you'd been Ivor?"

"I'd have told him to learn everything about Samavia--and all the
things kings have to know--and study th