undered to the very foot of
the chancel steps.

At their head rode Lieutenant Butzow and a tall young man in soiled
and tattered khaki, whose gray eyes and full reddish-brown beard
brought an exclamation from Captain Maenck who commanded the guard
about Peter of Blentz.

"Mein Gott--the king!" cried Maenck, and at the words Peter went
white.

In open-mouthed astonishment the spectators saw the hurrying
troopers and heard Butzow's "The king! The king! Make way for
Leopold, King of Lutha!"

And a girl saw, and as she saw her heart leaped to her mouth. Her
small hand gripped the sleeve of her father's coat. "The king,
father," she cried. "It is the king."

Old Von der Tann, the light of a new hope firing his eyes, threw
aside his cloak and leaped to the chancel steps beside Butzow and
the others who were mounting them. Behind him a hundred cloaks
dropped from the shoulders of his fighting men, exposing not silks
and satins and fine velvet, but the coarse tan of khaki, and grim
cartridge belts well filled, and stern revolvers slung to well-worn
service belts.

As Butzow and Barney stepped upon the chancel Peter of Blentz leaped
forward. "What mad treason is this?" he fairly screamed.

"The days of treason are now past, prince," replied Butzow
meaningly. "Here is not treason, but Leopold of Lutha come to claim
his crown which he inherited from his father."

"It is a plot," cried Peter, "to place an impostor upon the throne!
This man is not the king."

For a moment there was silence. The people had not taken sides as
yet. They awaited a leader. Old Von der Tann scrutinized the
American closely.

"How may we know that you are Leopold?" he asked. "For ten years we
have not seen our king."

"The governor of Blentz has already acknowledged his identity,"
cried Butzow. "Maenck was the first to proclaim the presence of the
putative king."

At that someone near the chancel cried: "Long live Leopold, king of
Lutha!" and at the words the whole assemblage raised their voices in
a tumultuous: "Long live the king!"

Peter of Blentz turned toward Maenck. "The guard!" he cried.
"Arrest those traitors, and restore order in the cathedral. Let the
coronation proceed."

Maenck took a step toward Barney and Butzow, when old Prince von der
Tann interposed his giant frame with grim resolve.

"Hold!" He spoke in a low, stern voice that brought the cowardly
Maenck to a sudden halt.

The men of Tann had pressed eagerly f