sked the officer. "We had strict
orders to arrest not only the king, but any companions who may have
been involved in his escape."

"I had nothing whatever to do with his escape," said the girl,
"though I should have been only too glad to have aided him had the
opportunity presented."

"King Peter may think differently," replied the man.

"The Regent, you mean?" the girl corrected him haughtily.

The officer shrugged his shoulders.

"Regent or King, he is ruler of Lutha nevertheless, and he would
take away my commission were I to tell him that I had found a Von
der Tann in company with the king and had permitted her to escape.
Your blood convicts your highness."

"You are going to take me to Blentz and confine me there?" asked the
girl in a very small voice and with wide incredulous eyes. "You
would not dare thus to humiliate a Von der Tann?"

"I am very sorry," said the officer, "but I am a soldier, and
soldiers must obey their superiors. My orders are strict. You may be
thankful," he added, "that it was not Maenck who discovered you."

At the mention of the name the girl shuddered.

"In so far as it is in my power your highness and his majesty will
be accorded every consideration of dignity and courtesy while under
my escort. You need not entertain any fear of me," he concluded.

Barney Custer, during this, to him, remarkable dialogue, had risen
to his feet, and assisted the girl in rising. Now he turned and
spoke to the officer.

"This farce," he said, "has gone quite far enough. If it is a joke
it is becoming a very sorry one. I am not a king. I am an
American--Bernard Custer, of Beatrice, Nebraska, U.S.A. Look at me.
Look at me closely. Do I look like a king?"

"Every inch, your majesty," replied the officer.

Barney looked at the man aghast.

"Well, I am not a king," he said at last, "and if you go to
arresting me and throwing me into one of your musty old dungeons
you will find that I am a whole lot more important than most kings.
I'm an American citizen."

"Yes, your majesty," replied the officer, a trifle impatiently. "But
we waste time in idle discussion. Will your majesty be so good as to
accompany me without resistance?"

"If you will first escort this young lady to a place of safety,"
replied Barney.

"She will be quite safe at Blentz," said the lieutenant.

Barney turned to look at the girl, a question in his eyes. Before
them stood the soldiers with drawn revolvers, and now at th