II
"Mr. Inspector!" cried the King in surprise, recognizing the face.
"I beg your Majesty's pardon."
"Ah! You came to see that everything was safe? This time you were a little too early. Still, as you are here, I should rather like to know how far those keys do allow you to penetrate?"
"Everywhere, your Majesty."
"You mean, even to the private apartments?"
Apparently he did.
"Do you often have occasion to use them?"
"Not after to-night, your Majesty—never again."
"Oh, do not suppose that I am objecting, if it is really necessary."
"I give these keys up to-morrow, sir," said the man. "I ought to have given them up to-day; but I wanted to see your Majesty."
The King drew himself up; this seemed an intrusion.
"You could have asked for an interview," he said.
"I could have asked to the day of my death, sir; you would never have heard of it."
"You could have written."
"Does your Majesty think that all letters personally addressed are even reported to your Majesty?"
"I suppose not all of them," said the King after considering the matter.
"Not one in a hundred, sir."
"Still, any that are important I hear of."
"Mine, sir, would not have been reckoned important," said the man bitterly.
The King looked hard at him, not with any real suspicion, for his straightforward bearing inspired liking as well as confidence. But here was a man whose measure must be carefully taken, for he was certainly doing a very extraordinary thing.
"And have you something really important to tell me?"
Their eyes met on a pause that spoke better than words.
"Yes," said the man. Quietly he shut the door.
"Won't you come nearer?" said the King, for the depth of a large chamber divided them. But the disciplined figure kept its place. Slowly but without hesitation he gave what he had to say.
"I am dismissed the force," he began; "but that's not important—at least only to me—though I suppose that's partly why I'm here, for a man must fight when his living is taken from him. I am dismissed because your Majesty got out of the palace the other night without my hearing of it."
The King breathed his astonishment, but said nothing.
"I admit I ought to have known, but the man we had on duty at that door didn't know your Majesty—at least not so as to be sure. I asked him yesterday who it was went out, and he said—well, sir, he thought it was one of the palace stewards. They use that door a good deal at night, so I'm told."
"That he did not recognize me was, of course, my own doing," said the King.
"I know that, sir," replied the man, "but in the detective force we can't afford to make those sort of allowances. The consequence is—I'm out of it."
"I'm sorry, Inspector. What do you want me to do?"
"Well, sir, I'm here because I know something that I can't tell to another soul on earth. If I could have gone to them with it, I needn't have troubled your Majesty. But, so happens, I haven't got the proof."
"Are you going to ask me to believe you without proof?"
"Your Majesty can get the proof—or see it anyway. It's there at Dean's Court."
"Dean's Court? What is that?"
"Where the police museum is, sir. The proof of what I'm going to tell your Majesty lies there."
This was getting interesting. "Pray go on," said the King.
"That bomb," said the man, "the one that was thrown at your Majesty the other day—all the pieces of it are in the museum now."
He paused, then added—
"They have gone back to the place they came from."
It was evident then, from the man's tone, that to his own mind he had stated the essential part of his case.
But the King, his brain working on unfamiliar ground, missed the connection.
"I do not quite understand," he said.
"No, sir? Well, then, it's like this. After the bomb was thrown, we were put on to the ground, and the public were kept off. All the pieces picked up were brought to me. It must have been a very mild sort of charge, sir, nothing much besides gunpowder I should say; no slugs nor anything. Most of the shell I was able to put together again. It was blackened all over, partly by fire, partly new painted I think, but, under the black, I found lettering and numbers, all quite faint. I've got them here." (He drew out a pocket-book as he spoke.) "D.C.M. 5537."
He closed the book with a snap as though clinching an argument.
"The bomb that had that number on it," said he, "came from Dean's Court Museum; it's been there fifteen years. I've been in to look; that number is missing now. You'd have thought, sir, they might have been more careful than that!" He spoke with professional contempt for a job that had been bungled.
The solemnity of the man's manner, and the queer mystery of it all sent a cold sensation through the King's blood; he felt now that he was up against something dangerous and sinister.
"What do you mean me to understand from all this?" he asked?
"Well, sir," said the man, "it doesn't need me to tell your Majesty that when anarchists or any of that sort want to do a bit of bomb-throwing they don't go to our police museum for their materials. But that's not all. They found out, down at head office—after it was over, only then—that the local authorities had given permit for a cinematograph record to be taken from a stand just opposite, overlooking the new buildings, so as to get the procession as it came along under the arch. And so, as it happened, those films had got the whole thing recorded. We only heard of it when they were announced to be shown at the theater that night. I was sent down to get hold of them, and I brought them back with me.
"I've been through every one; most people wouldn't see anything. The point where the bomb went off was about fifty yards away; and those films give a view that just takes in a bit of the palisade. At number 139 you see an arm come up, and a face just behind it, very small, under the scaffolding; you'd hardly know it was there. But if that were put under a good microscope I shouldn't be surprised but what it could be recognized."
By this time the King's understanding had become clear; he saw where the argument was leading.
"Before I could do that," the man went on, "they were locked away. I didn't say anything about it—didn't point it out to them, I mean—for I'd begun to have a feeling that things weren't all right; and I daresay they haven't noticed what I noticed. If they have, number 139 and the ten plates following will be gone. Whether they have or not—that's my proof."
The King was now following the man's narrative with tense interest; every moment its import grew more clear; yes, clearer than day, sharp and bright as a rocket shot up against the blackness of a midnight sky.
The inspector paused for a moment and wiped his hand over dry lips; in the telling of that tale his face had grown white.
"Whom do you mean by 'they'?" inquired the King.
The man hesitated. "Well, your Majesty, I'd rather not say."
"I ought to know."
"Oh, yes, sir, I can't deny that! But, there, I've got no proof—so it's not the same thing. But I do say this, your Majesty, that to be able to lay hands on those things in the first place, and now to keep them locked away, needs somebody higher up in the department than I'd like to name. If I may leave it at that?"
"That will do," said the King.
"Your Majesty sees I couldn't safely go to anybody else with that proof; either it would be somebody who couldn't get at it before it was destroyed, or it would be those who had the whole thing in their own hands."
"I quite see that," said the King.
"That's all I had to say, then, sir."
"I am very much in your debt; I shall not forget what I owe you. There is one question I want to ask—you say that the charge must have been a very feeble one?"
"Yes, sir, much less than an ordinary shell."
"What do you deduce from that fact?"
"Well, your Majesty, I should say that killing had never been intended."
"That it was only done to frighten some one?"
"That is about it, your Majesty."
"Thank you; that is what I wanted to know. And if you will leave me your name, I think I can promise that you shall be at no disadvantage after I have gone into the matter."
"I am much obliged, your Majesty." The inspector came forward, drew out a card, and respectfully presenting it, retired again.
"Then, for the present, that is all," said the King. "It is now nearly two o'clock. You can, I believe, let yourself out?"
And in the light of a gentle, half-quizzical smile from the royal countenance, the inspector withdrew.
"What an amazing thing!" said the King to himself. "And oh! if it is true!"
III
He knew that it was true; for in a flash he had seen the meaning of it. And instead of angering him, it filled him with an almost intoxicating sense of power. For it meant that the Prime Minister, or the Government, could not do without him, he had been necessary to their plans.
He could not distinctly see why, whether it were a fear of Max succeeding to the throne at such a juncture or of popular resentment at the sovereign being driven to so desperate a remedy for his griefs, or fear merely of the damage that might be done to the monarchical system while bureaucracy was still depending upon it as a cloak for constitutional encroachments—whether one or all of these fears impelled his minister, the King did not know; but he saw clearly enough that to force him into withdrawal of his abdication the Prime Minister had adopted a desperate and almost heroical remedy.
He bore the man no grudge; the more he envisaged the risks, the more he admired and respected him. Feebly though the bomb had been charged, carefully though directed by slow underhand bowling only at the legs of horses, at a moment when the royal carriage had actually passed, still a bomb is an incalculable weapon—pieces of it fly in the most unexpected directions; and it was evident that for the execution of this ministerial veto on the Crown's action it had been necessary to risk the lives not merely of a picked body of troops, but of several high court officials and staff-officers riding in close attendance upon the royal coach. And a child in politics could see that if all this risk had been run to make abdication impossible, then abdication had been the right card to play.
And now that game was over, and another had begun, and if, in a certain sense, the leading cards had reverted to the ministerial hand, the King had the advantage of knowing what they were; and by leading off in another suit he might prevent the Ministry from playing them till too late for effect.
It was necessary, however, first to get his proofs. They lay at Dean's Court under official lock and key; and the hand which held that key was, for all he knew, the same which had thrown the bomb in order to frighten him. How, then, was he to get at it?
A brilliant idea occurred to him; so simple and easy that without worrying himself further he went to bed and slept upon it. And next morning, at their first meeting, he said to the Prince of Schnapps-Wasser, "Would you not like to come and see our police museum? Just now it contains some rather interesting exhibits—especially for us personally—that bomb, you know." And he proceeded to give details. "The actual pieces are all there, and a whole set of photographs, showing how the explosion took place."
Her Majesty, hearing of the project, backed it warmly.
"You will find it quite an intellectual treat," said she, "our police are such intelligent creatures. I went all over the museum myself once; and it felt exactly like being in a kaleidoscope—everything so wonderfully arranged."
"Ah, yes," said the Prince, "that should be very interesting."
And so, though it was not in the day's program, quite at an early hour the King and his guest drove down together to the Prefecture.
The Prefect himself had not arrived, but they saw one of the high permanent officials; and stating the purpose of their visit were formally handed over to the Superintendent of detectives. The department was his.
"Mr. Superintendent," said the King, "we come upon you by surprise; are you sufficiently prepared for us?"
The Superintendent declared that his department was ready at all hours.
"I wanted to show the Prince some of your relics," his Majesty went on, "particularly those connected with the recent outrage."
Of course the Superintendent was delighted; he led the way into the museum; and before long the Prince of Schnapps-Wasser became very much interested in all the things that were shown him.
Case after case was opened; and the King, seeing how smoothly matters were shaping, made no hurry toward the attainment of his goal.
Presently, pointing toward a case that stood in a window recess, the official remarked with a smile, "There lies your Majesty's death-warrant—what is left of it."
The case was opened; the King took up the fragments.
"Very interesting," he said. "There are also some photographs showing the actual event, are there not?"
"They are here, your Majesty." The Superintendent produced a small box with numbered slides.
"Very interesting," murmured the King again as he continued to handle the shards.
Presently he detected in one of these a faint trace of figures and lettering; he laid it to one side, took up the films, and began to examine them. Film after film he held up to the light; the scale was very small. Unable to decipher them in detail he sought only for the identifying numbers under which they stood catalogued.
After a while he came to the one he was in search of; that and the other two or three which immediately followed it he selected for closer scrutiny. Two of them he handed to the Prince. "This is just before," he said by way of explanation. "It was from behind those palisades that the bomb was thrown after our coach had passed."
"Here your Highness can see the actual explosion taking place," said their guide.
"Ah, very good! Very interesting!" murmured the Prince, with cordial appreciation. "That seems to have gone off quite well."
The King meanwhile had re-collected the four innocuous-looking films and set them apart from the rest. "And have you been quite unable," he inquired, "to trace the bomb to its origin, or to discover anything as to who threw it?"
"No trace at all, sir. The whole thing is a perfect mystery."
"Remarkable!" said the King.
And then with the leisurely air of a collector of curios he took up again the four films and the shard bearing the faint trace of figures, and before the astonished eyes of the Superintendent put them into his breast-pocket.
"I will keep these as a souvenir," he observed. "They will always be of great interest to me."
"I ask pardon, your Majesty," replied the official a little stiffly, "but it is against all regulations for anything to go out of this museum when it has once been catalogued."
"Ah, yes," retorted the King, smiling pleasantly, "but then it is against all regulations for bombs to be thrown at the royal coach when I am in it; so you must allow, for once, this small breach that I make in your chain of evidence. There is plenty of material for conviction still left, should you ever discover the criminal."
"I am afraid, sir," said the Superintendent, speaking gravely, "that this will get me into trouble with the Prefect. May I express a hope that your Majesty will reconsider the matter?"
"Oh, no, not at all!" said the King. "Tell the Prefect that the responsibility rests with me. The Prince here is witness that I robbed you and that you were helpless. Lay all the blame upon me without any scruple! And if it is a very grave breach of the regulations—well—you can inform the Prime Minister; and then, no doubt I shall hear of it."
The Superintendent stood mute; he had made his protest, and he could not pretend that he was satisfied.
"By the way," went on the King, "I have a very particular request to make which I think concerns your department. In connection with a certain incident that took place the other night—and which shall be nameless—one of your special inspectors has been dismissed, I hear?"
"That is so, your Majesty."
"Well, I do not wish to interfere in anything that makes for efficiency; but I have to request—will you please to make a particular note of it—that he shall be retired on a full pension."
For a moment the official hesitated. "May I ask why, sir?"
"Because practically I have promised it. It is either that or I re-engage him for my own personal service. He is a man whom I have trusted in matters of an exceedingly confidential character. Pray see to it."
The head of the department could hold out no longer. "It shall be as your Majesty wishes," said he.
"Very well," said the King. "Please report when you have seen the matter through. And now, Prince, I think that we have exhausted everything—including, I fear, your patience, Mr. Superintendent. What a very criminal part of society you have to deal with! I hope that the influences of the place are not catching."
"As to that, sir, I can hardly say," replied the other with a wry smile. "Your Majesty has just committed a robbery which I shall have to report; the first that has ever taken place in this department."
"Oh, surely not quite the first!" protested the King.
Then he checked himself. "Well, if that is so, you can but take out an order for my arrest. And you will find," he added slyly, "that I am already well known to the police."
And so saying, he and the Prince took their departure.