"And you say Nicolas, the traitor, is dead?" he questioned.
"Yes, your majesty. Nikol here," and Colonel Anderson indicated the dwarf, "saw to that."
The king turned to Nikol. Then he commanded:
"Come here!"
Trembling, in spite of his denial that he was afraid of a king, Nikol approached. The king extended a hand, and Nikol bent one knee and put his lips to the hand.
"I thank you," said King Nicholas.
Nikol, with flushed face, muttered something unintelligible and backed slowly away.
Then the king thanked each member of the party separately. Even Stubbs seemed somewhat abashed by the king's manner.
Later Colonel Anderson mentioned the gold they had brought and it was all deposited—fifteen bags of the precious metal—before the king.
"Again I thank you," said the monarch. "You may make sure that this gold will be used where it will do the most good."