Then Buck went on to tell how the lieutenant had married above his station in life and of his subsequent misfortunes as a result of the old count’s brutal enmity.
“We want you to intercede with the count on Racoszky’s behalf and bring the young couple and their child together again,” Buck concluded.
“Mr. Stewart hasn’t told you the entire story yet, though,” Ned here interrupted. “It seems that Count Polnychek was one of the moving spirits in this plot. While trailing him down, I fell into his power and probably would have been murdered had it not been for his brave daughter, Racoszky’s wife, who forced him at a revolver’s muzzle to liberate me.
“Armed with the weapon she had given me, I forced him to reveal the full details of the conspiracy and now have him bound and locked there in his daughter’s room. She agreed to stand guard over him while I impersonated him at the conspirators’ rendezvous. The lady has asked that I beg leniency for her parent in view of her own great services on your behalf.”
The Emperor paced the room thoughtfully for a few moments. Then he said:
“Young gentlemen, you shall have both of your wishes. Lieutenant Racoszky need no longer dread separation from his family, and Count Polnychek shall not be accorded the sentence he so richly deserves. But he must leave Austria at once, and the first time that he ever again sets foot across our boundaries shall be the signal for his arrest.”
Thus the happiness of Racoszky was assured and the boys were left once more free to pursue their way.
CHAPTER XXVIII
SURROUNDED BY GERMAN ZEPPELINS
The war had by this time begun to pall upon the boys, and Alan voiced the sentiments of all four when he said: