The San Francisco call., 1904-04-17
CHAPTER XVI.
THE KING.

THE KING.
What may have seen to Whang- -Su
abject obeisance was little less than
swoon, for, though / sank to my knees,
the action was wholly due to the weak
condition of my nerves. Suddenly un-
strung at the sight of his Majesty.
1t was a moment before the King
spoke, but a moment long enough for
me to determine to hold fast to the
hand we were playing until l knew it
had been exposed. ] rose with clinched
teeth and hands, even saluting with a
closed fist. / placed one hand irrever
emily on the sarcophagus, and l had a
dagger in 1t. If our woman played her
part poorly, through fright or hys-
terra, 1 was determined that her gem
uine corpse should grace the occasionl !
The Kings first word, spoken in that
jaunty, leering tone. with which / was
familiar. dispelled my fears, and
breathed prayer of thanksgiving.
II slipped in. Captain Martyr, while
the room was cleared. / like cleared
rooms"
/ wondered if the King of Quelparte
was ever serious. II was taking
turn before bedtime he went on, after
laughing covertly at his own jest, land
heard you were here. want to thank
you for ably completing Colonel LIS
mission"
He was looking at the sarcophagus
now and my hand curled tightly over
the blade it obscured from view.
But permit me to warn as well as
thank. The announcements"
He paused again until l nodded sig
nifcantly.
Yes, this announcement. 1t may
make trouble. You should be on your
guard. Certain so-called patriots, i'm
bibing your Eastern ideas, pose as
sentiments Usually they only breathe
sometimes more. But, more or less,
be on your guard
/ bowed. For a moment there was
utter silence in the room save for the
pounding of my heart. What If the
King should come to the sarcophagus? :?
1 determined to block his way even at
the risk of my life. / would say my
orders were to let no one look upon the
body, and that / should obey the order
literally at any cost. Our game had
cost too much to be broken up now.
And the woman, maybe, had heard the
conversation. 1 feared for her If she
thought the Kings own eyes were rest
ing on her.
But instead of coming nearer. the
King moved backward to the wall and
beckoned me to his side.
For the first time in his life for all l
knew, Whang-Su's face was serious.
He had produced his cigarette box and
offered one to me and lighted his own
from the plebeian match.
1t was not until after two or three
nervous puffs and a spasmodic inhala-
tion that his Majesty spoke.
You had no trouble?" he then
asked swiftly.
mo, Sire" 1 answered.
The King looked long into my face,
and l thought 1 could see a pathetic
thing there-the questioning look of
one to whom the real truth is never
told. But l lied on right and left, and
the King believed all l said. And his
face grew more serious still. I thought
perhaps 1 could venture a probe or
two. and so 1 too went straight to CEN
ter by saying:
You were fearing Prince Tuen;
Colonel Ii told me-"
He started and put his finger to his
lips. But then he laughed and whis-
pered:
Yes; the old boar has been trying to
find her." and he jerked his thumb
toward the golden casket. but we
fooled him." added the King. with his
only English oath and a chuckle.
Here was my chance.
"And would your Majesty fear the
myth if he had destroyed the Queens
body?''
" TO hell with the myth as Oranoff
says-fo; but the people would; oh, the
peoplei" and the King held up his
hands with an expression of pity / can
not describe.
Now, If 1 had thought whang-Su
would look thus upon the matter, 1
should certainly have told him the
whole truth before undertaking the stu
pendous deception now on hand. But
it was too late. / could have confessed
failure and Tuens success, but /
would not confess to this deceit. 1t
would lay bare the whole string of my
lies for one thing, and, after all, the
King might fear the myth more than
he had confessed. AT any rate, we
should have to deceive every one else,
and he was only one. So / held my
peace.
But the King was still serious and
worried, as could be seen with half an
eye. Again I jumped to conclusion:
you fear Tuen YETI" 1 suggested.
He blew a cloud of smoke, looked at
me gravely through 1t, and nodded.
Il shall fear him until she"-blowing
a straight column of smoke toward the
sarcopha gus-"is in the tomb. and the
great tablet has fallen upon her."
'Faugh!" l exclaimed, trust that to
us, Sire. your best troops will sur
round the bier at all times. It is safer
than ever it was at Lynx Island"