The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-11-18

purpose Of ny foster brother that thai
boy shall be brought up as the king
IN ease !, myself, should fall He i:
not 1T to rule He is not your king
But signed hereunto Is the name and
the seal, unmistakable. done in my
blood and his. OF your king, Michael
the First, and Of your future king
Michael the Second, my son. He is
as yet too young fully TO know the
I gravity Of these presents. But by this
sign you shall know your ruler. shall
/ these presents come TO you, well be
loved
In the name OF God. amen, Nj.
1 chaei, Rex"
Below this signature Of Michael
the Good said the measured voice
OF Count Frederick. there is another
signature-'Michael the Second. Rex.
Gentlemen, there are two signatures
TO these scripts, and there are two
seals
a sigh Of wonder, almost of ccnster.
nation, came from those assembled.
The only protest was from the hud
died object in the farther corner OF
the room, where still remained Nj.
chael the drunken.
What then, the guard" he
shrieked. Treason 10 ue-after him
mem This pretender-what is it that
he says? What proof has he?-what
proof?'
This proof. sir" said Count Fred.
erick. coldly, and approached to him
the broad page OF the parchment
sheet.
Michael gazed stupid'y at what he
saw, unc0mprehending. Others gazed
also and at first could make nothing
OF what was there Count Frederick
went on:
Il recall now, as | see this page"
said he, this writing Of the king, my
father-you hear me, gentlemen-my
father,
Il recall that I saw him place be-
meath the great seal, that other seal
done in his own blood | saw him
draw the blood from his own arm and
put his thumb in it, and place it here,
thus sealing this document with the
unmistakable seal-the one alone
which cannot show a mistaken iden.
tity.
And here, gentlemen, beneath that
other line Of signature, which you
have heard and seen, there is another,
a smaller, a very small seal of a SINH
lar sort, II is the print Of a human
thunb-the thumb CT boy Of a baby
"A baby then, a man Iow-wko re-
calls that scene vaguely. And here
is the proof. Gentlemen. recall now,
it was my father made this mark: but
1t was his great hands which took my
little one and dipped my thumb in the
blood which he drew from my arm,
and set it here below that name which
he has written, Michael the Second
Gentlemen, who then is your
king?"
Even yet they could not grasp the |
!9ll significance OF what they heard |
and again the voice of Count Freder- |
lex resumed:
"Go, now, gentlemen, send out your
agents quickly. Bring here those men
OF science skilled in the reading Of |
such things as these. II was Bertillon |
who developed that science of infall- !
bic Identification. 1t was he who
showed that each man carries with
him, in his person, from his cradle to
his grave, that unmistakable seal
which Identifies him infallibly.
Now bring here your men of sci
ence. Here is my hand as God made
it, and as my father held it in his so
many years ago. Small then-larger
and stronger now. God grant it be
strong enough today to do what my
father did. and do it we'll And may my
mind have justice and liberty before
it always, as those things were before
his.
Gentlemen, you know the history
of this kingdom as well as l. You
know the long regency following the
Gretzhoffen war. You know why that
regency was established. Rumor was
that King Michael died like a king,
in his own bed. The truth was other.
wise. He was murdered here in the
vault below ty the men of his own
foster brother
IF that be true-and as God is my
believe it to be true-then
we well may guess which boy was
brought up under the regent to take
the place of king. That was not my.
relatives of mine. reared
me, as you know, until am what you
know. And yCnder man-this drunken
even the son of lawful
wedlock, never the son of a queen
hat man, he was the one accepted as
your king! Treason, you say-why.
here was treason to every human be.
ng who lived on Gretzhosfen soi', ,,
when That prctender took the throne! ,
AS for you, sir" and he stepped ,
>vor to lay an iron hand en- the shcul.
Ter Of the covering man who sank
Jack upon his seat, your day is done. /,
60 not say you were a party TO this
i only say you must so. For the
est, the parliament OF our realm shall
ormally decide" ,
IIis s.o,lI;lyo s-r;, N.y Hsted Michael