Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1925-03-05
CHAPTER II


took the first chance I got Of
having a chat with Edmond Troyte.
lie was perfectly frank with me and
told me all about the scheme for
making his nephew king Of Lystria.
He began with the political part Of
the plan. The Lystrians are. 80 he
said. an intensely patriotic people.
and they very much dislike being
merged In the Republic of Megalia.
In fact, Edmund admitted this to me.
the trainers OF the Treaty Of Trianon
made q mistake. bad mistake. In
depriying Lystria OF Its independence.
They. are people," said Troyte.
with a strong feeling in favor Of
monarchy. They don't like the re-
publican form OF government. The
aristocracy doesn't like II. The Church
doesn't like II. and In Lystria the
Church counts for q lot. Whatever
the patriarch says the people say aft
er him. The patriarch's name Ii
Menelaua"
He went on to tell me that the Lys-
TRANS would like to have their old
king back.
But that's impossible. The En-
tente powers wouldn't stand Il. he
sides, that fellow wladislnws 10 a bad
one. He treated his wife badly. she
was an Englishwoman. As a matter
Of fact, she was distant cousin Of
my own"
Any king who treats a relative Of
Troyte's badly deaerves to lose Ms
throne saw at once that Wladis-
laws had irretrlevably lost his.
The Patriarch Menelans and the
Lystrian arlstocracy." said Troyte.
'know perfectly well that they cant
have Wladislaws back. SO. some time
ago. they asked for an Englishman.
The only condition they made was
that he should marry the ex-klng's
daughter. OF course we turned the
proposal down at once and no more
was heard OF IT,
"You seem TO have turned Il up
again." said. Now, whyf"
That. II appeared. Is where Proco-
Plus Cable came In. He had found
out that the Lystrian mountains were
full NJ oil. He tried TO get q conces-
sion for the development Of the oil
nelds. The Megallan government hes.
itated and wrangled and procrastinat-
ed until Cable got tired OF trying to
deal with them. They had not money
enough TO develop the place them
selves They had not the knowledge
or enterprise or energy 10 do Il even
n they had the money. And they
would not let Cable do II. so he
started working up patriotic feeling
In Lystria, or rather financing Il. for
II did not need working up He got
into touch with the patriarch and he
got into touch with the aristocracy
through q certain Count lstvan Gas.
imir. He gave them all the money
they wanted According to Cables
account everything was ready for q
revolution. All that was wanted was
q king whom the Entente powers
would recognize. The Megalisn re-
public would be quite helpless n Eng.
land or any other great power recog-
nixed the new king OF Lystria.
Having got all that settled. Cable
approached Lord Edmund Troyte with
a proposal that the marquis OF Nor
heys my godson, should be king Of
I.ystria. He would have 10 marry the
princess, OF course. The Lystrians,
being strong legitimists, insisted on
that. Hut the princess, 90 Cable said,
was a beautiful girl with charming
manners and far more respectable
than her father had ever been.
"As q matter Of fact" said Troyte
shes q dancer In Berlin. wladis'
laws did not succeed In carrying on q
penny from Lystria. 80 both he and
the girl have 60 work for their Nv
Ing. But that Is not an insuperable
objection to her"
slave YOU" I said. laid that part
Of the scheme before Norheys. asked
him whether he was willing to marry
the princessr'
''Not yet"
IL would" said. IF I were you
I'D mention that TO Norheys before
going any further. Indeed. Il might
be as well 20 ind out what the prin-
cess thinks about II. too.
'shen be all right" said rroyte
Her name Is Calypso"
Calypso 10 pretty sname. but
did not see that Il gave us any guar