s killed and his father, Mr. Lorry, died the
next day from his injuries. That, sir, was a most appalling blow to the
people of Graustark. We loved the Princess and we admired her fine
American husband. There never will be another pair like them, sir. And
to think of them being destroyed as they were--in the most dreadful way,
sir. Their coach was demolished, you remember. I--I will not go into the
details. You know them, of course. God alone preserved the little
Prince. He was travelling with them, on the way from London to
Edelweiss. By some strange intervention of Providence he had gone with
his governess and other members of the party to the luggage van in the
fore part of the train, which had stopped on a side track below the
station. The collision was from the rear, a broken rail throwing a
locomotive into the Princess's coach. This providential escape of the
young Prince preserved the unbroken line of the present royal family. If
he had been killed, the dynasty would have come to an end, and, I am
telling no secret, sir, when I say that a new form of government would
have followed."

"What sort of government?"

"A more modern system, sir. Perhaps socialistic. I can't say. At all
events, a new dynasty could not have been formed. The people would have
rejected it. But Prince Robin was spared and, if I do say it, sir, he is
the manliest little prince in all the world. You should see him ride and
fence and shoot--and he is but seven!"

"I say, Mr. Spantz, I don't believe I've told you that your niece is a
most remarkably beau--"

"As I was saying, sir," interrupted Spantz, so pointedly that Truxton
flushed, "the little Prince is the idol of all the people. Under the
present regency he is obliged to reside in the principality until his
fifteenth year, after which he may be permitted to travel abroad.
Graustark intends to preserve him to herself if it is in her power to do
so. Woe betide the man who thinks or does ill toward little Prince
Robin."

King was suddenly conscious of a strange intentness of gaze on the old
man's part. A peculiar, indescribable chill swept over him; he had a
distinct, vivid impression that some subtle power was exercising itself
upon him--a power that, for the briefest instant, held him in a grip of
iron. What it was, he could not have told; it passed almost immediately.
Something in the old man's eyes, perhaps--or was it something in the
queer smile that flickered about his lips?

"My