The Argosy, March 1907 — page 138: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

710 “By means of this information, I was able to visit the baron at the Waldorf and convince him that I was the man who, as a little boy, had been brought Prince Carl Richard to see him in ‘neton. When I bared my shoul- howed the imprint of the seal, was completely deceived.” You. scoundrel!”’. cried the aged premier at this point, his fists clenched and his face red with rage. ‘forgive me,” moaned young Gas- pard. “It was Duval who made me do it. [hat man possessed a terrible power over me.”’ “You deserve to be hanged,” mut- tered the baron. ‘ But go on with your infamous confession. How did you get those respectable young men—those col- lege graduates who identified you as the real Carl Richard?” “Those men were not respectable young men, they were some of the smart- est swindlers in America, hired by Duval for the purpose,’ explained the impostor. Despite the gravity of the occasion, the princess could scarcely avoid smiling at this disclosure. The baron’s chagrin was pitiful. “And dared you hope that this wretched conspiracy would go through undetected? Did you really think you could steal the throne of Nordinia with- out being exposed sooner or later?” she inquired. “ { was always afraia, but Duval was confident,” answered the counterfeit king. “‘ Whenever I would express any fear, Duval would tell me to have courage and would declare that we could not fail. I was sure that sooner or later men who knew the real Carl Rich- ard would come to Nordinia and would detect the imposture; but Duval said that once I was crowned king nobody would listen to these people. “To make assurance doubly sure, however, Duval planned that I should marry the Princess Cornelia as soon as possible. Duval reckoned that once I was married to the princess, the govern- ment of Nordinia would not dare ex- pose me even if they discovered the im- . posture.” The princess and the baron uttered an exclamation of horror. THE ARGOSY. “You wretches!’’ cried the princess. “It was Duval’s idea—not mine,” pleaded the other. ‘‘ We came to Nor- dinia and I .was crowned. Everything seemed to be going well. From the first day I met your highness, though, I was always in deadly fear. There was some _ thing about your eyes which frightened me. I knew that sooner or later you would discover my deceit ; I could feel it. ‘““T mentioned my fears to Duval, but he only laughed at me and urged me to marry you as soon as possible.” The princess’s face went white. “TI was against this whole thing from the start,’ the man whined. val made me do it. He was always tell- ing me that I was a misfit king and that he was sorry he bore such a distinctly French face or he’d have been tempted to play the part himself. “ As it was, he chose to be my private secretary so that he could always be near me to advise me when anything went wrong. I don’t think he contrived this plot for his personal gain. I really don't. IT think it was just his daring and his love of conspiracy which made him think of it. He was a wonderful man.” ‘““And what of the young American— the man who killed Duval? Why did Duval hate him?” asked the princess. “Oh, yes. You: mean Ensign Willis. Duval met him in New York. Duval had nothing against him personally, but he knew too much, so Duval did his best to put him out of the way. Once he challenged him to a duel. Duval is’a crack shot. Then he paid a man ‘in America to send Willis an infernal machine. “That plan failed, however, so re- cently Duval contrived_an ambush and through the aid of a woman friend, who would move heaven and earth to serve Duval, he lured Willis to a cave, where he had men waiting to despatch him. - Even that scheme failed. That cursed fox chanced to run into the very cave where Willis lay dying. ‘Everything seems to have gone wrong. I’ve stood it as long as I could. When Duval was here to advise me, I could carry out the deception; but now that I’m alone I could not go on with it. I have confessed everything. Please be merciful with me.” GComichooks.co * But Du-- m_