“What can have happened to cause them to change their minds so abruptly?” cried the perplexed Count. “Surely our prime minister and the cabinet have left nothing undone to convince them of Graustark’s integrity and—”
“Pardon me. Count,” interrupted one of the brokers, “shall I try to make an appointment for you with Mr. Blithers? I hear he is in town for a few days.”
Count Quinnox looked to Truxton King for inspiration and that gentleman favoured him with a singularly dis-spiriting nod of the head. The old Graustarkian cleared his throat and rather stiffly announced that he would receive Mr. Blithers if he would call on him at the Ritz that afternoon.
“What!” exclaimed both agents, half-starting from their chairs in amazement.
The Count stared hard at them. “You may say to him that I will be in at four.”
“He’ll tell you to go to—ahem!” The speaker coughed just in time. “Blithers isn’t in the habit of going out of his way to—to oblige anybody. He wouldn’t do it for the Emperor of Germany.”
“But,” said the Count with a frosty smile, “I am not the Emperor of Germany.”
“Better let me make an appointment for you to see him at his office. It’s just around the corner.” There was a pleading note in the speaker’s voice.
“You might save your face, Calvert, by saying that the Count will be pleased to have him take tea with him at the Ritz,” suggested King.
“Tea!” exclaimed Calvert scornfully. “Blithers, doesn’t drink the stuff.”
“It’s a figure of speech,” said King patiently.
“All right, I’ll telephone,” said the other dubiously.
He came back a few minutes later with a triumphant look in his eye.
“Blithers says to tell Count Quinnox he’ll see him tomorrow morning at half-past eight at his office. Sorry he’s engaged this afternoon.”
“But did you say I wanted him to have tea with us!” demanded the Count, an angry flush leaping to his cheek.
“I did. I’m merely repeating what he said in reply. Half-past eight, at his office, Count. Those were his words.”
“It is the most brazen exhibition of insolence I’ve ever—” began the Count furiously, but checked himself with an effort. “I—I hope you did not say that I would come, sir!”
“Yes. It’s the only way—”
“Well, be good enough to call him up again and say to him that I’ll—I’ll see him damned before I’ll come to his office tomorrow at eight-thirty or at any other hour.” And with that the Count got up and stalked out of the office, putting on his hat as he did so.
“Count,” said King, as they descended in the elevator, “I’ve got an idea in my head that Blithers will be at the Ritz at four.”
“Do you imagine, sir, that I will receive him?”
“Certainly. Are you not a diplomat?”
“I am a Minister of War,” said the Count, and his scowl was an indication of absolute proficiency in the science.
“And what’s more,” went on King, reflectively, “it wouldn’t in the least surprise me if Blithers is the man behind the directors in this sudden move of the banks.”
“My dear King, he displayed the keenest interest and sympathy the other night at your house. He—”
“Of course I may be wrong,” admitted King, but his brow was clouded.
Shortly after luncheon that day, Mrs. Blithers received a telegram from her husband. It merely stated that he was going up to have tea with the Count at four o’clock, and not to worry as “things were shaping themselves nicely.”
CHAPTER V
PRINCE ROBIN IS ASKED TO STAND UP
Late the same evening. Prince Robin, at Red Roof, received a long distance telephone communication from New York City. The Count was on the wire. He imparted the rather startling news that William W. Blithers had volunteered to take care of the loan out of his own private means! Quinnox was cabling the Prime Minister for advice and would remain in New York for further conference with the capitalist, who, it was to be assumed, would want time to satisfy himself as to the stability of Graustark’s resources.
Robin was jubilant. The thought had not entered his mind that there could be anything sinister in this amazing proposition of the great financier.
If Count Quinnox himself suspected Mr. Blithers of an ulterior motive, the suspicion was rendered doubtful by the evidence of sincerity on the part of the capitalist who professed no sentiment in the matter but insisted on the most complete indemnification by the Graustark government. Even King was impressed by the absolute fairness of the proposition. Mr. Blithers demanded no more than the banks were asking for in the shape of indemnity; a first lien mortgage for 12 years on all properties owned and controlled by the government and the deposit of all bonds held by the people with the understanding that the interest would be paid to them regularly, less a small per cent as commission. His protection would be complete,—for the people of Graustark owned fully four-fifths of the bonds issued by the government for the construction of public service institutions; these by consent of Mr. Blithers were to be limited to three utilities: railroads, telegraph and canals. These properties, as Mr. Blithers was by way of knowing, were absolutely sound and self-supporting. According to his investigators in London and Berlin, they were as solid as Gibraltar and not in need of one-tenth the protection required by the famous rock.
Robin inquired whether he was to come to New York at once in relation to the matter, and was informed that it would not be necessary at present. In fact, Mr. Blithers preferred to let the situation remain in statu quo (as he expressed it to the Count), until it was determined whether the people were willing to deposit their bonds, a condition which was hardly worth while worrying about in view of the fact that they had already signified their readiness to present them for security in the original proposition to the banks. Mr. Blithers, however, would give himself the pleasure of calling upon the Prince at Red Roof later in the week, when the situation could be discussed over a dish of tea or a cup of lemonade. That is precisely the way Mr. Blithers put it.
The next afternoon Mrs. Blithers left cards at Red Roof—or rather, the foot-man left them—and on the day following the Kings and their guests received invitations to a ball at Blitherwood on the ensuing Friday, but four days off. While Mrs. King and the two young men were discussing the invitation the former was called to the telephone. Mrs. Blithers herself was speaking.
“I hope you will pardon me for calling you up, Mrs. King, but I wanted to be sure that you can come on the seventeenth. We want so much to have the Prince and his friends with us. Mr. Blithers has taken a great fancy to Prince Robin and Count Quinnox, and he declares the whole affair will be a fiasco if they are not to be here.”
“It is good of you to ask us, Mrs. Blithers. The Prince is planning to leave for Washington within the next few days and I fear—”
“Oh, you must prevail upon him to remain over, my Dear Mrs. King. We are to have a lot of people up from Newport and Tuxedo—you know the crowd—it’s the real crowd—and I’m sure he will enjoy meeting them. Mr. Blithers has arranged for a special train to bring them up—a train de luxe, you may be sure, both as to equipment and occupant. Zabo’s orchestra, too. A notion seized us last night to give the ball, which accounts for the short notice. It’s the way we do everything—on a minute’s notice. I think they’re jollier if one doesn’t go through the agony of a month’s preparation, don’t you? Nearly every one has wired acceptance, so we’re sure to have a lot of nice people. Loads of girls,—you know the ones I mean,—and Mr. Blithers is trying to arrange a sparring match between those two great prizefighters,—you know the ones, Mrs. King,—just to give us poor women a chance to see what a real man looks like in—I mean to say, what marvellous specimens they are, don’t you know. Now please tell the Prince that he positively cannot afford to miss a real sparring match. Every one is terribly excited over it, and naturally we are keeping it very quiet. Won’t it be a lark? My dau
ghter thinks it’s terrible, but she is finicky. One of them is a negro, isn’t he?”
“I’m sure I don’t know.”
“You can imagine how splendid they must be when I tell you that Mr. Blithers is afraid they won’t come up for less than fifteen thousand dollars. Isn’t it ridiculous?”
“Perfectly,” said Mrs. King.
“Of course, we shall insist on the Prince receiving with us. He is our piece de resistance. You—”
“I’m sure it will be awfully jolly, Mrs. Blithers. What did you say?”
“I beg pardon?”
“I’m sorry. I was speaking to the Prince. He just called up stairs to me.”
“What does he say?”
“It was really nothing. He was asking about Hobbs.”
“Hobbs? Tell him, please, that if he has any friends he would like to have invited we shall be only too proud to—”
“Oh, thank you! I’ll tell him.”
“You must not let him go away before—”
“I shall try my best, Mrs. Blithers. It is awfully kind of you to ask us to—”
“You must all come up to dinner either tomorrow night or the night after. I shall be so glad if you will suggest anything that can help us to make the ball a success. You see, I know how terribly clever you are, Mrs. King.”
“I am dreadfully stupid.”
“Nonsense!”
“I’m sorry to say we’re dining out tomorrow night and on Thursday we are having some people here for—”
“Can’t you bring them all up to Blitherwood? We’d be delighted to have them, I’m sure.”
“I’m afraid I couldn’t manage it. They—well, you see, they are in mourning.”
“Oh, I see. Well, perhaps Maud and I could run in and see you for a few minutes tomorrow or next day, just to talk things over a little—what’s that, Maud? I beg your pardon, Mrs. King. Ahem! Well, I’ll call you up tomorrow, if you don’t mind being bothered about a silly old ball. Good-bye. Thank you so much.”
Mrs. King confronted Robin in the lower hall a few seconds later and roundly berated him for shouting up the steps that Hobbs ought to be invited to the ball. Prince Robin rolled on a couch and roared with delight. Lieutenant Dank, as became an officer of the Royal Guard, stood at attention—in the bow window with his back to the room, very red about the ears and rigid to the bursting point.
“I suppose, however, we’ll have to keep on the good side of the Blithers syndicate,” said Robin soberly, after his mirth and subsided before her wrath. “Good Lord, Aunt Loraine, I simply cannot go up there and stand in line like a freak in a side show for all the ladies and girls to gape at I’ll get sick the day of the party, that’s what I’ll do, and you can tell ’em how desolated I am over my misfortune.”
“They’ve got their eyes on you, Bobby,” she said flatly. “You can’t escape so easily as all that. If you’re not very, very careful they’ll have you married to the charming Miss Maud before you can say Jack Rabbit.”
“Think that’s their idea?”
“Unquestionably.”
He stretched himself lazily. “Well, it may be that she’s the very one I’m looking for, Auntie. Who knows?”
“You silly boy!”
“She may be the Golden Girl in every sense of the term,” said he lightly. “You say she’s pretty?”
“My notion of beauty and yours may not agree at all.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Well, I consider her to be a very good-looking girl.”
“Blonde?”
“Mixed. Light brown hair and very dark eyes and lashes. A little taller than I, more graceful and a splendid horse-woman. I’ve seen her riding.”
“Astride?”
“No. I’ve seen her in a ball gown, too. Most men think she’s stunning.”
“Well, let’s have a game of billiards,” said he, dismissing Maud in a way that would have caused the proud Mr. Blithers to reel with indignation.
A little later on, at the billiard table, Mrs. King remarked, apropos of nothing and quite out of a clear sky, so to speak:
“And she’ll do anything her parents command her to do, that’s the worst of it.”
“What are you talking about? It’s your shot.”
“If they order her to marry a title, she’ll do it. That’s the way she’s been brought up, I’m afraid.”
“Meaning Maud?”
“Certainly. Who else? Poor thing, she hasn’t a chance in the world, with that mother of hers.”
“Shoot, please. Mark up six for me, Dank.”
“Wait till you see her, Bobby.”
“All right. I’ll wait,” said he cheerfully.
The next day Count Quinnox and King returned from the city, coming up in a private car with Mr. Blithers himself.
“I’ll have Maud drive me over this afternoon,” said Mr. Blithers, as they parted at the station.
But Maud did not drive him over that afternoon. The pride, joy and hope of the Blithers family flatly refused to be a party of any such arrangement, and set out for a horse-back ride in a direction that took her as far away from Red Roof as possible.
“What’s come over the girl?” demanded Mr. Blithers, completely non-plused. “She’s never acted like this before, Lou.”
“Some silly notion about being made a laughingstock, I gather,” said his wife. “Heaven knows I’ve talked to her till I’m utterly worn out. She says she won’t be bullied into even meeting the Prince, much less marrying him. I’ve never known her to be so pig-headed. Usually I can make her see things in a sensible way. She would have married the duke, I’m sure, if—if you hadn’t put a stop to it on account of his so-called habits. She—”
“Well, it’s turned out for the best, hasn’t it? Isn’t a prince better than a duke?”
“You’ve said all that before, Will. I wanted her to run down with me this morning to talk the ball over with Mrs. King, and what do you think happened?”
“She wouldn’t go?”
“Worse than that. She wouldn’t let me go. Now, things are coming to a pretty pass when—”
“Never mind. I’ll talk to her,” said Mr. Blithers, somewhat bleakly despite his confident front. “She loves her old dad. I can do anything with her.”
“She’s on a frightfully high horse lately,” sighed Mrs. Blithers fretfully. “It—it can’t be that young Scoville, can it?”
“If I thought it was, I’d—I’d—” There is no telling what Mr. Blithers would have done to young Scoville, at the moment, for he couldn’t think of anything dire enough to inflict upon the suspected meddler.
“In any event, it’s dreadfully upsetting to me, Will. She—she won’t listen to anything. And here’s something else: She declares she won’t stay here for the ball on Friday night.”
Mr. Blithers had her repeat it, and then almost missed the chair in sitting down, he was so precipitous about it.
“Won’t stay for her own ball?” he bellowed.
“She says it isn’t her ball,” lamented his wife.
“If it isn’t hers, in the name of God whose is it?”
“Ask her, not me,” flared Mrs. Blithers. “And don’t glare at me like that. I’ve had nothing but glares since you went away. I thought I was doing the very nicest thing in the world when I suggested the ball. It would bring them together—”
“The only two it will actually bring together, it seems, are those damned prize-fighters. They’ll get together all right, but what good is it going to do us, if Maud’s going to act like this? See here, Lou, I’ve got things fixed so that the Prince of Groostuck can’t very well do anything but ask Maud to—”
“That’s just it!” she exclaimed. “Maud sees through the whole arrangement, Will. She said last night that she wouldn’t be at all surprised if you offered to assume Graustark’s debt to Russia in order to—”
“That’s just what I’ve done, old girl,” said he in triumph. “I’ll have ’em sewed up so tight by ne
xt week that they can’t move without asking me to loosen the strings. And you can tell Maud once more for me that I’ll get this Prince for her if—”
“But she doesn’t want him!”
“She doesn’t know what she wants!” he roared. “Where is she going?”
“You saw her start off on Katydid, so why—”
“I mean on the day of the ball.”
“To New York.”
“By gad, I’ll—I’ll see about that,” he grated. “I’ll see that she doesn’t leave the grounds if I have to put guards at every gate. She’s got to be reasonable. What does she think I’m putting sixteen millions into the Grasstork treasury for? She’s got to stay here for the ball. Why, it would be a crime for her to—but what’s the use talking about it? She’ll be here and she’ll lead the grand march with the Prince. I’ve got it all—”
“Well, you’ll have to talk to her. I’ve done all that I can do. She swears she won’t marry a man she’s never seen.”
“Ain’t we trying to show him to her?” he snorted. “She won’t have to marry him till she’s seen him, and when she does see him she’ll apologise to me for all the nasty things she’s been saying about me.” For a moment it looked as though Mr. Blithers would dissolve into tears, so suddenly was he afflicted by self-pity. “By the way, didn’t she like the necklace I sent up to her from Tiffany’s?”
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack: 25 Classic Novels and Stories Page 110