The Nameless Castle Part 41

For this promise Marie ran to Fraulein Lotti and embraced her.

While at dinner Marie suddenly remembered that she had not yet seen the little water-monster, and inquired about him.

The baroness told her that the boy had gone back to his fish companions in the lake; then asked: "But where did you ever see the creature?"

Marie hesitated a moment before replying; a natural modesty forbade her from confessing to Ludwig's betrothed wife that he had taught her how to swim, and had always accompanied her on her swimming excursions in his canoe.

"I saw him once with you in the park, when I was looking through the telescope," she answered, with some confusion.

"Ah! then you also have been spying upon me?" jestingly exclaimed the baroness.

"How else could I have learned that you are so good and beautiful?"

frankly returned the young girl.

"Ah, I have an idea," suddenly observed the baroness. "That spy-gla.s.s is here now. The surveyor to whom Ludwig gave it sent it to me when he had done with it. Come, we will pay Herr Ludwig back in his own coin! We will spy out what the gentlemen are doing over at the castle."

Marie was charmed with this suggestion, and willingly accompanied her "little mama" to the veranda, where the familiar telescope greeted her sight.

Two of the windows in that side of the Nameless Castle which faced the manor were lighted.

"That is the dining-room; they are at dinner," explained Marie, adjusting the gla.s.s--a task of which the baroness was ignorant. When she had arranged the proper focus, she made room for Katharina, who had a better right than she had to watch Ludwig.

"What do you see?" she asked, when Katharina began to smile.

"I see Ludwig and the vice-palatine; they are leaning out of the window, and smoking--"

"Smoking?" interposed Marie. "Ludwig never smokes."

"See for yourself!"

Katharina stepped back, and Marie placed her eye to the gla.s.s. Yes; there, plainly enough, she beheld the remarkable sight: Ludwig, with evident enjoyment, drawing great clouds of smoke from a long-stemmed pipe. The two men were talking animatedly; but even while they were speaking, the pipes were not removed from their lips--Ludwig, indeed, at times vanished entirely behind the dense cloud of smoke.

"For six whole years he never once let me see him smoking a pipe!"

murmured Marie to herself. "How much he enjoys it! Do you"--turning abruptly toward the baroness, who was smilingly watching her young guest--"do you object to tobacco smoke?"

She seemed relieved when the baroness a.s.sured her that tobacco smoke was not in the least objectionable.

Some time later, when reminded that it was time for little girls to be in bed, Marie protested stoutly that she was not sleepy.

"Pray, little mama," she begged, "let us look a little longer through the telescope; it is so interesting."

But even while she was giving voice to her pet.i.tion the windows in the dining-room over at the castle became darkened. The gentlemen evidently had retired to their rooms for the night.

"Oh, ah-h," yawned Marie, "I am sleepy, after all! Come, little mama, we will go to bed."

Katharina herself conducted the young girl to her room. Marie exclaimed with surprise and delight when, on entering the room adjoining the baroness's own sleeping-chamber, she beheld her own furniture--the canopy-bed, the book-shelves, toys, card-table, everything. Even Hitz, Mitz, Pani, and Miura sat in a row on the sofa, and Phryxus and h.e.l.le came waddling toward her, and sat up on their hind legs.

The things had been brought over from the castle while the baroness and Marie were in the park.

"You will feel more at home with your belongings about you," said Katharina, as she returned the grateful girl's good-night kiss.

PART VII

THE HUNGARIAN MILITIA

CHAPTER I

When Count Vavel and the vice-palatine disappeared from the window of the dining-room, they did not retire to their pillows. They went to Ludwig's study, where they refilled their pipes for another smoke.

"But tell me, Herr Vice-palatine," said the count, continuing the conversation which had begun at the dining-table, "why is it that six months have been allowed to pa.s.s since the Diet pa.s.sed the militia law without anything having been accomplished?"

"Well, you must know that there are three essential parts among the works of a clock," returned Herr Bernat, complacently puffing away at his pipe. "There is the spring, the pendulum, and the escapement. The wheels are the subordinates. The spring is the law pa.s.sed by the Diet.

The pendulum is the palatine office, which has to set the law in motion; the escapement is the imperial counselor of war. The wheels are the people. We will keep to the technical terms, if you please. When the spring was wound up, the pendulum began to set the wheels going. They turned, and the loyal n.o.bles of the country began to enroll their names--"

"How many do you suppose enrolled their names?" interrupted the count.

"Thirty thousand cavalry and forty thousand infantry--which are not all the able-bodied men, as only one member from each family is required to join the army. After the names had been entered came the question of uniforms, arms, officering, drilling, provisions. You must admit that a clock cannot strike until the hands have made their regular pa.s.sage through all the minutes and seconds that make up the hour!"

"For heaven's sake! What a preamble!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the count. "But go on.

The first minute?"

"Yes; the first minute a stoppage occurred caused by the escapement objecting to furnish canteens; if the militiamen wanted canteens they must provide them themselves."

"I trust the clock was not allowed to stop for want of a few canteens,"

ironically observed Count Vavel.

"Moreover," continued the vice-palatine, not heeding the interruption, "the escapement gave them to understand that bra.s.s drums could not be furnished--only wooden ones--"

"They will do their duty, too, if properly handled," again interpolated Vavel.

"A more disastrous check, however, was the decision of the _Komitate_ that the uniform was to consist of red trousers and light-blue dolman--"

"A picturesque uniform, at any rate!"

"There was a good deal of argument about it; but at last it was decided that the companies from the Danube should adopt light-blue dolmans, and those from the Theiss dark-blue."

"Thank heaven something was decided!"

"Don't be too premature with your thanks, Herr Count! The escapement would not consent to the red trousers; red dye-stuff was not to be had, because of the continental embargo. The militia must content itself with trousers made of the coa.r.s.e white cloth of which peasants' cloaks are made. You can imagine what a tempest that raised in the various counties! To offer Hungarian n.o.bles trousers made of such stuff! At last the matter was arranged: trousers and dolman were to be made of the same material. The Komitate were satisfied with this. But the escapement then said there were not enough tailors to make so many uniforms. The government would supply the cloth, and have it cut, and the militiamen could have it made up at home."

"That certainly would make the uniform of more value to the wearer!"

"_Would have made_, Herr Count; would have made! The escapement suddenly announced that the cloth could not be purchased; for, while the dispute about the colors of the uniform had been going on, the greedy merchants had advanced the price of all cloths to such an exorbitant figure that the government could n't afford to buy it."