Page:Baron Trump's marvellous underground journey.pdf/105

Rh "My Lord Cornucore," said I with a low bow, "I make bold to raise my voice against thine, and I crave permission from Queen Galaxa to parley with her people."

"Forbid it, royal lady!" cried Sir Amber O'Pake savagely, at which Bulger gave a low growl and showed his teeth.

"Queen Galaxa," I added gravely, "a wrong confessed is half redressed. This fair princess, 'tis true, hath a speck in her heart which ill accords with the name bestowed upon her by thy people. Bid me be master until thy heart runs down, and by the Knighthood of all the Trumps I promise thee that thou shalt have three hours of happiness ere thy royal heart has ceased to beat!"

"Be it so, little baron," exclaimed Galaxa joyfully. "I proclaim thee prime minister for the rest of my life." At these words Bulger broke out into a series of glad barks, and, raising upon his hind legs, licked the queen's hand in token of his gratitude, while the fair princess looked a love at me that was too deep to put into words.

"I had now but a few hours to act. The excitement, so Doctor Nebulosus assured me, would shorten the queen's life a full hour."

It had always been my custom to carry about with me a small but excellent magnifying-glass, a double convex lens, for the purpose of making examinations of minute objects, and also for reading inscriptions too fine to be seen with the naked eye. Hastily summoning a skilful metal worker, I instructed him to set the lens in a short tube and to enclose that tube within another, so that I could lengthen it at my pleasure. Then having called together as many of the head men of the nation as the throne room would hold, I requested Lord Cornucore to inform them of the confession which Queen Galaxa had made namely, that in reality damozel Glow Stone was princess Crystallina and princess Crystallina was damozel Glow Stone.

They were stricken speechless by this piece of information, but when Lord Cornucore went on to tell the whole story and to explain to them why the queen had practised this deception