something more than a mere shopgirl. It had occurred to him in that one
brief moment of contact that she had the air, the poise of a true
aristocrat.

The old man, over his huge mug of beer, was properly grateful. He was
willing to repay King for his little attention by giving him a careful
history of Graustark, past, present and future, from the time of Tartar
rule to the time of the so-called "American invasion." ills glowing
description of the little Prince might have interested Truxton in his
Lord Fauntleroy days, but just at present he was more happily engaged in
speculating on the true identify of the girl in the gun-shop. He
recalled the fact that a former royal princess of Graustark had gone
sight-seeing over the world, incognita, as a Miss Guggenslocker, and had
been romantically snatched up by a lucky American named Lorry. What if
this girl in the gun-shop should turn out to be a--well, he could hardly
hope for a princess; but she might be a countess.

The old mart was rambling on. "The young Prince has lived most of his
life in Washington and London and Paris, sir. He's only seven, sir. Of
course, you remember the dreadful accident that made him an orphan and
put him on the throne with the three 'wise men of the East' as regents
or governors. The train wreck near Brussels, sir? His mother, the
glorious Princess Yetive, was 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