The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints - M. V. Carey [52]
“And saw the medallion with the eagle,” finished Mr. Hitchcock. “That is one thing I do not understand. Why did Kerenov insist on wearing that medallion?”
“He admits it was foolish,” said Jupiter. “He felt lonely, perhaps, and it may have reminded him of better times. Also, he felt there was little chance of anyone from Lapathia appearing in Rocky Beach unless they were summoned, and his advertisement — which he placed annually in all the major papers in the United States
— was addressed to Nicholas. He felt only Nicholas would understand it. It was part of the agreement which they made when they fled together from the palace at Madanhoff. They would separate and both try to make their way to the United States.
Alexis would advertise once a year, on the anniversary of the revolution, until Nicholas found him. And if anything happened to Alexis before Nicholas found him, Nicholas could always examine the files of back editions of various newspapers and would, at least, know in which town Alexis had settled. Then he was to look for the odd eagle with the single head.”
“An involved scheme,” said Mr. Hitchcock, “and one that left a great deal to chance. However, I suppose they did not have a great deal of time to work out anything more practical with a revolution going on around them. So for a lifetime Alexis waited.”
“And Nicholas never escaped.”
“What was the photograph which the Lapathian general showed The Potter?”
asked Mr. Hitchcock.
“He wouldn’t tell us,” said Pete. “Something gruesome.”
“And proving that Nicholas was dead, no doubt,” added Jupiter.
“It must have been a great shock to The Potter,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “On the other hand, he must have begun to suspect that his vigil was in vain. So many years had passed.”
“I guess he hoped right to the end that Nicholas would show up, and the Azimovs would be restored to their throne,” said Bob.
“In which case,” chuckled Pete, “The Potter would be the Duke of Malenbad, and Mrs Thomas Dobson of Belleview, Illinois, would eventually get to be a duchess. I wonder how Mrs Dobson would enjoy being a duchess.”
“Has she forgiven her father?” asked Mr. Hitchcock.
“Yes,” said Bob. “She’s still there, and she’s helping him in the shop. She and young Tom will stay until the end of summer.”
“And the Lapathians have departed?”
“They left the minute they got their hands on the crown,” Jupiter reported. “We have to rely on guesswork with the men from Lapathia. We can only assume that the Westways article led them to The Potter. I think that they rented Hilltop House planning to wage some sort of war of nerves on The Potter. It upset them greatly when he disappeared and a young woman and a boy moved into his house. But they kept watching and waiting until they saw Farrier make his move, out there in The Potter’s yard, and then they came scrambling down that hill to make sure nobody got the crown before they did.
“General Kaluk, I am sure, was sent to Rocky Beach because he had once known Alexis Kerenov, and might be better able to recognize him than Demetrieff, who never knew him personally. And he did recognize him, in spite of all the beard and the white hair. The Potter had not changed that much, and Kaluk had changed scarcely at all.”
“It would make a great movie, don’t you think, Mr. Hitchcock?” asked Pete. “I mean, flaming footprints and a family ghost and an innocent daughter who doesn’t know what the score is, and stolen jewels!”
“It has some points to recommend it,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “There are still one or two things you have not explained in your report, however. The sound of water running in the pipes in The Potter’s