"
"Then he must be warned off the ground!" said Jost irritably; "He is a
Constitutional monarch, and must obey the laws of the Constitution."
"Precisely!" And Leroy looked carefully at the end of his cigar; "But
at present he appears to have an idea that the laws of the Constitution
are being tampered with by certain other kings;--for example,--the
kings of finance!"
Jost muttered a half-inaudible oath.
"Come this way," he said impatiently;--"Bad news is best soon over!"
Leroy gave a careless nod of acquiescence,--then glancing round the
room, up at the clock, and down again to Jost's desk, strewn with
letters and documents of every description, he smiled a little to
himself, and followed the all-powerful editor into the smaller
adjoining apartment. The door closed behind them both, and Jost turned
the key in the lock from within.
For a long time all was very silent. Jost's valet and confidential
servant, sleepy and tired, waited in the hall to let his master's
visitor out,--and hearing no sound, ventured to look into the study now
and then,--but to no purpose. He knew the sanctity of that inner
chamber beyond; he knew that when the Premier came to see the great
Jost,--as he often did,--it was in that mysterious further room that
business was transacted, and that it was as much as his place was worth
to venture even to knock at the door.
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