"Carey, M.V. - The Three Investigators 15 - The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints" - читать интересную книгу автора (Carey M.V)

Pete bent over Jupe's shoulder to stare. "Yeah!" he exclaimed.

The imperial crown of Lapathia looked more like a helmet than a crown--but a helmet of gold, solidly encrusted with blue stones. At the top, four bands of gold encircled a huge ruby, and above this gem was an eagle--a scarlet eagle with two heads. The brilliant wings were spread wide, and the heads looked to right and to left, diamond eyes glittering, beaks open in fierce, warlike defiance.

"It certainly looks very much like The Potter's eagle," said Jupiter.

"The commentary is on the next page," said Bob.

Jupe turned the page and began to read aloud:

"а'The imperial crown of Lapathia was fashioned by the artisan Boris Kerenov in approximately 1543. Kerenov based his design for the crown on the helmet worn by Duke Federic Azimov in the battle of Karlon. Azimov's victory at Karlon brought to an end the civil wars which had devastated the tiny country of Lapathia. After their defeat by Azimov's army, the barons of the south each took a solemn oath that the peace of Lapathia would not again be broken. The following year, Duke Federic called the nobles to meet in the fortress of Madanhoff, and there he declared himself king of Lapathia. The nobles, isolated in the fortress and cut off from their own armies, bowed to the wishes of Duke Federic and pledged their allegiance to him as sovereign ruler. One dissenter, Ivan the Bold, refused to take the oath of allegiance. Legend has it that this proud warrior was executed in the main hall of Madanhoff, and his head was impaled on a spear and displayed on the battlements of the fortress.

"а'The coronation of Federic I of Lapathia took place in the chapel at Madanhoff in 1544. The crown, designed and executed by Kerenov, remained in the possession of the Azimov family for almost 400 years, and was last used in the coronation of William IV in 1913. Following the overthrow of the Azimov dynasty in 1925, the crown was declared the property of the people of Lapathia. It is now on display in the National Museum at Madanhoff, the capital city which grew up around the site of Duke Federic's ancient stronghold.

"а'The Azimov crown, solid gold and set with lapis lazuli, is surmounted by a huge ruby said to have been the possession of Ivan the Bold, whose estates were forfeited to Federic Azimov after his execution. The two-headed eagle atop the ruby is the family device of the Azimovs. Kerenov fashioned it of enamel on gold. The eyes are diamonds, each weighing more than two carats.'а"

Jupiter stopped reading and turned back to examine the photograph of the crown again.

"That's one way to get to the top," said Pete. "Kill off the opposition."

"Swiping the poor guy's ruby and sticking it in the crown was a nasty touch," said Bob.

"They played rough back in those days," said Jupiter.

"They played rough in 1925, too," said Bob. He had his notebook out. "I looked up Lapathia in the encyclopedia. Believe it or not, it's still there."

"You mean none of the big powers gobbled it up?" said Jupe.

"No. It is now the Republic of Lapathia, area 73 square miles, with a population of about 20,000 people. The major industry's cheese. There is a standing army of 350 men, 35 of whom are generals."

"That's one general for every ten soldiers," exclaimed Pete.

"Well, you can't say they lack direction," laughed Jupe. "What else?"

"The National Assembly of Lapathia is the governing body, and is made up of the 35 generals plus one representative from each of the departments or provinces. There are ten provinces, so I guess we know how the voting goes."

"The generals run the country," said Jupiter.

"They also elect the president," said Bob.

"But what about the Azimovs?" asked Pete.

"Aha! They are not still there. I said they played rough in 1925. William IV--you remember, he was the last one to wear the crown--decided that the royal treasury was getting low. He had married a Lapathian lady--she was a cousin, actually, so she was an Azimov, too--and she had very expensive tastes. She liked diamond bracelets and Paris gowns and she also had four children, each of whom had to have his own tutor and his own carriage and his own horses. King William ran into debt, so he put a tax on every pound of cheese that came out of the Lapathian dairies. Naturally, the Lapathians were unhappy, and the generals saw their chance. They waited until King William's birthday, when all of the Azimovs would be gathered in the capital, and they marched into the palace and told William he wasn't going to be king any more."

"What happened then?" asked Jupiter.

"Probably much the same thing that happened to old Ivan the Bold," said Bob. "The official account is that His Majesty became distraught and jumped off a balcony."

"Someone shoved him!" declared Pete, horrified.