Show L f TQR r a i I The Princess Elopes By HAROLD McGRATH Autho 01 The Man on the Box Hoar and Masks Etc III Copyright IMS BobbsMerrlll OoJ SYNOPSIS American consul to Barschelt a The ty of Europe tells how the princIpality Ir l1l1 duke had tried to find ItlgnlnJ husband i for his rebellious niece the a HlldcKurde finally decreeing princess she i wed the Prlnco of Doppelklnn hat UglY old widower ruler of the neigh In principality Though ho had been SUM > country for six months the Amerl an consul hlld never Been the princess Wblle ran horseback riding In aeeka country JiJht overtakes him nnd he seeks accom anOdation night In a dilapidated lane ofd eervn It he finds two omen and an old serv It who feed him and his horse Ono Bounces herself the Princess Hlldo other as K enthe other as the Hon Betty Moore pille England The princess Insists that ho ot as a witness to a mectlnc to bo remain heW In the castlo that nigtmeoting CHAPTER III Continued Must My presence hero ought jot to bo known to any one When you witness that wblch shall take place hero tonight you will under it nd Her tone lost Its evenness it trembled and became a bit wild la what manner may I bo of service serv-ice to your highness 1 I asked pleas tally laying aside my gloves and crop tptln I can easily give you my word ol honor as a gentleman not to report your presence here but it I am forced remain I certainly demand Desire she corrected the old fire toner eyes I Thank you I desire then to know I the full reason for I can not be a tarty to anything which may reflect upon the consulate For myself I do not care What harebrained escapade I was now In the air I You have heard that I am to marry I the Prince of Doppelklnn 1 sho began r I nodded Doubtless you have also heard of I I my determination not to marry hlmf t tie went on Again I nodded 3 Well I am not going to marry it him Id I was seized with the desire to laugh es I but dared not What had all this to or to with my detention In the castle eI Betty said the princess turning II Imploringly to her companion what a I a change you tell him U The Honorable Dotty drew pt t HackHad ht Had they kidnapped old Doppel 11 linn I wondered ot I can not tell him cried her high I a ness miserably I simply can not You ha must do It Betty It Is now absolutely U absolute-ly necessary that ho should know Is everything It Is absolutely vital that hr he be present Perhaps heaven has lent him Do you understand 1 Now at tell him 114 And wondors to behold she who eo nt a few minutes gone had been a to trhcess In everything cold seeing the toaqull she lied from the room De Iht ddedly this was growing Interesting ldJ That had they done Thus the Honorable enl Hon-orable Betty Moore und his excel Ins icy the American consul at Bart na schell Bar-t were left starlau Into each oth ca ttl eyes fully fAinuto Thl e You will of course pledge me your thl hard of honor She wno had recent hid VI been timid now become cool and e ra Nnoulsml ehk1 If f In pledging It I am asked to do iwthlng to discredit my office I am s b jMtan Independent In 1v dualsmll fu Pto put her more at ease I havent otlt the least doubt that I would have com the Wed any sort of folly had she re 19r l11ad It of mo You have my word sir that you spy TlJ be asked to do nothing dishonor thl Ihle On the other hand you will con alai lest a great favor upon her highness nIII fho Is in deep trouble and is seeking a add of to escape It thl Command me said I promptly 5 ta Her highness Is being forced Into arrlago with a man who is old enough add bq her grandfather Sho holds him the horror and will go to any length to tnt abe this marriage an impossibility d to L or 7 my part I I havo tried to convince a 11 tor the futility of resisting her 11 it 1al uncles will Sensible little rape d0sherp What she Is about to do J be known only to four persons e 01 tv k I whom is a downright rascal mtaa t rascal slipped my lips half 51c1 conscIously i trust that I havent tulct leu you that Impression I added coax rerly j A rascal Tho plot was ar ° f rX enlng to formldablo opaqueness I U an 0 nol she cried lib of hastily with a L Summer on her lips What mest1c more charming than an English wen onto with a clear sonso of the hu wen roust You t uavont given mo that Ie put tPreSScn at all ton t Thank you My vanity expanded 50i dertho iho J Itl Iget 1 i genial warmth of this knowl Il 8 13 PokM upon mo qulto favorably Possible that sho rllt To V It t proceed There Is to be a kind tgree an h hock ire w marriage hero tonight and i witness Ibll It Sho watched sharply aid to 1 IlrowneiJ I th e 1St = Patience Not literally a I mock 1 marriage but tho filling out of n bogus 1 certificate I do not understand at nil You have heard of Hetmnnn Stein bock a cashiered officer Yes I understand that he Is the rascal to whom you refer Well this certificate Is to bo filled I ttToaoutwit out completely To outwit the duke her highness commits = I A forgery It is a terrible thing to do but she has gone too far to withdraw now Sho Is to become the Mfo of Her mftnn Stolnbock She wlshea to show the certificate to the duke But tho banns havo not been made public That does not matter But why detain me1 I was grow ing restless It was all folly and no good would come of It It Is necessary that a gentleman should bo present Tho caretaker Is not a gentleman I have said that Stolnbock Is a rascal As I review the events I begin to look upon your arrival ar-rival as timely Steinbock Is not a ro I liable quantity I begin to perceive He Is to receive 1000 crowns for his part In tho ceremony then ho Is to leave the country But the priests signature the no tarys coal the Ironclad formalities which attend all these things 1 I stammered stam-mered You will recollect that her highness high-ness Is a princess of the blood Sel dom Is she refused anything In Bar schelt She went to a small secretary and produced a certificate duly sealed and signed There lacked nothing but Steinbocks name But tho rascal will boast about It Ho may blackmail all of you He may convince tho public that he has really married her highness I think not Wo havo not moved In this blindly Stelnbock wo know to have forged tho name of the minister of finance We hold this sword above lila head And if he should speak or bpast of It your wora would hold greater weight than his Do you understand un-derstand now Yes I understand But I believe that I am genuinely sorry to have pass an opinion upon your hlghncs actions I replied with excusable bony Excellent she exclaimed I havo grown weary of sycophants You are not afraid of me at all Not In the slightest degree I do1 j clared Yeti will not regret what you are about to do I can make It very pleas ant for you In Uarschelt or my un pleasant But this threatening sup element was made harmless by the ac companying smite May I offer tho advice ot rather n worldly I man 1 11ell When Steinbock comes bid him go about his business Tho Honorable Betty nodded approv ingly but her highness shrugged Since you are decided and I bowed Now what time does this fellow put In his appearance Her highness beamed upon the Hon orable Betty I like tho way he says this fellow it reassures me Ho is due at nine oclock that is to say in half an hour I will give those you directions di-rections I do not wish Stelnbock to know of your presence here You will hide In tho salon close to the por tieres within call Moreover I shill have to Impose upon you the disagreeable disagree-able duty of playing the listener Let nothing escape your ear or your eye I I am not certain of this fellow Stein I bock though I hold a sword above hll I head headBut But whore are your men I asked She smiled There Is no one hero but Leopold Your highness to meet Stelnboclt alone I have no fear of him ho knows who I am Everything shall be done as you wish I secretly hoped I might havo the opportunity to punch Stelnbocka headThank Thank you Tho transition of her moods always left me In wonder Play something it is Impossible to talk Sho perched herself on tho broad arm of the Honorable Bettys chair and her arm rested lightly but affectionately affection-ately on her shoulder Hark We all listened Intently The sound V2 r ar 1 7i f 1 4 h 1 l I j t i I I I S I 1 7 c o Ill Your Highness Sees That I Am Prompt blundered into this castle tonight Oh if you lack courage care lessl of 20 I laughed I am not afraid Stelnbocks Her laughter echoed mine Come I I believe Mr By tho way do not know jour name ° WarrlngtonArthur Warrlngton I good English name That is a very possessing It will and gentleman a leavo two women In a predica never this You will understand lllto ment daro not trust any one at that we her highness tho court Relative to duke succeeds In bribing all But a rascal like Stelnbock wearily bit I knowa that I bo to say It is pardonable been very fool has Hove her highness IshTho gesture which con Tho girl made a to retreat the tact It Is too late ceded treat as 1 have told you San deck Is Wo must trust way already on the him After nut all you what does a consulate amount tot highness sho called Your returned She looked Tho princess and fierceness of with a mixture at mo humility and supplication I defianco supposed her to bo a sort had always Instead she was one hobbledohor of creatures who possess of those rare moods of the sex I varying all the asked her highness all 7 Ho Knows mi i her chin tilted aggressively Everything u think of me What must yoU her highness tone was that In There dared mo to express any which ono compll opinion that was not totally mentary sufficiently wellborn to 111m not of beating hoofs came distinctly A single horseman was galloping along tho highway toward tho castle The sound nearer and nearer grew presently I pres-ently It ceased I rose quietly It Is time I hid myself for doubtless doubt-less this rider Is tho man Tho princess paled for a moment while her companion nervously plucked at the edges of her handkerchief Go said the former and be watchful watch-ful I then took up my position behind the portieres Truly I had stumbled Into an adventure but how to stumble out again If the duke got wind of It It would mean my recall and 1 was ol a mind just then that I was going to bo particularly fond of Barschclt All was silent A door closed and then came the tread of feet I peered through the portieres shortly to seethe see-the entrance of two men one of whom was the old caretaker His companion was a dark handsome fellow of Hungarian Hun-garian gypsy type There was a devil maycare air about him that fitted him well It was SteInbock He was dressed with scrupulous care In spite of tho fact that he wore riding clothes It Is possible that be recognized the Importance of tho event Ono did not write onos name under a princess signature sig-nature every day even In mockery There was a halfsmile on his face that I did not like Your highness sees that I am prompt uncovering It is well Let us proceed at once to conclude the matter In hand sho said Wholly at your service Hang tho fellows Impudence How dared he use that Jovial tone TO BH CONTINUE |