Show Iii Ii-i KH idA Rai A TORY t LL The Princess Elopes By HAROLD McGRATH Author of The Man on the Dow Hearts and Hake Elo vlCowrlgbt IMS UobUUrrlll CoJ t SYNOPSIS i t Arthur Warren ton Amerlcnn consul to Unracliclt tolls hOW reigning am ml Dulco attempts to force his nclcc Irln coss HlldcKiirdo to marry Irlnco Dapple iklnn nn old widower wurrlngton doos not know tho princess oven by night Whllo horseback rldlnir In tho country night overtakes him ami ho avekx accoin inocliitloiiH In a dilapidated l castle flora lie finds two women and an old manservant man-servant One woman Is Princess Illlde rardo and the other a friend Hon Hetty ilooro of KnRlnnd They detain him to witness u muck marriage between tho princess and a disgraced army oinccr iUelnhock Bono for the purposo of foiling tho grand duko Stelnhock attempts to kills the princess and Bho Is rescued by Warrlngton Stelnbock dl appomn for good Max Bchnrfcnstcln an old American Ameri-can friend of Warrlngtons reaches Dar RellIll CHAPTER IV lie came straight to tho consulate nnd I was so glad to see him that I j sat him down In front of tho sldoboaid and left orders that I was at homo to no one Wo had been classmates and roommates at college and two better friends never lived Wo spent the 1 whole night In recounting tho good old days sighed a little over the de Partod ones and praised or criticized tho living Hadnt they been times though Tho nights wo had stolen up to Philadelphia to see tho shows tho great Thanksgiving games In Now York tho commencements and all HintMax Max had come out of tho far west lie was a foundling who had been ndbptcd by a wealthy Gorman ranchman 6 ranch-man named Sclmrfcnsteln which namo Max assumed as his own It being as t good ns any Nobody know anything about Maxs antecedents but he was t r BO big and handsome and jolly that no ono cared a hang For all that ho dW s not know his parentage ho was a gen tloirmn something that has to bo bred In tho bone Once or twice I remember remem-ber seeing him angry In anger ho was t arrogant deadly but calm Ho was a god In tracklinen for ho was what t few big men are quick and agtlo Tho I 11 big fellow who Is catlike in his movements move-ments is the most formidable of athletes + 11 ath-letes One thing that invariably t amused mo was his Inordinate lovo of uniforms Ho would always stop whon r f t ho saw n soldier or tho picture of ono and his love of arms was little short i of a mania Ho was an expert fencer and a dead shot besides Pardon tho parenthesis but I feel It my duty to warn you that nobody fights a duel in this little history und nobody gets I killed On leaving college ho went In for medicine and his appearance In the capital city ot Darscholt was duo obviously ob-viously to tho great medical college famous the world over for Its nerve specialists This was Maxs first adventure ad-venture in tho land of gutturals I ox t plained to hfm and partly unraveled 1 tho tangle of laws as to the language ho spoke that not like a native but a as ono Max was very fond of tho society of women and at college wo used to twit him about It for ho was always eager k to meet a new face trusting that tho new one might be the Ideal for which lie was searching Well you old Dutchman said I t have you over found that Ideal woman x wom-an ot yours halallighting a pipe She will F + l i never bo found A horse and n trusty dog for mo those two you may eventually event-ually grow to understand Of course I dont say If the woman came along tune light onoI mightnt go under Im philosopher enough to admit that possibility I want nor tall hall like cornsllk eyes like the cornflower of brilliant intellect reserved and dlgnl fled and patient I want n woman not humorous but who understands humor and I have never heard of ono So you see Its all smoke and I never talk woman those times unless Im smoking with a gesture which explained ex-plained that ho had given up tho Idea altogether A doctor sees so much of women that ho finally sees nothing of woman Oh If you resort to epigrams I can seo that Its all over I All over Im so used to being alone that I shouldnt know what to do with II wife Ho puffed seriously Ah tho futility of our desires of our castles of our dreams I The complacency com-placency with which wo Jog along In what wo deem to bo our own particular groove I recall a girl friend of mouth m-outh who was going to be a celibate m a great reformer and toward that end was studying for the pulpit She Is now tho mother of several children the most peaceful and unoratlvo woman wom-an I know You see humanity goes t whirring over various sidetracks thinking them to bo tho main line till fate puts Its peculiar but happy hand to tho swItch Sclmrfcnsteln had been 9t = plugging away over rusty nails and grass growd tiestill ho came to Bar sthelt Hope Is tho wings of the heart saId I when I thought tho pause had grown long enough You still hope In a way If I recollect you had an affair once shrowdly I smoked on I wasnt qulto ready to speak You wero always on tho hunt for Ideals too as I remember hqpo youll I find her Max my boy I nm solemnly convinced con-vinced that I have Good Lord you dont mean to toll mo that you aro hooked ho cried I seo no reason why you should uso that particular tone I answered stiffly Oh come now tell me all about it Who Is ale and whens the wedding I dont know when tho weddings going to be but Im mighty sure that I have mot tho one girl Max there never was a girl like her Witty she Is and wise as beautiful as a summers sum-mers dawn merry and brave rides drives plays the cello dances like a moonshadow and all thatwlth a wave of the hand Youve got It bad Remember how you used to wrlto poetry at college Who Is she If I may ask Tho Honorable Hetty Moore at present tho guest of her highness tho Princess HIdegardewlth pardon able pride Max whistled Youre a lucky Jiog gar Ono by ono we turn traitor to our native land A Britisher I never should have believed It of you of tho man whoso class declamation was on tho flroy subject of patriotism Out Is It all on ono aide I dont know Max sometimes I think so and then I dont How long have you known her Llttlo more than a month A month Everything moves swiftly swift-ly these days except European railway rail-way cars Theres n romance Max but an l How lazily A bout at Muellers Rathskeller Half n dozen American lads ono of whom Is called home Just fixed up his passports fir him Youll bo as welcome as tho Hoor3 In the spilng Some of tho lads will be In your classes Put mo down It will bo like old times I went to the reunion last June Everything was In its place but you Hang It why ctnt time always go on as it did then Time unlike our watches never has to BO to tho Jewelers for repairs said I owlishly Max leaned over took my bullterrier bullter-rier by tho neck and deposited him on his lau Good pup Artieit lies anything like his master Three years my boy since I saw vnu And hero you are do 1 ing nothlJT and Inllygftg nVB at court I with the nobility I wish I had ani uncle who was a senator Pull Is everything these days I You Dutchman I won this place on my own merit Indignantly I Forget Itgrinning You are Impertinent Hut truthful always And then wo smoked n while In silence Tho silent friend Is tho best of tho lot Ho knows that he hasnt got to talk unless ho wants to and likewise that It is during these lapses of speech that the vine of friendship grows and tightens about the heart When you sit beside a man and feel that you need not labor to entertain him Its a good sign that you thoroughly thorough-ly understand each other I was first to speak I dont understand why you should go In for medicine I so thoroughly It cant bo money for heaven knows your father left you a yearly Income which alone would be a fortune to me Chivalry shivers those days the chill ot money Is on everything A man must do somethInga man who Is neither a sloth nor a fool A man must have something to put his whole heart Into and I despise money as money I give away tho bulk of my Income Marry and then you will not havo to I said flippantly 1 Yopro a sad dog Do you know Ive been thinking about epigrams No I N Yes I find that an epigram Is produced pro-duced by the same cause that produces the pearl In tho oyster That Is to say a healthy mentality never superinduces an epigram Fudge said I yanking tho pup from his lap to mine According to your diagnosis your own mind Is diseased Have I cracked an eplgramwlth pained surprise Well you nearly bent one I compromised com-promised then w I both laughed and tho pup r 11 c rV4 i n fxl > > ct M c 1t I Max There Never Was a Girl I Like Her other besides her Is concerned and I can not toll you Some day when everything quiets down Ill got you Into a corner with a bottle and you will find It worth while Tho bottle Both From rumors Ive heard this princess prin-cess Is a great ono for larks rides bicycles and automobiles and generally general-ly raises the deuce What sort Is she If you are going to remain m Bar schult my boy take a friendly warning warn-ing Do not mako any foolish attempt to sec her She is more fascinating than a roulotto table This was a sly dig Max smiled A recent letter from him had told of an encounter with the goddess at Monte Carlo Fortune had been all things but favorable Im not afraid of your princess besides be-sides I came hero to study And study hard my boy study hard Her highness Is not the only pretty woman in Bnrscholt Theres a I raft of them Ill paddlo close to tho shore with a smile By tho way Ill wako you up Thursday Thurs-day started up and licked my face before I could prevent him Did I over show you thlstaklng out a locket which was attached to ono end of his watch chain Ho passed tho trinket to me What is it I asked turning It over and over Hn tho one slender link that connects con-nects mo with my babyhood It was around my neck when Schnrfensteln picked mo up Open It and look at the taco Inside I did so A womans taco peered up at me It might have been beautiful but for tho troubled eyes and the drooping lips It was German In typo evidently of high breeding possessing tho subtle lines which distinguish the face of tho noble from the peasants From tho womans face I glanced at Maxs Tho eyes wero something alike Who do you think It Is I asked when I had studied the face sufficiently sufficient-ly to satisfy my curiosity Ive a sneaking Idea that it may bo my mother Schnrfensteln found mo toddling about In a railroad station I and that locket was the only thing about mu that might bo used In tho matter of Identification You will ob servo that there Is no lettering not oven the Jewelers usual carat mark to qualify tho gold I recall nothing life with mo dates only from the wldo plains and grazing cattle I was born either In Germany or Austria Thats all I know And to toll you tho honest truth boy Its tho reason Ive placed my woman Ideal so high So long as I placo her over my head Im not foolish fool-ish enough to weaken into thinking I can havo her What woman wants a man without a name TO BU CONTINUED |