Show pi u O I r I X I f I < I 11 4 1 t i 1 = 1t I ir f y t T01 1 4 1 1 r Ce ti I i en The 1 t t i1 Princess I n Elopes t alt 5 f I 1 By HAROLD McORATII I Author of t The Man on Iho Box Hearts aid Masks Etc ti i Ouvrrttikt 1105 IlubbiMcrrlll 3 h IS SYNOPSIS ra The AiiHrlrun consul to HTlscholt n principality of liuioiic lolls how tin f i lI y rolenlnK vrnnil ilulto had bled to find l + a IniHlmiul for his rcbollloim niece the 19 1rlncifs ttlliloeuiilct Uiuilly ileripolng s s r l Hint Him WEll lie 1rlriift of DoiintllJiiti i nn ugly old widower rulir of tlio nilKli a p boring principality Though lin hiul been 4 In I ho I country for Blx t inuntlm the Amor It Icon consul hail never Bocti the prlnnMH f AVIilln huruuluick ililliiR In Iho country algid overtakes hint and ho seeks arcom + I 4iiudntlon In a dilapidated old cantle t P Wlillo Hoolclrie adinlHslon hn In startled r s ht liy u beautiful volt a lireaklmr Into song l I u Tho pinup In I Inhabited try two young vj vumum tad un old servitor They 1lvu a at t him food for hlmnrlf and horso on condition i i sr t < < t lion that he leave within an hoin Thoy u 1 aru HnemliiKly limit on n pocrot usrapado o if Hiunn kind with ono Stolnboclc HV < N P Hkfetl CHAPTER Continued t t j Tim other well I couldnt help It > I It wnfc KlBUiot fate tho turn In the t roifll what you will I foil heels ovor Il head In love with her nt once 9 j1 e 1 Eyes alto had as hluo as the Kgoun Boa on windy days llluo as tho cloud lK 4r r I winnowed sky of a winters twilight k liltio as sapphires Irish oyost Her + 1dt 1 t t hah was an dark and silken as n plume u tee j from tho wings of night Did I not t l e nay that I hud Rome poetry In 1115 njs ao torn 1 Tho shape of her inoutli rta ir t NovO mind I cn recall only the nind a ti t desire to kiss It A graceful figure n t r prowl head a slender hand a foot sot so-t 4qk 4 small Unit I wondered If It really yyjfyc poised balanced or supported her young body Tender sho must be and t A h J loving onclltlcnl rather than utectllko liar uuthorltatlvo conlpanlon Sho was adorable y r T All thla Inventory of feminine charms Jp was taken by furtive glances sometimes iL + some-times caughtor wore they taking ant t an-t Inventory of myself Presently my appetite bccamo singularly submls nlvu Hunger often Is satisfied by tho 1z mjr foOtling of tho eyes I dropped my t napkin on the tablo and pushed back a yt my nhclr My hostesses ceased conversing con-versing a Ladles said 1 courteously I of e f for you my sincere apologies for this I i innocent Intrusion I looked at my t watch I bollovo that you gavo mo un hours respite So then 1 have 30 uilnutos to my account t + pity 1 Thowomen gazed at each other Ono laughed and tho other smiled it tj was the English girl who laughed this 4t d < < time I liked tho sound of It bettor 1t than any I had yet heard + A Pardon another parenthesis I riV hope you havent begun to think I am f K l tho hero ot this comedy Let it bo U + i furthest from your thoughts I am i 5 only a passive bystander d I sincerely trust that your hunger I In appeased said tho one who had W Ktnllod tr an It is thank you I absently fumbled I tt r fum-bled in my coat pockets then guiltily t dropped my hands Wha a terrible 4k thing habit is You may smoke said tho BOil fri4 Kuoroau child who was grown into i womanhood Wasnt that fine of her i And wasnt it rather observant too Fif f l 1 learned later that she had a brother I l who was fond of tobacco To her eyes b y my movement was a familiar ono With your kind permission said I gratefully I hadnt had a smoke In l 1t four hours t c I I 1 I owned tv single good cigar the last of my Importation I lighted it and Anal 1 blow forth a snowy billow of hoavc > mourn I know something about hti t nj man nature oven tho feminine side of + IL A presentable young man with a iKr roll of aromatic tobacco seldom falls to win tho confidence of those about him With that cloud of smoke the c raw edge of formality smoothed down d k Had you any particular destlna tlon 1 asked Gretchon s None at all Tho road took my u fancy and I simply followed it rt Ah that is ono of tho pleasures of d t tiding to go wherever tho Inclination x ° bids I rldo d Wo were getting on famously a Do you take long journeys I In l tti ji + iiulrod 1 Often It Is tho most exhilarating f of sports said tho enchantment r f t sill Tho scenery changes there arc sot so-t many things that charm and engage e your Interest tho mountains tho waterways wa-terways tho old ruins Have you ever t whistled to tho horses afield and t watched them como galloping down to tho wall It Is line In England = i But her mouth closed suddenly She t P was talking to a stranger i I lovo enthusiasm In a woman Itt It-t colors her cheeks and makes her uycs t Kparklo I grew a bit bolder I heard a wonderful voice as lap 1 I pionchcd tho castle said I 9I Orotchcu shrugged I havent hoard its equal outside t141 Berlin or Paris 1 went on Paris said Grotchen laying a j neat little trap for me into which my conceit was soon to tumble t me Paris i M1 i la a marvelous city I 1 t I There Is no city to equal it Inasmuch Inas-much as wo three shall never meet again will jon outdo mo tho honor to repeat that Jewel Hong from Faust My audacity did not Impress her In tho least You can scarcely expect mo to give a Btippor to a stranger and then sing for him besides Rttld Grctrhon n chill again stealing Into her tones Those Americans she observed to her companion in French I laid aside my cigar approached the piano and sat down I struck n few chords and found tho instrument to ho In rumntkablo good order I played n Chopin PolonalBO I tinkled Grlegs 1nplllon then I censed That is to pay for my supper I explained Next I played IAS Courier and when I had finished that I turned again rising ris-ing That Is to pay for my horses supper sup-per I said Gretchens good humor returned Whoever you are sir her tone no longer repellent you are amusing Pray tell us whom wo have tho honor to entertain I havent tho vaguest idea who my hostcas lamaalvely It Is quite out of the question You are the Intruder Cull mo Mr Intruder then said hIt h-It was you will agree n novel ad vontiiro I was beginning to enjoy It hugely Who do you suppose this fellow is Gictcheti asked Ho says ho Is an American and I believe ho is What Americans aro In llarschclt 1 I know of none at all What shall we do to get rid of him 1 All this was carried on with unstudied un-studied rudeness They wero woman of high and noble quality and as I was an interloper I could take no exception ex-ception to a conversation In a Ian mo If I leave tho latches down tlyvt Is duo to the fact that I have no ono to fear Now sir you have eaten tho bread of my table and I demand to know who you are If you do not tell me at once I shall be forced to con line you here till I am ready to leave Confine me nonplussed This was more than I had reckoned on Yea Sho reached out to strike the gong I can not bo blamed for surrendering so tamely I didnt know that the old servitor was tho only man around I am tho American consul at nnnscholt The two women drew together Instinctively In-stinctively ns If ono desired to protect pro-tect tho other from somo unknown calamity What tho deuce was it all about All at onco Gretchen thrust aside her friend and approached The table was between us and she rested her hands upon It Our glances met und clashed Did the duke send you hero she demanded repellently Tho duke I was getting deeper than over Tho duke Yes I am the Princess Hlldcgarde CHAPTER III Tho Princess Hlldognrdo of Dar scliclt My gloves and rlding crop I slipped from my nerveless fingers to I thin lloor A numbing wilting sensation i sensa-tion wrinkled my spine The Princess Hlldcgnrdu of Uaschclt She stood opposite mo tho woman ought I not I to say gh11for whom I had been seeking after a fashion all these months The beautiful madcap who took tho duchy by tho cans every now and then and tweaked them Tho princess herself hero In this lonely old castle Into which I had so carelessly care-lessly stumbled Romance enchantment enchant-ment Oddly enough tho picture of her riding a bicycle flashed through my brain and this was followed by ii d ref p I I f kk I I J l 7 74 f Walt She Commanded gungu I had stated I did not understand under-stand If they wore rude I had acted In a manner unbecoming a gentleman Still I was somewhat on the defensive defen-sive I took out my watch My hour was upI up-I regret that I must bo off I said ruefully It is much ploasantcr hero than on tho road I can not ask you to remain here You will find tho Inn a very comfortable comfort-able place for tho night was Qrotch ens suggestion llefoto I go may I ask In what manner I might servo as a witness jio tho words had fully crossed my lips I recognized that my smartness had caused mo to commit an unpur lonablo blunder for a man who wlsted to show up well In nn adventure of this sort Hut late had a hand In it as presently you shall see Cliolchen laughed but tho sound was harsh and metallic Sho turned to her companion who was staring at mo with startled eyes What did I tell you You can not tell a gentleman In tho candlelight To me sho said I thought as much You have heard Faust In Pails but you Know nothing of tho French language lan-guage You claimed to bo a gentleman gentle-man yet you have permitted us to converse In French Was it polite of you to use It I naked All this with n wave of tho hand appears mysterious This Is not a residence ono would expect to find inhabited and by two charming women I bowed Your presence hero Is oven less satisfactorily ox hummed than mine If I denied tho Knowledge of French It was because I wasnt suro of my surroundings It was done in selfdefense rather than In tho desire to play a trick And In this language you speak of witnesses of papers of tho coming of a man you do not trust It looks very much liken like-n conspiracy I gathered up my gloves and idlngcrop I believed that I had extricated myself rather well Tills Is my castle said Grotchen gently shaking off tho warning hand of her companion If I desire to occupy oc-cupy it for a nlqht who shall gainsay another equally engaging of the hussar hus-sar who rode crosscountry to tho horror of the conservative element at court courtTho The Princess Hlldcgardo I murmured mur-mured stupidly Yea I have asked you a question sir Or shall I put tho question in French Ironically Was it the duke who sent you hero There was a look in ner superb eyes which told mo that it would have been to her Infinite plcnsuio to run a sword through my black anti villainous vil-lainous heart Presently I recovered Your highness what the dente has i tho duko to do with my affairs or I with his As an American ypu would scarcely expect mo to meddle with your private affair You fire tho last person in time vvoild I thought to meet this night I represent the United States in this country and though I am Inordinately young I have acquired ac-quired tho habit of attending to my own affairs From tho angry face in front of me I tinned to tho dismayed face beyond There must havo been a question in my glance The young woman drew herself up proudly I am tho Honorable Betty Mooro rime princess schoolmate In England Eng-land landHer Her highness stood biting tho knuckle of n forefinger undecided as to what path of action to enter to reach a satisfactory end My very rudeness convinced her more than anything else that I spoke tho truth How then did you select this particular par-ticular roadistlll entertaining somo doubt It is a highway free to all Dut I have already explained that I answered an-swered quietly I moved deliberately toward tho door but with a catlike movement sho sprang in front of me Well your highness Walt sho commanded extending an authoritative arm lovely too Since you aro bore and since you know who I am you must remain Must I repeated taken aback TO HE CONTINUED |