Show r 5 SBRIA STORY I i tyd The t Princess c Elopes t 4 + By HAROLD McGRATH j Author of + r + Tho Man on the Dox 17 t HotrU and Masks Etc 1 i i Oupf rixlil UOO Ilol > b M < urlll CoJ SYNOPSIS Arthur 1Vnrrin 6 lou American onnmil C to llnrKoliiilt tolls how rultilk Grand i Dukn nttrmplH to farce hln nitro Irln Ir f 1 ° cwts ill dcgtnI to marry Illncn Dopnlo + klnn aii old wMowtr Vhllo rldlnfr It liornclmrk In thn country night ovorlukis c it him nod he necks ucconiinodatloiiH In a yy dllnplilntttl rustic Hero ho Iltulfl 1rln p 1 r nwi Jlllelolarll unit a friend lion Dutty et + Mooro Of KiiKland They detain him to nltnctw n mock inarrliiKa Itotnean tho 31 > rlnrnm and a ci jrucod army olllcrr Ntrlnlioik dnnn for the purpose of foiling 4 tI the fjniml l dulto Uolnhock attempts to kiss ho I princess anil sofa 14 rescued liy I t q + a r WurrliiBton Htclnhock tllsuppcarH form t good Max HoliiirfoMBtcIn nn old American t m j Ameri-can friend of Warrlnctonii reached Itar f a ncliclt WnrrhiKton telln him of Urn prln Lv cejw HcluirfeiiHleln shown AYarrliiRton 1i e a lockot with a iilcturn of a woman Inside Lt In-side It wait on Ills neck when hu nn a I t boy was picks up and ndoptiid by his ins 4 foslnr father whoso name ho was given lie bollcveH It to 10 a picture of his k11 i mother Tho grand duko announce to tlio prlmfHn that who IB to marry Dnpplo e klnn thn following week During a morn t l 1l i lnKB ride BIO plans to escape HIm nicfitn J itclmrfrnRteln Ho llndM a purse she has at e r t i dropped but dnoa not discover her Idoti I Ity WnrrltiKton entertains at a puhllu roatnurunt for a number of American medical HttidcnU Max arrives latu and rnlatos an interesting bit of gossip to tho Jc t rfroct that the prlncena linn run away i t from Unrscholt Hn unwittingly onVmla ql t re i a native otlker and subjects himself to wI t 4 certain arrest Max Is persuaded to take j > r 4 onn of the American HtndetitH passports 1dr1 and escape Tho grand duke discovers r i lima ewapoof tho princess Him leaves a r note < < saying oho hun duped HfTorlH are t i made to stop till princess at tha frontier + r Betty Moore asks for her 1llllKllort She r ° p N asks WarrliiKton for assistance In leaving + t l leav-ing Itnrnchclt and Invites him to call on uq r tier In London Max finds the princess In rgJ i a 1 tho railway carriage Site accuse him K4T of following her Ho roturns to her tho purse ho had found It contained n thousand yK thou-sand pounds In hank notes CHAPTER IX Continued t Trust mo to keep silent then Ho continued I have lived a part of my 3r r V llfo on tho great plains havo ridden f horaoa for days nnd days at a time Aa a deputy sheriff I have arrested I desperados havo shot and been shot tbs at Then I went cast and entered a 1 great college vent In for athletics t I and worn my first dress suit Then my foster parent died leaving mo his fortune And aa f am frugal possibly f because of my Gorman origin I have aI moro money than I know what to do ill j I with Ho ceased Go on she urged c t When the Spanish war broke out I y r entered a cavalry regiment as a trooper 1 c er I won rank but surrendered It after tho battle of Santiago And now there are but two things In the world viktj I desire to complete my happiness I wont to know who I am dig t And the other thing tt Tho other thing I cant tell you rif that hurriedly I l Ab I believe I know You havo loft some sweetheart back In America All her Interest In his narrative took a tP strange and unaccountable slump a No I have of ton admired women j vii but I have left no sweetheart back In ° America If I had I should now feel t i very uncomfortable ± Somehow she couldnt meet his eyes She recognized with vague anger that 1l r r she was glad that ho had no sweet hoart Ah well nobody could rob her u ai it of her right to dream and this was avery a-very pleasant dream It The train slowing down ho said t s suddenly y Wo aro approaching the frontier t l r She shaded her eyes and searched Ute speeding blackness outside How far Is It to tho capital 1 ho J1y asked It lies two miles beyond tho frontier all f fron-tier tiersilenco Spence fell upon them and at length m r tho train stopped with a jerk In what scorned to them an incredibly short 4 time a guard unlocked tho door lIe l peered In 1j ir Hero they are sure enough your excellency addressing some one in y i tho dark beyond rn i t is An officer from tho military household t W house-hold of tho Prince of Doppolklnn was o Instantly framed In the doorway Thee The-e Itr girl tried to lower hor veil too lato t + m I am sorry to annoy your highness J ho began but tho grand duUon orders uyf J are that you shall follow me to tho Olt r t castlo Lieutenant bring two men to + I Ito this fellows ndsnoddlng toward y 4 to-ward Scharfonsteln xt s t Max stared dumbly at tho girl All r f the world seemed to have slipped fioiu E t h under his feet m Forgive mo she said low but Impulsively Im-pulsively as r t What does It mean Ills heart f iiric was very heavy J 9t I am the Princess HUdegardc of llarscholt and your entering this carriage rl i j car-riage has proved tho greatest possible t I II 1 misfortune to you He stared helplessly And everything every-thing had been going along so nicely tho dinner he had planned In Dresden + r 1 and all that I S And they boilers the girl went OP t ° that I have eloped with you to avoid marrying the prince Sho turned to c tp the officer In the doorway Colonel oil the word of a princess this ccntte t j art h 1 g W nimi Is In no wine contei ned 1 ran away alone Max breathed easier I should bo most Happy to bellee your highness hut you will honor mv Htrlcl observance of uitJera lie passed a telegram to liner Search train for Doppelklnn Illn I cess has eloped Arrest anti hold pair I till I arrive on special engine IJAUHCHK1T I The telegtapli IB the title arm of tho I police The pilncens sighed pathetically I pathetical-ly I It was all over Your passports said the colonel tot to-t MaxI Max-I MaxMax fluri endured bin papers You I need not tlo my hands he said calmly calm-ly I will conic peaceably The colonel looked Inquiringly at the princess Ho will do as he says Very good I should regret to shoot him upon no shoat an acquaintance The colonel beckoned for them to step forth 15vor thing Is prepared Tlieio is a carriage for tho convenience of your highness Heir Ellis shall rldo horseback with tho troop Max often wondered why he did not make a dash for It or u running fight What ho had gun through that night was worth a good fight Ooodby said the princess hofd Ing out her hand Scharfcnsteln gravely bent his head and kissed it Goodby Prince Charming she whispered so softly that Max scarcely heard her Then sho entered tho closed carriage and was driven up the dark treeen shrouded road that led to the CasUe of Doppelklnn What are you going to do with meY Max asked as he gathered up tho reins of his mount That wo shall discuss later LII < oas o-as not something very unpleasant For one thing you are passing under a forged passport You are not an American Amer-ican nQ matter how well you may her How lime WHIR MI on custom Ii olden limes the erraled pain now they shier to HllbtllU It I might AO Into u detailed history ot the DoppelKiutiR only it would bo ah I surd and unneeeHsary since it would i be Inappieelable under the name of Duppelklnn whleli happens to bo as I doubtless jou have already surmised a name of mine own Invention I I could likewise tell you how the ancient dukes of Harechett fought off the In I I I sldlous flattery of Napoleon only It Is i a far Interest and llnrschelt Is slm 1 ply u characteristic not a name Someday Some-day I only again seek n diplomatic mis sine and what government would have for its roprescutatUo a teller of tales out of school It was then to continue the fortunes and misfortunes of Max Schorfcnstoln closo to midnight when the cavalcade crossed the old moatbridge which hadnt moved on its hinges within a hundred years They were not entering enter-ing by the formal way which was a flowerbedded terraced road It was the rear entrance The Iron doors swung outward with a plaintive moaning moan-ing tike that of a man roused out of his steep and Max found himself In an ancient guard rootn now used as a kind of secondary stable Tho men dismounted This way Herr Ellis I said tho colonel with a mocking bow He pointed toward a broad atone staircase All I ask said Max Is a fair chance to explain my presence here All In due time Forward Tho prince Is waiting and his temper may not bo as smooth as usual With two troopers in front of him and two behind Max climbed the stepi readily enough They wouldnt dan < < kill him whatever they did Ho tried to Imagine himself the hero ot soma < < Scott or Dumas tale with a grim car dlnal somewhere above and oubllettei and torture chambers besetting hli path But the absurdity of his Imagination Imag-ination so thoroughly Americanized i M U S U I I 91 J r F077COMl p S Good y Prince Charming speak that language You are a German Ger-man Thoro are Germans in tho United States born and bred there who speak German tolerably well replied Max easily Ho was wondering If It would not be a good scheme to toll a straightforward straight-forward story and ask to be returned to Darschcit Dut that would probably appeal to tho officer that ho was a coward cow-ard and was trying to lay the blame on tho princess I do not say that I can prove It went on the colonel I simply affirm that you are a Gorman even to tho marrow You have the advantage ot the discussion dis-cussion No ho would confess nothing noth-ing It he did he might never seo the princess again Tho princess AH far away as yonder stars It was truly a very disappointing world to live in Now then forward cried the colonel to his men and they set off at a sharp trot From time to time as a sudden twist In tho road broke the straight line Max could see tho careening lights of the princess carriage A princess And he was a man without a country or a name CHAPTER X The castlo of the Prince of Doppel klnn rested in the very heart of the celebrated vineyards Like all German Ger-man castles I over saw or heard of It was a relic of the Middle Ages with many a crumbling useless tower and battlement It stood on tho south sldo of a rugged hill which was gashed by a narrow but turbulent stream in I I which lurked the rainbow trout that lured the lazy man from his labors afield And who among us shall cast u stone at the lazy man Not II It you aro fortunate enough to run about Europe next year as like as not you will be mailing homo tho Doppelklnn postcard Moro than once I have wandered about tho castles Interior cavernous and musty strolled through Its galleries gal-leries of ancient armor searched Its dungeonkeep or loitered to Bolll qqulre la tho gloomy judgment Cham j evoked a ringing laughter The troopers troop-ers eyed him curiously Ho might laugh later but It was scarcely probable prob-able A tramp through a dark corridor and they came to the west wing of tho castle It was here that the old prince lived comfortably and luxuriously enough you may take my word for It A door opened flooding the corridor with light Max felt himself gently pushed over the threshold He stood In the great livingroom ot the modem Doppelklnns Tho first person ho saw was tho princess She sat on an oriental orien-tal divan Her hands were folded she sat very erect her chin was tilted ominously there was so little expression expres-sion on her pale face that she might have been an Incompleted statue nut Max was almost certain that there was just the faintest flicker of a smile in her eyes as sho saw him enter Glorious eyes It Is a bad sign when a man begins to uso tho superlative adjectives Tho other occupant of the room was an old man fat and bald with a nose like a russet pear Ho was stalking If It Is possible for a short man to stalkup and down the length of the room and judging from tho sonorous rumbling sound was communing half aloud Between whiles ho was rubbing his tender nose carefully and lovingly When a mans nose resembles a russet pear It generally Is tender Whoevet ho was Max saw that he was vastly agitated about something This old gentleman was or supposed sup-posed he was the last of his line the Prince of Doppelklnn famous for his wines and his love ot thorn There was so his subjects said but ono tender ten-der spot In tho heart of this old man and that was tho memory of tho wife of his youth How tho years the good and bad crowd behind us pressing ua on and on However there was always al-ways surcease In the cellarsthat ia tho Doppelklnn cellars Ha ho roared as ho saw the blinking Max So thin Is the tellowl He made an eloquent gesture Your highness must be complimented upon your good taste The fellow Isnt bad looking TO nB CONTINUED |