Show lRy he airert JomT Mi 1y 1 1 at JapQ 0 5RCROCKETTAuIhorO 7lR 1StrucUo lJI ekwjy O displace Copyright 1S9S 1900 by S R Crockett ooa IOU CHAPTER XI Continued h of ti Suddenly there passed a wave over lrookline tt people who crowded tho spacious w cbaPt Idea plat ol Courtlaud Tim many d by fire licjiled particolored throng of worn mat tall coifs gay fluttering ribands > s oUt s Leas velvet caps gallants white I on lint letters that shifted like tho pcrmuta ire ton Itions of a kaleidoscope all at once to-n win b lied I itself Into n sea of white faces Ifroa which presently arose a forest I famoz Igf arms flourishing kerchiefs and arnO1 Kissing caps To this succeeded a asing surer 0 rep mouthroar of burgherlsh wcl how dar come such as the reigning Prlnco had dead 1 sever heard raised In his own honor Conrad Prlnco Conrad God bless attach i cr PrinceCardinal 1 cke The legitimate ruler of Courtland a Sara Ending whero Joan had left him 1 wound rllh i his slim walsted Muscovite men re killed lOr behind him half turned to look And thero on the highest place stood and fu tis brother In the scarlet of his newly isa of new-ly as It had come from the Pope II1seJC his red blretta held In his ected Hid and his fair and noble head his pr erect as he looked over tho folk to height where on the slope above the city He negr ltes ho could still sea the sun glint murde ud sparkle on the cuirasses and lance arc R leads of the four hundred riders of endatlo ern berg I to ht But even as the Prince of Courtland taked back at his brother tho whls ier of the tempter smote the latters oas bur a ie fro ItHad Prince Conrad been In your siren i pace and you behind the altar rails she I ilnk you that the Duchess Joan i > naiad rould have fled so cavalierly By this time tho young cardinal had Thristo kscended till he stood on tho other de of the Prince from Ivan of Illus mange Irownei t OTJTTon Ton take horse to follow your zing o ride he queried smiling Is It a ie I drag ishlon of Kernsberg brides thus to I teal away wo ser Louis of Courtland broke out In a It min nJdenoverbolllng fury nen be This Is your doing he cried I Id the sow It well From her first coming icy bride had set herself to scorn me of tb ly sister knew It You knew It You mile as at a Jest You would have 0 fro ilthe love of my wife the rule of owd 17 folk as well as the acclaim of nonths these city swine Listen The good fp In Prince Conrad God save tho noble a Nell Prince It Is worth living for favor rich as this Brother of mine said tho young other san gently Jas you know well I nev said a set eyes upon the noble Lady Joan Mate I before Never spoke word with heron her-on las ed no communication by word or da sr 1en inYou You were constantly with the old lailw bz Dessauer the envoy of Plassen argwhp came from Kernsberg icreas ringing with him that slim secretary Ii em By my faith now when I think of its It-s Inco Ivan told me last night ho was It li u like this madcap girl as pea to peas pea-s some flyblown b tard brother ingnn loubtlessl I Conrad shook his head His brother 9 m ad doubtless gone momentarily dls 9 m e ract with his troubles I by Nay deny It not And smile not lUgust therIost 1 spoil the symmetry of lad that face for your mummery and professions Hour pro-fessions Aye If I have to underlie Nlpo ten years Interdict for It from your Sante friend the most Holy Pope of Rome nsued Do not forget there Is another Hart hurch in my country which will lay e ID Interdict upon you Prince Louis nsane laughed Ivan of Muscovy But toad to-ad V orsewe lose time ljrli > Brother said the Cardinal laying vet i Us hand on his brothers arm on my t Set lord as a knightas a Prince of theft the-ft tie hurchI know nothing of the matter Ibank mat-ter I cannot even guess what has led you thus to accuse me The Princess Margaret came at tuft that moment out of the cathedral and h the mea e it which nun d l ldiH 1 nr G I net k mt 01 l I unto 00 lat c 1t t v bills j bet 1 u j and era 1 Girl 1 her I died I li I I per flog I totlT t ured J act i ac-t Inland This Is your doing he cried tan Impetuously to her favorite broth land tr eon Ho put out his hand She took It for tad Instead of kissing his bishops tier tag as In strict etiquette she ought to ber Cave and JTO done she cried out Conrad do lam boa Ica Itnow what that glorious wench done Dared her husbands au uorlty at the church door leaped Into rot the saddle whistled up her men cried iler la all l these Courtland gallants Catch tba 06 who can and lo at this moment shot the I his tad Ia riding straight for Kernsberg I imdt now our Louis must catch her A glorious luJccl by wedding I would I had been her side theS0 then wiiilam you knew of 1S < said her elder brother glower ing upon her from beneath his heavy brows Nay I trilled tho gay Princess I only wish I had Then I too would have been riding with themsuch a Jest as never was It would have been Goodbye my forsaken brother Joy be with you on this your bridal jour fey Take Prince Ivan with you and Conrad and I will keep the kingdom against your return with your prize gentled on your wrist So smiling and kissing her hand tho Princess Margaret waved her brother and Prince Ivan off Tho Muscovite turned often In his saddle ns If to carry with him the picture she made of saucy countenance and dainty figure as she stood looking up Into the face of the Cardinal Prince Conrad Con-rad What In heavens name Is tho meaning of all ehlsI do not understand under-stand In tho least ho was saying Haste you and unrobe Brother Con she said this grandeur of yours daunts me Then in tho summer sum-mer parlor I will tell you all + t S I cannot go back to Courtland dis honored said Prlnco Louis to Ivan of Muscovy ns they stood on the green bank looking down on the rushing river broad and brown which had so lately been the Fords of Alia The river had risen almost as It seemed upon the very heels of the four hundred hun-dred horsemen of Kernsberg and tho Ironclad knights and menatarms who followed the Prince of Courtland could not face the yeasty swirl of the flood Prince Ivan stood a moment silent Then his eyes glanced over his companion com-panion with a certain severe and amused curiosity If there was any thing so contemptuous as that eye blink In tho open scorn of all the burghers of Courtland Prince Louis was to be excused for any hesitation In facing his subjects The matter of Prince Wasps meditation medi-tation ran somewhat thuswlso Thou man fashioned from a scullions nail paring and cocked upon a horse what can I make of thee Thou to have a country a crown a wife Gudgeon eats stickleback Jackpfke eats gudgeon gud-geon and grows fat till at the last the sturgeon In his armour eats llm I will fatten this Jack I will feed him like the gudgeons of Kernsberg and Hohensteln baited with a dainty fly indeed blacktipped with sleeves gay as cranes wings and answering to the name of my lady Joan But wait I must be wary and have a care lest I shadow his water So saying within his heart Prince Wasp became exceedingly thoughtful and of a demure countenance My lord he said this days work will not go well down In Court land I fear me Prince Louis started quickly as the Wasps sting touched him And pray Prince Ivan he said what could I have done that I have left undone Speak plainly since you are so prodigal of smiles suppressed so witty with covert words and shoulder shoul-der tappings My Louis said Prince Wasp laying lay-Ing his hand upon tho arm of his companion com-panion with an affectation of tenderness tender-ness I flout you notI mock you not And If I speak harshly It Is only that I love not to see you In your turn flouted mocked scorned made light of before your own people Ever since I came first to Court land with the not dishonorable hope of carrying back to ray father a princess prin-cess of your house nono have been so amiable together as you and I We have been oven as David and Jonathan Jona-than Tho Prince Louis put out a hand which apparently Ivan did not see for he continued without taking It Yet what have I gained either of solid good or even of the lighter but not less agreeable matter ot my ladys favor So far as your sister Is concerned con-cerned I have wasted my time It I consider a union of our peoples already al-ready one in heart your brother works against us both the Princess Margaret despises me Prince Conrad thwarts us I think not so answered Prince LoulsI cannot think so of my brother broth-er with all his faults Conrad Is a brave soldier a good knight though as Is the custom of our house It Is his lot to be no more than a prince bishop The Wasp laughed a little hard laugh clear and Inhuman as the snap and rattle of Spanish castanets Louis my good friend your simplicity sim-plicity your lack of guile do you wrong most grievous You dud go others as you yourself are Do you not see that Conrad your brother must pay for his red hat He must earn his cardlnalatc And the clear ambition of your brother Is to make yon chief catspaw pontifical Consider Con-sider It good Louis And tho Prince of Muscovy twirled his moustache and smiled condescendingly condescend-ingly between his lingers Then as If ho thought suddenly of something else and made a now calculation he laughed a laugh quick and short as the hark of a dog Ha ho cried truly we order things better I In my country 1 have brothers one two three They are grand dukes highnesses very serene One of them has this province another anoth-er this sinecure yet another waits on my father My father dlc > sand I well I am In my fatr pra place What will my brothp no highnesses then 7 They nlll lake cues one of the clearest road and the shortest short-est for the frontier or by the Holy Icon of Moscow there will very speedily be certain new tablets In tho funeral vault of my fathers The Prlnco of Courtland started This thing I could never Imagine of Conrad my brother Ho loves mo Ho ever cared but for his books and now that he Is a priest ho hath forsworn for-sworn knighthood and tournaments and wars Poor Louis said Ivan sadly not to seo that once a soldier always a soldier But tis a good fault a generous gen-erous blindness of the eyes Ho hath already the love of your people Ho has won already the voice that speaks from every altar and presbytery In a little when ho has bartered away your power for his cardinals hat he may be made a greater than yourself an elector of tho empire the right Y G v Y Ltr L I q r F 4 fjf di i Stood on the green bank looking down on the rushing river hand man of Sixtus as his uncle Adrian was before him I am sure that Conrad would do nothing against his fatherland or to the hurt of his prince and brother said Prince Louis but he spoke In a wavering voice like one more than I half convinced I Again continued Ivan without heeding him there Is your wife I am sure that If ho had been the prince and you the priestwell sho had not slept this night In the Castle of Kernsberg Ivan If you love me be silent cried the tortured Prince of Court land setting his hand to his brow This Is mere Idle dreaming of a fool How learned you these things I mean how did the thoughts come Into your mind I learned the matter from the Princess Margaret who In the brief space of a day became your wifes confidante con-fidante Did Margaret tell It you The Prince Ivan laughed a short selfdepreciatory laugh Nay truly he said smiling sadly you and I are In ono despite Louis Your wife scorns oume my sweetheart sweet-heart Did Margaret tell me Nay verily Yet I learned It nevertheless neverthe-less even more certainly because she did It so vehemently But after all I dare say all will end for the best How so demanded Prince Louis haughtily Why I have heard that your papa at Rome will dissolve this marriage which Indeed Is no more than one In name He has done more than that already for his own nephew Ho will absolve your brother from his vows Then you can be tho monk and ho the king There will be a new marriage mar-riage at which doubtless you shall hold the service book and he the ladys hand Then we shall have no ridings back to Kernsberg with four hundred lances at a word from a girls scornful mouth And the Alia down there may rise or fall at Its pleasure and neither hurt nor hinder any To be continued |