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Show zy ,S -- R: CRDCKEmr. (Copyright, 1$98, c 1900, CHAPTER XVII. Wife and Priest. I have a right to call myself the widow of the Duke Henry of Kerns-berand Hohenstein, said Theresa von Lynar, in reply to Conrads question as to whom he might thank for rescue and shelter. And therefore the mother of the Duchess Joan? he continued. Theresa shook her head. No, she said sadly; I am not her mother, hut and even that only In a sense her stepmother. A promise to a dead man has kept me from claiming any privileges save that of living unknown on this desolate isle of sand and mist. My son is an officer in the service of the Duchess g Joan. The face of the Prince-Bisho- p lighted up instantaneously. Most surely, then, I know him. Did he not come to Courtland with my Lord Dessauer, the Ambassador of Plasenburg? The lady of Isle Rugen nodded indifferently. "Yes, she said; I believe he went to Courtland with the embassy from Plassenburg. Indeed, I was much drawn to him, said the Prince eagerly; I remember him most vividly. He was of an olive his features without complexion, color, but graven even as the Greeks cut those of a young god on a gem.1 Yes, said Theresa von Lynar serenely, he has his fathers face and carriage, which are those also of the Duchess Joan. In the morning Joan came to bid the patient good morrow, while Werner von Orseln stood in the doorway with his steel cap doffed In his hand, and Boris and Jorian bent the knee for a priestly blessing. But Theresa did not again appear till night and darkness had wrapped the earth, and being all alone he listened to the heavy plunge of the breakers on the beach among which his life had been o nearly sped. The sound grew slow' er and slower after the storm, until at last the wavelets of that sheltered aea lapsed on the shingle in a sort of breathing whisper. And so day passed and came again Long nights, too, at first with hourly tendance and then presently without. But Joan sat no more with the young man after that first watch, though his soul longed for her, that he might again tell her that she was his broth crs wife, and urge her to do her duty by him who was her wedded husband So Conrad contented himself and salved . his conscience by thinking austere thoughts of his mission and high place in the hierarchy of the only Catholic and Apostolic Church. So that presently he would rise up and seek Werner von Orseln in order to persuade him to let him go, that he might proceed to Rome at the command of the Holy Father, whose servant he was. But Werner only laughed and put JteJUxdaaGo by S. R. Crockett.) pebbles convinced her of the awkwardness, if not impossibility, of escape. Conrad the prisoner greeted Joan with the sweet gravity which had been characteristic of him as Conrad the prince, and his eyes shone upon her with the same affectionate kindliness that had dwelt In them as he looked npon his sister in the pavilion of the But after one glance Joan looked steadily away across the steel-gre- y sea. Her feet turned Instinctively to walk back towards the house and the Prince turned with her. "If we are two said Conrad, we ought to see more of each other. Is it not so? That we may concert plans of esYou desire to concape? said Joan. tinue your pilgrimage, I to return to my people, who, alas, think themselves better off without me! They paced along together with their eyes on the ground, the Wordless Man keeping a uniform distance behind them. Then the Prince laughed a strange, grating laugh, like one who mocks at himself. The world is ill arranged, he said slowly; my brother Louis would have made a far better Churchman than I. And strange It is to think that hut a year ago the knights and chief councillors of Courtland came to me to propose that, because of his bodily weakness, my brother should be deposed and that I should take over the government and direction of affairs, He went on without noticing the color rising in Joans cheek, smiling a little to himself and talking with more animation. Then, had I assented, my brother might have been walking here with tonsured head by your side, while would doubtles have been knocking at the gates of Kernsberg, seeking at the spears point for a runaway bride. cried Joan, with sudden Nay! vehemence; that would you not And as suddenly she stopped, stricken dumb by the sound of her own words. The Prince turned his head full upon her. He sew a face all suffused with hot blushes, haughtiest pride struggling with angry tears in eyes that fairly blazed upon him, and slender figure drawn up into an attitude of defiance, at sight of which something took him instantly by the , rose-garde- fellow-prisoner- him all gone to fighting Juice, bln limbs mere bone and muscle, a certain acrid and caustic wit keeping the corner of his lips on the wicker, and, a little back from these two, George the Hussite, a smaller man, very solemn even when he was making other laugh, but nevertheless with a proud, high look, a stff upper lip, and a mustache so huge that he could tie the ends behind his head on a windy day To them entered the Sparhawk, a settled .frown of gloom upon his brow, and the hunger which he shared equal ly with the others already sharpening the falcon hook on his nose and whitening his thin nostrils. At sight of him the three heads drew apart, and Alt Pikker began to speak of the stars that were rising In the eastern dusk. Is white, he said diThe dog-sta- r In my schooldays I used dactically. By MARY R. P. HATCH hor of Tho Bank Tragedy Coprrlctat, 189S, by Joan looked steadily away across the sea. to read ln the Latin tongue that It was red!" What Is this? cried the Sparhawk. eteel-gre- y d. solem- stiff-haire- d "Do not deceive me. You were none of you talking of stars when I came up the stairs. For I heard Peter Bal-tavoice say, 'By God! It must come to It, and soon! And you, Hussite George, answered him, Six days will settle it. What do you keep from me? Out with It! Speak up, like three little men! It was Alt Pikker who first found words to answer. We spoke Indeed of the stars, and said it was six days till the moon should be gone, and that the time would then be ripe for a sally by the by the Plassenburg gate! Pshaw! cried the Sparhawk. "Lie to your father confessor, not to me. I am not a purblinl fool. I have ears, long enough, it is true, but at least You they answer to hear withal. spoke of the wel!3, I tell you, I saw your heads move aparl as I entered, and then, forsooth, that dotard Alt Pikker (who ran away in his youth from a monks cloister school with the nun that taught them stocking-mending- ) must needs furbish up some scraps of Latin and begin to prats s red and dog-staabout white. Faugh! Open your mouths like men, set truthful hearts behind them, and let me hear the worst! The three captains of Kernsberg were silent a while, for heaviness was upon their souls. Then Peter Balta blurted out, God help us! There is but ten days more provender in the city, the river is turned, and the wells are almost dried up! After this the Sparhawk sat awhile on the low window seat, watching the twinkling fires of the Muscovites and listening to the hum of the town beneath the Castle. (To be continued.) s half-moon- n THE MISSING MAN CHAPTER X Continued. The man looking at him wondered; but he did not know Mr. Hamilton, so he wondered less. Presently, however, as & quiver went through her eyelids, her husband dropped on his knees beside her and clasped her hand in one of his, but timidly, the watcher thought, and said ln a low, hesitating voice: "Constance, my wife! And she opened her eyes and looked at him, vaguely at first, then with a manner. questioning, The man gazed into her face as If he would drink his fill of its sweet lineaments. The eager gaze did not seem to please her, and she drew away her hand. There is much to explain," she said gravely, for she was now quite recovered. You are right, Constance, and this is not the place for you now," and he glanced at the monument. Casual as was the look, it brought the color to her face, and she arose and drew down her veil. Mr. Hamilton and his wife passed out together and up the street to their house, both silent, both evidently constrained by deep emotions of which they did not speak the one to the other till they reached the Hamilton grounds. Mr. Hamilton held open the gate for his wife to enter, and it reacted with a bang that made her start nervously. You are not well, said her husband, and no wonder. No, I am not well, and, as you say, it is no wonder. They were soon at the door, and they entered the house together, but Constance with a hesitating step. Finally, as they stood side by side in the sitting room, she whirled suddenly about and cried hysterically: Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me? Constance, can you believe I would leave you willingly. By heavens! you are the most beautiful woman I ever d he stamYou mean you mean mered, and for a moment was silent. For Gods sake, tell me what you . mean! I mean nothing at all! said Joan, stamping her foot in anger. And turning uron her heel she left him standing fixed in wonder and doubt upon the margin of the sea. Then the wife of Louis, Prince of Courtland, walked eastward to the house upon the Isle Rugen with her face set as sternly as for battle, but her nether lip quivering, while Conrad, Cardinal and Prince of Holy Church, paced slowly to the west w'ith him off. a bitter and downcast look upon his When we have sure word of what ordinarily so sunny countenance. your brother does at Kernsberg, then For Fate had been exceeding cruel we will talk of this matter. Till then to these two. it cannot be hid from' you that no hostage half so valuable can we keep And meanwhile right haughtily flew in hold." the red lion upon the citadel of KernsSo after many days it was permitted berg. Never had the Lady Duchess, to the Prince to walk abroad within Joan of the Sword Hand, approven the narrow bounds of the Isle Rugen herself so brave and determined. In the Wordless Man guarding him at her foresters dress of green velvet, fifty paces distance, impassive and with the links of chain body-arminevitable as an ambulant rock of the glinting beneath its frogs and taches, seaboard. she went everywhere on foot. At all As he went Prince Conrads eyes times of the day she was to be seen s glanced this way and that, looking for at the wherein the cannon a means of escape. Yet they saw were fixed, or on horseback scouring none, for Werner von Orseln with his the defeneed posts alone- - the city wall. ten men of Kernsberg and the two She seemed to know neither fear nor captains of Plassenburg were not sol- fatigue, and the noise of cheering foldiers to make mistakes. It chanced, lowed her about the little hill city like however, that upon a warm and gra- her shadow. cious afternoon, when the breezes Three there were who knew the truth Peter Balta, Alt Pikker, and And when the George the Hussite. guards were set, the lamps lit. and the bars drawn, a stupid Hohensteiner set on watch at the turnpike foot with command to let none pass upon his life then at last the lithe young Spar-haw- k would undo his belt with huge refreshful gusting of air into his lungs, amid the scarcely subdued laughter of the captains of the host. Nevertheless, in the face of brave words and braver deeds, provisions waxed scarce and dear in Castle Kernsberg, and in the town below women grew gaunt and hollow-cheekeThen the children acquired eyes that seemed to stand out of hollow purple sockets. Last of all, the stout burghers grew thin. And all three began to dream of the days when the good farmfolk of the blackened country down below them, where now stood the leafy lodges of the Muscovite and the white tents of the used to come into Courtlanders, Kernsberg to market, the great oxen drawing carts full of Glanced this way and that, looking n-eyed for means of escape. country sausages, and brown meal played wanderingly among the garden fresh from the mill to bake the wholetrees before losing themselves in the some bread or when the stout market-brought in the iappered solemn aisles of the pines as in a pil- women lared temple, that Conrad, stepping milk and the butter and curds. So and painfully westwards along the beach, the starving folk dreamed arrived at the place of his rescue, and, dreamed and woke, and cried out descending the steep bank of shingle curses on them that had waked them. About this time the Sparhawk beto look for any traces of the disaster, same suddenly upon the Duchess gan to take counsel with himself, and the issue of his meditations the hisJoan gazing thoughtfully out to sea. She turned quickly, hearing the torian must now relate. It was in the outer chamber of the sound of footsteps, and at sight of the Prince-Bishoglanced east and west Duchess Joan, which looks to the along the shore as if meditating re- north, that the three captains usually sat burly Peter Balta, treat. keen eyed Alt Pikker, lean But the proximity of Max Ulrich and ant b3thery, ttf l:fe humor within the encompassing banks of water-wordry-face- Con-stan- s, throat dog-star- LOST THE BASS DRUM. Absolute Proof That Such a Thing is Possible, The man who lost the bass drum has been found. Newspaper paragraphers have made man, merry with the absent-mindeand he has been accused of all sorts of deeds of omission and commission Therefore some of the stories told a his expense have been taken in a Pickwickian sense. The that a man said he was so absent-mindethat at one time he lost a bass drum has always been considered A mere d tle d joke. Originally this story may have been a fable, but now it is true. A man has actually lost a bass drum, and all the members of an Iowa band will bear witness to the fact. It happened near Davenport a few Sundays ago. There was a celebration at Davenport and an up country band had arranged to take part in the festivities. The train stopped at the station just a moment, and the members of the band piled into the smoker with their instruments and their regalia. Just as the train was moving away man grasped the rail a fat, and swung aboard. Then he turned pale and gasped. Wheres my drum? he cried, as his eyes bulged and his knees shook. I saw it on the depot platform, said the trombone player. red-nose- d I forgot It! "Suffering cornhusks! When the band began business at Davenport it labored under a handicap, and the bass drummer was not a popular member of the aggregation. Fighters. Buckeye How does it come that all these men I have met have the title of colonel? Kentuckian They are famous fighters, suh. ' Buckeye But I didnt know that Col. DeSoaque was in the war. He is He wasnt. Kentuckian famous boozefighter, suh' Clevelan Leader. Does Tony think me a defaulter?! No, ho does not He and and and myself were the only ones who believed you innocent. Henderson, too, thought as I did; but, of course, we were obliged to settle the bonds. Bonds? Did it go so far as that? Then something was taken from the bank. It must have been a burglar who entered and deceived Tony somehow. No, not that. Nothing was actuals were ly missing, and the all right. But It was the notes, one of Bowles & Estes, the other of C. B. Cotton. What of them? Simon Low declares you presented those very notes, I mean Bowles & Estes, which he deposited in the National Bank, and he says that he paid you five thousand dollars for it on the spot as collateral. The note was but five hundred dollars originally, until the amount was altered. He got up and walked the room ln great agitation, What about the other note? That was presented in the same way, the face altered to read four thousand dollars instead of four hundred dollars. The cashier could not swear It was you, but he supposed everything to be all right Low declares he could not have been mistaken, for he knows you as well as I do. Yes, Low knows me, but I believe he has been deceived. I will see him and talk with him. Nine thousand dollars. Is that the sum? Ln and Shepard Yes, I will tell you why 1 stayed so long when I meant to have returned in two weeks. You will wonder greatly when 1 tell you that I lost all knowledge of my own Identity, my very name, even, soon after I left Grovedale. My memory was gone totally, absolutely. What I did, or saw, or where I went then, I know no more than you do. It was as if I had sunk into a dreamless sleep after 1 left you. That, Constance, is the reason I did not return." Constance did not speak, and he continued : "My mind was blank for many weeks, or perhaps I should say my past was a blank, for I somehow managed to support myself, through manual labor, perhaps, for when I regained my consciousness I was at work with a gang of men ln Seattle, Washington." When, she asked, did this loss of memory come to you? I think about the time I reached Portland, for I recollect some incidents of the Journey there ln a vague way, but nothing clearly. Do you recollect a womans speaking to you on the street before you took the cars at Grovedale? She came out of the Essex House. Yes, I recollect that perfectly. She was a stranger, a very pretty woman with curiously tinted hair, almost he asked, green, or am I mistaken? with a puzzled look. No; they said she had green hair, She ought to have said Mr. Carter. traveled with Barnum. Well, what did she want of you? She thought she knew me, at first; but I assured her of her mistake. But did she not go on the train with you to Portland, or part of the way? asked Constance. Not that I remember, and yet stay! That is one of the vague recollections I alluded to. It seems sometimes as If I did see and talk with her on the train. You certainly did. Vane; the con- - ce pass-book- Yes. "And my bondsmen bad to pay It? Yes. Well, It shall be paid back, every cent of It, if it can be really proved that it was I who took it. But as the matter now stands, it looks to me like a foul conspiracy to rob me of my good name. Though why any one should want to do it I can't conceive. Tony must have been mistaken. It must have been a burglar. So we thought until we heard from Low. Have you had detectives at work? asked Mr. Hamilton, after a period of deep thought. "Yes, two of them; private detective Bruce, and Swan, of the police headquarters in Boston. Swan followed the river affair. You were thought to have been drowned or murdered. And Bruce looked up the defaulting matter. He fancied at one time that he got on' the trail of you, or some one that looked like you, in the West, a man named Ashley, What sort of a man was Ashley. Bad sort; a bank swindler. Bruce Saw his photograph; looked like you. Bless my soul! who knows but he was the man Low saw. "I thought of that; but it seems too unlikely for belief. Ashley had a wife named Lenora, said Mrs. Hamilton. Is the name new to you? she asked, keenly. It is. I never remember to have heard It. And yet you said In your dreams the night before you went away, Lenora Nora a pretty name. He looked at her ln amazement "Are you sure? woman Yes; and the green-hairewho spoke to you was named Lenora, and she was Ashley's wife. I have no recollection of any such name. Dreams are hard to explain. But how do you know all this about Ashley and a wife named Ienora? "It was brought out by Bruces inYou said Mr. Carter. vestigations, see there was reason for suspicions." So it seems. This Ashley may be my double. Well, I shall look into the matter, talk with Low, and if I find, Why dd you leave me? beyond doubt, that I have been guilty of altering notes and other questionsaw, walking away from her in great ductor says so; but she did not gi as able acts, I will set them right, But you are tired. Your far as Portland. agitation. (To be continued.) I will Did I? uncle will he here Yes. explain all then. Meanwhile, you FIGHT WITH HUGE SEA BAT. I thought so. must rest. Go to your room and I That is about the I recollect distinctly. will sit here. only thing That Leaps Into the Air and said his uncle, suddenly, Vane, She looked at him gratefully. Then Turns a Somersault. as if a sudden recollection seized her do you suppose any of your actions a jet black hat of fifteen or Imagine she murmured something about the were questionable I mean unlawful? more feet across, with a long, slender I hope not, children. said Vane, looking the fins rising and failing like Yes, they will be home from school startled; still I dont know. I know tali, with a motion the perfection of wings soon, I suppose. I must wait. They I was doing good honest work in Segrace; wings jet black above, pure will find I have not forgotten their attle when I eame to myself. Any white below; flashing alternately commissions, he said, smiling. one can be assured of that by writing white as the fishes turned Constance stood watching him while to Barnacle & Co., Seattle, Washing- black and out he talked, and then, with a dazed, ton There is something hack of your and swung alone, standingbottomagainst with the of mauve tint the questioning look in. her eyes, walked questioning, uncle. What is it. wonderful distinctiveness. They bore I will do as you toward the door. deare looked upon as a Vane, you a remarkable resemblance to bats and say, she said, for I am very tired. faulter here in Grovedale. were the bats of tho sea. His look followed her from the "A defaulter! Why. I did not take As the dinghy moved nearer I saw room. Then, as the swish of her long, one penny of the bank funds when I rare spectacle a huge ray turn that silken gown died away and the door went away. I remember that percompletely over, throwing a somerclosed behind her, he turned his face fectly. sault as it swung around, a picture of his with his breast away and struck Yes, but Tony Osborn declares you grace, yet never losing its position, clenched hand, but no word broke the came to the bank on the twenty-second- , presenting for a few seconds beautiful stillness. at about seven o'clock in the lines attuned to perfect grace. I was he Perfectly immovabe and rigid, evening. fascinated by this singular performstood In the middle of the room for "He must have been mistaken. of these giant characteristic ance, walked he Then minutes. several No, he is positive; and besides, fishes, and might have remained inabout examining the pictures, books, there is proof of It." active had not the dinghy reached a and the view from the window, as is What proof? been point when it was apparent they must has who one the way with long You spoke to him. Hullo, says see us. absent. And upstairs in her room, you said the same, and that he I permitted one, two, three to go with her door locked, Constance lay Tony; to see you so didnt expect probably n wide-opeslowly whirling on, then, selecting on her bed with eyes gaz- soon. He said he didnt, and passed one that was headed up the lagoon in and studyat the thinking, ceiling ing on. You opened the door with your the direction of the I hurled ing. went and in. own black into key the pole e the quivering grain Mr. Carter arrived. At Did shadow just as it was about to turn. does it What mean? "Strange! of Mr. no tidings Strangely enough I heard the quick thud, saw the pole Hamiltons return had reached him, I come here? No, you evidently came as far as leap from the socket, heard the Inand it was, therefore, & positive shock to see him sitting there with Perley the river bank, and there all trace dian plying his oar to head the dinghy in his arms and Clare beside him, seemed swallowed up. We thought up the reef, and then the very hot ,om while Constance, with grave, preoccu- you might have been drowned. A of the sea seemed to rise into the air reas the great hatlike, creature rose pied gze, was busy about some man was found ln the river his mains, I mean and Constance had bodily from a maelstrom of spray, oftrifling household matter. Bless my soul. Vane! he cried, them buried at her expense. fering a vision of beating wing', that But how do you know I came to deluged boat and occupants; tnen it and stopped, gasping. fell with a resounding crash, 'he big Vane grasped him heartily by his the river? "Your traveling cap and one of your waves from the Impact careening the hand and said: were found there, the last dinghy. Metropolitan Magazine. You hadnt heard of my arrival, shirt-stud- s by an Italian employed on the railthen? Modified. "Not a word, not one word. Well, road, the first by Tony Osborn. An was found on the Green They say Sharpe depends I am glad, more than glad, to see you other shirt-stu- d vaguely un- desk at the bank the morning after upon his wits for a livelihood. back, hey, Constance? Brown Thats a mistake. He deyou entered it. easy at his nieces stillness. Who says so?" pends npon the absence rf wit in Yes, uncle: but he has not exothers. Tony. plained yet why he was gone so long. d t. tea-tim- |
