Show lw z fe li lt 01 1 11 A WARRIOR BOLD I 1 alx lx 11 0 by ST GEORGE authol 6 4 le little miss ss millions 11 the spiders bleb eb aless caprice dr jack jacks s widow I 1 etc etc W copyright 1901 by street and smith new york 0 O k 1 t 11 11 1 1 11 01 11 1 1 1 1 51 1 1 9 1 CHAPTER CHAP 11 II continued naturally charlie stuart was justi justl fled in believing the girl to be the child of some flemish e true she was not dressed in the usual dutch fashion but her golden tresses and blue eyes that shone like twin stars made him take the fact for granted he ile was therefore considerably sur when springing to her feet she advanced a step or two toward them holding out her hands a look of great joy illuminating her face and in a voice which the echoes of her recent sobs st 11 haunted addres addressed qed them in purest engi engl sh oh sirs heaven has heard my prayer and sent you to my rescue stuart made up his mind then and there strange as such a proceeding might be that there was a deeper ni tery about the presence of this young girl in these terrifying anding than had at first occurred to him many things united to make him be aleve this the tact fact of her not be n missed by her party her manner in avoiding any reference to the friends who should be so anxious yes then and there he became convinced that a story lay back of it as startling as any product of an opium smoker s dream charlie knew it would be well tor for him to divert the girls mind a as much as possible from the horrors she had so recently been forced to face thus as they walked along he even grew somewhat merry and his object waa was accomplished since the girls girl s temper ary trembling fit had passed away and fine she was now calm enough to ask ques lions regarding their opportune pres fence in the dismal place several times charlie knew she was looking at him intently he ile believed that he could guess the reason that she had a story to tell a d story tar far out of the ordinary run and was studying him when she thought herself unobserved studying him to determine whether she dared entrust him with its astonishing details CHAPTER III charlie makes an engagement who waa was she this question came into challes challe s mind many times while they walked through those ghostly passages seek ing the worn stone stairs at the top of which stood the roughly hewn oak door studded with rusty nails at the toot foot of the worn stone steps the girl came to a sudden stop sir she said addressing charlie as though he were the only party in eight unless I 1 am mistaken these steps lead up to the museum of the steen and we have reached the exit of this horrible underground tomb we can be in the light as soon as I 1 unlock the door up yonder he said quietly one moment before we ascend I 1 want to catch my breath to tell you how grateful I 1 am for your timely as el si stance please don t mention it said char indeed it was a great pleasure fair lady chirruped artemus eagerly you overwhelm me with contusion confusion I 1 have as you may well suppose re calved something of a shock and hardly teel feel equal to the task of ex pla ining to you just now what strange circumstances brought me into the desperate predicament from which I 1 have been rescued by your assistance si stance but I 1 trust I 1 may see you again soon when the explanation that is due will be gladly given forgive me it I 1 say I 1 have been studying you all this time and something tells me I 1 may surely trust you with my life god knows I 1 need friends her words thrilled charlie pardon me miss I 1 should have told you before my name Is charlie stuart I 1 am at present an exile from old london in search of a mission perhaps I 1 have found one he said with an amused smile A faint flush chased across her coun cenance and I 1 am arline brand she had a small reticule attached to her girdle as was the custom open ing this she took out a quaint little inlaid cardease and handed him a bit of pasteboard when you call ask for me under that name by which I 1 am known but let me say again as a duty I 1 owe you mr stuart let me give you full warn ing that while I 1 appreciate the great favor you bave have done me I 1 must tell you I 1 have enemies and that it if you should seek to continue the acquaint ance so strangely begun it might pos sibly bring you into trouble I 1 never yet have allowed tear fear of mortal man to inal influence bence my actions stuart said proudly but these men are cruel and un scrupulous you can realize that after seeing to what a dreadful fate they would have condemned me because I 1 refused to carry out their will they are a set of precious dreis and cowards he declared ah but perhaps they are all pow erful at court men in touch with a dynasty that can shake the earth it if aroused to whom one poo human life Is as a fa a len leaf she said as it if test ing his lenity it Is the same I 1 see no reason why I 1 should draw bad back taking out his watch he continued in the most de liberate fashion it is now almost high noon at eight then this even ing to the minute I 1 shall do myself the honor of calling upon you at your hotel and until I 1 am convinced that it is unlawful tor for me so to do all the police of antwerp shall not stop me in my rights of a british citizen travel ing under the protection of his flag arline impulsively held out oat her hand I 1 thank you cod bless you mr stuart she said in broken tones and charlie as he felt the little hand quiver and throb in his found a strong indignation arising within bis his breast directed against those un known parties who had so mercilessly condemned so charming a young worn wom an to a cruel fate it was artemus Arte raus who unlocked the heavy door and ushered them into the garish light of day who gravely re lieveld charlie of his brass candlestick and placed it together with the rusty keys where they belonged charlie saw that his companion glanced hastily to the right and left through her veil once be he was almost sure she gave a start but by no word did she signify discovery could you get a cab for me she asked with a perceptible tremor in her voice easily no doubt there are usually vehicles waiting outside the steen this way please before the vehicle started arline brand threw back the veil and again charlie was given the privilege of looking into those honest blue orbs rivaling the heavens in their hue I 1 will release you from your prom ise it you regret making it mr stu art she said softly thanks but I 1 am a singularly ob man I 1 fear at eight to night I 1 said besides I 1 confess to much curi osley to hear what sou promised to tell those wondrous eyes beamed upon him a little hand crept out to allow of a parting pressure then the ve hide hicle lumbered away leaving him there in front of the historic steen watching its progress down the crook ed thoroughfare and wondering at the change that had broken into his quiet life when charlie stuart reiterated his rash promise with regard to seeing the owner of those marvelous cerulean orbs that same evening he had but a taint faint conception of the magnitude of the task he had taken upon himself he was dimly conscious of a figure hanging from the rear window of a second old vehicle a figure that made all manner of pantomime gestures and in which he recognized his friend arte mus mug remembering Kemem bering the quaint methods by which artemus invoked the dra matic muse he ended with a laugh no harm done I 1 imagine he said aloud to his surer se some one added that remains to be seen young sir turning ind grantly gri antly to see who had dared to thus address him without in vi tation charlie faced a middle aged gentleman of military aspect who was regarding him with much urbanity I 1 am qu te ready to explain the meaning of those words I 1 uttered young sir on condition that you favor me with your name charlie s first hasty inclination was to refuse point blank but he had up to this point of his existence never known the time when he found reason to be ashamed of his name it be longed to one of the best families in scotland and his ancestry dated back to the days of bruce and wallace that Is a cond tion easily complied with as I 1 have never yet refused it to any man who felt enough interest in me to ask it is charlie stuart the other bowed good I 1 see we shall get on to gether amazingly well there need be no trouble whatever since we agree so charmingly he said ah ali about what now nowa 9 asked char he lie once more keenly on his guard H in I 1 say the pretty fraulein but perhaps we do not agree on that subject in fact our views may be diametrically opposite tell me why do you waylay mea me I 1 am a complete stranger I 1 never saw you before quite true quite true young sir air chuckled the other but I 1 have seen you before I 1 know when you came to antwerp and just how you have em aloyed your time since the deuce you do then you must have known my name why did you ask for it ita with the light of suspicion and unbelief in his eyes to ascertain how tar far you would have confidence in me I 1 see you are incredulous but young man it is my especial business to know ever stranger who comes to antwerp whether he be french english rus american or turkish also to dis cover as much with relation to his bus iness here as Is necessary to under stand bis his status in society although you have never met me before I 1 doubt not you would recognize my name permit me A card was thrust into charlie u hand mechanically he glanced at it the result was peculiarly ant it simply bore a name but that name was as famous at st petersburg 1 1 lailia atia and paris as in antwerp baron de this wonderful man had been at the head of the famous third section in russia he had been the terror of nihilists for years an argus eyed head of police until unfortunately a cog slipped with fatal result since the czar alexander was murdered through the instrumental ty of a bomb and from that hour baron s use falness in russia was at an end ah ali charlie said very calmly I 1 have heard of jou ou very often baron but really I 1 confess the prospect of meeting so renowned a character never entered my mind to what am I 1 in debated for the honor again the distinguished gentleman uttered the word that had startled charlie before to the pretty fraulein charlie frowned see here baron I 1 know this lady as mile arline brand surely there must be a mistake she has golden hair yes and eyes so blue holding up his hands in a dramatic manner that would have delighted artemus that they shame the lovely skies of the riviera charlie groaned an assent A crush rush c ing weight seemed to press upon his brain and he felt as though tottering on the verge of a precipice As to the name continued the baron coolly what does it matter mile arline brand Is as good as an other indeed when you come to ex amine it there Is something of the ad ven stripe about so delightful a cognomen don t you think young sir to my knowledge that Is only one of a score of different names the lady has adopted within the last few years adventuress how like the shock of a rattlesnake s stroke the mention of that word tell fell upon charlie a hearing since you have been go so kind as to give me warning suppose you tell me who this wonderful lady of many names ts Is be ae asked coldly you must have heard of the count ess egg isolde brabant it was a name he had often seen mentioned in london and continental papers a name belonging to a beautiful russian young woman given over heart and soul to the cause of nihil ism connected with high families in the land of the white czar banished through royal decree and now turned adventuress in vienna paris and other capitals of europe he shuddered at the picture at least I 1 am under favors to you baron for your kindness and it I 1 make a fool of myself it will not be tor for lack of warning well young s r I 1 owe my life to your father before sebastopol when a fierce engagement was in progress I 1 had been cut down and lay there help less when a squadron of british dra goons charged they would have crushed me to atoms b it that ipa wounded highlander captain crawl ing over shielded my body with his own and raising himself waved hia his tartan in the air at which the dra goons separated sweeping past to the left and to the right that bravo brave highlander was your noble father for years we corresponded but in my eventful life the memory of the debt I 1 owed him more shame to me became obscured by other issues young sir for his sake I 1 have sought to save you from the snare of the fowler be warned in time A cab doubtless previously signaled dashed up the busy baron jumped in waved his hand to charlie and was gone he left a very puzzled and deeply worried young man in front of the steen charlie seemed wrestling with the problem and drawn first this way then that but his natural obstinacy finally won out well he muttered through his teeth I 1 said eight 0 clock to night and come weal or come woe I 1 shall keep the appointment to be continued |