| OCR Text |
Show kfM M .. ' " ' - .... . -i - i i L"ft (Copyright U98, 1900, br S. iC Crockett.) CHAPTER V. - Johann, the Secretary.' ' ' , TuTon miles outside the boundary of 'the llttlo hill state of Kornsmorg, the mbaspago of Plassenburg was met by anothei cavalcade bearing additional Instructions from the Princeus Hel-cne. Hel-cne. The leader was a slender youth of middle height, the accuracy of whoso 'form g'avo evidence of much agility. He wns dark-skinned, of nn olive complexion, and with black hair which curled qrlsply about his Small head. His eyes wero dark nnd fine, looking straight and boldly o(ut upon all comers. ' "Your Excellency," he said to the Ambassador, "I bring you tho most Tecent Instructions from their Highnesses High-nesses Hugo nnd Helcne of Plassen-burg. Plassen-burg. They sojourn !tor the time being be-ing In tho city of Thorn, where they' build a now palace for themselves. I was brought from Hamburg to bo one of tho master builders. I1 have skill lh plans, and I bring you these for your approval and In ordor to go over tho rates of cost with you, as Treasurer Treas-urer of tho Plassenburg and tho Wolfsmark." I Dessauer took, with every token I of deference, tho sheaf of papers so I carefully enwrapt and scaled with the I seat of Plassenburg. " I "I thank you for your diligence, I ood master architect," ho said, "I I shall peruse these at my leisure, and, I I doubt not, call upon you frequently I for explanations." I The young man rode on at his side, I modestly waiting to bo questioned. I ' "What Is your namo, sir?" asked I - Von Dessauer, so that all tho escort I intgtit hear. I ' "I am 'called Johann Pyrmont," said I tho youth, promptly, and with' engag- I lng frankness; "my father Is a Ham- I burg merchant, trading to tho Spanish I ports for oil and wine, but I follow I him not. I hnd ever a turn fdr draw- I , lng and tho art of design!" I "Also for having yqur, own way, as I Is common with tho young," said tho I Ambassador, smiling shrewdly. "So, I against 'your father's will, you appren- I tlcod, yourself tonn architect?" I The young man bowed, ft "Nay, sir," ho said, "but my good r- father could denyvmo .nothing on It which I had set my mind." "Not, ho,' muttorod Dessauer under B Ills breath; "no. nor nnypno clsol" It had been a favorite scheme of B dead princes of Courtland to unite H to their fat acres and populous merit mer-it antllo cities tho hardy mountaineers Bj fjl.il pastoral uplands of Kernsbcrg. Bj 'TJicro had come to Joan's father, Bj Henry, called the Lion, AnA.thoJato If Prince Michael of Courtland, n BJ thought. One had a daughter, tho, Bj other a son. So -with thatirank care-H care-H Icssness of tho prlvato feelings of tho H individual which has over dlsttn- gulshcd great politicians, thoy decreed H that, as a condition of succession, H their male and fomalo heirs should, B marry each othor. B Tills bond df herltngo-brothcrhood, I as It was called, had received the sanctton of tho Emporor In full Diet, and now It wanted only that the' Duchess Duch-ess Joan of Hohcnstcln should bo of ,ago in order that tho provinces might 'at last be united and''llfo" long "wars of highland nnd lowland at an end. The plan hns taken everything into consideration, except tho", prlvato characters char-acters of tho persons principally at-,'fectcd, at-,'fectcd, Prince ,Louls of Courtland, aad tho young Duchess Joan. - ' -.a It was the last day of tho famous tournament of tho Black Eagle In tho princoly city of Courtlandi Prince I "My brother youl" cried Margarefof Courtland In astonishment. ' Louis had sen out -an escort; to, bring In tho travelers and conduct them tfttji honor to tho seats rosorved for uiorn. The Ambassador and High Councillor of Plassenburg must bo received re-ceived with nH'ouBorvanco. Ho had? , ho gaye.jotlcq, brought a secretary " with him. ' For so the young architect wns now styled In order to give him an offlclal position ,ln tho .mission, Tho Courtlandors surrounded b tho? great oval space of tho lists In plus-, tored myriads, and their oyos wore v bont Inwards. It was thoicrisls ot tho. great melee. Scarcely an oyo In all that assembly, was turned toward itho strangerB, whq 'passed quite uhob" served to their, resolved i places (ni the, Prince's empty box. Only his slstor " Margaret, throned on high as Queen ot Bcnujy, looked down upon thorn' with Interest seelnx that they word ,mcn who came, nnd that one at least was young. Fifty knights with whlto plumes on) helr helmets'' had charged fifty Wari ing black! and tho combat still raged. "Tho Blacks have It!" .said Des; saner, after regarding the melco with Interest. "Wo have come In tlmo to sco the. 'end, of the f ray? Would rthat ho had also seen the shock!" t J And Indeed the Blacks seemed to havo carried all before' them. They wero mostly bigger and stronger built men, knights of the landward provinces, prov-inces, and their horses, great solid-boned solid-boned Saxon chargers, had by sheer weight borno their way through the lighter ranks of the Baltic-knights on tho xwhjte horses. Not more than half a dozen of Jhesc wero now In the saddle, and till over the field wero to bo soen black knights receiving the submission ol knights' whoso broken spears and tarnished tar-nished plumes showed' that thoy had succumbed In tho charge to superior weight of metal. For, so soon as a knight yielded, his steed became the property of his victorious foe, and he himself was either. carried, or limped as best hd could to tho pavilion of his party, thcro to remove his armour and send it also to the victor to whom, in literal fact, belonged tho spoils. Of tho half-dozen whlto knights who still kept up tho struggle, ono shone pre-eminent for dashing valor; Sot upon by moro than a scoro ot riders, he still managed to, ovado them, ands even when all his sldo had submitted and ho alono remained 'at the end of tho lists to which he had been .driven, ho made ready for a final chargo Into tho scarco broken array of his foes, of whom moro than twenty remained still on horsoback. in tho Hold. But though bis spear struck true In tho middle ot his Immediate antagonist's antag-onist's shield and this opponent wont down, It availed tho brave white knight nothing. For at tho same moment, mo-ment, half a scoro ot lances struck him on tho shield, on tho breastplato on the visor bars' of his helmet, and he toll heavily to tho .earth, i Nevertheless, Never-theless, scarcely; had ho touched the ground' when ho was ngaln on His feet Sword In hand, ho. (stood for' a moment mo-ment unscathed and, undaunted, while his foes, momentarily disordered by tho energy of the .charge, reined In their steeds oro they could return to tho nttack. , ' . V ,But at this moment tho Princess largarot, sister of tho reigning Prince, roso In her' placo and' throw down the' truncheon, which In such cases stops the combat. - t "The black knights have won," so she gnvo her verdict, "but there Is no need to humiliate or Injuro a knight who has fought so woll against i so mnpy. Let, .tho whlto knight como hither though ho bo of tho losing sldo. His Is tho reward of highest .honor. Gvo ,h!m ,a, qtcqd, tat hpjna);. como and receive tho meed of bravest In tho toiirnayl" Tho knights of tho black wore rnan-I rnan-I Itestly a little disappointed that after thelr victory ono ot their opponents should? bo solccted tor. honor. But thcro was no appeal from tho decision of tho ,(Jucen ,of, Jovo and Beauty. For that day she reigned alono, without, with-out, council or diet Imperial. The' whlto knight camo' hear and said something In a low volco, unheard. un-heard. by the .gcnoral .crowd, toltho Princess. -"I insist,' she-, said aloud; "you must unhelm, that all may sco tho faco of him who has won tho prize." Whereat tho knight" bovrcd "nnd undid un-did his holmot., A closely-cropped falrjhalrod head was revealed? j tho features clearly chiseled arid yo of a. massive beauty, tho head of a marble mar-ble emperor. "My brother youl" cried Margaret ot Courtland In astonishment. The Ambassador .looked. .curiously at his secretary. Ho wds" standing with eyes brilliant as thoso of a man In fever. His faco .paled oven, under Its dusky tnn. ," His lips' quivered. Ho had "stfalghtoncd himself up as bravo and gcnoroiiR mon do when thoy; sco njdoqd'of bravery dono by another, or Uko a Avoman who sees tho man sho loves publicly honored. "Tho Prlnco!" said Johann Pyrmont, Pyr-mont, In a volco lioarso and broken; "It Is tho Prlncq himself." And on his High"? seat" tho 'states Councilor, Leopold von Dessauer, smiled 'w'oil pfeatfed.' il After tho .tournny, of tho Black Eaglo Leopold von Dessauer had gono to bod early, feeling younger and lighter than ho hnd dono for years. Part of his schomo for thoco northern provinces' of 'his fatherland consisted In gradual substitution of a fow strong states for -many weak ones. "For, this reason ho smiled when 'ho saw tho oyes of his sccrotary shining I Uko stars. ' '' : fc-rr Von Dessauer wns lylng nwako and thinking ot the strango 'chancdsrwhlch holp or mnr tho lives of mon) and , wom.cn, when n sudden sense of shock, a numbness spreading upward through hls Hmbs;'iherJlng-of,rbeum to his oyos, and a humming In his oars announced tho approach of ono mfjthoBO, attacks to which ho had, been HUbjcijt , 'ovir since ho had jboon wounded In a duel somo years before j-V duel In which his present Prlnco and his lato mastor, Karl, tho Minor's son, had both been engaged. " 'TbeA'rabaisodor called for J.orlan In a teeblo voice. That llght-sloflplng soldier1 Immediately answered htm. "Olvo mo my caiio.of .mqdlfloo," SraWldrrthn" lire Mar of rough. SUcslan. lecthe'r. Sol I feel idV WdVataVk,c6nng, urAmmd.' U will be thrco days-lieforo I can stir. Ydf fMt thVo paiifirs'bo pht lri tllo hands of thb Prlnco early tWs morn-Ing.n, morn-Ing.n, tntHotft TnyMltllohfihn; JI' w'as 'fnlnRrny"riBottt,1hori-'hlftl I "mcafl., Vell,Tl ho "shall 'havo' his 'chhnde.'' t . ' Jrii mih6 o'Mty fafce'aflid'twtngo ot 'palh ,c'ailgHt8hlmrItrii)ft8dd an'd' he 'fcs"tfmed'.',, ' ' , ';.?0.-,!Joflan:.no snld. ,'(apjlght upon tj& c'liambqr dobr ',Th"cfo 'Is much to'ordljr ijro at1 Slnd' o'clock' he must adjourn" to 'tho summer'' palaco to meet tho Prlnco." ' 01 Jdrlan"'Vapp6d low.'wlth jn'oro rovet endo thah IH'common,froniA captains' to 'secretaries of legations. At tho sound Johann 'Pyrnidnt clapped" his" hand to tho hip. whore his1 sword sheald have 'been. t ' " ''vHo Is'lherc?" hifBsked. turning abolifVlth' Uech alertness, and W a 'oio hlch(,sceniedeat onctf sw'eetoi a'nd 'moro "com nfan din g. thhn'- e vfen ' the most Impcriolj3''masteKbultder would naturally use 'to' his 'undorllnlssi , ''I Jo'rlanl rtirs'Exfcellcn6y Is taken 8U(iderilys'lir'and Jbadtf 1 me'como torf "y6u." '- J imm,pdlatelVtho seVrotaiyopcned thd,".tloo'rs and in a 'few' seconds stood , ' at.tho'old man's ticdsldq: " " , Hero they talked fow to' ca'dh other; tho' young man. with hls'h'ahd laid tenderly ten-derly on the forchea'd othls'elder. Only their last words concern us at present. . , , "This ,wlll servo tcT beli my busl- "I am secretary of the noble Ambassador Ambas-sador of Plassenburg I" I '' ness and to finish yours. Thereafter tho soonor you return to Kernsbcrg tho hotter. Remember, tho moon cannot can-not long bo Iobou of tho .sky without with-out causing remark." - i In Thq.ounglan tool'Mto Ambasso,-dor' Ambasso,-dor' i'oiper apd wont ot. Dessauer took a" cbmposlnB-'uraught nnd llay back with a sigh. I I t , ' "It Js .lyirabljng,''hsaid to Jorlan,( "that ?t fcomposo .your wits, you mds't do It through tho heart, but In !tbq -caso.of .theold through'tthrj; stomach. ' " 'TIs a strango draught, ho hath gotten," said tho soldiery" Indicating1 tho ,doqr,.byi which, thesecrotary had ,gono forth. "If't'Co not ralsjnkcn', niuch water shall flow linden bHdgo oro his. sickness be cured,"... As soon as ho had' reached "his ojrn. chamber Johann laid tho papers upon tho tablo without glancing at thorn 1 Ho went ngaln to tho window .ani); looked across tho city. , "To-day I shall seo tho PrlncoI'"ho' said. It was exactly nine of tho clock when ho sot out for tho palaco. JIo, was attired In tho plain black dress of a Becrctary, with only tho narrows est corded edgo and collar of rough scrolled gold. " At tho great door of U10 outer pa vlllon ho Intimated his dcslro to. tho ofllcor In chargo of tho guard. (To bo continued.) ' |
