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Show 1 1 WHAT HAPPENED II I AT STARKENFELS I Br 1AFAEL SABATINI I (Copyright, by Joseph 13. Bowles,) Who Is there thut has not heard of the boauty of tho Princess Yola? And who that has henrd will havo difficulty in believing that It was to my heart, f and not to my ambitions, that I fell a victim? For months I worshipped hor from afar, as pious ones worship a Balnt roverontly, ecstatically. Despairing, too, was my lovo for her, realizing that whllo sho was heiress to tho throne of Xlchtcnsteln, I was but one of the minor satellites of tho court. My princess was chosen by tho states of Sachsenberg and L,lchtonstcln to become tho wlfo of King Holnrlch of Sachsenberg. Few wore there at the Court of Vaduz that woro not privy to this, and few whom tho princess' Hat refusal to enter into tho alllanco did not nil with consternation. consterna-tion. She had never seen tho king of I Sachsenberg, and sho openly vowed I that sho never wished to seo him; that 1 she would not be bestowed llko unto a M chattel for purposes of state. I Then did It occur to mo that haply I tho princess had nlrcady given hor heart to nnothcr. Could It bo, I asked H myself, that my ardent glances had B not been In vain? I I will not dwell hero upon details of I our flight; they senrco concern my story. Hut so woll did I contrivo that I in thrco days my mistress sat safe within tho walls of. her castle of Stark- cnfels. Wo were proparcd for a H siege, and I had victualled tho placo H so that a scoro of peoplo might hold H out for a year, if need bo. H On tho eighth day of our coming to BJ Starkenfels I held parley with one who BJ rodo up in hot hasto to tho very edge H of tho moat. I From tho battlements I Inquired on BJ what errand he was come, and In nn- swor ho pompously announced that his I ,buslness was with tho Princess Yola of Llchtcnsteln. Then thero came tho rustle of a gown besldo mo, nnd the I princess was at my elbow, gazing I down upon that leather-clad clown. "Who Is this, Gerlsteln?" H "I know not, madame. It pleasos BJ blm to be mysterious." H "But ho Is wounded!" she cried, a BJ look of pity glorifying her matchless H eyes. "And you leave him at tho gate?" H The graceless dog, perceiving her, doffed his grey beaver, decked by a LI broken gooso quill, disclosing a faco BB that was vary pale. Hj "Lady," ho began, then stopped ab- Hj ruptly. Tne hat fluttered from his HJ grasp; hn Hank forward upon tho V withers of his horse, then rolling from HJ ji tho saddle, lay inert upon tho turf. HJ "Sco to him, my lord," tho princess HE cried. "Ho has fainted. Havo him HJ brought Into tho castle." The wound was a mero scratch, BB though much blood had flowed, as his J sodden slcovo bore witness. With her J own kerchief sho bound It up. J "Poor lad," sho murmured, "he hath BB lost much blood." HJ As sho spoko ho stirred; a sigh cs- BB caped him, nnd ho opened IiIb eyes, to BB find the princess mirrored In them. BB Then from thoso oyos of his thero HJ flashed with returning consciousness BB a look of such wonder and bold ad BB miration that my lady's dignity was HJ aroused by It. BB My lady's brow grow dark, and D stern her eye. "Come you on bohnlf of King Holn- H "Nay, your highness, on my own, V and a sorry traitor do I hold myself. V Yet, madame, that which Is a foot BB seemeth to me so foul a thing that I BB bad no longer esteemed myself n gen- BB tleman had I, Anthony Von Turgen, H not rluden to warn you." B "What is this warning that keeps B C you a gentleman yet makes you a B J traitor?" B "Lady, tho prince, your father, ac- B companlcd by tho king of Sachsonberg, BJ is on his way hither with a thousand B men." H Thero was a moment's pauso, and B whlto grow tho Princess Yola'a cheeks. B "But despair not, lady. You may IB yot cscapo, leaving your castlo gar- B rlaonod. Did your men hold out for a B month, and then surrender tho empty BH nost to tho prince. Dut, lady, you must BE hasten, for he draws near!" H Yola put her hand to hor heart, nnd BB looked about her with eyes that for a IBB momont told of fear. Then HJ "Hem will I remain," she said, "un- IHj til thciio tyrants shall havo starved uB me. Do you savo yourself, sir, and B tako with you my thanks for your BB noble effort." B At the princess' command n fresh B horso was brought him. In this thero was some delay, and when at last he BB! was mounted it was too lato. Tho prince's force was within a con pi o of hundred yards, and I could not sane-uon sane-uon tho lowering of tho bridge. With a careless laugh Von Turgen BMfc dismounted and flung the reliiB to a BB' servant. HJ For a month sat tho Prince of I.lcht- " ' ensteln and tho King of Sachsenberg Ml besieging us, and In my whole life 1 BE can recall no other month In which I Hj suffered half so much. jHj Gradually, almost Imperceptibly, 9Bf that vllo rufller out of Sachsenberg fjfi for such I ever havo, and over shall H hold, blm to be wormed hlmsolf by n raff scoro of wiles Into the good graces of flt my princess. Gradually, by vlrtuo of V the favor sho showed him weak, shal- B low woman that sho was nnd his BB knowledge of tho conrso trado of war, BBj he had tendered himself, the command- sr of our garrison. Ho reorganized our defenses and tho husbanding of our 'resources, until tho soldiers came to look to htm for orders, and less and less to me. All this I might have endured had it not been for tho daily increasing favor shown this leathor-clnd soldier of fortune for-tune by the prlncoss! I witnessed this, the growing coldness wherewith sho treated me, and tho Indlttorence she betrayed for Uioso verses of mlno to which a little whllo ago sho had lent so ready an ear, and I cursed tho day I had suggested Starkenfels to her! Dut I was little prepared for that which I chanced to overhear between them ono evening when tho siege was a month old. Chancing to hear their voices, heralding their approach, I slipped behind tho dais that stood at tho further end of tho hall, Pcrchanct you who read these lines will desplst mo for nn eavesdropper; bethink you. though, how much I had nt stake. "Helgh-ho!" sho sighed, "wo shall all dlo hero together." "To live and die, princess, bcslda 7ou," ho answered, passionately, "Is th greatest good heaven may send me." "How so?" sho asked, faintly. "Bccnuso," ho began; then paused as ono In fear. "Because?" she murmured. "Lady, becauso I lovo you," ho whispered, whis-pered, and faintly I caught her answering an-swering whisper: "As I lovo you." Amazement and disgust ineffablo sank Into my soul together with those words. "You love me!" ho cried, a great "BECAUSE!" wonder in his voice as well thero might bo "me, a simple soldier." "I caro not who or what you are. I know you to be bravo nnd honorablo and true. Becauso of this, and becauso becauso forsooth you are such as you are I lovo you." "Yola!" So groat a Joy was in his, voice that It had almost tho ring of pain. Ho urged her with an effrontory that turned mo sick with rago to wed him in that very castle. Thero was Ansclm, tho priest ho would perform tho ceremony as soon as might be. But as I stepped from behind tho dais when they departed I registered a vow to scorch forever If I thwarted not these nuptials. In tho evening the wedding took plnco in tho great HIttorsaal. The Inmates In-mates of tho castlo woro all thero assembled, as-sembled, with the oxceptlon of one sentry and myself. Thut sentry with my dagger at his throat I caiiBed tc throw down his partisan. Then by dint of threats and promises I played upon his feelings, his hopes and his fears until ho consented to help mo lower tho bridge. Across it inarched as softly as they might somo twoscoro troopers of tho prince's army, headed by a young ofll-cor. ofll-cor. I placed myself besldo him and led tho way to tho HIttorsaal, without waiting for speech with his highness, slnco tlmo pressed. Very palo, yet calm, tho princess stood beneath tho dais, and besldo her swashbuckling bridegroom. "Lay down your nrms, my friends," she commanded, quietly. My hour was como. "So, pretty lady," quoth I from the doorway, "niosecms I havo discharged my dobt. You wero bold enough but yoBtorday; wo shall seo If that boldness bold-ness shall avail you when presontly your swashbuckler Is strung up without." with-out." "Fear not, sweet mistress," cried von Turgen, supporting hor with hla ami. "Tho treacheroua dog lies." "Say you so?" I mocked him. "Hero cornea ono who wjll prove it otherwise tho king!" I stood aside, and across tho threshold thresh-old thero stopped a very courtly figure, followed by two attendants. To my horror and the amuzemont of all present, pres-ent, ho fell upon ono knoo before tho stalwart, soldier of fortuno, and: "God savo your majesty!" ho cried. "Why havo you tricked me thus? Why this deceit?" cried tho Prlncoss Yola. "You would not listen to my suit, although you knew mo not," he answered, an-swered, "and becauso of it I came hither to woo you as a simple soldlor of fortuno, and had I fnllod, Yola, I swear that I should havo doparted aB 1 came, and the slego had boon ended!" She smiled upon him, tears In her eyes, nnd ns I looked I grit my toeth nnd colled mysolf a fool a dozon times. Then, holding out hor hand' to him: "Holnrlch!" she murmured, nnd he understood. "Let tho cerornoriy proceed, father," ho laiighod, turning to the monk. This Is tho truo- relation of whit happened at Starkenfels, and this ii tho truo motive of my retirement fro the Court of Vaduz, |