OCR Text |
Show The Princess Elopes By HAROLD McGRATH Author of "Tho Mr on tho Doi," "Hearts and Masks." Eto. (Oopjrlnht, loos. Uobbi-McrrlUCuJ SYN0P8I3. Tho American consul to llnrncliclt, u principality of Kuropo. telln how tho rclRiiliiK Krnmt iluko hnd tried to Unci n hUHbuml Tor his rebellious niece, tho Princess ItllilpRiirde, lltmlly decreeing that sho wed tho I'rlnco of Doppolklnn, nn UKly old widower, ruler of tho nclKh-boring nclKh-boring principality. Though ho hnd bean In tho country for six months tho American Amer-ican consul had never scon tho prlncesH. Whllo horseback riding In tho country night overtakes him. and ho seeks accommodation accom-modation In n dilapidated old cnstlc. Whllo Becking admission ho Is startled by n bountiful volro breaking Into song. Thn placo Is Inhabited by two young women and nn old servitor. They glvo him food for himself nnd horsa on condition condi-tion that he leave within nn hour. They lire seemingly bent on a secret uscapado of somo kind with ono Btelnbock. CHAPTER II. Continued. Tho other well, I couldn't help It. It was Klsniot, fate, tho turn In tho road, what you will. I fell heels ovor head In lovo with her at once. Eyes sho had as bluo ns tho ;Kgenn sea on windy days, bluo as tho cloud-winnowed cloud-winnowed sky of a winter's twilight, bluo as sapphires Irish cycsl Her halt' was as dark and silken as a plumo from tho wings of night. (Did I not say that I had somo poetry in my system?) sys-tem?) Tho Bhnpo of her mouth Never mind; I cm recall only tho mad deslro to kiss It. A graceful figure, n proud head, a slender hand, a foot bo small that I wondered It It really poised, balanced or supported her young body. Tender sho must bo, nnd loving, enclltlcal rather than erect llko her authorltatlvo companion. Sha was adorable. All this Inventory of feminine charms was taken by furtlvo 'glances, sometimes some-times caught or woro they taking nn Inventory of myself? Presently my appotlto became sltjgularly submissive. submis-sive. Hunger often is satisfied by tho feeding of tho eyes. I dropped my napkin on tho tablo and pushed back my chair. My hostesses ceased conversing. con-versing. "Ladles," said I courteously, "I offer of-fer you my sincere apologies for this Innocent Intrusion." I looked at my watch. "I bollevo that you gavo mo an hour's respite. So, then, I havo 30 minutes to my account." Tho women gazed nt each other. Ono laughed, and tho other smiled; It was tho English girl who laughed this time. I liked tho sound of It bettor than nny I had yet heard. (Pardon another parenthesis. I hopo you haven't begun to think I am tho horo of this comedy. Let it bo furthest from your thoughts. I am only a pnsslvo bystander.) 'T 8lncoroly trust that your hunger Is appensed," said tho ono who had smiled. "It is, thank you." I nbBently fumbled fum-bled in my coat pockots, then guiltily dropped my hnnds. What a terrible thing habit Is! "You may smoke," said tho Bou-guercau Bou-guercau child who was grown Into womnnhood. Wasn't that lino of hor? And wnsn't It rather obsorvant, too? I learned later that sho had a brothor who was fond of tobacco. To hor eyes my movement was n familiar ono. "With your kind permission," said I gratefully. I hadn't had a smoko In four hours. I owned a slnglo good clgnr, tho Inst of my Importation. I lighted It nnd blow forth a snowy billow of heavenly nromn. I know something nbout human hu-man nature, oven tho feminine sldo of It. A presentable young man with n roll of aromatic tobacco seldom fulls to win tho conlldenco of those- about him. With that cloud of smoko tho raw edgo of formnllty smoothed down. "Hnd you nny particular destination?" destina-tion?" nskod Qrotchon. "Nono at all. Tho road took my fancy, nnd I simply followed It." "Ah! that Is ono of tho pleasures of riding to go whorover tho Inclination bids. I rido." Wo woro getting on famously. ' "Do you take long Journoys?" I inquired, in-quired, "Often. It is tho most exhilarating of sports," Bald tho Enchantment. "Tho scenery changes; thero aro so many things that charm and engngo your Interest; tho mountains, tho waterways, wa-terways, tho old ruins. Havo you over whistled to tho horses nflold and watched them como galloping down to tho wall? It Is flno. In England" Hut her mouth closed suddenly, Sho was talking to a Btrnngor. I lovo ontliusIftBiii In a woman. It colors hor chcoks and makes hor eyes sparklo. I grow a bit bolder. "I heard a wondorful volco as I np-proached np-proached the castlo," said I, (Jretchen shrugged. "I haven't heard its equal outside Berlin or Paris," I went on. "Paris?" said Qrotchen, laying a neat llttlo trap for mo into which my conceit was soon to tumblo me. "Paris la a marvelous city," "Thcro Is no city to equal It. Inasmuch Inas-much as wo thrco shall never meet again, will you not do mo tho honor to repeat that Jowol song from Faust?" My audacity did not Impress her In tho least. "You can scarcely expect mo to glvo a Biipper to n strnnger nnd then sing for him, besides," sold Qrotchen, n chill again Btenllng Into hor tones. "Theso Amerlcnns!" sho observed to her companion in French. I laid asldo my cigar, approached tho piano, nnd sat down. I struck a few chords nnd foundftho instrument to bo in remnrkablo good order. I played n Chopin "Polonaise," I tinkled Grieg's "Pnplllon," then I censed. "That Is to pay for my supper," I explained. Next I played Lo Courier, and when I had finished thnt I turned again, rising. ris-ing. "Thnt is to pay for my horse's suppor," sup-por," I said. Qrctchcn's good humor returned. "Whoever you are, sir," her tone no longer repellent, "you nro amusing. Pray, toll us whom wo havo tho honor to entertain?" "I haven't tho vaguest Idea who my hostess Is," evasively. "It is qulto out of tho question. You nro tho Intruder." "Call mo Mr. Intruder, then," snld I. It was, you will agree, a novel adventure. ad-venture. I was beginning to enjoy It hugely. "Who do you suppose this follow Is?" Qrotchen asked. "Ho says, ho Is nn American, and 1 bellovo ho Is. What Americans nro In Barschclt?" "I know of nono nt nil. What shall wo do to got rid of him?" All this was .carried on with unstudied un-studied rudeness. Thoy wero womon of high and noblo quality; and as I was an Interloper, I could take no exception ex-ception to a conversation In a lan- mo? If I Ieavo tho latches down, tlyit is duo to tho fact that I havo no ono to fear. Now, sir, you havo enten tho bread of my table, nnd I demand to know who you nro. If you do not tell mo nt once, I shall bo forced to confine con-fine you hero till I am ready to leave." "Confine mo!" nonplussed. This wns moro than I had reckoned on. "Yes." Sho renched out to strike tho gong. (I can not bo blamed for surrendering so tamely. I didn't know that tho old sorvitor was tho only man around.) "I nm tho American consul nt IlnrBchclt." Tho two women drow togothor Instinctively, In-stinctively, as If ono desired to protect pro-tect tho othor from somo unknown calamity. What tho douco was it all about? All at onco Qrotchen thrust aside her friend and approached. Tho tablo was between us, and sho rested hor hands upon It. Our glances mot nnd clashed. "Did tho duko send you horo?" sho demanded ropollently. "Tho duko?" I was getting decpor thnn over. "Tho duko?" "Yes. I am tho Princess Hlldcgardo." CHAPTER ill. Tho Princess Hlldcgardo of Bar-scholt! Bar-scholt! My gloves and riding-crop slipped from my nerveless fingers to tho floor. A numbing, wilting sensation sensa-tion wrinkled my spine. Tho Princess Hlldcgardo of Baschelt! Sho Btood opposlto mo, tho woman oupht I not to sny girl? for whom I had been socking, after a fashion, all theso months i Tho beautiful madcap who took tho duchy by tho earn, every now nnd then, nnd tweaked them! Tho princess herself, horo In this lonely old cnstlo Into which I had so carelessly care-lessly stumbled! Ilomnnco, enclinnt-mont! enclinnt-mont! Oddly enough, tho plcturo of her riding n blcyclo flashed through my bra'ji, and this was followed by "'Walt!' 8he Commanded." guago I had stated I did not understand. under-stand. If thoy woro rudo, I had acted In a manner unbecoming a gentleman. Still, I was somewhat on tho defensive. defen-sive. I took out my watch. My hour was up. "I regret that I must bo off," I said ruefully. "It Is much pleasantor hero than on tho road." "I can not itsk you to remain hero. You will find tho Inn a very comfort-ablo comfort-ablo placo for tho night," was Crotch-en's Crotch-en's suggestion. "Hoforo I go, may I ask in what mannor I might servo as n witness?" Ero tho words had fully crossed my lips I recognized that my smartnoss had caused mo to commit nn unpnr-donablo unpnr-donablo blunder for a man who wlsked to show up woll in nn ndvonturo of this Bort. (But fnto had a hand In it. us presently you shall seo.) Qrotchen laughed, but tho sound was harsh nnd metallic. Sho turned to her companion, who was staring nt mo with Btnrtlcd oyes. "What did I tell you? You can not toll a gentleman In tho candle-light." To mo sho said: "I thought ns much. You havo heard Kaust In Paris, but you know nothing of tho Fronch.lan-gunge. Fronch.lan-gunge. You claimed to bo a gontlc-man, gontlc-man, yet you havo permitted us to convorso in French." "Was it pollto of you to uso It?" I asked. "All this," with a wavo of tho hand, "nppenrs mystorlous. This Is not a resldenco ono would expect to And inhabited and by two charming women!" I bowed. "Your presonco hero Is oven loss satisfactorily ox-plained ox-plained than mine. If I denied tho knowlcdgo of French it was because I waen't suro of my surroundings. It wns dono In self-defense rather than In tho deslro to play a trick. And in this langungo you speak of witnesses, of papers, of tho coming of a mnn you dn not trust. It looks very much llko a conspiracy," I gathered up my glovos and ridlngcrop. I beliovcd that I had extricated myself rathor woll. "This Is my castlo," said Qrotchon, gontly shaking oft tho wanting hand of her companion. "If I deslro to occupy oc-cupy It for a nlyht, who shall gainsay nnother, equally engaging, of tho hussar hus-sar who rodo cross-country, to tho horror of tho conservatlvo olcmont at court. "Tho Princess Hlldcgardo!" I murmured mur-mured stupidly. "Yes. I havo asked you a question, sir. Or shall I put tho question in French?" Ironically. "Was it tho duko who sent you horo?" Thcro was a look In her suporb oyes which told mo that It would have been to her inflnlto plcnsuro to run n sword through my black and villainous vil-lainous henrt. Presently I recoyercd. "Your highness, what tho douco has tho duko to do with my affairs, or I with his? Ab an American, you would scarcely expect mo to modtllo with your private affairs. You aro tho last person in tho world I thought to moot this night. I represent tho United Stntes in this country, nnd though I nm Inordinately young, I havo acquired ac-quired tho habit of attending to ray own nffalrs." From tho nngry faco In front of mt I turned to tho dismayed fnco boyond. Thero must havo been a question In my glanco. Tho young woman drow herself up proudly. "I am tho Honornblo Dotty Moore." (Tho princess' schoolmato in England!) Eng-land!) Her highness stood biting tho knucklo of a forefinger, undecided as to what path of action to enter, to reach a satisfactory ond, My very rudeness convinced hor moro thnn anything clso that I spoko tho truth. "How, then, did you soloct this particular par-ticular road?" still ontortalnlng somo doubt. "It Is a highway, freo to all, But I havo already explained that," I answered an-swered quietly. I movod deliberately toward tho door, but with a cat-llko movement sho sprang In front of rao. "Woll, your highness?" "Walt!" sho commandod, oxtondlng an authorltatlvo arm (lovoly, too!), "Slnco you nro hero, and slnco you know who I nm, you must remain," "Must?" I repeated, taken aback. (TO OB CONTINUED.) |