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Show I J m (Lu)rl(ht lll HI) l It vK-tl CHAPTER XXIII I , Prince Waip Btlnga I Margaret did not nnawer her tor mentor k taunt Her nrroe were nliout Maurice neck and her lip U with tear, Bought lil In n last kl The ameer of the Prince guard, touched her on the shoulder Sho ihook hliu haughtily S and then having com pleted her farewell she loosened her handa and went alowly backward toward to-ward the further end of the hall with her o;c mt 111 upon the wan he lorod '80" cried Prince Louis, In the I curiously uneven olce of ft coward lashing hlranelf Into a furr. ' ou have played out Jour treachcr upon a reigning Prince of Courlland ott cheated mo at Caatlo Kcrnsberg )ou havo marto me a laughingstock throughout tho empire ou hae shamed a maiden of my house, my l ter. tho daughter of my father What havo you to aay ere I order ou to he flung out from the hattlemanta of the I western tower? Oentlcmin nnd Princes' Maurice von Lynar answered 'that which I havo done I have done for tho ako of my mlitrem the tad) Joan and I am not afraid Prince Inula It was her will and Intent neer to come to Courttand aa jour wlfi She would rot havo hcen taken alive It was therefore tho dut of her aorvanta to prcacrvo her life and I offered mjaelf In her atead .Mj life waa hera al ready, for ahe ha I preserved It 8ht bad given It wna hera to take With tho chief cotalna of Kcrnsberg I plotted that alio should 1o aclied and carried to a place of rcfugo wherein no foe could over find her There ahe nhldea with chosen men to guard her I look her placo and wna delivered up that Kernaherg might he cleared of It enemies Gladly I came that I might ny n llttlo of m) debt to in) not rnn lad) nnd llcgo mistress Joan Duchess of Kernaherg and Hohen tcln " Nohl perorated' cried Prince 1 Ivan, clapping lil hands Illgbt ao norously ended Hut llaten Sir Mum mer. In all thla there I no word of ' tho Princes Margaret I low come It i that )ou loudly proclaim having given ! jouraolt a noble aacrlflce for one fair lady, when at the same time )o are accrotly married to another? Are yoa a deliverer of ladloa b) wholesale? Speak to thl point Let us hnvo an other nohlo period Its aubject ray affl nnced brldo Already wo havo heard -. L of jour high devotion to Prince tauls -.ill wjr..Av.vl nsstr '! , fromtwbjjru,hgUpodiJiflhlli4 tho itti "crossed SwordaWhcr gilaratT ' 1 ' That I will nniwer I am a woman HI and weak In, your handa prlneea both 1 You havo act tho graap of rudo men ntarma upon tho wrltta of n Princess , of Cnurtlnnd Hut jou can never com pel her soul Ilrotber I outa, my father lft committed mo to jou aa n llttlo child K havo I not been a loving nnd faith-ftl faith-ftl fill (later to jou? And till till Musco-ij Musco-ij vlto camo between were jou not good B (0 mo? Wherefore havo jou changed? Dj Wh) baa bo made jou cruel to jour Si llttlo Margaret?' B ' Prince tauls turned towards hla fj sister, moving hla handa uncertainly I and ccn dcprccatlnglj I Ivan Hinted qulcklj to hla aldo and 5 whtai ercd something, which rekindled Eg tho light of anger In tho weakling a B "ou aro no ulster of mine," be ft ald; "you havn disgraced jour family B and joursolf Whether It bo true or 1 not that jou aro married to this man I matter llttlo! ' R 'It la true, I do not He!" sold Mar- B garct, recovering herself n ' It la tho worse, thin, and bo shall "You are no alster of mine" Buffer for It At least I can hide I cannot prevent jour shamo' 'I will never give him up nothing on onrth thall art our love Prince Ivan anillod swcellj turning to where ahe stood at the end of tho l ball Sweet Prlncoas," ho aald 'dlvorco la, I understand, contrarj to jour holy Itoman faith Hut In mj land wo have i discovered a readier way than any papal bull He good enough to ob-atrvo ob-atrvo this' ho held a dagger In hla hand ' It I a little blade of ateel, but a span long, and narrow aa one of your dainty finger yet It will divorce tho beat married pair In tho world ' Hut neither dagger nor the hate of enemies can aavor love ' Margaret an awered proudl) 'ou may alay ray husband but bo la mine still You cannot twain our souls 1 Tl I'rlrc nhrugged his shoulder and opened hi palm deprecating!) Ma mn he said I shall I e tails fled with twalnlng jour bodies In holy Riianla we are plain men Wc have 1 ialtiK So urn litHi ever seen a aoiil tat he body conlent jou When this gentleman Is what I shall make htm be l welcome to anj rom miinlnn f apltlta to which he can a tain with you I promise jou that m far a he Is concerned jou shall And in" neither exigent lover nor Jealoiif husband' And the Prince of Muscovj laughed loud and long Hut Prince taiil did not taugh Ills eje glared iion tin prisoner like those of a wild bwnst caught In a corner when It wlshe to flee hut cannot lie shall die this da) shall Ik. his last I swear It' he cried He hath mockod me and I will tla) him will my han I ' lie drew the dagger from his belt Hut In the center of the ball tin Spnrhawk slo.nl o still and quiet that Prince tauls hesitated Ivan laid 11 soft hand upon his wrlat and as gentl) drew the dagger out of his grasp Nnj ni) Prince ho will glva him a worthier passing than that So noble no-ble a knight-errant must die no com mou death What a) jou to the 1'kr.ilne Cross the Cross of Steeda? I have hen1 four horses alt wild from the steppe Thla squlro of damea thl woman mummer hath aa now wr know four sen rnl limbs II) n strange coincidence I havo n wild horao for each of these Let limbs nnd steeds be severally attached, my Cossacks know bow Upon each flank let the lash be laid and well tho Prlnccaa Margaret Is welcome to her llcgo lord soul I warrant alio will not dealro hi bodj any more At this Margaret tottered, her knee giving way beneath her, so that her guards stood nearer to catch her If ahe should fall ' I.ouls 111) brother ' alio cried, ' do not llaten to the monster Kill mj husband If jou will hecnuso I love him Hut do not torture him Hy the last word of our mother by the memnr) of our father b) )our faith In the MiMt PJtlful Son of flod. I charge you do not this devilry" Prince Ivan did not give tauls of Courtlan 1 time to repl) to his alater appeal The most noble Princess mistakes he murmured suavel) 'Death by the Cross of Steeda la no torture It Is the easiest of death I havo wit nesscil It ften In my country It Is reserved for lhu RjrjAUit and ip'! dls JinRUHnMm'MBnmmnMirainnbfliMiiiv Thp Crhf pi alcudi, but uufc whoso prfbfirf toWT;reatl) w'o will show you tomorrow on tho plain across the river that I apeak tho truth It la a nohlo eight and nil Courtland shall bo there What sa jou, Louie' Shalt thla aprlngald aeot himself In j our prlncelj chnlr or shall wo try the Croa of the Ukraine?' 'Have It jour own way, Prince Ivan' aald tauls and went nut with out another word Tho Muscovlto stood n moment looking from Maurlco to Margaret and back again Mo waa smiling hla Inscrulablo Oriental smll 'Let the Prlnctsa pass" he cried The guard dropped their aworda to their aldea Instantly the Pilnceaa Margaret ran forward wlili eager appeal on her face She dropped on her knees beforo tho Prince of Muscovy and clasped her hands In supplication ' Prlnco Ivan " sho aald, ' I pray jou for tho love of Ood to sparo htm, to let htm go I promise nover to ico htm more I will go to a nunnery. I will look no more upon tho face of day ' That, ahovo all thl I cannot al low," aald tho Prince ' Ho fair a face must see many suns soon, I trust, In Moscow and by my aide" 'Margaret,' aald tho Sporhawk, 'It la useless to plead. Do not abaao your aelf In tho presence of our enemj. ou cannot touch n man'a heart when hla breast covers a ptonc Hid mo good by and be bravo Tho time will not be long" Mko a child after Its bcdsldo prayer she lifted up lur faco to bo kissed flood night Maurice," sho aald, simply ' Wait for mo, I shall not be long after'" Sho laid her brow n moment on hla breast Thin alio lifted her head and walked slowly and proudly out of tho hall Tho guard fell In behind her and Maurice von Ljnar was left alono with tho Prlnco of Muscovy Aa the door closed upon tho Prln ceas a sudden dullish grimace otfurj distorted the countinanco of tho Prlnco Ivan Hitherto ho had been stullousl) and oven carcaslngl) cour teous Hut now he atrodo swiftly up to bla captive and araoto him acroaa tho mouth with the back of hla gaunt leted hand "That' h aald furiously, that for the Up which have kissed hera Tomorrow To-morrow I will pa) the rest of my debt et I will pa) It '.'itli usury thereto! there-to! ' A thin thread of acarlct allowed upon the white of Maurlco von Ljnar a chin and trickled elowly downwards Dut ho uttered no word Only bo looked hla enemy very atralghtly In tho e) and those of the Muscovite dropped before Utat manful regard CHAPTER XXIV. The Ukraine Cross Upon the green plain besldo tho Alia a great mulilttide was assembled. f i) Thoy had come together to w!tneH sight never seen In Courtland b the dread punishment of the UkrPI' Croa It was to be done they (111 upon the holy of the handsome joihj. with whom the Princes Margaret wjj In love aorae even whispered marrfja to him B Al ten b great green aqunre of rlvir-side rlvir-side grass wn held bj the archersjo' Courtland The people extended i far back aa the shrine of the lrgg where at the ell) cutronco travelers wero wont to give thank for a favo ihle Journey At eUven tho lanccstH Prince Ivan a toack weio seen tipping tip-ping the city wall On tho high bit of the Alln the peo1 wero cranlff their neck nnd looking over crfth other shoulder II Through the lane hj which tho alia communicated with tho tapeetrlrf aland net apart for tho greater epect lore the Prince Ixiula and Ivan, fpl 1111I knave servant an 1 maaler, took their wnj nd they had acarco passfd "The Ukraine crosa. when tho peo le, mutinous and sllcnU surged back behind tho archcra' guard! Hack there aland hackl Way M their cxcollenclce wny!" 'Stand back joursolven," camo ' is growling nnan er ' W o bo free men of Courtland al will And us no M is covlto serfs, and that or tho da) is done Karl Wtndelln, think ilium thou that art my alstor'e on tola aiding nnd abetting such hcathp crueltj to a Christian man, all 11 t jou ma) cat n great men a meat a 1 wear a Jerkin purflcd with gold" Thus angrll) ran tho taunt nnd Jc , till tho Courlland guard, mostly you : fellows with relatives and awielheni 1 among tho crowd grow woll nigh fn 1 tic with rage nnd shame Seojonder! What aro they dole Peter AHraaar what aro tbey dole Tell ua, long man' Of what Van reach down black puddings frvm tha rafters? ' At thla all cje turned to Peter, a lanky, overgrown lad with a keen eye, a woak mouth and the gift of words They aro bringing up four hones from tho Muscovlto camp Tbo folk are getting aa far off na tbey can fi im their heels ' began Peter Altrm tr, looking under hla hand over the 1 o-plo'a o-plo'a heada Half n acoro of men r nt each brute head How t y plunge! The) will never aland stl I a moment Ah, they aro tethering thStn to tho four great poeta of atono In ho mlddlo of tho green aquare Uctwtfn, thero la a tnblo no a wooden equiro stand like a priest 1 platform In lit, when ho tells ua our atna outsldo rbo church ' "Tho Prlneea are sitting their honea watching Ilravo, that was well dose Wo camo near to seeing tbo colorjot tho Muscovlto brains that tlmo One of the wild horses spread hla hoifa on cither aldo of Prlnco Ivan' hoaajl" 'Clod send him a better aim nsit time! Tell on, Patorl Aje, go in, good Peter!" (To bo continued ) |
