Show the red line trail T 91 I 1 by 09 crittenden MARRIOTT coryll W 0 oremia CHAPTER continued 20 1 I I 1 mrs MM Arch mana ManS e teg widened and her lips quivered ohl oh I 1 what shall I 1 say she cried you dont arnow mow you dont understand ive got to tell you she went on desperately pera tely nellie my own daughter though I 1 love her as if she w were em sho bhe abo nellie 1 your father told you anything I 1 nellies lips were white my father she echoed who la Is my father 1 I cant tell you henry never told me it hla his secret but I 1 inspect 1 I suspect 1 I do too nellie nodded slowly 1 ive I vo suspected for some time father said something mr dorth said more and captain but got nothing to do with jim she stretched out her hand to the yang young man mad well let it go for the present but rat fm going to marry jim come on I 1 want to see the scene of the fight von van kull shook his bis shoulders as it if tossing off some heavy load come along then he sold said but prepare yourself I 1 guess sumo of the mu tinkers are pretty badly wounded the sight wont be a very pretty one every aver one or of the women caught her breath ohl oh I 1 how wicked of met me I 1 gasped nellie 11 1 I 1 I dicent realize that men were dying out there we must try to help the debris of the fight was being rapidly cleared away halt half a dozen dead were laid out on the banks but nearly all the prisoners both those who were wounded and those who were not had been put into the boats under guard ready to be sent out to the destroyer only price remained on shore re watched by two sentinels clearly he be was being reserved for some particular fate but he be met nellies eyes undauntedly daunt edly as the party passed near him well I 1 you beat me he grit ted going to string me up out of hand I 1 reckon nellie stepped back uncertainty uncertainly im im sorry she said eald faintly you aint got any ally cause to be corry returned the man grimly 1 I was going to do for you all right and for all the rest of your folks too and id ha ba done it if it been for these danes D n leml deml what on earth brings a danish destroyer over here anyway I 1 wish I 1 could get some more of em I 1 croak his eye followed Strind bergs form maliciously as the latter passed t to 0 and fro directing the movements of his men say lady he went on 1 I dont bear you no malice I 1 dont bear none of your crowd no malice its only those crazy danes butting in where they aint got no business I 1 dont bear you no malice and ill tell you something that there woman s playing dirt on you he gestured toward miss denslow 1 I reckon ashes the one that did that signaling anyway ashes disguised and for a moment the man glared at miss denslow then his bis hand shot out and caught chught at her ber white hair the guards caught at him but they were too late the hair came away exposing beneath it a pile of closely bound chestnut locks that crowned a face that had suddenly become twenty years younger unger vo As AB miss Den denslow shrank back with a cry drowned in a chorus of exclamations price burst out into a cackling laugh 1 I thought so he cried youre edith grant no she efie young aichman sprang to the girls side aide ashes edith aichman Arc hman well ill be banged bunged 1 the exclamation cla mation came from van kull hull who was staring at the girl la in amazement 1 11 I thought you looked famili familiar Lr but I 1 never saw you clearly since J nellie broke in yeal I 1 remember 1 she exclaimed you were at miss grunts grants cottage that night YOU yon knew her J knew her of course I 1 knew her berl I 1 ashes my sister edith van kull she wanted to be an actress and father have it and so 10 she aha went ahead on her own well I 1 guess over now congratulate you brother in law ile he held out his hand to harry aichman Arc hman lord george stepped forward way may I 1 also offer good wishes he be asked then as edith took his hand he turned to the others 1 I had the pleasure of seeing miss grant granter er lira aichman on the stage onca once he said bald 1 I recognized her on the el aitto and I 1 quite understands dont you yon know mrs aichman had bad stood bewildered for or a moment but bat as edith turned toward her with trembling lips she be suddenly reached out her anna therel there 1 therel there I 1 dearl she ehe cried ifa all right it matter who you jou are or what jou are ara youve been beem tha dearest girl in the world to me cin on it athla trip tm rm glad that harry has got you I 1 and I 1 am tool too I 1 bess held out her hand nut but I 1 hope youre not going to stop atop being ray my governess of course we really begun les lea sons bona yet but she broke off with a shriek captain had come com a up behind lord george just as he reached the party price who was still waiting under guard a few feet away snatched a pistol from the belt bof of one of his watchers and fired point blank at now ive got you you d n butter tal in I 1 be yelled As AB ho he pulled the trigger the other guard struck at him and the bullet went wild out but it did not miss altogether lord george whirled ii half alf around and staggered back clapping his hand band to his left lef it arm before he could fall bess caught him hes killed 1 ohl oh I 1 my G dl iles hes killed she shrieked her tones tonea told a story all their own lord george read it catlike he caught his footing not a blooming bit of it bess he said the rhe beggar only got me through the arm what for half a second he hesitated then before them all he be kissed her squarely on the lips As aa ho he did so BO aichman ran up heyl hey I 1 this ho he cried all this mean bess bega at him dont swear kopsi she counseled innocently save your cuss cusa words youve got worse shocks than this she glanced at edith ond and then at nellie however we wont talk about that now just shake hands with lord george and but broke in while the others talked he had been acting crimson with rage lie he had bad sprung toward the guards who too late had fallen upon price like thunderbolts fools I 1 dolts bolts I 1 blockheads blackheads Block heads I 1 lie he cried then he spun round on his lieutenant who came running up take that man out of sight and hang hita him to the nearest tree treel I 1 he ordered the lieutenant saluted gave a n brisk order and the men closed in around price and marched him away up the slope of tho the ravine then the captain broke in on bess words mr aichman Arc hman he ordered sharply be good enough to lead me ma to his high bess uess besal I 1 in front of the building aichman halted friends all he said captain Strind bergi the time has come to lift a curtain that fell more than twenty years ago when one whose name I 1 will not mention even now quit his great place in the world to marry the woman of his cholm choice he galled away with her to conceal himself so that he might uve live in democratic cratic freedom from the restrictions restrict lona that hedge about a court here he came and here he has lived since and here his bis wife Is burled buried he did not live idly he had already won a reputation for chemical research and hero here he broadened and expanded his knowledge he called to his aid the beat and gases that alone survived of the mighty forces that once filled this placa many inventions vent ven tlona ions he made and marketed through me his servant many secrets of nature he discovered among others the secret of the li diamond amond one lot of diamonds he made and sent to me by the hands of his servant morbach most of you yon know how morbach was waa robbed and murdered I 1 do not know whether the criminal has been discovered P not the murderer father it was nellie who interrupted but thu tho man henry harrlson harrison who picked mr morbach AI up after the auto accident has confused confes ed that thai he came back to miss alias grants cottage in disguise and got the map and the diamonds from mr morbach later he shipped on board the el rio under the name of price and led the mutiny humph I 1 that er explains plains much I 1 I 1 will say here that his highness has made no more diamonds and will make no more mom the secret Is lost and now perhaps captain will explain why he be seeks his highness why he has sought him so desperately that he be or his friends corrupted my secretary and bribed him to play traitor Ak akin inThe the exclamation came from all yest akin was the traitor 1 I suspected him before I 1 left new york but I 1 thought that once I 1 had bad gotten away he would be ham camless less but captain bunker and I 1 tire are now flow satisfied that it was he who signaled to the e pursuing ship and aichman coke broke off 1 I will ask captain to remove him from the el rio he turned to the officer captain he finished perhaps you will explain the captain shrugged hla his phou his EUs highness is needed in denmark he said our secret service know he would be needed sooner or later and when he disappeared we tried to find him little by little we picked up the trall we learned of A ft and of 1902 fortach ch and ot of the existence of children his eyes wandered to nellie anti and now wo have bave found him in the search march we have had to ijo things that we regret but one mot cannot bo be squeamish when kingdoms own even small ones one are at stake success excuses alit all I 1 he shrugged his shou shoulders enough I 1 he snapped lead aad me to his highness 11 aichman bowed cornel comel the ho said bald and turned toward the house bouse side bide by side the two mounted the stairs and entered the door behind them came the rest of the civil civilians lans the sailors Bai lors under the command of the lieutenant remained outside aichman threw open the door of the room to the right of the hall and ushered in hla his companions he took off his hat bat as ho he entered and the others after a gasp of comprehension did likewise I 1 in the middle of the room on two trestles lei surrounded by flaring tapers rested a coffin draped in black whose olen often glass front revealed the figure of a huge man whose waxen features bore even in death an ineffaceable air of majesty and mastery arelman looked at him reverently this Is his highness he said the officer bl blinked InkeL 1 I recognize him he said after an instant 11 he Is not very greatly changed since I 1 knew him 1 I tool lord georgo george stepped forward 1 I know his highness years ago that was why I 1 was selected by my government to follow a clew asso doted with mr aichman and try to find him I 1 recognize him he ha was a real statesman one who gave promise of being a powerful figure in europe captain naturally my government like many others was interested in his strange disappearance ranee there have been rumors ot f a great war you know bowed 1 I thank you lord caruthers ruthers Oa he said ills his highness death will be a great blow to denmark and his sons and dough daughters what of them he looked at ile leaves no aanal sons I 1 aichman spoke deliberately perhaps perhaps it la Is as well the marriage of his highness was morgann morganatic Uc and a son might complicate matters but a daughter would be different the captains eyes wondered wandered to nellie who stood hand in hand with van kull his majesty instructs me to say any th that at his feelings toward any daughter are of the kindest lie offers her a title great wealth and a noble husband everything that the customs of 0 conr ur country perm lt the captain tur turned n ed to aichman Arc hman you can of course fu furnish r proofs as to her identity he questioned yes aichman rose from a safe into which he had been delving and came forward in his hands he held a sheaf of folded papers yes yeal I 1 he r repeated C the proofs are all here bore and are in due order ilia his highness meant to give them to his daughter yesterday unfortunately ho he decided to wait till today hoping to be stronger but last evening lie he died I 1 was with him when I 1 received the news of the affa val of the el BI rio that was why I 1 delayed but tho the proofs are indu indubitable bi I 1 hand band them to her who la is more concerned with a sudden gesture he be placed the papers in nellies hands take them my dearl dear I 1 he said his bla voice breaking van kull dropped the girls hand and stepped back his face was waa very white nellie glanced at him then her eyes circled the room and she sha shrank back slightly as abo met the eyes centered upon her then with a quick andra ving of breath she spoke captain she said clean ly y let me understand tand would the daughter of his highness have to give up her americanism her home her lover her all the captain bowed madame he be said it would be almost impossible for her to avoid doing so BO nellie nodded and in return she would get what an introduction to a court of strangers a sum of money a ausband picked out for her by someone else im sorry but the price la is too highl high 1 with a sudden movement she thrust the into the he name flame of one of the tall tapers that burned nt at the dead mans head bead As they flamed up made a sudden movement to snatch them then as abruptly he desisted resisted des isted and stood still while the pipers p apers burned with fitting ceremony they burled buried the dead statesman that afternoon in the evening when they were oil all gathered together nellie again addressed the danish officer 1 I 1 understand how seriously you who love your country captain take this matter I 1 have a natural affection for your coultry the country of my poor dead father but bat cant ym yau see your proofs and summons come a gen generation emdon too latel late im an american a yank clear through and proud of it and so Is henry aichman Arc hman though ho loved and respected his old friend my father surest thing you yon know I 1 roared Arch mao youre all right strind berg but bat the girls her own bout boss I 1 captain cataen bunker we sail nil for now new york tomorrow morning I 1 r ENDI |