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Show llmminM.mniii.mnnm mum iiiimmmmiii ' lEEE?22 - I LO I 1 JIT HPT IIP Jlflf By Mary 1 LUNG L1VL 1 rih JSJTN'La : uf 1Q17 hv Mary Roberts Rinehart J J Copyright, 1917, by the Ridgway Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright, etiilHttttt t 1 H I I I I M M M 1 1 rj i4-i 8 a I "ttu'"2. " ' -Uj ZZ. . " .. rtr. nnrl I sheet iroa ana steel, adorned mn , HEDWIG AND THE CROWN PRINCE WAIT IN VAIN FOR THE RETURN OF NIK.KY. Synopsis. The crown prince of Livonia, Ferdinand William Otto, ten years old, taken to the opera by hi aunt, tires of the singing and slips away to the park, where he makes the acquaintance of .Bobby Thorpe, a little American boy. Returning to the palace at night, he finds everything in an uproar as a result of the search which has been made for him. The same night the chancellor talis to consult the boy's grandfather, the old king, who is very ill. The chancellor suggests sug-gests that to preserve the kingdom, which is threatened by plots of the terrorists to form a republic, the friendship of the neighboring-kingdom neighboring-kingdom of Karnla be secured by giving the I'rincess Iledwlg in marriage mar-riage to King Karl of that country. Countess Loschek, lady-in-waiting to Princess Annunclata, Hedwlg's -mother, is in love with King Karl and plots to prevent his marriage to Hedwig. Iledwlg, who loves Nikky Larlsch, Otto's aid de camp, is dismayed when told of the plans for her marriage. Countess Loschek sends a secret message to King Karl. The messenger is attacked by agents of the terrorists and a dummy letter substituted. Captain Larisch, unaware of the substitution, substitu-tion, holds up Karl's chauffeur and secures the envelope. . . CHAPTER VI. 5 Two Prisoners. Herman Spier had made his escape with the letter. He ran through tortuous tor-tuous byways of the old city, under arches into court yards, out again by . doorways set in the walls, twisted, doubled like a rabbit. And all this with no pursuit, save the pricking one of terror. But at last he halted, looked about, perceived that only . his own . guilty conscience accused him, and took breath. He made his way to the house In the shadow of the park until, an letter now buttoned Inside bis coat, and, finding the doors closed, lurked In the shadow of the park until an hour later, Black Humbert himself appeared. ap-peared. He eyed his creature with cold anger. an-ger. "It is a marvel," he sneered, "that such flight as yours has not brought the police in a pack at your heels." 'T had the letter," Herman replied sulkily, "It was necessary to save It," ' ''You were to gee where Niburg took the" substitute," But here Herman was the one to sneer. "Niburg !" he said. "You know well enough that he will take no substitute sub-stitute tonight, or any night. You strike hard, my friend." The concierge growled, and together they entered the house across the street. In the absence of Humbert, his niece, daughter of a milk seller near, kept the bureau, answered the bell, and after nine o'clock, when the doors were bolted, admitted the various occupants of the house and gave them the tiny tapers with which to light themselves upstairs. She was sewing and singing softly when they entered. "All right, girl. You may go," said Humbert. I "Good night to you both," the girl said, and gave Herman Spier a pod. When she was gone, the concierge locked the door behind her, "And now," he said, "for a look at the treasure." lie rubbed his hands together as Herman produced the letter. Heads close, they examined it under the lamp. Then they glanced at each other. "A cipher," said the concierge shortly. "It tells nothing. "Code!" And struck the paper with a hairy fist. "Everything goes wrong. .,1 St ' V - - J "A Cipher," Said the Concierge Shortly. Short-ly. "It Tells Nothing." That blond devil interferes, and now this letter speaks but of blankets and loaves !" The hell rang, and, taking care to thrust the letter out of sight, the con-' con-' cierge disappeared. Then ensued, in the hall, a short colloquy, followed by a thnmplng on the staircase. The CODeiire returned. "Old Adelbert, from the opera," he said. "He has lost his position, and would have spent the night airing his grievance. But I sent him off!" Now, as between the two, Black Humbert furnished evil and strength, but it was the pallid clerk who furnished fur-nished the cunning. And now he made a suggestion. "It is possible," he said, "that he upstairs could help." "Adelbert? Are you mad?" "The other. He knows codes. It was by means of one we caught him. I have heard that all these things have one basis, and a simple one." The concierge considered. Then he rose. "It is worth trying," he observed. ob-served. He thrust the letter into his pocket, and the two conspirators went out into the gloomy hall. There, on a ledge, lay white tapers, and one he lighted, shielding it from the draft in the hollow hol-low of his great hand. Then he led the way to the top of the house. Here were three rooms. One, the best, was Herman Spier's, a poor thing at that. Next to it was old Adel-bert's. Adel-bert's. At the extreme end of the narrow nar-row corridor, in a passage almost blocked by old furniture, was another room, a sort of attic, with a slanting roof. Making sure that old Adelbert did not hear them, they went back to this door, which the concierge unlocked. Inside the room was dark. The taper showed little. As their eyes became accustomed to the darkness, the outlines out-lines of the attic stood revealed, a junk room, piled high with old trunks, and in one corner a bed. Black Humbert, taper in hand, approached ap-proached the bed. Herhlaii remained near the door. Now, with the candle near, the bed revealed a man lying on it, and tied with knotted ropes; a young man, with sunken cheeks and weary, desperate eyes. Beside him, on a chair, were the fragments of a meal, a bit of broken bread, some cold soup, on which grease had formed a (inn coating. Lying there, sleeping and waking and sleeping again, young Haeckel, one time of his majesty's secret service serv-ice and student in the university, had lost track of the days. He knew not how long he had been a prisoner, except ex-cept that it had been eternities; Twite a day, morning and evening, came his jailer and loosened his bonds, brought food, of a sort, and allowed him, not out of mercy, but because it was the mnniUt(ip'Q nlofiiipp tlint for a time he should live, to move about the room and bring blood again to his numbed limbs. The concierge untied him, and stood back. "Now," he said. But the boy he was no more lay still. He made one effort to rise, and fell back. "Up with you!" said the concierge, and jerked him to his feet, He caught the rail of the bed, or he would have fallen. "Now stand like a man." He stood then, facing his captors without defiance. He had worn all that out in the first days of his imprisonment. im-prisonment. "Well?" he said at last. "I thought you've been here once tonight." "Right, my cuckoo. But tonight I do you double honor." But seeing that Haeckel was swaying, sway-ing, he turned to Herman Spier. "Go down," he said, "and bring up some brandy. He can do nothing for us in this state." He drank the brandy eagerly when it came, und the concierge poured him a second quantity. What with weakness weak-ness and slow starvation, it did what no threat of personal danger would have done. It broke down his resistance. resist-ance. Not immediately. He fought hard, when the matter was first broached to him. But in the end he took the letter and, holding It close to the candle, he examined it closely. His hands shook, his eyes burned. The two terrorists watched him. Brandy or no brandy, however, he had not lost his wits. He glanced up suddenly. "Tell me something about this," he said. "Ajid what v '11 you do for me if I decode it?" The concierge would promise anything, any-thing, and did. naeckel listened, and knew the offer of liberty was a He. But there was something about the story of the letter itself that bore the hall marks of truth. "You see," finished Black Humbert cunningly, "she this lady of the court is plotting with some one, or so we suspect. If it is only a liaison !" He spread his hands. "If, as is possible, pos-sible, she betrays us to Karnia, that we should find out. It is not," he added, "among our plans that Karnia should know too much of us." The brandy was still working, but the spy's mind was clear. He asked for a pencil, and set to work. After all, if there was a spy of Karl's in the palace, it were well to know it. He tried complicated methods first, to find that the body of the letter, after all, was simple enough. By reading every tenth word, he got a consistent message, mes-sage, save that certain supplies, over which the concierge had railed, were special code words for certain - regiments. regi-ments. These he could not decipher. "Whoever was to receive this," he said at last, "would have been in possession of complete data of the He Crumpled Up in a Heap. army, equipment and all, and the location loca-tion of various regiments. Probably you and your band of murderers have that already." The concierge nodded, no whit ruffled. ruf-fled. "And for whom was it intended?" "I cannot 6ay. The address is fictitious, fic-titious, of course." Black Humbert scowled. "So 1" he said. "You tell us only a part!" "There is nothing else to tell. Save, as I have written here, the writer ends : T must see you at once. Let me know where.' " The brandy was getting in its work well by that time. He was feeling strong, his own man again, and reckless. reck-less. But he was cunning, too. He yawned. "And in return for all this, what?" he demanded. "I have done you a service, friend cut-throat." The concierge stuffed letter and translation into his pocket. "What would you have, short of liberty. "Air, for one thing." He stood up and stretched again. God, how strong he felt ! "If you would open that ac cursed window for an hour the place reeks." Humbert was in high good humor in spite of his protests. In his pocket he held the key to favor, aye, to a plan which he meant to lay before the committee com-mittee of ten, a plan breath-taking in its audacity and yet potential of success. suc-cess. He went to the window and put his great shoulder against It. Instantly Haeckel overturned the candle and, picking up the chair, hurled it at Herman Spier. He heard the clerk go down as he leaped for the door. Herman had not locked it. He was in the passage before the concierge con-cierge had stumbled rast the bed. Haeckel ran as he had never run before. The last flight now, with the concierge well behind, and liberty two seconds away. He flung himself against the doors to the street. But they were fastened by a chain, and the key was not in the lock. He crumpled up in a heap as the concierge fell on him with fists like flails. Some time later, old Adelbert heard a sound in the corridor, and peered out. Humbert, assisted by the lodger, Spier, was carrying to the attic what appeared to be an old mattress, rolled up and covered with rags. In the morning, outside the door, there was a darkish stain, however, which might have been blood. At nine o'clock the next morning the chancellor visited the crown prince. He came without ceremony. Lately he had been coming often. He liked to I come in quietly, and pit for an hour in the school room, saying nothing. Prince Ferdinand William Otto found j these occasions rather trying. "I should think," he protested once to his governess, "that he would have something else to do. He's the chancellor, isn't he?" The king had passed a bad night, and Haeckel was still missing. The chancellor's heart was heavy. The chancellor watched the crown prince, as he sat at the high desk, laboriously writing. It was the hour of English composition, and Prince Ferdinand William Otto was writing a theme. "About dogs," he explained. "I've seen a great many, you know. I could do it better with a pencil. My pen sticks in the paper." He wrote on, and Mettllch sat and watched. He caught Miss Braith-waite's Braith-waite's glance, and he knew what was in her mind. For nine years now had come, once a year, the painful anniversary anni-versary of the death of the late crown prince and his young wife. For nine years had the city mourned, with flags at half mast and the bronze statue of the old queen draped in black. And for nine years had the day of grief passed unnoticed by the lad on whom hung the destinies of the kingdom. Now they confronted a new situation. sit-uation. The next day but one was the anniversary again. The boy was older, and observant. It would not be possible pos-sible to conceal from him the significance of the procession marching march-ing through the streets with muffled drums. They could not continue to lie to the boy. Truthfulness had been one of the rules of his rigorous upbringing. upbring-ing. And he was now of an age to remember. re-member. So the chancellor sat and waited, and fingered his heavy watch chain. Prince Ferdinand William Otto put his attention to the theme, and finished it. Then, flushed with authorship, he looked up. "May I read you the last line of It?" he demanded of the chancellor. "I shall be honored, highness." Not often did the chancellor say "highness." "high-ness." Generally he said "Otto" or "my child." Prince Ferdinand William Otto read aloud, with dancing eyes, his last line : " T should like to own a dog.' I thought," he said wistfully, "that I might ask my grandfather for one." "I see no reason why you should not have a dog," the chancellor observed. "Not one to be kept at the stables," Otto explained. "One to stay with me ail the time. One to sleep on the foot of the bed." But here the chancellor threw up his hands. Instantly he visualized all the objections to dogs, from fleas to rabies. And he put the difficulties into words. No mean speaker was the chancellor when so minded. He was a master of style, of arrangement, of logic and reasoning. He spoke at length, even, at the end, rising and pacing a few steps up and down the room. But when he had concluded, when the dog, so to speak, had fled yelping to the country of dead hopes, Prince Ferdinand William Otto merely gulped, and said : "Well, I wish I could have a dog !" The chancellor changed his tactics by changing the subject. "I was wondering won-dering this morning, as I crossed the park, if you would enjoy an excursion soon. Could it be managed, Miss Braithwaite?" "I dare say," said Miss Braithwaite dryly. "Although I must say, if there Is no improvement in punctuation and capital letters " "What Sort nf p-venrsinn?" nsked bis royal highness, gnardedly. He did not care for picture galleries. "Out-of-doors, to see something interesting. in-teresting. A real excursion, up the river." "To the fort? I do want to see the new fort." As a matter of truth, the chancellor had not thought of the fort. But like many another before him, he accepted the suggestion and made it his own. "To the fort, of course," said he. "And take luncheon along, and eat it there, and have Hedwig and Nikky? And see the guns?" But this was going too fast. Nikky, of course, would go, and if the princess cared to, she too. But luncheon! It was necessary to remind the crown prince that the officers at the fort would expect to have him join their mess. There was a short parley over this, and it was finally settled that the officers should serve luncheon, but tlm there should be no speeches. "Then that's settled," he said at last. "I'm very happy. This morning I shall apologize to M. Puaux." During the remainder of the morn-ning morn-ning the crown prince made various excursions to the window to see if the weather was holding good. Also he asked, during his half hour's intermission, intermis-sion, for the great box of lead soldiers that was locked away in the cabinet. "I shall pretend that the desk is n fort, Miss Braithwaite," he said. "Do you mind being the enemy, and pretending pre-tending to be shot now and then?" But Miss Braithwaite was correcting pnpers. She was willing to be a passive enemy and be potted at, but she drew the line at falling over. Prince Ferdinand Ferdi-nand William Otto did not persist. He was far too polite. But he wished in nil his soul that Nikkj would come. Nikky, he felt, would die often and hard. But Nikky did not come. At twelve o'clock. Prince Ferdinand William Otto, clad in bis rid.ng gar-men gar-men s of tweed knickers, puttees and a belted jacket, stood by the school room window and looked out. The inner windows of his suite faced the court yard, but the schoolroom opened over the place-a bad rnmnt surely, seeing what distractions to lessons les-sons my take place in a public square what pigeons feeding in the sun, what bands with drums and drum majors, what children flying kites. I don't understand it," the crown prince said plaintively. "He is generally gen-erally very punctual. Perhaps But he loyally refused to finish the sentence. The "perhaps" was a grievous thought, nothing less than that Nikky and Hedwig were at that moment riding in the ring together, and had both forgotten him. Prince Ferdinand William Otto consulted con-sulted his watch. It was of gold, and on the inside was engraved : "To Ferdinand William Otto from his grandfather, on the occasion of his taking his first communion." "It's getting rather late," he observed. ob-served. Miss Braithwaite looked troubled. "No doubt something has detained him," she said, with unusual gentleness. gentle-ness. "You might work at the frame for your Cousin Hedwig. Then, if Captain Larisch comes, you can still have a part of your lesson." Prince Ferdinand William Otto brightened. The burnt wood photograph photo-graph frame for Hedwig was his delight. de-light. And yesterday, as a punishment for the escapade of the day before, i't had been put away with an alarming air of finality. The pyrography outfit was produced, and for "fifteen minutes Prince Ferdinand Ferdi-nand William Otto labored, his head on one side, his royal tongue slightly protruded. But, above the thin blue smoke of burning, his face remained wistful. He was afraid, terribly afraid, that he had been forgotten again. "I hope Nikky is not ill," he said once. "He smokes a great many cigarettes. ciga-rettes. He says he knows they are bad for him." "Certainly they are bad for him," said Miss Braithwaite. "They contain nicotine, which is a violent poison. A drop of nicotine on the tongue of a dog will kill It.',' The reference was unfortunate. "I wish I might have a dog," observed ob-served Prince Ferdinand William Otto. Fortunately, at that moment, Hedwig Hed-wig came Jn. She came in a trifle defiantly, although that passed an-noticed, an-noticed, and she also came unannounced, unan-nounced, as was her cousinly privilege. And she stood inside the door and stared at the prince. "Well !" she said. "Is there to be no riding lesson today?" "I don't know. Nikky has not come," "Where is he?" Here the drop of nicotine got in its deadly work. "I'm afraid he is ill," said Prince Ferdinand William Otto. "He said he smoked too many cigarettes, and " "Is Captain Larisch ill?" Hedwig looked at the governess, and lost some of her bright color. Miss Braithwaite did not know, and said so. "At the very least," she went on, "he should have sent some word. I do not know what things are coming to. bince his majesty's illness, no one seems to have any responsibility, or to take any." "But of course he would have sent word," said Hedwig, frowning. "I don't understand it. He has never been so late before, has he?" "He has never been late at nil" Prince Ferdinand William Otto spoke up quickly. After a time Hedwig went away, and the crown prince took off his riding rid-ing clothes. He ate a very small luncheon, swallowing mostlv a' glass of milk and a lump in his throat. And afterward he worked at the frame, for an hour, shading the hearts carefully. At three o'clock he went for his drive. The horses moved sedatelv. Beppo looked severe and haughtv. A stran-e man. in the place of .Hans, beside Beppo, watched the crowd with keen 'd vigilant eyes. On the box between be-tween them, under his hand, the new footmau had placed a revolver. Beppo -'at as far away from it as be dared. Ihe crowa lined up, and smiled and fhmo i 1riM;e F'"ml WI1- right and left, smiling nirkH01""1, li',,p!nK ncross pa k to tl oporni pnuwjl I on he -shook bis head. The country . s ln, eed come to a strange pass, yth only that boy Ulu, t, ; ng to stand between ,t and the thi gs h ,r is I,'"0" Whi'' 'l.!nd their Sown':' WCnt 0,,; Witl L As they drew near the end of ,e Park, where (he land of desire tower,' nnce erdinandWUUan.ottose;;;,1: U , , How wonderful . '"K- He glanced sideways at Miss '"! hwai.e, 1 ,t wns ,., ua only a nm,a sheet iron and steel, adorned with,; jected greenery that had manifev. been out too soon in the chill air "1 very early spring. A wonderful possibility present itself. "If I see Bobby," he askel "may I stop the carriage and speak 1 him?" "Certainly not" "Well, may I call to him?" "Think it over," suggested Mi Braithwaite. "Would your paJ father like to know that you had anything so undignified?" ' He turned to her a rather desperate pair of eyes. "But I could explain,,' him," he said. "I was in such a hurri when I left, that I'm afraid I forgot til thank him. I ought to thank hltj' really. He was very polite to me.." Miss Braithwaite sat still In her sea. and said nothing, just then. But iatfi on something occurred to her. "ir must remember, Otto," she said, "flu-this "flu-this this American child dislike-kings, dislike-kings, and our sort of government 1; is possible, isn't it, that he would rt. sent your being of the ruling family-Why family-Why not let things be as they arer "We were very, friendly," said Ferdinand Ferdi-nand William Otto in a small voice "I don't think It would make any difference." dif-ference." But the seed was sown in the fertil-ground fertil-ground of his young mind, to bes: quick fruit. It was the crown prince who sat Bobby first. He was standing on t bench, peering over the shoulders o! the crowd. Prince Ferdinand Willie Otto saw him, and bent forward AThere he is !" he said, in a tense tons "There on the " "Sit up straight," commanded Miss Braithwaite. "May I just wave once? I" "Otto!" said Miss Braithwaite, in i terrible voice. But a dreadful thing was happenin Bobby was looking directly at him, and making no sign. His mouth wi; a trifle open, but that was all. Ott had a momentary glimpse of him, c! the small cap set far back, of the iffe sweater, of two coolly critical eye-Then eye-Then the crowd closed up, and the carriage moved on. Prince Ferdinand William Otto st: back in his seat, very pale. Clear!; Bobby was through with him. Firs Nikky had forgotten him, and now th; American boy had learned his unfortunate unfor-tunate position as one of the detested order, and would have none of him. "You see," said Miss Braithwaite. with an air of relief, "he did not kno! you." Upon the box the man beside Bepp kept his hand on the aevolver. Ik lifts! "There He Isl" He Said-carriage Said-carriage turned back toward palace. ' Late that afternoon the chan had a visitor. Old Mathlld servant and housekeeper, slu"J curiosity but little excitement o' She was, in fact, faintly The chancellor had eaten little a" 1 and now, when she had n 01" ready to turn smoking out of the r must come the Princess HcuW I'oot like the common people, a"1 maud to see blni. Nikky has an excltinfl view with King Karl "d T ' himself in a serious Prt(l' merit as a result of his t""1 undertaking. Read about development In the next Ins" ment. ITO Uli. IVNTINI'K1'-1 |