OCR Text |
Show BLADE Jk P Q CA 15 Dyt FRED M LAUGH LIN COPYRIGHT 6r lt TfK BOBBS-MERRILL COt W.N.U. SERVICE. UHAfl' XIV Hia execuLlon set rJr r'y morales. L VIkut passes tbs Hlfttjt la -a uKouy of remembrance. reallilnK S'ate dealt naraalv with him. in droaui bo viatoaa tha dowQ-1,11 dowQ-1,11 and death ot uiamillllan. awaking It Horror. Uoarinn the approach of soldier' he tands proudly awaluns ileala. out 11 la bla loved Anita 7ho entera. wit General Escobedo. The tfiniKlra Has -allea but by Ita fall Ue Vijiiy la ?aved. Bacobedo tolls aim Colonel Lopes blindly trusted by Maximilian, Max-imilian, has delivered the city to Juarec. and the dream of a Kronea em-Dire em-Dire la America la ended. Taklna; leave of the Emperor, who bad been kept la Irsaraoc af bla trial and eentenre Da Tinny la lei I with a reaJIratloe of the truth ( Maximilian's farewell wtraa, that thovsb ha haa lost an empire em-pire and id emperor, he has gained a QUten. Haa they forgotten me, or were they merely waiting? Was this a scheme of Colonel Lopez ; to wait. Now They Were Coming, Coming to Take Mo Out and Hang Me. and wait letting my hopes run high? It was such a thing as he might do. While I stood, half dazed and won derinj, I heard a deep voice and the sound of footsteps in the narrow corridor. cor-ridor. Now they were comiag, coming com-ing to take ma out and hang me What was It Madrella had said? "We tall, long-legged men wiggle a vast deal en the end of a rope." That waa It I waited. Courage that waa all I seeded ; I would show them bow to die! So, with eyes upon the floor, I waited. A key scraped In tha lock, a gruff rder 1b Spanish, th guard' reply, id tha doer swung epos. A vision leated Into the cell, a vision In golden. gold-en. ta, with a halo ef hatr tha color f desert smoke, with sparkling, amber am-ber eyes, and red, rad Upa that fashioned fash-ioned my nama, with soft warm arms that went round my sack. "Francois," sha cried, "Francois, my dear!" "Have I died, dear heart and are je an angel? All sight I bava seen yen. Such sublime loveliness cannot be real!" "Put your arms aroami ma, Fran-cols; Fran-cols; does an angel feel Ilka that? Would the kiss ef an angel seem like this?" "Hew beastiful yam are, Aslta! let tha mernlng Is gone, my sweet. n4 they" W1H never casta, Francois." She leesed ma so that I tslM look upon aer and woe bad cema with her. "General Sacobedol" I cried. "In tie same of tied, eeaor, how came yu here here witbl tha lines af the fcnplra?" "There Is no Empire, Captain Ylg-ae Ylg-ae sail "Am I still la tbe land ef dreams seiier?" "We bale Ue twi ef Queretare, 4 tbe garrisea as well as La rax. We have taken all." "t I heard ae shet, na firing. ai arnv take a eity and a gar-rlsei gar-rlsei wltheat a fight? There are tea thousand soldiers of the Empire 'a Qeeretaro. Have they have they te?" "They have not gene," be said lewly. "And yeu have taken all, with u ightlng, no casualties?" "One." He smiled a little. "One casaalty; a man has died, and a trai tar has been born. A garrison, senor. the heart af which Is bad, cannot survive." sur-vive." "Lopez," I whispered, awed. "In, senor; Lopez. He has delivered de-livered Into our hands, under cover f the night, the city, the garrison, L Cruz, and the person of tbe era-Tror. era-Tror. The Empire U dead." "And the emperor, general be Is r ' "Quite well, and under nominal guard nt La Cruz." Then the emperor had failed, the Empire had fallen. Ah the glory and the pity of It all. 1 dropped be side the table and put my arms upon it and my head upon my aims, and I cried as I had not cried In twenty years. And Anita bent over me, and clasped her loving arms around me "Francois," she said, "1 love thee. My brave Francois, who Is so strong and so weak ; so courageous and so timid; who is so deep and fine and so simple. Do not you see, dear heart, that this will give you" life?" But life was a small thing com pared to an empire.. Now I felt the hand of Escobedo on my shoulder. He was Anita's uncle, and doubtless loved her very dearly: he could not. therefore, have been devoid of ten der feelings toward the man upon whom Anita had bestowed the blessing bless-ing of her leve. "Does a great, strong, brave man. Francois," she continued, "cry?" "The greater they are, Anita mla," said Escobedo, "and the braver and the stronger the easier they cry And the fall of an empire is a thing to cry over; but there should be. In oar hearts, some quickening of joy la the birth of a new republic When ene nation dies another one is born." I got to my feet and extended a hand toward her uncle. "When 1 was a soldier of the Empire, General, 1 played a base trick upen you and General Juarez." He smiled. "A verj clever trlok In deed, secor; and, bad It not been for your act of reckless .daring In Cuer-navaca Cuer-navaca and a few tears from tbe Irresistible Ir-resistible Anita your life should have paid for it As it is I think the new republic has gained a stalwart." "What of Colonel Lopee?" I Inquired. In-quired. "We use him," said Escobedo slow ly, "and kick him out just as we would any other dog. Lopez Is done." "And and Maximilian, senor?" I was afraid, for his majesty had signed death warrants for many Mexican Mex-ican patriots ; and Mexico's treatment in the past of deposed, ambitious ml ers had been most severe. Escobedo's voice was grim: "Maximilian's "Max-imilian's life Is forfeit. When ambition ambi-tion calls, senor, we answer; and we follow that lure until we have attained at-tained our goal or until death shall stop us. He has missed bis goal, and only death may put an end to striving. striv-ing. Juarez is just but hard and tbe welfare of his. people is his life. I do not think tbe world can blame us." Death for tbe Norse gad, death fer tbe kindly dreamer wbe bad given his best, whose soldiers bad loved bJm, whose people bad forsaken him I Mem Dleu fall are I Tbe Umpire bad readied a miserable as ding ; the car-tain car-tain that was falling upon it closing scene was a pall of death. let I had gained Ufa and lore; but my heart was heavy, for the favor of Maximilian had been a rich blessing to ue. "Is it permissible, general, that I see his majesty? He haa been an elder brother to e." Anita turned to her nnela. "May we both to and sea him, and tell him we are sorry? For I stood before him once defiant and prophesied this thing. I would go before hits now humble sad teil him that I am terry." Ah, hew sweet a tagel thte lady who bad glvea her leve! "Assuredly," said Sscobedo. We feand Mm, that beamttful May morning, In a vast sunlit chamber of the eonvent Be sat at walnut table, bla bandseme face tamed toward to-ward an opened window which offered of-fered a view ef the bare brewn bills; aad In his deey blue eyes laj an expression ex-pression ef hopeless resignation. Doctor Doc-tor Bartseh was with bla. The fleeter flee-ter caaghi my hand. "Captain," be whleperad, "Fraacoij . . . nftr all tbesa months! Ion come Back te s tram the gxave." "Aye, srem tbe fr.ve todeeA" Mid I ; "and I bring an angel Tflth me." ' Be bewed ever her tafld. "I have seen the aeaorlu often, but hare never nev-er had tie honor" He led wi to tbe emperor, whe, ree-egnWlng ree-egnWlng tbe senerUa, get to Va fet-He fet-He extended a band and be took It la both her own. "tenr majesty, she wbtopered. He smiled at bar, thet M tee eves held banHg hart "Seoor-lta, "Seoor-lta, behold the fulfillment ef yonr proeheeyt" Now sobbing softly, she went te her knees beore Ma. "Ah, yoir majestr, yoar majesty I would nT. stopped, aad he pat his .and. as in benedUUea. en her bead. K gracious lady who bad stood, defiant and unafraid, before the mighty Maximilian Max-imilian had become now that he was broken, helpless, racing alone tne great tragedy of death all gentle hu nilllty, all tenderness, all sweet and womanly sympathy. We waited, and while we waited Maximilian looked at me. In his eyes I found the old love, the old friendliness, friendli-ness, the old trust I was very happy. Maximilian found my hand and took it In a warm firm clasp. "Lieutenant Neville and the Belgian lad, Brugiere, have been heie, Francois; and they told me a moving tale of faith and devotion and courage and hardship; a tale that made me love thee very much." "They have been good friends to me, your majesty." "We have treated our faithfnl Blade of Picardy badly," said Maximilian Maxi-milian softly, "yet I have tha har.pj consolation, Francois, of knowing that, although yen may have lest an empire and aa emperor, yea have surely gained a queen." THH HNI1 |