The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-15
THE PUPPET.
BY CLINTON ROSS.
XIII.

SUhh AHN "a
rHE LOYALTY OF col. FERousoN, TIE COM.
MANDAST OF cara.
All my fears. that l had forgo':in the lnten-
sity Of the action, now laid siege rs we rowed
along In that darkness, and yet Il was not long
Store we were sure. as we looked back at the
black mass of BerRamo. that so far we had.not
been observed; that at least we we're now al
most out.of earshot Of the army OF the Govern
ment, and should they discover our departure
before dawn. they would not imagine we had
gone toward lara. The search would be made
out at sea, and I saw, all uncertain as this
course appeared, that we were wiscst In going
10 the capital. No safety lay in the land.
where we shortly would be apprehended. All.
indeed. depended on the brillinncy of our dar-
inr in,going.directly TO Zara. Yet l felt q GER
tain pity for tho Princess, gently bred as she
had been. She had been brought into this af-
fair through tho i~ntrigues of her friends. Their
plots had led to her arrest so far away that tho
rebellious attempt of the Romaga might fail
of its leader, and now we we're making her
moro unpleasantness that we might save our
selves. Yet should we succeed-should we IN
deed place her on the throno-how finely it
would all end.
But I felt a certain sadness-the badness of
seiHshness. that when she really should be Prin-
cess Of Dalmatia, established beyond perad-
venture. I no longer should be of her life. Yet
] should not have been part of her life IL Mgr.
Reux had not intrigued. held 1t against him
that this young.Girl was made q puppet to fur
ther his family ambition. AMI yet 1 thanked
him In my heart because his intrigue had
brought her into my life: and here she wasin
the boat near me, covered with a rug, and xiv
ing us heart by her good. brave spirit, until We
all, down to the merest peasant of Balbi,
would have died for her. How can some wo-
men, weak physically, yet be steel in an emer-
Eency! For the spirit dominates them. and.a
woman's spirit. whom It be strong and bravo
and pure, ia a bit of the mystery OF Gods grace
out Of His infinitude.
The oars kept their steady dip. We talked
and planned. The darkness covered the
irregular. phantom-like coast, along which SO
much has happeDed-so many q venture has
been taken by Venetian, Turk, by Crusader
and Moslem. It Was as IL the far past had
brought MS under its spell. as II. indeed. IL
again were assertive,
Then. at last, lights warned us-SiRnor Rent
knew all that coast-that we were approach
ing lara, the quaint. half eastern. half medic
val capital of Dalmatia. Without attracting
much attention from the shipping, which was
very considerable as we drew into the harbor,
we succeeded in Bleaching the boats. We must
have been six hour, on the water-hours which
I have outlined here only vaguely-when 1
came TO feel that / knew the Princess Beatrice
better. and to be thankful for the strange Sc
quence of events which had brought me into
her life. My friends. I for one believe in des-
tiny: and haze I not n right for my. belief
from my experience?
We marshalled our forces very quietly. 1t
was that Quietest hour before dawn, as. the
lighting horizon of Dalmatian' hills and the
towers of lara declared. We had talked over
every detail. Signor REM. now that our momen-
fairy eucceSa had uiven hin~aore Derauasiop
making some excellent suggestions The
Princess herself appeared tireless. although,
poor girl. she must have been weary enough. I
think of her as g little girl in those days. even
II she were q woman. q great parsonage in all
Europe. Her woman now obeyed her mutely.
The citadel of cara, as you know, or don't
know-for Dalmatia, interesting as It. is. Is
out of the beaten track of travellers-the cita-
del dominates the town. The palace. where
formerly the Venetian intendants lived. is q
part OF the same building.
Strange as It may appear. no particular
watch seemed to DO kept The gates, lara be-
ing q walled town. were open, and we reached
the very gate of the citadel before arousing a
sleepy sentinel, who presented arms. 1t was
evident the Government considered It had the
incipient rebellion for the Romaga interest
suppressed.
This sentinel was seized before he fully..under-
btOOu oho ANh Aih ~ tho Z
ing out to us to be careful not TO hurt him. At
the gate ] changed the knocker. Baloi bidding
the man who projected a head through the
portcullis TO summon Col. Ferguson. TIE fell
low declared this was impossible at that hour;
he certainly would get the Ruardhoufe.
From Baron Masslmo." I said on an in
SEPARATION.
The name had its effect, for presently. with
out giving MS further question, he disappeared.
II .v,aotal tha 7 rtanant ~ tha ono.a
but not the opening of the gate. which
was waat happened. In the court appeared
it was fast pecoming liRht!-a young Dalma-
tian Lieutenant, with a single soldier bearing
q lantern.
what do you wantf'
Its /. Antonio spezzio." said the Prin-
cess, stepping forward.
HI started as II she had been u Gh ost, as he
well might have thought, since all Tara ex-
pected th-t the Princess now was n prisoner.
Its this, Lieutenant: the Government army
has gone over TO the Romaga." she surprised
me ny stating the falsehood even glihly-
Your HiGhness," the LIieu.en-
. ant at this astonishing statement.
Inform Col. Ferguson. Lieut.. Spezzio. ~
the Princess here interrupted.
Our very assurancc-tl the Princess's beauty,
too. perhaps won this part OF the campaign.
for the poy. stammering and apOlogetic. ad.
mltteu u.s. i VIII Huston 10 auu thh al that
time Dalmatian military discipline might
have excited the derision of n Servian. But,
as It happened. Lieut.. Spezzio was distantly
related to the Romaga. which NAV have ex.
planned his action.
Yet we waited apprehensiye over Col.
Ferguson. who appeared half dressed, one OF
the most startled Irishmen / have had the
pleasure Of meeting. As | said at the begin
ming of this narrative, ] myself am half Irish.
He entered, not knowing whether or no to put
us Under arrest, l believe. Here, too. pure
efrontery won, as it.does 70 often.
Your Highness" began this red-taced
soldier OF fortune. II don't underestimate
1T means. Colonel" said the Princess,
simply. that tho house of Heidelberg In
DalpIatia is overtime w."
"And.l--"
You serve me-. Colonel said our lady ms
spirItedly as possible. and.-showing:not In the