Omaha daily bee., 1897-01-31

earth. AS Guy made his appearance tho
creature called out:
wit seal a compact, lad. with me
Make all my magic thine, obey
For twelve months and n day
All thy commands, wilt thou then be
Thereafter what l were to thee?
Never" cried Guy. stoutly. ito this will
I agree"
NAY. not so hasty. Hear me through
implored the griffin. III you can hit on
something you can do and | cannot. why.
then tits true"
THE compact's DONE" said Guy.
And I'm done, too" replied the griffin.
these terms, then, l will agree said
Guy.
Upon which the griffin called out exult-
antly:
No more in the magic book amid
Three chains that bound me, broken lie;
G,noose, master, earth, or sea. or sky,
For l can run and swim and 1y.
ITO Greece said Guy OF Wessex, loosen
ing the creature and mounting upon its
back; ito Greece, where | shall yet be en-
peror."
| Unfolding an. enormous pair OF leathery
wings, like the sails of a galley. the griffin
rose far above the hilltops, took his course
toward the rising sun and flew so swiftly
that the sun had not begun to do down into
the west before he alighted with his rider
In a Trick grove Of cypress trees near the
great city of Constantinople. Get me a
task. master" said he.
GUYS
THAT will l." replied Guy. I'm the
mountains of the moon, in a cave inaccess-
ible to man, / have heard my master say,
Is to be found three things. the invulner-
able shield, the spear of penetration and
the inextinguishable fire. &C bring them
to me as speedily as possible"
The griffin was out of sight in an in
slant, and almost Immediately returned with
the shield and the spear grasped in his
talons and the fire in a cresset hanging from
his beak.
"Set me a task, MASTER he said, as soon
as he had delivered them to Guy.
That will l." replied the lad. Take the
form of n black war horse that can be
neither wounded nor resisted, bear me to
the battlefield where the Greek is fight
ing the Painim who for seven long years
has besieged this greatest of Christian
cities"
No sooner said than done, and the op-
posing armies beheld with establishment a
slight lad armed with a spear and a cresset
of fire and mounted upon an enormous black
war horse, take his place in the front ranks
OF the Christian warriors. The battle had
gone against them and they were about to
retreat when Guy Joined them, but alone
and unattended he rushed upon the foe. As
he did so his black horse seemed to breathe
fire and smoke from his ~nostrils. In vain
were arrows. spear and sword thrusts; drawn
by the magic of the shield they alighted
upon it's impenetrable surface and their
lOTCe was Quencneu, Wnlle the spear nelu
by the lad pierced all substances as II they
were but so much parchment, and the fire
scattered among the enemy from the cres-
set burned through iron and brass and
steel. The Greeks believed an angel
had come to their rescue, while
the Saracens were sure that satan himself
fought in the ranks of their enemies. The
result was a great Christian victory; the en-
tire Saracen army was destroyed. Nothing
could exceed the popularity of the young
hero; his praises were heard everywhere and
he was quickly promoted to the highest
offices in the empire. The young and beauti-
full Princess Irine, the only daughter of the
emperor, saw and loved him and a marriage
was arranged between them. In course OF
time he himself reached the height OF his am
bition, and Guy Of Wessex, sometime serving
lad to a conjurer, became the greatest mon
arch on earth, the champion of Christendom.
Porphyrogenitus, so-called, the emperor OF
the Greeks.
CANNY PRINCESS.
But the day after the coronation the young
empress saw her husband was far from
happy, and would know the cause of his trou-
Bile. In truth, seeing no earthly reason why
he should not be the happiest OF men, she
began to dream unpleasant things, and be-
Jealous. Guy, however, plainly told
her he was at the end Of his tether. He had
made a bargain with the demon of the red
book, that after seven years and a day he
was, in consideration of the demons services
during that time, to deliver himself up, soul
and body, provided he could find nothing
that he himself could do after the demon
had tried and failed. This, moreover, was
the last day of his life, and he must bid her
forever.
mot So replied the princess, 1--WE Greeks
are not ignorant of the habits OF demons, and
though you should have told me before We
shall yet foil him." 1t would, indeed, be a
pity If a princess, and a Greek princess at