The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-05-15
! At Swords Points:
A SOLDIER OF THE RHINE.
By ST. GEORGE RATHBoRNE
CHAPTER XIII tcontinued.)
Copyright, by STREET s. SMITH, New York


Presently relief train would arrive
and through this he might continue his
journey.
AS he moved about in the early
dawn, too restless to remain quiet,
- <ul noticed that he was being fol-
lowed up and down by figure that
limped badly, yet walked with the stiff
air Of soldier.
1t was the veteran, now in the secret
service of Bismarck, determined not
to lose sight Of his man.
Paul was rather charmed by such
pertinacity, and resolved to make it
as easy for the old fellow as possible.
The relief train arrived at last, the
wounded were placed aboard and the
unhurt had the privilege of finding
places as best they could.
Nor was Paul at all sorry to leave
the scene of the disaster, for though
1t had freed him of the unwelcome at
tentions of the two keepers, its I'M
neasant associations would always
linger in his memory.
One who has passed through such an
experience can understand how he felt
The wounded were left at the near
est town, where they could be properly
taken care Of.
Paul often wondered what became of
the stout pretended merchant, since he
seemed to have vanished in thin air
at the time of the catastrophe-he
might be running yet for all the Am
ertcan could say.
Rhinelander was glad when the
spires of Berlin appeared in view.
Once in the capital, as the day was
drawing near it's close, Paul deter
mined to seek an hotel and defer his
mission until the morrow.
The veteran was the old man of the
sea, who chung so tenaciously to the
shoulders of Sinbad the Sailor-he was
not to be dislodged either through
cajolery or threats.
Compelled to make the most of a
bad bargain, the American frankly
Invited his shadow to share the
hackney droschky in which he intend
ed going from the station to the hotel,
which opportunity the other eagerly
seized.
Berlin was unusually thronged for
the season of the year, and soldiers
were to be met with in squads and
companies at every turn, arriving and
departing-yet it might be noticed
that all who quilted the capital went
toward the south
It was wonderful sight to see
these two great nations pushing their
legions forward toward common line
OF demarcation, the Rhine, and fac
ing them there at several points long
| before the first tocsin Of war had
sounded.
But shrewd Bismarck knew full well
what untoward Influences were NOV
J ing Louis Napoleon, and that there
eould be no other settlement of the
grave questions between them save by
the arbitrament of arms. Hence
every move he made was done with the
full assurance that it would presently
prove to be one of the stepping stones
to Paris.
And Bismarck made no mistake
when he played his pawns with such
telling effect that Won Moltke was
.afterward enabled to sweep the chess
board.
For more than half century had
the Germans awaited chance to pay
4 back the scores of Napoleon Bona
parties time, but the hour was at hand
Paul had much to think of that
evening
He even forgot that the veteran con-
uaued to hover near by, keeping an
eye upon all his movements.
That those he had left in the univer-
;sity town were much in his thoughts
was foregone conclusion.
When would he see them again?
His heart went out to Karl, whom he
loved almost as though he were a
brother-and then there was Beatrix,
his sister, and last but not least, Hill
,degarde
The recollection gave him pain,
because clouds seemed to hover about
their sky, and he could not see clearly
what the end would be-yet it were
certainly better to have known this
charming girl and lost her than that
they had never met-he was the better
4 for the experience, it exalted his
Il ideas of womanly virtues, and, though
the probe brought keen pain, he ex-
pressed no wish that his steps had
turned other than thither.
Thus he considered as the night drew
on, seated just outside the hotel, and
& watching the animated scene upon the
famous street known far and wide as
Inter den linden.
Unconscious of the surprise in store
for him, he idly smoked and pondered
upon his plans for the morrow, when
he expected to seek an audience with
the great man. who, many years be-
fore had been schoolmate with his
father; and all the while his eyes me-
chemically followed those who saun-
tered to and fro
Thus, amid the press of gaily dress
ed women, and fierce, staggering mill
tar, heroes, he noticed droschky
~ ~, vn IN ar tho o,1rh from which a