Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1902-05-16

Joy was SIOSc a.
Presently a relief train would arrive
and through this he nIg&t contsa0s q:
journey.
AS he moved about in the. earl!
dawn, too restless to remain quiet
Paul noticed that he was being fol
lowed up and down by figure tina
limped badly, yet walked with the stir
air of soldier.
It was the veteran, now in the secret
service of Bismarck, determined not
to lose sight of his man.
Paul was rather charmed by such
pertnacity, and resolved to make ii
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
pleasant 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
erican could say.
Rhinelander was glad when the
spires Of Berlin appeared in view.
Once in the capital, as the day was
drawing near its 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.
1t was a wonderful sight to see
these two great nations pushing their
legions forward toward a common line
Of demarcation, the Rhine, and fac
before the first tocsin Of war had
sounded.
But shrewd Bismarck knew full we'll
what untoward influences were NOV
ing Louis Napoleon, and that there
could 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
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-
tinued 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 a 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
XXX tie cad W'a@}d 5e-yet It we're
certainly better to have known this
charming girl and lost her than that
they had never met-he was the better
for the experience. it exalted his
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 consideredas 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 a schoOlmate with his
father; and all the while his eyes me-
chanically followed those who saun-
tered to and fro.
Thus, amid the press Of gaily dress
ed women, and fierce, staggering mill
tary heroes, he noticed droschky
drawn up at the curb from which a
yellow-haired young man bounded, and
Paul uttered a cry Of surprise, not I'M
mingled with CONSERVATION. as he rec
ogniZed his friend and chum Of the
Rhine kOrps, Karl Won Stettin.
CHAFTEK XIV.
Dead to the World.
Paul hastened to give Karl a cordial
welcome, asking what on earth had