The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-05-29
NUMBER 4s.

path and said: go, or 1 will have
Master Brandon spit you on his sword
Two to one would be easy odds COM
pared with the four to one you put
against him in Billingsgate Cor And
the battle was over, the foe never hav-
ing struck a blow. 1t hurt me that
Mary should speak Of the odds being
two to one against Brandon when I
was at hand 1t is true 1 was not very
large, but could have taken care Of q
lawyer.
Now it was that the lawyer-knight
earned his bread by his wits, for it was
he, i know, who instigated the next
move, a master stroke in its way and
one which proved a checkmate to us.
1t was this: The duke went at once to
the king and in a tone Of injured inno-
cence told him of the charge made by
Brandon, with Mary's evident approx
al, and demanded redress for the SLAM
der. Thus it seemed that the strength
Of our position was about to be turned
against US. Brandon was at once sum-
moned and promptly appeared before
the king, only too anxious to confront
the duke. AS to the confinement Of
Brandon and his secret trial. the king
did not care to hear. That was a mat
ter of no consequence to him. The i'm
portant question was, Did Buckingham
attack the princess?
Brandon told the whole straight story
exactly as it was, which Buckingham
as promptly denied and offered to
prove by his almoner that he was at
his devotions on the night and at the
hour Of the attack. So here was a oon-
| fiict Of evidence which called for new
witnesses, and Henry asked Brandon
| IL the girls had seen and recognized the
duke. To this question of course be
was compelled to answer no, and the
whole accusation, after all, rested upon
Brandon's word, against which, on the
other hand. was the evidence Of the
Duke of Buckingham and his conven-
lent almoner.
All this disclosed to the full poor
Mary's anxiety to help Brandon, and,
the duke having adroitly let out the
| fact that he had just met the princess
with Brandon at a certain secluded
| spot in the forest. Henry's suspicion
| of her partiality received new force,
| and he began to look upon the unfortu-
nate Brandon as partial cause at
least of Mary's aversion to the French
marriage.
Henry grew angry and ordered
Brandon to leave the court, with the
sullen remark that it was only his
services to the Princess Mary that
saved him from a day with papers on
the pillory.
Henry was by no meaus sure that
his suspicious concerning Mary's heart
were correct. and in all he had heard
| he had not one substaL al fact upon
| which to base conviction. He had not
seen her with Brandon since their
avowal, or he would have had q fact
In every look, the truth in every mo-
ton, demonstration in every glance.
She seemed powerless even to attempt
concealment. In Brandon's handsome
manliness and evident superiority the
king thought he saw a very clear pos
sibility for Mary to love, and where
there is such a possibility for girl
she usually fails to fulfill expectations
Now, all this brought Brandon int
the deep shadow of the royal frown
and like many another man he san1
his fortune in the fathomless depths ol
a woman's heart and thought himself
rich in doing it.
ITO BE CONTINUED