The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-06-24

to be wrapped il, tie cloth you take
! with you and lowered from the win
dow to the men below. They are tc
remain in hiding until you have left
the castle and have reached their side.
1t will rot be difficult, if caution is oh.
served, for you to get outside Of thu
wall and to the carriage in the raTine.
I have given you this plan Of action
before, l know, but I desire to i'm
press it firmly upon your minds. There
must not be the slightest deviation.
The precision Of clockwork is neces-
sary"
The man named Michael hissed the
foregoing into the ears of his. compan-
ions, the palsied Americans hearing
every word distinctly. They scarcely
breathed, so tremendous was the re-
straint imposed upon their nerves 4
crime so huge, so daring as the abduc-
ton OF princess, the actual invasion
Of a castle to commit the theft Of q hu-
man being just as an ordinary burglar
would steal in and make way with the
contents Of a silver chest, was beyond
| their power Of comprehension.
eve understand fully how it is to be
done, and we shall get her to Ganlook
on time," said Geddos confidently.
"Not 4 hair of her head must be
/ harmed" cautioned the arch conspira-
tor. "In four days I shall meet you at
Ganlook. You will keep her in close
confinement until you hear from me.
Have you the guards uniforms that
you are to wear tonight:'
They are with the carriage in the
ravine Ostror and I will don them
before gong to the castle. In case we
are seen they will throw observers off
the track long enough for US to secure
q good start in our fight
Remember, there is to be no failure.
This may mean death to you, certainly
q long prison term, If you are appre-
hended. know it is daring deed, but
it is Just Of the kind that succeeds.
Who would dream that mortal man
could find the courage to steal prin-
cess Of the realm from her bed and
spirit her away from under the very
noses Of her vaunted guardsmen? 1t is
the bold, the impossible plan that
wins
I'VE cannot fail if your men on the
inside do their work WELL" said Ged-
dos, repeating what Ostrom had said.
"-All depends on their faithfulness."
':They will not be found wanting.
Your cutthToats must be sent on to
Caias with the empty carriage after
you have reached Ganlook in safety.
You will need them no more. Ostrom
will pay them, and they are to leave
the country as quickly as possible. At
Caias they will be able to join pack
train that will carry them to the Great
Northern railroad. From there they
will have no trouble in reaching Wen
na. You will explain to them, Geddos.
All we need them for, as you know, is
to prove by their mere presence In case
of capture that the attempt was no
more than case Of burglary conceived
by q band Of Fiennese robbers. There
will be no danger Of capture If you
once get her outside the walls. You
can be half way to Ganlook before She
is missed from the castle. Nor can
she be found at Ganlook if you follow
the instructions I gave last night. 1t
Is now nearly / o'clock, and in half an
hour the night will be as dark as
Erebus. Go, men; you have no more
time to lose, for this must be accom-
plished slowly, carefully, deliberately.
There must be no haste until you are
ready for the race to Ganlooh. Go, but,
for Gods sake, do not harm her! And
do not fail!''
Failure means more to US than to
you. Michael" half whispered the
hoarse Cstrom.
Failure means everything to ne!
must have herr
Already the two hirelings were NOV
ing off toward the road that ran west
Of the castle grounds. Michael watch
ed them for moment and then start
ed swiftly in the direction Of the city.
The watchers had not been able to
distinguish the faces Of the conspira-
tors, but they could never forget the
calm, cold voice Of Michael. with its
quaint, jerky English.
"What shall we do?' whispered An
guish when the men were out Of hear
ing.
"God knows" answered Lorry. This
is the most damnable thing l ever
heard Of. Are we dreaming? Did we
really see and hear those men" He
had risen to his feet, his companion
sitting weakly before him.
There's no question about it! It's
case of abduction, and we have it In
our power to spoil the whole job. By
CAD, but this is luck, Gren!" Anguish
was ouivering with excitement as he
rose to his feet. Shall we notify old
Dangloss OF alarm the steward? There's
no time to be lost if we want to trap
these fellows. Tie chief devil is bound
to escape, for we can't get him and the
others too, and they won't peach on
him. Come, we must be lively! What
are you standing there for? The trap
must be set!'
Wait! Why rot Go the whole Job
ourselvcs?"
"IIow-what do you mean"
"Why should we alarm anybody!
We know the plans as we'll as these
scoundrcis themselves. Why not fol-
low them right into the castle. capture
them red LANDED. and then do the alarm
ing? I'm in for saving the Princess of
Graustark with our own hands and
right under the noses Of her Taunted
guardsmen, as Michael says" Lorry
was thrilled by the spirit cf adventure.
His hand gripped his friends arm ana
his face was close to his ear. 1T is
the grandest opportunity two human
beings ever had to distinguish them
selves"
Great heaven, man! We cant DO
such a thingv gasped Anguish.
Its the easiest thing in the world.
Besides. il we fail, we have nothing to