The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1904-02-04

| in their midst Marie Amalie at the
window. her eyes upon the forest, heed
less Of it all. a ho -, LII rode down
the winding road and turned in the
saddle for long look at the palace
Some day he would ride from her for
ever to his land of hearts content"
over the sea, leaving her to the desc
late pomp of the Duchess of Grafs-
land. She turned to the baroness, and
their eyes met. The baroness shivered.
The crisis that she had been dreading
had come. Marie Amalie leaned down.
hushing her voice to whisper, 81 will
do 1t. and you must help me-" And the
baroness knew that she would keep
that word.
The old duke, her father, could hard
ly believe his eyes and ears when Ma
rie Amalie dutifully accepted her be-
trothal presents from the old Duke of
Grassland and even bent her white
brow to his kiss. Through all the fes-
tivities that followed she moved, a
Queenly figure, but there was a wick
ed light in the brown eyes, a mutinous
curve to the red lips, and the Gays of
the Baroness Griefenstein were not
days of pleasure.
The Princess Marie Amalie lay In
her darkened room. Once the doctor
would have let in the light, but she
protested, and finally he left her alone
with sleeping draft. AS lie meas
ured it, going to the window with his
back to the bed, white hand flashed
out toward the little case that held his
drugs. Only an instant, but as the
door closed behind him Marie Amalie
laughed low to herself
The baroness was on the point of re-
bellion, when Marie Amalie before -er
protesting eyes poured generous dose
into the chocolate and bade her swal-
low it.
Il am afraid. 1t will mean impris-
onment. punishment
"Take it, the sweet voice was like
steeD; take it quietly. The letters
shall be yours when l am safe" The
baroness drained the chocolate with
quivering lips.
Davent waiting with a closed car
riage at the postern gate heard the
click of the sentry's heels as the bar
oness came through the gateway. A
long black cloak came down to her
feet, but the tawny gray hair and the
password were sufficient for the sen
try.
Without word they entered the
carriage and were driven through the
night, past the gates, where the bar
oness gave the word. aboard the ex-
press, by grace of the promptly pro-
duced passports. When the morning
broke they were well away to Havre.
9 The princess had issued orders that
on no account were her maids to en-
ter her room until summoned. But as
the morning wore away and no sound
came from beyond the closed doors
they braved her anger and entered to
find the princess bed empty, unused.
and in a chair by the window the Bar
oness Griefenstefn, with an empty
chocolate cup at her elbow, lost in Il
drugged stupor.
There was much hurrying to and
fro in the. .duchy of Doldrums, but of
their Princess Marie Amalie there was
never trace
The little Lutheran minister blinked
and hesitated. But in the state of
New York there is no Alamancha de
GOtha, and, although Marie Amalie
Won Halsburg awakened an old sound
in his ears of the fatherland, the sus-
picion seemed too utterly impossible
to be entertained for a moment. So
he went on with the ceremony. and
Marie Amalie Davent passed from the
shadow of the quaint little church out
into the free sunlight of q land that
knoweth neither princess nor princi-
palities.