Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-07-05
a,,u very much Interested \ snarled

/ Aiu very Much llltcfestSu' s1s'AAvs1
| Marlanx
] eOnly SO far as / imagined my OBJ
servations might be of benefit to some
one else" said Baldos coolly Again
Hence was like death.
do you know what you are say
/ ing, Baldos37 asked Lorry after mo-
ment.
Certainly, Mr. Lorry. It is the duty
of any servant Of her highness to give
her all that he has In him. If my OBJ
servations can be Of help to her feel
in duty bound to make the best Of
them for her sake, not for my own"
Perhaps you can suggest modilca-
| lions in the fort snarled Marlanx.
"Why don't you do it, sir; and let us
have the benefit of your superior intel
ligenee? No, gentlemen, all this pratt
ing of loyalty need not deceive us" be
cried, springing to his feet 1.-THE fell
low is nothing more nor less than an
| Internal spy, and the Tower is the place
for him! He can do no harm there"
! IF it were my intention to do harm,
gentlemen, do you imagine that l
should withhold my information for
days?, asked Baldos. IF / am a spy
YOU may rest assured that Count Mar
/ lanx's kindnesses should not have been
so long disregarded. A spy does not
believe in delays"
"My-my kindnesses?" cried Mar
lanx. what do you mean, sir 7"
Il mean this, Count Marlanx," said
Baldos, looking steadily into the eyes
| of the head of the army. 1T was kind
and considerate of you to admit me to
the fortress, no matter In what capaci-
ty, especially at a critical time like this.
You did not know me, you had no way
| of telling whether my intentions were
honest or otherwise, and yet was per
mitted to go through the fort from end
to end. No spy could wish for greater
generosity than that"
An almost imperceptible smile went
around the table, and every listener
but one breathed more freely. The
! candor and boldness Of the guard won
the respect and confidence of all except
AIarlanx. The Iron Count was white
| with anger. He took the examination
out of Lorry's hands and piled the
stranger with insulting questions, each
calm answer making him more furious
than before At last, in sheer impo-
tence, he relapsed into silence, waving
his hand to Lorry to indicate that he
might resume.
| "You will understand, Baldos, that
we have some cause for apprehension, .
said Lorry, immensely gratified by the
outcome of the tilt You are stran-
ger, and, whether you admit it or not,
/ there is reason to believe that you are
not what you represent yourself to
| be-
II am humble guard at present, sir,
| and loyal one My life is yours
should prove otherwise
| Yetfve whispered something in Lor-
RVS ear at this juncture. She was Wis
| IDLY pleased and excited. He looked
| doubtful for an instant and then APP
parently followed her suggestion, re-
CARELESS of consequences.
| would you be willing to utilize your
knowledge as an engineer by suggest
| ing means to strengthen the fortress p
The others stared in fresh amazement.
Marlanx went as white as death.
ssNever!" he blurted out hoarsely.
II will do anything the princess COM
mands me to dc" said Baldos easily.
You mean that you serve her only 7"
81 serve her first, sir. If she were here
she could command me to die, and
| there would be an end to Baldos." And
he smiled as he said it. The real prin-
cess looked at him with new, eager
expression, as if something had just
become clear to her. There was a
chorus of coughs and a round Of sly
looks.
"She could hardly ask you to die, !"
said Yetiye, addressing him for the
| first time.
"a princess is like April weather,
madam" saiu Baldos, with rare hui
nor, and the laugh was general. Ye-
tive resolved to talk privately with this
excellent wit before the hour was over.
She was confident that he knew her to
be the princess.
81 would like to ask the fellow an
other question: said Marlanx, finger
| ing his sword hilt nervously. .sYou say
you serve the princess. Do you mean
by that that you imagine your duties
as a soldier to comprise dancing polite
attendance within the security Of
these walls ~
II believe enlisted as a member of
the castle guard, sir. The duty Of the
guard is to protect the person Of the
ruler Of Graustark and to do that to
| the DEATH
ut is my belief that you are spy.
| You can show evidence of good faith
by enlisting to fight against Dawsber-
gen and by shooting to KILL" said the
count. with sinister CLEAN in his
| eye
| "And ii / decline to serve in any
other capacity than the one now