Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-06-28

of royalty slipped from the princess.
Count Halfont and his adorable wife.
the Countess Yvonne, both of whom
had grown old in the court, found the
girl and her strange servant a source
OF wonder and delight
Some days after Beverly's arrival
there came to the castle Harry An
g'iish and his wife, the vivacous Dag
| mar. With them came the year.old
cooling babe who was to overthrow the
heart and head of every being in tn.
household. from princess down. The
tiny Dagn1ar hecnme queen at cncs
and no one disputed her rule
Anguish tho painter became Anguish
the strateglst and soldier. lie planned
with I.orry and the ministry, advance
Ing some of the mos. harcbrained prof.
Gets that even encouraged discussion in
solemn conclave. The staid. cautious
ministers looked upon him with Won
der, but so plausible did he make his
| proposals appear that they were
! forced TO consider them seriously. Tho
ola Count Of Marlanx held him in grent
disdain and did not hesitate to expose
Anguish in the least. for he was as
optimistic as the sunshine. His plan
for the rccaptnre of Gabriel was rldic-
ulously improbable. but it was after
ward seen that had it. been attempted
much distress and delay might actually
| have been avoided.
Ietive and Beverly with Dagmar
and The baby, made merry while the
men were in council. Their mornings
were spent in the shady park sur
rounding the castle. their afternoons in
! driving, riding and walking. often
times the princess was barred from
! these simpl" pleasures by the eXigen-
cies Of her position. She was obliged
| to grant audiences, observe certain Gus
toms of state attend to the charities
that came directly under her supervi-
sion and confer with the mobiles on af-
fairs of weight aud importance. Bev-
ery delighted in the throne room and
the underground passage They sig
nihcd more to her thun all the rest.
She was shown the room in which Lor-
ry had foied the Niennese who once
tried to abduct Yctive. The dungeon
where Gabriel spent his first days Of
confinement, the tower in which Lorry
had been held n prisoner and the mon
astery in the clouds were all places of
unusual interest to her.
Some of the people Of the city began
to recognize the fair American girl who
was a guest in the castle and certain
amount of homage was paid to her.
! When she rode or drove in the streets,
with her attendant soldiers, the people
| bowed az deeply and as respectfully
as they did TO the princess herself, and
Beverly was just as grand and gra-
cious as if she had been born with q
scepter in her hand.
! The soft moonigh nights charmed
! her with a sense of rapture never
| known before. With the castle bril-
! liantly Illuminated the halls and draw
! ing rooms filled with gay courtiers. the
| harpists at their posts. the military
band playing in the parade ground, the
balconies and porches Offering their
most inviting allurements, it is no Won
| der that Beverly was entranced. War
! had no terrors for her. If she thought
| of 1t at all it was with the fear that il
might disturb the dream into which she
had fallen. True. there was little or
nothing to distress the most timid in
these first days. The controversy be-
tween the principalities was at a stand
/ still. although there was not an hour in
/ which preparations for the worst We're
neglected. TO Beverly Calhoun it
( meant little when sentiment was laid
aside To Yetive and her people this
/ probable war with Dawsbergen meant
/ everything.
/ Dangloss. going back and forth be-
| tween Edelweiss and the frontier north
| of Ganlook, where the best Of the police
and secret service watched with the
( sleepless eyes OF the lynx. brought I'M
settling news to the ministry. Axphaiu
! troops We're engaged in the annual
! maneuvers just across the border in
/ their own territory. Usually these
We're held in the plains near the CAPT
/ tai, and there was a sinister signih-
/ canoe in the fact that this year they
were being carried on in the rough
| southern extremity of the principalty,
within a days march of the Graustark
! line, fully two months earlier than
usual. The doughty baron reported
that foot. horse and artillery We're en-
gagged in the drills, and that fully 5000
men We're massed in the south OF Ak
phain. The Notifications of Ganlook,
Labbot and other towns in northern
Graustark We're strengthened with al.
most the same care as those in the
south, where conflict with Dawsbergen
might first he expected. General Mar
lanx and his staff rested neither day
nor night. The army Of Graustark
was ready. Underneath the castles
gay exterior there smoldered the fire Of
| battle the tremor of defiance.
Late one afternoon Beverly Calhoun
and Mrs. Anguish drove up in state to
the Tower, wherein sat Dangloss and
his watchdogs The scowl left his face
rs far as nature would permit, and he
welcomed the ladies warmly.
Il came to ask about my friend, the
goat hunter" said Beverly her cheeks
trfie roster than usual.
He Is far from an amiable person.
| your highness," said the officer. When
discussing Baldos he never failed to
| address Beverly as your highness."
''Ihn fnvnr to, Nd ~, l., nh -