The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1906-12-05


meet you at Labbot.'
ooh, indeed" said Beverly. very
much interested.
0They must have been misinforme Cd
as to your route or else your Russian
escort decided to take you through bJ
the lower and more hazardous way.
It was our luck that you came by the
wrong road. Otherwise we should not
have met each other, and the lion,'' he
said, smiling refectively.
.sWhere is Labbot?" asked she, IN
tent upon the one subject uppermost In
her mind.
'Tn the mountains many leagues
north of this pass. Had you taken that
route instead Of this you would by this
time have left Labbot for the town Ut
Eros, half days journey from Gaa-
look. Instead of vagabonds your es-
cort would have been made up Of loyal
soldiers, we'll fed, well clad and well
satisfied with themselves at least"
"But no braver, no truer than my
soldiers Of fortune" she said earnestly.
.'By the way, are you informed as 60
the state Of affairs In Dawsbergen?
Scarcely as well as your highness
must be-" he replied.
"The young prince = what's his
name?" she paused, looking to him for
the name.
"Dantan?"
eyes, that's 1t. What has become ef
him? am terribly interested in him."
"He is fugitive, they say"
"They haven't captured him, theE?
Good! I am so gladr'
Baldos exhibited little or no interest
in the fresh topic.
cit is strange you should have fog
gotten his name," be said YEARLY.
"Oh, / do so many ridiculous things:'
complained Beverly, remembering who
she was supposed to be. II have never
seen him, you know" she added.
'It is not strange, your highness. He
was educated in England and had seen
but little of his own country when he
was called to the throne two years ago.
You remember of course that his moth
er was an Englishwoman, Lady Ida
Falconer."
I'll thi1k I have heard some Of his
history. A very little. to be sure" she
explained lamely.
"Prince Gabriel, his half brother, is
the son Of Prince Louis III. by his
first wife, who was a Polish countess.
After her death, when Gabriel was
two years old, the prince married Lady
Ida. Dantan is their son. He has a
sister, Candace, who is but nineteen
years Of age
81 am ashamed to confess that you
know so much more about my neigh
bors than IT, she said.
81 lived in Dawsbergen for little
while and was ever interested In the
doings Of royalty. That is a poor mans
privilege, you know
"Prince Gabriel must be terrible
man." cried Beverly, her heart swelling
with tender thoughts Of the exiled Dam
TAN ana lis UtIle sister.
''You haze cause to know" said he
shortly, and she vas perplexed until
she recalled the stories Oh Gabriel S
misdemeanors at the court Of Edel-
weiss.
"Is Prince Dantan as handsome as
they say he is?" she asked
cit is entirely matter of opinion, !"
he replied. "I for one do not consider
him at all prepossessing."
The day went on, fatiguing, distress
ing in it's length and its happenings.
Progress was necessarily slow, the
perils of the road increasing as the
little. cavalcade wound deeper and
deeper into the wilderness. There were
times when the coach fairly crawled
along the edge Of precipice, a pro-
ceeding so hazardous that Beverly
shuddered as If in a chill. Aunt Fanny
slept serenely most Of the time, and
Baldos took to dreaming with his eyes
wide open. Contrary to her expecta-
tions, the Axphainians did not appear,
and if there were robbers in the hills
they thought better than to attack the
valorous looking party. 1t dawned
upon her finally that the Axphainians
were guarding the upper route and not
the one over which she was travelling.
Yetive doubtless was approaching Can
look over the northern pass, provided
the enemy had not been encountered
before Labbot was reached. Beverly
soon found herself fearing for the
safety Of the princess, a fear which at
last became almost unendurable.
Near nightfall they came upon three
Graustark shepherds and learned that
Ganlook could not be reached before
the next afternoon. The tired. hungry
travellers spent the night in a snug
little valley through which rivulet
bounded onward to the river below.
The supper was a scant one, the fora
gers having poor luck in the hunt fer
food. Daybreak saw them on their
way once more Hunger and dread
had worn down Beverly's supply Of