The Columbus journal., 1907-09-25
CHAPTER xxxlv.

h&s open palm.
"Dcg!" It was Ferdinand who spoke.
He struggled vainly to rise.
"A hive dog Is better than . dead
No., Ferdinand. That nag 1t half
mast u significant Of many things. 1t
usns its story eloQuently. that beauti-
f1l nag-as clearly as the little stamp
hat has frightened you SO much"
Interpret the flags moving tale for
1AAs puppet king" beseeched Bratinau,
sasekhng savasely.
First OF all. Their. . your Majesty
Dut understand that 1t is the stand
nd Of England With the royal arms in
he center surrounded by a garland OF
a0werA Your Majesty knows quite rs
weA ~ ! that when such Q flag floats,
Whether ON sea or land. II Is . signal
a the presence Of an English ambas-
sadOr. But II flies at half-mast be-
cause the ambassador In this chateau
10 dead-dead as you will be. vain
king, when the midnight hour has
struck- Pardon us II we have given .
mere ambassado. precedence over .
king; but you arrive a little late"
Ny blood boiled. l was impatient to
interrupt Starva's narrative. 1t was
Locke's curiosity that delayed our res
Que. He restrained me with q gesture.
There is plenty Of time" he WINS
pered. 1T is hardly IL now. and Ferdi-
nand is to die at midnight. ! am anx-
ious to hear more concerning this dag.
And remember. please. that you have
my revolver"
was too easily persuaded. l had
listened to DR.. Starva's words in Won
der. 1t was I. or rather fate. who had
lowered that flag at half-mast- My
perplexity was not lessened as I heard
What followed.
"But when," continued Starva, Il
entered my carriage to escort you
Either in state. this flag was floating
in the breeze at the head Of its nag
stan. Not until your Majesty stepped
on the terrace did II fall at half-mast.
Shah l tell you why? When 1t fell
at half-mast 1t was a signal that you
wer in our power. There e others
anxious to welcome your coming,
Ferdinand. They have watched that
dag with burning eyes. They will
come soon, the rest of the reception
committee. Listen-three raps and
silence-two and silence-one and
then three. 1t is they. Bratinau. Open
the door while I guard this ass In a
lions skin that will cease to bray at
midnight"
] deplored my folly in delaying the
attempt at Ferdinand's rescue. Even
now. while Bratinau rushed to the
door to draw its bolts, ! should have
fired at Starva had he not been kneel-
ing at Ferdinand's side. twisting q cord
about his wrists to fasten him in the
chair in which he sat. The action ex-
posed Ferdinand; Starva's body was
shielded by that of the king. The ad-
rent of the cOnspirators had taken
Locke and myself completely by sur
prise. And when we had heard the
knocking on the door We had hoped
that q timely rescue had come.
l counted five OF them. Locke and I
hopelessly outnumbered now. We
had missed our chance. I confess that
something very like fear clutchec at
my heart when 1 heard the bars crate
back in their sockets. I know that
Locke himself was pale enough. Un-
less SOM accident favored ms. not
only Was Ferdinand doomed. but per-
haps ourselves as well. a-1
But l forgot our own danger In the
extraordinary scene that followed.
Starva had sprung on a chair close to
Ferdinand. With ribald Jest he intro
duced each Of his ~confederates as they
stood about the " In a half circle.
A. each mans name was mentioned
he stepped In front of Ferdinand and
Knocked him. z
Your Majesty" cried -Starva. bow
ing low, AL Of your reception commit
tee is present except one. He will
come presently-and his news will
ar0use you from the ennui that seems
TO Cypress you. In the meanwhile let
me have the honor Of introducing tn
you each Of these gentlemen:
Col. Ignatien. Of Roumania! He 10
IN admirer Of the ladies'. and he viii
be charmed to present them with q
lock of your hair as a souvenir"
4 prefer your heart. Ferdinand, TO |
be preserved in a beautiful funeral |
urn for myself" cried the rufian.
"Dimitri ~GOrtschako1. of Servia! He !
Is groom of the bedchamber Of King |
Alexander. He should be concerned
with his own duty this night"
But I have unselfishly sacrificed
myself to administer to your comfort"
vas the brutal comment |
Count Nicholai Piteschti, OF Bosnia. |
You should feel at h0me-you see We
have aristOcrats present"
Il am SO much Of An ~aristocrat that |
I am jealous Of n who Is above me
In rank to dwarf my own Importance"
''Gornji, Of Montenegro! He is only
. common soldier. and is better known
By his sobriquet, The Cat He win
ne his claws presently"
"A cat can look at q king. they say.
Yes, I can scratch well enough. Al
nng's tyranny has made me groan: I
hope you will not die SO quickly. Ferdi-
nand. that I shall not have time to
laugh at your groans." He struck
Ferdinand . violent blow With his
denched fst
-Oh, n, Ia Ia! Lese. Aajeste!"
shouted B~ratinau. Restrain your en-
comrade."
otto Kuhn, of Macedonia! He is
old acquaintance of your Majesty's.
Bat you will not have the joy of thrust