Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-19

|
Back to the house comrades" shouted
| another; there should still be something
there worth laying hands on
Until now Ellerey had waited. hidden by
| the river house. He had reached it almost
directly after the princess and Dumitru
had left it; but ignorant of this fact, he had
waited for them. From the soldiers words
| he learned the truth. Soldiers were in the
garden now, and as only little while since
he had sought to enter 1t unseen, he now
sought to leave 1t, crouching from tree to
tree and from shrubbery to shrubbery. His
life was too valuable to be uselessly thrown
away. He succeeded presently in scaling a
wall and dropping into a side lane, to fall
in later with a band of conspirators some
of whom We're present when the tale of the
countess treachery was told last night, and
who were now quietly making their way to
an arranged meeting place.
But the princess, comrades?" said FL
lerey. MY place is beside her"
Fear nothing, captain. She will come
and help us to make this day a glorious one
in SturatZberg."
The morning was advancing but people
who respected the law kept within their
houses, and left their doors fast barred.
From early dawn the soldiers were in the
streets, and it was evident that today the
ordinary business of life must be suspended.
AS the hours passed there were sounds of
fighting on every side the fierce rattle Of
musketry at street corners, flying men
charged by the soldiers. turning sometimes
into every alley and place of refuge which
ohCAcu, luIHlIs SONHetlneS at tlle shout Oh
one determined leader to withstand the
charge, to be cut to pieces or to bear the
soldiers back, leaving many a kings man
and kings enemy lying dead or wrthing
with their wounds, their enmity forgotten
In their common suffering.
In one side street, soon after such a skir-
mish had swept it from end to end a dark
figure glided from door to door. He had
not fought; he seemed unwilling to do so,
for at the sound of approa ching conflict he
was in readiness to retreat and hide HIM
SELF More than one wounded man in the
roadway pleaded for help. or cried for wa
ter. but he was deaf to their entreaties He
was making all speed to some point and
would allow nothing to hold him back.
Now he ran forward few PAGES, now
stopped and turned hastily into an alley
and went quickly on again. He came at
last to the house Of Frina Mavrodin, when
1t was close on noon The door at the
chief entrance had been torn from it's
hinges, there was nothing to bar his en-
trance. The servants who had escaped
death had fed, lay hidden in secret
places in the house. The soldiers had de-
serted 1t, finding their quarry gone, to go
and help their comrades in the streets. At
the moment the street was empty, and the
man slipped across the threshold, stepping
over the dead which lay In the hall, grim
witnesses of the ferceness of the fight
there. The man passed from room to room
rapidly, his ears intent to catch every
sound. 1t was clear that robbery was not
his object, for there was none to stay him
tdhliS Whatever lie WOuIO. lie passed on,
touching nothing. and. by the way he
glanced down this corridor and that 1t was
evident that the house was not familiar to
him. Chance directed his footsteps and
brought him to the room where Princess
Martha had been. The broken door at the
further end attracted his notice and he en-
tered The room. stopping for a moment to
look into the face of Hannah. The leor
ard skin had not been thrown over her yet.
She was the first woman lying dead he had
come across and he grew excited She had
been killed because she stood in the way,
and she would not have stood in the way
unless she had had some one in imminent
danger to defend. She must have been
with the princess, he argued, and If so, this
must be the way they had taken. He went
quickly along the passage and up to the
house by the river Some one had certainly |
been there, but which direction had they
taken afterward? He glanced to right and
left and stood for some time looking across
the river.
He would not leave the princess. and he |
would take her as far as possible from these
fighting madmen in the Streets" he mused |
Surely he cannot escape such a day as |
this"
The man went slowly back along the pas
sage again. and then he stopped suddenly. |
The sound Of voices reached him dis |
tincty.
Brave woman he heard one say. It
was a womans voice and the mans heart |
beat high.
towards to treat her thus" came the |
muttered answer In a mans lower tone. |
There was a moments silence
Help me to cover her." said the woman
There was turn in the passage, and the |
man standing waiting there could not see |
into the room. But the passage was dark |
and If those in the room came that way
they We're not likely to see him, and his |
mouth widened into malicious smile |
Would they come? He had hardly whispered
the question to himself when it was evil |
dent that they had entered the passage and |
were approaching. The waiting man drew |
back against the wall, knife in Ibis hand |
and If this failed his other hand grasped a |
revolver. They came slowly, cautiously |
and just before the turn paused. 1t was |
clear that they meant to be careful, for the |
man said. after moments hesitation
1T is clear"
Then he came, but alone and swiftly, with |