Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-05-07

z seated near the princess, Candace
his side. Messages have been brougl
Z to me from the leading MOBILES of Daw'
3 bergen assuring me that the popuiac
is secretly eager for the old reign !
be resumed. Only the desperate Tea
& of Gabriel and few of his bloody bu
{ Ioyal advisers holds them In cheek
Believe me. Dawshergen's efforts t
s release Gabriel will be perfunctor!
5 and half hearted in the extreme. ID
I ruIed like a madman. 1t was his In
tense. implacable desire to kill MS
brother that led to his undoing. VIII
it be strange, your highness, If DAVIS
bergen Welcomes the return of Dantar
, in his stead?"
''The story! The story of his cap
ture! Tell me the story" came eager
ly from those assembled. Ravone lean
ed back languidly. his face tired and
drawn once more, as if the mere re-
calling of the hardships past was hard
to bear.
"First, your highness, may advise
YOU and your cabinet to send another
ultimatum to the people of Dawsber-
! GEM" he asked. This time say to
them that you hold two Dawsbergen
I princes in your hand. One cannot and
I will not be restored to them. The 9th
er will be released on demand. Let the
embassy be directed to meet the Duke
of Matz, the premier He is now with
the army, not far from your frontier.
May it please your hlghness, have
myself taken the liberty of dispatching
three trusted followers with the news
of Gabriers capture. The two Bappos
and Carl VandoS are speeding to the
frontier Your embassy will find the
Duke of Matz in possession of all the
facts"
1.-The Duke of Matz, am reliably In
formed, some day is to be father-in-law
to Dawsbergen," smilingly said Yetive.
II shall not wonder if he responds
most favorably to an ultimatum."
Ravone and Candace exchanged
glances of amusement, the latter break
ing into a deplorable little gurgle of
laughter.
Il beg to inform you that the dukes
daughter has disdained the offer from
the crown" said Ravone. "She has
married Lieutenant Alsanol of the roy
al artillery and is as happy as a but
terfy. Captain B0ldos could have told
you how the wayward young woman
defied her father and laughed at the
beggar prince"
Captain Baldos Is an exceedingly
discreet person" Beverly volunteered.
"He has told no tales out of school"
81 am reminded Of the fact that you
gave your purse into my keeping one
memorable day = the day when we
parted from our best friends at Gan
looks gates. thought you were
princess, and you did not know that
understood English. That was a sore
hour for us. Baldos was our life, the
heart of our enterprise. Gabriel hates
him as he hates his own brother.
Steadfastly has Baldos refused to join
us in the plot to seize Prince Gabriel.
He once took an oath to kill him on
sight, and l was so opposed to this
that he had to be left out of the final
adventures"
"Please tell us how you succeeded in
capturing that ) your half brother"
cried Beverly. forgetting that 1t was
anothers place to make the request.
The audience drew near, eagerly atten.
tive.
"At another time l shall rejoice in
telling the story in detail For the
present let me ask you to be satisfied
with the statement that we tricked him
by means of letters into the insane
hope that he could capture and slay
his half brother. Captain Baldos sug-
gested the plan. Had he been arrested
yesterday l feel it would have failed.
Gabriel was and is insane. We led
him a chase through the Graustark
hills until the time was ripe for the
final act. His small band of followers
fed at our sudden attack, and he was
taken almost without a struggle not ten
miles from the city of Edelweiss. In
his mad rawlings we learned that his
chief desire was to kill his brother and
sister and after that to carry out the
plan that has long been in his mind.
He was coming to Edelweiss for the
sole purpose of entering the castle by
the underground passage, with murder
in his heart. Gabriel was coming to
kill the Princess Yetive and Mr.. Lorry.
He has never forgotten the love lie
bore for the princess nor the hatred he
owes his rival 1t was the duty of
Captain Baldos to see that he did not
enter the passage in the event that he
eluded us in the hills"
Later in the day the Princess Yetive
received from the gaunt, hawkish old
man in the fortress a signed statement !
withdrawing his charges against Bal
dos, the guard. Marlanx did not ask |
for leniency. 1t was not in him to
plead. If the humble withdrawal Of
charges against Baldos could mitigate |
the punishment he knew Yetiye would |
impose, all well and good. If it went |
for naught, he was prepared for the
worst. Down there in his quarters,
with wine before him, he sat and wait
ed for the end. He knew that there |
was but one fate for the man, great or
.EH5l mi u /