Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-03-26

= below once more BefOre reelng 10 ne
nom. Marianx was coming tOyVar
J. the veransia. She del swiftly. pausin
At the window u lower tie friendl
: hut forgotten umbrella From belcE
: came the sibiIant hiss OF a man seek
!, ing 10 attract her attention Once NOR
, she stopped TO listen The -IIls..' wa
! reDested. and thea her oNn name wa
? called softly. but imperatively. II wa
beyond the power Of wOiasn 10 keel
from laughing Ii struck her as ire
slstibIy funny that the Iron COun
should be standing out there in th'
rain signaling 10 her like lOvesiek
, boz. Once she was inside. however, Il
! did not seem so amusing Still ii gave
. her an immense amount Of satisfaction
to slam the windows loudly. as IL in
! pure defiance. Then she closed the
blinds, shutting out the night com
pletely.
Turning up the light at her dressing
table, she sat down In a state Of sud
den collapse. For a long time she
stared at her face in the mirror. She
saw the red Of shame and embarrass-
ment mount 10 her cheeks. and then
she covered her eyes with her hands.
"Oh, what a fool you've beenr' she
half sobbed. shrinking from the mirror
as IL it were an accuser.
She prepared for bed with frantic
haste. Just as she was about TO scram-
bic In and hide her face in the pillows
q shocking thought came to her. The
next instant she was at the windows.
and the stats were closed with a rattle
ike a vOlley Of firearms. Then she
jumped into bed She wondered If the
windows were locked. Out she sprang
again Ike a fash, and her little bare
feet seurried across the room. first TO
the windows and then to the door.
Now / reckon I'm safe" she mur-
INJURED a moment later. again getting
into bed Il lore TO 60 TO sleep with
/ the rain pattering outside ike that
/ Oh, dear. I'm so sorry he has TO walk
I all night In this rain. Poor fellow /
wonder where be Is now. Goodness!
I It's raining cats and dOgsF'
But in spite Of the rain she could not
60 to sleep. Vague fears began to take
possession Of her. Something dreadful
told her that Count Marlanx was on
the balcony and at her window, not
withstanding the rainpOur. The fear
became oppressive. maddening She
felt the mans presence almost as
strongly as If he were in plain view
He was there; she knew It.
The little revolver that had served her
30 YaliantIy at the inn of the Hawk
and Raven lay upon a stool near the
bedside every night Consumed by the
fear that the window might open slow
ly at any moment she reached forth
and elutched the weapon Then she
shrank back In the bed, her eyes fixed
upon the black space across the room.
For hours she shiyered and waited for
the window to open, doing away time
and again, only to come back to wake
fulness with a start
The next morning she confessed TO
herself that her fears had been silly
Her first act after breakfasting alone
In her room was TO seek out Colonel
Quinnox, commander Of the castle
guard. In her mind she was greatly
troubled over the fate of the bold
visitor OF the night before There was
a warm, red glow In her face and a
quick beat In her heart as she crossed
the parade ground Vagabond though
he was he had conquered where princes
had failed. Her better Judgment told
her that she could be nothing TO this
debonaIr knight of the road. yet her
heart stubbOrnly resisted all the argu-
ments that her reason put forth.
Colonel QulnnOx was pleasant, but
he could give Beverly no promise Of
leniency In regard to BaldOs. Instruc-
tions had come to him from General
Marlanx, and he could not set them
aside at will Her plea that he might
once more be assigned to old time
duties found the colonel regretfully OBJ
durate. BaldOs could not ride with her
| again until Marlanx withdrew the or
der which now obtained. Beverly swal-
lowed her pride aud resentment diplO-
matically, smiled her sweetest upon
the distressed colonel and marched de
/ family back to the castle Down in her
rebellious, insulted heart she was con-
cOcting all sorts Of plans for revenge.
Chief among them was the terrible
overthrow OF the Iron Count. Her wide
scope OF vengeance even contemplated
the destruction Of Graustark il her end
eOuld be obtained in no other way.
Full Of these bittersweet thoughts,
she came to the castle doors before she
Jaw who was waiting for her upon the
great verahda. AS she mounted the
steps. a preOccupied frOwn upon her
| fair brow. General Iarlanx, lean, Graf
ty and confident. advanced 10 greet her.
l The early hour was responsible for the
bright solitude which marked the place.
But few signs Of life were in evidence
about the castle.
She stopped with a sharp exelama-
ton OF surprise. Then seOrn and iRdig-
nation rushed IN to I'll the place Of as
tonishment. She faced the smiling old
man with anger In her eyes.
~G0od morning" be said. extending
bis hand, which she did not see. Shs
was wondering how much he had seen
and heard ap midnight
4 thought the troops were massing
this morning" she said coldly. Don't
you mass tOOT~
There Is time enough for that. my
dear. / came to have 3 talk with you
IN private" he said meaningly.
1T Is sufficiently private here, Count
MarlanX- What have you to say ts
meY'
Il want to talk about last night You
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