Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-03-19


They have pixies, sir, but no fire
arms The duke will not trust them
| with firearms"
Then at last took the matter boldly
| in my hands. / had failed once at
Jacobs ladder; I should fail again
there. I must make the attack from
the other side.
II have promised you twenty thou
sand crowns" said I. You shall have
| fifty thousand if you will do what I
| ask of you tomorrow night. But. first,
do those servants know who your pris-
| oner is?"
"No. sir. They believe him to be
| some private enemy of the dukes"
| "And they would not doubt that
am the king?"
How should they?" he asked.
| Look to this, then. Tomorrow at 2
in the morning exactly fling open the
front door of the chateau. Don't fail
by an instant"
''Shall you be there, sir?"
"Ask no questions. Do what l tell
you. Say the hall is close or what you
will. That is all ask of you"
And may / escape by the door, sir,
when | have opened it?'
Yes. quick as your legs will carry
you. One thing more. Carry this note
TO madame-oh, it's in French; you
can't read it-and charge her, for the
sake of all our lives, not to fail in what
it ORDERS
The man was trembling. but had to
trust to what he had of courage and to
what he had of honesty. l dared not
wait, for l feared that the king would
die.
When the fellow was gone, / called
Sapt and Fritz to me and unfolded the
plan that | had formed. Sapt shook
his head over it.
"Why can't you waltz" he asked.
'The king may die"
"Michael will be forced to act before
that"
Then" said I, "the king may live"
''Well. and if he does:"
''For n fortnight?" l asked simply.
And Sapt bit his mustache.
Suddenly Fritz Won Tarlenheim laid
his hand on my shoulder.
Let us go and make the attempt"
said he.
81 mean you to go-don't be afraid
said l.
aye, but do you stay here and take
care of the princess?"
A CLEAN came into old Sapt's eye.
''We should have Michael one way
or the other then" he chuckled, "where
as if you go and are killed with the
king what will become of those of us
who are left?"
''They will serve Queen Flavia." said
j, land l would to God 1 could be one
of them
A pause followed. Old Sapt broke II
by saying sadly, yet with an unmeant
drollery that set Fritz and me laugh
ing:
why didn't old Rudolf III. marry
your-great grandmother, was it?'
Come" said L; 1T is the king We
are thinking about
at is true" said Fritz.
MOREOVER | went on. It have beer
an impoStOr for the profit of another
but L will not be one for my own. ant
if the king is not alive and ON hi.
, throne before the day of betrotha
comes l will tell the truth, come wha
may"
You shall go. lad" said Sapt
, Here is the plan l had made:
strong party under Sapt's command
, was to steal up to the door of tn,
| they We're to kill anyone who found
t them with their swords, for l wanted
! no noise of firing. If all went well
they would be at the door when 10
= ham opened it. They We're to rush il
S and secure the servants if their mer
= presence and the use of the king
5 name were not enough. At the SAM
5 moment-and on this hinged the plan
e a woman'S cry was to ring out lou,
| and shrill from Antoinette de Mau
4 bans chamber. Again and again sh
< was to cry: Help, help! Michael
/ help and then to utter the name o
i young Rupert Hentzau. Then, as w
e hoped, Michael, in fury, would rus
e out of his apartments opposite an,
: fall alive into the hands of Sapt Still
the cries would go on My men woul,
: let down the drawbridge, and it woul
I be strange if Rupert, hearing his nam
thus taken in vain, did not descen,
: from where he slept and seek to cross
De Gautet might or might not com
l with him. That must be left t
chance.
And when Rupert set his foot on til
y drawbridge? There was my part, TO
l was minded for another swim in tn
moat; and, lest | should grow weary
d / had resolved to take with me SINAI
wooden ladder on which l could res
my arms in the water-and naJ fee