Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-09-23

ley was wholly uncomfortable over the
turn Of affairs. The ambassador would
not leave until the storm abated, and
Armitage must remain
where he was. If by any chance he
should be discovered in the house. no
ordinary excuses would explain away
his presence. and as she pondered the
matter it was Armitage's plight, his
injuries and the dangers that beset
him, that was uppermost in her mind
The embarrassment that lay in the af-
fair for herself If Armitage should he
found concealed in the house troubled
her little. Her heart beat wildly MS she
realized this. and the look in his eyes
and the quick pain that twitched his
face ut the door haunted her.
The two men were talking of the
new order of things in Vienna.
THE trouble is," said the ambassa-
dor, that Austria Hungary is not a
nation, but what NIetternich called
italy-a geographical expression. Where
there are so many loose ends Il strong
grasp is necessary to hold them to-
gether."
"And n weak hand" suggested Judge
Claiborne, "might easily lose or scat
ter them"
Precisely. And Il man of character
and spirit could topple down the card
house tomorrow, pick out what he liked
and create for himself a new e,lifice-
and stronger one. l speak frankly.
Nan Stroebel Is out of the way, the
hew emperor-king is n weakllng. and If
he should die tonight or tomorrow
+ The ambassador lifted his hands and
snapped his fingers.
yes. After him, what?"
after him his scoundrelly cousin
'IFrancis. end then stronger than Won
iStroe',el might easily fail to hold the
disjecta membra of the empire to-
getler."
But there are shadows on the
SCREEN remarked Judge Claiborne.
There was Karl, the mad prince"
] "Humph! There was some red blood
in him, but he was impossible. lie
had faint of democracy, treason, re-
'bcllion."
! Judge Claiborne laughed.
I'll don't like the combination of
Terms. II treason and rebellion are
synonyms of democracy, we Americans
are in danger"
NO; you are miracle-that is the
only explanation, replied Marhof.
But man like Karl-what If he
were to reappear in the world! A lit
tie democracy might solve your prob
lem"
mo, thank God, he is out of the
way! He was sane enough to take
himself Off and die"
But his ghost walks Not year
ago We heard of him, and he had a
son who chose his fathers exile. What
if Charles Louis, who is without heirs.
should die and Karl or his SOM
4 "In the providence of God they are
dead. Impostors gain little brief no.
toriety by pretending to be the lost
Karl or his son Frederick Augustus.
but Won Stroebel satisfied himself that
Karl was dead. am quite sure of it..
You know dear Stroebel had genius
ilOi gaining llllOflilatlOn.
II have heard as much" and Shirley
and the baron smiled Mt Judge Clai.
lborne's tone.
The storm was diminishing, and Shir-
ley grew more tranquil Soon the am
bassador would leave and she would
send Armitage away, but the mention
of Stroebel's name rang oddly in her
ears, and the curious way in which
IArmitage and Chauvenet had come
into her life awoke new and anxious
questions.
Count Won Stroebel was not Il dem
'ocrat, at any rate" she said "IIe be-
|lieved in the divine right and all that"
$50 do l, Miss Claiborne. It's all
we've got to stand on
but suppose II democratic prince
were to fall heir to one of the. Euro
pean thrones, insist on giving his crown
ito the poor and taking his oath in a
frock coat, upsetting the old order en-
tirely'-
/ He would be a fool. and the people
would drag him to the block in n
week." declared the baron vigorously.
They pursued the subject in lighter
vein few minutes longer; then the
baron rose. Judge Claiborne summon
ed the waiting carriage from the sta.
bic, and the baron drove home.
1 Il ought to work for an hour on that
Danish claims NATTER" remarked the
Judge, glancing toward his curtained
den.
you will do nothing of the kind
Might work is not permitted in the val.
ley"
"Thank you. hoped you would say
that, Shirley. believe l am tired
and now IL you will find magazine
for me I'll go to bed. Ring for Thorn
Jas to close the house,
II have Il few notes to write. They'll
take only q minute and I'll write them
here"
She heard her fathers door close, lis
tened to be quite sure that the house
was quiet and threw back the curtains.
lArmitage stepped out into the library.
You must go! You must go! she
whispered, with deep tensity.
Yes; l must go. You have been
kind. You are most generous"
But she Went before him to the hall,
waited, listened, for one instant; then
threw open the outer door and babe
him so. The rain dripped heavily from
the caves, and the cool breath of the
Ifreshened air was sweet and stlmulat-
ing. She was Immediately relieved to
have him out of the house, but he lin
gered on the veranda, staring helpless
ly about.
Il shall go home" he said, but SO un-
steadily that she looked at him quick
|ly. He carried the cloak flung over his
shoulder and in readjusting it dropped