The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1908-08-12
You want your motor carr"

You want your motor carr"
Yes"
"Pll telephone. Your chauffeur will
have it here in six minutes. And your
| aid-de-camp. VIII you
II don't want him, thanks. I'd rather
go alone"
Seven minutes later the big white
motor car was at the door which was
the private entrance to the emperors
suit and the emperor was waiting for
it, having forgotten all about tho sable
lined coat which had been n present
from the czar. If 1t had boon midwin-
I Ter he would have forgotten, Just tho
same. nor would he have known that
1t was cold.
There was plenty OF time now to car
ry out his plan, which was TO catch
the Orient express at the Kronburg
I station and present himself to the
Mowbrays in the train later. AS to
what would happen afterward, 1t was
beyond planning, but Leopold knew
that the girl had loved him, and he
hoped that ho would have Lady Now
bray on his side.
The only way Of reaching Kronburg
from Schloss Lyndalberg was by road.
There was no railway connection be-
tween the two places. But the town
and the castle were separated by a
short eight miles, and until checked by
traffic In the suburbs the sixty horse
power car could cover a mile in less
than two minutes.
Unfortunately, however, police reRu-
lations were strict and Of this Leo
Dold could not complain, as he had ap-
proved them himself. Once he was
stopped and would certainly not have
been allowed to proceed had he not re-
vcalcd himself as the emperor, the
owner Of tho one unnumbered car I'm
Rhaetla. AS 1t was, he had suffered
delay Of five minutes and just as
he was congratulatlng himself on the
goodness of his tires, which had made
him no trouble for many weeks, a loud
report rs of pistol shot gave warn
ing Of puncture.
But there was not a moment to waste
on repairs. Leopold drove on on the
rims, ONLY to acknowledge presently
the truth of an old proverb, "The moro
haste the less speed"
Delayed by torn and tapping tire,
the car arrived at the big central sta
tion of Kronburg only Ave minutes be-
fore II. Leopold dashed in, careless
whether he were recognized or not,
and was surprised at the absence OF
the crowd which usually throngs the
platform before the departure OF the
most important train OF the day.
us the Orient express late" he ask.
ed of an inspector to whom he was
but man among other men.
NO, sir. Just on time. Went out
five minutes ago"
"But it isn't due to start TIL H."
summer time table, sir. Autumn
time table takes effect today, the 1st
of October Orient express departure
changed to II 90"
An unreasoning rage against fate
boiled In TIE emperor's breast. He
ruled this country, yet everything In 1t
seemed to conspiro in plot to wreck
his dearest desires.
For few seconds he stood speech
less, feeling as If lie had been dashed
against blank wall and there were
no way of getting around It, Yet the
seconds were but few, for Leopold was
not man of slow decisions.
His first step was to inquire the
name of the town at which the Orient
express stopped soonest. In three
hours, he learned, 1t would reach Eel
gardc, the last station on the Rhaetian
side of the frontier.
His first thought on hearing this was
to engage n special and follow, But
even in these dayS there IS much red
tape cntanglcd with railway regula-
tions IN RhaetIa. 1t soon appeared
that 1t would be quicker to take the
next train to Felgarde which was due
to leave In half an hour and would ar
rive only an hour later than the Orient
express.
IcOpold's heart was chilled, but he
shook off dcspondency and would not
be discouraged. Telephoning to the
hotel where the Mowbrays had been
stopping. he learned that they had
gone Then he wrote out telegram:
Miss Helen Mowbray. Travelling From
Kronburg to Paris by Orient Express,
Care OF station Master nt Fegardo:
| imploro you leave the train at Eel
Eardc and wait for mo. Am following in
all haste. VIII arrive Felgardo ono hour
after YOU and hope to find you at Leo-
poldhoT.
SO far the wording was simple. He
had signilcd his intention and express
ed his wish, which would have been