Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-07

dSalHSt MIN, ana TO charge MIN WIN
taking part in plot, of the true
meaning of which he certainly had
had no knowledge.
| Belgrade is city in which plots
against the monarchy are limited at
and whispered in the corners of draw
ing rooms, where diplomacy Is mass
OF intrigue, city of spies and syco.
plants, of concession hunters and po-
litical cliques. Gay, pleasant and easy
going, with it's fine boulevard, its
pretty Kalabegdan Garden and its
spick and span new streets, it is diff
ferent to any other capital of Eu-
| rope; more full of tragedy, more full
of plot and counterpart.
! Austria is there, ever seeking by
her swarm Of secret agents to stir up
strife and to organize demonstra-
lions against the reigning dynasty.
Germany is there seeking influence
and making promises, while Bulgaria
is ever watchful; Turkey is silent and
spectral, and Great Britain looks on
neutral, but noting every move of the
deep diplomatic Juggling Of the pow
| erS.
At night amid the clatter, the laugh
ter and the gypsy music of the Grand
Cafe, with its billiard tables in the
center and its restaurant adjoining,
the stranger would never dream of it's
close proximity to the tragedy of a
throne. Just as the bright lights and
calm, moonlit sea throw glamor
over that plague spot, Monte Carlo,
until the visitor believes that no evil
can lurk in that terrestrial paradise,
so in Belgrade is everything so pleas
ant, so happy, so careless, that the
stranger would never dream that the
whole city sits ever upon the edge of
a volcano, and that the red flag of
revolt is ready at any moment to be
hoisted.
! Charlie Rolfe knew Belgrade and
knew the tragedy that underlay it's
brightness. What greater tragedy
could there be than the death of the
innocent child blown to atoms oy
the bomb?
Who could be the culprit whom Sir
Charles had told him was his
friend He had known the doctor
we'll, but not intimately as Max Bar
clay had done. Curious that Max had
told him nothing concerning the
tragic incident which had caused the
Servian statesman and patriot to turn
his back upon his beloved country
and live in studious seclusion in Eng
land. Max had told him many things,
but had never mentioned that sub
ject.
Was Max Barclay really the
Friend" to whom Sir Charles had re-
ferred? Was it really possible? He
held his breath, contemplating the
end OF his half-smoked cigar and won.
dering.
1t was strange suspicion. OF late,
ever since Max had charged him
with having been present at Cromwell
Road on the night of the disappear
ance, he had somehow held aloof from
the man to whom Marion was so de-
voted.
And now? Even she had disappear
ed! What could it mean?
Did Max Barclay really know how
and for motives of his own was max
ing a mystery of 1t?
The message from Barclay worried
him. Marion was missing Why had
she left Cunnington's? She must have
left Of her own accord, he felt conf
dent. She would never be discharged.
4
ment, allow that.
A tall man with fair, pointed beard
approached him, raised his hat and
gripped his hand. 1t was Drukovitch,
the director of the National Theater,
and friend of his. The newcomer
seated himself at the table, and the
waiter brought tiny glass of "slivo
vita" or plum gin, that liquor so dear
to the Servian palate. Drukovitch was
one of the best known and most pop
ular men in Belgrade; thorough
going cosmopolitan and a man of the
world. Sometimes he went to London,
and whenever there Charlie enter
tanned him at his club, or they went
to the theater and supped at the Sa-
voy.
AS they chatted, Rolfe explaining
that he was in Servia upon financial
matters as usual, Drukovitch nodded
to the officers and civilians whom he
knew, many of them famous for the
part they had played in the recent
coup d'etat Some of them, indeed,
wore the white enamelled cross,
which decoration marked them as par
tisans of the dynasty of Karageorge.
And meanwhile the orchestra was
playing the popular waltz from THE
Merry Widow" the air haunting ev-
erybody and everyone.
That night there was court ball
at the palace and the forthcoming
event was upon everyone's lips. There
was seldom any entertainment at the
New Konak, for his majesty led a
very quiet life, the almost ascetic life
of a soldier-riding out at dawn, at
tending to duties of state during the
day and retiring early.
Perhaps the most maligned man in
all Europe, King Peter of Servia was,
nevertheless, known to those intimate
around the throne to be most con-
scientious ruler, fully aware of all his
responsibilities and striving ever to
pacify the various political factions,
sustaining the prestige of Servia
abroad and ameliorating the condi-
ton of the people at home
The truth regarding King Peter had
never been written. Of libels and vile
calumnies there had been volumes,
t,f 1,~ ~