Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-07-21

In some eense he was afraid. That she
accepted. But she hesitated to believe
that he was afraid in the common
sense that he was either lacking Iii
nerve or oyerburdened with humanity,
that he either feared fighting or would
shrink from a salutary severity in re-
pressing tumult. If he feared, he fear
ed neither for his own skin nor for the
skin of others. He feared for his policy
or his ambition.
These things We're nothing to her.
She was for the prince. for his policy
and his ambition. Were they the same
as Stenovics'? Even novice at the
game could see that this by no means
followed Of necessity. The king was
, elderly and went a-fishing. The prince
was young and n martinez. In age Ste
! movies was between the two-nearly
, twenty years younger than the king, a
dozen or SO older than the prince. I'm
der the present regime he had matters
almost entirely his own way. At first
sight there was of certainty no rea-
son why his ambitions should coincide
precisely with those of the prince. Fiji
ty-nine, forty-one, twenty-eight-the
nges of the three men in themselves H.
Illuminated the situation-tha Is, If
forty-one could manage fifty-nine, but
had no such power over twenty-eight.
New to such meditations, yet with a
. native pleasure in them, taking to. the
troubled waters as though born a swim
mer, Sophy thought and watched and
looked about. AS to her own part she
| was clear. Whether Rastatz was right,
| whether that most vivid and indelible
! memory of hers was wrong, were ques-
lions which awaited the sole determi-
nation of the Prince of Slavna.
Her attitude would have been un-
,, changed, but her knowledge much In
creased, could she have been present
at certain meeting on the terrace of
the Hotel de Paris that same evening.
Markart was there, and little Rastatz,
whose timely flight and accommodating
memory rendered him today not only a
/ free man, but a parsonage Of value. But
neither did more than wait on the
words Of the third member Of the party
that Colonel Stafnitz of the hussars
who had an old feud with NIistitch, for
| whom Afistitch had mistaken the
Prince of Slavna. A most magnani-
nous. forgiving gentleman apparently,
this spare, slim built man with thought
full eyes. His whole concern was to
get Mistitch out of the mess! The feud
he seemed to remember not at all. 1t
was feud Of convenience, n feud to
| swear to at the court martial. He was
| as ready to accommodate Stenovics
with the use Of his name as Rastatz
was to offer the requisite notifications
Of his memory. But there. with that
| supply of convenient fiction, his pli-
ability stopped. He spoke to Markart,
using him as conduit pipe-the words
would flow through to General Ste
movies.
"If the general doesn't want to see
me now-and can understand that he
mustn't be caught confabbing with any
supposed parties to the aftair-you
must make it plain to him how matters
stand. Somehow and by some means
our dear Hercules must be saved. Her
cules is an ass, but SO are most Of the
men and all the rowdies of Slavna.
They love their Hercules. and they
won't let him die without a fight-and
a very big fight. In that fight what
Knight happen to hts royal highness. the
commandant? And II anything did
happen to him. what might happen to
General Stehovics7 don't know that
either, but it seems to me that he'd be
in an awkward place. The king
wouldn't be pleased with him, and we
here in Slavna, are we going to trouble
ourselves about the man who couldn't
save our Hercules?"
Round faced Markart nodded in n
perplexed fashion. Stafnitz clapped
him on the shoulder, with laugh.
"For heavens sake don't think about
| it or you'll get 1t all mixed! Just try to
remember 1t. Your only business Is to
report what say to the general"
Rastatz staggered shrilly. When the
wine was not in him he was cunning
little rogue--a useful tool in any mat
ter which did not ask for courage.
"If I'd been here Mistitch wouldn't
have done the thing at all-or done 1t
better. But what's done is done. and
we expect the general to stand by us.
1 b, N, N