The Marshall republican., 1908-04-24

night chill out Of the keen mountain
air. and now II was close upon IL
The princess was hungry.
In NOrdeck. the frontier town q
Rbaetia as you cone In from Ger
many. she had bought rucksacks for
herself aud Miss Portman. to be used
upon just such mountain excursions
~ this. and today tho brown canvas
bags were being tested for the tirst
time. Each rurksnck stored an nde-
| punte luncheon for It's bearer. white on
top. secured by straps passed across
the shoulders. lay u folded wrap to Ike
nsed In cas- Of rain.
vtrginia's burden grew heavy ~ she
mounted. though ut first Its weight had
seemed trifipg. When she had waved
Der handkerchief at the turning aud
passed out Of Miss Portmun's sight Il
occurred TO her that Il would he clever
to tighten the rucksack and satisfy her
| appetite NJ the same time.
The u difficulty was that in her
present position she could not safely
unstrap the bag from her shoulders.
open u, take ont the parcel OF luncheon
and strap " Oh again. The way was
too narrow and the rocks loo sllpr~ry
' to attempt such liberties. ~ n short
, distance. however. and only n little out
| " the path 10 the col she conld zee n
email green plntcnu. the very place for
s,lE'''.t oOanta a"|sSn a"fi oS5sG"sGr &&uHss
] across.
The place could be gained only by u
scramble over a ledge Of formidable
! rocks and climbing In good earnest
here and there. yet II the thing could
be done ut all Il could be done In ten
minutes. and to come back would 10
! comparatively easy. Virginia was
tempted.
1.-THE dear LetSia will he eating her
own lunch by this time and won't miss
me II my haif hour Is II long one" she
thought. "And. anyway. said balf
an hour or so. That means almost amy
thing when Il comes to an argument"
Another moment md the girl had
started. She was brave ut first. bu,
when she had gone hnlfwny-n way
which was longer and far more dif.
ficult than she had fancled-she was
conscious OF a certain sinking Of the
heart. She even felt some lunlms Of
sympathy with the sentiments and In
tentions Miss Portmap had expressed
and heartily wished herself back by
that good lndy's side. hut II was against
her principles 10 he conquered. especial
ly when being conquered meant turn
L l.. .,v.r al. aApaAshln1 lEn 10 aud
she scrambled on obstinntely, her
cheeks burning. her heart humping
and her lips pressed together.
What a grim, remorseless giant the
mountain was. and what a mere creep
Ing Gy upon Its vast shoulder she! Lit
tie cared the old mountain that she
was u royal princess anu that the EN-
peror who ruled the land Of which II
was part had the intention Of marry
Ing her. II would thwart that I'm
perial intention without a qualm mol
turn a pebble II the poor little princess
toppled over It's cruel shoulder and fell
In a small. crushed heap without ever
having looked upon the face OF the
Rhnetian emperor.
lHNh NnNiV NofhV " Nv SsfsN
when. like Miss Portman. whom she NC
recently laughed to scorn. the princess
felt that she could neither go on nor &c
back. She was horribly homesick. Shit
wanted her mother and the garden al
Hampton Court and would hardly have
thrown a glance OF interest at Leo
poid II he had appeared before hel
eyes. There were tears In those eyes
aud she was hating the mountain ant
all Rhaetia with her whole strength
when from the mysterious distanc'
around the corner of the plateau there
came the sound of a mans voice cheer
fully yodellng.
Never had a sound been so welcom'
or seemed 80 sweet. 1t was to Viz
ginia as the voice Of an angel. Help
she cailed-"help!" first In English an,
then, on second thought. In Rhaetian.
The yodellng abruptly stopped, and
man appeared round a corner OF rOcl
beyond the green plateau. The sui
J shone In his eyes, and he shaded then
with his hand to look UP at her. Vii
! glnia stared hopefully. expectantly.
glance photographed q tall figure in
gray coat passemoiled with green.
soft green cap OF felt, short Trousers
bare knees. knitted stockings, nalle'
boots; thank heaven, no tourist, bu
evidently a mountain man. . guide Q
q chamois hunter perhaps at a
events. q capable Of coming to he
rescue. These things she saw an
thought In . dash, and then the brow
I hand that had shaded bis eyes drcppet
! She caught sight Of his face.
It was the emperor.
A moment ago she had felt that sh
J could look at him with indifferenc
aud would a thousand times over pm
fer a glimpse Of the dear old house Z
Hampton Court. with an easy way !
reach It, hut now everything wa
changed. There was no longer an
danger. He was there. He was con
Ing to help her. A power higher tina
= \ 49,. - kla- - ALL. AAaAIA -