The Columbus journal., 1909-02-17
ILLUSTRATED
~ IS
EMZ

, IN such a singular visit and admission
at this hour of the morning. the guards
escorted him to the council room and
waited at attention in the doorway
when his presence was announced. To
their surprise the emperor smiled as
if in recognition, babe his visitor
Good evening" in English. and dis.
missed the soldiers. Reassured by this
action, the men had resumed their &C
customed posts, thinking no more
CT the matter. and regarding it simply
as one Of the unusual appointments
which are made in such troublouS
times.
In less than an hour, during all of
which time the guard at the door had
heard voices in seeming conversation
participated in by the three persons
with the room, he heard the emperor
and the chancellor burst into most uil-
usual and hearty laughter. A few
minutes later he was surprised when
the emperor came from the room and
went to his dressing chamber, from
which he emerged in the plainest of
civilian clothing, after which he
5eckcned to his two companions.
His imperial majesty cautioned the
guard to let no one know that he was
leaving or of the nocturnal visitor,
and, still accompanied by the unknown
man and the chancellor. passed from
the palace. From this on he was
traced to the very carriage door, which
was closed behind the party by an
other attendant The vehicle drove
away in the night, the glow of the
mems cigars being the last thing no
ticed by the man who escorted them,
thus showing that all were On very
friendly and intimate terms.
The conveyance itself was traced
for several miles into the country,
through the fact of its having passed
several other rigs. There was moth
ing in its appearance to distinguish
it from any other, and only the fact
that the streets at that time of night
were deserted enabled the officers to
gather any idea of it's direction. 9th.
ers had been observed; but all were
identified and accounted for, and it
was by a process Of elimination only
that the one carrying the kaiser and
his companions was tracked. The re
turn journey of the vehicle, if such
there had been, was not noticed, and
therefore led to the theory that some
where within the empire the kaiser
and chancellor were being held pris.
Oners.
The puzzling feature of the occur
renee was that the emperor must have
been acquainted and even on terms O.;
friendliness with the man who decoyed
him away. No anarchistic attempt
could be deduced from the situation,
because with the careful search that
had been made it was certain that
there could have been no assassina-
tiOn unless most remarkable conceal
ment had been made of all evidences
of the crime. Nor was it even tenable
that the party had crossed the border
line. because in a condition of threat
ened war all travellers were being
closely watched.
Over every foot of the empire and
into the most inaccessible portions,
search was being made for the place
where the nations ruler and the chan
cellOr might be held; but so far there
had been nothing whatever that
threw even the faintest ray of light
on their whereabouts. The attempts
of the secret service men and mem
bers of his majesty's family to keep
his disappearance a secret failed. and
indeed was unnecessary. for the
people themselves had to be enlisted
in u quest involving the whole country.
1t was at this juncture that RO-
many horse trader. seeming a reward,
offered his services and a suggestion
10 the police which was promptly
acted upon. He described having met
the carriage which was supposed to
have taken away the emperor, and,
following the instincts of the horse
man, he scrutiniZed the animals more
closely than the conveyance. He said
he was walking round a turn in the
road, and was almost run over be-
fore he had time to gain a free way.
One of the horses almost brushed him
in passing, and he noticed not only
sinsularity of gait, but peculiar
white mark on the animals flank.
(TO BE CONTINUED.l