The Washington times., 1909-10-19
A STORY OF GRAUSTARK
GEORGE BARR MCCUTCHEON
Copyright. 1903. by Dodd. Mead & Co.

Ale-louE Iflenus even though luaL SoA
was prince OF the blood ana conJIOlleo
by the viii OF three regents chosen by
his own SUBJECTS. He was there 10 Watch
over the doughty little chap VINO one
DAY would be ruler unrestr5tineds bus
who now was q boy TO be loved and cod
died and Teprlmanded ia the general
process OF Matchmaking.
To say that the tiny prince loved
his big, adOring mentor would be put
/ ting il too gently: he idolized hlm.
Iuliis was tatnert mOther ana DIG
brother 10 the little fellow ia Knockers
The American was a DIG, broad
shouIdered man, reddish haired and
rudy checked, with cool gray eyes; his
sandy mOusJache was closely cropped
corners of his mouth. Despite his color
ing, his face was somewhat sOmber-
even steru-when ia repOse- 1t was his
me, enVelOping smile that made friends
for him Wherever he listed. with men
and with women More frequently than
otherWl Use IL made more than friends Of
the latter
One woman in Graustark was the
source Of never-ending and constantly
increasing interest to this stalWart COM
panlOn to the prince. That woman was,
alas. the wife Of another man. More
over, she was the daughter OF the Duke
of Perse.
The young and witty Countess of
MarlanX came often TO Edelweiss. She
was tavOrite at the castle, nOUwith-
standing the unhealthy record Of her
ancient and discredited husband the
iron count Tullis had not seen the
count, but he had heard such tales of
him that he could not but pity this
glorious young creature who called him
husband There is an old saying about
the kiuship of pity Not that John
IulliS was actually in love with the
feCtly candid, very much interested la
her and very much distressed by the
fact that she was bound TO venerable
reprobate who dared not put his foot
on GrausLark soil because once he had
defled It atrOciOusly.
But of the countess and her visits 20
EdelWelss, more anon, with the indul-
gence OF the reader.
At present we are permitted 10 attend
a meeting Of the cabinet, which sits oc-
casiOnally In solemn COIectiveness lust
on the throne room within the tapes
tried walls OF a dark little antechamber.
known to the outside world as the
Room Of Wrangles. il is 10 o'clock
OF the morning on which the prince Is TO
review the troops from the fortress. The
question under discussion relates to the
loan of 100000 gavvOs, before men
toned. At the head of the long table.
perched upon an augmentary pile of law
books surmounted by little red Cush-
ION, sits the prince, almost LOST In the
huge old walnut chair of his forefath-
ers. Down the table sit the ten min
listers Of the departments of state, all OF
them loving the handsome little fellow
on the necessary pie of statutes. but
an OF them more or less Indifferent to
his significant yawns and perpleXed
frOwns.
The prince was sturdy. curly haired
lad. with big brown eyes and a lament
ably noticeable scratch on his nose
acquired in less stately but more profit
able pursuits. ct seems that he had
peeled his nose while sliding to second
base ia certain American game that
ne was teaching the juvenile arlStOcrdCy
how 10 plaN) His Wavy hair was brown
and rcDeiilOuS. No end Of royal uurS-
ins could keep il looking sleek and
very bad little boy at times; that Is
why he was loved by every one, Al
though ii was considered next 70 high
treason 10 strike prince Of the royal
blood, I could, IL ] had the space, re-
count the details of numerous fstiCuiTs
behind the state stables In which, sad
TO relate. the prince just as often as
not came of WltH a battered dignity
and a chastened opinion of certain small
fry who could not have been more than
dukes or EaTOns at best. But he took
his defeats manfuliy; be did not whin-
per leSe majestic. John TullIs, his
Uncle Jack. bad proclaimed his scoru
IOr boy who could NOT take his med
lcinc. and 50 Prince Robin TOOK ID
gracefully because ne was prince.
Today he Was-iOr him-rather Op-
pressively dignided and imperial He
may have blInked his weary eyes "a.
time or TWO. but in the main he was
very mGeh puzzled. Custom required
that the ruling prince or princess should
preside over the meetings of the cab
met II IS needless 10 observe that the
present rulers duty ended when ne re-
heated faIter Count HalfOnU. My lords
we are now IN session. The school
room. ne confessed. was a picnic COM
pared 10 the Room Of WangIes.' a
fellow EOt "a recess once and while
there, but leTe-Well, the only recess ne
ROt was when he fen asleep. Today he
was determined TO maintain a very dig
mined mleu. IT appears that at the last
meeting he he'd created considerable
havoc by uEsettsug the ink We'll while
trying 10 hil his fountain pen without
an injector moreover, nearly half
pint OF the fluid had splashed upon
the Duke OF P-rsc's tTOuscrs-and they
were gray at that. tFhereupOn the duke
announced ia open c5nClave that his
nlglness needed r. rafting good spank
ius-a remark which distinctly hurt the
young rulers pride and made him wish
that there had been enough ink To
drown the duke instead of merely wet
ting hin.
About the table sat the three regents
end Inc other men high in the admin
lstIatlon Of affairs, among them General
BraZe. Of the army. Baron Pultz, of the
Duke OF FeTse was discussing the great
loan question. The prince was watch
ing his gaunt satWnine face with more
than usual interest.
"Of course. il is not too late To re-
ECiud the order promulgated at our last
sitting. There are five bankers in 81.
refers BhIE VINO Will IlaIEE the IDE El
without delay. We need not DELAY i.e
interminable length of time necessary
TO secure the attention and cooperation
Of bankers i'm France and England IL
is all nonsense TO say that Russia has a
sinister motive ia tine matter. Ia is
business propOsitl0n-not an affair Of
state We need the money before the
" inter opens The railroad is now with
in fifteen miles Of EdelWeiss. The
bridges and tunnels are well along to-
ward completion. Our funds are dimiu-
ishng, simply because we have DELAY I'd
SO long in preparing for this loan. There /
las been too much pickering and too
much iuaue politics. ] stiu maintain
that we nave made a mistake in refus-
ing TO take uD the matter with ST. Pc
tcTsburE or Berlin. Why should we pre-
Ter Eugland2 Why France2'
For some unaccOuntable reason he
struck the table violently with his fist
and directed his glare upon the aston
ished prince. The explosive demand
caught the ruler by surprise. He gasped
and his lips fell apart Then 10 must
have occurred to him that the question
could be answered by no one save the
person 20 whom 70 was so plainly adj
dressed. He lifted his chin and piped
uD ahrilly and with a fervOr that star
tied even the intense Perse:
Because Uncle Jack said we should, (
that's why"