The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1909-01-20

A""g ~ Alexis? Guild
''' "' "" ing the youthful
king? Countess EllenburgY
mo doubt. no doubt. Behind him his
very pIous mother. Lepage"
"And behind her?" persisted Lepage
Markart laughed. but cast a glance
round and shook his head.
Come. come. captain. don't leave an
old friend In the dark. just where in
formation would be useful"
can old friend, oh, when / remem-
Der my aching headl You think me
very forgiying. NJ. Lepage."
''If you knew the night spent.
you'd forgive me anything" said Lee
page. with a shudder Of "Reminiscences.
"Ah. well.' said Mnrkart after an
other draft. I'm a soldier. l shall
obey my orders"
Perfect. captain! And who win give
them to you, do you thlnkT'
That's exactly what I'm waiting to
see. oh. I've turned PRUDENT No more
adventures for mel'
I'm quite OF your mind. but it's so
difficult TO be prudent when one doesn't
know which is the strongest side"
you wouldn't go to yolsenif' laugh
ed Markart.
perhaps not, but there are dlElcul-
ties nearer home. II you went out OF
this door and turned TO the. left. you
would come TO the Offices OF the coun-
ell OF ministers. II you turned to the
right and thence 10 the right again
and on TO the north wall. you would
come, captain. to Sulelman's tower.
Now. as ! understand, Colonel Stat
nltz"--
us at the tower and the general at
the Offices. ehi"
Precisely. Which turn do you mean
20 takeT
Markart looked round again. 'T shall
sit here for n bit longer" he said. He
finished his liquor thereby perhaps.
adding just the touch OF openness
lacking TO his advice and. leaning for
ward. touched Lepage on the arm.
do you remember the princes guns.
the guns for which he bartered Cap
tain HerculesY
AYE. WELL" said Lepage.
They're on the river. up at Kol-
skoi now. | should keep my eye on
them. They're TO be brought TO Slavna.
Who do you think'll bring them? Keep
your eye on that"
They're both scoundrels," said Le-
page. rising to go.
Markart shrugged his shoulders. 'The
fruit lies on the ground for the man
who can pick II up. Why not? There's
nobody who's got any right TO II now"
He expressed exactly the view OF the
two great neighbors, though by no
means IN the language which their Of
fetal communications adopted.
Stenovies knew their views very
well. He had also received a pretty
plain intimation from Stafnltz that the
colonel considered the escorting OF the
guns TO Slayna as a purely military
task, appertalnlng not to the ministry
OF state, but to the officer commanding
the garrison in the capital. stafnitz
was that officer. and he proposed him
self to go to Kolskoi. Suleiman's tow
er, he added. would be left In the trust
worthy hands Of Captain Sterkof.
Again Stenovics fully understood. In
deed, the colonel was almost brutally
candid. His letter was nothing less
than plain word that power lay with
the sword and that the sword was In
his own hand. stenovics had got rid OF
King Sergius only to fall under the
rule Of Dictator stafnltz. Was that to
be the end OF It?
Stenovics preferred any other issue.
The ide.l thing was his own rule In
the name Of young Alexis. with such
diplomatic honoring and humoring OF
Countess Ellenburg as might prove
necessary. That was plainly impossi-
BILE so long as stafnltz was muster OF
the army. II would become finally
hopeless II sterkoff held sulelman's
tower till stafnltz brought the guns to
J Slavna What then MAS Stanoyics'