Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-25

with shaking fingers. He had been in the
Krumerweg that afternoon.
why. those are mine!' exclaimed
Gretchen. excitedly.
you not like to be q princess. Gretchen"
A princess? 0fetchen,s heart futtered.
A princess? She saw the king shaking
the bars Of his cell; she heard his voice
She laid her head on Hildegardes Shout
der. She was weak and this was some
dream.
But who. then. am II" asked Hide
garde. There was no sign OF weakness
here
Again there xas no answer
Tell what you know" said Hans to
the gypsy. 'Highness he alone knows
the man who brought about all this.
o. TINS xs. . SSe
his face, his whole body. Every beat OF
his heart cried out for vengeance. who
10 he? Tell me! Give him to me. man.
and all Of You shall 60 free. Give him
hands worked convulsiveiy. as II they
were already round the throat OF this un-
seen. implacable enemy. He was terrible
In this moment
be held carefully, as It was old ana tat
tered. The duke read 1t. Beyond thatstt
made the original offer IL was worthleee.
The handwriting was palpably disguised
i he luke hung the ulSSivc 10 tho hOOI. -
Fool! Is that all you have? Tell me
what you know, man, or shall have you
shot In the morning. immunity or no I'M
munity! Quick!''
alarmed. this is how II happened. My
band was staying at the time In Drei-
berg. We told fortunes and exhibited an
italian puppet show. The letter came
first. l was poor and sometimes des.
perate. I was to take her away ana
leave her with strange npODle.
"Ah!' interrupted the duke. with de-
spairfng gesture toward Grumbach. why
did you not leave US all in peaceT
"Highness, q great wrong has been done.
and God brought me here to right tt
You are a brave man., darkly
''I am in your hands. highness." stur-
Oily. I'm q mad moment 1 committed .
crime. l shall abide; abide by whatever pon'sn-
Continue" said the duke to the
.'Well, highness, I would not accept till
I had talked personally with him. he
came at last His face was hidden ana
his voice mufiied. But this 1 saw: when
ne gave me the first half Of the money
was certain I should know him again
'How?'
His little fnger?' Won Arnsberg re-
peated.
The two women. large-eyed and bewil-
dered, chung to each others hand tenseiy.
These were neartDreaklnS tlulcs. 6ISeOa'-
ems mind, however. absorbed nothing.
neither the words nor the pictures Her
thoughts revolved round one thing; II she
were a princess she could be happy. But
the other, from under whose feet al
tangible substances seemed to be giving
way she was possessed by two thoughts
which surged In her brain like COMBAT.
ants. II not a princess, what was she.
II not q princess. she was free. She stole
a swift glance at Carmichael. who seemed
far removed from the heart of this black
business: and had he been looking at her
he would have seen the gates opening IN
to Eden. -.
What was this little finger liker'''
asked the duke, shuddering.
zone time 1t had been cut or mAAs
gled.''
1.-THE man was tall?''
''Yes. highness."
The duke silently toyed with the little
yellow shoes. Suddenly he laughed: but
it was the terrible laughter of a madman.
There were death and desolation In H.
Come, all Of you; you. Gretchen. ana
YOU. tHildegarde; come, Carmichael. ana
you, Arnsbergs all Of you! Let US 60 ana
paw a visit to our good friend. Herbeck!
(To be continued tomorrow -