Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-09-30

= puTuOudDie one.
"A Portia to the
NJ judgmentw sal
03J2 n the chancellor. his
W eye kindling. LET
WILL 1T BALANCE 1t all rest upon
WAR AND DENAsrA my shoulders.
TIoN-' "a
blame. 1t was I who first suggested
the alliance"
Notwithstanding that he was gener-
ally hasty. the duke was just man.
He offered his hand. with half a smile.
"You are bidding me farewell. your
highness?" said Herbeck.
mo. count. would not let you 90
for half my duchy. Even duke may
be q fool sometimes"
Herbeck laid his cold hand upon the
dukes. Then he went over to her
higbnrss and kissed her hand crate
fully. for It was truly at her feet the
wreath Of victory lay.
"Highness." he said softly. you
shall marry when you will"
"And whereT
II would that could make II So
But there Is IL penalty tor ming placed
SO high. We cannot change this un-
written law"
Heaven did not write It," she re-
piled.
NO. my daughter" said the duke
"Mnn Is AT the bottom Of all the kinks
and twists In this short life. not heav-
EN-. But iIerbeck is right. You shall
marry when you will"
The knock Of the valet WIS again
heard.
Your hIghm.xs. there Is young
woman outside. n peasant. who desires
~ speak 10 her serene highness.'
What. She enters the palace with
out nny more trouble than th;sT'
by my orders. father" said Hide
garde. who gathered that this privileg-
ed visitor must be Gretchen Of the
krunerwsg. admit her"
Gretchen was ushsred III. Her throat
was little full as shp recognized the
three most important persons in the
grand duchy.
''The little goose girlw the duke said
half audibly.
'Yes. highness." Gretchen's face
was serious. and her eyes were mourn
full. She carried IN envelope In her
hand tightly.
Come to me. Gretchen" said the
princess. What Is ity'
'She Is dead. highness. and found
fhio lott l.p s,lIfnrxx
Herbcck took the envelope.
"Dead" Hildegarde's eyes filed.
'Who Is dead?" demanded the duke.
"Emma Schultz. father. Oh. know
you will forgive me for this deception.
She has been In Dreiberg for a month
dying. and | have often stolen out to
see her." She let her tears fall unrc-
strained.
The duke stared ut the rug Present
~ he said: LET her be buried In con-
secratcd ground. Wrong or right, that
chapter 10 closed. my child. What Is
In the letter, HerbeckT
Herbeck was strong man. He was
always far removed from tears, but
there was mist over the usual clarity
Of bis vision. He ripped down the
Dap. It was only a simple note to her
serene highness begging her to give
the Enclosed banknotes to one Crotch
en-, who lived in the Krumerweg. The
notes representefa thousand crowns.
Take them. little goose girl" said
the duke. "Your ship has come in.
This will be your dowry."
An icy shiver ran up and down
Gretchen's spine. a SILVER of wonder, |
delight. terror. A thousand crowns!> A
fortune!
"And / shall add to 1t another thou.
sand" said HIldegarde. "Give them
to me. father"
In all this fortune amounted to lit.
tie more than $500. but to Gretchen,
frugal and thrifty. to whom single
crown was a large sum. to her 1t rep
resented wealth. She was now the
richest girl in the lower town. Dreams
Of Kaleidoscope variety flew through
her head Tears sprang into her eyes.
She had the power to do no more than
weep.
The duke was the flrst to relieve tho
awkwardness Of the moment. u"
Count. has 1t not occurred to you
that We stand in the presence of two
very beautiful young womenY
Herbeck scrutinized Gretchen with
care. Then he compared her with the
princess. The duke was right And
the thing which struck him with most
force was that. while each possessed
beauty individual to herself, It was
not opposite. but strangely alike.
When the duke was alone he SLOWLY
passed on to bis secretary and opened
q drawer. He laid 4 small bundle on
the desk and united the string. One
by one he ranged the aFticles-two lit |
tie yellow shoes, a little cloak trimmed
with ermiAe. There had been a locket.
but that was now worn by her high
ness.
Hermann Breupper lived in the gran