The Iuka vidette. (Iuka, Miss.) 1894-1912, 1910-04-14


her child in Russia or Austria. Her
only resource was to run away with
the little one.
So one day the countess packed up
few of her belongings and, with her
little girl, fed to London. She let IN
be known In the counts household
that she had gone to Paris In order to
throw him off the scent as long as
possible.
Kidnapped by the Father.
One day, a week or so later, while
the little girl was out for an airing
with her nurse, big touring automo-
bile, which was seemingly speeding
along, came to a sudden halt The
countess, while making her headquar-
ters at the Savoy, In town, had Sc
questered the child in cottage at
Campden Hill, one of the suburbs OF
London, in charge of the nurse, whom
she trusted implicitly Three men
jumped out of the auto, and one of
them engaged the maid with some
questions about the route in the neigh
borhood. The two other men-one of
them wrapped up in a big motoring
coat and cap, whose face was half
concealed by motoring mask-inter-
ested themselves with her little charge
and set the "choo choo" going to
amuse her.
While the nurse was good naturally
trying to explain to the very agree
able stranger the little she knew
about Campden Hill, and while the
baby was gleefully chuckling over the
noise the motor made, something
strange happened. The agreeable man,
without so much as an apology, made
sudden jump and leaped into the au-
tomobile, and before the poor, dunn
founded nurse girl could rub her eyes,
the big machine was speeding over
the hills and far away with him. the
other two men-and the baby.
Detectives under the immediate
guidance of the count had tracked the
countess at every step she had made
since her fight, and the man in the
big furs and the motor mask who had
kidnapped the baby was the count him
self
The vain and wearisome hunt to To-
cate the baby, and the poor young
mothers distracted efforts to have her
little one restored to her, is a long
story.
Offered to Return to Husband.
Lawyers were secured, all influence
possible to secure was brought to bear
on the case, and all Russia, Poland
and Austria were ransacked by search
ers to find the baby's hiding place.
The countess, who is passionately
fond of her baby, at last was at her
wits end. Every resource that had
been suggested had been tried-but
hopelessly.
Then came a bitter pill to swallow.
In her intense love and longing once
more to hug the child to her bosom.
the miserable mother finally consent
ed to the humiliation of promising that
she would go back to her husband If
only he would share the baby with
her.
During these negotiations, in which
the count pretended to be agreeable to
reconciliation, arrangements were
made by the lawyers on both sides for
the mother to see the child, first, in
house near Vienna The countess, her
heart beating high with expectancy,
arrived In an automobile at the place
at two o'clock in the afternoon. the
hour appointed.
But the child was not there. The
countess, torn between conflicting
anger and chagrin, saw in this cruel
episode another wound from the count
to torture her, and hastily she rode
away again to hide her anguish.
The Counts Explanation.
The count, however, declared. when
the fiasco of the arranged meeting be-
tween mother and child had caused
decided unpleasantness between the
opposing lawyers, that he had acted in
good faith but distrusted the motive
of the countess. His lawyers explained
that the count had been warned to
take every precaution against a plot,
for his wife would resort to any trick
to kidnap the baby herself, just as he
had done. All the roads leading to
the rendezvous were inspected with
the utmost care, and it was found that
back in the avenues there were two
waiting automobiles containing six
men.
Later, when the child reached the
house, the greatest possible care was
also taken to guard against surprise,
since the suspicious of the spies had
been keenly aroused. The child. they
swore, had been kept in the villa three
hours in the belief that the countess,
in her anxiety to see her baby, would
return But when after wait of three
hours she failed to appear again the
little girl was finally struggled through
a back gateway and again hidden
somewhere in the country.
The countess swore that never
again, after this display of deceit to
just torture and insult her, would she
think of reconciliation or ever see
his face again. The count retorted
that he was the father of the child
and its natural guardian. since its
mother had seen fit to leave his pro-