Pleasantville weekly press., 1910-09-03

PROUD OLD IMBE- my brain to En-
Gle. renst e n-for
| this, | am innocent
| II believe you, Carl. Remember, Ju-
gendheit will always welcome you. l
must be going"
Carmichael walked his horse. This
morning he had ridden out almost to
] the frontier and was now on his re
I turn.
| No longer did Carmichael take the
south pass for his morning rides That
was the favored going of her highness,
| and he avoided her now. In truth, he
dared not meet her now; it would
have been out of wisdom. She was to
marry the king of Jugendheit; it was
in the order of things that he ride
alone
The road to Essen began about six
miles north of the base of the Dreiberg
mountain. 1t swerved to the east. As
| Carmichael reached the fork he heard
the faroff mutter Of hoofs. Coming
along the road from Eissen were a trio
Of riders Carmichael laughed weakly
Should he mount and be off before
she made the turn? He waited.
She came in full flight, rosy, radiant,
as lovely as Diana. With a short nod
Of her head she signaled for the two
soldiers to fall back.
The two were embarrassed.
The little cavalcade directed its
course toward the city.
"You have not been riding of late"
she said.
Then she had missed him. Carmi-
chaels heart expanded.
Il have ridden the same as usual,
your highness, only / have taken this
road for a change"
"Ahp' She patted the glistening neck
Of her mare. So he had purposely
tried to avoid her? Why? She stole
a sly glance at him. Why were not
kings nodded in this form? All the
kings she had met had something the
matter with them-crooked legs, weak
eyes, bald, young or old, and daft over
gaming tables and opera dancers. And
the one man among them all-at least
she had been informed that the king
Of Jugendheit was all of a man-had
politely declined.
81 am guilty of lese majesty" he sug-
! gested.
81 shall not lock you up" she said;
and added under her breath, ''as my
good father would like to. Besides"
she continued aloud, Il rather like to
set the court by the ears. All, but |
shall lead some king a merry Hfe."
with wicked CLEAN in her eyes.
"Frederick of JugendheitT
rs it true that you have not heard
yet? l have declined the honor
"Your highness"
'This, of course, is as yet state
secret and my reason for telling you
is not a princess's, but a woman's.
Solve it if you can"
Carmichael fumbled the reins blind
ly. "They say that he is handsome
young man."
"What has that to do with it? The
| interest he takes in his kingdom is pos
itively negative. There will be only
one king in Jugendheit, and that will
| be the prince regent" -
They were silent for a few minutes.
| Finally the ambassador spoke.
Il have some news for your high
ness. am about to ask for my recall
The color on her cheeks paled a
shade lighter.
SIS not this sudden?' she asked.
Il am essentially a man of action,
your highness. l am growing dull and
stupid amid these charming pleasures.
1 am wicked enough to wish for war"
"Cherchez la femmer' she cried.
"There is woman"
ooh, yes!' recklessly.
"Then go to her, my friend; go to
her" And she waved her crop over
| his head as in benediction.
He did not speak, but caught up the
reins firmly. She did most of the talk
ing, brightly and gayly, but his ears
| were dull for the undercurrent passed
! by him. He was thinking deeply Of
| her.
Within a few hundred yards of the
gates Carmichael saw lonely figure