Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-08-23
CHAPTER XVII
A LITTLE FINGER

Ludwig and the chancellor sat
In the form Of triangle. Her
|. = beck was making pyramid Of
his finger tips. sometimes touching his
chin with his thumbs. Els face was
cheerful.
His royal highness, still in the guise
OF a mountaineer, sat stiffiy in his
chair. the expression on his face hard
" 6anslatable; that on the kings not
at all. He was dressed in the brilliant
uniform OF colonel in the Prussian
uhlans. an honor conferred upon him
recently by King William. Prior to
his advent into the grand duchy Of
EhreHstein he had been to Berlin. A
had cozened him into carrying this
uniform along with him on his adven-
l4nres. 1t was only after he met
Gretchen that there came moments
when he forgot he was king. He
was pale. From hour to hour his
heart seemed to grow colder and small
er and harder. till it now rested in his
breast with the heaviness of stone.
out Of which life and the care Of living
Ind been squeezed. He rarely spoke.
leaving the burden Of the conversation
TO rest upon his uncle's tongue.
| $50 your royal highness will under
stands" said Herbeck. that it was the
simplest move l could make and the
latest. Were it known or had it been
lnown this morning that the king of
Iugendheit and the prince regent had
entered Dreiberg in disguise and had
been lodged in the Steinschloss there
would have been serious riot in the
city. So had you arrested as spies.
Presently closed carriage will convey
you to the frontier and the unfortu-
nate incident will be ended. And when
iyo,l cross the frontier it would be wise
disperse the troops waiting there
II you"
7 Prince Ludwig smiled. 'tIt was only
% army of defense The duke had
iearly 10000 men at the maneuvers.
have no desire for war; but. on the
,ther hand. am always ready for it."
There will never be any war be-
iveen- u.s." propheticaIy. 1.-The duke
'ws impatient at times, but can al
rays rouse his sense OF Justice. You
VIII. OF course, pardon the move
made. There will be no publicity.
There will be no newspaper notoriety,
for the journalists will know nothing
Of what has really happened"
For that consideration your excel
3ency has my deepest thanks replied
Prince Ludwig.
Il thought it best to let you go with
out seeing the duke. The meeting be-
tween you two might be painful
/ '.rhat also is thoughtful of your ex-
t,llency.'' said the king. II have no
tesire to see or speak to his highness. -
There is. however. one favor I
should like to ASK said the prince.
!. "Can grant tt?'
easily. l wish to leave q sum Of
money in trust to be paid to one
Gretchen Schwarz, who lives in the
Krumerweg. She is ambitious to be-
come singer. Let nothing stand be-
tween her and her DESIRES
Granted
The heart Of the king at the sound
+ that dear name suddenly expanded
and stifed him. The stiffness went
out Of his shoulders.
"Ah, this little world of ours! The
mistakes and futile schemes we make
upon it." The chancellor dallied with
his quill pen. 1T was cynical move
Of fate that your majesty should see
the goose girl first"
Enough" cried the King vehement
". LET US have no more RETROSPECT
ton. if you please. Moreover. shall
be obliged to you if you will summon
at once the carriage which is to take
us to the frontier. The situation has
been amicably and satisfactorily ex-
planned. see no reason why we
should be detained any longer"
Nor l." added Prince Ludwig. Il
IN rather weary Of these tatters. I
:hould even like q BATH"
The three Of them were Immediately
attracted by a singular noise in the
corridor. The door swung in violently,
crashing against the wall and SILVER
ing into atoms the Venetian mirror.
The king, the prince and the chancellor
were instantly upon their feet The
King clutched the back of his chair
with 4 grip OF iron. Gretchen? Her
highness2 What was Gretchen doing
here? All. could he have flown!
The duke came in first, and he wait
ed till the others were inside Then
he shut the door with lesser violence
and rushed over to the chancellor.
"Herbeck, you villa1nv'
The chancellor stared at the gypsy,
at Won Arnsberg. at Grumbach.
ssHerbeck. you black scoundrel"
cried the duke. "Can you realize how
dimcult It is not to take you by the
throat and strange you here and
nowT
"He is madw said Herbeck, bracing
himself against the desk.
Eyes. I am mad, but it is the sane
madness of terribly wronged man.
Come here. you gypsy" The duke
seized Herbeck's hand and pressed it
Town fiercely on the desk. Look at
hat and tell me If it is not the hand
e q Judasw
..That is the hand. highness." said
he gypsy without hesitation.
The duke flung the hand aside. AS
70 did so something snapped in Her
beck's brain, though at that instant
he was not conscious of it.
sIt was you-you. It was your hand
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