Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1910-10-18

his finger tips. sometimes touching his
chin with his thumbs. His face was
cheerful.
His royal highness, still In the guise
of Il mouutaineer, sat stitf1y In his
chair. the expression on his face hard
ly tranSlatable; 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
Ehrenstein he had been to Berlin. A
whim for which he was now grateful
had cozened him into carrying this
uniform along with him on his adven-
lures. 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
had been squeezed. He rarely spoke.
leaving the burden Of the conversation
to rest upon his uncle's tongue.
$50 your royal highness will under.
stund." said Herbeck, that 1t was the
simplest move could make and the
safest. Were II known or had it been
known this morning that the king Of
Jugendheit 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 l had you arrested as spies.
Presently Il closed carriage will convey
You to the frontier and the unfortu-
nate incident will be ended. And when
you cross the frontier 1t would be wise
to disperse the troops waiting there
for you"
Prince Ludwig smiled. ut was only
an army of defense The duke had
nearly 10000 men at the maneuvers. I
have no desire for war; but. on the
other hand. | am always ready for it"
"There will never be any war be-
tween u.s." prOphetically. "The duke
grows impatient ut times. but | can al
ways rouse his sense Of justice. You
will. 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
lency has my deepest thanks" replied
Prince Ludwig.
81 thought II best to let you 60 with
out seeing the duke. The meeting be-
tween you two might be painful"
THAT also is thoughtful Of your ex-
,ellency." said the king. II have no
desire to see or speak to his hlghness."
There Is. however. one favor |
rhould like to ask" said the prince.
"Can grant it?'
Easily. l wish to leave n 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
of that dear name suddenly expanded
and stified 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 dallled 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
tion il 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
am rather weary Of these tatters.
should even IKE bath.
The three Of them were Immediately
attracted by singular noise In the
rorritnr. The door swung in violently.
crashing against the wall and shiver-
ing into atoms the Venetian mirror.
The king. the prince and the chancellor
were instantly upon their feet. Inc
kim clutched the back Of his cnalr
with Il grip Of iron. Gretchen! Her
hichpess? What was Gretchen doing
here: All. could he have flown!
The duke came IN first. and he wait
,d till the others were inside. Then
he shut the door with lesser violence
and rushed over to the chancellor.
"IIerbeck. you villain!'
The chancellor stared ut the gypsy
at Won Arnsberg. at Grumbach.
"Herbeck. you black scoundrei!'
cried the duke. Can you realize how
difficult 1t Is not to take you by the
throat and strangle you here ano
now?"
"He Is mad said Herbeck, bracins
nlulSetI tSdtuSt thS e~S.'
ayes. am mad. but It Is the sane
madness Of a terribly wronged man.
Come here. you gypsy" The duke
seized Herbeck's hand and pressed II
down fiercely on the desk. LOOK al
that and tell me If 1t Is not the hand
Of Judas" .,
"rhat il the hand. highness," said
the gypsy without hesitation.
The duke flung the hand aside. AS
he did so something snapped In Her
beck's brain. though at that instant
he was not conscious Of 1t.
at was you-you! 1t was your hano
that wrecked my life-yours! All. IL
there such villainy? Are such men
bora and do they live? My wife dead
INV own heart broken. Arnsberg ruin
ed and disgraced. And these two chill
dren, which Is mine? Villain. what
have you to say? What was your pur'
pose?
How many years. thought Herbeck
had he been preparing for this mo
uent? How long had he been steeline
his heart against this very scene? Flu
tile dream! He drew himself together
with a supreme effort. He would face
this hour as he had always planned tc
face It. Found out! He looked at his
Finger, touched 1t with an impersona
curiosity. He had forgotten all abou'
such a possibility. A little finger Il
have stopped the wheel OF 80 great