Pleasantville weekly press., 1910-08-06

opbers and America all the money"
adding a smile. 81 should like to see
America"
''Do you live aloneY
mo. / live with my foster mother,
who is very old. l call her grand
mother She took me in when | was
founding. And what might your name
be?"
Ludwig. l am mountaineer from
Jugendheit."
1--WE are not friendly with your coun-
try"
'Mores the pity. 1t is grave blum
der on the part of the grand duke
wasn't it all about the grand dukes
daughter?"
''Yes. But she has been found. Yet
the duke is as bitter as of old. What
is this new found princess like?"
''She is beautiful and kind"
The geese were behaving. and only
occasionally was she obliged to use her
stick.
He observed her critically, for he
was interested. She was not tall, but
her 1.-THE slenderness gave her the ap-
pearance of tallness. Her hands,
rough nailed and sunburnt, were small
and shapely. Her hair, in thick
braid, was the tone of the heart of a
chestnut bur, and her eyes We're of
that mystifying hazel, sometimes
brown, sometimes gray.
How old are you, Gretchen?"
81 do not know" she answered,
perhaps eighteen, perhaps twenty"
Arriving at length in the city, they
passed through the crooked streets.
Gretchen, where shall l find the
Adlergasse?'
Il will show you. You are also a
stranger in Dreiberg?"
"Yes."
They took the next turn, and the
weather beaten sign Zum Schwartzen
Adler, hanging in front of a frame
house Of many gables, caused the
mountaineer to breathe gratefully
Here my journey ends, Gretchen, at
the Black Eagle" he said
They were passing clock members
shop. The man from Jugendheit peer
ed in the window, but there was no
clock in sight to give him warning of
the time. and he dared not now look
at his watch. He had 4 glimpse of the
ancient clock mender himself, however
huddled over a table upon which sput-
tered a candle. The eyes of the two
men met, but only for a moment. The
to the tavern.
"Good night, Gretchen. Good LUCK to
you and your geese tomorrow"
Thanks, Herr Ludwig. And will
you be long in the city?'
THAT depends; perhaps" adding a
grim smile in answer to grim
thought
He offered his hand. which she ac
cepted trustfully. He was strange
old man, but she liked him. When she
withdrew her hand something cold
and hard remained in her palm. Won
ders Of all the world, it was a piece of
goldl Her eyes went up quickly, but
the giver smiled reassuringly and put
a finger against his lips.
But, herr" she demonstrated.
Keep it. l give it to you. Do not
question Providence, and l am her
handmaiden just now. Go along with
you"
So Gretchen in a mild state of stupe
faction turned away. Clat-clat. sang
the little wooden shoes. A plaintive
gonk rose as she prodded a laggard
from the dank gutter A piece of gold.
Clat-clat! Clat-clat! Surely this had
been a day of marvels.
She was regarded with kindly eyes
till the dark jaws Of the Krumerweg
swallowed UP both her and her geese.
Poor little goose girl!' he thought
IF she but knew she could make a
bonfire of thousand hearts. \ fine
daym He eyed again the battered
sign. 1t was then that he discerned
another leaning from the ledge of the
first story of the house adjoining the
tavern 1t was the tarnished shield of
the United States.
1.-TWO weeks tramping about the
country in this unholy garb, following
AdISS ILllS Hdl1 LHS tllllC, NIu5 VI
crusts and cold meats, All, you have
led me a merry dance, nephew, but
shall not forget~
He entered the tavern and applied
for a room, haggling over the price.
The nights were chilly. Carmichael
in order to finish his cigar on the little
balcony fronting his window found il
necessary to put on his light overcoat
though he perfectly knew that he was
in no manner forced to smoke on the
balcony. But the truth was he wanted
a clear vision of the palace and the
lighted windows thereof and of one in
particular. He had no more sense
than Tom Fool, the abetter of follies
She was as far removed from him as
the most alien of the planets, but the
magnet shall ever draw the needle
and woman shall ever draw a man.
He knew that it was impossible, that
it grew more impossible day by day
and he rallied at himself bitterly and
satirically.
He sighed and teetered his legs
Carmichael sighed for the Princess
Hildegarde, understanding 1t was
sigh or curse, and the latter mode of
expression wastes more vitality.
Arthur Carmichael was Irish. He
was born in America, educated there
and elsewhere-a little while in Paris.
little while at Bonn-and. like all