Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-01-20
The Argus Daily Story
The Ruby Heartily F. A. Mitchell
Copyrighted. 1911. by Associated Literary Bureau


There was fight. in which the latter
was worsted, as usual. and the tax
paid. Bertha. flushed with the fray, re-
turned to the castle and, ascending
spiral staircase leading to her room to
change her costume, met Count Hubert
face to face.
The sight Of the girl, her dark eyes
flashing with the memory of the fight,
her raven hair that had come IN
loosened and fallen In a coll on her
shoulder, her tight fitting costume dis
playing the grace of her supple figure.
was too much for the young lover.
Whatever was the reason for his re-
sistance to the spell he had fallen I'M
der, he broke through all reserve,
clasped her in his arms and pressed
his cheek against hers.
Disengaging herself, she told him
the meaning of the ruby heart
"Alasr he said. 81 am no swords
man. have been interested in knowl-
edge and my profession Is diplomacy.
have neither taste for arms nor
time to perfect myself in their use.
Nevertheless 1 shall avail myself of
my only chance
Although those were rough times
and Bertha was a real. not a sham,
fighter, she did not mean by wearing
the ruby that the man who would win
her must stab her In the heart. 1t
was intended to give notice that he
must be sufficiently skillfui to do so.
She told Count Hubert that he must
place the point Of his rapier upon the
ruby, leaving him to infer that II he
went further he would kill her. The
count was appalled, and ready to fore
go the trial, but Bertha egged him on,
saying that she felt perfect confidence
in being able to protect herself Be
side himself with love which he
must take so great risk to crafty.
he consented to the meeting, declaring
that If through mishap he killed her
he would plunge his weapon into his
own heart
From the staircase Bertha went to
her room, here she dressed herself In
fencing costume, and instead of the
ruby on her heart she wore a heart
made Of red silk, a much better tar
get than the jewel. Rejoining Count
Hubert, the two went to the armory,
where, taking up swords that had al
ready been used in such encounters,
they put themselves in fencing posi-
tons.
Now the count, as has been said,
was no swordsman, but a diplomat.
Knowing that If he won at all It must
f.lo hA MI
that would bring him success by a
ruse. But no plan suggested itself
except one fraught with danger. and
he was loath to use 1t. For an hour he
fenced with his antagonist, hoping to
tire her out, but at the end Of that
time she seemed as fresh as ever,
while he had lost strength Then he
determined, as a last resort, to put
into practice his stratagem. Pressing
his antagonist hotly. he forced her to
assume the defensive and when she
did so, their swords being crossed, he
| guided the point of hers into a fleshy
part of his right side.
Bertha, horror stricken. withdrew
her sword, then dropped it. Hubert
| stood immovable till he heard the
weapon rattle on the floor, then, taking
his own sword by the blade, made
lunge and touched the red heart on her
breast with its hilt Flinging his weap-
on away, he cried eXultingly:
81 have won"
Summoning assistance, Bertha had
the count, who was weak from loss OF
blood, carried to his room. A surgeon
was called. but since in those days
| there was no remedy except blood let
ting and the patient had quite enough
of that there was nothing to do but
| bind up the wound.
One of the counts escort, hearing
that his leader had been stabbed, rush
| ed into the room where Bertha was
bending over the wounded man, seeing
his condition, shouted:
Treason! The prince has been as
sassinated.'
"The prince" exclaimed Bertha,
aghast.
yes. the prince-the Gown prince"
Peace" said the wounded man. "I
have not been assassinated. 1 have
met with an accident In play"
anu mus IL CdDle Out tudI COuhL A1u-
bert was the crown prince. who incog-
nito was making tour with view to
assembling a force to meet the king of
Sweden. who had just declared war.
Bertha sent at once a messenger to her
father urging him to return and when
he came announced that she was be-
trothed to the heir TO n kingdom. When
the baron learned this he was so pleas
ed that he was ready to forego plum
dering luclSless merchants and march
himself at the head of double the force
that the king had asked for.
Baron Eidenreid never returned to
his castle. for he was killed in the war
and his daughter had no need Of her
former home. because she became
crown princess and afterward queen.
So the castle fell gradually into decay,
which was perhaps just as well for the
traffic On the Rhine below. at any
rate there were no more customs col
Iectors shooting out from the mouth Of
the stream beneath the stronghold.
Jan. 20 in American