The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1913-03-27
refuse d favor that IL so hard to ask
and so easy to grants

refuse d favor that is SO hard to ASK
and SO easy to grants
Beachcombe laughed u~npleasantly.
Come, dear gviseountess..he said, and
his tone, though bland. swaa tinged With
insolence, II know Of old y0ur thirst
for adventure, but surely 1t has been !
slaked by the romantic episode OF the
queens necklace and the mysterious
sptriting away Of your cavalier-your
knight OF the road--by Barbara Sweet
ing! The excitement of the affair has
eyaporated; Its novelty has stalled.
Waste no more OF your enchanting
wiles on SO sorry q subject. have
made up my mind. n even for the
sake of the most charming of women.
I will not change 1t"
Yet i think / may induce you, said
Prue. undoubtedly, because to my GER
tain knowledge Captain de Cliffe has a
wife and those precious papers are In
too. and will only give them up on her
own terms. II you will o grant me
this gentleman's life as a. faVor-wiu
You make a bargain with her?ss
Astonishment and doubt struggled
with Lord Beachcombe.s self command.
but he kept an unmoved face, although
an inkling Of the truth began to force
itself upon him. Not the whole incred-
ible truth, OF course. but enough to
make him suspect that Lady Prudence
LoIOOh0 WAS ulOTo tudu commonly m
terested In the subject Of their discus-
sion.
And what might be the terms Of the
bargain" he demanded. after a brief
hesitation.
sYog had better settle them with
pledge my word that his wife will agree
to whatever will satisfy him..
Il Will make no terms with him.
said Beachcombe, sullenly. IL / listen
to any proposition 1t is entirely for
your sake. Lady Prudence, and must
come from o and be carried out by
you alone"
She reflected a few moments, while
he watched her intently.
This Is my proposal she said, at
last. THAT you viii liberate you cap
tive. giving him such time to reach a
place of safety as he considers neces-
sary. And then when you have re-
cetyed the packet o will engage not
to take any steps to prevent his leav-
ling the country. In return I promise
that his wife will consider the whole
matter at an end and regard the claim
as though 1t had never existed"
And hen I have liberated him and
given him every opportunity to elude
Justice, what security have ! that
those papers will be delivered to me?"
he demanded.
II myself will be hostage for him.
Send Steve with him and when he re-
turns, having left his master in safety,
I will hand you the packet. Does that
satisfy you?"
Robin, sitting on the corner of a table,
a little apart, could only guess from a
word here and there that arose above
the low voiced colloquy that Prue wal
making terms for him, the conditions
of which 1t was not difficult to divine.
Cruelty as 1t irked him to see her plead
ing with his bitter enemy for his life,
he resisted the strong temptation to
interfere, al he certainly would have
done could he have known that she
was offering to remain a hostage to
this u~nscrupulous man until his safety
had been purchased by her acknowl-
edgment of their marriage. She was
too well aware Of that to admit him
to the conference.
Lord ~Beachcombe, sullenly balancing
pros and cons. ound 1t no easy matter
to decide between the qualification of
his revenge upon Robin and the fear
Of losing what might be his last chance
of securing the coveted documents.
It Is impossible to say how long he
might have f~luctuated between two de-
sires equally importunate. but 1t was
at last borne In upon the sluggish cur
rent of his intelligence that the GER
tificates were possibly that moment in
the possession Of Lady Prudence
Brooke. who certainly would not hest
tate to use them for his humiliation il
lit eAdSpeIdteu EeT. Htfh
What will you do If 1 refuse?" he
said at last.
Then" said Prue, with spirit, II
shall go straight from here to the
duchess of Marlborough and lay the
whole story-including the documents
before her. She has pledged herself
to grant me any request I make Of her.
and will not consider the life of a
highwayman too high a price to cancel
her debt to me-"
The duchess is no longer the power
nehihd the throne" said Beachcombe,
Influence
II do not rely upon that alone" said
Prue, retaining her patience with the
greatest difficulty; II will go to the
queen herself and plead with her-oh!
when l show her my heart she cannot
tears h forgot for the moment
where she was and who was her lis
tener, n in imagination was already
at the feet Of her royal mistress. Beach,
combe regarded he sapphire eyes
sparkling through unshed tears and the
piteous tumult Of the lovely bosom be-
meath the laces Of her bali dress and
his pulse ~quickened dizzily.
IF her gracious majesty were a king.
l think he would give you whatever
| you were pleased to ask" he breathad
"Ah! Prue-
And can you refuse me, when with
a word you can secure my gratitude
my friendship-for life?" She stretched
out her hands with a gesture so allur-
ing, and turned upon him a look op
such compelling appeal as might have
melted even a colder heart than his.
He could not altogether resist her, but
he still sought to temporize.
Continued Next Week.)