The Washington times., 1913-05-12

Sae soise IL winch the Seheioi uou
when you come back. II such be the
Lords will, trust me to set You In The
first colonelcy stands vacant
Colonel Castingbroke! The style liked
him well. And Of the alternative.
think not at all.
Three days later Won Kerstenbroock
took shipping from Grayesend and lis
appeared in the surging human Cur
rents Of the Low Countries.
Three weeks later there came to the
surface in Bristol. Cavalier port in the
west country, a slim young German.
by name Friedel Strandiger. who bore
letters commendatory to several OF lhe
more substantial burghers and OF coun-
try gentry in those parts.
L 81 am weary Of the false rumors ano
shifty tales OF their own profit brougnt
In By broken men, General Cromweii
had said.
discretion to be eyes for me where l
may not see for myself"
Little Strandiger, In spite Of his shy
manner and his notably imperfect Eng
lish, somehow made him friends among
civilians and soldiers in BRISTOL. In
worcester, and divers strong places OF
the King from the list Of which OK
ford conspicuously was missing.
For a couple Of months he idled from
town to town. and cpntrtved to send
therefrom reports that confirmed Gen.
eral Cromwell in his comfortable be.
lief that the Lord of Hosts was on his
Then. one fine March morning when
he was temporarily resident In Tam.
worth, Strandtger awoke to the tact
that. though he was not suspected ne
How did he knowf How had he
known the thrust that Captain Sturry
purposed, in time to kill him In the act
Of thrusting?
knew a thing He was content 10
That night strandiger fingered in q
tavern with several Hmber-tongned
young blades OF the garrison. and,
drinking deeper than tn had sii btSsrso suS% been
supplied by his kindred with the money
whereon he had rioted.
Now had he wasted all, nor might he
hope for more, so he was minded TO 80
Forthwith, in the gray Of the dawn,
he took his horse from nearby stable
and, under the eyes Of his comrades,
went and enrolled himself in Coionel
FIelding's regiment.
By this device he had planned to turn
suspicion for the moment not from
himself alone. but from those IN Tam
worth and in Worcester OF whom ne
had aid and furtherance.
At the earliest opportunity he plan
ned to desert his colors. But not q
the pitifully small royalist regiments
that were hardly larger than good
sized troops-was marched away to
garrison the fortified house OF Wyp,
slade Priory, in Leicestershire, ano
broockJ held the place worthy Of his
For a few days yet he fingered on.
quiet little guileless gentleman-trooper.
with the trick of keeping silence Wnne
Eastertide. and he believed the end
of his service to be in sight.
Already he had begun to think fondly
of the hour when he once more could
don a Holland shirt.
For he was as fastidious Of his linen
when other greater ISSUES coferT Mefe nor ann nd
as a private trooper, to his much dis
ease. ne had to wear dowlas, and even,
on one or two ghastly days. had gone
shirtless.
orders for the regiment to strengthen
the garrison of q castle some leagues
TO northward, which, In the shifting OF
forces with the coming Of spring.
seemed likely to be place OF Inn
Then tits a place that. at all haz-
ard. should know thought Won
Kerstenbroock. and aloud he asked
what might this castle be?
Kings Staversham. he was told. the
seat OF the loyal Earl of Staversham:
For the first time in months Won
Kerstenbroock thought OF Musgrove and
Erisey and all the gang that hung
upon Lord Staversham.
More than once. On next days long
march to Kings Staversham, he asked
himself II he did well to venture thus
into their stronghold.
But he reflected that. in case he found
them still the hangbys of my lord. he
had been seen of Musgrove but once,
and he in his cups. and of Erisey but
twice.
Moreover. as he had long since dis
carded his close Swedish cut-not to be
confounded with the cropheaded eX-
tremists OF the party of his allegiance
and wore his hair down to his collar,
he trusted TO this alteration to disguise
him.
In any case, II Kings Staversham
were to be a crucial point, when fight
ing was renewed. as seemed quite like
ly, he held IT his duty to look the
ground over and report upon II.
Many times ere this, in the five and
twenty years OF his crowded life, he
had taken long chances.
He took a long chance now.
So. in the pale spring evening. Won
kerstenbroock. trooper undistin-
guished In Fieldings dusty, Sired band
swung across the drawbridge to Kings
Starersham, and there, In the pallid
flicker OF a torch beneath the arch of
the gateway, already lit 20 war with
daylight. saw Robert Erisey stand erect
and blond and beautiful in ris trap
pings OF a royalist colonel.
Sidelong Won Kerstenbroock took in
the sight of Erisey as Erisey gave
courteous welcome to Colonel Fielding
Dye see that tall stringer yo1g'
mumbled the trooper at Won Kersten-
brooks stirrup, a babbling gossip. to
whom Won Kerstenbroock vas much In
debt for news.
"'Tis my lords son of The ref; hand
and colonel in the regiment of my lords
raising. And yon smashing fellow at
his side. they say It's my lords son-in-
law"
"He looks to be a proper nan" said
Won Kerstenbroock,, ingenuously
In the settling twilight lie dismount-
ed. and, having looked to his horse.
A,.I~ 10