The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1914-09-11
CHAPTER ll-cOntlnued.

Sadly the wretch told her the tale;
the will Of the king, his death, and the
subsequent death Of her father in his,
Durga Rams. arms. Yonder urn con-
tanned his ashes. For the first time
in her young life Kathlyn tainted. She
had been living on her nerves for
weeks, and al the sight OF that urn
something snapped. Dainuly Um-
balla plucked forth the packet and
waited. At length she opened her
eyes.
You are a queen, Miss Hare"
You are mad!r
Nay; 1t was the madness OF the
king. But mad kings often make laws
which must be obeyed. You will ac-
cuse me OF perfldy when tell you all.
The note which brought you here was
written by me and substituted for
this"
Duly Kathlyn read; "Kathlyn-If
not heard from, I'm held captive in
Allaha. The royal title given to me
by the king made me and my de-
scendants direct heirs to the throne.
stroy sealed document herewith.
FATHER"
The Council Of Three entered noise
lessly from the adjoining room. At
the four dark, inscrutable faces the be-
wldered girl stared, her limbs numb
with terror. Gravely the council told
her she must come with them to the
palace,
1T is impossiblei" she murmured.
You are all mad l am a white wom-
an. | cannot rule over an alien race
whose tongue l cannot speak, whose
habits know nothing Of 1t is impos-
sible. Since my father is dead, must
return to my home
No" said Umballa.
Il refuse to stir" She was all afire
of a sudden: the base trickery which
had brought here here! She was very
lovely to the picturesque savage who
stood at her elbow.
As he looked down at her, in his
troubled soul Umballa knew that 1t
was not the throne so much as it was
this beautiful bird OF Paradise which
he wished to cage
BE brave" he said, like your fa-
ther. | do not wish to use force, but
you must go. 1t is useless to strug-
gle. Come"
She hung back for a moment; then,
realizing her utter helplessness, she
signified that she was ready to go. She
needed time to collect her stunned and
disordered thoughts.
Before going to the palace they con-
Quoted her to the royal crypt. The
urn containing her fathers ashes was
deposited In a niche. Many other
, inches contained urns, and Umballe
explained TO her that these held the
ashes OF many rulers, Tears welled
into Kathlyn's eyes, but they were OF
a hysterical character.
"A good sign" mused Umballa, who
thought he knew something of women,
like all men beset with vanity Oddly
enough, he had forgotten all about the
incident of the lion in the freight ca
boose. All women are felines to a GER
tain extent This golden-haired woman
had claws, and the day was coming
when he would feel them drag over his
heart.
From the crypt they proceeded to
the palace zenana (harem), which sur
rounded a court Of exceeding beauty.
Three ladies of the harem were sitting
in the portico, attended by slaves. All
were curiously interested at the sight
of a woman with white skin, tinted
like the lotus. Umballa came to a
halt before a latticed door
Here your majesty must remain
till the day of your coronation"
How did my father die?"
He was assassinated on the palace
steps by Mahomedan fanatic. AS |
told you, he died in my arms"
His note signitied that he feared
Imprisonment How came he on the
palace steps?"
He was not a prisoner. He came
and went as he pleased in the city"
He bowed and left her.
Alone in her chamber, the dullness
of her mind diminished and finally
cleared away like fog in wind. Her
dear, kind, blue-eyed father was dead,
and she was virtually prisoner, and
Winnie was all alone. A queen! They
were mad, or she was in the midst of
some hideous nightmare. Mad, mad,
mad She began to laugh. and it was
not q pleasant sound. A queen, she, |
Kathlyn Hare! Her father was dead. |
she was a queen, and Winnie was all
alone A gale of laughter brought to
the marble lattice many wondering |
eyes. The white cockatoo shrilled his |
displeasure. Those outside the lattice |
saw this marvellous white-skinned |
woman, with hair like the gold threads
in Chinese brocades, suddenly throw
herself upon a pile of cushions. and
they So her shoulders rock and
heave, but heard no sound of wailing.
After while she fell asleep, kind
Of dreamless stupor. When she awoke
1t was twilight in the court. The
doves were cooling and fiuttering in the
cornices and the cockatoo was preen-
ing his lemon-colored topknot. At first
Kathlyn had not the least idea where
she was. but the light beyond the lat
tice, the fitting shadows, and the tin
kle of stringed instrument assured
her that she was awake, terribly
awake.
She sat perfectly still, slowly gather
ing her strength, mental and physical
She was not her fathers daughter for
nothing. She was TO fight in some
strange warfare, instinctively she felt
this; but from what direction, In
what shape, only God knew. Yet she