The Washington times., 1915-10-17
EENTH INSTALLMl;NT
CHAPTER LXL.
The Plotters of Grahoffen,


pied the minds OF those responsible
for tho disappearance OF Kitty Gray
and her servant, Roleau. Old Corti-
slaw and his redoubtable aid. Count
Sachio. foregathered In the palace
rooms Immediately following the acts
which had meant the forced deporta-
| ton.
She has gone. then. Sachio?" de-
manded the king.
Without q doubt. your majesty! n
myself from a distance saw the two
hoistcd inboard In freight nets-as so
many cattle. They went into the hold
of the vessel beyond any question
whether or not they come out again Is
their concern. not ours
Il am not SO sure" said the old king.
thoughtfully: not so sure. True. we
have rid ourselves OF potential trou-
bic. but at the same time. we have
deprived ourselves of potential aid In
questions not yet solved. They might
have been useful. perhaps"
You mean the girly'
Yes. She has mind: be sure OF
that. But what she might have done
OF use to us we may no longer ask
with profit; she now Is beyond our re-
call. That Is only as to her knowledge.
whatever II may have been. OF the
broken coin. AS to this other enigma
this scrap OF paper. which may or may
not be connected thcrewith-who
knows? l declare. | am like a horse
in the dark-ready TO shy at any such
tr'e as scrap OF paper blowing on
the wind
We still have It. your majesty; We
took II from her"
Yes. but when We separate the two
the scrap of paper and the scrap or a
Rirl-what do we actually accomplish?
we have only a larger secret left, a
deeper mystery. Curses on all women
anNhnU' M SrN,
Mysterious themselves. they solve no
mysteries. The best hope for yonder
traveller is that she sink at sea.
swear. sometimes our little kingdom
trouble.
sachio. who disliked this discon,ent OF
his sovereign. at no time safe f'r amy
selves may he able to do in solution
OF this mystery which has been be-
queathed US. Surely our minds are as
good as those of rattie-brained girl
Hum! may be true. What 'lo you
why your majesty. that is obvious.
What we must do is to get into our
paper; i lies, still somewhere over in
Gretzhoffcn. along with the othcr half
of the Gretzhoffen coin"
Yes. along with the missing half Of
half OF it. that is true. :, I'd vet we
hold as much as thcy--half Of the an
swer. Each is complement Of the 9TH
cr. That Is to say, staematr.
drawn game-there is never profit in
any such
stay. your majesty, let US see fur
ther before We call the game done.
Surely our chances outweigh theirs. for
we have a monarch to guide us who
has brains and courage ! count my
self also as worth an equal balance
with Count Frederick. their strongest
man. And how shall we estimate yon-
der drunken, worthless. puppet king OF
thcirs-how shall he stand In COMPARE
son with ours?"
Sachio bowed deeply. His flattery
was not without its effect on the old
king, who smiled his approval
My dear Sachio. whenever need
] eiaimed Se ' well, % then at what n""' further Se
may. wo plan against them? How may
which pcrplex and menace us so
much?"
Your majesty. always one must be-
gin with premises In any argument.
known and certain clue, We may ad-
vance to later reasoning from one
known thing to the next"
as certain the fact that Michael is a
weak king and vain one--wh olly diff
ferent from our own sovereign. Is it
not true?"
Let us hope It. then"
And that Michael has had enough
of war-because war disturbs him in
his pleasures-it interrupts his drink
Ing. breaks uP his carouses with the
favorites he still has hanging about
him Is not this also true?'
1T may be true"
'"lt Is true! | know the man Michael
He is ready always to rreat win any
enemy who will go away and leave
him alone. He is no warror-ne is no
king"
And II those things he true. what is
the next step in your argument Count
Sachio"
why. this: That we profess a now
and profound friendship for Michael.
He will be but too glad to listen to
our proposition. be sure OF that"
Suppose we may be assured OF that
what them
He would be willing to do MS some
little favor II It caused him but little
trouble to grant it. He looks on us as
defeated. Let us encourage him to
play the role Of the grand Caesar, able
to he gracious, to be masnanimous. to
fallen foe"
"Good--go on see that point"
We cast ourselves then on his mercy,
| his gcrerosity-his drunken generosity,
your msjesty-that liberality OF his
which would see his own people ruined