The Washington times., 1915-10-10


Troubled deeply, Count Frederick once
nero turned to his own home. Here he
made urgent inquiries among his peo-
pie In the vague hope that once more
the young woman he sought had for
place wheSe .Se S.G ors sSsn
once ventured in the past. But not one
Of his servants could furnish any
knowledge Whatsoever. They had not
seen her. knew nothing Of her presence:
his most trusted men.
Listen" said he. you know the
young Amertcan-the one Of a certain
prominence in the court-the one who
mas been here as my suest?'
,rrnn. Yes, ..,,si, eircelleney'" replied the man.
Very we'll She has disappeared. 1t
is my wish that you discover her for
me as soon as possible-at once. True,
! krow the late siege has upset every
must be found. for much depends on
that-much knowledge In which we are
all interested. Take what men you
need and go. Watch Sachio. yonder
count Of Grahoffen. Send some men to
guess ! should fancy he might know
something. II anyone can know
Having taken these measures. pos
s:bly inefficient. yet the only ones Of
FERNS. to his mind. Count Frederick
palace. He was OF a mind to upbraid
his drunken sovereign with his own
folly. Of a mind to upset the remnants
of this card-house Kingdom. OF a mind
to do something, anything, OF desperate
nature. His own soul was stirred to
its inmost depths, and now he would
have hesitated at nothing.
It was. as so often Is the case. a
Of greater resolutions. As he crossed
the palace grounds 80 lately the scene
OF armed combat. he noted the trampled |
sward. the torn bed OF flowers, the |
broken shrubs. the shorn trees-ail the
there lay the debris OF the attack and
the retreat--arms, equipment. The keen
eye OF frederick noted them all. 1t
noted also the glitter OF a bit of metal
ed accouterments. He stopped and
picked II up.
1t was a silver cigarette case. evil
dently abandoned by some Of the Gra-
the place. Count Frederick examined it
Within the i'd there was written
little inscription which gave him
loved. for deeds OF fSalor. From his
so" exclaimed Frederick, so then
so them He was here but now. And
OF sharp -heelcd boots in the broken
soil. He. caught. ur q little bit of filn,y
lncc-a Serchief whose perfume was
familiar to him. He saw against the
ike lace "f peIhaps ssf soe sruss St
stood FOR S"S Just e' oment rRes sSsS bosh @
were here. These things would not
or had % they parted @ n here e1 They pfaSS have
gone-together. BY the Lord. she is
prisoner once more. and taken by the
man call my most hated enemy.
He stood for a moment confirming
of his own keen brain. On an instant
he passed from the reasoning machine
to the man. a human being sensible Of
that which lay deep within his heart:
resolution that Of anger.
"'Tis no wonder Sachio broke hia
word. :" muttered he to himself. 1T was
treachery, yes. but why should he stop
his plighted word OF honor. by which,
We gave him truce? He has now in
his hands one better able to harm the
kingdom. OF Gretzhoffen than half the
army who fought here but now. And
she Is helpless. can see him exult
In what he has done"
Agitated, he hastened once more now
to the palace door. He demanded OF
seen the young American. but they
| could give no intelligent replies. She
| had been here, yes: she had passed
away from the palace. yes: but who
toned as well his own men. anxiously.
eagerly. but none OF these could give
| satisfactory answers. The young
American had been seen. yes: she had
gone. yes That was all.
Let me tell you. then" said Count
Frederick. in a fash Of anger. since
you cannot learn for me. She has
| gone to Grahoffen-as a prisoner. Go
there. then: follow Sachio, as ] have
already ordered. The young American
oner. We must rescue her. We must
| do that for every reason In the world
for her own safety and our own"
And for my own peace of mind"
turned away to find such. relief as he
could in the countless duties which
now were to devolve upon him amid
the wreck of government and the
ruin OF a city.
Although the forces OF the King Of
Grahofren had been worsted in STRAIT
egy and had given their parole in order
to save their lives In the flooded cham
bers Of the dungeon levels. the king
dom itself. its ruler. and Its leading
men seemed to feel little OF the terror
common with those actually defeated.
Upon tho contrary. old Cortislaw and
his mobiles were victims not so much
OF terror as of chagrin. Neither were
they disposed too scrupulously to OBJ
serve their own plighted word. which
had purchased life and liberty. Pass
| ing from the limits OF the beieaguered
| capital. they did not scorn to take such
| loot as lay Mt hand, or to carry with
| them such prisoners as pleased them.
Among these latter 1t chanced that
they had one more prisoner whose
freedom might much have altered the
| course OF events In this complex little
drama.
Had Roleau. the doughty servant OF
Kitty Gray. been on hand at the time
| of the capitulation OF the Grahofrcn
| forces. no doubt he would have kept
so close to his mistress as to guard
| against any such sudden surprise as
had now left her at the mercy of her
| enemies. But Roleau. prisoner to Gra-
hofren. had no knowledge OF any Of the
late stirring events. nor any knowl-
| edge Of the whereabouts of his mis-
| tress.
He himself was simply taken along
as part of the iagnappe OF war, hit
! or miss, with no special plan and no
knowledge whatever at first OF his
possible Importance. 1t was only after
the march toward Grahoffen was well
| under way that he was recognized by
men who had seen him at Sachio's
place and around the palace itself In
Grahoffen capital
His identity thus known, his captors
exulted very much. Forsooth, they
brought him before Cortslaw himself,