The Elbert County tribune., 1916-02-18
SEVENTEENTH INsTALLMENT
CHAPTER TX.
rhe pIotters Of orahoffen.

mixed sensations occupied the minds
Of those responsible for the disappear
ance of Kitty Gray and her servant,
Roleau. Old Cortislaw and his re-
dou5tabie aid, Count Sachio. foregath-
ared in the palace rooms Immediately
following the acts which had meant
Che. forced deportation.
"Ehe has gone, then. Sachiof' de-
mraafeu the king.
without a doubt. your majesty
myself from distance saw the two
hoisted inboard in freight nets-as so
many cattle. yhcy went into the hold
OF Che vessel tsyond any iestion-
whether or not they come out again
Is their concern. pot ours!"
Il am not so sure," said the old
king thoughtfully. not SO sure. True,
we have rid ourselves of potential
trouble, but at the sane time we have
deprived ourselves of potential aid in
questions not yet solyes. They might
have been useful. perhaps
you mean the girl?"
Yes. She has mind. he sure Of
that. But what she might have done
uf use to us we may no longer ask
with profit--she now is beyond our re-
call. That is only as to her knowl-
edge, whatever 1t may have been. OF
the broken coin. AS to this other enig-
ma. this scrap ofpaper, which may or
may not be connected therewith-who
knows? I declare, am like horse
in the dark-ready to shy at any such
trifle as scrap Of paper blowing ON
the wind"
'sWe still have 1t. your majesty-wo
took it from her."
"Yes, hut when we separate the two
the scrap of paper and the scrap of
girl--what do we actually accomplish?
We have only a larger secret left, q
deeper mystery. Curses on all women.
anyhow! They only mako lib trouble.
Mysterious themselves. they solve no
mystic les. Tho best hope for yonder
traveller is that she sinks at sea. /
ewear. sometimes our little kingdom
bids fair to sink In its own waves OF
trouble"
well, now, your majesty" said
Eachio, who disliked this discomfort
Of. his sovereign, at no time safe for
u1y courtier, ''let US see what we our
selves may be able to do in solution OF
this mystery which has been be-
Queathed us. Surely our minds are as
good as those of rattle-brained girl
from America"
"Hum--it may be true. What do
YOU propose. at leastf"
"Why. your majesty. that is obvious.
What we must do is to get Into our
bands the other half OF this scrap OF
paper. 1t lies still somewhere over in
GretzhofYen, along with the other half
of the Gretzhoffen COIN"
aYes, along with the missing half
Of that coin, also! They hold the key,
or half of it, that is true And yet we
hold as much as they-half OF the
answer. Each is complement OF the
other. That is to say. stalemate.
drawn game-there is never profit in
any SUCH"
aStay. your majesty. let us see fur
ther before we call the game done.
Surely our chances outweigh theirs,
for we have a monarch to guido US
who has brains and courage. ! count
myself, also, as worth an equal bal
ancc with Count Frederick. their
strongest man. And how shall we es-
innate yonder drunken, worthless. pup
pet king of theirs-how shall he stand
In comparison with ours?"
Sachio bowed deeply. His fiattery
was not without its effect on the old
king, who smiled his approval.
"My dear Sachio, whenever need
comfort you have 1t at hand!" ex-
claimed he. well. then. what fur
iher may we plan against them? How
may we loose their hold upon these Sc
crets which perplex and menace us
so much?'
'Why, this: That we profess new
and profound friendship for Michael.
tle will be but too glad to listen to our
proposition, be sure of that"
Suppose we may be assured OF
Ghat-what then?"
"He would be willing to do us some
little favor If 1t caused him but little
trouble to grant 1t. He looks on US as
defeated. Let us encourage him to
llay the role of the grand Caesar. able
/, be gracious. to be magnanimous, to
! fallen foe."
"Good-go on--I see the point"
ESQ we ask of that weak mind some
thing which his mere sloth will dis
pose him to grant us-nothing much
only the ownership of worthless
bit of paper He does not know its
saiue-perhaps he does not know OF
es erxistance."