Abilene weekly reflector., 1916-03-02

''He may be in love with some one
else. for all we know, so where do
come in?"
Come in?" gasped her father.
shes part American, dear, ex-
planned the mother with her prettiest
smile.
Besides" said the crown princess.
with finality. I'm not even going to
be engaged to man I've never seen.
And if you insist. I'll run away as
sure as anything"
And so the matter rested Five
years have passed since the initial over
lures were made by the two courts
and although Several sly attempts were
made to bring the young people to a.
proper understanding Of their case they
aroused nothing more than scornful
laughter on the part of the principals.
And no one saw the portentous shad
ow cast by the slim daughter of Will
liam w. Blithers. for the simple rea-
son that neither Graustark nor DAVIS
bergen knew that it existed. They
lived in serene ignorance of the fact
that God. while he was about it. put
Maud AppIegate Blithers into the world
on precisely the same day that the
crown princess of Dawsbergen first
saw the light of day.
On the twenty-second anniversary
of his birth Prince Robin Jared forth
in quest of love and romance, not with
out hope of adventure. for he was a
valorous chap with the heritage of
warriors in his veins. Said he to him.
self in dreamy contemplation Of the
long journey ahead of him: Il will
traverse the great highways that my
mother trod. and | will look for the
Golden Girl sitting by the wayside.
She must be there. and though ii is a
wide world. | am young and my eyes
are sharp. will find her sitting at
| the roadside eager for me to come, not
housed in a gloomy castle surrounded
by the spooks of hundred ancestors.
They who live In castles wed to hate,
and they who wed at the roadside live
to love. Fortune attend me! If love
lies at the roadside waiting do not let
me pass it by. All the princesses are
not inside the castles. Some sit out
side the gates and laugh with glee for
7 love is their companion. So away
go. la, laI looking for the princes with
the happy heart and the smiling lips!
1t is wide world. but my eyes are
sharp. / shall find my princess"
But, alas, for his fine young dream.
he found no golden girl at the Roadside
nor anything that suggested romance.
There were happy hearts and smiling
lips, and all for him. it would appear.
but he passed them by, for his eyes
were sharp and his wits awake. And
so at last he came to Gotham, his
heart as free as the air he breathed,
confessing that his quest had been In
vain. History failed to repeat itself
His mothers romance would stand
alone and shine without a flicker to
the end Of time There could be no
counterpart.
We'll, | had the fun of looking" ~e
philosophical Ito himself, for no man
knew of his secret project and grin
ned with sort of amused tolerance
for the sentimental side of his nature.
I'm silly ass to have even dreamed
OF finding her as | passed along, and
if | had found her what the deuce
could | have done about 1t anyway?
Ehis isn't the day for medieval lady
snatching. | dare say I'm just as well
off for not having found her. still
have the zest for hunting farther and
there's a lot in that" Then aloud.
Hobbs, are we on timer
I'VE are, sir said Hobbs without
even glancing at his watch. The train
was passing One Hundred and Twen-
ty-ifth street ITO the minute. sir.
We will be in in ten minutes if moth /
ing happens Mr. King will be at the
station to meet you, sir. Any orders, !
sir?"
Yes; pinch me, Hobbs"
pinch your highnessr" in amaze
ment. MY word, sir, wot''-
Il just want to be sure that the /
dream is over. Hobbs. Never mind. /
You needn't pinch me- I'm awake" /
and to prove 1t he stretched his fine |
young body in the ecstasy Of realiza-
ton
That night he slept soundly in the
Catskills.
Toward the end of his first week at |
Red Roof, the summer home Of the
Truxton Kings, the prince might have
been found on the broad lawn late one
afternoon playing tennis with his
hostess. the lovely and yivacious
Aunt Lorraine" To him Mrs. King
would always be Aunt Lorraine"
even as he would never be anything
but Bobby to her.
She was several years under forty
and as light and active as a young
girl. Her smooth cheek glowed with
the happiness and thrill Of the sport,