The Glasgow courier., 1916-06-30

euUMltUeO. little SuSpect1ng the trick
that Dame Nature was to play in the
end
Private banking institutions in Eu-
rope refused to make loans under the
rather exasperating circumstances. pre-
ferring to take no chances. Money was
not cheap in these bitter days. neither
in Europe nor America. Caution was
the watchword. A vast European war
was not improbable. despite the sin.
cere efforts on the part Of the various
nations to keep out Of the controversy.
Nor was Mr.. Blithers far from right
In his shrewd surmise that Prince
Robin and his agents were not without
hope in coming to America at this par
ticular time. Graustark had laid by
barely half the amount required to lift
the debt to Russia. 1t was not beyond
the bounds Of reason to expect her
prince to secure the remaining 15,OOO,-
GOO through private sources in New
York city.
Six weeks prior to his arrival in
New York the young prince landed in
San Francisco. He had come by way
Of the orient. accompanied by the chief
Of sta6 Of the Graustark army. Count
Quinnox. hereditary watchdog to the
royal family. and young lieutenant
OF the guard. BOske Dank. Two men
were they who would have given a
thousand lives In the service Of their
prince. No less loyal was the body
servant who looked after the personal
wants Of the eager young traveller, an
Englishman Of the name Of Hobbs. A
very poor valet was he. but an excep-
tionally capable person when it came
to the checking Of luggage and the d.
vining Of railway timetables He had
been guide fo- tourist agency. 1t
was quite impossible to miss a train
that Hobbs suspected Of being the right
one.
Prince Robin came unheralded and
traversed the breadth Of the continent
without attracting more than the atten-
ton that is bestowed upon good looking
young men. Like his mother. nearly q
quarter Of a century before. he Travelled
incognito. But where she had used the
somewhat emphatic name of Guggen-
slOcker he was known to the hotel
registers as "Mr r. Schmidt and ser.
want"
There was romance in the eager
young soul Of Prince Robin. He rev.
eled in the love story Of his parents.
The beautiful Princess Yetive first saw
Crenfell I4orry In an express train 60
ing eastward from Denver. Their
wonderful romance was born. so to
speak. in Pullman compartment car.
and it thrived 80 splendidly that it al
most upset dynasty. for never-in all
of nine centuries-had a ruler of Grau-
stark stopped to marriage with a CON-
m0ner.
And 20 when the farsighted minis
try and house Of mobiles in Graustark
set about to select a wife for their
young ruler they made overtures to
the Prince Of Dawsbergen, whose do
main adjoined Graustark on the south.
The Crown Princess Of Dawsbergen.
then but fifteen. was the unanimous
choice of the amiable matchmakers in
secret conclave. This was when Robin
was seventeen and just over being
fatuously in love with his middle aged
instructress in French.
The Prince Of Dawsbergen dispatch
ed an embassy Of nobIemen to assure
his neighbor that the match would be
highly acceptable to him and that in
proper season the betrOthal might be
announced. But alack! both courts
overlooked the fact that there was in
dependent American blood in the two
young people. Neither the Prince of
Graustark nor the Crown Princess OF
Dawsbergen-whose mother was a
Miss Beverly Calhoun of Virginia-was
disposed to listen to the voice Of ex-
pediency: in fact. at safe distance of
three or four hundred miles the young
sters 6guratively turned up their noses
at each other and frankly confessed
that they hated each other and
wouldn't be bullied into getting mar
ried, no matter what anybody said, or
something Of the sort
"Spose I'm going to say III marry a
girl I've never SEEM" demanded sew
enteen-year-o!d Robin. full Of wrath.
Not ]. my lords. I'm going to look
about q bit, If you don't mind. The
world is full Of girls. Ill marry the
one happen to want or I'll not marry
at ALL"
But. highness," they protested, you
must listen to reason. There must be
a successor to the throne of Graustark
You would not have the name die with
you. The young princess is
us fifteen. you say" he interrupted
loftily. Come around in ten years
and We'll talk it over again. But I'm
not going to pledge myself to marry a
child in short frocks. name or no
name. Is she pretty?"