Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-08-31

openly to me, after she had left the
room in anger.
We had been busy arranging a pro-
gram of official visits in eastern Ger
many. when suddenly the crown prin-
cess entered. pale with anger and de-
manded fiercely an explanation of Il
certain anonymous letter which she
held in her hand.
Kindly read that! :" she said haugh-
lilly. land explain what it means"
The crown prince grinned. that cold
sinister expression overspreading his
countenance, look which is such
marked characteristic of his.
Then, almost snatching the letter
from his young wife's fingers. he read
it through, and with a sudden move
ment tore il up and flung it upon the
carpet. saying:
IL refuse to discuss any unsigned
letter! Really. If we were to notice
every letter written by the common
scum we should, indeed, have sufficient
to do"
His wife's arched brOws narrowed.
Her face betrayed fiercest anger.
IL happen to have inquired, and
now know that those allegations are
correct :" she cried. This dark-haired
singerwOman, Irene Speroni, has OBJ
tanned great success on the variety
stage in Italy. She is the star of the
Sala Margherita in Rome"
"Well?" he asked in defiance. "And
what Of 1t, pray?"
THAT letter you have destroyed tells
me the truth. l received Ii few
days ago, and sent an agent to Italy
in order to learn the truth. He has
returned tonight. Seer' And sud-
denly she produced crumpled snap
shot photograph Of the crown prince
In his polo-playing garb, and with him
smartly dressed young woman,
whose features were i'm the shadow.
YES" she cried bitterly. You re-
fuse, of course, to look upon this piece
of evidence. l now know why you
went to Wiesbaden. The woman was
singing there, and you gave her pair
which you purchased from VOllgOld
in Inter den Linden. See! Here is
the bill for Them
And again she produced slip of
paper.
The scene ended in the poor woman,
in frantic paroxysm of despair, tear
ing off the splendid necklet of dia-
monds at her throat-his present to
her on their marriage-and casting it
full into his face.
become too tragic, i took her small
hand, and. with word of sympathy,
led her out of the room and along the
corridor.
As left her she burst into a sudden
| torrent of tears; yet when i returned
again to the crown prince l found his
manner had entirely changed. He
treated his wife's natural resentment
and indignation as a huge joke, and ii
was then that his imperial highness
declared to me:
"Cilli is fool"
Listen. Heltzendorff." his higlfhess
exclaimed suddenly IN Nice l may
disappear for a day or two. may be
missing. But if l am, please don't
raise a fuss about it. I'm incOgnitO
and nobody will know. / may be alb
sent for seven days. If am not back
by that time then you may make in
quiry."
But the Commissary of Police Eek
ardt! He will surely know" l re-
marked in surprise.
mo. He won't know. i shall evade
him us I've often done before" re-
piled his imperial highness. Il tell
YOU of my intentions SO that you may
curb the activities of our most estima
BILE friend. Tell him not to worry. and
he will be paid II thousand marks on
the day Count Won Grunau reappears.
| smiled, for | saw the influence OF
the eternal feminine.
"No, Heltzendorff. You are quite
mistaken" he said, reading my
thoughts. There is no lady in this
case. | am out here for secret pur
poses of my own. For that reason
take YOU into my confidence rather
than that unnecessary inquiry should
be made and some of those Internal
journalists get hold of the fact thai
the Count won Grunau and the crown
prince are one and the same person.
| "a, ~. fol /
to have travelled us an ordinary pas
senger. | know. but" he laughed, this
is really comfortable and. after all
what do we care what the world think:
-eh? Surely we can afford to laugh
at il when all the honors of the game
are already in our hands"
His words mystitied me, but l be
came even more mystified by his &C
tons few days later.
| was in ignorance that a fortnight
before Hermann Hardt. one of hi
thighnesS' couriers. had left Potsdan
and on arrival at Nice had rented fo
three months the fine Villa Lilas.
We soon settled there and on thu
evening of our arrival ] accompanied
the crown prince down into the tow
to the Jetee promenade.
We smoked together and chatted. a
we often did when his imperial high
ness became bored. l was still mysti
fled why we had come To the River;
81 early in the season.
Yet our coming had. no doubt. beef
privately signaled. because within hal