The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-07-14


be derided by the son of the all-highest
one.
On a Secret Mission for the Crown
Prince.
Next day, soon after his highness
was dressed, he entered my room.
"Heltzendorff," he said, II have been
: chatting with Won ~Pappenheim and
his sister upon a little matter of bust
ness which closely concerns myself.
1 want you to leave in an hours time
and go to Hanover. In the Kirchroder
/ strasse, No. 16, out at Kleefeld, there
lives a certain a named Minckwitz
"a Pole by birth. He has two nieces
one about twenty and the other two
years older. With them you have no
concern. All l want is that you en-
gage a photographer, or, better, your
self take a snapshot of this man
Minckwitz, and bring it to me. Be
discreet and trust n one with the Sc
cret of your journey"
Exactly. There is a doubt as to
the mans identity, eh?"
"Willie" nodded in the affirmative.
Satisfied that 1 should at last see
the mysterious person whose identity
the emperor wished to establish, / set
out from Gels on my long journey right
across Germany.
In due course I arrived in Hanover,
and found the house situated in the
pleasant suburb. Here / found that
"Willie's" suspicious were correct, and
the man Minckwitz was living under
the name of Sembach and pretending
to be a musician. I watched, and very
soon, with my own camera, in secret
took a snapshot of the mysterious in
dividual as he walked in the street.
With this I left, two days later, on my
return to Gels.
The photograph was that of a thin,
narrow-faced, deep-eyed man, with a
scraggy, pointed beard-a typical Pole,
and when I handed it to "Willie" he
held his breath.
"Look! ~ he cried, turning to Won
Pappenheim and his sister, who were
both present. "Look! There is no
mistake! That is the man. What
shall we do? No time must be lost.
How can I act?"
A Talk With Won Pappenheim's Sister.
Brother and sister exchanged glances
, blankly. From inquiries l had made
in Hanover, it seemed that the man
was q stranger, a muSic-maSter, who
had arrived there about a month ago.
1 feared to make inquiry through the
police, because my official capacity as
personal adjutant to the crown prince
was too well known, and suspicion
might have thus been aroused.
The trio again held secret counsel,
but I was not told the nature of their
deliberations. All l knew was that
the crown prince was in some terrible
and most dangerous difficulty.
That afternoon I met the girl Mar
garete walking alone in the grounds
near the schloss. The autumn sun
was pleasant, though there was a
sharp nip in the air, which told of the
coming of the early Silesian winter.
We had walked together for some
distance, when I suddenly halted and
asked her point-blank why they were
! all in such great fear of Herr Minck-
WITT.
She started, staring at me with her
big blue eyes.
His highness has not told you,
count. Therefore, it would i'll become
me to reveal his secret" was her cold
rebuke.
"But If the situation is so grave,
and if I had been intrusted with the
secret mission to Hanover, / may,
perhaps, be of service in the matter.
l understand you are acquainted with
Herr Minckwitz, alias Sembach-eh?'
"Who told you that?"
Nobody. I learned 1t myself" l an
swered, with a smile.
For q second she reflected, then,
with a woman's cleverness, she said
81 can tell you nothing. Ask the
crown prince himself" And she re-
fused to discuss the matter further.
Indeed, she left the castle two hours
later.
The Crown Princes Fear.
That night I went boldly to willie"
finding him alone in a little circular
room in one of the towers of the castle,
to which he often retired to smoke and
snooze.
| stood before him, and without
mincing matters, told him what / had
overheard, and all / knew.