Middletown transcript., 1917-08-04

know that I was acquainted with TIA
liam, the language she had spoken on
that well-remembered night In her own
conservatory, I exclaimed:
"Ahe allie vote con gil occhi aperti
81 far del sogni." (Sometimes one can
dream with ones eyes open.)
Her thin eyebrows narrowed, and
with a shrug of her shoulders the
old woman replied:
"Dal faiso bene viene IL vero male"
(FrOm an affected good feeling comes
a real evil.)
/ realized at that moment that there
was more mystery in the affair than
had yet conceived. His imperial high
ness was certainly missing, though the
female element of the affair had be-
come eliminated by my recognition of
her own handbag. She, too, had been
in secret to the forester's house-but
with what object?
Half an hour later we were back at
the little house in the forest.
The guests had all returned to the
castle, and only Eckhardt, the police
commissioner, remained, with for
ester and his underlings. Already
search had been made in the surround
ing woods, but without result. OF his
imperial highness there was no trace.
In the long room, with its pitch-pine
walls, and lit by oil lamps, the old
countess closely questioned Eckhardt
as to the result of his inquiries. But
the police official, who had become full
of nervous fear, declared that he had
been sent off by his highness, and
had not since found any trace Of him.
He spoke of the little silk bag, of
course, and attached great Importance
to it.
Within half an hour we had reor-
ganized the beaters from the neighbOr-
hood and, with lanterns, set out again
to examine some woods to the east
which had not been searched. About
ten o'clock we set forth, the countess
accompanying us and walking well,
notwithstanding her age, though l
could see that it was a fearful anxiety
that kept her active. To the men with
US every inch Of the mountain side
was familiar, and for hours we
searched.
A Startling Discovery.
Suddenly, not far away, a horn was
blown, followed by loud shouts. Quick
ly we approached the spot, and Eek
hardt and myself, as we came up,
looked upon a strange scene. Close to
the trunk Of great beech tree lay the
form of the crown prince, hatless, out
stretched upon his face.
Instantly I bent, tore open his
shooting jacket, and to my great relief
found that his heart was still beating.
He was, however, quite unconscious,
though there seemed no sign of q
struggle. AS he had left his hat and
gun in the house, it seemed that he
had gone forth only for a moment.
And yet we were quite mile from the
fOrester's house!
The countess had thrown herself up
on her knees and stroked his brow ten
derby when l announced that he was
still living. BY her actions l saw that
she was filled by some bitter self-re-
prOach.
With the lanterns shining around
him-surely a weird and remarkable
scene which would, if described by the
journalists, have caused great SEN
sation in Europe-the crown prince
was brought slowly back to conscious
ness, until at last he sat up, dazed and
wondering.
His first words to me were:
."That fellow! Where is he? That
that glass glObe!"
An hour later he was comfortably In
bed in the great Old-world room in the
castle, attended by local doctor
upon whom l set the seal Of official 81
lence-and before dawn he had COM
pletely recovered.
Yet, even to me, he declared that he
retained absolutely no knowledge OF
what had occurred.
II went out quickly, and well. l
don't know what happened" he told
me soon after dawn, as he lay in bed.
Strangely enough, he made no mention
of the man, Karl Krahl.
Later on he summoned the Countess
Won Kienitz, and for twenty minutes
or so he had an animated discussion
with her. Being outside the room, how
ever, 1 was unable to hear distinctly.
Well, 1 succeeded. by brides and
threats, in hushing up the whole affair
and keeping it out Of the papers, while
by those who knew of the incident it
was soon forgotten.
Karl krahI Again.
/ suppose it must have been fully
three months later when one evening,
having taken some documents over to
the emperor for signature at the Berlin
schloss, l returned to the princes pri-
vate room in the palace, when, to my
great surprise, found the man Karl
Krahl seated there. He looked very
pale and worn, quite unlike the rather
athletic figure he presented at the for
ester's house.
eff you still refuse to tell me the
truth, then 1 shall take my own meas
ures to find out-severe measures! So
1 give you full warming" the crown
prince was declaring angrily, as en-
tered 80 Unexpectedly.
I did not withdraw, pretending not
to notice the presence Of a visitor,
therefore his highness himself beck
oned the young man, who followed him
down the corridor to another room.
The whole affair was most puzzling
What had happened on that afternoon
in the Harz mountains I could not at
all imagine. By what means had his
highness been rendered unconscious,
ond what mart cOuld tho LITTLE old