Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-07-26

let, even 10 me, he declared that ne
retained absolutely no knowledge of
what had occurred.
Il went out quickly, and well, I
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 henitz, and for twenty minutes
or so he had an animated discussion
with her. Being outside the room, how
ever, was unable to hear distinctly.
Well, l succeeded, by brides and
| threats, in hushing up the whole affair
and keeping 1t out of the papers, while
by those who knew Of the incident 1t
was soon forgotten.
Karl krahI Again.
I 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, l 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.
IF you still refuse to tell me the
truth, then | shall take my own meas
ures to find Out-severe measures! So
1 give you full warming" the crown
prince was declaring angrily, as l en-
tered so 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 / could not at
all imagine, By what means had his
highness been rendered unconscious,
and what part could the little old
countess have played in the curious
affair?
In about half an hour the crown
prince returned in palpably bad hui
NOR and, f1inging himself into his
| addressed to Countess Won Kienitz.
This he sealed carefully and ordered
me to take 1t at once to the Stuler-
strasse and deliver 1t to her person
ally.
1.-THE countess left for Stockholm
this morning" l was informed by the
| bearded manservant. "She left by the
eight o'clock train and has already
left Sassnitz by now"
when do you expect her to re-
turn?"
The man did not know.
On going back to his highness and
| telling him Of the countess departure,
he bit his lip and then smiled grimly.
THAT Internal old woman has left
Germany and will never again put her
| foot upon our soil, HeltZendOrff," he
said. you may open that letter. II
will explain something which l know
must have mystified YOU"
I did so. And as I read what he had
written l held my breath. Truly 1t
| did explain much.
What the Crown Prince Told Me.
Imposing the strictest silence upon
me, the crown prince then revealed
| how utterly he and the crown princess
| had been misled, and how very narrow
! ly he had escaped being the victim of
| a cunning plot to effect his death.
The little old Countess Won Kienitz
| had, it seemed, sworn to avenge the
degradation and dismissal of her son,
who had been in the famous Deaths
| Head Hussars. She had secretly
traced the crown prince as author Of a
conspiracy against him, the underlying
motive being jealousy. With that end
In view she had slowly wOrmed her
way into his highness' confidence, and
| introduced to him Karl Krahl, neu-
| rOtic young Saxon who lived In Lon
| don, and who pretended he had I'M
earthed a plot against the kaiser him
self.
"It was to tell me the truth concern
ing the conspiracy that Krahl came to
me in secret at Pallenstedt. He re-
NAMED with me for half an hour,
when, to my great surprise, we were
joined by the countess. The story they
told me Of the plot against the en-
peror was a very alarming one, and |
intended to return at once to Berlin.
| The countess had left to walk back to
the schlOss, when presently we heard
| q Wornan'S Scream--her VOice-and we
| both went forth to discover what was
| In progress. AS ran along a little dis
| lance behind Krahl, suddenly what
seemed like a thin glass globe struck
| me In the chest and burst before my
| face. It had been thrown by an IN
known hand and, on breaking, must
| have emitted some poisonous gas
which was intended to kill me, but
which happily failed. Until yesterday
| the whole affair was complete mys-
terry, but KrahI has now confessed that
the countess conceived the plot, and
| that the hand that had thrown the
glass bomb was that of her son, who
had concealed himself in the bushes
for the purpose"
Though, of course, | fastened 60
congratulate his highness upon his for
tunate escape, yet l now often wonder
whether, Il the plot had succeeded, the
present world-confiict would ever have
occurred.
fCopyright, 1917, by William LeQueuyl
ton.