Middletown transcript., 1917-07-28

Then, turning to me, ne aSKeu HE
| to conduct her out.
On returning to the crown prince, |
| found him in a decidedly savage mood
He was pacing the floor impatiently,
muttering angrily to himself, for it was
apparent that some plan of his was be-
ing thwarted by the girls refusal to
conform to his wishes and obtain GER
| tain information he was seeking.
The crown prince, when in foreign
| country, was never idle. His energy
| was such that he was ever on the
move, with eyes and ears always open
to learn whatever he could. Hence
it was at two o'clock that afternoon
knot brought round big gray open
car, and in it I sat beside the en-
| peror's son while we were driven
around the defenses Of Plymouth, just
| as on previous occasions we had In
spected those of Portsmouth and Of
| Dover.
On the following Thursday evening
we had returned to London, and the
crown prince, without telling me
where he was going. left the Ritz hotel.
merely explaining that he might not be
back till midnight. 1t was on that oc-
casion, my dear LeQueux, you Will
remember, that I dined with you at
the DevOnshire club, and we afterWard
spent pleasant evening together at
the Empire.
1 merely told you that his highness
was out at dinner with a friend. You
were, naturally, inquisitive. but did
not satisfy your curiosity. Secrecy was
then my duty.
A Sample of German Preparedness.
On returning to the hotel 1 found
the crown prince arranging with knof
a motor run along the Surrey hills on
the following day. He had large
map spread before him-a German
military map, the curious marks upon
which would have no doubt astonished
any war office official. The map lndl-
Gated certain spots which had been Sc
cretly prepared by Germany in view OF
the projected invasion.
To those spots we motored on the
following day. His imperial highness,
at the instigatiOn of the emperor, actu-
ally made tour of inspection Of those
cunningly concealed points Of vantage
which the imperial general staff had,
with their marvellous forethOught and
bold enterprise, already prepared right
beneath the very nose of the sleep
ing British lion.
From the crown princes jaunty man.
ner and good spirits felt assured that
by the subtle persuasive powers he pos
sessed towards women he had brought
the mysterious Miss King into line
with his own plans-whatever they
might be.
We lunched at the Burford Bridge
hotel, that pretty, old-fashioned house
beneath Box hill, not far from Dor
king.
After our meal In the long public
room, we strOlled into the grounds for
a smoke.
"Well, Heltzendorff," he said pres
emily, 1--WE will return to the CONT
nent tomorrow Our visit has not
been altogether abortive. We VIII re-
main a few days in Ostend, before we
return to Potsdam."
Next afternoon we had taken up our
quarters at small but very select ho-
tel on the Digue at Ostend, place
called the Beau Sejour." 1t was
patronized by old-fashioned folk, and
Herr Richter" was we'll known there.
There may have been some who sus-
pected that Richter was not the visit
or's real name, but they were few, and
1t always surprised me how we'll the
crown prince succeeded in preserving
his ncognitO-thOugh, of course, the
authorities knew Of the imperial visit.
The English Girl Again.
The following day, about three
o'clock, while the crown prince was
carelessly going through some letters
brought by couriers from Potsdam, q
waiter came to me with a message that
Miss King desired to see Mr.. Richter
In surprise 1 received her, welcom-
ing her to Ostend. From the neat dress
of the pretty English girl 1 concluded
that she had just crossed from Dover
and she seemed most anxious to see
his highness. 1 noted that she still
wore the beautiful golden butterfly.
When 1 entered his room to an.
nounce her the crown princes brow
knit, and his thin lips compressed.
Hin! More trouble for us, Heltzen:
dorff, I suppose! Very well, show
her in"
The fair visitor was in the room for 9
long time-indeed. for over an hour
Their voices were raised, and now and
then, curiously enough, 1 received the
impression that, whatever might have
been the argument, the pretty girl haG
gained her own point, for when she
came out she smiled at me in triumph
and walked straight forth and dowr
the stairs.
The crown prince threw himself int
, big armchair in undisguised dissatis
faction. Towards me he never WORE
mask, though, like his father. ne IN