The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1917-07-21


open declaration of war to the French
ambassador in Berlin.
Her majesty, in her gray silk gown,
sat there, pale and nervous. Somebody
tapped at the door, but she replied
Il am engaged. Come later"
Il will endeavor to do my BEST" ]
went on, providing that your majesty
will support me-"
81 certainly will. These dispatches
must be stopped at all hazards" she
said. Cannot you yourself land and
overtake the courier?"
1t vas a wild suggestion. Natzmer
had gone off in the steam pinnace an
hour before, and the boat, returning,
had already been hauled up. l could
not step ashore for at least a couple
of hours, and then at some point on
that rugged coast where l might be
compelled to drive by some circuitous
rout by carriole down to Trondhjem.
Further, the emperor would miss me,
and would consequently suspect.
In a few brief sentences l pointed
all this out to the empress.
"Try-do try-for our empires
sake" she urged. 81 will assist you
with all my efforts. You must arrive
at the imperial chancellery prior to
those dispatches. The emperor Is not
himself. Count Won Heltzendorff, you
are a trusted servant of our house.
Into your hands 1 place the solution
of this most difficult problem"
"Will not your majesty allow me to
wire in your name to u legation in
Christiania to recall the courier?" I
suggested. 81 will send a wireless mes
sage which the minister, Won Petsch,
will receive within a couple of hours,
and watch will then be kept for his
arrival by train. To overtake him
now is, 1 feel sure, impossible.
For the next few seconds the kais-
erin was undecided. To reverse the
orders of her imperial husband was
almost more than she dared. In her
own sphere she was autocratic, and
ruled her court just as sternly as did
the emperor rule his army. But to
override the emperor!
"Yes," she said, after a few mo-
ments' further reflection. "You are
quite right, count. l give you orders
to act just as you wish. Please give
your commands in my name"
In a few seconds ] had written out
an imperial dispatch to be transmitted
by wireless, and to this the empress,
grave and sad-eyed, appended her sig
nature.
A quarter of an hour later that mes
sage to the German minister in Chris
tiania was being taken down by the
wireless operator at L%agesund, in the
Ch%ristiania ford.
A Sudden Apparition.
That same evening I was reading in
my cabin when Rudolph Won Lantzsch,
in the uniform of the Red Hussars of
Potsdam, entered. He was a tall, fair
haired man, a typical Prussian cav
alryman.
swell, Heltzendorff," he laughed,
my remarks during the emperor's SER
mon seem to have stirred up quite a
lot of trouble"
"Trouble for yourself, / fancy, my
dear comrade," I said.
swell, after all, I only spoke the
truth. Didn't he declare to US that
he has been sent by providence as the
war lord of Europe? Why, Heltzen-
dorff, any man who would talk like
that is crazy"
Flush !" I cried, starting up-the
next second to find ourselves In the
presence of the kaiser himself.
We both started, staring at the fig
ure in naval uniform, pale and hollow
eyed, standing before us like q sudden
apparition.
$50 1 now know the opinion you
hold Of your emperor, Won Lantzsch ~
his majesty said very slowly, his gaze
fixed upon his assistant personal adj
jutant.
"Your majesty, 1 have nothing to
retract," replied the hussar.
you declared me to be irrespen-
sible."
For your words, your majesty not
for your actions" was the cool re-
tort.
The emperor, boiling over with rage,
for he had never before had such
| plain words spoken to him, made a
spring forward and struck the captain
full in the face.