The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1918-05-22

his shabby uniform, with his wooden
leg stretched out before him and his
pipe clutched firmly in his teeth
Then. freshly shaved and brushed. he
started on painful search after work
With no result. And indeed, he was
hopeless before he began. lie was old
and inlirm. There was little that hG
had even the courage to apply for.
True, he had his small pension, bun
II came only twice a year, and was
sent. intact, TO take care Of IN invalid
daughter In the country. That was
not his. lie never used a penny OF
1t. And he had saved trilc, by liv'
ing on air. as the concierge declared
But misfortunes come In throes, like
fires and other calaaitics. The after
noon of that very day brought n let
ter. saying that the daughter was
worse and must have an operation
Old Adelbert went to church and
burned a candle for her recovery, and
from there 10 the bank TO send by
registered mail the surgeons fee.
He was bankrupt in twenty-four
hours.
That evening in his extremity he did
4 reckless thing. lie wrote letter to
the king. He spent hours over it, first
composing it in pencil and then copy
ing it with ink borrowed from the
concierge. 1t began "Sire," as he had
t....,....1 ,,.... 81, r,rt,, ou1 want On "a
remind his majesty, first, Of the hos.
pital incident, which, having been for
ty years ago, might have slipped the
royal memory. Then came the facts
his lost position, his daughter, the
handicap Of his wooden leg, II ended
with plea for reinstatement or, fail
ing that, for any sort Of work.
He sent it, unfolded, in large fiat
envelope, which also he had learned
was the correct thing with kings, who
for some reason or other do not like
folded communications. Then he
waited. He considered that a few
hours should bring Il return.
No answer came. No answer ever
came. For the king was i'll, and secre-
taries carefully sifted the royal mail.
That night, in the concierge's bu-
rcau. he was treated to many incl
dents, all alike. The government took,
but gave nothing. As well expect
blood out of a stone. Instances were
given. heartlessness piled on heart
lcssness, one sordid story on an
other.
And as he listened there died in old
Adelbert's soul his flaming love for his
sovereign and his belief in him. His
eyes took on a hard and haunted look.
That night he walked past the palace
and shook his fist at it. He was
greatly ashamed of that, however, and
never repeated it. But his soul was
now an open sore, ready for infec-
ton.
And Black Humbert bided his time.
On the day of the excursion to the
fortress old Adelbert decided to appeal
to mis- fellow lodger, Herman Spier.
Now and then, when he was afflueQt,
he had paid small tribute to Herman
by means of the camp cookery on
which he prided himself.
"a soldiers mess!" he would say,
and bring in bowl of soup, or a slice
of deer meat, broiled over hot Goals
in his tiny stove. Eat it, man. These
restaurants know nothing of food"
Herman could not help him. But
hn hn al nfeinp civ
He guessed shrewdly the growing I'M
casiness behind Adelbe:t's brave front.
If now one could enlist such a man
for the cause, that would be worth
doing. Among the veterans the old
man was influential and by this new
policy of substituting fresh blood for
stale, the government had made many
enemies among them.
The old mans bitterness had been
increased by two things. First, al
though he had been dismissed without
notice, in the middle of the week, he
had been paid only up to the hour of
leaving. That was grievance. Sec
ond, being slow ON his feet, one of
the royal motor cars had almost run
him down, and the police had cursed
him rOundly for being in the. way.
At last he determined to find
uaeckel, the student. He did not
know his Christian name, nor where
he lodged. But he knew the corps he
belonged to, by his small gray cap
with red band.
lie was very nervous when he made
this final effort. Corps houses We're
curious places, he had heard, and full
of secrets. Even the great professors
from the university might not enter
without invitation. And his experience
had been that students paid small re-
spect to uniforms or to age. In truth.
he passed the building twice before
he could summon courage to touch the
great brass knOcker. And the AFRO
gance of its clamor, when at last he
raped, startled him again. But here