The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-10-10
CHAPTER !.
-.1-.

Prince Ferdinand william Otto was
bored. His royal robes, consisting Of
. pair Of blue serge trousers, q short
Dton Jacket. and . stiff, rolling collar
o6 white linen. irksd him.
He had been brought to the opera
house under q misapprehension. His
aunt the Archducheas Annunciata, had
strongly advocated the Flying Dutch
man." and his English governess. Miss
Bfaithwaite. had read him some In
spiring literature about 1t. So here he
was, and the Flying DutchmAn was not
Ehostly st an. nor did It ny. And In
stead Of flying. after dreaEy cons Of
9inSinG. It was moved OF ON creaky
rollers BY men whose shadows wars
thrown grotesquely on the 80 Sask-
tng.
The orchestr1, assisteu BY q bass
solo and intermittent thunder In the
wings, was making q deafening din.
One Of the shadows on the sea back
ing took ont its Handkerchief and
wiped its nose.
Prince Ferdinand William Otto look
"a across at the other royal boz, and
caught his Cousin Hedwig's eye. She
also had seen the handkerchief; she
took out her own scrap Of linen. and
mimicked the shadow. Then, Her
Royal Hisnness the Archduchess An
aunciata being occupied with the
storm. she winked across at Prince
Ferdinand William Otto.
In the opposite box were his two
cousins, the Princesses Hedwig and
Hilda. attended BY Hedwig's lady in
waiting. Hedwig was eighteen. The
crown prince liked Hedwig better than
Hnda. Although she had been intro
Christmas-eve ball, and had been duly
presented by her grandfather. the
king. with the usual string Of pearls
and her own carriage, she still ran on
now and then to have tea with the
crown prince and Miss Braithwaite In
the school room at the palace: and she
could eat great deal Of bread and but
ter.
The crown prince yawned. although
Il was but the middle of the after
noon. Catching Hedwig's eye, he ran
his fingers up through his thick yell
low hair and grinned. Hedwig blussed.
0h8 had coufided to him once, while
they were walking in the garden at
ne summer palace, that she was
thinking Of being In love With . young
lieutenant who was attached 10 the
kings suite. Tho prince-who was
called Otto. for short, By the family.
because he actually had eleven names
Tho prince had been much interested
Tor some time afterward he had both
cred Ais BraithWaite to define being
In love, but he had had NO really salts
factory answer.
In pursuance Of his quest for in-
formation. he had grown quite friendly
with the young omcer. whose name
was LArisch, and had finally asked to
have him ride with him at the royal
riding school. The grim old king had
granted the request, but It had been
quite fruitless % far after all. Lieu
tenant Larisch only grew quite red a.
to the ears when love was mentioned.
although he appeared not unwilling to
hear Hedwig's name.
So now Ferdinand william Otto ran
his fingers through his fair hair. which
was q favorite gesture Of the neuten-
ants, and Hedwiy blushed. The arch
duchess, sitting well back. was nod
ding. Just outside the royal boz, on
he red velvet sofa. General Mettlich.
who was the chancellor. and had come
because he had been invited and stayed
outside because he said he liked to
hear music. not see 1t. was sound
asleep. His martial bosom. with its
gold braid, was rising and falling
peacefully. Beside him lay the princes
crown, a small black derby hat
~, Prince Ferdinand william Otto con-
sddered it all very wearisoms. II one
could only wander around the corridor
or buy a sandwich from the stand at
the foot Of the great staircase-or, bet
TER still, II one could only get to the
street, alone, and purchase one of the
Ag women that Miss Braithwaite SO
despisedI The crown prince felt in
his pocket, where his weeks allow
ance Of pocket money lay comfortably
untouched.
He meditated. He could 60 out
quickly, and be back before they knew
It. Even IL he only wandered about
the corridor, 1t would stretch his short
legs. And outside 1t was fine day.
1t looked already like spring.
With the trepidation Of canary
who finds his cage door open. and,
hopping to the threshold. surveys the
world before venturing to explore 1t,
Prince Ferdinand William Otto rose
to his feet. tiptoed past the Arch
duchess Annunciata, who did not move,
and looked around him from the door
way.
He picked up his hat and concealed
It by his side. Then nonchalantly, a.
IL to stretch his legs By walking ten
feet up the corridor and back. he
passed the dressing room door. An
other moment, ana he was out Of sight