Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-02-21
CHAPTER X.
The Committee Of Ten.

On the evening of the annual day OF
mourning, the party returned from the
fortress. The archduchess slept. The
crown prince talked, mostly 10 He'd
wig. and even she said little. After
q time the silence affected the boys
nigh spirits. He leaned back In HIS
chair on the deck Of the launch, and
watched the flying landscape.
II was almost dark when the launch
araiycd at the quay. The red carpet
was still there, and another crowd.
Had Prince Ferdinand William Otto
been less taken up with finding one of
hts kid gloves, which he had lost he
would have noticed that there was q
Scuffle going on at the very edge OF
the red carpet, and that the beggar Of
The morning was being led away, be-
tween two policemen, while third,
running up the river bank, gingerly
deposited a small round object In the
water, and stood back. TWAS merely
one of the small incidents of royal
outing, and was never published in
tlie papers. But Father Gregory,
whose old eyes were far sighted, had
seen IL all. His hand--the hand Of the
church-was on the shoulder of the
crown prince as they landed.
The boy looked around for the little
girl Of the bouquet. He took an inn
mense interest In little girls. partly
because he seldom saw any. But she
was gone.
When the motor which had taken
them from the quay reached the pal
ace, Hedwig reused the archduchess,
whose head had dropped forward on
her chest. "Here we are, MOTHER" she
said. "You have had nice Sleep
But Annunciata muttered something
about being glad the wretched day was
over, and every one save Prince Ferdi-
nand William Otto seemed glad to get
back. The boy was depressed. He
felt, somehow, that they should have
enjoyed it, and that, having merely
endured it, they had failed him again.
The countess, having left her royal
mistress in the hands of her maids,
went to her own apartment. She was
not surprised, on looking into her mir
ror, to find herself haggard and worn.
1t had been terrible day. Only
second had separated that gaping lens
ID her bag from the eyes of the officers
about. Never, in an adventurous life,
had she felt so near to death. Even
now its cold breath chilled her.
However, that was over, well over.
She had done well, too. A dozen pic
lures Of the fortress, of its guns, of
even its mine chart as it hung on a
wall, were in the bag. Its secrets, so
securely held, were hers, and would
be KarI's.
It was cunningly devised scheme.
Two bags, exactly alike as to appear
ance. had been made. One, which she
carried daily, was what it appeared to
be. The other contained camera.
tiny but accurate, with fine lens.
When q knob of the fastening was
pressed. the watch slid aside and the
shutter snapped. The pictures when
enlarged had proved themselves per-
feet.
Pleading fatigue, she dismissed her
maid and locked the doors. Then she
opened the sliding panel, and unfas-
tened the safe. The roll Of film was
in her hand, ready to be deposited UNI
der the false bottom of her jewel case.
Within the security Of her room,
the countess felt at ease. She even
sang little, bit of ballad from her
native mountains.
Still singing, she carried the jewel
case to her table, and sat down be-
fore it. Then she put hand to her
throat.
The lock had been forced.
A glance about showed her that her
code book was gone. In the tray
above. her jewels remained untouched;
her pearl collar, the diamond knick-
kiiacks the archduchess had given her
on successive Christmases, even a
handful of gold coins, all were safe
enough. But the code book was gone.
Then indeed did the countess look
death In the face-and found 1t ter
rible. For q moment she could not SO
much as stand without support. 1t
was then that she saw a paper folded
under her jewels and took 1t out with
shaking fingers. In fine, copperplate
script she read:
Madame--Tonight at one o'clock a closed
fiacre will await you in the Street of the
Wise Virgins, near the church. You will
go in it, without fail. to wherever it takes
you.
The committee of teni This thing
had happened to her. Then it was
true that the half mythical committee
Of ten existed, that this terror of LII
vonia was q ealsterror,, which had her
by the throat. For there was no es-
cape. None. Now indeed she knew
that rumor spoke the truth, and that
the terrorists we're everywhere. In
daylight they had entered her room.
They had known of the safe, known
Of the code. Known how much else?
Wild ideas Of flight crossed her
mind, to be as instantly abandoned for
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