The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-12-12

remain with the crown prince" Then.
seeing that che sdn did mot ccmpre-
bend. he explained, swiftly. He stood,
- many Z man has stood before, BE-
tween love and loyalty to his king,
and b. WAS . soldier. He had NO
cholce.
Il was terrible to him 10 ses the
light die out of her syes. But even
a. hs told her Of the dangsrs that
compasssd the child and possibly 9TH
err Of tie family. hs saw that they
touched her remotely, II at all.
Al shs said. when Milky nnished.
was: Il might have Known It OF
course they would ct me. ~ they did
The others." But q moment later she
rose and threw out hsr arms. "How
stillful they arsi Thsy knew about
II. It II IN q part of the plot They
made you promise never to desert
Otto. % that their arrangements need
not b. interfered with. Oh, I know
them. better than you do. They are
al cruel. It u the blood"
That evening the Princess Hedwig
wsnt unannounced to her grandfather's
apartment, and demanded to be al
lowed to enter.
A gentleman In waiting bowed deep.
", but stood befors the door. "Your
hishness must pardon my reminding
your hishness," hs said firmly, ''that
no one may enter his majesty's pres
encs without psrnaission."
Then 70 in,s said Hedwig, In .
white rags. 'sand sst the 'permission." !"
The gsntlsman In waiting went in.
vsry deliberately. because his dignity
was outraged ne moment he had
gooe. hcwsvsr. Hsdwig Aung the door
spsn, and followed, standing. . Agure
o8 tragic deaancs, inside the heavy
curtains Of the kinIs bedroom.
there u no use saying you won't
~ me. grandfathsf. For here am"
They eysd each other. the one, 1t
must b. told, . tfins uneasily. the
othse Desperately. Then into the
king,o eyeo came fash Of admiration.
and Just Q gleam Of amusement.
80 I perceive" he said. ~Come
here. Hedwis."
A sister Of charity was standing By
the king's bed. She had cared for
him through many illnesses. In the
intervals she retired to her cloister and
read holy books and sswed for the
poor.
The sister went out. hsr black habit
dragging. but she did not ssw. Some
time later abe heard bitter crying In
the royal bed chamber. and ths king's
tooss. soothing now and very sad.
there u . higher duty than happi.
aess," Ae said. 'Thsrs are greater
things than love. And one day yog
win know this"
Whsa she went In Hsdwig had gone.
and the old king. lying In his bed, was
looking At the portrait Of his dead
::an. :,
The following morning the Counties
Loschsk left for holiday. She had
The choice Of but two alternatives, ia
do a. she had bssn commanded. for II
amounted to that. OF 10 die. The CON
mittee would not kil her. In case che
failed them. It would be unnecessary.
Enough that they place the letter and
the code In the hands Of the author.
ides, by some ANONYMOUS means. Well
enough sAe knew the chancellor's b.
flexible anger. and the Archduchess
Annunciata's cold rage. They would
sweep her away With . gesture. and
abe would die the death Of all traitors.
A weeki Time had been when 4
week Of the dragging days at the pal
ace had seemed eternity. Now the
hours new. The gold clock on her
dressing table. q gift from the arch
duchess. marked them with flying
hands.
During the afternoon came q pack.
age, rather unskillfully tied with . gilt
cord. Opening II. the countess dis
closed 4 glove box Of wood. with de-
sign Of rather shaky violets burnt into
the cover. Inside was q note:
am very sosry you are sick. This IL
10 put your gloves IN whom you travel.
Please excuse The work have done 1t
FERDnsAND WILLIAM OTTO.
Suddenly the countess laughed. chok-
ing hysterical laughter that alarmed
Mlnna: horrible laughter. which left
her paler than ever. and gasping.
.
the old castle Of the Loscheks
looked grim aud innosp1ta0le when she
reached It that night. Built during the
years when the unbeliever overran
southern Europe. It stood in q COM
manding position over q valley, and q
steep, walled road led up to It.
But, its ancient glory and good re-
pute departed. its garrison gone. Its
drawbridge and moat things Of the
East, its very hanging1 and furnish-
ines moldsring from long neglect. It
hung over the valley. . past menace.
an empty threat
10 this dreary refuge the countess
had ned. She wanted the flsncs Of