Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-05-24

IDOL To the granddaughter Of the
king. What can they dof"
That aspect of things, to do her
credit, had never occurred to Hedwig.
She paused In front of the countess.
"What can I do?" she asked pitifully.
"That I dare not presume to say. I
came because I felt can only say
what, In your place, I should do"
IT am afraid. You would not be
afraid" Hedwig shiyered. what
would you dot"
"If I knew, highness, that some one,
for whom I cared, himself cared deep
ly enough to make any sacrifice, !
should demand happiness. I rather
think I should lose the world, and gain
something like happiness"
Demand !" Hedwig said hopeless
ly. Eyes, you would demand it. I can
not demand things. l am always too
frightened"
The countess rose. IT am afraid I
have done an unwise thing" she said.
eff your mother knew" She
shrugged her shoulders.
"You have only been kind. I have SO
few who really care"
The countess curtsied, and made for
the door. 81 must 60" she said, 'be-
fore I go further, highness. My
apology is that I saw you unhappy, and
that 1 resented it, because"
"Yes?'
Because I considered it unneces-
sary."
She was q very wise woman She
left then, and let the next step come
from Hedwig. 1t followed, as a mat
ter of record, within the hour, at least
four hours sooner than she had antici-
pated. She was in her boudoir, not
reading, not even thinking, but sitting
staring ahead, as Minna had seen her
do repeatedly In the past weeks. She
dared not think, for that matter.
Hedwig's notification that she would
visit her, found the countess at leisure
and alone. She followed the announce
ment almost Immediately, and If she
had shown cowardice before, she
showed none now. She ~dfsregarded
the chair Olga Loschek offered, and
came to the point with a directness
that was like the kings.
"I have come" she said simply, ITO
find out what to do"
The countess was as direct.
81 cannot tell you what to do, high
ness. 1 can only tell you what I
would do"
"very we'll" Hedwig showed a
touch of Impotence. This was quib-
bling, and it annoyed her.
81 should go away, now, with the
person l cared about"
"Where would you goT"
"The world is wide, highness." r
mot wide enough to hide in, 1 am
afraid
"For myself" said the countess, "the
problem would not be difficult. l
should go to my place in the noun
tains. An old priest, who knows me
well, would perform the marriage.
After that they might find me If they
liked. 1t would be too late"
This priest-he might be difficult"
"Not to a young couple, come to him.
perhaps, in peasant costume. They
are glad to marry, these fathers.
There Is much ~irregularity. l fancy"
she added, still with her carefully de-
tached manner, that a marriage could
be easily arranged"
But, before long, she had dropped
her pretense of aloofness, and was TAX
ing the lead. Hedwig, weary with the
struggle, and now trembling with
nervousness, put herself in her hands,
listening while she planned, agreed
eagerly to everything. Something of
grim amusement came into Olga Los
chek's face after a time. By doing this
thing she would lose everything. 1t
would be impossible to conceal her
c~onnivance. No one, knowing Hedwig,
would for q moment imagine the plan
hers. Or Nikky's, either, for that mat
ter.
She, then, would lose everything,
even Karl, who was already lost to her.
But-and her face grew set and her
eyes hard-she would let those plot
tiers In their grisly catacombs do their
OWL filthy work. Her hands would be
clean of that. Hence her amusement
that at this late day she, Olga Loschek,
should be saving her own soul.
So 1t was arranged. to the last de-
tail. For 1t must be done at once.
Hedwig, a trife terrified, would have
postponed it a day o n so, but the
countess was insistent. Only she knew
how the very hours counted, had them
: numbered, indeed, and watched then