Evening star., 1933-04-04
INSTALLMENT X,


sounded as if she had said
You poor fellow" But Vladimi
H. had no intention of being pitied
His father had been one of tn
aides under the last Gear, and his moth
er had belonged to the oldest French
aristocracy. At the time Of the revolu.
tion he himself had been only 10 year.
old. He had lived through it, and ex.
perienced 1t like an overwhelming drama
OF nature. Secretly filled with enthu-
siaSm for the everchanging turmoil. he
had run away from home in order tC
join the Red soldiers.
"A little Bolshevik?" asked Luise
tNo, indeed" He hadn't really
thought about the matter, nor under
stood it. He had felt only an intoxi-
eating sensation of beauty and power
Of the sort one gets when listening to
q gigantic choral work. And then his
parents had taken flight and travelled
with him throughout Europe.
He did not tell anything about their
increasing financial difficulties, nor
about their stock exchange losses, which
had devoured all of his mothers jewels
But with great pleasure he told Of the
4irst hundred marks he had secretly
earned for playing in the house of a
Eich emigre.
Vladimir was not worried about his
mture. Some time or other he would
make his way with his compositions,
and, until then, he would always find
It possible to obtain food and shelter by
playing popular tunes. Happily there
were enough well-to-do people on both
sides of the ocean snobbish enough to
take pleasure In hiring a pianist who
was also prince.
Before he knew it, he had an offer.
You might join me as accompanist
on my tour" said Luise. She added.
perhaps for the purpose of convincing
herself that she was prompted by merely
practical considerations, Just because
Of the snobs. 1t would be first class for
the posters: Prince Gleboff at the
piano."
The prospect of being able to visit
all the great cities in the United States
Immediately attracted Vladimir They
arranged for a little rehearsal in the
music salon the next morning
The first people from the dance floor
arrived, perspiring and tired of dane
ing. Vladimir had to sit down at the
piano and knock off song hits.
Don't you think that it will look
fne on the bills2" asked Luise anx-
tously.
s Thomas had to smile. He recognized
the Luise he knew so well. She who
always had to have a young man at
tending her. II think it will be splen-
did" he said.
Besides, LuiSe had almost got over
her chagrin at her defeat at the Amer
lean tea. The devil take Stephanson! |!
She could succeed even without him.
What had she been thinking of any,
how?-An aging millionaire
and throughout the whole of her
life, she had followed only the impulses
OF her own heart
He has black hair anc. blue eyes,"
she said after period of silence.
Thomas looked up in surprise, real
lied that she was talking about Vlad-
mir, and remained silent.
And wonderfully soft touch" she
felt it necessary to add.
More and more people entered. The
bar grew too small. Why don't go to
bed, Thomas wondered. 1t was past
midnight and he was so tired that he
hardly understood a word that was said
round about him. Nevertheless he
knew why he didn't go to bed He
knew 1t was because he was afraid of
the solitude Of his cabin, where all his
own private misery would seize hold of
him again. All these strange people,
although they f1oated before his eyes
hardly more than shadows, neverthe-
less sheltered him from the living
ghosts of his Imagination. He forced
his eyelids open and tried to take part
IN the conversation, but he was getting
ready to tell Luise he must get some
sleep when a steward tapped him
lightly on the shoulder.
Please, sir, go at once to 518. Third
class E deck"
Thomas kissed Luise's hand and left
her.
In Cabins 516-522 everybody was
awake. Old Mrs. Weber was writhing
In pain. A moment ago she had tried
to leap out of her berth, but her feet