r - " —1 mm —
The Princess Dehra
BY JOHN RSED SCOTT.
Copy.ifibt, 1S08. by John Retd Scott
-- - - , ■ _ V
Then they brought up sudden
ly in front of the house; and as
they paused to find the steps, a
light Hashed, for an instant, from
the upper windows, and disap
peared—as if an electric switch
had been turned on, and off
again. But its life had been long
enough to show the broad en- ,
trance porch, and the big doors
beyond it—-and that they were
open wide.
At the sight, Bernheim swor*
a good round oath and seized the
*vchduk$’s arm.
J,- ‘4t’s a trap, my lord, it’s a
trapT'r he exclaimed.
And again Arrnand hesitated;
ami again the cry came, though
muffled now and indistinct.
“Wc will have to chance it,”
he said, “I can’t desert a woman
who calls for help.”
“Very well, sir,” said Bern
heim, kno.wing that further oppo
sition was useles*s, “but if it is a
trap, she’ll be the first I kill.”
They went softly up the steps
and into the vestibule; not a
sound came from within.
Are you fainil.ar with this
house!” the archduke whis
pored.
“Very, sir; I’ve been in it
scores of times—salon on right,
dining ►oom and library oppo
site.”
“And the stairs?”
“In the rear, on the left.”
“Can you find the electric
irwithch?”
The eolonpl drew his revolver
and stepped quickly inside; he
knew.there was a row of buttons
near the library door, and he
found them readily. With a
single motion he pushed them in,
and every chandelier and side
light in the entire lower floor
sprang to life—illuminating
rooms, solitary and undisturbed.
Over the mantel i*i the library
hung a pair of beautiful old duel
ling rapiers, and the archduke
snatched one down and tried its
balance; then took the other and
handed it, to Hevnheim. „
“Take if, lmin^’ he said, as the
colonel touched bis own s\<-ord;
“take it, it’s worth an armory of
those; its reach alone may save
your life, if we are crowded.”
lie made a pass in the air and
laughed—it was sweet any time
to feel the hilt of such-a weapon,
but now it was doubly sweet,
with danger ahead and the odds
he knew not, what. He pointed
upward.
“Come along,” he said—“now
for the next floor and the .clash
of steel.”
Hut Bernheirn shook his head.
“I pray you, my lord, he pru
dent,” he urged —“remember, to
us you are the king.”
HaintJy, from somewhere above
the cry came—weak arid sup
pressed, but audible.
“Help! oh help!”
“Damn the woman!” Bern
heim cxlaimed, dashing forward
to go first; and faililig, by four
stens.
The upper lm!f was dark, save
for the reflection frour below,
but Annbnd caught the sheen of
a switch {>!ate and pressed the
key. b :vo closed doors confront
ed him —without hesitation lie
chose the rear one on the right,
and sprang toward it.
As he did so, the lights on the
first floor went out, the front
doors elosed with a bang, and a
key turned in the lock, and was
withdrawn. Instinctively he
stopped and drew back; at the
same moment, Bernheim reached
over and turned off their lights
also, leaving the house in impene
trable darkness.
I The archduke stepped quickly
across toward Bernheim, and
bumped into him mid-way.
“It’s a trap,’’ he whispered;
“the locking of the door proves
it—these rooms are empty, but
wo’ll have a look and not be
caught between two fires.”
“Damn the woman!” said
Bernheim.
Armand laughed softly. “Nev
er mind her, we have other work
on hand now. You keep the stair
way; put your sword into any
one who tries to come up; I’ll go
through the rooms,” and he was
gone before the colonel could pro
test. *
Bernheim tip-toed over to the
head of the stairs and, 1 ratling
on the rail, listened. He could
detect no sound itvtluf'hall below;
the silence was as utter as the
blackness. He stooped and felt
the carpet on the stairs;^ was
soft and very thick, the sort that
deadens noise. Behind him, a
door closed softly, and he saw the
gleam of a faint light along a sill,
and, in a moment, along another
further toward the front. Evi
dently, the archduke had met no
misadventure yet. And he
stood there, tense and expectant,
' while the darkness pressed hard
I upon his eyes, and set them burn
I with the strain of striving to
' pierce through.
Presently he felt that some one
was coming toward him, and then
the faintest whisper spoke his
name. lie reached out, and his
fingers touched the archduke’s
shoulder.
Armand put his mouth close to
his aide’s ear.
“Rooms deserted,” he whis
pered—“what’s on the third
floor?’’
“It’s a mere garret; the ser
vants’ quarters are in a detached
building in the rear.”
“We’ff chance the garret—I
laid a chair across the foot of
those stairs—and also at the head
of the back stairs—anything do
ing below?”
yuiet, as the grave, sir.
“An apt simile, Bernheim,”
said the archduke; “there is go
ing to be a death of two down
there tonight, if we can manage
it—-just as a gentle notice to our
cousin of what he may expect.”
* The old soldier’s hand sought
impulsively his master’s.
“You mean it, my lord?” he
asked eagerly.
“.I do; I’m-——” a stair
creaked very famtiy—“they’re
coming”’ he ended.
Both men bent forward listen
ing .... the seconds passed
.... no sound came to them.
Then Bernheim bethoughi hiin
seit of tell rail, and laid his ear
upon ft. Instantly he was up.
“They are coming,” he whis
pered, “I could hear them dis
tinctly.”
“Good,” Said Arrnand. “We
will give them the steel as s<fon
as they’re within reach — be
ready—-I'IL take the right.”*"
The stairway was of more than
medium width and straight-away
almost to the lower floor, the
turn being at the bottom. White
fhe lights were on, Bernheim had
noticed a heavy oak chest against
tlie wall near where they were
standing. Now it suddenly oc
curred to him how it could be
used. Asking the archduke to
bgar aside a moment, he seized
it in his powerful arms, and car
rying it to the head of the stairs
hurled it, with all his strength,
down into the darkness.
There was a heavy thud as of
human bodies struck, wild
shrieks of pain and terror, and
then a deafening crash, as the
chest broke asunder against the
wall below, followed directly by
moans, and curses, and struggles
to get free. /
Although Arrnand had not
seen what his aide had done, he
could picture it all now, and lie
laughed aloud.
“Clear away the debris, gen
tlemen!” he culled. “On to the
charge! Don’t be a lot of quit
ters; we’ve plenty of ammuni
tion left; on avantl
But only the moans answered
him. He drew Bernheim dosed.
“What do you suggest," he
asked; “shall we go down?"—
And the upsetting of the chair at
the rear stairs answered him.
“Turn on the lights when I
whistle,” he ordered, and stole
swiftly to the rear of the hall.
Doubtless the purpose had
been to attack them simultane
ously in front and read, and here
was the chance to give this de
tachment, also, a surprise. He
heard the chair being set care
fully aside, followed by foot-falls
such as are made only by shoe
less feet. The darkness was im
penetrable, but he knew they
paused at the door, and then
came slowly forward, passing
him so closely he could have
touched them with his hand. The
nest instant he gave the signal.
As the lights blazed out, dis
closing masked men with drawn
swords, the archduke leaped for
ward and, with the hilt of hia
rapier, struck the one nearest
him behind the ear. The rogue
dropped in his tracks. At the
same moment, Bernheim’s pistol
cracked, and another went down,
shot through the head. The third
stood irresolute; and him the
archduke addressed.
“it’s the pistol, yonder, or the
sword, here," he said; “which
will you choose?"
The fellow chanced to be al
, most in lir.e with the front stairs,
and for answer he sprang across
the hall and dashed down them.
Bemheim's gun spoke thrice: the
fir -t bullet struck the wall; the
second, the newel post; the third,
fired into the semi-obscurity be
low, and as the knave’s head was
almost on a lone with the floor,
brought an answering cry; but
it did not disable him; they heard
him stumble over the broken
‘■best, then the kf>y was thrust
into the lock, the front door was
flung back, and he crossed the
porch at a run.
“He's the last of them, I
fancy,” said Armand.
Bertiheim looked at the pistol
'in disgust.
“I never did have any pati
ence with these toys,” he
growled; “three shots across a
blanket, and only a touch!”
The archduke pointed to the
d«ad body.
“You did pretty well there,”
ho said.
“Luck, pure luck.” lie went
over to the stairs. “I don’t heat
anything,” he said; “the chest
seems to be very quiet—what
about the lights; shall I turn
them off?”
“First take a look at thfcse
gentlemen,” said Armand; “do
you know them?”
The aide stooped over the one
he had killed and jerked off the
mask that covered his upper
fftce—then d|d the same with the
other, and shook his head.
“I never saw either of them,”
he said; “but they look the part
—you hit this one exactly on the
spot; he is paralyzed or dead.”
“We will leave him to find
out for himself which it is,” the
archduke answered — “unless,
colonel, you wish to search fur
ther for the lady—as I remem
ber, you promised her the first
killing.”
Bernheim laughed.
“I rather imagine your lady is
n man—I think we shall find her
at the foot of the stairs.”
He ran quickly down, vaulted
over the debris with the aid of
the rail, and turned on the light.
The archduke had followed
him as far as the turn.
“It looks as though you go^
her, colonel,” he remarked,
pointing with his rapier to two
men who lay among the frag
ments of the chest. One was dead
—face and head mashed flat, the
crimson splotch on the white wall
marking where the heavy missle
had crushed them. The other,
both legs broken at ankles, and
half his ribs driven in, was
pinned in the corner, unconsci
ous—a singularly repulsive crea
ture, with huge, protruding
teeth, pimply face, an enormous
roll nose, and a mouth like a
fish’s.
Bernheim looked him over.
“Positively, I’d he ashamed to
employ such carrion,” he re
marked. “I .don’t understand
Lotzen; he is an aesthete, even in
his crimes.”
The archduke stepped' care
fully into the hall, and laid his
rapier on the table.
“Let us be off,” he, said;
“there is nothing more to do.”
He turned toward the door—then
stopped and reached for the
sword.
Others are coming, he said;
—“we'll fight it out right here.”
There was the quick tramp of
feet on the porch, and a sergeant
and two police entered. Their
looks of bewildered surprise, as
they reeognizzod the archduke
and his aide, were so comical that
even Bernheim smiled, though
his words were curt enough.
“Salute, men!” he said,
“don't you know his royal high- ,
ness 1 ”
The sergeant’s hand went up.
‘vYour pardon, sir,” he stam
mered, “but we heard shots—
ami this house is supposed to be
unoccupied. I tfm sorry-”
Armainl motioned him to si
lence.
“There is nothing to pardon,
sergeant,” he said; “you are do
ing your duty very properly,
and you come in good time. You
will seareh this IiJace thorough
ly, including the grounds;''re
move j,he dead and wounded im
, mediately; see that all knowl
edge of the affair is suppressed,
and report to me at noon tomor
row. ’ ’
The officer saluted again.
“Yes, your highness.” \
“Where are our capes, colo
nel?”
“In the library—I’ll get
them.” . . . He dropped the
archduke’s about his shoulders,
and the sergeant did the same
for him.
As they gained the avenue, the
cathedral bell struck 3.
“A nice hour for an old man
like you, Bernheim, to be going
home,” said the archduke.
A quizzical smile c§me into
the aide's stern face.
“A lad/ called me,” he re
plied.
CHAPTER XII.
The Sole Survivor.
• Forida palace, the residence of
fliOtzen, on the aha avenue half
a mile or so beyond the Epsau, ia
a great, rambling pile of gray'
stone, of varying height and di
verse architecture, set in the
midst of grounds that" occupy
two entire squares, and are sur
rounded by a high, embattled
wall, pierced with four wide en
trances, whose bronze gates are
famous in their craftsmanship.
Here the duke lived in a splen
dor and munfieenee almost riv
aling the king himself, and with
a callous indifference to certain
laws of society, that would have
scandalized the capital h.id it be
come publie knowledge. But in
his household, the servant who
babbled, never babbled twice; he
left Dornlitz quite too suddenly:
and those who were wise learned
quickly that they lost nothing in
wage nor perquisite by being
blind and dumb. For Lotzen did
not skimp his steward—all he re
quired was skillful service, and
that what occurred within the
palace must not go'beyond the
walls. Nevertheless, in conduct,
he was not the habitual liber
tine and roue,—the contrary was,
in truth, the fact—but he pro
posed to have the opportunity to
do as he liked when the fancy
moved him—and to have no carp
ing moralist praywig over him
and then retailing his misdeeds
with unctuous smirks of pious
horror. Not that he cared a cen
time for their horrors or their
prayers, but because it were not
well to irritate undrtly Ihe king,
by doing which he might not
countenance, if brought formally
to his attention—though the
duke was well aware that Fred
erick troubled himself not at all
how he went to the devil, nor
when, save that the quicker he „
want the better.
And so it was, that he had not
hestitated to bring with him the
woman of raven hair and dead
white cheek, and to install her
irf the gorgeous suite in the west
wing of the Ferida, where others,
as frail but far less fair, had been
before her—and the world never
the wiser—just as now it was not
the wiser as to MadaUne Spen
cer’s presence. The time was not
yet for her to show herself, and
in the meantime she had re
mained secluded; she was too
Well known in Dornlitz to escape
recognition; and even Lotzen
dared not, at this exigency, so
spurn public sentiment as to
sponsor the adventuress whom
he had procured to pose as wifts
to the Archduke Armand.
She had come with him to the
capital with deep misgiving, and
only after much urging and
jeweled caresses; though not the
least of the inducements was the
hope of annoying the Princess
Debra—for whom she had con
ceived the most violent hate. By
herself it would, of course, have
been a fatulously foolish hate,
but with Lotzen, and under the
peculiar situation existing at
court, there was a chance—and it
was this chance she meant to
play for and to seize. And be
sides, it promised the excitement
and ample financial returns that
were the mainsprings of her exis
tence.
Anu though it fretted her be
yond measure to dawdle in idle
ness and tiresome ianition, even
in the luxury of the Ferida, yet
she endured it with amazing
equanimity; and amused herself,
the while, by flirting with the
Duke’s friends, when the duke
was not in presence—:&nd some
times when he was. And then,
when he sulked or stormed, a soft
arm would slip around his neck,
and a pair of red lips smile close
to his face; and, presently, he
was caressing the one, and plead
ing for the others—and there was
peace, and on her terms. The
marvel of it all, was how she
held him—as no woman had ever
held him hitherto; she made no
pretense of love, nor tried for it
from him—a pleasant camara
derie was all she gave, and all she
asl*ed for; favor free today, fa
vor cold tomorrow; elusive as a
moonbeam; fickle as the wind;
tempting and alluring as a ves
tal ; false and faithless as the
Daughter of the Foam.
And though Lotzeu knew it—
and knew it well—for she had
told him frankly what she was
and what she lived for, yet her
fascinations negatived her
words; while her indifference as
to whether she stayed or went—•
and which he was thoroughly
aware was not assumed—only
captivated him the more, who
had been used to easy conquest
and clinging hearts.
(To be Continued N'erct Week.)
Consolidation of five eastern rail
roads has been approved* by the di
rectors of the systems. The grouping
of the lines in accordance with the
Esch-Cutnmins bill seems under way,
and should make for economy fh op
eration.
• . , • *
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‘Doesn’t her singing move you?”
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