The Princess Dehra
BY JOHN REED SCOTT.
Copyright, 1808. by John Reed Scott
“My chiid,” he said, taking
her hand, in the most gentle de
forest*, and holding’it in both of
bin, “tell me what has unstrung
you so completely—you who are
always merry and serene.”
She gently freed her hand, and,
gathering up the trailing ends of
her skirt, turned toward the
palace.
< “If I tell you,” she said,
“promise me that yon won’t
make a scene nor try to punish
him.” t
t" “Him!” he exclaimed, stop
ping short, “him! God in
Heaven, was it that devil, “Lot
ient”—he seived her arm—
5*where is he—where is he?”
She smiled at him very sweet
ly, loving the anger that blazed
his face.
“I'll tell you nothing,” she
answered, “so long as you are
in that humor—your promise
first. ’ ’
’‘No—no—I promised and for
boi < the other day; but now, with
tha ”—sweeping his hand at
gown and hair—“I’ll forbear no
longer.”
She moved on.
“Come, KIi.sc, who was it?”
She gave him another smile,
hut shook her head.
“Was it Lotzen—toll me, was
it!”
Again the smile, and the mo
tion of refusal.
“Very well, if you won’t, “I’ll
find out for myself.”
“You cannot—the man won’t
tell—and no one saw. it.”
lie laughed with quiet menace.
“I’ll find him,” he said; “I’ll
find him.”
t^uick l ear seized her. He,
would succeed, she knew; and
then, what would In* do! Some
thing, doubtless, to try to force
the duke to fight; and which
would result only in liis own dis- '
grace and in being driven from
the country. He must not suffer
for her misfortune—and Dorn
litz, without her dear Irishman,
would be impossible; and she was
not yet quite ready to go with
him. She had told him some
thing—as much -os she might
with proper reserve—of Lotzen’s
beltavior that other morning; and
it had been diiiieelt enough to
restrain hint (hen. New, with the
dbheveded hair, and torn gown,
and blood on her face, only his
own word Would hold him.
, “Promise me, Ralph, promise
me,” she implored; “there is no
reason for punishment—see,”
holding out her hand,“here is the
only place he touched me—only
on the wrist—I swear it,
Ralph—"
lie took the hand, and looked
at the soft, blue veined flesh,
chafed and abraided with the
pinch of iron fingers; and again
the rage of hate swept him, and
he put the hand down sharply
and turned away his head, un
willing that she should see his
faec while passion marked it.
She touched his arm, almost
timidly.
“Promise me, dear,” she said
•—“please promise me.”
She did not realize what she
had called him; nor, indeed, did
he, until days afterward, too late
to turn it to account; though
what he answered worked far
more to his profit, than had he
used the chance offered by an in
advertent endearment,
it “I promise,” he said ; “I ought
hot id; out because you wish it,
I promise—now will you tell
met”
She looked up at him grateful
ly— aud such women as Klise
d'ifesolde can say much with
their eyes. They had mounted
the steps and were on the ter
race; she pointed into the park.
“It was in the japouica walk,”
ahe said; “I was waiting for you,
when Lotzen came upon me,
8eemingly by accident-”
“There are no accidents with
Lotsen,” Moore broke in.
“It may be, but lu* chose to
treat it so;—I tried to pass—he
Mopped me and begged forgive
ness for his brutal rudeness of the
other day; I forgave him indif
ferently, hoping ro escape quick
ly, and tried again to pass. He
caught my wrist, and demanded
% hunt, and that 1 walk with him
to the lake. I was close against
the hedge, and it was in my strug^
gles to get free from him that
the sharp thorns tore my gown.
Sic let me thrash out my strength,
holding me all the time by this
wriat; presently, when he was
about to kiss me by main force,
1 bit him in the hand, and es
eaptod, running at top speed,
and in fright and exhaustion col
lapsing where you found me- . .
. . ^That was all, Ealph^ ” she
ended.
Moore’s intense repression
found som^- relief ^in a long
breath.
“All!” he said, rather huski
ly “all! . . . well, all I ask is,
some day, to have him against
me, sword in hand.”
“Your promise!” she ex
claimed.
lie smiled down at her. “The
promise holds, child, as you well
know; but this affair of the book
may work an opportunity.”
“If it does, take it,” said she
instantly.
“Trust me, my lady,” he an
swered, as he left her at the small
door used only by the princess
and her privileged intimates.
“Your lady?” she echoed ac
ross the sill—her natural witch
ery increased fourfold, in his
eyes, by the tumbled hair—
‘ ‘your lady—perhaps.’ ’
In the hallway, just at her own
room, she met the princess, whof
woman-like, marked at a glance
every detail of her disordered
attire.
“Good heaven, Elise,” she ex
claimed, “what has that adjutant
of mine been doing to you?”
“Practicing sword tricks on
my skirt,” said she, holding it
up to show the rents, “and learn
ing to be un coiffeur.”
“He seems to be as uncommon
ly proficient in the one as he is
deficient in the other,”—then
looked at her questioniugly;
“but seriously, Elise, what hap
pened?-—if you care to tell
me.”
‘ rhe Duke of Lotzen found
me alone in the japonica walk.”
The princess struck her hands
together angrily.
“Lotzen! oh, Lotzen!” she ex
claimed; “some day—did Moore
come on Kim there? If he did,
the some-day is already here.”
“ Fortunately,'no, since I es
caped unharmed.”
“Unfortunately, you mean—it
saved to tlmr world another
scoundrel.”
“And Ralph would be a fugi
tive in disgrace,” said Mile,
d Gssolde.
“With the lion and a briga
dier's commission as a punish
ment,” the regent answered.
“lie wanted to go back, and it
vvrui l that kept him.”
“it's a misfortune—more than
a misfortune; it’s almost a ca
lamity—my dear Elise, if ever
again your colonel get so prop
er an excuse to kill that devil,
pray don't intervene.’ ’
“I'm sorry—very sorry, I’m
almost criminally stupid.”
“Nonsense, dear,” said the
princess; “there will be other
chances—meanwhile, what hap
pened? .... Hit him! Oh,
delightful, delightful!”
The ether gave a shiver of re
pugnance.
“Disgusting, I should call it,
now—I did it in the frenzy to be
free. I shall never forget the
horrible thing.”
“Nor will lie—-you’ve marked
him for life—the pity, is it wasn’t
his face.—Go on; what happened
then?” ....
“ Ihe nasty brute,” said
Dehra, when she had heard the
last detail—<“and save for the
punishment you yourself admin
istered, he, for the time, must
go scatheless; you cannot permit
such a story to go through the
court and the clubs; and you may
be quite sure he won’t tell it.”
She struck her hanids together
vehemently. “Lotzen! oh Lot
sen!—Some day, Elise, your lov
er or mine is going to be granted
the blessed privilege of putting
a sword through his vile heart.”
She sprang up. “Come, dear,
you need diversion—we will
ride; and if 1 i an get the arch
duke, we’ll take your colonel,
too.” She went to the telephone.
. . . . “ Is that you, Ar
mand?”—when the recall bell *
rang. . . . “This is Dehra—
Elise and I are off for a ride; if
you can go with us, I’ll have
Moore go, too. . . Bother your
important appointment; break it.
. . . .You can’t? . . . We
can be back by 4 o’clock. . . .
Have matters to see to; will they
occupy all the afternoon? . . .
They will? .... And you
need Moore, also?—all right,
take him—what is your appoint
ment? . . . Can't tell me over
telephone?. . . . Tell mtf to
night—well, I suppose I can wait
—come for dinner.Yes,
stupid. . . . Goodbye, dear.”
She hung up the receiver.
“You heard, Elise; neither of
them can go. I should hate to be
| a man and always busy. Come,
we will go ourselves, and muke
an afternoon of it—and stop at
the Twisted Pines for tea.”
CHAPTER XIV.
An Enticing Rendezvous.
The failure of Colonel Mootfe to
keep promptly his appointment
with Mile. d’Essolde to meet her
that morning in the japoniea
walk was due to a letter that had
come to him in the early post,
and which had sent him, without
a moment’s delay, straight to
Dornlitz and Headquarters; nor
did he even stop to telephone the
archduke, but left it for one of
the young officers in the outer
office to do.
The military governor received
him at, once, and with a look of
questioning concern.
“Anything wrong at the pal
ace?” he asked.
“Nothing, your highness,”
said Moore, with his graceful sa
lute—so unlike Bernheim’s stiff
motion—“nothing; I brought
this letter; it is for you, though
sent to me.”
The archduke took it, without
comment—he knew it must be of
peculiar importance to bring
Moore in person at that hour.
When he had read it, he looked
carefully at the envelope, and
turning on his desk lamp, he
spread the letter under it and
examined it very tlowly and criti
cally; finally he re-read it
aloud:—
“ ‘If his royal highness the
Archduke Armand wish to know
the whereabouts of a certain
book, let him be at the inn of
the Twisted Pines at 4 o’clock
this afternoon. No harm is in
tended ; and as a proof he is priv
ileged tft bring as large an es
cort as lu\ desires. If he accept,
let him stand in a window of
his private office, overlooking
the avenue, for five minutes at i
exactly noon today. This is his
only chance; there will be no sec
ond letter.
“ ‘One Who Knows.’ ”
Well,” said he, “the writer at
least knows how to put Tip a very
enticing bait—‘privileged to
bring as large an escort as he de
sires—at 4 o’clock this after
noon—at the inn of the Twisted
Pines’—surely, there is nothing
in them to suggest danger, dag
gers or death’.I think
we shall accept, colonel; what’s
your notion about it?”
“If it is a plant,” he said, “it’s
a very clever one—and hence
spells Lotzen; but, for my part,
I’ll be charmed to go with you,
whatever it-is.”
The archduke smiled. “Of
course you will, you peaceful
citizen, anil be sadly disappoint
ed if there isn’t a head for you to
hit. It’s just as well I gave you
to the regent, you would be lead
ing me into all sorts of danger.”
“And your highness has es
tablished such a splendid repu
tation for avoiding danger,”
Moore laughed.
“How so?”
“I)ul it never occur to you, sir,
that the man who would delib
erately force a sword fight with
the Duke of Lotzen, has won a
name for reckless courage that he
can never live down?”
“But I disarmed him, thanks
to your defense to his coup.”
“Small good would my defense
have been to one who hadn’t the
nerve and skill to use it; to fail
means death, as you, of course,
appreciated.”
The areluluke nodded. “But
the public know nothing of ail
that.”
“Just so, sir—all they know is
that you, in sheer deviltry, took
your chances against one of the
two best swordmen in Valeria;
that you won, demonstrated your
skill, but it didn’t disprove the
recklessness.”
“I did not intend it that way,
Moore; I assure you I had no
idea of bringing on a light that
night at the Vierle Masque, when
I went over to him and the Spen
cer woman.”
A broad grin overspread the
Irishman’s handsome face.
“You couldn’t make a.single
officer believe it,” be said; “and
seriously, sir, I wouldn’t try. It
is just such a thing as your great
ancestor would have done, and it
has caught the youngsters as
nothing else ever could; they
.swear by you—only last night, I
heard a dozen of them toast you
uproariously as the next king.”
Which brings us back to the
book and thi^ letter,” Armand
remarked; “shall we take an es
cort ? ’ ’
“I’m a rather incompetent ad
viser, you think; but th/ very
provision that you need not go
alone, may be a trap to lull sus
picion and bring you there with
only an aide or an orderly. If
the letter is honest, it will be no
harm to go well attended; if it
isn’t honest, you will lose noth
lug, and th f »s:ort may be vcr).
useful.”
“You are becoming a very Fa
bins in discretion,” the arehdukt
smiled; “and Ave Avill take the
cseortJ’ He considered a mom
ent. “Or, rather, Ave Avill have
it on hand for need. I’ll see to
it that a troop of lancers shall be
passing the inn a little before 4
o’clock, and halt there, Avhile
their captain discusses the weath
er Avith the landlord. A>id Ave
Avill ride up with a great show
of confidence or contempt,
whichever Avay the One Who
Knows may vieAv it.”
“Shall I tell her .highness of
the letter, and your purpose?”
Moore asked.
“Not on your life, man! She
would send a brigade Avith us,
even if she didn’t forbid our go
ing. I’ll get you leave for the
afternoon—and not a Avord to
Bernheim, either; he Avonld have
nervous prostration, and load me
doAvn Avith a suit of plate mail
and a battle axe. You and I Avdll
just have this little adventure on
the side.” He got up. “I tell
you what it is, Moore, the pair of
us could make a brisk fight of
it if we had to—hey, man?”
The Irishman laughed joy
ously.
“And may we have to, >iir!’( he
cried; ‘‘may wre have to!*'—and
made as though he were sending
home a finishing thrust.
The archduke shook his head.
‘‘There can’t be any doubt of it;
you would have a most danger
ous influence over me; it is well
you’re with the regent. But for
this aftejnoon, I suggest that you
select your favorite sword, and
see that it doesn’t drag in the
scrabbard—and half-after-two at
the Titian gate.”
Moore paused at the door.
“Of course,” said he, ‘‘your
highness will wear the steel
vest.”
‘‘I’ll wear it,” was the an
swer; and'the colonel went out,
wondering at the ready acquies
cence, where he had anticipated
a curt refusal. Before he had
crossed the ante-room, the arch
duke called him.
‘‘I saw you were surprised,”
said he. “I had a little adven
ture the other night that you
don’t know about. Sit down a
minute, and I’ll toll you of Bern
heim’s and my visit to the De
Satire house at 2 in the morn
ing.” ....
‘‘I always said Bernheim was
the man for a close pinch,”
Moore remarked, at the end,
“but he is even better than I im
agined. “The chest is simply de
licious.” He paused, in sudden
thought. “And, now, I reckon I
understand why Count Bigler has
his ear done up in surgeon’s plas
ter. I noticed it at the club yes
terday, and heard him explain it
as a ‘sore’. Tomorrow, I’ll ask
him if he caught the ‘sore’ in the
DeSaure house.”
“And don’t tell Bernheim,”
said Arinand; “if he knows he
had such a good chance at Bigler,
and then missed him, it will make
him miserable for da vs. ”
Days! it will sour him for
life. -Next to the duke of Lotzen,
the colonel hates Bigler most.”
When Moore had gone, the
archduke took up the letter and
envelope and again examined
them; looked for a water mark
—there was none; went over the
writiug-«-maii's or woman’s he
could not decide; postmarked at
the main office in Dornlitz at 10
p. m. of yesterday; noi a scintilla
any place to indicate the origin.
Well, it did not ynatter; ho would
accept the offer; and there was
an end of it, now—the solution
could come this afternoon at
4. So he put up the letter, and
pushed the button for his secre
tary, quite forgetting to tele
phone the princess as to borrow
ing her adjutant. Then,, after a
while, she, herself, called- him;
and as they finished their talk,
the bell sounded the first stroke
of nohn.
m arose, and hooking the
frogs of lps dark green jacket,
the gold braid of his marshal’s in
signia heavy on the sleeve, he
went over to the large window,
and raising the sash stood in full
view of the avenue.
kt was the hour when it was
busiest; on the side walks a push
ing, hurrying, good natured
crowd, at their mid-day recre
ation; in the roadway, a tangled
mass of vehicles, not of the so
[ciety folk, they came three
hours later, but the wagons, and
drays and vans of trade and traf
fic. He recognized an occasional
face in the throng, usually kome
officer hurrying to headquarters
for the reception he always held
for half an hour at noon. To
day it would have to start five
minutes late. _
(To be Continued Next Week.)
Prance may yet come to nie the
Ruhr.
In the Majority.
The pessimist looks regretfully
back; the optimist looks joyfully for
ward ; the ordinary mortal Just groans
and smiles through today.—Boston
Transcript
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The Woman heard a long, nn end- I
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When it seemsrf as rr.avigh the minis
ter were about to stop'he would beam
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Canters.
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"Cant Is a curse,” he said. “Yet
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“ ‘It says here,’ said a housewife,
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“Gee,’ said her husband, rather
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Bluebelle Is spending some time with
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“He called the mocking bird a v-v
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