The Princess Dehra
BY JOHN REED SCOTT.
Copyright, lfOS. by John Reed Scott
Presently, some one caught
sight of him, and saluted with
raised hat; others looked up, and
did the same; and in a moment
the crowd was passing in review,
the men uncovering, the women
greeting him with smiles. lie an
swered with bows, and hand
waves; and if a bit of satisfied
pride stirred his heart and
wanned his face, small wonder.
He was still new in his royalty;
and even if he were not, at this
.critical period, such demonstra
tion of esteem by the generul
populace would have been very
gratifying and particularly wel
come. Ami He stayed a trifle
longer than the required time;
then, with a last how and a wave
of especial graeiousness, he
turned away, and rang for the
doors to be opened.
It was the archduke s rule that
entire informality should be ob
served at these affairs, and he
emphasized it by sauntering*
around, speaking to everyone,
and not obliging them to go up
to him, for a stiff bow and a
word. lie laughed with this
group, joked with another,
argued with a third, until not a
man but had come under his eye,
at least for an instant, and he
tinder theirs. He had begun the
receptions soon after lie became
governor of Dornlitz, more par
ticulary for the purpose of get
ting acquainted with the officers
on duty under him; but it was
not limited to them—any one
was welcome—and the result had
been rather more satisfactory
than even he had hoped for.
There was not. an official in his
district to whom he had not
given a hearty handshake and a
pleasant word; and as he hap
pened to have a truly royal
knack of remembering faces, and
the names that went with them,
many a young lieutenant—and
indeed, not a few higher in rank
—had gone away with a flattered
heart and an ardent enthusiasm,
openly proclaimed, for the
marshal-prince who would eon
'osccnd to remember an unim
jortnnt subordinate, and seem
glad to see him again, and to tell
him so. And the contrast it of
fered to the Duke of Lotzens un
gracious and domineering ways
was title to the latter ad
vantage; aifd the fruit of it had
been ripeuiug fast, within these
last few weeks.
So, today, the room was crowd
ed, and the welcome the arch
duke received was such as might
have made even Lotzcn pause
and think, had he seen it. And
this thought occurred to Ar
tnand; and he ran his eyes over
the many faces, wondering which
of them belonged, today, to the
duke’s spy; for that there usual
ly was one present he had no
doubt.
And presently he found him;
nnd, catching his eye, motioned
for hint to approach.
“I am glad to see you, Mon
sieur le Comte,” he said, reliev
ing himself from offering his
hand by re-adjusting his sword.
4‘When was it I saw you last?”
Count Bigler’s lips twitched
with suppressed amusement.
“Here, your highness!” he
answered, “I am ashamed to con
fess I haven’t been here for
many weeks.”
t “ifet, surely, count, I’ve seen
you somewhere since then, and
very recent Iq, too—whore was
it!”
' ifJigler feigned to think.—
“One sees your highness so
many times, it is difficult to re
member the last ... on the
3'Teld of Mars, last Monday,
'wasn’t jtt”
The archduke shook his head,
^o.” lie said, “no; it was in the
evehtngc, I recall that very dis
tinctly.” Then he looked* with
deliberate inference nt the band
aged ear—“oh, I have it: it was
at the l)e Saure’s; you were there
when I came,* and y6u left first
and—rather hurriedly. It all
comes back to me now. Surely,
count, you can’t have forgot such
a pleasant evening!”
Bigler assumed a look of guile
less innocence.
“It is not permitted to contra
dict your highness,' ’ he answered,
“but I may%I think, at least ven
ture the truism :—what one has
not remembered, one cannot for
get.”
“Or restated, my dear count,
to be quite in point:—what is
inconvenient to remember, is
best denied.”
“Just jm your highness will
bave it,’rBigler grinned, and im
pudently fingered his ear.
' 44And confidentially, count,”
said Arinand smilingly, “while
we are dealing in truisms, I give
you these two:—‘every man’s
patience has its limit,’ and, ‘who
plays with fire gets burnt’—fa
tally.”
Bigler's grin broadened.
“Is your highness the man
with the patience or the man
with the fire?” he asked.
“Study it out, sir,” said the
archduke, as he passed on; “and
let your master help you; the an
swer may concern you both.”
The last thing before leaving
his office, that afternoon, he
wrote a note to the American am
bassador, enclosing the .anony
mous letter, and telling him his
intention in reference to it; and
adding that if Courtney had not
heard from him by morning he
should do whatever he thought
best. This he disnatched bv an
orderly; and then, choosing a
long, light sword, he rang for
his horse.
. Just outside his door, he met
General Durand and stopped for
a word with him; as they sep
arated he saw Ferdinand of Lot
zen coming down the corridor.
Between them it had long been
a salute given and acknowledged,
but now the duke halted, fingers
at visor.
“May I have a word with
your highness?'’ he said.
Arman’s hand dropped slowly,
and he only half paused in his
walk.
“I’m in a particular hurry,
cousin,” lie replied, “won’t to
morrow do as well?”
Lotzen’s eye-brows went up.
“Isn’t tomorrow rather uncer
tain for—both of us?” he asked.
“Yes,”“said the archduke in
stantly, “yes, it is; and henco
what need of talk between us,
at least so late in the day. Wait
until we have a tomorrow^.”
“What I wish to say has noth
ing to do with futures, cousin,
only with the past, with the I)e
Saure house—oh ! that surprises
you, does it?”
“Not half ns much ns the
amazing mess you made of it,”
said Armnnd.
“That, my denr cousin, is just
what l came to explain,” said
Lotz mi quickly. “I had nothing
whatever to do with the silly af
fair; it was a clever idea, but
sadly bungled; I heard of it only,
•the next, day, and 1 want to as
sure you it was not my work—
though, as I say, it was a clever
idea—too clever, indeed, to be
wasted so fruitlessly.”
The archduke regarded him in
speculative silence;—just what
manner cf man was this; and
what could be his ulterior pur
pose in such an astonishing
avowal!
'Will you tell me, cousin,” he
asked, “why you should trouble
to diselaiii* participation in an
outrage, whose only offense; in
your eyes, was its failure!”
'Again Lotzen’s eye-brows went
“I thought you would un
aeisf and that it is in justice to
myself; I would hot have you
think me guilty of so stupid a
piece of work.”
“Doubtless, then, it will grati
fy you, monsieur, that 1 never
doubted your complicity, how
ever much I may have marvelled
at the unskilled execution—you
would have arranged it rather
differently. Indeed, I was sorry
that you, yourself, were not in
command. I left a message, both
upstairs and down, that I
thought you might understand.”
Loosen smiled, rather warmly
for him.
“I% understand,” he said;
“your writing was exceedingly
legible.”
“And I sent you another mes
sage, a little while ago, by the
man with the wounded ear,” said
the archduke, his eyes upon the
other’s bandaged hand.
“1 suppose you got it?”
The duke laughed and held up
his hand, the back and palm cov
ered with plaster.
“This wasn’t made by a bul
let, cousin;” he replied; “I got
it this morning from a new pet I
was trying to train—No, I didn’t
get your last message. ”
“Better get it today, cousin,”
said the archduke, as he turned
away; “tomorrow is rather un
certain.”
CHAPTER XV.
Four O’clock at the Inn.
Ten miles out, on the Titian
road, is the Inn of the Twisted
Pines. Something more than two
centuries of storms and sunshine
have left its logs and plaster
wrinkled and weather-beaten,
yet the house stands as stanch
i
and strong as the day the last pin
was driven, and the painted sign
and the bunch of furze hung
above the entrance.
The old soldier who built it
had lived long enough to marry
a young wife, and leave it to her
and a sturdy boy; and, there
fore, there was always a son to
take the father’s place; and with
the heirship seemed to go the
inherited obligation to maintain
the house exactly as received.
No modernity showed itself with
in or without; the cooking alone
varied, as it reflected the skill or
whim of the particular mistress;
and it chanced that the present
one was of unusual ability in
that particular; and the knowl
egde of it coming to the capital,
had brought not a little trade of
nuing parties ana rne omcers oi
the garrison.
And so Captain Hertz, of the
Third Lancers had not done
quite the usual growl, when he
got the order to march at once
with his troop, selecting such a
route as would bring him to the
inn a few minutes before 4
o’clock, taking care to approach
it from the west; and to halt
there and await further instruc
tions.
He had confided to his subal
tern that it was a crazy sort of
proceeding to be maneuvring
against old Scartman’s Inn; but
if it had to be done, it was at
least considerate to choose as the
objective point, a place where
they could have a good meal to
eat, and the keeper’s pretty
daughters to philander.
And between thinking of the
victuals and the damsels, the
'captain so hurried the march
that they reached the inn un
necessarily early ;yet they had no
reason to regret it, for the tap
room was cool and pleasant, the
food to their taste, and the girl's
cheeks prettier and softer than
ever—though it would seem that,
lately, the last were becoming
much more difficult to taste.
“What’s got into the hu*.
sies?” Hertz demanded, rub
bing his face, as the lieutenant
and he went out into the court
yard ; “They used to be mild
enough.”
“You've been falling off in
looks the last year, my dear fel
low,” Purkitz laughed—’“can’t
say I much blame the girl—I’ve
no finger marks on my cheek,
you see! ’ ’
“Huh!” grunted Hertz, “solid
brass; wouldn't show the kick
of a mule—What in Ileayea’s
name are we sent here for any
way!—‘await further orders’—
that may mean a week.”
“And why not,” the lieuten
ant laughed; “the victuals are
delicious, and the girls-”
“Oh, go to the devil!”
‘ And even father, himself,
will do for company in a pinch.”
The captain laughed, too.
“Not if I can get away—did you
ever see such a countenance? It
positively makes me ill.”
‘ ‘poor ,o]d Scartnian,” said
Purturz; he s a good loan, but
there is no denying that ‘the
Lord made him as ugly as He
could and then hit him in the
face.”
hVom the eastward, came the
sound of a galloping horse.
“Our orders, I hope,” Hertz
exclaimed. He glanced at his
watch. “A quarter of four—I
wonder what silly business we’re
to be sent on, now.”
The hoof beats drew swiftly
nearer, but from where the two
officers were standing, the high
wall of the courtyard obscured
the road, and they sauntered
slowly across toward the gate
way. As they reached it, a big
black horse swept around the
corner ami was upon them before
the rider could draw rein.
Hertz gave a cry of warning
and sprang aside, tripped on his
spur, and sprawled in the deep
dust; while Purkitz’a wild jump
landed him with both feet on his
superior’s back, whence he slid
off and brought up on Hertz’s
head, thereby materially aug
menting the fine flow of super
heated language that was bub
bling from the captain’s dirt
filled mouth—nor did the loud
guffaw and the shrieks of femi
nine laughter, that came from
the house, serve to reduce either
the temperature or the volume.
Meanwhile, the cause of it all
—a slender, sinuous woman,
black gowned and black veiled—
sat the big horse motionless and
silent, waiting for the human
tangle to unlose itself.
Coated with dust—his uniform
unrecognizable, his face smeared
and dirty—Hertz scrambled up.
“What in hell do you-a
woman!” he ended, and stood
staring.
“Yes, my man, a woman,”
said she, “and one very sorry for
your fall—you are the landlord,
I presume.”
Lieutenant Purkitz gave a
shout, and leaned against th« ,
gate.
“Landlord!” he gasped,
“landlord!—that face—oh, that
face!” and went off into a fit of
suppressed mirth. —
The woman looked at him and
then at Hertz, and though the
thick veil hid her features com
pletely, there was no doubt of
her irritation.
The captain bowed, “madame
will pardon the ill manners of
my clownish servant,” he said,
indicating Purkitz; “I am Cap
tain Hertz, of her highness*
Third Lancers. Yonder is the
landlord; permit me to call
him.’’
She leaned down and offered
him her hand.
“A thousand apologies, my
dear captain, for my reckless
riding and my awkward tongue
—there is small excuse for the
former, I admit, but my veil may
explain the latter—You are not
hurt”
A voice so soft and sweet must
have a face to match it, and
Hertz went a step nearer.
“Madame can cure everything
but my heart, if she but raise the
veil,” he said.
The voice laughed softly.
“Then, sir, I am afraid to
raise it—your heart would not
survive the shock. Good-bye,
and thank you,” and she spurred
across to where old Scartman
was standing near the stables.
“I am to meet some one here
at 4 o’clock,” she said; “has my
party come?”
Boniface’s shrewd little eyes
had taken her in at a single
glance.
“Gentleman, I suppose?” he
asked—“None of them?” park
ing his thumb toward the two
lancers.—“No? then he’s not
here yet.”
She. glided gracefully out of
saddle, and hooked up her skirt.
“Put my horse in the stall
nearest the door,” she ordered;
and herself saw it done. “Now,
I want a room—the big one on
the lower floor—for an hour or
so.”
The inn-keeper bowed.
“Certainly, madatne—and the
gentleman?”
She considered. . . . “He is
one Itffirh in rank^ very high—in
deed, no one in Valeria is higher
—tell him I’m here; and admit
him instantly; but don’t, do yOu
hear me, don’t tell him I’m a
woman.”
Old Scartman coughed and
hesitated.
“But please you, madam,” he
ventured, “if I’m to tell him.
you’re here, but not to tell him
you're a woman, how’s he to be
sure you are you ? ’ ’
“True, 0 patron of rendez
vous !*’ she laughed. “If he
ask tor proof, you may tell him
I’m the one who knows.”
“Now, that’s more to rule,”
he said, with a nod and a
chuckle.
They went into the house, and
he opened the door into the big
room. ‘
“This is what madame
wishes?” " - &■
“Yes,” said she—“and re
member, no interruptions, now
nor later—understand?”
Hg bowed with rather unusual
grace, for one of his appearance
and calling.
“Perfectly, madame — does
madame think I look so like a
fool?”
She surveyed him an instant.
“No, my good man, I don’t,”
and closed the door; “but I
wouldn’t care to tell you what
you do look like,” she ended.
Going over to the window, she
fixed the curtain so as to permit
her to see in front of the house,
and then, removing her veil, she
drew out a tiny mirror and deft
ly touched to place the hair that
was disarranged. As she fin
ished, she heard horses approach
ing, and she saw, through the
open gateway, a sudden commo
tion among the lancers'who were
lounging at east by the roadside,
their mounts picketed under the
trees. She knew that her man
was coming.
A sergeant ran in and said a
word to Hertz who, free now of
his dust and anger, was sitting
on the steps with Purkitz, hoping
to get a glimpse of the face be
hind the veil, and staring at the
windows with calm persistency.
“My God!” she heard Hertz
exclaim, as both sprang up, and,
frantically biittoning tunics and
drawing on gloves, ran out into
the road and swung to horse.
There was a snap of commands,
a stamping of hoofs, and the lan-v
ces rose high above the wall in a
line of fluttering pennons; they
dipped, and the next moment
the archduke and the regent’s
adjutant drew up before the
gate.
The former raised his hand,
and Hertz rode forward and sa
luted.__
iTo be Continued Next Wcik.)
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