t ............................ ...... . ................................ + ^ ;.+ 4'+++4-^++H~++-fr+'l'-i‘ * * * * + * * * * " i~ Ì ‘+ ’i‘ + *< ’ ,l,'i'* * + + + + + * ,Ì 'i "i ‘'i“ t"i " i ,+ ‘t ‘,t‘ * ‘t'+ + + ,t''i“ i“ i,’i‘* Jacot. duke o f M izrox. before his God and on his life, sw ea rs th a t G renfall L orry "No.” responded one of th e guards CHAPTER 1.—Grenfall Lorry, a wealthy American globe trotter, stumbles into acquaintance with a charm­ “T here w as nothing to be found in the did foully, m a liciou sly and d esig n ed ly sla y Lorenz, prince o f A xphain, on the 20th ing foreign girl on the train from Denver to Washington. The pair is left behind when the flier s ops for repairs in bowls and ja r s except soapy w ater, day of October, in th e year o f our Lord West Virginia. II.—Lorry wires ahead to hold the train. There is not a blood stain in the room, ISth-. and In the c ity of E d elw eiss, G rau­ He and the unknown girl ride twenty miles at a tearing stark . It is therefore m y decree th a t pace In a mountain coach. There is no love-making, captain." G renfall Lorry be declared m urderer o f but a near approach to it as the rolling stage tumbles the “T h a t sh ak es yo u r theory a little, Lorenz, prince of A xp h ain , u n til he be passengers about. III.—Lorry dines with the foreign party, consisting of Miss Guggenslocker, Uncle Caspar eh?" cried Anguish trium phantly. “ E x ­ proved innocent, in w hich Instance h is a c­ cuser, Jacot. du k e o f M izrox, sh all forfeit and Aunt Yvonne. They are natives of Graustark, a country Lorry had never heard of before. IV.—Lorry am ine Mr. L orry’s hands and see ii his life, according to the law o f th is land shows the foreigners the sights of Washington. They th ere is blood upon them ." Lorry’s providing pen alty for fa lse w itn ess, and leave for New York to sail on the Kaiser Wilhelm. hands w ere w hite and uncontam lnated. by w hich he h im self h as sw orn to abide Miss Guggenslocker naively calls Lorry her “ ideal fa ith fu lly . American" and invites him to come and see her at Edel­ D angloss wore a pucker on his brow. Signed. Y E T IV E . weiss. V. Wildly infatuated, Lorry hurries to New — - r York. The name Guggenslocker is not on the steamer list. He sees the steamer off. Miss G. waves him a kiss from the deck. VI.—Lorry Joins his old friend, Harry Anguish, an American artist, in Paris. Graustark and its capital, Edelweiss, are located by a guide book. The Americans get no trace of the Guggenslockers there. VII. Lorry sees his charmer driving in a carriage with a beautiful companion of her own sex. He gets a glance of recognition, but the carriage rolls on, leaving the mystery unsolved. Later he receives a note at his hotel signen Sophia Guggenslocker, inviting him to visit her next day. VIII. In the evening Lorry and Anguish ramble about the grounds of the castle where dwells the court of the Princess of Graustark. They overhear a plot to abducts the princess and resolve to capture the plotters red handed. IX.—Fo lowing the conspirators, Lorry finds himself in a room he heard them designate as that of the princess. X.—Lorry tells the princess of the plot. Mutual recognition; she is Miss Guggen­ slocker. Dannox, the guard. Is in the abduction plot. He fells Lorry with a terrible blow. Anguish to the rtscue. XI.—Lorry quartered in the castle. The prin­ cess visits him, but forbids all talk of love. XII.— Graustark is bankrupt and owes the neighboring prince­ dom of Axphain $30,000,000. The creditor demands cash or the cession of the richest districts of Graustark. XIII.—The Prince of Axphain offers to extend the loan If the princess will marry hi« son Lorenz. Prince Ga briel of Dawsbergen also bids for the princess's hand with offer of a loan. Yetlve tells Lorry that she belongs to her heople and will marry Lorenz. C H A P T E R XVII. IN THE TOWER, H E tw o captives who wore not prisoners w ere so dazed by the unexpected ev en ts of the m orn­ ing th a t they did not realize the v a st seriousness of th e situation for hours. Then it daw ned upon them th a t ap p earan ces w ere really ag ain st them and th a t they w ere alone in a land fa r beyond the reach of help from home. One circum stance puzzled them w ith its dam ning m ystery: How cam e the blood stain s upon th e doorknob? Dan- gloss courteously discussed this strange an d u n fo rtu n ate featu re w ith them , b u t w ith ill concealed skepticism . It w as ev id en t th a t bis m ind w as clear in re­ g ard to th e w hole affair. A nguish w as of the opinion th a t the real m u rd erer had stained th e knob in­ ten tio n ally , aim ing to c a st suspicion on th e m an who had been challenged. The nssnssin had an object in leaving those convicting linger m arks w here they would do th e m ost dam age, lie eith er desired th e a rre s t and death of th e A m erican or hoped th a t his own guilt m ight escape a tten tio n through the m isleading evidence. Lorry held, from Ids deductions, tfm t th e crim e had been com m itted by a fan atic who loved ids sovereign too devotedly to see her w ed­ ded to I/orenz. Then why should In» w antonly cast g u ilt upon th e man who had been her protector, objected Dan- gloss. The polic© guards cam e in from the hotel ab o u t 10 o’clock, bearing mnrke of an ugly conflict w ith the Axplinlnl- ans. They reported th a t the avengers had been quelled for th e tim e being, h u t th a t a d eputation had alread y sta rte d for the castle to lay the m a tter before th e princess. Officers had searched th e rooms of th e A m ericans fo r blood stain s, but had found no sign of them . “ Did you find bloody w ater In w hich hands had been w ashed?" asked An­ guish. T Shortly a fte rw a rd a crowd of Ax- phaiu men cam e to th e prison gates and dem anded th e person of G renfall Lorry, d ep artin g a fte r an ugly show of rage. C urious Edelw eiss citizens stood afa r off, w atchiug th e walls and w in­ dows eagerly. "This m ay cost Edelw eiss a g reat deal of trouble, gentlem en, but there is more happiness here th is m orning than the city has know n in months. Every- liody believes you killed him, Mr. Lor­ ry, b u t they all love you for the deed,” said Dangloss, retu rn in g a t noon from a visit to th e hotel and a ride thoiugh the streets. “The prince’s friends have been a t th e castle since 9 o’clock, and I am of th e opinion th a t they are having a hard tim e w ith the high priestess.” “God bless her!” cried K&rry. “The tow n is crazy w ith excitem ent. Messengers have been sent to old Prince Bolaroz to inform him of the m urder and to urge him to hasten hither, w here he may fully enjoy the vengeance th a t is to be w orked upon his son’s slayer. I have not seen a wilder tim e in Edelweiss since the close of the siege, fifteen years ago. By my soul, you are in a bad box, sir. They are lurking in every p a rt of town to kill you if you attem p t to leave the tow er before the princess signs an or­ der to restrain you legally. Your life outside these walls'Nvould not be w orth a snap of the fingers." C aptain Quinnox of the princess’ bodyguard, accompanied by a half doz­ en of his men, rode up to the prison ga*es about 2 o’clock and w as prom pt­ ly adm itted. The young captain was in sore distress. “Tlie Duke of Mizrox has sworn th a t you are tin* m urderer, Mr. Lorry, and stak es his life.” sakl he after greetings. “ H er highness has ju s t placed in my hands an order for your a rre st as the assassin of Prince Lorenz.” Lorry turned ns pale ns death. “You —you don’t m ean to say th a t she has signed a w arran t—th a t she believes me g u ilty !” lie cried, aghast. “She has signed the w arrant, but very m uch ag ain st her inclination. Count lla lfo n t inform ed me th a t she pleaded and argued w ith the duke for hours, seeking to av ert the act which is bound to give pain to all of us. H e w as ob d u rate and threatened to carry com plaint to Bolaroz, who would in ­ stan tly dem and satisfaction. As the duke is w illing to die if you are proved Innocent, th ere w as no other course left for h er than to d ictate and sign this royal decree. C aptain Dangloss. I am in structed to give you these papers. One is th e w a rra n t for Mr. L orry’s a r­ rest. th e o th er orders you to assum e charge' of him an d to place him in con­ finem ent u n til th e day of trial.” W hile Quinnox w as m aking this sta te ­ m ent th e accused stood w ith bowed head and throbless heart. H e did not see th e cap tain ’s hand trem ble ns he T h ere w as silence for som e m om ents, broken by th e d reary tones of th e ac­ cused. “ W h at chance have I to prove my in ­ nocence?" he asked hopelessly. She ran k back w ith a moan, faintini], “T he sam e opportunity th a t he has to prove your guilt. T he duke m ust, of th e ordeal. H er poor brain had according to o u r law', prove you guilty striv e n in vnin to invent means b; beyond all doubt.” spoke th e young w hich she m ig h t save the man she loved. She had surrendered to the in­ captain. ev itab le because there was Justice in "W hen am I to be tried ?” th e claim s o f th e inexorable duke and “ H ere is my order from th e princess,” his vindictive friends. She signed the said Dangloss. glancing over th e o th er decree as if in a dream, n nightmare, paper. " It say s th a t I am to coniine w ith trem b lin g hand and broken heart you securely and to produce you before H is d e a th w a rra n t! And yet, like all the trib u n al on th e 20th day of Octo­ others, she believed him guilty-guilti ber.” fo r h er sake! "A week! T h a t is a long tim e,” said Mizrox an d his friends departed ini Lorry. "M ay I have perm ission to see the sig n atu re affixed to those p ap ers?” trium ph, revenge w ritten on every face! D angloss handed them to him. H e S he w alked blindly, numbly, to ben glanced a t the nam e he loved, w ritten room, assisted by her uncle, the count] by the hand he had kissed, now signing W ithout observing her aunt or tb aw ay his life, perhaps. A m ist cam e C ountess D agm ar, she staggered to thi over his eyes, and a stran g e joy filled w indow an d looked below. The At his soul. The hand th a t signed the p h ain ian s w ere crossing the parndi nam e had trem bled in doing so—had ground ju b ila n tly . Then came theclat trem bled pitifully. T he h eart had not tor of a horse’s hoof, and Captain Quii guided the fingers. “ I am your prison­ nox, w ith th e fa ta l papers in bis posl er. C aptain Dangloss. Do w ith me as session, galloped down the avenue. Slit clutched the cu rta in s distractedly and you will." lie said simply. “ 1 regret th a t I am obliged to place leaning fa r forw ard, cried from tin you in a cell. sir. and under guard. Be­ open w indow : “Q uinnox! Quinnox! Come back! lieve me. I am sorry this happened. 1 forbid—I forbid! Destroy those pa| am your friend,” said th e old m an pers. Q uinnox!” gloomily. B ut Q uinnox heard not the pitifnl "And I!” cried Quinnox. w ail. Seeing him disappear down thi “ But w h at is to become of me?” cried avenue, she th rew her hands to bel poor Anguish, half in tears. "I w on’t head an d san k back with a moan. faiut| leave you, Gren. I t’s an in fern al out­ lng. C ount H alfo n t caught her in rage!” “Be cool, H a rrj’. and it will come out arm s. I t w as nightfall before she wa T he faithful youui right. H e has no proof, you know ,” fully revived. countess clung to her caressingly. lovf said the other, w ringing his frien d ’s ingly, u tte rin g w ords of eonsolatiot hand. u n til long a f te r th e shades of night hat “ But I’ll have to stay here too. If I dropped. They w ere plone in the prill go outside these w alls. I’ll be killed cess’ boudoir, seated together upon tb# like a dog.” protested H arry. divan, th e tired head of the one restlD] “ You are to have a guard of six men w earily a g a in st the shoulder of tb w’hile you are in Edelweiss, Mr. A n­ other. W ide and dark nnd trouble guish. Those are the instructions of the princess. I do not believe the w ere "th e eyes of the ruler of Grau scoundrels—I mean the A xphain nobles I stark . An a tte n d a n t appeared and an —Vi hi molest you if you do not cross nounced th e a rriv a l of one of t. them. When you are ready to go to A m erican gentlem en, who insisted oi your hotel, I will accom pany you.” seeing h er royal highness. The can H alf an hour later Lorry w’as in a on th e tray bore the name of Harr: cell from which there could be no es­ A nguish A t once the princess cape. w hile Anguish w as riding tow ard a-flutter w ith eagerness and excite the hotei, surrounded by G rau stark m eat. soldiers. He had sw orn to his friend (Continued) th a t he would unearth the m urderer if it lay w ithin the pow er of m an. Cap­ Ducthess Trousers— 10 cents a bu| tain Dangloss heard the oath and sm iled ton and 81.00 a rip. Bailey’s B| sadly. At the castle th ere w ere depression and relief, grief and joy. T he royal family, the nobility, even th e serv ­ ants, soldiers and atten d an ts, rejoiced in the stroke th a t had saved th e p rin ­ cess from ti fate w orse th a n death. There were, of course, serious com pu­ tatio n s for th e fu tu re, involving ugly Store. Haynie & Son have two fine teaij and do all kinds of team work reasonable rates. Contracts preferre Independent everybody right. ’phone. They