 19 Off went the carriage with the dash, the rumbles of its wheels joining the gruesome roar of the elements. For some time the two sat speechless side by side. Outside the thunder rolled, the rains whirled and hissed, the wind howled, and all the hearse of nature seemed crowded into the blackness of that thrilling night. Lori wondered vaguely whether they were going, why he had seen no flashes of lightning, if he should ever see her again. His mind was busy with the thousand thoughts and queries. Where are we going? he asked, after they had travelled half a mile or so. To a place of safety came the reply from the darkness beside him. Thanks! he said, dryly. By the way, don't you have any lightning in this part of the world? I haven't seen a flash tonight. It is very rare came the brief reply. Devilish, uncommunicative, thought Lori. After a moment he asked, how far do we travel tonight? A number of miles. Then I'm going to take off this wet coat. It weighs a ton. Won't you remove yours? He jerked off the big raincoat and threw it across to the opposite seat with the keys and the lantern. There was a moment's hesitation on the part of his companion, and then a second wet coat followed the first. Their rain helmets were also tossed aside. Makes a fellow feel more comfortable. This has been too easy to seem like an escape, went on Lori, looking back reflectively over the surprises of the night. Maybe I am dreaming. Pinch me. That finger and a thumb came together on the fleshy part of his arm, causing him to start, first in amazement, then in pain. He had not expected his reserved guardian to obey the command literally. I am awake, thanks! he laughed, and the hand dropped from his arm. After this there was a longer silence than at any time before. The soldier drew himself into the corner of the seat, an action which repelled further discussion, it seemed to Lori. So he leaned back in the opposite corner, and allowed his mind to wander far from the interior of that black, stuffy carriage. Where was he going? When was he to leave Grouse Dark? Was he to see her soon? Soon the carriage left the smooth streets of Edelweiss, and he could tell by the jolting and careening that they were in the country, racing over a rough, rocky road. It reminded him of an overland trip he had taken in West Virginia some months before, with the fairest girl in all the world as his companion. Now he was riding in her carriage, but with the surly, un-talkative soldier of the guard. The more he allowed his thoughts to revel in the American ride and its delights, the more uncontrollable became his desire to see the one who had whirled with him in Light Horse Jerry's coach. I wish to know how soon I am to see your mistress. He exclaimed, impulsively, sitting up and striking his companion's arm by way of emphasis. To his surprise the hand was dashed away, and he distinctly heard the soldier gasp. I beg your pardon! he cried, fearing that he had given pain with his eager strength. You startled me! I was half asleep! stammered the other, apologetically. Whom do you mean by your mistress? Her royal highness, of course, said Laurie impatiently. I cannot say when you are to see the princess, said his companion, after waiting so long that Laurie felt like kicking him. Well, see here, my friend, do you know why I agreed to leave that place back there? I said I wouldn't go away from Grouse-Dark until I had seen her. If you fellows are spiriting me away, kidnapping me, as it were, I want to tell you I won't have it that way. I must know right now where we are going in this damnable storm. I have orders to tell you nothing, said the soldier staunchly. Orders, eh? From whom? That is my affair, sir. I guess I'm about as much interested in this affair as anybody, and I insist on knowing our destination. I jumped into this thing blindly, but I'm going to see my way out of it before we go much farther. Where are we going? You will learn that soon enough, insisted the other. Am I to see her soon? That's what I want to know. You must not insist, cried the soldier. Why are you so anxious to see her? he asked suddenly. Don't be so blamed inquisitive, cried Grenfell angrily, impatiently. Tell me where we are going, or I'll put a bullet into you. Drawing his revolver, he leaned over, grasped the guard by the shoulder, and placed the muzzle against his breast. For God's sake, be calm! You would not kill me for obeying orders. I am serving one you love. Are you mad? I shall scream if you keep pressing that horrid thing against my side. Laurie felt himself tremble, and was at once filled with compunction. How could he expect a loyal fellow to disobey orders? I beg your pardon a thousand times, he cried, jamming the pistol into his pocket. You are a brave gentleman, and I am a fool. Take me where you will, I'll go like a lamb. You'll admit, however, that it is exasperating to be going in the dark like this. It is a very good thing that it is dark, said the soldier, quickly. The darkness is very kind to us. No one can see us, and we can see no one. I should say not. I haven't the faintest idea what you look like. Have I seen you at the castle? Yes, frequently. Will you tell me your name? You would not know my name. Are you an officer? No, I am new to the service. Then I'll see that you are promoted. I like your staunchness. How old are you? I am twenty-two, of the nobility. My father was of noble birth. Then you must be so, too. I hope you'll forgive my rudeness. I'm a bit nervous, you know. I forgive you gladly. Devilish, rough road, this. Devilish, it is a mountain road. That's where we were, too. Where who were? Oh, a young lady and I, some time ago, I just happened to think of it. It could not have been pleasant. You never made a bigger mistake in your life. Oh, she must have been pretty, then. You are right this time. She is glorious. Pardon me, they usually are in such adventures. By Dove, you're a clever one. Does she live in America? That's none of your affair. Oh, and then there was silence between them. Inquisitive fool, muttered Grenfell to himself. For some time they bumped along over the rough road, jostling against each other frequently, both enduring stoically and silently. The rain was still falling, but the thunderstorm had lost its fury. The crashing in the sky had abated. The winds were not so fierce, and the night was being shorn of its terrors. Still the intense, almost suffocating darkness prevailed. But for the occasional touch neither could have told that there was another person on the seat. Suddenly Laurie remembered the lantern. It was still lit with the slide closed when he threw it on the seat. Perhaps it still burnt and could relieve the oppressive darkness if but for a short time. He might at least satisfy his curiosity and look upon the face of his companion. Leaning forward he fumbled among the traps on the opposite seat. I think I'll see if the lantern is lighted. Let's have it a little more cheerful in here, he said. There was a sharp exclamation, and two vigorous hands grasped him by the shoulder, jerking him back unceremoniously. No, no, you will ruin all! There must be no light! cried the soldier, his voice high and shrill. But we're out of the city. I know, I know, but I will not permit you to have a light against orders. We have not passed the outpost, expostulated the other nervously. What's the matter with your voice? demanded Laurie, struck by the change in it. My voice, asked the other, the tone's natural again. It's changing. Didn't it embarrass you when your voice broke like that? went on the questioner breathlessly. Laurie was now leaning back in the seat, quite a little mystified. I don't believe mine ever broke like that, he said speculatively. There was no response, and he sat silent for some time, regretting more and more that it was dark. Gradually he became conscious of a strange, unaccountable presence in that dark cab. He could feel a change coming over him. He could not tell why, but he was sure that someone else was beside him, someone who was not the soldier. Something soft and delicate and sweet came into existence, permeating the darkness with its undeniable presence. A queer power seemed drawing him toward the other end of the seat. The most delightful sensations took possession of him. His heart fluttered oddly, his head began to feel under the spell. Who are you? he cried in a sort of ecstasy. There was no answer. He remembered the match safe, and with trembling, eager fingers, drew it from the pocket of the coat he was wearing. The next instant he was scratching a match, but as it flared the body of his companion was hurled against his, and a fierce mouth blew out the feeble blaze. Oh, why do you persist? was cried in his ears. I am determined to see your face, he answered sharply, and with a little cry of dismay the other occupant of the carriage fell back in the corner. The next match drove away the darkness and the mystery. With blinking eyes he saw the timid soldier huddling in the corner, one arm covering his face, the other hand vainly striving to pull the skirt of a military coat over a pair of red trouser legs. Below the arm that hit the eyes and nose he saw a parted lips and a beardless dainty chin. Above, long dark tresses strayed in condemning confusion. The breast beneath the blue coat heaved convulsively. The match dropped from his fingers, and as darkness fell again it hit the soldier in the strong arms of the fugitive, not a soldier bold, but a gasping, blushing, unresisting coward. The lithe form quivered and then became motionless in the fierce straining embrace. The head dropped upon his shoulder, his hot lips caressing the burning face and pouring wild incoherent words into the little ears. You, you! he cried mad with joy. Oh, this is heaven itself, my brave darling. Mine, forever, mine, forever. You shall never leave me now. Drive on, drive on! he shouted to the men outside, drunk with happiness. You will make this journey endless. I know you love me now. I know it. God, I shall die with joy. A hand stole gently into his hand, and her lips found his in a long, passionate kiss. I did not want you to know. I am so sorry. Why, why did I come tonight? I was so strong, so firm, I thought, but see how weak I am. You dominate, you own me, body and soul, in spite of everything, against my will. I love you, I love you, I love you. I have won against the princes and the potentates. I was losing hope, my queen, losing hope. You were so far away, so unattainable. I would brave a thousand deaths rather than lose this single minute of my life. It makes me the richest man in all the world. How brave you are. This night you have given up everything for my sake. You are fleeing with me, away from all that has been dear to you. No, no, you must not be deluded. It is only for tonight, only till you are safe from pursuit. I shall go back. You must not hope for more than this hour of weakness. Sweet as it is to me," she cried. You are going back, and not with me? He cried, his heart chilling. You know I cannot. That is why I hoped you would never know how much I care for you. Alas, you have found me out. My love was made rash, by fear. You should never have escaped the vengeance of Axfane. I could not have shielded you. This was the only course and I dared not hesitate. I should have died with terror had you gone to trial, knowing what I knew. You will not thank me unwomently for coming with you as I am. It was necessary. Really it was. No one else could have, but he smothered the wail and kisses. Unwomently, he exclaimed, it was a divine inspiration, but you will come with me, away from grouse-dark, away from everyone. Say that you will. I cannot bear to hear you plead, and it breaks my heart to go back there. But I cannot leave grouse-dark. I cannot. It would be heaven to go with you to the end of the world. But I have others besides myself to consider. You are my god, my idol. I can worship you from my unhappy throne, from my chamber, from the cell into which your heart is to retreat. But I cannot. I will not desert grouse-dark, not even for you. He was silent, impressed by her nobility, her loyalty. Although the joy ebbed from his craving heart, he saw the justice of her self-sacrifice. I would give my soul to see your face now, Yativa. Your soul is in your eyes. I can feel it. Why did you not let me stay in prison, meet death, and so end all? It would have been better for both of us. I cannot live without you. We can live for each other, die for each other, apart. Distance will not lessen my love. You know that it exists. It has been betrayed to you. Can you not be satisfied, just a little bit, with that knowledge? She pleaded. But I want you in reality, not in my dreams, my imagination. Ah, we must not talk like this. There is no alternative. You are to go. I am to stay. The future is before us. God knows what it may bring to us. Perhaps it may be good enough to give us happiness. Who knows? Do not plead with me. I cannot endure it. Let me be strong again. You will not be so cruel as to battle against me now that I am weak. It would only mean my destruction. You do not seek that. His soul, his honor, the greatest reverence he had ever known were in the kiss that touched her brow. I shall love you as you command, without hope, he said sadly. Without hope for either, she sobbed. My poor little soldier, he whispered lovingly, as her body writhed under the storm of tears. I wish I were a soldier, she wailed. He comforted her as best he could, and soon she was quiet. Oh, so very quiet. Her head was on his shoulder, her hands in his. How far do we drive? he asked at last. Do the monastery. We are nearly there. She answered in tones far away. The monastery. Why do we go there? he cried. You are to stay there. What do you mean? I thought I was to leave Grouse Dark. You are to leave, later on. Until the excitement is over the abyss to be your hiding-place. I have arranged everything, and it is the only safe place on earth for you at this time. No one will think of looking for you up there. I would to God I could stay there forever, living above you, he said, drearily. Your window looks down upon the castle. Mine looks up to yours. The lights that burn in those two windows will send out beams of love and life for one of us, at least. For both of us, my sweetheart, he corrected fondly. You say I will be safe there. Can you trust these men who are aiding you? With my life, Quinex carried a message to the abbot yesterday, and he grants you a temporary home there, secure and as secret as the tomb. He promises me this, and he is my best friend. Now let me tell you why I am with you, masquerading so shamefully, adorably, he protested. It is because the abbot insisted that I bring you to him personally. He will not receive you except from my hands. There was nothing else for me to do then, was there, Lori. I was compelled to come, and I could not come as the Princess, as a woman. Discovery would have meant degradation from which I could not have hope to recover. The military garments were my only safeguard. And how many people know of your deception? Three, besides yourself, Dagmar, Quinex, and Captain Dengloss. The abbot will know later on, and I shiver as I think of it. The driver and the man who went to your cell, Ogbot, know of the escape, but do not know I am here. Alode, you remember him, is our driver. Alode? He's the fellow who saw me, uh, who was in the throne room. He is the man who saw nothing, sir. I remember his obedience, he said, laughing, in spite of his unhappiness. Am I to have no freedom up here, no liberty at all? You are to act as the abbot or the prior instructs, and I must not forget, Quinex will visit you occasionally. He will conduct you from the monastery and to the borderline at the proper time. Alas, he will be my murderer, I fear. Yetiva, you do not believe I killed Lawrence. I know that most of them do, but I swear to you I am no more the perpetrator of that cowardly crime than you. God bears testimony to my innocence. I want to hear you say that you do not believe I killed him. I feared so at first. No, do not be angry. I feared you had killed him for my sake. But now I am sure that you are innocent. The carriage stopped too soon, and Quinex opened the door. It was still a darkest pitch, but the downpour had ceased except for a disagreeable, misty drizzle, cold and penetrating. I've reached the stopping-place," he said, and we are to walk from here to the gate, said the princess, resuming her horsemanly tones. While they were busy donning their raincoats, she whispered in Laurie's ear, I beg of you, do not let him know that you have discovered who I am. He promised, and lightly snatched a kiss, an act of indiscretion that almost brought fatal results. Forgetful of the darkness she gave vent to a little protesting shriek, fearing that the eyes of the captain had witnessed the pretty transgression. Laurie laughed as he sprang to the road, and turned to assist her in alighting. She promptly and thoughtfully averted the danger his gallantry presented by ignoring the outstretched hands discernible as slender shadows protruding from an object a shade darker than the night, and leaped boldly to the ground. The driver was instructed to turn the carriage about, and to await their return. With Laurie in the center, the trio walked rapidly off in the darkness, the fugitive with a sense of fear that belongs only to a blind man. A little light far ahead told the position of the gate, and for this they bent their steps, Laurie and Quinex cursing in low tones, the princess riding along silently beside the former, her hand in his, a fact of which the real soldier was totally unaware. Reaching the gate the captain pounded vigorously, and a sleepy monk soon peered from the little window through which shone the light. On important business with the abbot, from her royal highness Princess Yatiba, said Quinex in response to a sharp query, spoken in the grass-dark tongue. A little gate beside the big one opened, and the monk, lantern in hand, bade them enter. Await me here, captain, commanded the slim, straight soldier with face turned from the light. A moment later the gate closed, and Laurie was behind the walls of St. Valentine's, a prisoner again. The monk proceeded them across the dark court toward the great black mass, his lantern creating ghastly shadows against the broken mist. His followers dropped some little distance behind, the tall one's arms stealing about the other's waist, his head bending to a level with hers. Is it to be good-bye, dearest? he asked. Good-bye forever? I cannot say that. It would be like wishing you dead. Yet there is no hope. No, no, we will not say good-bye forever, she said despairingly. Won't you bid me hope? Impossible. You will stay here until Quinex comes to take you away. Then you must not stop until you are in your own land. We may meet again. Yes, by my soul we shall meet again. I'll do as you bid and all that, but I'll come back when I can stay away no longer. Go to your castle and look forward to the day that will find me at your feet again. It is bound to come. But how are you to return to the castle tonight and enter without creating suspicion? Have you thought of that? Am I a child? Inside of three hours I shall be safely in my bed, and but one person in the castle will be the wiser for my absence. Here are the portals. They passed inside the massive doors and halted. You must remain here until I have seen the prior, she said, laughing nervously and glancing down at the boots which showed beneath the long coat. Then she hastily followed the monk, disappearing down the corridor. In ten minutes, ten hours to lorry, she returned with her guide. He will take you to your room, she said breathlessly, displaying unmistakable signs of embarrassment. The prior was shocked. Goodbye, and God be with you always. Remember, I love you. The monk's back was turned, so the new recluse snatched the slight figure to his heart. Someday, he whispered, she would not speak, but he held near until she nodded her head. The American has escaped was the cry that spread through Adelweiss the next morning. It brought undisguised relief to the faces of thousands. There was not one who abraded Baron Dangloss for his astounding negligence. Never before had a criminal escaped from the tower. The only excuse, uttered in woe-begone tone, was that the prison had not been constructed or manned for such clever scoundrels as Yankees, good name for audacity. But as nobody criticised, his explanation was taken good-naturedly, and there was no secret rejoicing in the city. Of course everybody wondered where the prisoner had gone. Most of them feared that he could not escape the officers, while others shrewdly smiled and expressed themselves as confident that so clever a gentleman could not be caught. They marveled at his boldness, his ingenuity, his assurance. The full story of the daring break for liberty flashed from lip to lip during the day, and it was known all over the water-swept city before noon. Baron Dangloss himself had gone to the prisoner's cell early in the evening, mystified by the continued absence of the guard. The door was locked, but from within came groans and cries. Alarmed at once, the captain procured duplicate keys and entered the cell. There he found the helpless blood-covered Ogbot, bound hand and foot and almost dead from loss of blood. The clothes of the American were on the floor, while his own were missing, gone with the prisoner. Ogbot, as soon as he was able, related his experience of the night before. It was while making his rounds at midnight that he heard moans from the cell, animated by a feeling of pity. He opened the slab door and asked if he were ill. The wretched American was lying on the bed, apparently suffering. He said something which the guard could not understand, but which he took to be a plea for assistance. Not suspecting a trick, the kindly guard unlocked the second door and stepped to the bedside, only to have the sick man rise suddenly, and deal him a treacherous blow over the head with the heavy stall he had secreted behind him. Ogbot knew nothing of what followed so effective was the blow, when he regained consciousness he was lying on the bed just as the captain had found him. The poor fellow, overwhelmed by the enormity of his mistake, begged Dangloss to shoot him at once, but Dangloss had him conveyed to the hospital ward and tenderly cared for. Three guards in one of the offices saw a man whom they supposed to be Ogbot pass from the prison shortly after twelve, and the mortified chief admitted that someone had gone through his private apartment. As the prisoner had taken Ogbot's keys he experienced little difficulty in getting outside the gates, but, vowed Dangloss stormily, he should be recaptured if it required the efforts of all the policemen in Adelweiss. With this very brave declaration in mind he dispatched men to search every street and every alley, every cellar and every attic in the city. Messengers were sent to all towns in the districts, armed possies scoured the valley and the surrounding forests, explored the caves and brush heaps for miles around. The chagrin of the grim old captain, who had never lost a prisoner, was pitiful to behold. The forenoon was half over before Harry Anguish heard of his friend's escape. To say that he was paralyzed would be putting it much too mildly. There is no language that can adequately describe his sensations. Forgetting his bodyguard he tore down the street toward the prison, wild with anxiety and doubt. He met Baron Dangloss, tired and worn, near the gate, but the old officer could tell him nothing except what he had learned from Ogbot. Of one thing there could be no doubt, Laurie was gone. Not knowing where to turn what to do, Anguish raced off to the castle, his bodyguard having located him in the meantime. He was more in need of their protection than ever. At the castle gates he encountered a party of raving Axvanians, crazed with anger over the flight of the man whose life they had thirsted for so ravenously. Had he been unprotected, Anguish would have fared badly at their hands, for they were outspoken in their assertions that he had aided Laurie in the escape. One fiery little fellow cast a glove in the American space and expected a change. Anguish snapped his fingers and sarcastically invited the insulter to meet him next winter in a battle with snowballs, upon which the aggressor blasphemed in three languages and three hundred gestures. Anguish and his men passed inside the gates, which had been barred to the others, and struck out rapidly for the castle doors. The princess Yetive was sleeping soundly, peacefully, with a smile on her lips, when her prime minister sent an excited attendant to inform her of the prisoner's escape. She sat up in bed, and with her hands clasped about her knees, sleepily announced that she would receive him after her coffee was served. Then she thought of the wild sweet ride to the monastery, the dangerous return, her entrance to the castle through the secret subterranean passage, and the safe arrival in her own room. All had gone well, and he was safe. She smiled quaintly as she glanced at the bundle of clothes on the floor, blue and black and red. They had been removed in the underground passage, and a loose gown substituted, but she had carried them to her chamber with the intention of placing them for the time being in the old mahogany chest that held so many of her childhood treasures. Springing out of bed she opened the chest, cast them into its depths, turned and removed the key which had always remained in the lock. Then she summoned her mates. Her uncle and aunt, the Countess Dagmar, whose merry brown eyes were so full of pretended dismay that the princess could scarcely restrain her smile, and Gaspon, the minister of finance, were awaiting her appearance. She heard the Count's story of the escape marvelled at the princess's audacity, and firmly announced that everything possible should be done to apprehend him. With a perplexed frown on her brown, adubious twist to her lips, she said, I suppose I must offer a reward. Certainly exclaimed her uncle. About fifty gavos, uncle? Fifty, cried the two men aghast. Isn't that enough? For the murderer of a prince demanded Gaspon, it would be absurd, Your Highness, he is a most important person. Quite so, he is a most important person. I think I'll offer five thousand gavos. More like it, he is worth that at least, agreed uncle Kaspar. Beyond a doubt sanctioned Gaspon. I am glad you do not consider me extravagant, she said demurely. You may have the placards printed at once, she went on addressing the treasurer, say that a reward of five thousand gavos will be paid to the person who delivers Grenfell Laurie to me. Would it not be better to say, Delivers Grenfell Laurie to the tower, submitted Gaspon? You may say, to the undersigned, and sign my name, reflectively. Very well, Your Highness, they shall be struck off this morning. In large type, Gaspon, you must catch him if you can, she added, he is a very dangerous man, and royalty needs protection. With this wise bit of caution she dismissed the subject, and began to talk of the storm. As the two young plotters were hastening up the stairs later on, an attendant approached and informed the princess that Mr. Anguish requested an audience. Conduct him to my boudoir, she said, her eyes sparkling with triumph. In sight she and the Countess laughed like children over the reward that had been so solemnly ordered. Five thousand gavos cried Dagmar, leaning back in her chair, to emphasise the delight she felt. What a joke! Tap-tap came a knock on the door, and in the same instant it flew open, for Mr. Anguish was in a hurry. As he plunged into their presence, a pair of heels found the floor spasmodically. Oh, I beg pardon, he gasped, as if about to fly. May I come in? Not unless you go outside. You are advancing to meet him. The Countess was very still and sedate. I am so glad you have come. Heard about Laurie, the fool is out and gone, he cried, unable to restrain himself. Without a word she dragged him to the divan, and between them he soon had the whole story poured into his ears, the princess on one side, the Countess on the other. You are a wonder, he exclaimed, when all the facts were known to him. He executed a little dance of approval, entirely out of place in the boudoir of a princess, but very much in touch and sentiment. But what's to become of me, he asked, after cooling down. I have no excuse for remaining in grouse dark, and I don't like to leave him here, either. Oh, I have made plans for you, said she. You are to be held as hostage. What? I thought of your predicament last night, and here is the solution. This very day I shall issue an order forbidding you the right to leave Adelweiss. You will not be in prison, but your every movement is to be watched. A strong guard will have you under surveillance, and any attempt to escape your friend will result in your confinement and his detection. In this way you may stay here until the time comes to fly. The Axvain people must be satisfied, you know. Your freedom will not be disturbed, you may come and go as you like, but you are ostensibly a prisoner. By detaining you forcibly, we gain a point, for you are needed here. There is no other way in which you can explain a continued presence in grouse dark. Is not my plan a good one? He gazed in admiration at her flushed cheeks and glowing eyes. It is beyond comparison, he said, rising and bowing low. So shrewd is this plan that you make me a hostage forever. I shall not escape its memory if I live to be a thousand. And so it was settled, in this pretty drama of deception, that Harry Anguish was to be held in Adelweiss's hostage. At parting she said, seriously, a great deal depends on your discretion, Mr. Anguish. My guards will watch your every action, for they are not in the secret, except in Quinox, and any attempt on your part to communicate with Grenfell Laurie will be fatal. Trust me, your Highness, I have had much instruction in wisdom to-day. I hope we shall see you often," she said. Daily, as a hostage, he replied, glancing towards the Countess. That means until the other man is captured, said that young lady saucily. As he left the castle, he gazed at the distant building in the sky, and wondered how it had ever been approached in the carriage. She had not told him that a load drove for miles over winding roads that led to the monastery up a gentler slope from the rear. The next afternoon after the new excitement, Prince Bolares of Axfane, mad with grief and rage, came thundering into the city with his court at his heels. His wrath had been increased until it resembled a tornado when he read the reward placard in the uplands. Not until then did he know that the murderer had escaped, and that vengeance might be denied him. After viewing the body of Lorenz as it lay in the sarcophagus of the royal palace, where it had been born at the command of the Princess Yetive, he demanded audience with his sons betrothed, with fear that she prepared for the trying ordeal, an interview with the grief-crazed old man. The castle was in a furor, its halls soon thronged with diplomatists, and there was an ugly sense of trouble in the air, suggestive of the explosion which follows the igniting of a powder magazine. The slim, pale-faced princess met the burly old ruler in the Grand Council chamber. He and his nobles had been kept waiting but a short time. Within a very few minutes after they had been conducted to the dignitaries, the fair ruler came into the room and advanced between the bowing-line of courtiers to the spot where sat the man who held grouse-dark in his grasp. A slender, graceful figure in black, proud, and serious, she walked unhesitatingly to the old man's side. If she feared him, if she was impressed by his power, she did not show it. The little drama had two stars of equal magnitude, neither of whom acknowledged supremacy in the other. Voleroz arose as she drew near, his gaunt face black and friendly. She extended her hand graciously, and he, a prince for all his wrath, touched his trembling lips to its white smooth back. I come in grief and sadness to your court, most glorious yet eve. My burden of sorrow is greater than I can bear, he said hoarsely. Would that I could give you consolation, she said, sitting in the chair reserved for her use at Council gatherings. Alas, it grieves me that I can offer nothing more than words. You are the one he would have made his wife, said sitting beside her. He looked into her deep blue eyes and tears sprung to his own. His voice failed him, and long moments passed before he could control his emotion. Truly she pitied him in his bereavement. Then followed a formal discussion of the crime, and the arrangement of details in connection with the removal of the dead prince from grass-dark to his own land. These matters settled. Voleroz said that he had heard of the murderer's escape, and asked what effort was happened, expressing humiliation over the fact that her officers had been unable to accomplish anything, adding that she did not believe the fugitive could get away from grass-dark safely without her knowledge. The old prince was working himself back into the violent raids that had been temporarily subdued, and at last broke out in a vicious denunciation of the carelessness that had allowed the man to escape. He first insisted that Dangloss and his incompetent assistants be thrown into prison for life, or executed for criminal negligence. Then followed the life of Harry Anguish as an aider and a better in the flight of the murderer. In both cases the princess firmly refused to take the action demanded. She warmly defended Dangloss and his men, and announced in no uncertain tones that she would not order the arrest of the remaining American. Then she acquainted him with her intention to detain Anguish as hostage, and to have his every action watched in the hope that a clue to the whereabouts of the fugitive might be discovered, providing of course that the friend knew anything about her. The Duke of Mizzrocks and others loudly joined in the cry for Anguish's arrest, but she bravely held out against them, and in the end curtly informed them that the American, whom she believed to be innocent of all complicity in the escape, should be subjected to no indignity other than detention in the city under guard as she had ordered. I insist that this man be cast into prison at once, snarled the white-lipped Bolaus. Her eyes flashed and her bosom heaved with anger. You are not at liberty to commanding Grouse Stark, Prince Bolaus, she said, slowly and distinctly. I am ruler here. The heart of every Grouse Stark nobleman leapt with pride at this daring rebuff Bolaus gasped, and was speechless for some seconds. You shall not be ruler long, madam, he said malevolently, significantly. But I am ruler now, and as such I ask your Highness to withdraw from my castle. I did not know that I was to submit to these threats and insults, or I should not have been kind enough to grant you an audience, Prince, there you are. When I came to this room it was to give you my deepest sympathy, and to receive yours, not to be insulted. You have lost a son, I, my betrothed. It ill becomes you, Prince Bolaus, to vent your vindictiveness upon me. My men are doing all in their power to capture the man who has so unfortunately escaped from our clutches, and I shall not allow you, or anyone else, to dictate the manner in which we are to proceed. She uttered these words cuttingly, and at their conclusion arose to leave the room. Bolaus began with conflicting emotions. There was no mistaking her indignation, so he deemed it policy to bottle his wrath, overlook the most offensive rebuke his vanity had ever received, and submit what was evidently a just decision. Stay, your Highness, I submit to your proposition regarding the other stranger, although I doubt its wisdom. There is but one in whom I am really interested, the one who killed my son. There is to be no cessation in the effort to find him I am to understand. I have a proposition. There are three hundred of my bravest soldiers. I offer them to you in order that you may better prosecute the search. They will remain here, and you may use them in any way you see fit. The Duke of Mizzrocks will linger in Adelweiss, and with him you and yours may always confer. He also is at your command. This man must be retaken. I swear by all that is above and below me, he shall be found. If I hunt the world over to accomplish that end, he shall not escape my vengeance, and hark you to this. On the twentieth of next month I shall demand payment of the debt due, Axvain. So deeply is my heart set on the death of this Grenfell lorry that I agree now, before all these friends of ours, that if he be captured and executed in my presence before the twentieth of November, Grausdach shall be granted the extension of time that would have obtained in the event of your espousal with the man he killed. You hear this offer all. It is bound by my sacred word of honour. His death before the twentieth gives Grausdach ten years of grace. If he is still in charge, I shall claim my own. This offer, I believe most gracious yet eve, will greatly encourage your people in the effort to capture the man we seek. The princess heard the remarkable proposition with face deathly pale, heart scarcely beating. Again was the duty to Grausdach thrust cruelly upon her. She could save the one only by sacrificing the other. We will do all in our power to prove ourselves grateful for your magnanimous offer, she said. As she passed from the room followed by the circle, she heard the increasing buzz of excitement on all sides, the unrestrained expressions of amazement and relief from her own subjects, the patronising comments of the visitors all conspiring to sound her doom. Which way was she to turn in order to escape from herself? We must catch this man yet eve, said Helfont on the stairway. There is no alternative. Accept our inability to do so, she murmured. In that moment she determined that Grenfell Laurie should never be taken with Grausdach's penalty to pay. The next day, amidst pomp and splendour, the Prince of Axvane started on his journey to the land of his forefathers to the tombs of his ancestors, all Adelweiss witnessing the imposing procession that made its way through the north gates of the town. Far up on the mountain top a man, looking from his little window, saw the black snake-like procession wind away across the plain to the northward, losing itself in their distant hills. End of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of Grausdach This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please go to LibriVox.org Reading by Mary Rodie Grausdach by George Bar McCutcheon Chapter 21 From a Window Above The longest month in Laura's life was that which followed his power. To his impatient mind the days were irksome weeks. The cold monastery was worse than a prison. He looked from its windows as a convict looks through his bars, always hoping, always disappointed. With each of the infrequent visits of Captain Quinex his heart leaped at the prospect of liberty only to sink deeper in despair upon the receipt of emphatic, though finally assurances that the time had not yet come for him to leave the haven of safety into which he had been thrust by loving hands. From his little window he could see the active city below with the adored castle. To his nostrils came the breath of summer from the coveted valley filling him with almost insupportable longing and desire. Cold were the winds that swept about the city home. Gasly gruesome the nights pallid and desolate the days. Out of the world was he dreary and heart-sick while at his feet stretched life and joy and love in their rarest habiliments. How he endured the suspense, the torture of uncertainty, the craving for the life that others were enjoying he could not understand. Big, strong and full of vigor his inactivity was maddening. This virtual captivity grew more and more intolerable with each succeeding day. Would they never take him from the tomb in which he was existing? A hundred times had he, in his desperation, concluded to flee from the monastery come what might and to trust himself to the joyous world below. But the ever-present, the waning spark of wisdom won out against the fierce, aggressive folly that mutinied within his hungry soul. He knew that she was guarding him with loving, tender care and that when the proper time came the shackles of danger would drop and his way would be cleared. Still there was the longing, the craving, the loneliness day after day, night after night went by and the end seemed no nearer. Awake or asleep he dreamed of her his heart and mind always full of that one rich blessing her love. At times he was mad with the desire to know what she was doing, what she was thinking and what was being done for her down there in that busy world. Lying on his pallet sitting in the narrow window pacing the halls or wondering about the cold courtyards he thought always of her hoping and despairing with equal fervor. The one great question that made his imprisonment his inactivity so irksome was, was he to possess the treasure he longed so much to call his own? In those tantalizing moments of despair he felt that if he were free and near her he could win the fight against all odds. As it was he knew not what mischief was working against his chances in the world from which he was barred. The prior was kind to him. Everything that could be done to provide comfort where comfort was a stranger was employed in his behalf. He lived well until his appetite deserted him. He had no questions try answer for no one asked why he was there. He had no danger to fear for no foe knew where he lived. From the city came the promise of ultimate escape verbal messages from those who loved him news of the world all at long intervals however. Quinex's visits were like sunbeams to him. The dashing captain came only at night and in disguise. He bore verbal messages a wise precaution against mishap. Not once did he bring a word of love from the princess an omission which caused the fugitive deep misery until a ray of intelligence showed him that she could not give to Quinex the speeches of the heart proud woman that she was. Angish sent words of cheer with commands to be patient. He never failed to tell him through Quinex that he was doing all in his power to find the real murderer and that he had secret cooperation of the old police captain. Of course the hidden man heard of the reward and the frenzied search prosecuted by both principalities. He laughed hysterically over the deception that was being practiced by the blue-eyed slender woman who held the key to the situation in her keeping. It was not until the night of the 18th of November that Quinex confirmed his fears by telling him of the conditions imposed by Prince Bola Rose. For some reason the young officer had deceived Lori in regard to the all-important matter. The American repeatedly had begged for information about the fatal twentieth, but on all previous occasions his visitor doggedly maintained a show of ignorance bowing that he knew nothing of the circumstances. Finally Lori, completely out of patience and determined to know the true state of affairs, soundly abraded him and sent word to the Princess that if she did not acquaint him with the inside facts he would leave the monastery and find them out for himself. This authoritative message brought Quinex back two nights later with the full story of the exciting conference. She implored him to remain where he was and asked his forgiveness for having kept the ugly truth from him. Quinex added to his anguish by hastily informing him that there was a possibility of succor from another principality. Prince Gabriel, he said, not knowing that he was cutting his listener to the heart, was daily with the Princess and it was believed that he was ready to loan Grouse-Dark sufficient money to meet the demand of Bola Rose. The mere thought that Gabriel was with her aroused the fiercest resentment in Laurie's breast. He writhed beneath the knowledge that she was compelled to endure his advances, his protestations of love, his presence. As he paced his narrow room distractedly a horrid thought struck him so violently that he cried aloud and staggered against the wall his eyes fixed on the face of the startled soldier. Perhaps she might submit to Gabriel, for in submitting she could save not only Grouse-Dark but the man she loved. The sacrifice, but no, he would not believe that such affliction could come to her. Mary Gabriel, the man who had planned to seize her and make her his wanton, he ground his teeth and glared at Quinex as if he were the object of his hatred, his vicious jealousy. The captain stepped backward in sudden alarm. Don't be afraid, Laurie cried savagely. I'm not crazy. It's your news, your news. Does she expect me to stay up here while that state of affairs exists down there? Let me see. This is the 18th. And day after tomorrow is the 20th. There is no time to be lost, Captain Quinex. I shall accompany you when you leave St. Valentine's tonight. Impossible! exclaimed Quinex. I cannot allow that, sir. My instructions are to hang your instructions. All the instructions on Earth can't compel me to sit up here and see this sacrifice made. I am determined to see her and put a stop to the whole affair. It is what I feared would come to pass. She is willing to sacrifice herself or half her kingdom, one or the other, in order that I may escape. It's not right, Captain. It's not right. And I'm going to stop it. How soon can we leave this place? He was pacing the floor, happy in the decision he had reached, notwithstanding the danger it promised. You are mad, sir, to talk like this. Protested the other, despairingly. Edelweiss swarms with axe-fane soldiers. Our own men are on the alert to win the great reward. You cannot go to the city. When a safe time comes you will be taken from this place into the mountains instead of through the city and given escort to Dessas, one hundred miles east. That step will not be taken until the way is perfectly clear. I tell you, sir, I do not hope to escape if you leave the monastery now. The mountains are full of soldiers every night. I didn't say anything about an escape, did I? On the contrary, I want to give myself up to her. Then she can have Gabriel thrown over the castle wall and say to Bolarose, Here is your man. I've gained the ten years of grace. That's the point, Quinex. And I want to say to you now I'm going whether you consent or refuse. I'd just assume being jailed down there is up here anyhow. The only favor I may have to ask of you is that you do the best you can to get me safely to her. I must talk with her before I go back to the tower. God help me, sir. I cannot take you to her, groaned Quinex, trying to control his nervous apprehension. I have sworn to her that I will keep you from all harm and it would be to break faith with her if I led you into that mob down there. I respect your oath, my friend, but I am going just the same. I'll see her, too, if I have to shoot every man who attempts to prevent me. I'm desperate, man, desperate. She's everything in the world to me and I'll die before I'll see her suffer. Quinex calmly placed his hands on the other shoulders and, looking him in the eye, said quietly, her suffering now is nothing compared to what it will be if you go back to the tower. You forget how much pain she is enduring to avoid that very suffering. If you care for my mistress, sir, add no weight to the burden she already carries. Remain here as she desires. You can be of no service down there. I implore you to be considerate. It was an eloquent appeal and it struck home. Laurie wavered, but his resolution would not weaken. He argued, first with Quinex, then with himself, finally returning to the reckless determination to brave all and save her from herself. The soldier begged him to listen to reason, implored him to reconsider, at last turning in anger upon the stubborn American with a torrent of maledictions. Laurie heard him through and quietly, unswervingly announced that he was ready to leave the monastery at any time his guide cared to depart. Quinex gave up in despair at this, and hopelessly at the man he had sworn to protect who insisted on placing his head in the lion's jaw. He sat down at the window and murmured dejectedly, What will she say to me? What will she say to me? I shall exonerate you, captain. She can have no fault to find with your action after I have told her how loyal you are and how, how, how unreasonable I am, said Laurie kindly. You may never live to tell her this, sir. Then what is to become of me? I could not look her in the face again. I could only die. Don't be so faint-hearted, Quinex, cried Laurie, stimulated by the desire to be with her, recognizing no obstacle that might throat him in the effort. We'll get through, safe and sound, and we'll untangle a few complications before we reach the end of the book. Brace up, for God's sake, for mine, for hers, for your own. I must get to her before everything is lost. My God, the fear that she may marry Gabriel will drive me mad if I am left here another night. Come, let us prepare to start. We must notify the abbot to go. I can be ready in five minutes. Ya gods, think of what she may be sacrificing for me. The distracted captain gloomily watched the nervous preparations for departure, seeing his own disgrace ahead as plainly as if it had already come upon him. Laurie soon was attired in the guard's uniform he had worn from the tower a month before. His pistol was in his pocket, and the bunch of violets she had sent to him that very night was pinned defiantly above his heart. Gwinnick smiled when he observed this bit of sentiment, and grimly informed him that he was committing an act prohibited in Dangloss's disciplinary rules. Officers on duty were not to wear nosegays. Dangloss will not see my violets. Anyway, the moon shines brightly, doesn't it? It is almost as light as day. Our trip is made extremely hazardous for that reason. I am sorely afraid, rashed sir, that we cannot reach the castle unseen. We must go about it boldly, that's all. Has it occurred to you, sir, that you are placing me in a terrible position? What excuse can I have, a captain of the guard for slinking about at night with a man whom I am supposed to be tracking to earth? Discovery will brand me as a traitor. I cannot deny the charge without exposing her royal highness. Laurie turned cold. He had not thought of this alarming possibility, but his ready wit came again to his relief, and with bright, confident eyes away the obstacle. If discovered, you art once to proclaim me a prisoner, take the credit for having caught me, and claim the reward. In that case you will not go to the castle, but to the tower. Not if you obey orders. The offer of reward says that I must be delivered to the undersigned. You will take me to her and not to the tower. Quinex smiled and threw up his hands as if unable to combat the quick logic of his companion. Together they made their way to the prior cell, afterward to the abbot's apartment. It was barely eleven o'clock and he had not retired. He questioned Quinex closely, bade Laurie farewell and blessed him, sent his benediction to the princess and ordered them conducted to the gates. Ten minutes later they stood outside the wall, the great gates having been closed sharply behind them. Above them hung the silvery moon, full and bright, throwing its refulgent splendor over the mountaintop with all the brilliancy of day. Never had Laurie seen the moon so accursedly bright. Gadd, it is like day, he exclaimed. As I told you, sir, agreed the other, reproof in his voice. We must wait until the moon goes down. It won't do to risk it now. Can we not go somewhere to keep warm for an hour or so? There is a cave farther down the mountain. Shall we take the chance of reaching it? By all means I can't endure the cold after being cooped up for so long. They followed the winding road to the distance down the mountain, coming at last to a point where a small path branched off. It was the path leading down the side of the steep overlooking the city, and upon that side no wagon road could be built. Seven thousand feet below stretched the sleeping moonlit city. Standing out on the brow of the mountain, they seemed to be the only living objects in the world. They were kind of life above, below, or beside them. How long should we be in making the descent? asked Laurie, a sort of terror possessing him, as he looked from the dizzy height into the ghost-like dimness below. Three hours if you are strong. And how are we to get into the castle? I hadn't thought of that. There is a secret entrance, maliciously enjoying the insistent one's acknowledgement of weakness. If we reach it safely, I can take you underground to the old dungeons beneath the castle. It may be some time before you can enter the halls above, for the secret of that passage is guarded jealously. There are but five people who know of its existence. Great confidence is placed in you, I see, worthily, I am sure. How is it that you are trusted so implicitly? I inherit the confidence. The captain of the guard is born to his position. My ancestors held the place before me, and not one betrayed the trust. The first born in the last ten generations has been the captain of the guard in the royal palace, possessing all its secrets. I shall be the first to betray the trust, and for a man who is nothing to me. I suppose you consider me selfish and vile for placing you in this position," said Laurie, somewhat contritely. No, I have begun the task, and I will complete it, come what may," answered the captain, firmly. You are the only being in the world for whom I would sacrifice your honor voluntarily. Save one. I have wondered why you were never tempted to turn traitor to the princess and claim the fortune that is represented in the reward. Not for five million gabos, sir. By George, you are a faithful lot. Dangloss, aload, an augbot, and yourself, four honest men to whom she trusts her life, her honor. You belong to a rare species, and I am proud to know you. The selfie-couple found the cave and spent an hour or more within its walls, saling forth after the tardy darkness had crept down over the mountain and into the peaceful valley. Then began the torturous descent. Quinex and the lead they walked, crawled, and ran down the narrow path, bruised, scratched, and aching by the time they reached the topmost of the summer houses along the face of the mountain. After this, walking was easier, but stealthiness made their progress slow. Frequently, as they neared the base, they were obliged to dodge behind houses or to drop into the ditches by the roadside in order to avoid patrolling police-guards or ax-fane stations. Lori marveled at the vigil the soldiers were keeping, and was somewhat surprised to learn from the young captain that prevailing opinion located him in or near the city. For this reason, while other men were scouring Vienna, Paris, and even London, hordes of vengeful men surged day and night for a clue in the city of Edelweiss. The fugitive began to realize how determined was the effort to capture him and how small the chance of acquittal if he were taken. To his fevered imagination the enmity of the whole world was shaping itself against him. The air was charged with hatred, the ground with vengeance, the trees and rocks with denouncing shadows, while from the darkness behind merciless hands seemed to be stretched forth to clutch him. One simple loyal love stood alone antagonistic to the universal desire to crush and kill. A fragile woman was shielding him sturdily, unwaveringly against all these mighty forces. His heart thrilled with devotion. His arm tingled with the joy of clasping her once more to his breast. His wistful eyes hung upon the flickering light far off in the west. Quinex had pointed it out to him, saying that it burned in the bed chamber of the Princess Yativa. Since the memorable night that took him to the cell in St. Valentine's this light had burned from dusk to daylight. Lovingly, faithfully it had shown for him through all those dreary nights a lonely signal from one heart to another. At last, stiff and sore, they stole into the narrow streets of Edelweiss. Laurie glanced back and shivered, although the air was warm and balmy. He had truly been out of the world. Not until this instant did he fully appreciate the dread that possesses a man who is being hunted down by tireless foes. Never did man's heart to go out in gratitude and trustfulness as did his toward the strong defender whose sinewy arm he clasped as if in terror. You understand what this means to me? said Quinex gravely as they paused to rest. She will call me your murderer and curse me for my miserable treason. I am the first to dishonor the name of Querenox. End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 of Grouse Dark This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please go to LibriVox.org Reading by Mary Rodie Grouse Dark by George Barr McCutcheon Chapter 22 Grenfell-Lorries Faux The Princess Yativa had not flinched a hair's breath from the resolution formed on that stormy night when she sacrificed pride and duty on the altar of love and justice. Prince Barrow's ultimatum overwhelmed her but she arose from the wreckage that was thrown about her conscience and remained loyal, steadfast and true to the man in the monastery. To save his life was all she could hope to accomplish and that she was bound to do at any cost. She could be nothing to him not even friend. So long as he lived he would be considered the murderer of Lawrence and until the end a price would hang over his head. She, Princess of Grouse Dark had offered a reward for him. For that reason he was always to be a fugitive and she, least of all hoped to see him. There had been a brief happy dream but it was swept away by the unrelenting rush of reality. The mere fact that she and she alone was responsible for his flight placed between them an unsurmountable barrier. Clinging tenaciously to her purpose she was still cognizant of the debt she owed the trusting, loving people of Grouse Dark. One word from her could avert the calamity that was to fall with the dawn of the fatal twentieth. All Grouse Dark blindly trusted and adored her to undeceive them would be to administer a shock from which they could never recover. Her heart was bursting with love for Lori. Her mind was overflowing with tender thoughts that could not be sent to him and trusted to the honor of Quinex, her messenger. Hour after hour she sat in her window and marveled at the change that had been wrought in her life by this strong American. Her eyes fixed on the faraway monastery. Her heart still and cold and fearful. She had no confident in this miserable affair of the heart. Others near and dear had surmised confirmed. A diffidence, strange and proud, forbade the confession of her frailty, sweet, pure and womanly though it was. She could not forget that she was a princess. The Countess Dagmar was peaked by her reticence and sought in manifold ways to draw forth the voluntary a bowel with its divine tears and blushes. Harry Angish, who spent much of his time at the castle and who invariably deserted his guards at the portals, was as eager as the Countess to have her commit herself irretrievably by word or sign, but he too was disappointed. He was also considerably puzzled. Her highness's manner was at all times frank and untroubled. She was apparently light-hearted. Her cheeks had lost none of their freshness. Her eyes were bright. Her smile was quick and merry. Her wit unclouded. Receptions, drawing-rooms and state functions found her always vivacious, so much so that her court wondered not a little. Daily reports brought no news of the fugitive, but while others were beginning to acquire the haggard air of worry and uncertainty, she was calmly resigned. The fifteenth, the sixteenth, the seventeenth, the eighteenth, and now the nineteenth of November came and still the princess revealed no market sign of distress. Could they have seen her in the privacy of her chamber on those dreary maddening nights they would not have known their sovereign? Heavy-hearted and with bowed heads the people of Grouse-Dark saw the nineteenth fade in the night, the breaking of which would bring the crush of pride, the end of power. At court there was the silent dread and the dying hope that relief might come at the last hour. Men with pale faces and tearful eyes wandered through the ancient castle, speechless, nervous, miserable. Brave soldiers crept about, shorn of pride and filled with woe. Citizens sat and stared aimlessly for hours, thinking of not but the disaster so near at hand and so unavoidable. The whole nation surged as if in the last throes of death. Tomorrow the potency of Grouse-Dark was to die. Its domain was to be cleft in its domain, disgraced before the world. And on the throne of this afflicted land sat the girl, proud, tender, courageous Yativa. To all Grouse-Dark she was its greatest, its most devoted sufferer. Upon her the blow fell heaviest. There she sat, merciful and merciless, her slim white hand ready to sign the shameful deed of her, ready to sell her kingdom for her love. Beneath her throne, beneath her feet cowered six souls, possessors of the secret. Of all the people in the world they alone knew the heart of the Princess Yativa. They alone felt with her the weight of the sacrifice. With wistful eyes, fainting hearts, and voiceless lips, they watched the day approach knowing that she would not speak and that Grouse-Dark was doomed. Loyal conspirators against that which they loved better than their lives, their country, were Dangloss, Quenex, Alode, Ogbot, and Dagmar. Tomorrow would see the north torn from the south, the division of families, the rending of homes, the bursting of hearts. She sanctioned all this because she loved him and because he had done no wrong. Aware of her financial troubles and pursuing the advantage that his rival's death had opened to him, Prince Gabriel of Dawesbergen renewed his ardent suit. Scares had the body of the murdered Prince left the domain before he made his presence marked. She was compelled to receive his visits, distasteful as they were, but she would not hear his propositions. Knowing that he was in truth the mysterious Michael who had planned her abduction, she feared and despised him, yet dared make no public denunciation. As Dawesbergen was too powerful to be antagonised at this critical time, she was constantly forced to submit to the most trying and repulsive of ordeals. Tax and policy were required to control the violent, hot-blooded young ruler from the south. At times she dispaired and longed for the quiet of the tomb. At other times she was consumed by the fires of resentment, rebelling against the ignominy to which she was subjected. Worse than all to her were the insolent overtures of Gabriel, how she endured she could not tell, the tears of humiliation shed after his departure on the occasion of each visit, revealed the bitterness that was torturing this proud martyr. He had come at once to renew his offer of a loan, knowing her helplessness. Day after day he haunted the castle, persistent in his efforts to induce her to accept his proposition. So fierce was his passion, so implacable his desire that he went among the people of Edelweiss, presenting to them his proposal, hoping thereby to add public feeling to his claims. He tried to organize a committee of citizens to go before the princess with the petition that his offer be accepted and the country saved. But Grausdark was loyal to its princess, not one of her citizens listened to the wily prince, and more than one told him or his emissaries that the loss of the whole kingdom was preferable to the marriage he desired. The city sickened at the thought. His last and master stroke in the struggle to persuade came on the afternoon of the 19th, at an hour when all Edelweiss was in gloom and when the princess was taxed to the point where the mask of courage was so frail that she could scarce hide her bleeding soul behind it. While Rose of Axe Fane, to quote from the Noose Dispatch, was in Edelweiss a guest with a few of his lords in the castle. North of the city were encamped five thousand men. He had come prepared to cancel the little obligation of fifteen years standing. With the hated creditor in the castle, his influence hovering above the town, the populace distracted by the thoughts of the day to come, Gabriel played what he considered his best card. He asked for and obtained a final interview with Yatiba, not in her Boudoir or in her reception room, but in the throne room where she was to meet Balarose in the morning. The princess, seated on her throne, awaited the approach of the resourceful tenacious suitor. He came and behind him strode eight stalwart men bearing a long ironbound chest, the result of his effort with his bankers. Yatiba and her nobles looked in surprise on this unusual performance. Dropping to his knee before the throne, Gabriel said his voice trembling slightly with eagerness and fear. Your Highness, tomorrow we'll see the turning point in the history of two, possibly three nations, Grousdark, Axe-Fayne, and Dospagin. I have included my own land, because its ruler is most vitally interested. He would serve and save Grousdark as you know, and he would serve Axe-Fayne. It is in my power to give you aid at this last trying hour, and I implore you to listen to my words of sincerest friendship, yes adoration. Tomorrow you are to pay the Prince Balarose over twenty-five million gobbos, or relinquish the entire north half of your domain. I understand the lamentable situation. You can raise no more than fifteen millions, and you are helpless. He will grant no extension of time. You know what I have proffered before. I come today to repeat my friendly offer and to give unquestioned bond as to my ability to carry it out. If you agree to accept the loan I extend, ten million gobbos, for fifteen years at the usual rate of interest, you can, on tomorrow morning, place in the hand of Axe-Fayne when he makes his formal demand the full amount of your indebtedness in gold. Ricardo, open the chest. An attendant threw open the lid of the chest. It was filled with gold coins. This box contains one hundred thousand gobbos. There are, in your halls, nine boxes holding nine times as much as you see here, and there are nine times as much all told on the way. This is an evidence of my good faith. Here is the gold, pay boroughs, and, O. Gabriel, the greatest happiness that could come to him. There was a dead silence after this theatrical action. The interest on this loan is not all you ask, I understand," said Fr. Font slowly, his black eyes glittering. You ask something that Groustar cannot and will not barter the hand of its sovereign. If you are willing to make this loan, naming a fair rate of interest, withdrawing your proposal of marriage, we can come to an agreement. Gabriel's eyes deadened with disappointment, his breast heaved and his fingers stretched. I have the happiness of your sovereign at heart as much as my own," he said. She shall never want for devotion, she shall never know a pain. You are determined then to adhere to your original proposition," demanded the count. She would have married Lawrence to save her land, to protect her people. Am I not as you cannot give," began Gabriel viciously, but yetiva arose, and with gleaming eyes and flushing cheeks interrupted him. Go, I will not hear you, not one word. He passed from the room without another word. Her court saw her standing straight and immovable, her white face transfigured. End of Chapter 22 Chapter 23 of Groestark This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Groestark by George Barr McCutcheon Chapter 23 The Visitor at Midnight Below the castle and its distressed occupants, in a dark, damp little room, Grenfell Laurie lived a year in a day. On the night of the 18th, or rather near the break of dawn on the 19th, Captain Quinex guided him from the dangerous streets of Idolize to the secret passage, and he was safe for the time being. The entrance to the passage was through a skillfully hidden opening in the wall that enclosed the park. A stone doorway so cleverly constructed that it defied detection, led to a set of steps which, in turn, took one to a long narrow passage. This ended in a stairway fully a quarter of a mile from its beginning. Ascending the stairway, it came to a secret panel through which, by pressing a spring, the interior of the castle was reached. The location of the panel was in one of the recesses in the wall of the chapel near the altar. It was in this chapel that Yetith exchanged her mail attire for a loose gown weeks before, and the servant who saw her at an unearthly hour in the morning, believed she had gone there to seek surcease from the troubles which oppressed her. Laurie was impatient to rush forth from his place of hiding, and to end all suspense, but Quinnux demured. He begged the eager American to remain in the passage until the night of the nineteenth. When all things going well, he might be so fortunate as to reach the princess without being seen. It was the secret hope of the guilty captain that his charge could be induced by the princess to return to the monastery to avoid complications. He promised to inform her highness of his presence in the underground room and to arrange for a meeting. The miserable fellow could not find courage to confess his disobedience to his trusting mistress. Many times during the day, she had seen him hovering near, approaching and then retreating and had wondered not a little at his peculiar manner. And so it was that Laurie chafed and writhed through a long day of suspense and agony. Quinnux had brought to the little room some candles, food and bedding, that he utilized only the former. The hours went by and no summons called him to her side. He was dying with the desire to hold her in his arms and to hear her voice again. Pacing to and fro like a caged animal, he recalled the ride in West Virginia, the scene in her bed chamber, the day in the throne room and, more delicious than all, the trip to the monastery. In his dreams, waking or sleeping, he had seen the slim soldier had heard the muffled voice and had felt the womanly caresses. His brain now was in a whirl, busy with thoughts of love and fear, distraught with anxiety for her and for himself, bursting with the awful consequences of the hour that was upon them. What was to become of him? What was to be the end of this drama? What would the night, the morrow bring about? He looked back and saw himself as he was a year ago in Washington before she came into his life and then wondered could ready be he who was going through these strange, improbable scenes, these sensations? It was nine o'clock in the evening when Quinex returned to the little room. The waiting one had looked at his watch a hundred times, had run insanely up and down the passage in quest at the secret exit, had shouted aloud in the frenzy of his aspiration. Had you seen her? He cried, grasping the newcomer's hand. I had, but before God I could not tell her what I had done. Your visit will be a surprise. I fear a shock. Then how am I to see her, Phil? Am I to wait here forever? Have patience. I will take you to her now. Tomorrow morning she signs away the northern provinces and her instructions are that she is not to be disturbed tonight. Not even will she see the counter stagma after nine o'clock. It breaks my heart to see the sorrow that abounds in the castle tonight. Her highness insists on being alone and Vesot, the new guard, has orders to admit to her apartments. He is ill, and I have promised that a substitute shall relieve him at eleven o'clock. You are to be the substitute. Here is a part of an old uniform of mine and here is a coat that belonged to Denox, who was about your size. Please exchange the clothes you now have on for these. I apprehend no trouble in reaching her door for the household is in gloom and the halls seem barren of life. He threw the bundle on a chair and Laurie at once proceeded to don the contents. In a very short time he wore, instead of the cell keepers garments, a neat fitting uniform of the royal guard. He was trembling violently, chilled to the bone with nervousness as they began the ascent of the stairs leading to the chapel. The crisis in his life he felt was near at hand. Under the stealthy hand of Quinex the panel opened and they listened intently for some moments. There was no one in the dimly lighted chapel so they made their way to the door at the opposite end. The great organ looked down upon them and expected every instant to hear it burst forth in sounds of thunder. It seemed alive and watching their movements reproachfully. Before unlocking the door the captain pointed to a lance which stood against the wall nearby. You are to carry that lance he said briefly then he cautiously peered forth. A moment later boldly striding toward the distant stairway Laurie had been instructed to proceed without the least sign of timidity. They passed several attendants in the hall and heard Count Helfond's voice in conversation with someone in an anti-room. As they neared the broad steps who should come tripping down but Harry anguished. He saluted Quinnix and walked rapidly down the corridor evidently taking his departure after a call on the Countess. There goes your hostage said the captain grimly. It had required all of Laurie's self-possession to restrain the cry of joyful recognition. Up the staircase they went meeting several ladies and gentlemen coming down and were soon before the departments of the princess a tall guard stood in front of the Boudoir door. This is your relief Besot you may go said Quinnix and with a careless glance at the strange soldier the sick man trudged off down the hall glad to seek his bed is she there whispered Laurie dizzy and faint with expectancy. Yes this may mean your death of mine sir but you would do it will you explain to her how I came to play her false she shall know the truth good friend after I have gone 20 paces down the hall do you wrap on the door she may not admit you at first but do not give up if she bid you enter or asks your mission enter quickly and close the door it is unlocked she may swoon or scream and you must prevent either if possible in an hour I shall return and you must go back to the passage never I have come to save her and her country and I intend to do so by surrendering myself this very night I had hoped to dissuade you but sir you cannot do so tonight you forget that this visit compromises her true I had forgotten well I'll go back with you but tomorrow I am your prisoner not your friend be careful caution the captain as he moved away Laurie feverishly tapped his knuckles on the panel of the door and waited with motionless heart for the response it came not any wrapped harder a strange fear darting into his mind well came from within the voice he adored in petuous haste marked his next movement he dashed open the door sprung inside and closed it quickly she was sitting before her escrow twa writing and looked up surprised and annoyed I was not to be disturbed oh god she staggered to her feet and was in his arms before the breath of her exclamation had died away had he not supported her she would have dropped to the floor her hands her face were like ice her breast was pulse-less and there was the wildest terror in her eyes my queen he cried passionately at last I am with you don't look at me like that it is really I I could not stay away I could not permit this sacrifice of yours speak to me do not stare like that her wide blue eyes slowly swept his face pit his wonder and doubt struggling in their depths am I awake she murmured touching his face with her bewildered questioning hands is it truly you a smile illumined her face but her joy was short-lived an expression of terror came to her eyes and there was agony in the fingers that clasped his arm why do you come here she cried it is madness how and why came you to this room he laughed like a delighted boy and hostily narrated the events of the past 24 hours ending with the trick that gave him entrance to her room and all this to see me she whispered to see you and to save you I hear that Gabriel has been annoying you and that you are to give up half of the kingdom tomorrow tell me everything it is another reason for my coming sitting beside him on the deban she told of Gabriel's visit and his dismissal the outlook of the next day and then sought to convince him of the happiness it afforded her to protect him from an undeserved death he obtained for Quinex the royal pardon and lorded him to the skies so ravishing were the moments so ecstatic the sensations that possessed them that neither thought of the consequences if he were to be discovered in her room disguised as one of her guardsmen he forgot the real import of his reckless visit until she commanded him to stand erect before her that she might see what manner of soldier he was with a laugh he leaped to his feet and stood before her attention she leaned back among the cushions and surveyed him through the glowing impassioned eyes which slowly closed as if to shut out temptation you are a perfect soldier she said her lashes parting ever so slightly no more perfect than you he cried she remembered with confusion her own masquerading but it was unkind of him to remember it her allusion to his uniform turned his thoughts into the channel through which they had been surging so turbanly up to the moment that found him tapping at her door he had not told her of his determination and the task grew harder as he saw the sparkle glow brighter and brighter in her eye you are a brave soldier then she substituted it required courage to come to idol wise with hundreds of men ready to seize you at sight a pack of bloodhounds I should have been a miserable coward to stay up there while you are so bravely facing disaster alone down here I came to help you as I should do nothing dear and you only make matters worse by coming to me I have fought so hard to overcome the desire to be near you I have struggled against myself for days and days and I had won the battle when you came to pull my walls of strength down about my ears look on my desk is a letter I was writing to you no you shall not read it no one shall ever know what it contains she darted to the desk snatched up the sheets of paper and held them over the waxed taper he stood in the middle of the room a feeling of intense desolation settling down upon him how could he lose this woman tomorrow night Quinex is to take you from the monastery and conduct you to a distant city it has all been planned your friend Mr. Anguish is to meet you in three days and you are to hurry to America by way of Athens this was a letter to you in it I said many things and was trying to write farewell when you came to this room do you wonder that I was overcome with doubt and amazement, yes and horror you are in here every minute may bring discovery and that would mean death to you you are innocent but nothing could save you the proof is too strong Ms. Rox has found the man who swears he saw you enter Lorenza's room what a damnable lie cried Laurie lightly I was not near his room but you can see what means they will adopt to convict you you are doomed if caught by my men or theirs I cannot save you again you know now that I love you I would not give away half of the land that my forefathers ruled were it not true Balaras would be glad to grant ten years of grace could he but have you in his clutches and to see me you would run the risk of having all that I have planned accomplished and suffered for could you not have been content with that last goodbye at the monastery it is cruel to both of us to me especially that we must have the parting again she had gone to the Deban and now dropped limply among the cushions resting her head on her hand I was determined to see you they shall not kill me nor are you to sacrifice your father's domain worse than all I feared that you might yield to Gabriel you insult me when you say that I yielded to Lorenz because I thought at my duty and because I did not admit to myself that I loved you that Gabrielle she cried scornfully I shall worry I shall marry no man you I love but you I cannot marry it is folly to dream of it even as a possibility when you go from raw start tomorrow night you take my heart my life my soul with you I shall never see you again God help me to say this I shall never allow you I could not bear it the weakest and the strongest of God's creations is woman she started suddenly half rising did anyone see you come to my room was Quinnix sure we passed people but no one knew me I will go if you are distressed over my being here it is not that not that some spy may have seen you I have a strange fear that they suspect me and that I am being watched where is Captain Quinnix he said he would return for me in an hour the time is almost gone Howard has flown yet I will not give you up he cried sinking to his knees before her you must go back to the monastery tonight know how I pray that you may reach it in safety and you must leave this wretched country at once we see if Quinnix is outside the door be quick I am mad with the fear that you may be found here that you may be taken before you can return to St Valentine's he arose and stood looking down at the intense face all a quiver with the battle between temptation and solicitude I am not going back to St Valentine's he said slowly but it is all arranged for you to start from there tomorrow you cannot escape the city guard except through St Valentine's yet he hasn't not occurred to you that I may not wish to escape the city guard may not wish to escape the what do you mean she cried bewildered I am not going to leave idolized dearest it is my intention to surrender myself to the authorities she gazed at him in horror for a moment and then fell back with a low moan for God's sake do not say that she wailed I forbid you to think of it you cannot do this I am not to save you you are jesting I should have known he sat down and drew her to his side some moments passed before he could speak I cannot and will not permit you to make such a sacrifice for me the proposition of Balaras is known to me if you produce me for trial you are to have a 10 years extension she is plain I am no cowardly criminal and I am not afraid to face my accusers at the worst I can die but once die but once she repeated as if in a dream I came here to tell you of my decision to ask you to save your lands protect your people and to remember that I would die a thousand times to serve you and yours after all I have done after all I have done she murmured piteously no no you shall not you are more to me than all my kingdom than all my people in the world you have made me love you you have caused me to detest the throne which separates us you have made me pray that I might be a pauper but you shall not force me to destroy the might that lingers in my heart you shall not crush the hope that there may be a someday a someday someday when you will be mine he cried I will not say that but for my sake for my sake go away from this place save yourself you are all I have to live for her arms were about his neck and her imploring words went to his heart like great thrusts of pain you forget the thousands who love and trust you do they deserve to be wronged no no God how I have suffered because of them I have betrayed them have stolen their rights and made them a nation of beggars but I would not for all this nation have an innocent man condemned nor could my people ask that of me you cannot dissuade me it must be as I wish oh why does not Quinex come for you she arose and placed the floor distractedly he was revolving a selfish cowardly capitalization to love and injustice when a sharp tap was heard at the door leaping to his feet he whispered Quinex he has come for me now to get out of your room without being seen the princess yeti ran to him and placing her hands on his shoulders cried with the fierceness of despair you will go back to the monastery you will leave Grawstark for my sake he hesitated and then surrendered to the king and fate by the pathway of passion yes he cried hoarsely tap tap tap at the door Laurie took one look at the rapturous face and released her come she called the door flew open and attendance saluted and in stepped Gabrielle end of chapter 23