The Crosbyton Review. (Crosbyton, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, February 11, 1916 Page: 2 of 8
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HAPTER XXV.
~'^gips|:Kj^f5 r ;:'''■ 'r-
& %
approached the Uttle room
sount'i palace—which before
now had proved t© be something ot a
storm canter la the aflal^ of the Gretz-
vhoffen isoia—^there cameto her the
conviction that there might be others
beside herself who would hate some
. tehling as to the whereabouts of the
missing portion of the coin, and who
1 the seen©
at much the same time as that of her
own visit She was not altogether
surprised at the sudden interruption
of her labors, just at the moment of
her success.
As she saw-herself the object of a
poised weapon, she swerved aside in-
stinctively—called out instlnctively for
"Roleau!" she exclaimed, for, wom-
anlike, she had learned the value of
a strong man's arm, and her first
thought was of the faithful servant
1 who bo strangely had attached him'
self to her own varying fortunes. And
Roleau came hastening from his
- watching place outside the door.
He saw the little room occupied by
a man—who now suddenly had en
tered—and who menaced Kitty, so
that, to save her life as she supposed,
she was on the point of surrendering
to him both pieces of the coin. The
eight of his mistress in danger was
enough for Roleau. With his custom-
; ary battle cry he plunged Immediately
into the conflict, careless of the threat-
__enlag weapon. In the melee the two
half coins both were dropped upon the
floor.
Even now the ruling impulse of Kit-
ty did not quite forsake her. "She
stooped and regained one of the half
coins, but tbestruggling men, shifting
here and there in the room, kept her
from securing the other. In the blind
instinct for escape she fled now to
the open hall, taking that direction
which led back from, the front of the
building, j.
Roleau heard her pass,, and could
not Join her In flight—but he heard
her give a cry of alarm ^hose cause
he could only guess,,$ls energies were
fully, occupied by the combat with this
J®
paused for breathing sp^o^ h^ard a
steady footfall advancing to the door,
.heard the calm voice of Count Fred-
erick himself. .
"Gentlemen!"
The intruders, whatever the errand
of each, toOk their eyes from one an-
other and turned 4ow, recognizing yet
another man who scarce had come in
friendship.
"You honor ma greatly, gentlemen,1
said Count Frederick with his usual
coolness in any extraordinary situa-
tion. "But might I ask why you" care
thus to disarrange my apartment?
Had I known your own curiosity re-
garding it, -I might have asked Borne
of my servants to . assist you in a
search more orderly."
; "I was sent back by my master," be-
gan the stranger—who was none other
than Bastel, the late , to Ru-
dolph in Count Sachio's good graces.
"He h ;rtain of his belong-
ings—some silver cases of the toilet,
Monsieur I© Comte—he did not trouble
to ask you about them, and now he
sent me—■"
"Indeed! That is most plausible!
But why seels for them in my rooms,
when his quarters were in quite an-
other part of the palace, my dear sir?"
"As . to that," replied the other with
calm, effrontery, "I cannot say. I only
came here because the servants told
me that this wafl the room. Of course,
if there has been any mistake—"
"Ceaser I say/* exclaimed Count
Frederick, frowning now, his' face
flushing;
He turned from Roleau to the other
intruder In his apartments. Roleau
stood dumb. The other shook his
head. " 0 >,
"Monsieur I© Comte," said he, "the
young woman was here when I en-
tered—when this man also entered.
She passed yonder—when she had the
opportunity—and took with her- one
half the coin. There lies the other on
your floor. She disappeared—we heard
a ery—" - - ■ ;
Count Frederick stooped and picked
up the object pointed out to him. It
was his own half of the coin—or that
which he had called his own—since he
had taken it from her.
So then, he reflected, she had found
the way to his most secret hiding
plMe-rshe was on the: very point of
success when this last contretemps
had interfered with her plans. A new
feeling of admiration for her. keen-
ness and persistence once more came
to Count Frederick'^ heart. For a
moment he stood regarding half-re-
gretfully the bit of metal in his hand.
"I shall not offer this trinket to
you, my friend," said he grimly to
the man Bartel, as he pocketed the
coin, "for of course you were not look-
tog for eoina—only toilet "articles^rSil-
ver ones, did you say, sir? You shall
take back an excellent set of my own
to Count Sachlo? with my compli-
ments. Tell him that it would seem
ill to me thatany guest of mine should"
suffer risk of loss either to his person
-or his property while he was beneath
my roof!" ' .. - ■:
With these, stinging words, which
brought color to the other's face.
Count Frederick turned coolly away,
and ohce more faced Roleau. That
was In his face now which did not be-
speak remorselessnesn, . revengeful-
ness. No, something softer lay In the
man's cool gray eyes.
Hand Close Upon Her
Mouth. - _
jjjH
He had noted
ige. He himself
on as to the prea-
* - rin the general
t able to bring
•fas
as they
1 as the
SMS
Th,
. CHAPTER XXVI.
Solitary Confinement,
When Kitty in her blind impulse of
self-preservation sprang out of Count
Frederick's room, she did hot at first
contemplate continued flight. Once
out of reach of immediate danger, she
paused, loath to leave what she had
come there to obtain, and loath also to
abandon her stout-hearted ally in his
time of stress. She turned back,
paused just outside the door once
more. As she did so, yet another door
"xo hall was pushed
silently ajar—opened -fully. Yet "an-
other man, whom never in her*1 life
had she seen before, now stepped out.
She felt a hard hand .close upon her
mouth, more than half-stifling her
scream for help. ''Silence!" she heard
iis voice insist. "Go on ahead of me
Once . more Kitty''' undertook to
scream; and again the firm hand
stopped her voice. It seemed to her
that same pungent aromatic drug
filled the ear with its fumes. She
struggled leas violently. Events
seemed to pass by her in a dream,
and she regarded them carelessly,
apathetically. In short, cither in part
or in whole, she had lost conscious;-
at length she fully regained
her senses she was alone—alone with
a terror which"seemed to her more
overpowering than any/ she yet had
ofvhisj^iOWn-'-apart-'
hotel, instead of £he room
unt Frederick or the hunting
of his quondam friend, Count
"Ishef found herself, surrounded
walls—in what edifice
place, she could hot guess,
some sort of door—
& 9L —Wgh> bailed
i at
Wm
answer. The old woman shook her
head, and after a time retreated si-
lently as she had come. ^ /
V Getting.no an&wer to her appeal for
help, Kitty Sat down once more, fight-
ing herself to retain her faculties, her
calm, her poise. Escape ? How could
there be hope forthat? For once she
was at her wit'irend as she looked
about her. She sat moody and silent
too dazed, suffering too much, too un-
certain in her own mind to plan intel-
ligently any course of action. She
was brought to herself somewhat by
hearing the tinkle of some object on
the floor at her feet
_ Itwas a bit of stone wrapped tight-
ly in a little wad of paper. Surely
it hatj. been meant as some communi-
cation to her—from someone outside
the room. It muBt have come through
the window.
She opened the paper and smoothed
it Out As'she read it she wondered
how many other persons there were in
this strange country who could claim
acquaintance with her own plans.
"Better^rltffl an imaginary story for
your paper and return .to America.
Give up the coins and you will gain
your freedom. Refuse and you will
fare badly."
who waitea : for htm . 1
enough at th© rendezvous which
heen-e^ahmh#,^?;^^
ell, well, then, Bartel," exclaimed
"why the delay? What's
ou are not going to tell me
e story that Rudolph brought
—yotl hive not failed?" — I
The shamefaced look of the other
gave him his own answer. Count
Sachio himself gave way to hearty
curses of all Incompetence.
"The count retained one-half the
coin," went on the unfortunate mes-
senger. "1 don't know which It was.
The girl—the young American—got
the other piece. I saw her pick it up
But she did not get both! f don't
know which one she did . get, but 1
know that each has onb-hatt—the
count and the girl. She must have
been carried away by wMtme other
xhan. I heard her scream,, then all was
silent" Wl
"So all escaped you? It is another
matter what I myself may have done
as to the girl and the coin—they es-
caped you?" HHH
"Yes, excellency, naturally I could
not prevent the man from escaping,
and the count himself allowed the
other man to do so."
"What other man?"
"Roleau, they called him—the girl's
servant—he follows her like a dog—
and fights like one."
"So, there were two others present
beside yourself?"
"Yes, it seemed as though everyone
interested In theofoln came all at
once." v ' ' '
'•Naturally, the competition asks
quick work of all of us. And we will
> c
i %l'y Vyf"
f '' ( I < V A
An Old Woman Came in Bringing Some Food for Her.
These strange words suddenly
brought Kitty back to a train of
thought which for the time had been
bre&en. - She felt quickly at her bosom
and at her waist for the bit of coin
which she had brought^ away from
Count Frederick's room. It was gone!
At some time during her journey from
Count Frederick's palace to this place
■long or short whether it had-be^n?
she could not tell—thl coin jiad been
taken from her. *
Kitty sprang to the sill of the little
window and peered out for an in-
stant; but her,, hold was too feeble.
She sank back, not seeing what would
have given her great joy to see.
Apparently some eye had caught
sight of her face, brief as had been its
appearance. In truth, Roleau, hound-
like, had run his game to earth. It
was he who had caught sight of her
just for an instant. Later she heard
once more the tinkling of some falling
object upon the floor. She picked it
up—it was a substantial file, which
evidently had been flung through the
window by someone having the intent
to aid her. This thought gave her hopk
Almost as,soon as she grasped it she,
fell to work at the bars which had re-
strained hoi'.
v Meantime, at the scene from which
she had been so unceremoniously ab-
stracted but now, Count Frederick re-
mained Still pondering on the strange
events which had been brought home
so close to him. He was too much
preoccupied in his concern over the
young woman's disappearance to note
carefully anything else that went on
about him. When one of his house-
hold-placed a message in his hand, for
the time he gaagfl at"it, scarce com-
prehending that it came from the roy-
al palace.
Since he had left unattended the
fservant of Count. Sachio, whom he
had found in his own room, .the latter
seissed the present opportunity to
iliir
v„,, J ©wnmaet^Couht
HP
act quickly. Tell me, what happened
then?" ■___ ;;.J
"The Count Frederick allowed her
to -escape—strangely, he seemed to
have small resentment for her after
all.. Nor did he have too much for
Rpleau, whom he must have ranked a
wholly faithless servant. He did not
punish him—but even Sent him off
after, the girl! Excellency, my word
for it he seemed to miss the girl as
much as the coin—did Count Fred-
erick." ~ "
Follow them then, Bartel. Follow
Roleau—if you can find him—he will
lead you to the girl, wherever she may
be. For myself, I cannot guess/''
It was this counsel, followed ;flili-
gently by the unhappy messenger of
Coupt Sachio, :which resulted in a
quick shifting of the forces of Kitty's
enemies. It was true Roleau had
gained access, to a point within sight
of. Kitty's window, where still he
tried to be of aid to her—still hoped
she soon would be able to aid herself.
But here he_ was surprised by th^a©
emissaries of Count Sachio—it was
none less than the nobleman hfmself
who le4^he forces now. ,
Therefore when, after all her toil,
Kitty at length managed to make her
escape through the barred window, it
was but to find herself once more a
prisoner—Roleau once more a prisoner
with her! Tho fact of captivity had
not changed—only the phases of cap-
tivity. She and her ally had only ex?
changed captors. Who her last prison
guardian had been Kitty could not
tell.- Now, without doubt, she was
once more to be subjected to the scant
courtesy of the nobleman of Grahof-
fen. . -
CHAPTER XXVII.
|| Th* Counterfeit Coin.
Count Frederick finally aroused
himself from the apathy of. inaction
' 4a* ' ... Hi It ,vl ' ak«;I JAM fin -
"" —IB
had. left him. Now a© learned that
^|^kJ«*%Lask^«i
attendance at the palace ~ar soon as
hilght be. The king had, it seemed, a
cQmmuntcatioh which he desired to
make to Count Frederick at once.
"Confound his royal highness!" ex-
claimed Frederick to himself. "I never
leave him but he asks me back at
once. He is always In some trouhlflir-
and I am Ill-disposed now to he nurse
to any king, for I have
MM
of my
OWn to trouble me sufflcl^ntb'.
Nevertheless, grumbling, he went
his way to the palace, for the royal
will was something not yet at least to
be set aside.
"Good! Count FVederick"; Michael
greeted him.! 'Tasked your return be-
cause. of a sudden thought that had
come to my mind." j
"As to' what your majesty? Did it
come to you alone, unasBiBted?'
The king was too much prj
to concern himself with sarcasm.
"Yes, assuredly. It is regarding the
.coin." I
"The coin! I thought your majesty
cared little for it—so little that you
gave it away unasked to one who is
not even of our country—a stranger—
the young American."
"Precisely. That Is true. And I had
cause for my act. But, seo you, one
does not make, gifts unrequited. Now
the yOung American hhs disappeared,
and bo has the coin. Perhaps, rather,
I shoiild reverse that; and say that the
coin has^ dlsappeared;and with it the
young American. At least, that is to
say—they both are gone. So I sent
for you, my d^ar Frederick, to tell me
what to do." - - -
The nobleman stood for a moment
but half concealing his real feelings,
gauging the man before him, this imi-
tation of a Mag. ■ ■'
"She was a most charming young
person," began the king, trying to
conceal his own thoughts. "i)o you
not think such hair as hers is rare?"
"Rare, indeed, your majesty—sh© is
in all things rare," suddenly ex-
claimed the count.
"And where is she gone?"
"I do not know—J have no idea."
"But'you can find her—you certainly
can bring her back."
"I hope it, your majesty—I hop© It
very much. But then, as to the coin?"
he added, somewhat maliciously—for
he knew well enough where sat the
wind in royal quarters.^ w
"Oh, yes, about the coin. Well, I
was only going to ask you to find it
for me."
"That Beems simple, your majesty!.
Even though I do not know where the
young girl is."
"That Is why I ask you, my dear
count."
"Agreed then, your majesty. Of
what use is a servant of the king if
he cannot do the king's will? 1 ac-
cept your errand. I will soon return
to. you the coin—at least, 1 hop© so.
After all, perhaps it has no such value
as you seem to think—I am sure it has
less value for you than other things
that we might mention."
Count Frederick- did -not add aloud
what was in his own mind—the truth
—that the coin had more value for
him than ho at any time before now
had believed.
Presently he excused himself from
the royal presence and departed to
put into effect a little plan of his own
which he fancied might blunt both
horns of this dilemma into which the
naivete of King Michael so suddenly
had placed him.
As luck would- have it, there had
been thrown into his hands the king's
half of the coin.
Count Frederick thought for a mo-
ment before he mad© a plan. Then
ho made a hurried journey to a cer-
tainoBilversmith in whos© skill h© had
much confidences
"Make me," he said as h© laid upon
th© counter his piece of th© coin—"a
replica of this—absolutely, line for
line, so that I myBelf cannot tell the
two apart. Do you hear me? Can it
b© done?" —
"Yes, excellency," said the workman,
"it can be done—so nicely that I my-
self scarcely could tell them apart."
"Then quick with it," said Count
Frederick. "How soon?"
"By tomorrow, excellency, I promise
you a duplicate." "
It was therefor© on the morrow
that Count Frederick was able once
more to visit the royal palace "with a
mind more at peace with circum-
stances. Wlth hlm ^he carried what
was. apparently the king's half of the
coin which he had given to the young
American - so carelessly, and which
pqw.' at once h© coveted again—since
the young American herself was gone.
"So soon!" exclaimed Michael: "You
are the acme of punotillqus.ness and
efficiency,, my deair count. You are-
Indeed a m'anT of-results. Go now to
my cabinet again and help yourself to
itmlfHewels as yod fancy." 1
'"No more, your majesty, 1 thank
you. If I have been of servipe I am
pleased: Jewels are not for me. They
are for women—and no woman has
jewels from me now. "i have reformed,
your majesty. I shall be taking my-
self to a monastery next."
King Michael laughed: loudly at this
jest on tho part of his former boon
companion. "Not so far as that for
me," he said. "1 am not yet ready for
gfiy monastery. I swear I can remem-
ber a queen's face and a queen's figure
when I see them, well as ever. And I
saw them both here not so long ago.
I thought I had secured the chance to
see them yet again—when I gave her
as our gift this which you have re-
stored to me now. It 6««ms., I failed
in that But should the same cast)
come up again for action—should she
by Intent or accident meet na again—
I am In possession once more of what
formerly jas min®. Perhaps the ai^
- i" * - .A- ■ 'i
return to ine? Welt .no s
'hope,t$®^; some-^fay,:"
she wiU owne Tmel agah,
"I trust it your majesty,'
Frederick fervently; ahd
monarch, pleased at the
tion ofhiswlshes, knew
deeper machinations of t
which he fancied still was In
ice,:
Ik
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Meant to an End.
Kitty, left alone once more, found-,
herself in better heart than Bhe had
been but now. At least shj^ had seen
Roleau—-had found once more proor^J
of his faithfulness and "hls_ efficiency* a
Surely he would help her to escape yei)^
again. And as for Sachio^—better he. "v
of whom she knew something, than
stranger of whom she knew nothings
at all. Of late despair had been kgocfe
ing at her heart In such fashion that
the summons of opportunity found nc^ r
hearing, but now she began to plan*
once more.
She sought to study the extta of the-
apartment In which she found herselt
There were two doors, so it seemed*. -
both fastened. She pushed strongly
at one; it opened before her. Sha>
stood once more face to face with
Count Sachio, the mocking conspira-
tor who had of late had so much to-
do with her own miSforto o:;!
"Mademoiselle!" said he, "I am a&-
pleased."
"For myself," rejoined Kitty indigo M
nantly, "I was never so much di«K "
pleased as I am now. So the gentle-
men of this country in this way show
their quality—In their treatment' of* t
women? I compliment you." «
"Your words are at least better than
your absence, mademoiselle—I like><
neither." \
"And what of me? What shall Ji
say of a man who-treats me as a crim- r
inal? Nay, a criminal would be treat-*
ed better in my country—he would*
have a trial. There woud be process
of Jaw, observance of the law. Is th®
habeas corpus writ a thing unknown* i
in this country—have the people never
yet wrung that right from the hande-
of tyrants? In my country there are-
some recourses which any citizen may
"have."
"Your own country? Why did yom>
ever leave it, mademoiselle?"
"The reasons concern me alone, sir."
"Indeed, you mistake—they do not
concern you alone. We are many of us-
in this country also concerned with ^
them. We would that you never had>
come from America. There are many
reasons moving to that And, Indeed,
w© even ask your return to your own. y
country."
"So, then, it Was your message tc>- '%■
m© that I got? Most melodramatic^ ^ :
of you, Count 8achlo-^-b'^ fry Tffhn^
right do you deiffianl1 ^ return?" \
"There are some large rights^
mademoiselle, which need small ex- a
planation." JB
"But which allow you to hinder me T
in th© performance of my own duties—
to ask me to b© unfaithful to my em-
ployers? Why, you even ask me to- *
deceive the public—to present a coun-rffife
terfeit—to pretend that I have done-
what I have not done." . ' >
"Sol And /ou cannot take sticlv
good advice?" .
"No, I will not. To deceive, to pre- ,
tend, to counterfeit—thos© are attrib-
utes of your kingdom, not of my opm>
country, America. In my country we
have- better standards—men and wom-
en alike—for which I heartily ami' >
glad." * *' "
"You hay© a stinging tongue, ma-
demoiselle," said Count Sachio, red un-
der his swarthy skin. "Perhaps It wilS .
grow milder if left unused.': I shall
leave you here—until you ar© willing;. 7
to say you ar© don© with Gretzhoffen.
and ready to return to your own coun-
try. This land, mademoiselle, can
keep its own secrets—it could even
close over the secret of th© disappear-
ance of a young woman—and leave*
her fate a mystery. 1 trust that you
will reconcider what you have said.-"
A moment and h© had left her once-
more. Before he" passed through ^®
door sh© glanced beyond. The room
was occupied, apparently;;—by hia •
friends—escape on that side was Im-
possible. \
The other dcror still remained fas- 1
tened. Kitty turned to it with bur-
glarious Intent—using an art learned
when she wap a schoolgirl. With no-
better instrument than a hairpin, she -
had seen wonders done at opening
locks.
Her brisk Interchange of compli-
ments' with Count Sachio had set her
pulses stirring once mOre. She want-
ed to get-out—she walntgid to escape,
and sh'o-proposed' "fo° "escape. Ohco
more free, she admitted to heron
would-be wiliing enough to ta.ke the-
advice which but now she ha&
scorned—willing" enough to take shlp>
back home, to see* the familiar eky
line of her own city, to find her own.
place back In the smoky and grimy
city, her own place in th© hum an®.
ffrind ofjlhe old newspaper. How-
good it seem to her now..to~se®- ,
the faces of the local room. . Tho:
might chaff her all they liked.
she would go back home.
Andf now, with schoolgirl tt"
the employment of the small - instru-
ment at her disposal, Bhe succeeded1
In her burglary. She felt the lock turn
at last—felt it give—saw that she.
could open the door. She did open
it—and closed it again.
Back of her she heard once triors'
the creak of the other door as it
opened. She turned^-to encounter
once more the figure of Count Sachio,
He smiled at ber -as once mora hf
ent$aed unannounced.
81
i
in
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Buck, James T. The Crosbyton Review. (Crosbyton, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, February 11, 1916, newspaper, February 11, 1916; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth242328/m1/2/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Crosby County Public Library.