The Texas Mesquiter. (Mesquite, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 1917 Page: 3 of 6
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Mesquite Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sexas Jtlesquiter.
'• ' 'fHf John E. Davis.
MESQUITE, TEXAS, FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1917
Vol.XXXV No. 27
Sfe PRINCE of
GBAUSTARKo
BY
GEORGE BARP
McCUTCHEON
Copyright, 1014, by Dodd, Mead and Company.
♦♦+++++++++++++
i
+
♦
+
+
+
*
PROLOGUE.
llunut)]
ib rcfr |
1)*,®
|ImM
bimi
Itmrjl
1,688,91$
4
+
+
+
*
*
+ + + + + + + H- + + + + + +
| After a lapse of a very few
yeari, lo, here ia a story about
% Prince of Graustark who is
_P°ae other than the ton of
+ princess Yetive, the heroine
® f "Graustark." He is a full
+ frown man, very much full
+ frown, and very much of a
+ man. Moreover, there is a
beautiful girl in the offing,
prhose relation to Beverly of
graustark is that of daughter
to mother; also there is a
|ery shrewd, forceful, power-
ful American multimillionaire
flrith a brilliant and lovely
daughter. Now, given these
Ingredients, so to speak, and
+ £he reader may trust McCutch-
♦ eon to mix them up to give
J§ th em just the right flavor, to
of the f+ |ook them to just the right
muni + turn and to serve a story pip-
slim!. + PS hot wl>ich will give as
+ jfiany million hours of thor-
+ ough enjoyment as "Grau-
* itwk" and "Beverly of Grau-
^ * stark" did in their time.
Pom
I'trojble
Inythirf
nnnyia
|pc me.
Scott.
Hill!
Geitp#
mrealtk
or*
I EXil
EON. J
Ik WW
I '
Id
.-•a *
P.O.
Tern
T
brtt
Tln
sii*
***'
CHAPTER I.
Matrimony la Discussed.
Y dear," said Mr. Blithers,
with decision. "you cau't tell
me."
"I know I cau't," said tola
quite aa positively. She knew
ben ahe could tell him a thing nnd
B aho couldn't
If waa quite impossible to Impart In-
atlsn to Mr. Blltheni wben he had
tb«f tips of two resolute fingers embed-
hla ears. Mrs. Blithers had
Ith her husbund, more or lesa.
for twenty-five years, and she knew
fcini like n book. Ho waa a forceful
JpErson who would have his own way,
effen though he had to put his flugers
In his cars to get It Moreover, when
he called her "my dear" Instead of the
customary Lou It waa a sign of su-
preme obstinacy on hla part and couUI
nor, by any stretch of the Imagination
be regarded aa an Indication of placid
i affection. He always said "my dear"
•■the top or hla voice and with a great
deal of Irascibility.
, Mr. William W. Withers was a aelf
made man who had begun his career
by shouting lustily at a team of mulea
railway construction camp. Other
era had tried to Improve on his vo-
tary, but even the mules were able
appreciate the futility of auch an
ibltlon, and later on, when he came
w two or three railroads, to aay
Ulug of a few mines and a steam
bt, hla ability to drive men was
n more noteworthy than hla power
r the jackasses had been.
r. and Mrs. Blithers had been dia-
log royalty. Dp to the previous
k they had restricted themselves to
nobility, but as an event of unex
ipled lni|x>rtonce had transpired In
Interim they now felt that It would
the rankest stupidity to consider
one short of a prince royal tn pick-
out a suitable husband—or, more
iperiy speaking, consort—for their
•y daughter, Maud Applegate Bllth
aged (wei • ■
r*. Hilt hers long ago had convinced
husband that no ordinary hunpin
g of the male permission was wor-
of their daughter'a band and had
her heart on having nothing mean
than a duke on the family roll—
hers alluded to It for awhile as the
'roll—wllh the choice lying l>etween
[land and Italy.
lut now, Just as they were on the
|nt of accepting In lien of a duke en
optionally promising count, the
resnld event conspired to complete-
pset all of their plans—or notions,
|to speak. It was nothing less than
arrival lu America of an eligible
ice of the royal blood, a ruling
at that. As a matter of fact, ho
not only arrived in America, but
n the vast estate adjoining their
In the Catskllls.
>ecullarly promising to tbetr hopes
Ji* the Indisputable fact that the
* mother had married an A inert
!* > thereby establishing a precedent
•■■HHp'iii.i which tocoustltutlonal obstacle
i tirive, and bed lived very hap
PO.t with the gentleman In spite of the
Ml"
it appears tlat the prince after lei
I"d Austria. Mr. Blithers was In a
position to know that the little princi-
pality over which tho young man reign-
ed was bound to be drawn luto the
cataclysm not as a belligerent or aa
ally, but In the matter of a loan that
incouveulently expired within the year
and which would hardly be renewed
by Russia with the prospect of vast
expenditures of war threatening her
irensur.v. The loan undoubtedly would
be called, and Graustark was not In a
position to pay out of her own slender
resources, two years of famine having
fulleu upon the people at u time when
prosperity was most to be desired.
It was the private opinion of Mr.
Blithers that the young prince and the
trusted agents who accompanied him
on his journey wero In the United
.States solely for tho purpose of arraug-
Ing a loan through sourcea that could
only be reached by personal appeal.
But all this Is beside the question.
The young Prince of Graustark was
enjoying American hospitality, and no
matter what he owed to Russia, Amer-
ica owed to him Its most punctllllous
consldei.it ion.
The main point Is that the prince was
now runt h ating within what you might
call a stone's throw of the capacious
and lordly country residence of Mr.
Blithers; moreover, he was an uncom-
monly attractive chap, with a laugh
that was so charged with heartiness
that It didn't seem possible that be
could have a drop of royal blood in his
vigorous young body. Aud the iierfect-
ly ridiculous part of the whole situa-
tion was thut Mr. and Mrs. King lived
lu a modest, vine covered little house
that could have been lost In the ser-
vants' quarters at Blltherwood. Espe-
cially aggravating, too, was the Kings'
attitude. They were really nobodies,
so to s|H-ak, and yet they blithely
called their royal guest "Bobby" and
allowed him to fetch and carry for
their women folk quite as If he were
an ordinary wlilppcrsnapper up from
the city to spend the week end.
The remark with which Mr. Blithers
Introduces this chapter was In response
to an oft repeated declaration made by
his wife. Mrs. Blithers merely had
stated—but over nnd over again—that
money couldn't buy everything In the
world, referring directly to social emi-
nence and Indirectly to their secret
1
"You
say you don't want
What'e-Hla-Name."
Count
ambition to c«ptur£ a prince of the
royal blood for their daughter Maud.
She had prefaced this opinion, how-
ever, with the exceedingly Irritating
Insinuation that Mr. Blithers was not
In his right mind when he proposed in-
viting the prince to spend a few weeks
at Blltherwood. provided the young
nuin could cut short bis visit In the
home of Mr. and Mrs. King. who. be
had asseverated, wero In no position to
entertain royalty aa royalty was lu the
habit of lielng entertained.
Long experience had taught Mr.
Blithers to read the lip and eye lan-
guage with some degree of certainty,
so by watching his wlfe'a Indignant
fture closely bw waa able to tell when
she Was succumbing to reason. He
was a burly, domineering person who
reasoned for every one wlthtn rang* of
hla voice, and It was only wlien Ids
wife became coldly sarcastic that be
■rely crosslngthe continent on his way «''esed Ids ears end boomed his opln
^kuud the wirld bad cone to the
Mtixton Kings for a l uig promised and
jjhi' li desired visit, the duration of
^Blch depende! to aomt extent on bis
ijgjjra Inclination and not a little on the
rome of th< war talk that affected
great KiropetB nations—Russia
Ions Into Iter very teeth, ao to aay. Joy-
fully overwhelming her with facts
which It were fntlle for her to attempt
to deep. He was aware quite as much
ao as If be had liesrd the words that
•lie was now saying:
"Well, there Is absolutely ao use
irguing with you, Will. Have It your
way If it pleases you."
Lying her with some uneasiness, he
cautiously Inserted his thumbs In the
armholes of his brocaded waistcoat
aud proclaimed:
"As I said before, I-ou, there isn't a
foreign nobleman, from the emperor
down, who is above grabbing a few
million dollars. They're all hard up."
"We were speaking of Prince Itobln,"
remarked his wife, with a slight shud-
der. Mrs. Blithers came of better stock
than her husband. His gaucberles fre-
quently set tier teeth on edge. She was
Uirn In Providence and sometimes
mentioned the occurrence wben partic-
ularly desirous of squelching blm, not
unkindly perhaps, but by way of mak-
ing him realize that their daughter had
good blood in her velus. Mr. Blithers
had heard lu a rouudabout way that he
first saw the light of day lu Jersey
City, although after he became famous
Newark claimed him. He did not both-
er about the matter.
"Well, he's like all the rest of them,"
said he after a moment of Indecision.
Something told him that he really
ought lo refrain from talking about
the cost of things, even In the bosom
of his family. He had heard that only
vulgarians speak of their possessions.
"Now, there's no reason In the world
why we shouldn't consider his offer,
lle"-
"Offer?" she cried, aghast. "He has
made uo offer. Will. He doesn't even
know that Maud Is In existence. How
can you say such a thinsV
"1 was merely looking ahead, that's
all. My motto Is 'Look ahead.' You
know it as well as I do. Where would
I lie today If I hadn't looked ahead and
seen what, was going to hap|>en before
the other fellow hud Ills eyes open?
Will you tell me that? Where, I say?
What's more, where would I be now
If 1 hadn't looked ahead nnd seen
what a marriage with the daughter of
.ludge Morton would uieuii to mo In the
long run?" He felt that he had uttered
a very pretty aud convincing compli-
ment. "I never made a bad bargalu In
tuy life, Lou, and It wasn't guesswork
when I married you. You, my dear old
girl, you were the solid foundation on
which I"—
"I know," she said wearily. "You've
suld It n thousand times—'the founda-
tion on which I built my temple of pos-
terity'—yes, I know. Will. But I am
still unalterably opposed to making
ourselves ridiculous In the eyes of Mr.
aud Mrs. King."
"Ridiculous? I don't understand
you?"
"Well, you will after you think It
over," ahe said quietly, and he scowled
lu positive perplexity.
"Don't you think he'd be a good
match for Maud?" he asked, after
many minutes. He felt that he had
thought It over.
"Are you thinking of kldunplng blm.
Will?" she demanded.
"Certainly not! But all you've got to
do is to say that he's the man for Maud
and I'll—I'll do the rest. That's the
kind of n man I am. Lou. Yon say you
don't want Count What'a-Hls-Name—
that Is, you dou't want him as much as
yon did—and you do say that It would
lie the grandest thing in the world If
Maud could lie the Princess of Groas-
tlck"—
"Graustark, Will."
"That's what I said. Well, If you
want her to be the Princess of THAT
I'll see that she Is, provided thla fel-
low Is a gentleman nnd worthy of her.
Tho only prince 1 ever kuew was a
rascal, and I'm golug to lie careful
about this one. You remember that
measly"—
"There Is no question about Prince
Itobln," said she sharply.
"I sup|iose the only question Is. How
much will he want?"
"You mean- settlement?"
"Sure."
"Have you no romance in your soul,
William Blithers ?"
"I never believed In fairy stories,"
safd he grimly "And. what's more, 1
dou't take any stock In cheap novels tn
which American heroee go about mar-
rylng Into royal families aud ail that
sort of rot It Isn't done. Lou. If you
want to marry Into a royal family
you've got to put up the coin."
"Prince Robin's mother, the poor
Princess Yetive, married au American
for love, let me remind you."
"Praph! Where la tbla (.'■■."istock
anyway." i,
" 'Somewhere east of " vg
son.' she quoted. "You n*
to pronounce It "
"I never was good i/TIAN
guages By the way, y
ihis afternoon?"
"Motoring.'.', r' • • • •
lie waited for ; ,. .. . .. .
It was not vouc' Mi(kil
ed somewhat
Who wiu xa wsoh instiiomsr
■wmmmr
He scowl*'
good in tlylt
you let"-,
lie I
iesr butfittl
"Is he—er~!n love with her?"
"Certainly. Why not? Isn't every
me she meets In love with her?"
"I—I suppose so," be udmltted sheep-
ishly. His face brightened. "And
there's no reason why thia prince
shouldn't fall heela over head, Is there?
Well, there you are! That will make a
difference In the settlement, believe
me, a difference of a couple of millions
at least if—
She arose abruptly. "You are posi-
tively disgusting, Will, Can't you think
of anything but"—
"Say, ain't that Maudle coming up
the drive now? Sure It 1st By gra-
clous, did you ever see anything to
beat her? She's got 'em all beat a
mile when It comes to looks and style
nd— Oh, by the way," lowering hla
voice to a hoarse, confidential whisper,
"I wouldn't say anything to her about
the marriage Just yet If I were you. I
want to look him over first."
Prince Robin of Graustark was as
good looking a chap as oue would aee
lu a week's Jounuey. Little would one
suspect him of being the descendant of
a long and distinguished line of princes
save for the unmistakable though in-
definable aomethlug tn his eye that ex-
acted rather than invited the homage
of his fellow man. His laugh was a
free and merry one, his spirits as effer-
vescent as wine, his manner blithe and
boyish, yet beneath all this fair aud
guileless exposition of curelessness lay
the sober Integrity of caste.
His mother, the beautiful, gracloua
and lamented Princess Yetive, set all
royal circles by the ears when she mar-
ried Hie American, Ixirry, back In the
nineties. A special act of the ministry
had legalized this union, and the soil
of tho American waa not deprived of
his right to aucceed to the throne which
his forbears had occupied for centuries.
Prom his mother he bad Inherited the
right of kings, from his father the
spirit of freedom; from hla mother the
power of majesty, from bis father the
power to see beyond that majesty.
When little more than a babe in arms
he was orphaned, and the uffalra of
state fell uiion the shoulders of three
loyal and devoted men who served as
regents until be became of age.
He was seven when the great revolt
headed by Count Marlanx came so
near to overthrowing the government
and he behaved like the prince that be
was. It was during those perilous
times that he came to know the gal-
laut Truxtou King, In whose home he
was now a happy guest. But before
Tnixton King he knew the lovely girl
who became the wife of that devoted
adventurer und who, to blm, was al
ways to be "Aunt Loralne."
As a very small boy be had paid two
visits to tbe home land of bis father,
but nfter the death of his parents his
valuable little person was guarded so
Jealously by his subjects that not once
bad bo set foot beyond tbe borders of
Graustark, except on two widely sep-
arated occasions of great pomp and
ceremony at tbe courts of Vienna and
St. Petersburg, and a secret journey to
London wben he was seventeen. (It
appears that he was determined to see
a great football match.) On each of
these occasions lie was attended by
watchful members of tbe cabinet and
certain military units in the now far
from Insignificant standing army. As
a matter of fact, he witnessed the foot-
ball match from the ordinary stands,
surrounded by thousands of unsuspect-
ing Britons, but carefully wedged In
between two generals of his own army
and Hanked by a minister of police, a
minister of the treusury and a minis-
ter of war, all of whom were exces-
sively bored by the contest and more
or less appalled by Ills unregal enthu-
siasm lie had Insisted on going to the
match Incog, to enjoy It for all It was
worth to the real s|<ectators—those who
sit or stand where the compression Is
not unlike that npplled to a box of
sardines.
The regency expired when he was
twenty years of age, and he became
ruler In fact of himself as well as of
the half million subjects who had wait-
ed patiently for the great day that was
to see hlui crowned and glorified. He
was their prince, and they loved him
well.
Mr. Blithers was very close to the
truth wben he said (to jilmself, if you
rememberi that the financial situation
In the far off prluclpallty was not all
that could be desired It Is true that
Graustark was In Russia's debt to tbe
extent of some 20,000.000 gavvos- about
190,000,000, In other words—and that
the day of reckoning was very near at
hand. Tbe loan was for a period of
twelve years and had been arranged
contrary to the advice of John Tullls,
an American financier, who long had
been interested In the welfare of the
principality through friendship for the
lamented prince consort. Lorry. lie
had been farslghted enough to realise
that Russia would prove a hard cred-
itor, even though she may have tieen
sincere III her protestations of friend-
ship for the modest borrower
A stubborn element In the cabinet
overcame Ills opposition, however, and
the debt wis contracted, taxation In-
creased by popular vote and a period
of governmental thrlftlncss Inaugu-
rated. Railroads, highways, bridges
and aqueducts were built owned and
controlled by the state, and the city of
Edelweiss rebuilt after the devastation
created during the revolt of Count
Marlanx and his minions. There seetu-
•«d to be some prospect of vindication
'*r tbe ministry, and Tullls. who lived
'ydelwelss waa fair minded enough
41 ppit that tbelr action appeared to
Jen for tbe best. The peo|.'!e
I'ered, and taxes were paid In
I without complaint. The re-
mind jfrew steadily and surely,
let* was every prospect that
he huge debt came due It would
cash. But on tbe very crest
Wl-erltjr came adversity, for
"Mie crops fiiUtnk and e pent!
t through the herds There
much ns it i>emiy left over
li I linking fund
CHAPTER II.
Mr. Blithera Goes Visiting-
A YEAR of grace remained. The
mlniater «f fiuauce had long
since recovered from tho delu-
Blon that it would be easy
to borrow from either England or
France to pay tbe Russians, there be
log small prospect of a renewal by the
czar, even for a abort period at a high-
er rate of interest The great nations
of Europe made it plain to tho little
principality that they would not put a
finger In Russia's pie at this stage of
the game. Russia was ready to go to
war with her great neighbor, Austria.
Diplomacy—caution, if you will—made
It Imperative that other nations should
sit tight aud look to their own knitting,
so to say. Not one could afford to be
charged with befriending even in a
roundabout way either of the angry
grumblers.
It waa only too well known in diplo-
matic circles that Russia coveted the
railroads of Graustark as a means of
throwing troops luto a remote and al-
most impregnable portion of Auatria.
If tbe debt were paid promptly it would
be Impossible, according to interna-
tional law, for tbe great White Bear to
take over these roads and at least a
portion of tbe western border of tho
principality. Obvioualy, Austria would
be benefited by the prompt lifting of
the debt but her own relatlona with
Russia were so strained that an offer
to como to the rescue of Graustark
would be taken at once as an open
affront and vigorously resented. Her
handa were tied.
The northern and western parts of
Graustark were rich with productive
mines. The government had built rall-
roada throughout tbeae sections ao that
the yield of coal and copper might be
M
"I'll marry the one I happen to want
or I'll not marry at all."
given an outlet to the world at large.
In making tbe loan Russia had de-
manded these prosperous sections aa
security for the vast sum advanced,
and Graustark In an evil hour bad
submitted, little sus|iectlng the trick
that Dame Nature wus to play In the
end
Private banking institutions In Eu-
ro|ie refused to make loans under the
rather exasperating circumstances, pre-
ferring to take no chances. Money was
not cheap in these bitter days, neither
In Europe tior America. Caution was
tbe watchword. A vust Euroi*an war
waa not improbable, despite tbe sin-
cere efforts on tbe part of the various
nations to keep, out of the controversy.
Nor was Mr Blithers far from right
in his shrewd surmise thut Prince
Robin and bis agents were not without
hope lu coming to America at this par-
ttcular time Graustark had laid by
barely half the amount required to lift
the debt to Russia It was not beyond
the bounds of reason to expect her
prince to se< ore the remaining 15.000,-
000 through private sources lu New
York city
Six weeks prior to his arrival In
New York the young prince landed In
Sun Francisco He bnd come by way
of the orient accompanied by the chief
of staff of the Gruustark army. Count
vjulni.ox. hereditary watchdog to the
royal family, and a young lleuteuaut
of the guard. Boske Dank. Two men
were they who would have given a
thousand lives In tbe service of their
prince No less loyal was the body
sen ant who looked after the personal
wants of the eager young traveler, an
Rngllshman of the name of Hobba. A
very poor valet waa he. but an excep-
tionally capable iwrson when It came
>o the checking of luggage and the di-
vining of railway timetables. He had
been a guide for a tourist agency. It
was quite Impossible to miss a train
that Hobba suspected of being tbe right
one.
Prince Robin came unheralded and
traversed the breadth of the continent
without attracting more than the atten-
tion that Is bestowed upon good looking
\oung men. Like his mother, nearly a
quarter of a century before, he traveled
Incognito. But where site bad usvd tbe
somewhat emphatic name of Guugen-
slocker he was known to the hotel
registers as "Mr. R. Schmidt and ser
vant"
There was romance In the eager
young aoul of Prince Robin. He rev-
eled In the love etory of hla pareatu.
The beautiful Prince* Yetive flntt aaw
Grenfell Lorry in an expreas train go-
ing eastward from Denver. Tbelr
wouderful romance was born, ao to
•peak, la a Pullauui compartment ear,
and It thrived ao splendidly that It al-
moat upaet a dyuusty, for never—lu all
of nine ceuturlea—had a ruler of Grau-
atarlt atooped to marriage with a com-
moner.
And ao when the farslghted minis-
try and house of nobles In Graustark
set about to aelect u wife for their
young ruler they made overtures to
the Prince of Dawsliergeu, whose do-
i:miu u0joined Graustark on the south.
Tbe Crown Princess of Dnwsbergen,
then but fifteen, wua the ununlmoua
choice of the unliable matchmakers In
secret conclave. This wus when Robin
was seventeen and Just over lie lug
fatuously In love w ith Ills middle aged
Instructress in French.
The Prince of jp wsbcrgen dispatch-
ed mi embassy oi noblemen to assure
his neighbor that the match would lie
highly acceptable to him aud that in
proper season the betrothal might lie
uniiouuced. But alack! both courte
overlooked the fact that there was ln-
depeiident American blood lu the two
young people. Neither the Prince of
Graustark nor the Crown Princess of
Dawsbergeu—whose mother wus a
Miss Beverly Calhoun of Virginia—was
disponed to listen to the voice of ex
I>edleucy; lu fact, at u safe dlstauce of
three or four hundred mi lea the young-
sters figuratively turned up their noaea
at each other and frankly confesaed
that they hated each other and
wouldn't be bullied Into getting mar-
ried, no matter what anybody said, or
aomethiug of the sort
"S'imisc I'm going to aay I'll marry a
girl I've never Been?" demanded sev-
enteen year-old Robin, full of wrath.
"Not I. my lords. I'm going to look
about u bit, If you don't mind. Tbe
world Is full of girls. I'll marry tbe
one 1 happen to want or I'll not marry
at all."
"But, hlicbuess," they protested, "you
must listen to reason. There must be
a successor to the throne of Graustark.
You would not have tbe name die with
you. The young princess Is"—
"Is fifteen, you say." he Interrupted
loftily. "Come around in ten years
and we'll talk It over again. dBut I'm
not going to pledge myself to marry a
child In short frocks, name or no
name. Is she pretty?"
The lords did not know. They had
not seen the young lady.
"If ahe la pretty you'd be sure to
know It my lords, so we'll assume she
Isn't I saw her wben she was three
years old. aud she certainly was a
fright wben she cried, and, my lorda,
she cried all the time No, I'll not
marry her. Be good enough to say to
the Prince of Dawsbergeu that I'm
very much obliged to him, but It's quite
out of the question."
And the tiflecn-year-old crown prin-
cess. 400 miles away, coolly Informed
Iter doting parents that alio was tired
of being a princess anyway and very
much preferred marrying some one
who lived In a cottage. In fine, she
stamped her little foot and said she'd
jump Into the river before she'd marry
the Prince of Graustark.
"But he'a a very handsome, adorable
boy," began her mother,
"And half American, just us you are,
my child," put In her father encourag-
ingly. "Nothing could be more suit-
able than"—
"I don't Intend to tuarry anybody
until I'm thirty at least, so that ends
It, daddy—I mean your poor old bigh-
ncsa."
"Naturally we do not expect you to
be married before you are out of
short frocks, my dear." said Prince
Dantan stiffly. "But a betrothal Is
quite snother thing. It is customary
to arrange theso marriages years be
fore"—
"Is Prince Robin In love with me?"
"I—ahem—that's a very silly ques-
tion. He hasn't seen you since you
were a baby. But he will be In love
with you, never fear."
"He may be in love with aome one
elae, for all we know, so where do I
come In?"
"Come in?" gasped her father.
"She's part American, dear," ex-
plained tbe mother with her prettiest
smile.
"Besides." said the crown prlnceas,
with finality. "I'm not even going to
lie engaged to a man I've never seen.
And If you insist. I'll run away as
sure as anything."
And so the matter rested. Five
years have passed since the initial over-
tures were made by the two courts,
and although aevenil sly attempts wera
made to bring the young people to a
proper understanding of their case they
aroused nothing more than scoruful
laughter on the part of the principals
And no one Baw the |>ortentoua shad-
ow cast by tbe slim daughter of Wil-
liam W. Blithers, for the simple rev
son that neither Graustark nor Dawa-
!>orgen know that It existed. They
lived lu serene Ignorance of the fact
that God. while be waa about It, put
Maud Applegate Blithers Into the world
on precisely tbe same day that the
crown princess of Dawsliergeu first
saw tho light of day.
On the twenty-second anniversary
of bis birth Prince Robin fa red forth
In quest of love and romance, not with-
out hope of adventure, for be was a
valorous chap with the heritage of
warrior* In his velna. Said be to him-
self In dreamy contemplation of tbe
long Journey ahead of him: "I will
traverse the great hlghwaya that my
mother trod, and I will look for the
Golden Girl sitting by tbe wayalde.
She must lie there, and though It H a
wide world. I am voting and my eyed
arp sharu. I will and her sitting at
for me to come, not
ijoomy castle surrounded
hundred ancestora.
castles wed to hate,
and they who wed at tbe roadside live
to love. Fortune attend me! If lova
lies at tbe roadside wulting do not let
me pass it by. All tbe princeeeea are
not Inside
*)d« the fc-i'««. uini luugb with
Si"
love la tbetr companion. So uway I
go, la, la! looking for tho princea with
the happy heart aud the amlling Up*I
It la a wide world, but my eyea are
sharp. I shall find my prlnceas."
But, alas, for bis fine youug dream,
he found no golden girl at the roadside
nor auythlng that suggested romance.
There were happy hearts and smiliug
lips, and all for him It would appear,
but he iiassed them by, for bis eyes
were sharp and his wits awake. And
so at last he came to Gotham, hia
heart aa free as the air he breathed,
confessing that hla quest had been In
valu. History failed to repeat Itself.
Jils mother's romance would stand
alone and ahlue without a flicker to
the end of time. There could be no
counterpart
"Well, I hud the fun of looking," ho
philosophized (to himself, for no man
knew of his secret project) and grin-
ned with n sort of amused tolerance
for the sentimental side of his nature.
"I'm a silly ass to have even dreamed
of finding her as I paused along, and
If I had fonnd her what tbe deuco
could I have done about It anyway?
Thla isn't the day for medieval lady
snatching. I dare aay I'm Juat aa well
off for not having found her. I still
huve the zest for hunting farther, and
there's a lot in that." Then aloud,
"llobbs, are we on time?"
"We are, sir," aald Hobba without
even glancing at hla watch. Tbe train
was passing One Hundred and Twen-
ty-tiftli street. "To the minute, air.
We will lie In In ten mlnutea if noth-
ing happens. Mr. King will be at tbe
station to meet you, sir. Any ordera.
air?"
"Yes; pinch me, Hobba."
"Pinch your hlghneaa!" In amaze-
ment. "My word, sir, wot"—
"I Just wunt to be sure that tho
dream Is over. Hobba Never mind.
You needn't pinch me. I'm awake,"
and to prove It he stretched bis fine
young ls>dy In the ecstasy of realisa-
tion.
That night be slept aoundly In the
Catskllls.
Toward the end of bis first week at
Red Roof, the summer home of the
Truxton Kings, the prince might have
been found on the broad lawn late one
afternoon playing tennis with his
hostess, tbe lovely and vivacious
"Aunt Loralne." To him Mrs. King
would always be "Aunt Loralne,"
even as he would never be anything
but Bobby to her.
She was several yeara under forty
and aa light and actlvo aa a young
girl. Her smooth cheek glowed with
the happiness and thrill of the aport,
and he was hard put to bold hla own
against her, even though she Insisted
that he play hla level best
Truxton King, stalwart and la*y,
lounged on the turf, umpiring the
game, attended by two pretty young
girls, a lieutenant In flannels and the
ceremonious Count Qulnnox, iron gray
and gaunt faced battleman with the
saber scars on his cheek and tbe bul-
let wound in his side.
"Good work. Ralnle!" shouted the
umpire as his wife safely placed the
ball far out of her opponent's reach.
"HI!" shouted Robin, turning on
him with a scowL "You're not sup-
posed to cheer anybody, d'you under-
stand? You're only an umpire."
"Outburst of excitement, kid," apol-
ogized the umpire complacently.
"Couldn't help It. Forty thirty. Get
busy."
"He called htm "kid,"" whispered
one of the young girls to the other.
"Well. I heard the prince call Mr.
King 'Truck' a little while ago." whis-
pered the other.
"Ian't he good looking?" sighed the
first one.
They were sisters, very young, and
lived in the cottage across the road
with their widowed mother. Their
existence was quite unknown tc Mr.
and Mrs. Blithers, although tbe ami-
able Maud was rather nice to them.
She had -once picked them up in her
automobile when she encountered
them walking to tbe station. After
that phe called them by their Chris-
tian names and generoualy asked
them to call her Maud. It might ap-
pear from this that Maud suffered
somewhat from loneliness in the great
house on the hill. The Welton girls
bad known Robin a scant three-quar-
ters of an hour and were deeply la
love with him. Fannie was eighteen
and Nellie but little more than six-
teen. He waa their first prince.
"Whee-ee!" shrilled Mrs. King, going
madly nfter n return that ber opponent
had lobbed over the net. She missed.
"Deuce," said her husband laconical-
ly. A servant was crossing the lawn
with a tray of Iced drinks. As he
neared the recumbent group he paused
Irresolutely and allowed bis gau to
ahlft toward tbe road below. Then be
came on, and as be drew alongside the
Interested umpire be leaned over and
spoke In a low tone of voice.
"What?" demanded King, squinting.
"Just come In the gate, sir." aald the
footman.
King shot a glance over hla shoulder
and then sat up In astonishment.
"Good Lord! Blither*! What tbe
deuce can be tie doing here? I aay.
Loralne! HI!",
"Vantage In." cried his pretty wife,
dashing a stray hick from her eyes.
Mr. King's astonishment was gen-
uine. It might better have been pro-
nounced bewlldermeut. Mr. Blithers
was ilaying bis first visit to Bed ttoef.
Up to thla minute It la donbtfnl If be
ever had accorded It ao much as a
glam-e of Interest In passing. He
laiwed to King occasionally at the sta-
tion. but that was alt
But now bis manner was exceeding*
ly friendly aa lie advanced upon ttia
group One mbrht have be> n pardon
eil roi believing blm to lie a
tlmutc friend of the
oat' to constantly
hours of Ui« Jar
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Davis, John E. The Texas Mesquiter. (Mesquite, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, January 12, 1917, newspaper, January 12, 1917; Mesquite, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth400242/m1/3/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Mesquite Public Library.