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= THE ' Princess Virginia By C. N. and A. M. WILLIAMSON, Authors of "8V Litfhtnintf Conductor." "Rose mnry Jn Search of ? Father," Etc. J? COPYRIGHT. 1007. BY McCLURE, PHILLIPS tV CO. ETTBRS <>f Introduction for Lady Mowbrny and her daughter to Influen tial and Interesting per sons attached to the Lthaotlau court wore necessarily a part of the wonderful plan concocted In the English garden, though they were among tho (letnils thought out afterward. The widow of the hereditary < 5 rand Duke of Bnumenburg-Drlppe was re ported In the Journals of various coun tries to 1)0 traveling with the Princess Virginia and a small suit through Can ada and the Uulted States, and. fortu nately for the success of the Innocent plot, tho grand duchess had spent ho many years of seclusion In England and had even In her youth met bo few Itbnetlans that there was little fear of detection. Her objections to Virginia's scheme for winning a lover Instead of thanking heaven quietly for a mere husband were based on other grounds, but Virginia had overcome them, and eventually the grand duchess had prov ed not only docile, but positively fertile In expedient. The choosing of the borrowed flag under which to sail had nt first been a difficulty. It was pointed out by a Mond taken into their confidence, a lady whose husband had been ambas sador to Ilbactla, that a real name and a name of some dlgnltj must be adopted If proper Introductions were to be given. And It was the grand duchess who BUggostod tho name of Mowbrny on tho plea thnt she had In a way the right to annex It. The mother of (bo late Duke of ' Northmoicland had been a Miss Mow bray, ami there were still several emi nently respectable, Inconspicuous Mow brny cousins. Among these cousins wits a certain Lady Mowbrny, widow of a baron of that Ilk and possessing a daughter some yenrs older and In numerable degrees plainer than the Princess Virginia. To this Lady Mowbrny the grand duchess had gono out of her way to In; kind in Germany long yenrs ago, when she was a very grnnd personage In deed and Lady Mowbrny comparative ly a nobody. The humble connection hnd expressed herself as unspeakably grateful, and the two hnd kept up a friendship ever since. Therefore when the difficulty of realism In a name pre sented Itself the grand duchess thought of Lady Mowbray and Miss Helen Mowbrny. They were about to leave England for India, but hnd not yet left, and the widow of the baron was flattered ns well as amused by the ro mantic confidence reposed la her by the widow of the grnnd duke. She was delighted to lend her nntne and her daughter's name, and w ho could blame the lady If her mind rushed forward to the time when she should have earned ' gratitude from the .voting empress of Khaetia? l or of course she had no doubt of tho way In which the ndven tUl'O would end. As for the wife of tho Into British ambassador to the ltliaetlnn court, she was not sentimental and therefore wns not quite as comfortably sure of the sequel. As fur ns concerned her own part In tho plot, however, she felt snfe enough, for, though she was after a fashion deceiving her old acquaint ances at Kronburg, she was not foist ing adventuresses upon them. On the contrary, she was giving them a chance of entertaining nngels un awares by sending them letters to ladles who were In reality tho Grand Duchess of Bnutnenburg-Drlppo and the Princess Virginia. The four mysterious gentlemen left A behelligen the day after Virginia's encounter with tho chamois hunter. But the Mowbrnys lingered on. Tho adventure had begun so gloriously that the girl feared an anticlimax for tho next step. Though she longed for tho second meeting, she dreaded It as well and put off tho chance of It front day to day. Tho stay of the Mowbrays at Alleheiligen lengthened Into a week, and when they left at Inst It was only just In tlmo for the great festivities at Kronburg which were to cele brate tho emperor's thlrty-flrst birth day, an event enhanced In national Importance bj the fact thnt tho eighth anniversary of his coronation WOUld fall on the snmc dntc. On the morning of tho Journey the grand duchess had neuralgia and was frankly cross. "I don't see, after all, what you've accomplished so far by this mad freak which has dragged us across Burope," she snld fretfully In the train ?which they hnd taken at a town twenty miles from A behelligen. "Wo've perched on a mountain top, like the ark on Ara rat, for a week, freezing. Tho adven ttiro you hnd there Is only a compllea tlon. What havo wo to show for our trouble?unless Incipient rheumatism?" Virginia had nothing to show for It, at least nothing thnt sho meant to show, oven to her mother, but In a little scented bag of silk which lay next her heart was folded a bit of blot Bog paper. If you looked at Its reflection in a mirror you saw written twice over In a Arm individual hand the name "Helen Mowbrny." The princess bad found It on a table lu tho bout Hitting room after Fran Yorvnu hnd made thnt room rendy for Its new occupnntH. Therefore she loved Alleheillgen; therefore sho thought with redoubled satisfaction of her visit there. To learn her full name he must have thought It worth while io make In quiries. It had lingered In his thoughts or ho would not have sernwled It twice ou Home hit of paper?since destroyed, no doubt?In n moment of Idle dream 1?K. Through most of her life Virginia had known the lack of money, but she would not have exchanged a thousand pounds for the contents of that little bag. Ilohenlnngenwald Is the name of the house from which tho rulers of Uhae tlu sprung. Therefore everything In the beautiful elty of Kronburg which can take tho name of llohcnlnugeu Wald has taken It, and it was nt the Hobenlangenwald hotel that a suit of rooms had been engaged for Lady Mow bray. The travelers broke the long journey nt Mollnnbnd, and Virginia's study of trains bad timed their arrival hi Kron burg for tho morning of the birthday eve, early enough for the first cere mony of the festivities, tho unveiling by tho emperor of a statue of Uhaetla \ In tho Leopoldplatz, directly in front of tho Ilohenlangonwald hotel. Virginia looked forward to seeing the emperor from her own windows, as, according to her calculation, there was nn hour to spare, but at the station they were told by the driver of tho carrluge sent to moot them that, the crowd In tho Rtreet.s being already very great, bo feared it would bo a tedious undertaking to get through. Some of the thoroughfares were closed for traf fic, He would have to go by a round about way and In any case could not rench the ninln entrnnce of tho hotel. At t>est he would have to deposit his passengers and their luggage at a side entrance In n narrow street. As the carriage Started, from far away came a burst of martini music? n military band playing the national air which the chamois hunter had heard a girl sing behind a closed door nt Alleheillgen. The shops were all shut, would be shut until the day after tomorrow, but their windows were unshuttered and guyly decorated to add to the bright ness of the scene. Strange old shops displayed tho marvelous chased silver, the Jeweled weapons and gorgeous em broideries from the far eastern prov inces of Hhaetla. fjpiendld new shops rivaled the best of the Uno de la Pals la Paris. Gray mediaeval buildings made wonderful backgrounds for dra pery of crimson and blue and garlands Of blazing tloweru. Modern buildings of purple red porphyry and the famous hone} yellow marble of Ilbnctla Mut tered with flags, and above all, In the heart of the town, between old and new, rose the Castle Hock. Virginia's pul.scs l>eat as uhe saw the home of i/copokl for tho first time, and she was proud of its plcturesqueness, its riches and grandeur, as If she had BOino right In It too. Ancient narrow streets and wide new streets were ollke arbors of evergreen ami brilliant blossoms. Prosperotis citizens In their best, Inhabitants of the poorer quarters and stalwart peasants front tho cotmOV elbowed and pushed eneb other good nnturedly as they streamed toward the Leopoldplatz Handsome people they were, the girl thought, her heart warming to them dud to her It seemed that the verj nlr tingled with expectation. She bo lleved that sho COCld feel the mag nettc thrill in it even if sho were blind and donf and could hear or Bee nothing of the excitement. "Wo must l>e In time! We shall be In time!" she said to herself. "I shall lean out from my windows and see him." But at tho hotel, which they did finn-lly reach, the girl had to bear a keen disappointment, With many apol ogies tho landlord ozplalned that bo hnd done his very best for Lady Mow bray's party when lie received their letter a fortnight before and thnt he had allotted them a good suit, with balconies overlooking the river at the back of tho house?qtiltu a Venetian of feet, as her ladyship would find. But ?8 to rooms at tho front Impossible! All had boon engaged fully six weeks la advance. One American millionaire wns paying a thousand gulden solely for an hour's use of a small balcony, today for the unveiling and again to morrow for the street procession. Vir ginia was palo with disappointment "Then 1*11 go down into tho crowd and Inke my cbanco of seeing something," Hlie said to her mother when they bad been shown into handsome rooms sat Isfactory In everything but situation "I must hurry or there'll be no hope." "My dear cblid, Impossible for you to do such n thing!" exclaimed the grnnd duchess. "I can't think of allow ing It. Fancy wltat a crush there will be?-all sorts of creatures trampling on each other for places. Besides, yon cou)<1 see nothing." "Oh, mother," pleaded the princess In her softest, sweetest voice, the voice sho kept for extreme ctuc.raenclos of cajoling, "I couldn't boar to stay shut up hero while that music plays and tho crowds shout thomselvos honrso for my emperor. Besides, It's tho most curlour thing?I feel as if a voice kept calling to me that 1 must ho there. Miss Fortman and I'll tako care of each other. You will let me go, won't you ?" . Of course the grand duchess yielded, her one stipulation being that tho two should keep close to the hotel, nnd tho princess urged her reluctant companion away without waiting to hear her mother's last counsels. Their rooms wero on the first floor, aud the girl turned eagerly down tho broad flight of marble stairs, Miss Portmnu following dutifully upon her heels. They could not get out by way of the front door, for people had paid for standing room there and would not yield an Inch, even for an Instant, while tho two or three steps below and the broad pavement in front wero as closely blocked. Matters began to look hopeless, but Virginia would not be daunted. They tried the side entrance and found it free, tho street Into which It led being comparatively empty, but just beyond, where? it ran Into tho great open square of tho I.eopoldplatz, there was a solid wall of sightseers. "We might as well go back," said Miss Portmnn, who had none of the princess' keenness for the undertak ing. She was tired after tho Journey and for herself would rather have had a cup of ten than see fifty emperors unveil as many statues by celebrated sculptors. "Oh, no!" cried Virginia. "We'll get to the front somehow sooner or later, even If we're taken off our feet. Look at that man Just ahead of us. He doesn't mean to turn back. He's not a nice man, but he's terribly deter mined. Let's keep close to him and see what he means to ?V>; then maybe wo shall be able to do it as well." Miss Tort man glanced at the person Indicated by n nod of the princess* head. Undismayed by the mass of hu man beings that blocked the I.eopold platz a few yards ahead, he walked rapidly along without the least hesita tion. He bad the air of knowing ex actly what lie wanted to do and how to do It. Even Miss rortman, who had no Imagination, saw this by his back. The set of the head on the shoulders was Blngltlnrly determined, and the walk revealed a consciousness of Importance accounted for perhaps by the gray and crimson uniform winch might bo that of some Official order. On the sleek black head was a large cocked bat, adorned with on eagle's feather, fastened In place by a gaudy Jewel, and this hat was pulled down very far over the face. "Perhaps he knows that they'll let him through," said Miss Portmnn. "He seems to be a dignitary of some sort. We can't do better, if you're deter mined to go on, than keep near film." "lie has (lie air of being ready to die," whispered Virginia, for they were close to tlie man now. "Ilow can you tell? We haven't Keen his face," replied tho other in the same cautious tone. "No. But look at tho back of his neck and Ids ears." Miss rortman looked nnd gave a lit tle shiver. She would never have thought oi' observing it if her nttciv lion had not been called by the prin cess. Hut It was true. Tho back of the man's neck and his ears were of a ghastly yellow white. "Horrid!" sho ejaculated. "He's probably dying of some contagious dis ease. Do let's get away from him." "No, no," said Virginia. "lie's our only hope. They're going to let him puss through. Listen." Miss Fortman listened, but as she understood only such words of Ithae tlan as sho had picked up In the last few weeks Phe could merely surmise that he was ordering tlie crowd out of his way because he had a special mes sage from the lord chancellor to the burgomaster. Tho human wall opened. Tho man darted through, and Miss Portmnn was dragged after him by the princess. So close to hi in had they kept that they might easily be supposed to be under his escort, nnd, in any case, they pass ed before there was tlmo to dispute their right of way. "It must l>e tho secretary of Herr Koffman, the new burgomaster," Vir ginia heard one man say to another, "and thoSO ladles are with him." On and on through tho crowd passed the man in gray and crimson, oblivious to tho two women w ho wero using htm. There was something about that dis agreeable back of his Which proclaim ed him a man of hut one idea at a time, (.'lose to tho front lino of spec tators, however, thero came n check. "We can't do better." Peoplo were vexed at the audacity of tho girl and tho elderly woman nnd would have pushed them back, but at the critical second the blue nnd silver uniformed band of tlbaotla's crack regiment, tho Imperial Life gnar.ls, spuck up an air which told that tho emperor was coming. Promptly tho small group concerned forgot Us griev ance In excitement, crowding together so that VIrgluia was pressed to tho front, and only MIhs I'oilman was pushed ruthlessly into the background. The poor lady raised a feeble protest In English which nobody heeded unless It were tho man who had Inadvertently acted as pioneer. At her shrill out burst he turned quickly, iis If startled by the sudden cry, and Virginia was so close to him that her chin almost touched his shoulder. For tho first time she had a glimpse of his fare, which matched the yellow wax of bis neck In pallor. Tho glri shrank away from him in voluntarily. "What a death's head."' she thought?"a sly, wicked face and awful eyes! Ho looked frightened. 1 wonder why," Assured that the sharp cry did not concern him, the man turned to the front again, and, having obtained his object?a place In the foremost rank of tho crowd, with one incidentally for tho princess?he proceeded to take from ids breast a roll of parchment tied With narrow ribbon and scaled with a large red seal. As he drew it out and rearranged his coat bis band trembled. It, too, was yellow white. Tho fellow seemed to have no blood in him. Virginia, standing now shoulder to shoulder with the man In gray and crimson, had Just time lo fool a stir ring of dislike and perhaps curiosity when a great cheer arose from thou sands of throats. The square rang with a roar of loyal acclamation. Men waved toll hats, soft hats and green peasant hats with feathers. Beautiful ly dressed women grouped on the high decoratod balconies waved handker chiefs or scattered roses from gilded baskets. Women in gorgeous costumes from faroff provinces held up half frightened, half laughing children, and then a white figure on a white charger came riding Into the square under the triumphal arcli wreathed with (lags and (lowers. Other figures followed?men In uni forms of green and gold and red on coal black horses?yet Virginia saw only the white figure, shining, wonder ful. Under tho glittering helmet of steel, with Its gold eagle, the dark face was clear cut as a cameo, and the eyes were bright with a proud light. To the crowd he W0JS tho emperor, a fine, popular, brilliant young man, who tailed his country better than it had been ruled yet by one of his bouse and, above all, provided many a pleasing spectacle for the people, but to Vir ginia he was far more?an ideal Sir Galahad or a St. Qcorgo strong and brave to slay all dragon wrongs which might threaten his wide land. "What if lie should never love me?" was the one sharp thought which pierc ed her pride of him. Tho people were proud, too, as he sal there controlling the white war horse, with its gold and sliver trappings, the crusted Jewels of many orders spar kling on his breast, while ho saluted his subjects in his soldier's way. Eor a moment there was a pause, save for a shouting, which rose an 1 rose again. Then he alighted, where upon Important looking men with rib bons and decorations came forward, bowing, to receive the emperor. The ceremony of unveiling the statue of Hbae.tla was about to begin. To reach the great crimson draped platform on which bo was to stand tho emperor must pass within a lew yards of Virginia. Ills gaze (lashed over the gay crowd. What if It should rest upon her? The girl's heart was In her tliroot. Site could feel it beat ing there, and for a moment the (all White figure was lost In a mist which dimmed her eyes. She hnd forgotten how she came to this placo of vantage, forgotten the pale man In gray and red to whom she owed her good fortune, but suddenly, while her heart was at Its loudest and tho mist beforo her eyes at Its thick est, she grow conscious again <>i his existence, poignantly conscious of his close presence. So near her bo stood that a quick start, a gathering of his muscles for a spring, shot like an elee* trie message through her own body. The mist was burnt up in the flnmo of a StrnngO enlightenment, a clarity of vision which showed not only the hero of the day, tho throng and the wax white man beside her, but some thing which was In A\c soul of that man as well. "He Is going to kill the emperor!" It was ns If a voice spoke the words in her ear. She knew now why she hnd struggled to win this place, why she had succeeded, what she bad to do or die in falling to do. Leopold was not half a dozen yards away and was coming nearer. No one but Virginia suspected evil. She alone had felt the thrill of a murderer's nerves, the tense spring of Ills mus cles. Sho alone guessed what the roll of parchment hid. "Now?now!" the voice seemed to whisper again, and she had 110 fear. While the crowd shouted wildly for "UllSer Leo!" a man In gray and red leaped, catlike, at the white figure that advanced. Something sharp and bright Hashed out from n roll of parchment, Catching tho sun In n streak of steelv light. Leopold saw, but not In time to IWOrve, The crowd shrieked, rushed forward too late, and the blade would have drunk his lifo had not the girl who had felt all, seen all, Struck up the arm before It fell. Tho rest was darkness for her. She knew only that she was sobbing and thnt the grent square, w ith Us crowded balconies, Its ropes of green, Its wav ing flags, seemed to collnpse upon her and blot her out. It was Leopold who caught her as she swayed, and while the pooplo surg ed around tho thwarted murderer the emperor Hproug uj> tho ?*??>'? of the groat crimson platform" wtfb" t?e gm against his heart. It was her blood that stained tho puro white of his uulfonn, tho blood from hor arm, wounded in his defense. And, holding hor up, ho stood dominat ing tho crowd. Down there nt the foot of tho stops the man In gray and red was liko n Bponl fox among tho hounds, and Leo pold's pcoplo In tho fury of their rage would have torn him In pieces as tho hounds tear the fox despite tho cor don of polico that gathered round him, ? but tho volco of tho emperor bade his subjects fall back. "My people shall not be assassins!" he cried to them. "Let the law deal with tlie madman. It Is my will. Look at mo alive and unhurt. Now glvo youi cheers for the lady who has raved my life, and the ceremonies shall go on." Throe cheers had he said? They gave three times three and bade fair to spill the skies with shouts for tho emperor. While women laughed and "Let Hie law deal with the madman." wepl and all eyes were upon that noblo pair on the rod platform something limp and gray was hurried out of sight and off to prison. On a signal the na tion :1 antla ni began. Tho voices of the people joined the brass Instru ment:1 All Kronburg was singing or ark lug "Who is she?" of the girl at the emperor's side. (Coi.tinued.) HUMAN HANDS DO NOT TOUCH IT. I From tiio 11 mo the raw material* rcachour g factory ihry ur?> linmltoil entirely by ma chinery, le-jit BCrupuloilvly Olotltt. No tbanco for JBlI-fl IGE GHE?jK Powder to becomo contaminated. It Is strictly |> iro and wholesome Our factory Is as c'.cuu as your kltclion. ICE CREAM is Easy to Make. 1 quart mill:. I j.ackaso JKM.-O ICE CR RAM Powdor. Mi.t, and freeze without cooking, blitiplo, isn't it ? This makes two quarts of Smooth, vel vety Icocrontn, dollolously flavored, In it) mlllUtos at cost of about I cent u |ilato. ftiavors: Chocolate, WinilLi, Straw* berry. Lemon an,I Unjflavorcd. Sold by your kmht '2 packages f'<r 25c. "Ktiougli for n gallon."?or by mail if lio does not keep it. Tho Gcncscc Pure Food Co,, tc Roy, N. Y. What is Success? A Kansas woman, Mrs. A. J. 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