ALISE OF ASTRA
 
 " 'YOU ARE ENGLISH?' SHE INQUIRED, GAZING AT HIM SERIOUSLY." 
 
 FRONTISPIECE. See p. 59
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 BY 
 
 H. B. MARRIOTT WATSON 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE CASTLE BY THE SEA," "HURRICANE 
 ISLAND/' "THE PRIVATEERS," ETC. 
 
 WITH FRONTISPIECE BY 
 
 F. GRAHAM COOTES 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 1911
 
 Copyright, 1910, 1911, 
 BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
 
 All rights reserved 
 Published, February, 1911 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. 8. A.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 1 
 
 II. THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 17 
 
 III. THE TELEGRAM 32 
 
 IV. ONE KETSCHINSKI 47 
 
 V. THE STAR CHAMBER 64 
 
 VI. THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 79 
 
 VII. PROCLAMATION DAY 96 
 
 VIII. THE WHARF 110 
 
 IX. MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD .... 123 
 
 X. TENNIS AND TEA 138 
 
 XI. SOME INTRIGUES 149 
 
 XII. A RESCUE 161 
 
 XIII. THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK . . . . 173 
 
 XIV. THE REGENT'S GUEST 187 
 
 XV. THE CAR BEHIND 200 
 
 XVI. PIECES IN THE PUZZLE . 213 
 
 2229454
 
 vi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XVII. THE CHALET OF KROON 225 
 
 XVIII. THE CAPTURE 240 
 
 XIX. THE REGENT SIGNS 255 
 
 XX. DAWN IN THE CASTLE 268 
 
 XXI. SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE . . . 281 
 
 XXII. ALISE SOLVES HERS . . 297
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 
 
 PHILIP TEMPLE had the carriage to himself 
 as far as Dormunde, but the German had got 
 in there. He entered with a reek of tobacco, and 
 settled himself with elaborate ceremony in his corner, 
 after spending some time in fussing with his luggage. 
 This had seemed to Temple unduly cumbrous. It was 
 not as if he could be going very far on this local line, 
 which only ran to Heilberg ; but the German had all the 
 paraphernalia of travel at his disposal. He had evidently 
 gone about it as he would go about collecting beetles, 
 or about drinking beer or book-keeping. His god 
 was form and order, and the more detail the better. 
 His dispositions took so long and were accompanied 
 with such noise that Temple wished he had waited 
 and caught the express. He was tired after journey- 
 ing nearly all day in a roundabout route from Paris, 
 and he wanted to resume his interrupted slumber. 
 
 At last the rustling ceased, and he opened his eyes 
 to see if his companion were settling. Ample of form, 
 and heavily bearded, the man lay back in his seat 
 studying some papers. Temple glanced about, and 
 was vaguely annoyed to find fronting him on the seat 
 opposite a vast bundle of rugs and cloaks. The man
 
 2 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 had taken possession of the whole side with a vengeance. 
 Well, it was his privilege, but it smacked of a gross 
 manner of life, and it was in keeping that presently 
 he should have begun to make horrible noises with 
 his mouth as he chumped at some food he took from 
 a bag. Temple fastidiously frowned, opened his eyes 
 again, and shut them with an inward groan as he 
 noticed the lower jaw go up and disappear with each 
 bite into toothless gums above. He closed his eyes, 
 endeavored to close his ears, and reflected on the huge 
 bundle of rugs with the unreasoning irritation of the 
 sleepy man. He was, in fact, so sleepy that he passed 
 off into unconsciousness despite the ugly noises. 
 
 When he awoke it was with a vague and immense 
 shock, and to find his head a center of dull aching, a 
 pain in his legs and arms, and the sense of an atmos- 
 phere of noise and alarm. He struggled without in- 
 telligence in the darkness that surrounded him, was 
 dimly aware of light without, and got upon his feet. 
 Something it appeared to be woodwork gave 
 way below him, and his foot and ankle went through 
 into space. Ah ! now he remembered he was in a 
 railway carriage ; but what ? 
 
 He groped through the darkness toward the light, 
 which rose in flares outside. On his way he touched 
 something soft, and, stooping, put a hand to it. It 
 was the body of a human being. Stay, the German 
 who had sat on the opposite seat ! Temple was aware 
 now what had happened; there had been an accident. 
 He felt along the prostrate body, but there was no sign 
 of life in it. Anyway he must first get out, and so he 
 pushed past it to the door. He was conscious now that 
 the carriage was askew, but had not fallen, and he was
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 3 
 
 able to get the door open. As he did so a man came 
 up with a lantern, flashing it on him. 
 
 "Are you injured?" he asked in German. 
 
 "No, I don't think so," replied Temple in the same 
 tongue, "but there's some one in there who is." 
 
 The man, a tall, authoritative person, threw the 
 light of his lantern within, and bent his head over it. 
 
 "Poor devil, he'll want no attention!" was all he 
 said. 
 
 "What has happened?" inquired Temple. 
 
 "The Heilberg express has run into the local," 
 replied the man. " Most of the carriages are telescoped. 
 I 'm from the express, and a doctor. It 's lucky you 
 
 escaped. Most of the locals " He paused and 
 
 shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 Philip Temple looked at him, and saw a strong, 
 capable face. The light of the lantern still streamed 
 into the carriage, where the German huddled on the 
 floor almost took on the impassivity and meaningless- 
 ness of inanimate nature. The roll of rugs hung on 
 the seat. It was that which had saved Temple. He 
 could almost have laughed to think of it. He turned 
 away. 
 
 "Can I help? "he asked. 
 
 "You can dig out," said the doctor grimly, as he 
 marched on. 
 
 Temple followed. The air was full of discomposing 
 sounds. The steam was blowing in clouds from a 
 collapsed engine; fires were flaring from burning car- 
 riages, shouts and calls rose in the night, and beneath 
 all was a dreadful undertone, as it were the drone of 
 the injured and the dying. It turned Temple's heart 
 sick, but he was resolved to stay the nausea with action.
 
 4 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 He advanced to a shattered and burning carriage from 
 which two men were carrying forth a human form. 
 
 "Can I help?" he asked again. 
 
 "In there, quick!" said one of the men, nodding 
 towards the carriage. He moved towards it, and peered 
 in. The carriage was a pile of matchwood, and was 
 afire on one side, but he caught a glimpse of a foot 
 protruding from the wreckage. It was a woman's 
 foot, and it brought to his mind that terrible story 
 of the Indian Mutiny the woman's shoe which was 
 visible in Nana Sahib's well at Cawnpore. He began 
 rapidly to pull the matchwood from above this sign 
 of human presence. 
 
 It was not buried deep, and he was soon able to 
 uncover the body. It was that of a young woman, 
 of some style and appearance, and evidently of some 
 beauty. He got her clear of the debris, and putting 
 his arms about the still body, lifted it from the wreck. 
 With his burden he staggered clear of the train and 
 the railway line. 
 
 The scene was now awake with light from the burn- 
 ing carriages and the torches; voices streamed from 
 every side. 
 
 "Where are we? Is there any aid near?" asked 
 Temple, after depositing his charge. 
 
 The man he had asked replied : " I don 't know. No. 
 Somewhere near Waldthal, they say. My God ! what 
 do you think of it ? " 
 
 He had relapsed into English, and Temple was 
 unaccountably glad to hear him; but the next moment 
 he had vanished into the night. The woman at his 
 feet drew Temple's eyes anew. Was she dead? he 
 wanted to know. He hunted about the flying shadows
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 5 
 
 for his doctor any doctor, but no one paid any at- 
 tention. At least, if they listened to him they ignored 
 or forgot. 
 
 "Presently, presently!" reiterated an official in a 
 fine uniform and a fine voice. 
 
 But "presently" would not suffice for Temple. 
 He was accustomed to have his own way when he 
 wanted. 
 
 "Put your hand there," he commanded some one 
 who passed, and the authority in his voice constrained 
 the man. "Is she alive?" 
 
 " There is no doubt, but I will send a doctor. There 
 is Dr. Weiss yonder." 
 
 The man escaped on his own business. Temple 
 waited. 
 
 " What 's this ?" asked another vague shadow, stoop- 
 ing to gaze down. 
 
 "Do you know where we are?" inquired Temple 
 shortly. 
 
 "Yes. Waldthal's two kilometers off," responded 
 the black shadow against the flare, whom he made 
 out to be a youth of seventeen. 
 
 "Nothing nearer?" asked Temple, and learned 
 that the youth's father's cottage lay back a kilometer. 
 He decided rapidly against the cottage, if Waldthal 
 and doctors were only as far again. 
 
 "Then, look here" Temple was masterful 
 "this lady will die if she has no attention. And 
 I don't know who is a doctor and who is n't here. I 
 must remove her to Waldthal. Can you get me a 
 conveyance?" 
 
 It seemed that the shadow's father had a sort of cart. 
 
 " Very well, if you '11 get me the cart within twenty
 
 6 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 minutes I '11 make it worth your while," said Temple. 
 "Can you bring it here?" 
 
 "Yes, the road's just yonder." The shadow van- 
 ished into the night with speed. 
 
 For nearly half an hour Temple remained, endeavor- 
 ing to attract the attention of some one capable of 
 giving aid to the woman he had rescued. At last he 
 came upon his doctor, who allowed himself to be 
 drawn aside to the spot. He bent and examined. It 
 was the affair of a few minutes. 
 
 "No injuries of a serious kind," he reported, "but 
 
 in the condition in which she is, the shock He 
 
 looked grave. "Quiet, rest, and nursing are the best 
 things; and now, excuse me, there are more urgent 
 cases " 
 
 He walked away. Temple stood looking down, 
 with quiet pity. 
 
 The youthful shadow emerged from the night, 
 plucking his elbow. Well, the poor creature must 
 have her chance; in that first glimpse of her, as he 
 parted the splinters above her face, he had taken her 
 for English. Anyway she should have her chance. 
 
 "Ready?" he asked the boy, and receiving a reply 
 in the affirmative, stooped, raised what in its structure 
 was a slender body, and stepped out for the road. It 
 was a rough farm cart in which he placed the unfortu- 
 nate woman, and he walked beside while the youth 
 drove. 
 
 The night was warm with the breath of spring, 
 and the scents of the fields rose into Philip Temple's 
 nostrils. The flare of the railway lights died, and 
 when they had passed over the brow of a hill it was as 
 if the whole horrid scene had been blotted from his
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 7 
 
 mind as from his sight. He might have been passing 
 with his vegetables to early market in some town. 
 That reminded him. 
 
 "Did you say Waldthal was the nearest village?" 
 he asked. 
 
 The youth replied in the affirmative, adding that 
 there were good inns there and doctors. Silence fell 
 between them once more, and the cart rumbled on. 
 There was a certain lightness in the sky, though it 
 was past ten o'clock, and Temple could just make 
 out the configuration of the fields and the contours 
 of the roadside. He was aware of a block of darkness 
 somewhere in the distance, but did not associate it 
 with anything. It might have been land, or cloud, 
 or an objective mass of forest. The cart rumbled on 
 along a deserted road, and no further conversation 
 passed between the man and the youth. The roadway 
 began to go down, and the cart rocked and groaned 
 on its clumsy axles; it crossed a little stream that ran 
 unbridged and open, with a heavy jerk. Temple put 
 his hand on the horse. 
 
 "Hold!" he said. 
 
 He was afraid of that bump. He lit a match and 
 examined the interior of the cart. Yes, he was afraid 
 of that bump. The woman's face, yellow under his 
 tiny flame, looked ghastly. He had supported her 
 head on some sacks, and the face was upturned to the 
 live spring sky, with unseeing eyes. He fumbled to 
 feel the heart, and thought he could detect it. 
 
 "How far is the village?" he asked the youth, who 
 replied that it was about a kilometer distant. 
 
 As they had already gone more than a mile, Temple 
 realized that the youth's original estimate of the dis-
 
 8 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 tance had been wrong. He placed now little reliance 
 on the new statement. Temple signaled to him to go 
 on. In the twilight the road wound uphill, turned by 
 a black patch of trees, and seemed to be about to de- 
 scend once more. A twinkle of light in the depth below 
 caught Temple's attention; it marked the village; but 
 to the right suddenly he perceived a larger gleam at 
 closer quarters. The mass of darkness which he had 
 vaguely noted earlier now presented itself in clearer 
 proximity, and showed as a pile of buildings. 
 
 "What is that?" he asked abruptly. 
 
 "The Castle of Waldthal," replied his guide. 
 
 Philip Temple was accustomed to make up his mind 
 quickly when there was occasion. He was afraid of 
 the road to Waldthal. 
 
 "Drive there," he commanded. 
 
 " But, sir the Castle ! " 
 
 Temple crushed the protest. "Do as I bid," he 
 said curtly; and with manifest reluctance and inward 
 fears the boy turned his horse aside upon the cross 
 track that led from the crown of the hill to the Castle. 
 A hundred yards farther he came to a halt before huge 
 gates; and now it was that Temple perceived whence 
 the light flowed. There was a large lodge at the gates 
 with lighted windows. He groped, found a bell, and 
 pulled it vigorously. Almost immediately afterwards 
 his peal was answered by a woman who came out of 
 the lodge with a lantern, and swung it at him. 
 
 "Is it the Dr. Lennheim?" she asked. 
 
 "No," said Temple shortly. " It is a woman in 
 sore need." 
 
 "Ach!" The custodian of the gates appeared to 
 wait, to consider and to study him.
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 9 
 
 "You are not an Eisenburger ? " she said presently. 
 "But then you are not German?" 
 
 Her words were only half a question, but he an- 
 swered them. 
 
 "I am English," he said. "There has been a rail- 
 way accident some distance back, and the poor lady 
 I have in this cart is gravely injured. She needs at- 
 tention at once. This is the first house on the way, 
 and so I brought her here. Think," he threw at her, 
 " a woman and dying ! " 
 
 She heaved a sigh. "Wait!" she said, and scurried 
 back to the lodge. A few minutes later Temple saw 
 a figure dash out of the lodge and run quickly up the 
 drive which he supposed to lead to the Castle, and 
 almost simultaneously a tall, burly man emerged with 
 the woman, both with lanterns. They came to the 
 grille of the gates and peered through, and then the 
 man took a jangling bunch of keys and, selecting one, 
 turned it in a lock. He came out with his lantern 
 held up, staring at Temple, and from him to the 
 driver. 
 
 "You come from Heyten Farm?" he interrogated 
 harshly. 
 
 "Yes," said the boy. 
 
 "This accident " said the man. "Was it an 
 
 accident?" 
 
 "Yes," said the boy, adding with some exhibition 
 of personal satisfaction: "There were hundreds killed 
 and injured. I saw them." 
 
 "Ah!" The interrogator passed to the cart, and 
 threw the light in; both he and the woman who had 
 joined him scrutinized the injured lady and talked 
 harshly below their breath. Finally the man came
 
 10 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 back to where Temple was standing with growing 
 indignation, and said in a civil voice: 
 
 "The gates cannot be opened to admit strangers 
 after eight o'clock. It is his Excellency's orders." 
 
 "But the woman is dying," exclaimed Philip hotly. 
 
 " We have sent to ask to report," said the man. 
 
 The sound of feet upon the drive drew the attention 
 of them all at this juncture. Several people seemed 
 to be approaching, and the man and the woman hastily 
 withdrew within the gates. 
 
 "Is that you, Krettner?" demanded a quick, au- 
 thoritative voice. 
 
 The young man who came first to the gates was in 
 uniform, bright-faced, and young. He took a lantern 
 from Krettner and examined the surroundings. As 
 he was obviously in ofiice Temple made his address 
 anew to him, pointing out the urgency of the case. 
 The young man's bright eyes took hfm in. 
 
 " You are English ? " he said in that language, which 
 he spoke with just a pleasant accent. "Yes, we will 
 do what is possible. It is necessary to live by rules 
 
 in Dr. Lemercier, please come here," he broke 
 
 off into German. 
 
 The man who had accompanied advanced. 
 
 "It is Dr. Lemercier," explained the first man. 
 "He will make an examination, and do what is pos- 
 sible for the poor lady." 
 
 "But," protested Temple again, "I think the first 
 necessity is to get her into some house where she can 
 lie in warmth and comfort." 
 
 "But yes " began the officer, and turned away, 
 
 as the doctor, who had been looking into the cart, 
 claimed his attention.
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 11 
 
 They spoke together in murmurs. 
 
 "Very well," said the officer at last. "If you wish 
 it; I don't mind taking the responsibility. Good!" 
 He came back to Temple. "We have decided that 
 the lady shall be taken into the Castle " 
 
 "You are kind," said Temple, bowing after the 
 continental manner. "But I should have thought the 
 lodge would have been better, being nearer, and " 
 
 "No," said Lemercier, speaking to him for the first 
 time, and his voice was sharp and peremptory. "It 
 must be the Castle. It is too far for me." 
 
 "There is illness in the Castle, sir," explained the 
 more communicative officer. 
 
 Lemercier growled, the soldier gave his orders, 
 and the gates rolled slowly open. The cart jerked 
 forward and began to move slowly up the avenue 
 which gave access to the Castle. 
 
 It drew up finally somewhere in the rear wing of 
 the building, which loomed formidably in the night 
 and seemed of great size; and, the doctor having called 
 assistance from within, the unfortunate lady was 
 gently placed on a stretcher and carried into the house. 
 Temple watched the operations from the lobby through 
 which the procession passed. Some one pushed the 
 interior door wider open so as to allow the ingress, 
 and a rich glow of light from the corridor fell on the 
 stretcher, illuminating the woman's face. In his heart 
 Temple felt she was doomed; he shuddered as he 
 turned away and the door closed. Near by was the 
 soldier. 
 
 "Sir," he said with courteous ceremony, "I offer 
 you my sincere condolences, but you understand 
 our doctors will do everything."
 
 12 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 For a moment Temple was puzzled at this address; 
 and then he realized that the situation had been mis- 
 understood. This officer thought him no doubt they 
 all thought him the husband of the lady. But before 
 he could repudiate the connection, the other continued, 
 in a slightly different voice: 
 
 "I am instructed to entertain you, sir, and am en- 
 tirely at your service. Meanwhile, I would suggest 
 some refection. You you too did not escape with- 
 out injury?" 
 
 He spoke in English out of compliment to his guest, 
 whom he motioned to precede him through a door. 
 Temple hesitated only momentarily, for he was very 
 tired, and he did need some refreshment. Moreover, 
 as it had flashed through his mind in the circumstances, 
 he had no particular destination. He was conducted 
 by his host into a comfortable room which he sup- 
 posed to be the private room of the officer of the guard. 
 His host brought glasses and bottles from a cupboard 
 and proffered hospitality. 
 
 "This is wine," he said, "and cognac, and Schnapps, 
 and there is your whisky. You shall choose." 
 
 Temple chose cognac, and his companion followed 
 his example. He sipped a little appreciatively. 
 
 "Ah, my dear sir," he said, as if suddenly remember- 
 ing the sadness of the occasion. " I can understand how 
 gravely you fear. But take heart, our doctors 
 
 "My dear sir," said Temple, remembering also, 
 "you are mistaken in what you suppose. The poor 
 lady is not related to me in any way." 
 
 " Not related ! " His host stared. 
 
 " I picked her out of the smash. I don't even know 
 her name. Mine is Temple."
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 13 
 
 The officer bowed to the introduction. "And mine, 
 Mi. Temple, is Du Vallon, Constantine du Vallon, 
 Capt :in in his Highness's Waldthal Guards." 
 
 Temple acknowledged the introduction on his side. 
 The two young men looked at each other. They were 
 about of an age thirty. The Englishman was the 
 taller, and the more muscular; his coloring and com- 
 plexion were characteristic of his country, being in 
 excess of neither dark nor fair. He was neutral in 
 tint, and sober to look on, even having a suggestion 
 of laziness, or at any rate of indifference, in his manner. 
 The lines of his face were rather bold and handsome, 
 and he had quiet gray eyes. On the other hand 
 Du Vallon was quite fair, blue of eye, fresh of voice and 
 air, and quick of emotion, His temperament looked 
 frankly at you from his friendly face. It was a pleasant 
 face, like the Englishman's clean save for a moustache, 
 which was trained in military fashion. 
 
 So soon as he heard that Temple was not emotionally 
 concerned in the fate of the lady Du Vallon's demeanor 
 underwent a swift change. He brightened; that fine 
 show of sympathy fell from him like a veil; he prof- 
 fered a box of cigars, lighted one himself, and genially 
 motioning his guest to a comfortable chair, stretched 
 himself in another with a certain negligent grace. 
 
 "Ah!" he said with a sigh, "sad things happen, 
 Mr. Temple. The world is full of them. One cannot 
 deny it. It is best to take what happiness one may 
 while it flies." 
 
 He waved his cigar, as if he was taking it there and 
 then. "You have not seen our horse races?" he in- 
 quired abruptly. "But no, not if you have just 
 come."
 
 14 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Temple indicated that Eisenburg was strange ground 
 to him. 
 
 "Ah, yes, of course," said Captain du Vallon. "But 
 you are English, and interested in horse races." He 
 assumed airily that all Englishmen were. "You must 
 stay now you are here and see ours. It is quite 
 quite in style, you know. I have a bet on Grandpere 
 Michis," he added meditatively, "a big bet. I hope 
 he will win." 
 
 Temple also expressed the hope that he would, and 
 rose to go. After all, he had formed no plans, and 
 he must needs be thinking of the future. Somewhere 
 in the Castle a clock boomed out the hour of eleven. 
 
 "What, Mr. Temple, you are going? I beg you 
 no," said his host, jumping to his feet. "It is dull, 
 this waiting, and you are tired. Now try that whisky. 
 It is good and comes from England." 
 
 Temple excused himself, adding with a deprecatory 
 smile: "You see, Captain, I am homeless and desti- 
 tute. I must look for lodgings." 
 
 Du Vallon's eyes wandered about the room. "Par- 
 don ! I wish I might invite you. Pardon ! I had for- 
 gotten. Let me consider. Oh, come, there is the 
 Hotel du Cerf at Waldthal an admirable hostelry, 
 for I have stayed there. Pray sit down. I will see 
 you are directed there presently." 
 
 Temple hesitated, asked the distance, and, learn- 
 ing it was little more than a quarter of an hour's walk, 
 sat down and allowed his glass to be refilled. 
 
 "It is seldom one can talk with intelligent people," 
 said Du Vallon with an expressive gesture. "Here 
 we have the Court, oh yes, but dull dogs most of them, 
 and soldiers, oh yes, but with no heart above drill."
 
 THE UNKNOWN WOMAN 15 
 
 He twirled his moustache and assumed an air of 
 intense intellectuality, which stirred Temple's sense of 
 humor. He liked to laugh quietly behind his some- 
 what impassive expression. 
 
 "The Grand Duke is in residence here?" he in- 
 quired politely. He had the vaguest notion of Eisen- 
 burg politics, but he knew it was a grand-duchy. 
 
 "The Grand Duke!" His companion was mani- 
 festly amazed. "But, my friend, his Highness has 
 been dead these three months." 
 
 Temple murmured his apologies. " I am an ignorant 
 islander. We live to ourselves," he said. 
 
 Du Vallon was interested in his ignorance. "The 
 Grand Duke," he repeated, "died three months ago. 
 That is our trouble. That is why we are so dull. Ah, 
 yes, dull and troubled!" 
 
 "I can understand that," said Temple civilly. "But 
 has he not a successor?" 
 
 Du Vallon wheeled on him two very blue eyes, 
 and leaned forward. 
 
 " There is our trouble," he said confidentially. " The 
 Grand Duchess He paused. " It is fortunate 
 
 for that poor lady that we are full of doctors to-night. 
 There is Lemercier and others. Yes. My friend, 
 we are expecting a very interesting event this night." 
 
 "An heir!" Temple's mind rose to the conjecture. 
 " My congratulations." 
 
 Du Vallon received them with a profound bow, as 
 if they were personally his. "You say well. It will 
 be a good thing for all of us, for Eisenburg, when the 
 heir arrives." 
 
 "If not ?" Temple ventured. 
 
 Again Du Vallon lowered his voice to a confidential
 
 16 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 register. "If not," he said impressively, "the throne 
 will pass away to another line." 
 
 "What line?" asked the interested Englishman. 
 
 Du Vallon's brows contracted in a frown. "Prince 
 Albrecht of Suabia a German," he said brusquely. 
 
 " Then he is not popular ? " pursued the Englishman. 
 
 " Popular ! " He waved his hand impatiently. " I have 
 never seen him. There has been nothing between our 
 Grand Dukes and the Suabian line for several genera- 
 tions. He descends from a sister of Louis XIX. There 
 is no Salic law in Eisenburg. He is a German." Du 
 Vallon cut viciously at another cigar. " Eisenburg is in- 
 dependent; her independence is guaranteed, look you, by 
 the Powers. She is neither German nor French nor Belgian 
 nor Dutch. We want no Germans here," he growled. 
 
 Temple began to get an inkling of the significance 
 of this night to Eisenburg; it appeared that he had 
 stumbled on a momentous crisis. The tragedy of the 
 train had led him to a point where he had his finger 
 on the pulse of history. He was vaguely interested, and 
 sat looking at Du Vallon and pondering. 
 
 Suddenly there was a rap on the door, and a servant 
 entered, flushed and flurried. 
 
 "His Excellency desires to see the gentleman, Cap- 
 tain," he blurted out. 
 
 "His Excellency!" repeated Du Vallon, starting up. 
 
 "His Excellency!" echoed Temple wonderingly. 
 "Who is his Excellency?" 
 
 Du Vallon looked at him as if in surprise. "His 
 Excellency Count Cavari," he answered, and as Temple 
 still looked his interrogation, added to that, " the Chan- 
 cellor of Eisenburg. Franz, I will conduct the gentle- 
 man myself," he said in dismissal of the messenger.
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 
 
 /CAPTAIN DU VALLON exhibited animation 
 V-^ at once. 
 
 "His Excellency desires to see you, Mr. Temple. 
 Come, we must not keep his Excellency waiting. Heav- 
 ens, what a surprising night! It is near twelve. 
 This way, my friend, this way." 
 
 Philip Temple followed, wondering vaguely what 
 he had to do with so great a person as the Chancellor 
 of Eisenburg, and quite appreciably affected with 
 curiosity at the situation. They went along broad 
 flagged corridors under dim lights, and in a large hall 
 mounted a shallow staircase. On the floor above 
 Captain du Vallon proceeded at the brisk pace with 
 which he had set out along an equally broad corridor 
 of oak, with long mullioned windows looking out on 
 a courtyard. 
 
 " This is the center of the Castle," he explained in 
 a whisper to Temple. "The Chancellor has his offices 
 here. He looks out on the park gardens the other 
 side." 
 
 As he spoke he laid a hand on his companion's 
 arm, as it were a detaining or precautionary hand. 
 Temple, looking at him to find the reason, followed 
 his glance, which went down the corridor after a wo- 
 man's figure. It was tall, seemingly young, and of a 
 grayness that melted into the twilight of the passage.
 
 18 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered the Captain in his ear. " It 's 
 the Princess. She must be greatly perturbed this 
 night." 
 
 "What Princess?" Temple managed to ask. 
 
 "Princess Alise," whispered back Du Vallon, "the 
 sister of the Grand Duchess. She is devoted to her 
 sister. It is an anxious time for her." 
 
 He resumed his way slowly, and just then a door 
 opened a little ahead of them and a man issued 
 short, dark, and wrapped in thought. He did not lift his 
 head as he passed them, and Du Vallon turned to look 
 after him. 
 
 "It is Professor Scheltzen," he said, "the eminent 
 surgeon from Eisenburg. He has been called in. He 
 comes from his Excellency's chambers." 
 
 It was with considerable interest that the young 
 Englishman, who had been accidentally admitted to 
 a close inspection of these dynastic secrets, looked 
 after the great man. He watched him go down the 
 corridor, and of a sudden a gray shadow leaped in 
 his path. It was the Princess Alise. The two stood 
 talking in the dimness. 
 
 "His Excellency waits," Captain du Vallon's voice 
 reproached him. 
 
 Temple turned; the soldier rapped on the door, 
 and entered to a call. He beckoned Temple in. 
 
 "Your Excellency, I have brought Mr. Temple to 
 you," said Du Vallon, with a formal salute. 
 
 It was a room of no great size which they had en- 
 tered, but it was brightly lighted, and Temple saw 
 that two people occupied it the one a grave and 
 elderly man at a table writing, the other an older man, 
 equally grave, who stood with a paper in his hand.
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 19 
 
 It was to this latter that Du Vallon made his 
 salute. 
 
 " Mr. Temple ? " said his Excellency in good English. 
 "Good. Please come this way." 
 
 He dismissed the soldier with a gesture, and moved 
 across the room to a door which gave access to a fur- 
 ther and larger room which was lined with bookshelves 
 and safes. He indicated a chair in which Temple 
 might sit, and himself dropped into one behind a 
 bureau over which he surveyed the Englishman. The 
 Englishman in his turn surveyed the famous Chan- 
 cellor with quick, calculating eyes, though his face 
 expressed very little. 
 
 "Mr. Temple, I understand you are English," 
 began the Chancellor, putting the tips of his fingers 
 together. 
 
 "Yes," assented the younger man, not wholly im- 
 pressed by this finicking trick. 
 
 "I have heard of the terrible accident to the Heil- 
 berg train," resumed his Excellency. "Indeed, I 
 have had an account forwarded to me." He bent 
 over a paper on his desk. " I have placed the resources 
 of the village at the disposal of the unhappy sufferers. 
 I understand that you and your wife were unfortunate 
 enough to be passengers by it. I am glad I was able 
 to be instrumental in giving the poor lady shelter at 
 the last." 
 
 Temple did not interrupt, though he saw the original 
 mistake repeated. He never interrupted unnecessarily, 
 and always waited his own time. Perhaps it was con- 
 stitutional indolence. His Excellency could be dis- 
 illusioned later, when he had said all he wanted to 
 say. Temple was curious to learn what that was.
 
 20 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 His look expressed interest only. The Chancellor's 
 eyes, which were strangely light and hard, flashed 
 for a moment on him inquiringly, like gleams of steel. 
 
 "I thought," he said, in a clear, level, emotionless 
 voice "I thought that perhaps it would be kinder 
 to break to you the sad news that your wife never 
 rallied." 
 
 He ceased, eying the other with an equable gaze 
 that struck Temple as rather horrible in the supposed 
 circumstances. It was a cold, businesslike face which 
 was turned towards him, almost as if the head of a 
 firm were interviewing him on a commercial proposal. 
 Yet Temple felt doubtful now as to the validity of 
 that first impression of finicking ways. 
 
 "I thank your Excellency, but the lady was no 
 relation to me," he said quietly. " I am deeply grieved 
 that she should have lost her life in this tragic way, 
 but she was unknown to me." 
 
 There rose a gleam in the steel eyes of the Count 
 which flickered for an instant; and then his gaze fell, 
 and he shifted some papers before him. 
 
 "I congratulate you," he said after a little pause. 
 "It is pathetic, and I congratulate you that you are 
 emotionally removed from the tragedy." He made 
 again a tiny halt. " I have done all I can to further 
 the cause of humanity. You have, then, no knowl- 
 edge of the lady's identity?" 
 
 He put the question in his dry, mechanical voice, 
 now regarding Temple again. 
 
 "None," said he. "I assume, however, that it can 
 be established." 
 
 "In what way?" the official voice asked. 
 
 " I suppose there are witnesses to identify marks
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 21 
 
 on linen, perhaps even clearer evidences, by letter or 
 card." 
 
 "True." His Excellency reflected. "I will have 
 inquiries made. You may leave it in the hands of 
 our police, Mr. Temple." His manner underwent 
 a change; he took up some papers, and glanced at his 
 guest. " I am glad you are not concerned in the tragedy," 
 he said with an evident air of dismissal. "You will 
 excuse me. I have much on my hands just now." 
 
 Philip Temple rose, and made his formal bow, 
 which was formally returned by the Chancellor with- 
 out further words. A moment afterwards he was in 
 the corridor with Du Vallon, who had waited in the 
 ante-chamber for him, and now proceeded to conduct 
 him back to his own quarters. 
 
 "His Excellency," said the Captain, who seemed burn- 
 ing with curiosity "his Excellency was gracious?" 
 
 "His Excellency was polite," said Temple, smiling, 
 "and I accept it as gracious that he desired to break 
 the news to me in person of the poor lady's death." 
 
 "Death !" echoed Du Vallon. "Ah, well, my friend, 
 you did your duty. It is something to have done one's 
 duty. Life ! Life ! It was gracious in his Excellency 
 to send for you, particularly when he has so much to 
 
 trouble him. This affair " Captain du Vallon's 
 
 shrug was expressive. 
 
 At the head of the stairs which led down into the 
 hall from which they had ascended they encountered 
 Dr. Lemercier, dark and sharp of air. He went by 
 without heeding them and with astonishing swiftness. 
 Immediately afterwards a low gabble of women's 
 voices sounded in their ears, and two nurses passed 
 them rapidly in the wake of the doctor.
 
 22 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "This affair!" Du Vallon paused and looked at 
 them, as he repeated the words in another voice. His 
 eyes were alight with eagerness. "Mr. Temple, we 
 live in exciting times. See there. There is a crisis 
 in this nation's history, and we have our hand on its 
 pulse. Come, my friend, we will drink to a happy 
 solution." 
 
 Temple protested. It was near midnight, and 
 he must be on his way to the village, which he had 
 yet to find in the dark. But Du Vallon's voluble 
 spirit would take no refusal, and he at last yielded. 
 Two glasses were solemnly charged with wine, and 
 lifted. 
 
 "We will drink, friend, to a happy solution and to 
 the health of the Grand Duchess. Even now all may 
 be well. What did I say? No, we will be bolder, 
 and will drink to the health of the Grand Duke, God 
 save him !" 
 
 Du Vallon tossed off the wine and shattered the 
 glass on the hearth. Following his example with tol- 
 erant courtesy, Temple did the same. 
 
 "And now," he said, "I must leave you." 
 
 The soldier conducted him to the doors, effusively 
 offering him his services. He was to say in what way 
 Constantine du Vallon could be of assistance to him. 
 "You have been guest of mine during a momentous 
 night; you have shared my vigil," he declared. "It 
 is right we should be friends. Hark ! What is 
 that? No; it is only twelve o'clock striking. I am 
 unstrung. Good-bye, my friend. Never doubt we 
 shall have good news, and Eisenburg shall be safe 
 from the accursed German." 
 
 He was garrulous now between wine and his own
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 23 
 
 natural ebullience of spirit, and he shook Temple's 
 hand warmly as he left. 
 
 It was only when he had reached the lodge that 
 Philip remembered he had not received the promised 
 guide. Yet Waldthal was near, and he stopped at 
 the gate to inquire of the lodgekeeper. The woman, 
 who recognized him, gave him directions, and then 
 put a question as to the poor lady. Temple told her 
 she was dead, and the woman cried out: 
 
 "Ah!" she said compassionately, "and the gentle- 
 man will be heart-broken." 
 
 " I am very sorry, but I did not know who she was," 
 he explained for the third time that night. 
 
 The woman did not seem to comprehend, and looked 
 bewildered as she opened the gates for him. He marched 
 into the night with a farewell. 
 
 It was a good deal darker by now, and the road 
 was involved in heavy shade. Looking back, he could 
 see the lights of the Castle, and in the distance a twinkle 
 showed where the village lay. The road went down 
 the hill, and curled into a wood. Here it was that he 
 recalled the woman's directions. If he wanted the 
 shortest way, he was to take the turning through the 
 wood to the left. Well, he did want the shortest way, 
 for he was both hungry and tired ; and so without hesi- 
 tation he took the left turning. 
 
 Within five minutes he felt that he had made a 
 mistake, for the track was turning uphill, and he was 
 certain that the village lay below. The trees in their 
 spring leafage encompassed him, occluding its lights. 
 He stopped suddenly in more than doubt, and in the 
 silence which ensued on the cessation of his footfalls 
 he heard a twig snap under some weight behind him.
 
 24 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Twisting about, he discovered a dim something in the 
 track, and hailed it. 
 
 "Any one there?" 
 
 An answer came back to him an affirmative and 
 cheerful "Ja." He retraced his steps, and joined 
 the form, which was that of a short and rather thick- 
 set man. 
 
 "I am trying to get to Waldthal," he explained. 
 "Am I right?" 
 
 "I am going there myself," responded the stranger 
 briskly. "Allow me the privilege of conducting you." 
 
 This was handsomely civil, and Temple accepted 
 with alacrity. The stranger turned aside on a by- 
 path, moving through the thickest of the wood in a 
 descent which brought them presently on the back 
 parts of the village and its lights. It was now past 
 midnight, but the place was awake and active. The 
 sufferers from the railway accident were distributed 
 in the houses, and the unwonted business of attend- 
 ing on them kept the villagers from their beds. His 
 guide and companion conversed affably with Temple 
 on the subject. He expressed his horror, and assever- 
 ated the tragedy of it with emphasis that so many 
 innocent folk should be plunged at a stroke into an 
 ugly death! "But we Eisenburgers," he concluded 
 with modest pride, "are hospitable, and have tender 
 hearts. We would do all that could be done to help 
 the poor creatures. For the dead there is no help." 
 
 He threw up a despairing arm as he spoke. 
 
 Philip Temple commented in a complimentary 
 manner on the Eisenburg attitude, and so talking 
 they came into the village. 
 
 Temple had informed his guide as to his destina-
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 25 
 
 tion, and had learned that they were both bound for 
 the same inn. 
 
 " I am on business private business," said the 
 Eisenburger, nodding with importance. 
 
 The host of the Hotel du Cerf, Maillac by name, 
 ushered them into a comfortable room in which, late 
 as it was, cloths were laid on two of the small tables. 
 The accident had thrown a sudden burden of work 
 on him also, but he was smiling, and courteous, and 
 cheerful as a grig. 
 
 "Ah, Hen* Kuss," said he, addressing Temple's 
 companion, " how is it up at the Castle, eh ? Is there 
 any news ? What of her Highness ? We are all anxious, 
 let me tell you." 
 
 Herr Kuss, thus addressed, got up and solemnly 
 took the innkeeper aside. He spoke with him earnestly, 
 and gesticulated a good deal. He was, now that Tem- 
 ple had him under the light, a stocky little fellow of 
 thirty, with a stout, red face, very perky of air, bright 
 of eye, and bristling of manner. He looked like some 
 overgrown cock-sparrow, as he stood laying down 
 the law to the sallow innkeeper, who nodded, got in 
 a word or two, nodded again, strove to interrupt and 
 failed, and finally backed away and slipped swiftly 
 out of the room. Herr Kuss returned to the fireplace 
 and spread his legs apart. 
 
 "It is the wish of his Excellency that everything 
 should be done to alleviate the sufferers," he said. 
 " I have just delivered a message to that effect. I have 
 sent Maillac flying." 
 
 He was manifestly satisfied at this sign of his power, 
 and then graciously took his fellow-passenger's affairs 
 in hand.
 
 26 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "But, sir, I perceive you have nothing to eat. You 
 will want food, no doubt. I will see you are at- 
 tended to." 
 
 He rang the bell and brought in the host again, 
 whom he addressed authoritatively. 
 
 "My good Maillac, this gentleman is tired and 
 hungry. He desires some food, no doubt. Why don't 
 you ask him?" 
 
 " But, Herr Kuss, your orders " 
 
 "Well, man, there is more than one pair of legs 
 in this place, and more than one pair of hands, or I'm 
 blind and halt and deaf too ! The gentleman, no doubt, 
 has traveled far." 
 
 It was in its way an interrogation, and Temple an- 
 swered it. He was not communicative by nature, or 
 he would at an earlier stage in their acquaintance have 
 explained his presence. 
 
 "I was unlucky enough to be in the accident," he 
 said now simply. 
 
 Maillac stared, and the little cock-sparrow started; 
 both seemed eminently surprised. 
 
 "But you were lucky enough to escape then!" re- 
 marked Herr Kuss at last. "It is marvelous. Good 
 Heavens, what a crash, what suffering, what agony! 
 Will Monsieur tell us about it?" 
 
 "If Monsieur will be so good as to serve me with 
 some refreshment, I shall be at the disposal of you 
 both," said Temple good-naturedly. 
 
 Maillac apologized for his neglect, and taking his 
 order, dashed away. Herr Kuss stood surveying the 
 Englishman with apparent admiration in his light, 
 inquiring eyes. 
 
 "To think that you have been through it and lived,"
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 27 
 
 he remarked, "and not even injured!" And he put 
 a question as to the collision. 
 
 To oblige him Temple rapidly sketched his im- 
 pressions of the scene and finished abruptly: "I saw 
 no more, as I came away." 
 
 By this time supper was at hand, and he fell to, inn- 
 keeper and guide watching him with interest. 
 
 "You made your way here then, Monsieur?" asked 
 Kuss. 
 
 "Yes," said Temple laconically. There was no 
 reason why he should relate the story of the unhappy 
 lady, or tell of his visit to the Castle. 
 
 Little Kuss eyed him thoughtfully, and for a little 
 while in silence. Then he said, "Well, well!" which 
 seemed to sum up his comments on anything that sur- 
 prised him. 
 
 At that moment a woman's hand was thrust into 
 the room, and a woman's voice called out excitedly: 
 
 "The bells are ringing! the bells are ringing!" 
 
 There was an instant commotion. Maillac rushed 
 out of the door, and Kuss ran quickly to a window 
 and opened it. The first sound that struck on Temple's 
 ear was that of a rushing stream that ran by the inn 
 and through the village; but behind that, and very 
 distant, he could hear the clangor of bells. Footsteps 
 and voices were audible all over the house now, and 
 the noise of people running in the street flowed through 
 the open window. For some thirty seconds Herr Kuss 
 listened to the bells, as they crashed out on the night, 
 and then he turned, his face aflame with eagerness, 
 to Temple. 
 
 "It is the Grand Duke !" he said in an awed whisper. 
 " It is the new heir that is born to-night."
 
 28 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Temple recalled the parting scene with Du Vallon. 
 
 "The heir!" he echoed. "Those are joy-bells, 
 then. Well, he is born into his heritage weal or 
 woe, joy or care. We must all have our chance. I 
 drink to the Grand Duke, Herr Kuss." 
 
 Kuss, his eyes rolling in a red face, contemplated 
 him for a moment ; then 
 
 "Your sentiments are kind, sir," he said heartily. 
 "You honor our ruler. It is a compliment worthy 
 of you and your nation. I too will drink it. Maillac, 
 Maillac!" he called loudly. "A bottle of your finest 
 Moselle, Maillac, to drink the Grand Duke's health." 
 
 " If you will allow me ' Temple poured from 
 
 his own bottle a glass of wine, and presented it to 
 him. 
 
 "Oh, sir, a thousand thanks; you are gracious." 
 He bowed. 
 
 The innkeeper came in time, another bottle was 
 produced, and a solemn toast was drunk. 
 
 " Here 's to the Grand Duke and confusion to 
 Albrecht!" 
 
 This was Maillac, spluttering excitedly, and cough- 
 ing as the wine went the wrong way. 
 
 "Hush, Maillac!" Kuss frowned. "We must not 
 bore this gentleman with our politics. It is enough 
 that the Grand Duke has been born to his own. Hark, 
 those bells!" 
 
 "He will be called Louis," said Maillac clamantly. 
 "All the Wolfgang line have been Louis." 
 
 "Yes, Louis he shall be; Louis he is," assented 
 Kuss. 
 
 " Ah, Herr Kuss, I envy you the pride of returning 
 to the Castle, where such great events have happened !"
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 29 
 
 The genial and loyal innkeeper sighed with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 Kuss bore his honors modestly. "Oh, I shall not 
 see much of it," he protested. "I shall be busy. I 
 have my accounts to keep and the rest. But there 
 will be no sleep in the Castle this night. This night? 
 This morning ! Soon will the sun be up, and " 
 
 A roll as of thunder surged in the air and overwhelmed 
 their ears ; and the two men started up. Temple recog- 
 nized the noise of a motor-car. It crossed the bridge 
 over the stream with a roar, and came to a pause out- 
 side the Hotel du Cerf. 
 
 Kuss approached the window, and looked out. " It 
 is a car," he announced. "Some late arrival." He 
 came back. " Maillac, this is generous wine. I grudge 
 not the three francs. Here comes your new guest." 
 
 A man entered as he spoke. He was between forty 
 and fifty, tall, heavily built, with a dark, full face and 
 rather somber eyes. A certain masterfulness showed 
 in his bold features. He was clad in furs of so rough 
 and bristling a character as to give him the appearance 
 of a huge and savage animal. He crossed to a table 
 in a few big strides, taking in the occupants of the 
 room with drifting eyes. 
 
 "Maillac, a glass of cognac," he said bluffly. 
 
 "Certainly, your honor; certainly, Herr Baron," 
 said the innkeeper uneasily, and hurried away. 
 
 The newcomer's gaze passed over little Kuss, dis- 
 missing him with silent contempt, and dwelt on the 
 Englishman, who, leaning back in his chair, was sip- 
 ping the last of his wine, but he did not speak. It was 
 only when Maillac had returned rather breathlessly that 
 he said :
 
 30 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I heard bells, Maillac. I conclude they celebrate 
 some event, eh?" 
 
 He grinned rather saturninely, looking from under 
 bushy eyebrows. 
 
 "Yes, your honor," replied the innkeeper; but to 
 Temple's surprise he did not explain further. 
 
 The stranger gulped the cognac in a breath. 
 
 "And I shouldn't wonder," he said, looking round 
 at the bottles "I should n't wonder if there had 
 been a toast." 
 
 Kuss had not spoken since the newcomer's advent, 
 and Maillac at this remark only murmured something 
 indistinctly. It seemed to Temple that the courtesy 
 of a reply was demanded from some one. 
 
 "We had this moment been drinking to the health 
 of the new Grand Duke," he said. 
 
 " Ah ! " The stranger's eyes searched his face. " So 
 there's a new Grand Duke, is there? This is inter- 
 esting. I arrive in stirring times." 
 
 He poured himself another liqueur-glass of cognac. 
 "I'm too late, I suppose, to join the toast?" He 
 looked at Maillac grimly. " Never mind, friend Maillac, 
 any toast is excuse enough for a drink. Is it not so ? 
 I'll make my own toast. Here's to it." He tossed 
 off the second glass of spirit, took up his gloves, nodded 
 with condescending good-humor at the company, and 
 walked towards the door, the boards seeming to shake 
 under his massive tread. 
 
 As he went out the tension in the room relaxed; 
 Maillac breathed more freely, and Kuss stirred. 
 
 "He has come from the capital," he said under 
 his breath. "He is on his way to the chateau." 
 
 Maillac shook his head. "What brings him here 
 now? I don't like it," he said.
 
 THE BELLS OF THE CASTLE 31 
 
 There was a noise below of a starting engine, and 
 the innkeeper went to the window and put out his 
 head. The personality of the departed had invaded 
 the whole house; it lingered yet. 
 
 "May I ask who the gentleman was?" inquired 
 Temple, covering a tiny yawn, for he was sleepy. 
 
 Kuss's bright eyes turned on him. "Baron Fa- 
 vrinck," he answered. 
 
 The information conveyed nothing to Temple, but 
 he nodded in acknowledgment, and rose, bidding 
 his host and Kuss good-night. Once in his bedroom, 
 he unrobed with rapidity, and then flung open the 
 window. The gurgling of the stream ascended pleas- 
 antly to his ears; the night was mild and beautiful 
 with stars, already paling towards the dawn. He got 
 into bed and went fast asleep. 
 
 Some time later he knew not how long he 
 was awakened by a consciousness of something external. 
 He listened. Through the open window came the 
 sound of a bell ; but it was not the peal that had greeted 
 the birth of a Grand Duke; it was a melancholy and 
 monotonous sound, repeated dismally it was the 
 tolling of the passing-bell.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE TELEGRAM 
 
 IN the morning Temple found an explanation of 
 the melancholy bell. The village was in a state 
 of depressed excitement, for the Grand Duchess had 
 not survived her ordeal, and had passed away quietly 
 in the night. The grand-duchy thus was divided 
 between gloom and rejoicing; but, so far as Temple 
 could observe in the village, it was rather the latter 
 feeling that tended to come uppermost. He himself 
 remembered early a first duty, which was to acquaint 
 his mother of his safety. He therefore went to the 
 post-office before he took breakfast, and wrote his 
 message on a form. Waldthal was full of strangers 
 who had been in the accident, or who had arrived to 
 see friends and relatives detained in the village by 
 their injuries; and thus the little room devoted to tele- 
 grams was overcrowded by people bent on missions 
 similar to Temple's. He found his elbow jogged and 
 himself bumped by clumsy but apologetic German- 
 speaking and French-speaking folk, who raised their 
 hats and made expressive gestures of their regrets. 
 The local train had carried local passengers for the 
 main part; and among the small crowd of grave and 
 anxious souls, Temple could not detect any one of his 
 own nationality. The uninjured, and those who had 
 received only slight injuries, had proceeded overnight
 
 THE TELEGRAM 33 
 
 to their various destinations by a relief train. The 
 dead the dead were beyond relief. 
 
 Temple, handing in his form, was aware of some 
 one bustling past him to engage the attention of the 
 telegraph clerk. He looked round, and beheld the 
 red face of little Kuss, whose eyes had shot over the 
 counter and were greedily raking all that lay beyond. 
 
 His important look vaguely amused Temple, who 
 saluted him. The little man started, and then gave 
 him back a ceremonious greeting, rather austerely. 
 
 "You will excuse me, sir," he said gravely. "This 
 sad affair at the Castle a national calamity I 
 have a lot of work on my hands. But I beg you, sir, 
 to allow me the pleasure of seeing you later." 
 
 As he spoke he was fingering the telegraph forms 
 which he and others, including Temple, had thrust 
 through to the desk, and absent-mindedly pulled them 
 towards him. Then, apparently recollecting, he pushed 
 them forward again across the counter. 
 
 Temple nodded and left him, walking back to the 
 Hotel du Cerf to his breakfast, which he keenly rel- 
 ished. He spent a little time over a good cigar and 
 in pondering his future movements. He had sent 
 telegrams relating to his luggage, and he had also 
 seen that he should be supplied afresh with what he 
 required for personal use. He had been on his way 
 to Munich, but only in a vague, tentative fashion. 
 He supposed he should still go there, but at present 
 he was not averse to tarrying in the Grand Duchy of 
 Eisenburg, which was to him new ground. He looked 
 up the valley as he sat on the little balcony over the 
 stream after breakfast. It was a lovely May day, and 
 the sunlit mists were lying in the deep ravines that
 
 34 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 cleft the mountains behind. In the middle distance 
 the Castle of Waldthal rose majestically on its perch, 
 clothed with its fine park, and neighboring forests 
 that climbed the heights beyond. It was a romantic 
 situation; and the little village seemed to hold out 
 a splendid promise of rambles in the vicinity. He 
 finished his cigar and descended into the lower rooms 
 of the hostelry, to find Maillac poring over a news- 
 paper which had just arrived from a center of civiliza- 
 tion. There was a small bundle of the sheets, and 
 Temple supplied himself with one. His eye ran over 
 it politics, a feuilleton, gossip ah ! the terrible 
 accident near Waldthal. 
 
 He read the story with the interest of one who has 
 been eye-witness, and learned that it was supposed 
 a signalman named Dastner had been at fault. The 
 list of dead and injured met his eyes. It contained 
 mostly German and Belgian names, but there were 
 three or four which looked as if they might be English 
 or American. Hastily gathered, and by a foreign scribe, 
 they had the air of not at any rate being either German 
 or French they were " Brownis," " Loverston," " Mi- 
 lord Strond" (? "Miladi"). 
 
 " Brownis " he interpreted for " Brown," " Loverston" 
 might be British, and might also be " Levenstein," 
 but "Milord Strond" could be nothing but British, 
 though he failed to recall any name of the sort in the 
 peerage. "Miladi," it appeared, was doubtful; but 
 an item of news lower down told him that the charred 
 bodies of the man and woman supposed to be Lord 
 and Lady Strond had been taken from a burning car- 
 riage, Milord being identifiable by papers still intact 
 in his pocket, but Miladi only by juxtaposition and
 
 THE TELEGRAM 35 
 
 the knowledge that she had traveled with her husband 
 from Dormunde. 
 
 Temple was still reading the narrative when a voice 
 greeted him with cheerful friendliness, lifting him out 
 of his occupation. It was Captain du Vallon, debonair 
 and handsome, and as fresh as the daylight in which 
 he stood. He saluted, smiling. 
 
 "How are you after your adventures?" he asked. 
 
 "I feel," said Temple, "as if I had waked up out 
 of a bad dream into fairyland." He extended a hand 
 toward the sunlit hills. 
 
 " Ah !" said Du Vallon; "you appreciate our scenery. 
 Good. I have often wondered why it is not visited 
 by tourists. No fashion has been set. Well, we are 
 fortunate. We keep our beauties to ourselves, like a 
 modest, pretty woman. We do not flaunt them." 
 
 Temple pointed to a seat in his easy way. "I'm 
 glad you 've come," he said. " I want to know all 
 your news." 
 
 The two men liked each other by instinct, and the 
 events of the night seemed to have forced their ac- 
 quaintance into something like friendship. 
 
 "You see I was right our toast was in order," 
 said Du Vallon brightly. " We have our Grand Duke. 
 
 But the Grand Duchess " His face clouded for 
 
 an instant, and then he sighed: "Well, she has died 
 at her post. She has done her duty. It is some- 
 thing." 
 
 Temple's face fluttered with an incipient smile, 
 and was suddenly controlled in a rigid stricture. This 
 attitude was so characteristic, so naive; it tickled him. 
 He saw before him the most natural creature in the 
 world, and one of the most good-natured. He had
 
 36 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 judged his man, looking out of very quiet and indifferent 
 eyes. 
 
 "My sympathies go with you," he said gently. 
 "But the balance is on the right side, is it not? You 
 are secure against Germanization." 
 
 "Yes, we are secure," nodded Du Vallon. "The 
 Count has got what he wanted; he can do his work 
 now." 
 
 "The Count," reflected Temple, "has his counter, 
 and will play it for all it is worth." But aloud he said : 
 " I do not like to worry his Excellency at this supreme 
 moment, but I am anxious to learn if anything has 
 been discovered as to the identity of the poor lady 
 who died last night." 
 
 "Ah, my friend," said Du Vallon, with alacrity, 
 " I am here for that purpose. I received orders, which 
 gave me great satisfaction, to seek you and acquaint 
 you. His Excellency has caused search and inquiry 
 to be made with the railway authorities and elsewhere, 
 and the poor lady cannot be traced. She came name- 
 less, and she will go nameless. Alas!" 
 
 "That is his Excellency's message to me?" said 
 Temple. 
 
 "No, pardon. The manner of expression, the senti- 
 ment, is mine. The facts are his Excellency's." 
 
 " No trace ! " murmured Temple. " It is, when you 
 come to think of it, Captain, a tragic case. I am im- 
 agining the lady mine mine, that is, by marriage, 
 or by some intimate relationship. She disappears 
 into the Continent, and is never heard of; and there 
 am I, waiting, waiting wondering fearing. . . ." 
 
 "Pardon me where are you?" demanded Du Val- 
 lon, with interest.
 
 THE TELEGRAM 37 
 
 " I am in England in the West Country," re- 
 plied Temple. 
 
 " You think she was your countrywoman ? " the 
 other asked. 
 
 Temple hesitated. "I did not mean that neces- 
 sarily. You see, I live in the West of England. I 
 was supposing my own case. I might have supposed 
 yours. But I had a notion she was English. There 
 was no proof of it ; it was mere suspicion some- 
 thing in the appearance in the face, in the personal- 
 ity. Races have their personality, Captain, as well as 
 individuals." 
 
 "True," agreed Du Vallon. "We have personal- 
 ity here in Eisenburg, a strong and distinctive per- 
 sonality." He fingered his moustache and looked 
 philosophic. 
 
 "What astonishes me," went on Temple reflec- 
 tively, "is that there were no marks on the clothing 
 by which identification might be possible." 
 
 "His Excellency said nothing." 
 
 "It is odd," said Temple. "She was certainly in 
 well-to-do conditions, from her dress, and probably 
 of a good social standing. I remember her golden 
 hair. ..." He was silent; there was something in 
 the memory that silenced him. 
 
 "You may safely leave it to our police to investi- 
 gate," said Du Vallon. "His Excellency bade me 
 tell you that. He wished to relieve your mind. We 
 have every confidence in our police." 
 
 "His Excellency is very kind," said Temple, look- 
 ing meditatively at his guest. "It is not usual to be 
 so considerate to a mere passing stranger, particularly 
 in such stirring times."
 
 38 ALISE or ASTRA 
 
 "Oh, but his Excellency was insistent," declared 
 Du Vallon. "He impressed upon me the importance 
 of your receiving the facts. His Excellency has a 
 wonderfully organized system." 
 
 "I can believe that," answered Temple courte- 
 ously. "I shall always remember Count Cavari as 
 a model of method. I am grateful. I have every 
 confidence, like yourself, in your police, yet I confess 
 I feel a scruple about abandoning to strangers what 
 providence seems to have thrust upon me as a charge. 
 My own countrywoman ..." 
 
 "You are not sure of that. It is a guess," inter- 
 jected Du Vallon politely. 
 
 "But it is a probability. I should feel a certain 
 shame to turn my back upon this nameless grave, to 
 desert her altogether. Think of the man awaiting 
 her, to whom I likened myself, or you, Captain, away 
 in some distant " 
 
 "But," protested the soldier quickly, "you assume 
 she has a husband a lover?" 
 
 Temple moved himself slightly in his chair, staring 
 at his new friend musingly. "How absurd of me!" 
 he said quietly, after a pause. "I never thought of 
 that. If she was married she was wearing a ring. Did 
 his Excellency mention anything about a ring?" 
 
 Du Vallon shook his head. " I have repeated his Ex- 
 cellency's message," he said. " There was no ring in it." 
 
 Temple was thoughtful for a moment, and then 
 looked up. 
 
 "Tell me, who is this little man Kuss who con- 
 ducted me here last night ? " 
 
 "Little Franz Kuss!" Du Vallon laughed. "He 
 is a clerk or copyist, or something of the sort, in the
 
 THE TELEGRAM 39 
 
 Chancellor's office. He is well known, little Kuss. 
 The Chancellor could not get on without him. Eisen- 
 burg would suffer if he retired. At the present mo- 
 ment, I believe, he is responsible for the delectable 
 situation we are all enjoying. Oh, the world wags 
 on little Franz Kuss!" 
 
 He rose as he laughed, and took up his hat. A 
 pleasant breeze flowed through the open window, 
 and the little River Larche wimpled and gurgled below. 
 Temple rose with him. 
 
 "Yes, you have a beautiful country," he said ap- 
 provingly; and his eyes passed over the village roofs 
 and swept the forest-clad hills. "I must stay and 
 explore." 
 
 "You are going to stay, Monsieur?" said Du Vallon. 
 
 "And explore." Temple smiled, with a wave of 
 his hand at the hills. 
 
 Du Vallon's brow clouded. " Ah ! that is beautiful ; 
 but it is not always possible to regard it with equa- 
 nimity. It is it is in wrong hands." 
 
 Temple looked his inquiry. 
 
 "It belongs to the Boar of the Odenstock," said 
 Du Vallon viciously. 
 
 His companion repeated the words, "The Boar 
 of the Odenstock!" 
 
 "Yes. His estate lies at the head of the valley; it 
 sweeps over the hills and down to the plateaux beyond. 
 That is the Odenstock Forest, and we call him the 
 Boar. It is his family badge too, and in keeping ! " he 
 sneered. 
 
 "Who is he, then?" inquired Temple. 
 
 "Baron Favrinck," said Du Vallon. 
 
 A figure was evoked of a sudden before Temple's
 
 40 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 eyes, a gross, furry figure, bristling, as it were, with 
 somber eyes, as it had appeared before him after mid- 
 night. The Boar of the Odenstock ! The name fitted 
 like a glove. Du Vallon was explaining volubly with 
 inimitable gestures. This Boar had ferocious tusks; 
 he was in opposition to the Court party, and led the 
 Germanophils of the State. He was a man of wealth, 
 a man of lineage, and so proud a man that he had pre- 
 sumed to quarrel with the reigning house. At least, 
 the feud had begun with his father, Baron Robert, 
 and had been carried on by Baron Odo. Robert had 
 quarreled over a lady with the Grand Duke Louis 
 XXII; Odo, after a long minority in which the tradi- 
 tions of his father weakened, had gone to Court as a 
 young man, had cut some figure at Eisenburg and in 
 Waldthal, and had repeated his father's performance 
 by an estrangement from Louis XXIII over a small 
 affair of precedence. Now Louis XXIV was gone, 
 and little Louis XXV reigned in his stead. Long live 
 the Grand Duke! 
 
 So much Temple gathered ere Du Vallon departed 
 with an air of camaraderie very pleasant to witness. 
 Walking with something of a swagger, he took the 
 road out of the village for the Castle, taken up with 
 the trifling incidents of his itinerary and his own medi- 
 tations. These latter were current, like a stream, 
 flowing on without any effort to dam, divert, or pass 
 them in review. Du Vallon's nature was cognate to 
 the birds that sang this spring day in the trees as he 
 climbed the ascent to the Castle. He saluted the lodge- 
 keepers, and sought his quarters in the great pile of 
 buildings. There was not overmuch to be done, but 
 it was necessarily attended by a great deal of fuss and
 
 THE TELEGRAM 41 
 
 formality. He encountered Dr. Lemercier, black and 
 silent, and hailed him genially. 
 
 " Ah, doctor ! how goes it ? Is our gracious lord 
 going on well?" 
 
 "His Highness the Grand Duke is a remarkably 
 robust infant," said Lemercier, speaking slowly in a 
 harsh voice. "I do not think there is any occasion 
 to doubt his progress." 
 
 "Excellent, doctor, excellent. Now we are safe," 
 said the soldier, and lowered his voice. " Listen ! 
 The Boar was afoot last night. He was in the Hotel 
 du Cerf at midnight. He had come hot-foot from 
 Eisenburg, or was it Montrais? Well," he laughed 
 heartily, "he had his bellyfull. He arrived in the nick 
 of time. The bells must have been ringing at that 
 moment. That would be as good as a rapier through 
 his vitals." 
 
 Dr. Lemercier, Court Physician at the Palace of 
 Eisenburg, eyed the speaker steadily. "Yes," he said 
 dryly, " I don't fancy he would like the news or 
 the bells." 
 
 "Pouf !" said Du Vallon. "What is the Boar? I 
 tell you he is a much overrated person. He is all repu- 
 tation, which he derives from tradition. Where has 
 he shown his power? Nowhere, I tell you. Let him 
 grind his tusks and grunt and " 
 
 A messenger in livery was saluting before him. He 
 halted. "His Excellency would be glad to see you, 
 Captain." 
 
 "His Excellency! Why, certainly. I wish you 
 good morning, doctor. Good morning. Your news 
 is good, but as for what we spoke of, don't have a fear. 
 Pish ! I know what I know."
 
 42 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 He started down the corridor at a brisk rate on his 
 way to the Chancellor's apartments, and, entering the 
 outer office, sent in his name. The Chancellor was 
 among his papers, as usual, and glanced up as the 
 soldier entered. 
 
 "Ah, Captain du Vallon," he said in his business- 
 like way. "You took my message to the English 
 gentleman?" 
 
 " Yes, your Excellency," replied Du Vallon. 
 
 "Monsieur M. Temple, was it?" Du Vallon 
 bowed. " I trust he is no worse for his experiences ?" 
 
 "Why, your Excellency, it is almost as though the 
 man had been to a reception. It has left about as much 
 impression on him physically." 
 
 " I am glad to hear it. It has been an unhappy affair. 
 Physically, you say. But well, the shock remains, 
 no doubt, and affects the man unconsciously. One 
 does not go through such things unscathed." 
 
 "Oh, M. Temple is concerned naturally, your Ex- 
 cellency; he is sad about his countrywoman." 
 
 " His countrywoman ! " The Chancellor spoke 
 quickly, darting a glance at Du Vallon. "Does he 
 mean the unfortunate lady who died in the shelter 
 and hospitality of the Castle?" 
 
 "Even so, your Excellency." 
 
 " What grounds has he for supposing her his country- 
 woman?" asked the Count. 
 
 "He has none. He conjectures," said Du Vallon. 
 
 "Ah! Well, did you tell him that the police would 
 do all that is possible?" 
 
 "Your Excellency, he does not doubt the capacity 
 of our police, but he feels a shame to leave the stranger 
 who was his countrywoman to aliens."
 
 THE TELEGRAM 43 
 
 "He has no reason to suppose her English," said 
 the Chancellor sharply. "There was nothing on the 
 body to indicate nationality." 
 
 Du Vallon shrugged his shoulders to express his 
 inability to judge of the issues. "At least, your Ex- 
 cellency," he said, "M. Temple feels a scruple in 
 deserting the poor lady. He wished to know if she 
 wore a ring if she was married." 
 
 The Count regarded Du Vallon without speaking 
 for a moment, and then, " There was a plain wedding- 
 ring, I understand," he said, "which, of course, beyond 
 establishing the fact that the lady was married, gives 
 no clue to her identity. As M. Temple is interested, 
 I will instruct Ventmayer to write to him to that effect. 
 He is still at the hotel?" 
 
 "Yes; he designs to stay for some days, your 
 Excellency." 
 
 "Ah!" His Excellency's ejaculation, coming after 
 a pause, was neutral, and he dismissed Du Vallon on 
 it. As the latter left the offices of the Chancellor he 
 met little Kuss, with a bundle of papers and some copy- 
 ing books under his arm, and he nodded to him gayly. 
 
 "Now, little Kuss, to write to all the crowned heads 
 of Europe informing them of the auspicious event ! " 
 he cried. "In your best hand, little Kuss. Faith, I 
 envy you. What a stirring !" He passed on, humming 
 a lively air, and Kuss entered the chancellery. 
 
 Temple had passed a pleasant day in the valley of 
 the Larche, and on his return in the evening he found 
 a letter from the Chancellor's secretary regarding the 
 unknown lady. 
 
 "Married!" he murmured to himself over an ex- 
 cellent, but simple dinner, which he ate with relish.
 
 44 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "That does not get one farther," he mused, and the 
 picture of a husband waiting somewhere in a distant 
 region, waiting and fearing, disturbed him. "No 
 doubt he would set afoot inquiries when she did not 
 appear," he thought. "It will solve itself." And 
 when the unhappy husband should materialize it might 
 be something for him to feel that some one, not wholly 
 alien, if a stranger, had stood by his wife to the end. 
 After he had finished his dinner he went into the coffee- 
 room and wrote a reply to the Chancellor's secretary, 
 in which he begged to thank his Excellency for the 
 information, and asked, if it were not troubling that 
 official too greatly, to be acquainted with the arrange- 
 ments made for the funeral of the lady, which he de- 
 sired to attend. This he posted before he retired for 
 the night. 
 
 The second morning of his stay in Waldthal was 
 as beautiful as the first, and Temple was astir early. 
 The sun upon the hills lured him, and shortly after 
 breakfast he was out in the village and struck up the 
 course of the little river towards the Forest of Oden- 
 stock. Eisenburg, as is common knowledge, is of 
 almost insignificant proportions for an independent 
 State, yet it has preserved that independence for many 
 centuries. The capital of the same name holds no 
 more than some thirty thousand people, and all told 
 the population of the grand-duchy does not exceed a 
 quarter of a million. It is a toy State, such as you 
 will also find in the German confederacy, with court 
 and judiciary and legislatures, and all the parapher- 
 nalia of government. It is divided into cantons, which 
 contribute each to the central government; and it has 
 a conscript army of some twenty-five thousand men,
 
 THE TELEGRAM 45 
 
 quite inefficient to maintain its sovereignty. What 
 has preserved this is the jealousy of powerful neigh- 
 bors, who are unwilling each to see this tit-bit pass 
 into the maw of her rival. The integrity of Eisenburg, 
 indeed, is guaranteed by a European treaty; but in the 
 face of unscrupulous nations what is a treaty ? Never- 
 theless, till now Eisenburg had held its own, under 
 the rule of the Wolfgangs, the last of whom was now 
 represented in the person of a puling babe in Waldthal 
 Castle. 
 
 Philip Temple had gathered this information in 
 the course of his stay at the Hotel du Cerf . He had 
 found a book or two on the dusty shelves which shed 
 a light upon the history of the grand-duchy; and he 
 had begun to take an interest in this toy State with its 
 marionettes. At all events, there was some magnificent 
 scenery towards the Odenstock wild ravines of 
 dashing beauty, fine escarpments, and a wonderful 
 woodland, through which the mountain torrent of the 
 Larche brawled on its leaping way to lower reaches 
 and the cool, slow, and stately waters of the Effel. 
 
 A formal letter from the Chancellor's secretary 
 acquainted Temple in due course with the arrangements 
 made for the obsequies of the victims of the railway 
 accident. Such of the dead as had not been already 
 claimed by their surviving friends and relatives were 
 interred on the following day in the little churchyard 
 of St. Michael, washed by the murmuring waters of 
 the Larche, and resting under the whispering aspens. 
 Temple was present, and discharged the last office in 
 his power towards the unknown dead. There was a 
 respectful attendance of the villagers, and the cere- 
 mony went through with some solemnity of effect.
 
 46 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 The State was represented by Ventmayer, the Chan- 
 cellor's secretary, and as he passed out of the gate 
 when all was over Temple espied little Kuss, his beam- 
 ing face looking wonderfully out of place in so mourn- 
 ful a gathering. He exchanged a few sentences with 
 the clerk, and found him remarkably puffed up. 
 
 "I am representing his Excellency, Monsieur," 
 he assured Temple grandiosely. "His Excellency has 
 his hands full, but as a matter of courtesy inter- 
 national courtesy I am representing him on this 
 sad occasion." 
 
 "His Excellency is kind, and has a worthy repre- 
 sentative," said Temple solemnly. 
 
 He looked back at the church and the dispersing 
 congregation. Earth was falling on the coffin in the 
 unnamed grave. The sun was westering fast, and 
 the light had left the upper valleys of the Odenstock. 
 He nodded to little Kuss more abruptly than was his 
 custom and walked back to the inn. A telegram was 
 waiting for him, and was presented by the amiable 
 landlord. It was from his mother in Somersetshire, 
 urging him to return at once : " Come at once or I will 
 come to you."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 
 
 TEMPLEMORE, in the north of Somersetshire, 
 within sound and sight of the Severn estuary, 
 is a house of some historic interest. It has had owners 
 who made history, and its own particular fortunes 
 have been varied ; in the civil wars the Parliamentarians, 
 under Lord Stamford, laid siege to it without success; 
 and later it is supposed to have given shelter to the 
 broken Duke of Monmouth. The house dominates 
 the picturesque village and a huge park, which reaches 
 by hill and dale into the borderland of Exmoor, and 
 in front the sea shines and sparkles. 
 
 Sir Philip Temple had risen from the dinner-table, 
 across which he faced his mother, and went out upon 
 the terrace in the beauty of the evening. He had left 
 Waldthal immediately upon the receipt of the tele- 
 gram, and had not even spent a night in London on 
 his way to the West. He had arrived to find Lady 
 Augusta in a fluttered, anxious state, and evidently 
 expecting him to show signs of his injuries. Despite 
 her crippled condition she met him half-way down the 
 steps, a fine, aristocratic figure, with white hair, and 
 embraced him tremblingly. 
 
 "You 're not you 're not ? Philip, you must 
 
 tell me! Don't hide anything from me!" she cried. 
 "I can stand it if I know. It's only doubt that kills.
 
 48 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Come in and tell me. I'm glad you keep your color at 
 least. It can't be so bad." 
 
 She regarded him fondly and questioningly, and he, 
 somewhat nonplussed, put her arm in his and drew 
 her into the house. Later he received her explanations 
 and soothed her fears. She had, of course, read of 
 the accident, but, luckily, only after she had received 
 her son's telegram, announcing his safety. Yet he 
 might be injured. 
 
 "You might have wanted to keep it from me," 
 she said, with tender reproach. "You know, Philip, 
 you are not communicative." 
 
 She had wondered, doubted, and, not having re- 
 ceived a letter from her too laconic son, had begun 
 to fear. Then her fears were reinforced from outside. 
 
 The "Temple Arms" is the name of the ancient 
 galleried inn which occupies the center of the village, 
 and as Daignton is the center of some beautiful scenery 
 this hostelry is much frequented in the summer months 
 by tourists. Huge emblazoned gates give entry to 
 Templemore Park in the village itself, not a hundred 
 feet from the inn; and through the gateway Lady Au- 
 gusta's carriage was accustomed to roll up to the house 
 through the open park and the lime avenue that 
 crowns it. 
 
 "It was not an accident, Philip; it was God's provi- 
 dence," declared Lady Augusta earnestly. 
 
 "But I have assured you I am unhurt," he inter- 
 rupted, with a smile. 
 
 They sat lingering over the dessert, the May twilight 
 without sinking into night. 
 
 "Yes, I know; but it was the means of making me 
 sure of you," she said. "I was worried. That was
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 49 
 
 why I shall always be grateful to the chance no, 
 not chance of this strange coming. Think," she 
 added, "if you had been poor Lord Stroud !" 
 
 "Stroud?" he repeated. 
 
 "Yes, the Duke of Collingham's son. Poor fellow !" 
 
 Stroud ! So that was what the " Strond " in the 
 German paper had been. 
 
 Out on the terrace, smoking his cigar and enjoy- 
 ing the wonderful night, Temple passed the story in 
 review. Lady Augusta was turning into the gateway 
 in her landau when round the bend of the street by 
 the butcher's swept a huge motor-car. Williams, the 
 coachman, drew his reins tight, the footman mildly 
 held up a warning hand that was meaningless; but 
 the car had come straight at them, evidently beyond 
 management. The horses reared in fright, and then, 
 when it seemed that a disaster was imminent, at the 
 last moment the driver's brakes acted, and the car 
 stopped dead. 
 
 It was a case for apologies, which on the part of 
 the driver of the car were profuse. But Lady Au- 
 gusta's nerves had been shaken, and she had cut short 
 the man as he gesticulated and talked in his furs before 
 her, and had rapidly driven through the gates and 
 home. The owner of the car, however, did not consider 
 that he had made amends sufficiently. He was stay- 
 ing at the "Temple Arms," and he called at the 
 house later in the day, sending in his card to Lady 
 Augusta. 
 
 "Mr. Edward Cayman was the name," said Lady 
 Augusta, in relating the incident to her son. "I have 
 the card somewhere. I did n't know that it was the 
 motor-car man till I saw him, and even then I don't
 
 50 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 think I should have recognized him with those things 
 they wear. He was very courteous, and had excellent 
 manners. He was heart-broken to have caused me 
 so much annoyance, and he was solicitous to learn 
 if I had suffered from shock. Of course I had, but 
 I made light of it. He was so distressed. Something 
 had gone wrong with his 'hutch' is it, or 'dutch'? 
 and it would n't act. So, of course, it was not his fault, 
 dear." 
 
 It did not now matter to Philip whether it was Mr. 
 Cayman's fault or not, seeing that the accident had 
 been averted; but he was certainly interested to dis- 
 cover what connection all this had with himself. Lady 
 Augusta was coming to it after her fashion. 
 
 Mr. Cayman, it seemed, having satisfied his con- 
 science with the amplitude of his apologies, had allowed 
 himself a little respite. He had looked at some of the 
 pictures on the walls, had admired the noble prospect 
 from the house, and had then said: 
 
 " Sir Philip Temple. I I hope he is better." 
 
 "My son," Lady Augusta had answered, "has not 
 been ill." 
 
 Mr. Cayman had looked surprised. "But," he 
 said, " I heard But it is not the same person, of 
 
 course. A friend of mine in Staten wrote to me of an 
 accident in Eisenburg. He had been passing through 
 Waldthal, I think it was, when it occurred. The 
 scenes, he wrote, were terrible; they scored a deep 
 impression on him. That was how the mistake arose, 
 a similarity of name." 
 
 At this Lady Augusta, whose blanching face the 
 stranger was not observing, felt all her worst fears 
 rearisen and strengthened.
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 51 
 
 "What did your friend write about any one named 
 Temple?" she managed to get out. 
 
 The stranger was looking at the lovely prospect 
 through a window. 
 
 "It was sad," he said in a soft, sympathetic voice. 
 "A poor fellow had received internal injuries, and 
 was at the hotel, nothing broken, and capable of walk- 
 ing, but with internal lesion. My friend said Sir Philip 
 Temple, but he must have been mistaken." 
 
 "My son, Sir Philip Temple, was in the railway 
 accident," said Lady Augusta hoarsely. Mr. Cay- 
 man was startled. "But he telegraphed that he was 
 safe." 
 
 " Safe ! Oh ! yes, but I beg a thousand pardons, 
 madam. I have blundered again. I ought not to have 
 spoken." 
 
 But Lady Augusta was glad he had spoken, and 
 her agonized cross-questioning elicited the few facts 
 he had to impart. Sir Philip's injuries did not ap- 
 parently render him unfit to travel; whereas Lady 
 
 Augusta's daily martyrdom of arthritis The 
 
 mother had no hesitation. She had telegraphed the 
 same day, to "Temple, Hotel, Waldthal." 
 
 Sir Philip mused over his tale and considered the 
 philosophy of rumor. What fools could have spread 
 abroad that odd story of his internal injuries ? Whence 
 had it originated ? 
 
 The night smelled very odorous and was beautiful. 
 He entered the dim-lit drawing-room in which Lady 
 Augusta reclined. 
 
 " Have you that card, dear I mean Mr. Cay- 
 man's ?" he asked, in an affectionate voice. 
 
 The bell was rung, and a servant found it for him.
 
 52 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Mr. Edward Cayman," he read, "10A, Half Moon 
 Street, W. Green Park Club." He twirled it between 
 his fingers for a moment, and then put it in his pocket. 
 Lady Augusta would have no further need of it, even 
 if he had no need himself. He left Templemore the 
 following morning, leaving Lady Augusta also re- 
 assured and happy. He spent three days in London, 
 and on the second met Freddy Worsfold at a theatre, 
 garrulous, fatuous, and full of news as usual. 
 
 "Had a notion you'd pegged out, Temple," he 
 rattled. " Glad you have n't. Were n't you in some 
 oh yes, that accident abroad. Damned mess it must 
 have been, what?" 
 
 In Freddy's company he drifted to Freddy's club 
 after the play was over, and drank a whisky and soda 
 in the billiard-room. After a plunging fire of gossip 
 and scandal, Freddy returned to an earlier thought. 
 
 " So you were n't done in over there ? Some one 
 told me " 
 
 "Freddy, do you know a man named Cayman be- 
 longing to your club?" interrupted Temple, suddenly 
 remembering. 
 
 " Cayman ! Cayman ! Can't say I do," said his 
 friend. "Wait a bit." He hailed a waiter, who pres- 
 ently returned with a club-list. There was a goodly 
 array of members belonging to the smart Green Park 
 Club. Freddy turned the pages. " Cayman, did you 
 say? Spell it with a 'K'? Oh, a *C'!" He turned 
 more pages. "No, he ain't here," he announced 
 presently. "No one of that name." 
 
 "Are you sure?" Temple took the book from his 
 companion and went through it. As Freddy could 
 not spell, it was unwise to trust to his clerical powers
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 53 
 
 at all. But he was right on this occasion. No Cay- 
 man adorned the list of members. 
 
 "Rum!" said Temple under his breath, and shortly 
 afterwards got away from Worsfold. 
 
 Next morning he had the curiosity to visit Half 
 Moon Street, where Mr. Edward Cayman lived, and 
 he wandered along it in search of No. 10A. He went 
 up and down three times before he had fully estab- 
 lished in his mind the fact that there was no such num- 
 ber as 10 A. 
 
 "Rum !" he said, this time aloud, as he stood on the 
 pavement regarding No. 10 with perplexity. 
 
 Before the post went out that evening he wrote to 
 his mother, announcing that he was leaving for the 
 Continent that same night. He gave his address for 
 the present as "Hotel du Cerf, Waldthal, Eisenburg." 
 
 A few hours later he was in the boat-train for Dover, 
 and lying back in a corner seat comfortably reading 
 the newest magazines. 
 
 Sir Philip Temple reached Waldthal by way of the 
 capital town of the grand-duchy, traveling the fifteen 
 miles between the two places in the company of an 
 agreeable fellow-passenger. This man was not very 
 talkative, but was friendly in the informal way of 
 travelers, exchanging opinions on the features of the 
 country and offering views on local and European 
 politics. Naturally the advent of the infant ruler 
 bulked large in this latter talk, but neither Temple 
 nor his companion was unduly interested in him. It 
 was only when the train arrived at Waldthal that the 
 two travelers discovered they were bound for the 
 same destination. Both were for the Hotel du 
 Cerf.
 
 54 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 That evening, the dullness of the meal mitigated 
 by his amiable companion, Temple passed in adum- 
 brating plans for future expeditions. He had written 
 to his mother that he intended to explore the Odenstock, 
 so far as it extended into Eisenburg, and possibly that 
 he would strike through the forest to France and Paris. 
 He also added that he had a matter to clear up regard- 
 ing a victim of the unfortunate railway accident. Be- 
 fore he went to bed that night he did, in fact, pen a 
 letter to Count Cavari's secretary, M. Ventmayer, 
 asking formally if any further information in regard 
 to the unknown lady had been obtained. Towards 
 the end of the letter he suggested that the identity of 
 the lady might be discovered by advertisement in news- 
 papers in sundry European capitals, if accompanied 
 by an adequate description; and he added his willing- 
 ness to be charged with the cost of this. 
 
 At breakfast next morning he discovered his associ- 
 ate of the train was a commercial traveler. He was 
 bearded, and rather gray of face, and scant of hair, 
 and a shrewd eye kept watch upon the world. A heavy 
 mist of rain hung over the Odenstock, and a drizzle 
 filled the valley. Temple, after a turn in the rain, 
 sought the hotel and its company. At lunch he had 
 Kartolen, the commercial traveler, for sole company, 
 and the enforced seclusion wrought them to a nearer 
 intimacy than they would otherwise have achieved. 
 
 "Yes, I am German," said Herr Kartolen frankly, 
 with a movement of his shoulders. "They hate us 
 here, but business is business, and they can't afford 
 to neglect the cash basis. You see, Eisenburg, while 
 outside the confederation, is within the Zollverein. 
 We do business together. No doubt, they would sooner
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 55 
 
 work with France, but the Powers and treaties and 
 history have decided otherwise." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders again, as though he viewed 
 all such matters cynically, and even with a light heart. 
 He was certainly a remarkably mundane commercial 
 traveler, possessed of a wide and tolerant outlook. 
 
 " I sell my silks in Eisenburg," he said, " and I sell 
 them cheaper than France can afford to do. The Zol- 
 verein sees to that. So naturally, the Eisenburgers 
 deal with me, and I in turn with them." 
 
 "I have heard," remarked Temple, "that they do 
 not love the Germans, which is why they were so keen 
 on the heir." 
 
 "Well, they have got him. It is of no consequence 
 now," said Herr Kartolen. " I don't suppose Germany 
 is, or was, anxious to swallow the sweet morsel. After 
 all, we have all we want practically in a Customs- 
 union." 
 
 "There was great excitement in the Castle the night 
 the Grand Duke was born," observed Temple medi- 
 tatively, as he drew at his cigar, and looked mentally 
 backwards to that eventful night. 
 
 Herr Kartolen had turned and was regarding him 
 with interest. 
 
 "How so?" he said. "Did you know anything 
 of it?" 
 
 "Why, yes," said the Englishman, who had been 
 bored all morning, and had lunched comfortably. 
 He stretched himself out and puffed. "I was in the 
 Castle that night by a chance." 
 
 Herr Kartolen said nothing, but from his attention 
 he evidently expected that more was coming. 
 
 "I was in the railway accident, you know," ex-
 
 56 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 plained Sir Philip, "and there was an injured woman 
 I tried to convey to safety. We hit the Castle. So I 
 came to be there on that auspicious occasion." 
 
 For a moment Herr Kartolen did not say anything, 
 and then he asked: "You were in the Castle during 
 the birth of the Grand Duke?" 
 
 " I don't know possibly. We heard the joy-bells 
 from here. I was admitted to high society," he added 
 with a smile. " I interviewed the Chancellor, and I " 
 
 The innkeeper broke in upon his sentence with 
 effusive apologies. A gentleman was desirous of speak- 
 ing with M. Temple. M. Temple rose and followed 
 his host in a leisurely manner. He led the way to a 
 room downstairs, where little Kuss was in waiting, 
 very deferential, but also very important. 
 
 "Monsieur, I am commissioned to hand you this," 
 he announced with an air, offering a sealed letter. 
 
 Temple broke the seal and opened the envelope, 
 but found no reason for all this ceremony. It was a 
 communication from Ventmayer, the Chancellor's 
 secretary, regretting that there had been no further 
 elucidation of the identity of the woman buried in 
 St. Michael's Churchyard. The police, the missive 
 added, were still engaged in inquiries, and had not 
 abandoned hope. The interest in this negative letter 
 was in the concluding sentence. "In reference to 
 your suggestion, if you can spare time, to call on me 
 between 2 p. m. and 4 p. m. I shall be glad to discuss 
 the matter with you." 
 
 Temple took out his watch. It was now after 3 
 o'clock, and the Castle was a mile away. The rain 
 had stopped, and the sun was shining through broken 
 clouds.
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 57 
 
 " I am thinking of going to the Castle," he told Kuss. 
 "May I have the pleasure of your company?" 
 
 The little man apologized, and expressed a sense 
 of his disappointment, but he had another important 
 errand in the Chancellor's service; he would otherwise 
 have been honored. 
 
 "If you are going to the Castle, sir, try the park 
 road," he suggested. " It is shorter and more beautiful 
 than the regular road, though not easy to find by 
 night." 
 
 Temple thanked him and asked him for directions, 
 which he received. He was to mount the long slope 
 behind the inn, follow the track to the pines, and then 
 turn to the right, entering the outer circle of the park 
 after which it was an easy way. Sir Philip strolled 
 out into the square in which the Hotel du Cerf stood, 
 and chatted a moment with the man ere they parted. 
 He was aware as he moved away of the gray face of 
 Herr Kartolen peering down on them from the upper 
 windows of the inn. 
 
 The sun emerged farther from his lair as Temple 
 mounted, and on the ledge of hill above the village 
 he had a wonderful view of the gorges of the Oden- 
 stock, and of the range of hills which descended to- 
 wards the city of Eisenburg. A quarter of an hour's 
 climbing brought him to the borders of the Castle 
 grounds, and he found the open entrance into the outer 
 or public circle without any difficulty. This outer 
 circle was an environing fringe of wood through which 
 ran paths for the foot-passenger. But it was not easy 
 to say which should be followed for the route to the 
 Castle. Temple, indeed, was soon at a loss, for the 
 wood blotted out any view of the Castle, and he had
 
 58 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 only a vague knowledge of the direction which he 
 should take. Twice he thought that he heard steps 
 behind him, and twice he turned in the hope of finding 
 some one of whom he could inquire the way. The 
 second time he was quite certain that a man had been 
 for a moment between the boles of two pines, but it 
 was only for a moment. He vanished in an instant. 
 
 Temple wandered on in search of a clue to his position, 
 and presently turned through a swing-gate on a path 
 which seemed of greater consequence than those he 
 had been following. This took him by a grove and 
 some copses out suddenly and unexpectedly upon a 
 sward in which was set a small lake, and a waterfall 
 brawling out of it. Simultaneously with this revela- 
 tion Sir Philip made the discovery of a woman. 
 
 She was clad in black and was tall of figure and 
 gracefully modeled. Her hair was of dark bronze, 
 and her face, turned to him inquiringly, was quick 
 of blood, and fresh and active. Its amazing beauty 
 was the dominant impression Temple got from the 
 unexpected vision ; and after that he had a vague sense 
 of something familiar in it, but he could not say what. 
 She addressed him in a cool, clear voice, in which, 
 nevertheless, was an imperative note. 
 
 "You must have lost your way. This is the Grand 
 Duke's park." 
 
 Temple took off his cap and bowed. "I beg your 
 pardon," he said in French, which language she had 
 used. "I have been misled, or rather, I have been 
 stupid. I was directed to a short cut to the Castle 
 on the outskirts, I was told, of the park. I seem to have 
 blundered into it." 
 
 "Yes," she said, after a pause in which she had 
 
 ,
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 59 
 
 studied him. " Beyond the fences is open to the public 
 by permission. This is private property and wholly 
 reserved." 
 
 "I am much obliged for the information," said he; 
 "and if, Madame, you will kindly tell me how to get 
 out I will proceed at once to cease the trespass." 
 
 There was a little smile on his face as he spoke, 
 which she did not answer. 
 
 "You are English?" she inquired, gazing at him 
 seriously. 
 
 "lam." 
 
 She meditated, but apparently abandoned her train 
 of thought. "If you cross by the rhododendrons, 
 you will find a pathway, which leads straight into the 
 public wood, and the track from there to the Castle 
 is unmistakable." 
 
 Temple thanked her, could conceive no reason for 
 lingering, as he would have wished, and with a saluta- 
 tion left her. Glancing back, he saw her resume her 
 walk towards the ornamental water in the greensward, 
 and then he passed behind the rhododendrons. Beyond 
 was a broad gravel path which descended from an 
 upper terrace and led to the water, and on this was 
 a group of three or four women, armed with sunshades, 
 and white wraps across their arms; one of them was 
 carrying an infant. Temple had just time to take this 
 scene in as he turned to look for his own path, when 
 he was aware of a noise of feet. The heavy pounding 
 drew his ear, and he wheeled to the left. Down from the 
 wooded shrubbery above him three men were running 
 towards him. He came to a pause in wonder, and the 
 nearest, who was by this a dozen yards away, shouted : 
 
 "Halt!"
 
 60 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 As a matter of fact Temple had halted, and was 
 waiting, with his hand on his stick. The next moment 
 the man precipitated himself upon him roughly. 
 Temple gave way before the unanticipated assault, 
 and then resisted. 
 
 "What do you mean?" he demanded, but ere he 
 could say or do anything further the man's companions 
 had arrived, and he was seized on three quarters. He 
 made no struggle now. 
 
 " I should just like to know exactly what this means," 
 he asked quietly, looking from one to another of his 
 captors. 
 
 "A cool hand! It's a mercy we had warning of 
 him, Gorlatz. Steady! Have you the handcuffs?" 
 
 The men spoke with each other in evident excite- 
 ment without heeding his question. Temple's eyes 
 passed from them quickly to the middle distance, to 
 the ornamental water along which the young lady in 
 black was walking, to the nurses in white with the 
 child. 
 
 "Just in the nick of time, Hugo," said one of the 
 trio with gusto. " Another five minutes and who 
 knows what would have happened?" 
 
 "Will you explain what this outrage signifies?" 
 asked Temple sternly. 
 
 "You must come with us, my man," said the man 
 addressed as Gorlatz. "You must cool your heels in 
 prison for some time, I reckon. It will give you time 
 to think." 
 
 Over the head of the man who held his left arm 
 Sir Philip could see the young lady in black come to 
 a pause and stare, and then she moved resolutely and 
 swiftly towards them. None of his captors saw her
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 61 
 
 approaching, and her words fell on their astonished 
 ears: 
 
 "What is this?" 
 
 Gorlatz backed, and would have saluted if his hands 
 had been free, but as it was only made an uncouth 
 movement of his head. 
 
 "Your Highness, it is a villain, a suspect," he 
 blurted. 
 
 In that instant Temple knew how it was there had 
 been something familiar to him about her; he had 
 seen her dimly in the Castle on the night of the Grand 
 Duke's birth. This was the Princess Alise. 
 
 "I fancy these good fellows have made a mistake," 
 said he mildly. "They have apparently had warning 
 of some evildoer, and have rushed to a conclusion. 
 I am, as your Highness knows, only a wandering and 
 trespassing Englishman. My name is Sir Philip 
 Temple." 
 
 "He is one Karl Ketschinski ! " declared Gorlatz 
 stoutly. "We had warning to look out for him this 
 morning from the police at Eisenburg Karl Ketschin- 
 ski, suspected of a plot to abduct his Highness." 
 
 The Princess was collecting her information from 
 the various faces she saw. Of these one was a tanned, 
 handsome face, with a cool and capable air; the other 
 three were honest, hot, and strenuous faces of the class 
 to which they belonged. 
 
 "There is probably a mistake," she said. 
 
 "Your Highness, no; the description is exact," 
 pleaded Gorlatz. "The man has been known to be 
 hanging about here in a suspicious manner for some 
 time. We watched from the village and saw him enter 
 the park. Consider, your Highness, I beg, at what
 
 62 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 point he was arrested." And Gorlatz's finger pointed 
 tremulously towards the group of nurses. 
 
 "The Grand Duke!" murmured the Princess. 
 
 Gorlatz nodded eagerly, significantly. 
 
 " I don't think there is any more to be said just now," 
 said Temple, with a little smile. "On behalf of all 
 of us I apologize for the interruption of your walk by 
 this violent and foolish scene. If these good gentle- 
 men will only tell me where they want me to go, I've 
 no doubt I can accommodate them with suitable proofs 
 of my identity in a brief time." 
 
 "You have witnesses who can testify to you?" 
 she asked. 
 
 "Several, including some at the Castle itself. Pray," 
 said he to his captors, "where are we for?" 
 
 It seemed that he was to be taken to the village 
 prison, and Temple smiled again. "A thousand 
 apologies, your Highness," he said, managing to lift 
 his cap with a hand which his captors had freed on 
 the evidence of his submission. But they took no risks. 
 Slowly and carefully they marched him out of the park, 
 and the Princess watched the party fade into the wood 
 above with an interest which the element of doubt in 
 the affair had quickened. 
 
 Temple, committed to the ridiculous adventure, 
 chatted in a friendly fashion with his guards, who 
 were too triumphant to be quite official in their de- 
 meanor. They responded up to a point almost amiably, 
 but assumed a stormy front when he touched on his 
 supposed offense. "We obey orders," said Gorlatz 
 curtly, and he was obliged to leave it there. 
 
 The village prison proved to be a substantial stone 
 building, behind the post-office, where a posse of police
 
 ONE KETSCHINSKI 63 
 
 was invariably stationed during the Court's residence 
 at the Castle. Through the village Temple walked with 
 his captors, and as he neared the Hotel du Cerf he asked 
 to be allowed to call the landlord, who would testify 
 to him. 
 
 "He could say you called yourself so-and-so," re- 
 marked Gorlatz sensibly. "He could not say if you 
 were what you called yourself. Rest assured, you shall 
 have your turn when your case comes up." 
 
 With this prospect Temple had to be content. As 
 he passed the inn equably enough he glanced up at 
 the windows. Was it fancy, or did he catch a glimpse 
 of Herr Kartolen's gray face, watching him return, 
 as it had watched him go?
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 
 
 ONCE lodged in the police-cell, and thus care- 
 fully secluded, Temple was used with decent 
 hospitality by his gaolers. They seemed almost friendly 
 now that he was caged a violent desperado with 
 designs on the life or liberty of the infant Grand Duke. 
 That was what he had gathered they suspected him, 
 or rather the person for whom he had been mistaken, 
 of plotting. Gorlatz evidently was under the im- 
 pression that his name was made and his fortune as- 
 sured by the feat of the capture. He sent a telegram 
 announcing it in magnificent style, and in return re- 
 ceived his instructions from Eisenburg and his superiors. 
 A certain M. Preval would arrive from the capital 
 to undertake the trial; and, sure enough, M. Preval 
 arrived that same night. 
 
 Gorlatz had carried out his instructions to the letter, 
 and had suffered the prisoner to make no communi- 
 cations with the outer world. 
 
 "Wait, wait," was his reply to Temple's protests; 
 "you shall have opportunity to prove all you say in 
 good time." 
 
 This, of course, was Gorlatz's irony, for he knew 
 that the prisoner could demonstrate nothing except his 
 guilt. But Gorlatz felt very magisterial, and was in 
 his best judicial form throughout this time, so that 
 the blow fell upon him all the more severely. Gorlatz
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 65 
 
 had anticipated a triumphal entry into Eisenburg, 
 a heroic appearance in the witness-box, an admiring 
 "house," so to speak, and the applause of his fellow- 
 countrymen. But it was soon made known by M. 
 Preval that he was to be disappointed. The trial 
 was not to take place in Eisenburg; and so far from 
 being conducted in the limelight, it was to be a very 
 private affair. 
 
 "The Government, my dear sir," explained the 
 advocate suavely, "are not anxious to give these con- 
 spirators advertisement. I'm sure an intelligent 
 officer like yourself will at once understand the motive 
 underlying the wish for a quiet affair. In fact" 
 M. Preval adjusted his glass " if we can manage 
 without representatives of the Press so much the 
 better. I trust, M. Gorlatz, you have been discreet, 
 and not published this little business abroad" he 
 laid a persuasive hand on the officer's shoulder and 
 looked earnestly through his glasses at him "so 
 much depends on being discreet, so very much," he 
 purred on, "to all parties, including, my dear Gorlatz, 
 yourself. If there is one thing valuable in a public 
 servant it is discretion; if there is one thing that is 
 appreciated it is discretion." 
 
 By the time M. Preval and his dulcet voice had 
 finished, Gorlatz had recovered from his disappoint- 
 ment only to extend his hopes in another direction. 
 Privacy, it seemed " discretion " was the beautiful 
 word could avail as much as publicity ; and though 
 it was with a sigh that he dismissed his ideas of the 
 stage and the limelight, he threw himself energetically 
 into the new role which M. Pre^al had assigned to 
 him.
 
 66 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Naturally the affair could not be kept wholly secret, 
 for even in a little place gossip runs from lip to lip. 
 It was known in Waldthal that the police had made 
 an arrest in the Castle Park, and it was rumored that 
 it was in connection with the plot against the Grand 
 Duke. It was Herr Kartolen who acquainted the inn- 
 keeper, Maillac, with the astonishing news of the 
 suspect's indentity Herr Kartolen over his evening 
 meal. 
 
 "So our friend M. Temple is a conspirator and a 
 wicked man," he observed cheerfully. 
 
 Maillac stared and gaped. "But why?" he asked. 
 "I myself have admired M. Temple as an honorable 
 gentleman." 
 
 Kartolen shrugged his shoulders. "Appearances 
 are deceptive, my friend. This arrest that the police 
 have made is of your admired M. Temple." 
 
 Maillac was startled and horrified, and also incredu- 
 lous, but Herr Kartolen seemed confident of his facts. 
 
 "I saw the party pass into the village," he said in- 
 differently. "You might have told they were police a 
 mile off. Thus you do business in Eisenburg?" 
 
 "M. Temple!" repeated the astonished Maillac. 
 "But he was in the railway accident; he came here 
 from the accident that night!" 
 
 " I have no doubt he said so," remarked the German, 
 stirring his coffee. " It was an excellent night to arrive." 
 
 "M. Temple!" The good fellow could not get 
 over it. 
 
 "M. Temple" was at that moment in anything but 
 a good temper. He had been relying upon his ability 
 to shatter the absurd figment of the police whenever 
 he chose; and now the pigheadedness of a sergeant
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 67 
 
 prevented him from doing so. He was allowed to 
 call no one as to his identity, and to communicate with 
 no one until the magistrate had been informed of his 
 case and should give authority. Thus he perforce spent 
 the night in his cell in an irritable frame of mind. 
 
 In the morning he was summoned from his cell and 
 haled into a small room in the police-station, in which 
 two men were seated at a table, talking in undertones. 
 
 One of these, wearing gold-rimmed spectacles, and 
 having a benevolent aspect, looked up as he entered, 
 shot him a glance, and resumed his discussion. The 
 other, a dingy, dried-looking man of fifty, paid no 
 heed to the entrance. After a while the man with the 
 dingy face gathered up some papers and spoke. 
 
 "This is the prisoner" he examined a paper 
 "Ketschinski?" 
 
 "Yes, your honor," snapped Gorlatz importantly. 
 
 Temple surveyed the scene placidly; he had re- 
 covered his temper, and now that he was in responsible 
 hands he had no doubt as to his immediate release. 
 
 The magistrate conferred again in undertones with 
 the gentleman with gold-rimmed glasses, who was no 
 other than M. Preval. 
 
 "The charge is one of attempted abduction," said 
 the dingy man. "You have not included treason." 
 He looked across at the advocate. 
 
 "That, your honor," said M. Preval smoothly, 
 "was for specific reasons. We are quite content to 
 rest on our present count." 
 
 The magistrate mumbled something, and, adjusting 
 himself, looked at the prisoner. 
 
 "I assume, your honor," said Temple mildly, "that 
 I shall be called upon to plead, and I plead not guilty.
 
 68 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 There has been a mistake of identity owing to the 
 well, to the zeal of the police officers." 
 
 "He pleads mistaken identity," said the magistrate 
 to M. Preval. "Have you Ketschinksi's dossier?" 
 
 "Certainly, your honor; we are prepared with all 
 the necessary proofs. There is this and this." 
 
 For some minutes the magistrate pored over the 
 papers handed to him, and then he addressed Temple. 
 
 "Who do you say you are?" 
 
 "I am Sir Philip Temple, of Templemore, in the 
 county of Somerset, England," said the prisoner. 
 "The mistake is one easily discovered and rectified. 
 If you will communicate with his Excellency Count 
 Cavari, he will be able to testify to my name and to 
 the circumstances in which I arrived at Waldthal." 
 
 The advocate and the judge conferred. "His Ex- 
 cellency is not in Waldthal," said the latter at last. 
 " He is in Eisenburg." 
 
 "Eisenburg is not inaccessible," suggested Temple. 
 
 Again came a conference, and the judge asked 
 presently : 
 
 "Have you any other witnesses?" 
 
 "Yes," said Philip, "there is Captain du Vallon, 
 of the Waldthal Guards, who can answer for me" 
 he considered " and Herr Kuss, who is, I believe, 
 in the employment of the Chancellor, also the inn- 
 keeper at the Hotel du Cerf." 
 
 "We shall see," said the magistrate dully. "We 
 will put back the case till later, and communicate with 
 those you have named." 
 
 With that Temple had to be content, and back he 
 was marched to his prison, with a glorious May sun 
 shining without on a beautiful and alluring world.
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 69 
 
 He endeavored to possess his soul in patience until 
 such time as the summons once more came for 
 him. He glanced about the room, but saw neither Du 
 Vallon nor little Kuss; but Maillac was there, looking 
 rather uncomfortable for all his good-natured smile. 
 He avoided the prisoner's eye. 
 
 After testimony had been given by Gorlatz and the 
 other police officers, and certain depositions regarding 
 Ketschinski had been put in by M. Preval, the magis- 
 trate addressed Temple. 
 
 "You can call your witnesses," he said. 
 
 Temple looked round helplessly; his case was 
 being conducted after a fashion he had never dreamed 
 of. 
 
 "I call Captain du Vallon," he said. 
 
 Gorlatz got on his legs. " May it please your honor 
 Captain du Vallon is absent on affairs of state, I under- 
 stand, in Paris." 
 
 "In that case," remarked the magistrate as sagely 
 as the King of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland" 
 "in that case he is not available." 
 
 " For the time being," corrected the prisoner. " Then 
 there is Herr Kuss." 
 
 Again M. Preval was on his legs. "Herr Kuss 
 has been communicated with, but is ill in bed in 
 Eisenburg." 
 
 The prisoner's teeth showed in a smile, but M. 
 Preval, looking at him, somehow doubted if it indicated 
 either good temper or a sense of humor. 
 
 "At least M. Maillac is here," said Temple, turning 
 towards the innkeeper. 
 
 It was obvious that Maillac was much perturbed, 
 and he shuffled his feet.
 
 70 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Let Clement Maillac be produced," said the magis- 
 trate heavily. 
 
 It was Gorlatz who importantly ushered the inn- 
 keeper forward, and Gorlatz who told him where to 
 stand and at whom to look. From his appearance 
 it might have been Maillac who was charged with an 
 offense rather than the Englishman. 
 
 "You know the prisoner?" asked the magistrate 
 after preliminaries. 
 
 "Yes, your honor," said the frightened Maillac. 
 
 "What is the name he goes by?" 
 
 "M. Temple." 
 
 To Philip it savored more and more of " Alice in 
 Wonderland." Up jumped M. Preval. 
 
 " I ask your honor to note that the prisoner gave his 
 name as Sir Philip Temple. Now, I want to ask the 
 witness one question, if I have your leave, sir. Have 
 you any grounds for supposing that Temple is the 
 prisoner's name?" 
 
 "I think it is his name, sir," said Maillac. "He 
 was in the railway accident, and 
 
 "Pardon me, M. Maillac; who informed you of 
 that?" 
 
 "M. Temple himself. He said - 
 
 M. Preval put up a deprecating hand. "So that 
 you have it from the prisoner himself that his name is 
 Temple and that he was in the railway accident? 
 You heard it from no one else?" 
 
 Poor Maillac was obliged to confess that he had 
 not. M. Preval shrugged his shoulders and glanced at 
 the impassive magistrate. 
 
 "I do not know," he began, "whether in the cir- 
 cumstances, there being no corroboration of the prisoner's
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 71 
 
 statement, and having in view the particulars of the 
 dossier and the documents, your honor 
 
 But the prisoner broke in abruptly. His teeth no 
 longer showed, but his eyes were narrowed, and M. 
 Preval observed a strange light in them. 
 
 "Do I understand," he said, speaking incisively, 
 so that every word told in the room "do I 
 understand that I am to have no opportunity of 
 seeing the dossier and the documents put in by 
 counsel?" 
 
 "You may call what witnesses you will to testify 
 to your identity," said the magistrate, eying him 
 somberly. 
 
 "If this ridiculous affair is to be taken seriously," 
 said Temple, after a pause, "I shall ask it to be put 
 back in order that I may have an opportunity of com- 
 municating with my witnesses." 
 
 M. Preval was on his feet. "I press, sir," he said, 
 in his civilest but most impressive manner "I press 
 for summary proceedings. In view of the urgency 
 of the case " 
 
 Temple's glance went about the chamber. He noted 
 three policemen, the magistrate, M. Preval, and little 
 Maillac, fluttered and frightened. The advocate's 
 voice murmured on pleasantly. Again Temple's teeth 
 gleamed; he began to understand. There was not one 
 single avenue there by which this infamous parody 
 of justice might reach the public. Maillac was obvi- 
 ously too ignorant and too flustered to realize the 
 significance of what was in progress; the policemen 
 were officially deaf and blind ; and the two conspirators 
 at the table were sphinxine and enigmatic. As well 
 look for justice from wolves as from them. He saw
 
 72 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 what it meant now, this travesty. It was intended 
 that he should be convicted. 
 
 He had no time then to ask himself the reason; it 
 was an obvious inference, that was all an inference 
 which every iniquitous step in that farce justified - 
 indeed, rendered inevitable. His ears again became 
 audient. M. Preval, in his most courteous and oily 
 manner, was agreeing to an adjournment till the fol- 
 lowing day. 
 
 " Beyond that, sir, the exigencies of this most nefari- 
 ous case will not allow me to go." 
 
 He sat down. 
 
 "This case is adjourned," announced the magistrate 
 formally, "until to-morrow, to enable the prisoner to 
 produce his evidence." 
 
 When he had returned to his cell, Temple at once 
 demanded pen and ink and paper of his gaolers; and, 
 after some delay, and an apparent reference to supe- 
 rior authorities, he obtained them. Then he squared 
 his elbows to the work of writing letters. He wrote to 
 his Excellency the Chancellor at Eisenburg, to Cap- 
 tain du Vallon (to be forwarded), to the British Consul 
 at the capital, to a friend in a high position in Berlin, 
 and to the Marquis de Pomeau Laval in Paris, whose 
 guest he had lately been. He carefully closed these 
 up, and, producing money, called the particular gaoler 
 on watch. 
 
 "I want these letters posted at once," said he, look- 
 ing the man squarely in the face. "Would you ask 
 M. Gorlatz to see that this is done ? He is at liberty 
 to read the communications if he chooses. They are 
 written for the purpose of securing my evidence." 
 
 The man looked dull and honest enough, and he
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 73 
 
 took the money, which more than covered the postage, 
 without demur, declaring that they should be faith- 
 fully delivered to the Chief of Police. 
 
 Temple had no doubt that they would be, and he 
 had also no doubt that the Chief of Police would faith- 
 fully deliver them to some one else say, M. Preval. 
 It was his test, but it was not a test which he felt was 
 really necessary. He knew now that those letters would 
 not be delivered to their inscribed destinations, and 
 he wanted a demonstration of it definitely and, so to 
 speak, en masse on a scale, that is, which could 
 not be denied. He made a note of the date and the 
 addresses in his pocket-book, and then abandoned 
 himself to thought. 
 
 He had two lines upon which his mind drifted 
 the one as to the reason of this extraordinary con- 
 spiracy against him, the other the more practical and 
 pressing matter of his future action. As to the first, 
 he was helpless; he could make nothing out of 
 the situation, and could only conclude that for some 
 reason or other these provincial officials deemed him 
 dangerous to the State, and were resolved to convict 
 him. He threw aside these conjectures for the moment 
 to take up a consideration of his course of action. He 
 was to go before the so-called court, this miniature 
 star chamber, on the following morning, and if his 
 witnesses did not appear he would be condemned. 
 He did not know what sort of sentence was passed 
 for such an offense as he was charged with, but, look- 
 ing at it frankly, he could not but confess that it 
 must be something considerable. The letters would 
 not reach the persons to whom they were addressed, 
 unless perhaps Count Cavari should get his. There,
 
 74 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 indeed, lay his only hope in the Chancellor in Eisen- 
 burg, already immersed in the business of State created 
 by the political emergency. The obsequies of the 
 Grand Duchess had taken place during Temple's ab- 
 sence in England. He had read of them in the papers, 
 and had gathered also sundry rumors concerning the 
 future of Eisenburg. It was stated that the succession 
 of the Grand Duke had been informally proclaimed, 
 but that a public ceremony would take place in the 
 capital after the funeral. He had read somewhere, too, 
 a report that the Princess Alise was to be appointed 
 Regent. The Chancellor was involved in all these 
 important matters, and it was possible that Temple's 
 letter might be overlooked; somehow he did not con- 
 sider it likely that they would dare to keep it back. 
 As for the Consul well, he did not know. He had 
 not much faith in the treatment that might be extended 
 to a mere Consul. 
 
 The prospect, then, was unpromising; but he ate 
 heartily of his supper, drank of a special vintage of 
 wine which he had discovered at the Hotel du Cerf, 
 and finally slept well to the sound of the Larche, which 
 came through the bars of the high grating. 
 
 Yet it appeared next morning that he had been 
 mistaken in one point; and, with the removal of that 
 suspicion on his part, be began to wonder if, after all, 
 it was not merely a case of gross Dogberryism and 
 rustic incompetency. It came about thus. Once 
 more he faced the heavy-looking magistrate and the 
 plump and smiling advocate, and once more he looked 
 round to see if perchance there had been any response 
 to his letters. No one else was in the room but police- 
 men, and the farce opened anew.
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 75 
 
 But ere it had proceeded beyond the initial cere- 
 monies a messenger entered from without and offered 
 the magistrate a letter, which he opened and read and 
 then handed to M. Preval. While the latter was read- 
 ing it, the magistrate favored Temple with a prolonged 
 stare. M. Preval folded the note and bent over to the 
 magistrate, whispering, but there was less color in his 
 almost feminine-complexioned face. An order passed 
 from the magistrate to the messenger, who retired. M. 
 Preval rose, looking benign and pleasant of eye through 
 his glasses. 
 
 " If I might suggest, sir, it would be convenient here 
 to take any witnesses the prisoner might call. I under- 
 stand he calls the British Consul at Eisenburg, Mr. 
 Wakeling." 
 
 There was a commotion of feet at the door, and the 
 prisoner, turning with some curiosity and wonder in 
 his mind, beheld it open and two men enter, the elder 
 of whom had a practical British look. So he had been 
 in error about the letters, and probably about the whole 
 thing ! 
 
 Over the magistrate's dingy face crept what must 
 have been designed for a smile of greeting. 
 
 "Mr. Wakeling?" he inquired of the first newcomer. 
 
 The Consul bowed. 
 
 "You have been called in evidence by the prisoner, 
 whom the prosecution allege to be one Ketschinski, 
 to prove his identity. Are you, Mr. Wakeling, pre- 
 pared to swear to the prisoner's identity ? " 
 
 "I cannot say that," replied the Consul. "I under- 
 stand he claims to be Sir Philip Temple of Templemore, 
 a well-known family in England. The matter is there- 
 fore easily capable of determination one way or another."
 
 76 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "His Excellency Count Cavari can testify to the 
 truth of the statements I have made as to my move- 
 ments, Mr. Wakeling," said the prisoner. " Of course, 
 no one here can demonstrate me to be Sir Philip 
 Temple." 
 
 " I have already cabled to London as well as to Tem- 
 plemore about it," said the Consul in his matter-of-fact 
 way. 
 
 "I may say I am well known to Prince von Stregen, 
 in Berlin," added the young man. 
 
 "I will communicate with the Prince, Sir Philip," 
 said the Consul, in that manner of address manifesting 
 his own convictions. " I think, in the circumstances, 
 your honor will allow bail," he added. 
 
 M. Preval was on his legs. "The prosecution will 
 not oppose bail in the circumstances," he declared 
 suavely. 
 
 And thus it fell that within ten minutes Philip Temple 
 was a free man, with a ridiculous charge hanging over 
 his head, at which the British Consul and he had a 
 hearty laugh as they lunched at the Hotel du Cerf. 
 They had the room to themselves; and, after the con- 
 straint of the last two days, Temple enjoyed the beauti- 
 ful light, the view of the hills, and the sense of liberty. 
 
 "The fact is," Mr. Wakeling explained, "that 
 conspirators have got on the nerves of the Eisen- 
 burgers. It has been a critical time for them, and 
 they are afraid of Albrecht." 
 
 "But they are safe now," said Temple. "Short 
 of an assassination of an infant, which is incredible 
 at least, in this northerly part of Europe the bot- 
 tom is gone out of the Albrecht party surely." 
 
 "Not so definitely as you think," said the Consul,
 
 THE STAR CHAMBER 77 
 
 leaning back to enjoy his cigar. "There is a strong 
 party for Albrecht in Eisenburg on the German marches. 
 You see, Louis XXI did a foolish thing when he auto- 
 matically and arbitrarily deprived the Suabian family 
 of their property here. They held the Castle of Sturm 
 and the estates, which they inherited through Lucia 
 Wolfgang, who married a Suabian in the middle of 
 the eighteenth century, right down until the 'fifties; 
 and then Louis sequestered them. It was an affair of 
 State, of course. Prince Karl of Suabia was mixed 
 up in some political intrigue, or was supposed to be 
 I don't know that it was ever proved. Anyhow, his 
 estates were forfeited; and the act rankled, has always 
 rankled, indeed, and is one of the chief causes of the 
 bad blood between the two houses. It would not 
 have mattered had not Albrecht been the next heir. 
 But there is the infant Grand Duke now. Yet Albrecht 
 has his sympathizers; and there are plenty of people 
 who look askance upon a long minority. It means 
 no State functions, no Court, no stimulus to trade. 
 Albrecht is six-and-twenty, and, I'm told, is a spirited 
 and lively soul. He could, as the phrase goes, make 
 things hum." 
 
 Thus Mr. Wakeling, practical and prosaic English- 
 man, over a comfortable lunch. 
 
 His companion pondered. "Then it seems that 
 I am the first victim sacrificed on the altar," he ob- 
 served after a pause. "I should feel a sense almost 
 of honor at the priority, instead of the indignation 
 I have with difficulty quenched. Do you know, I more 
 than half suspected these rustic authorities of tamper- 
 ing with my correspondence I had doubts, for 
 instance, of my letter reaching you."
 
 78 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 The Consul took his cigar out of his mouth. " You 're 
 mistaken," he said slowly, " when you speak of them as 
 rustic authorities. Both M. Preval and M. Dorn- 
 murst are well-known figures in Eisenburg." He puffed 
 again. "And I don't quite understand your reference 
 to your letter. What letter was that?" 
 
 " Why," said Temple in surprise, " the letter I wrote 
 to you, which brought you here!" 
 
 "I wasn't brought here by any letter of yours," 
 replied the Consul, after a pause. "I never received 
 any letter from you." 
 
 "Indeed !" Sir Philip's eyes centered on the other's. 
 "Then how was it you arrived in the nick of time to 
 my rescue?" 
 
 "I received a communication as to your predica- 
 ment from a man named The Consul hunted 
 in his memory, found nothing there temporarily, and 
 so hunted in his pockets. He drew out a paper. " Ah, 
 yes ! Kartolen," he ended. 
 
 Temple swung round slowly in his chair, till he 
 reached the bell, which he rang. 
 
 "Kartolen!" he repeated. "I see. That has its 
 own appearance of strangeness." Smilingly entered 
 M. Maillac, rubbing his hands. "Oh, M. Maillac, 
 what has become of Herr Kartolen?" 
 
 " He left last night, Monsieur returned to Berlin, 
 I think." 
 
 Temple thanked and dismissed him. "On the 
 whole," he remarked to the Consul, as he sipped his 
 coffee, "I do not understand, and I think Eisenburg 
 is an interesting country." 
 
 "Oh, it is interesting enough," said the Consul 
 pleasantly.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 
 
 ISENBURG was sometimes amusingly, but more 
 1 ^ often distractingly, bilingual. It hesitated be- 
 tween French and German, with a distinct bias 
 at least, in the trading centers towards the lan- 
 guage which dominated the commerce of the country. 
 Owing to the geographical situation of the grand- 
 duchy on the flank of Germany, that language was, 
 of course, German. German enterprise had long since 
 penetrated and exploited Eisenburg. German com- 
 mercial travelers, like Herr Kartolen, had mapped 
 out the grand-duchy in sections, and took their annual 
 levies. The State was, to some frightened minds, in 
 the way of becoming a mere German appanage. That 
 was why the Court party made a determined "set" 
 in favor of French. Though German was spoken 
 among the traders of the capital, at the Schloss with 
 its German name they talked in pure French. Thus 
 it fell out that the passenger in Eisenburg streets must 
 needs ply the tongues in turn, according to his itiner- 
 ary and the accidents of his meetings. He would con- 
 verse in German if he bought groceries, but over the 
 way was a shop in which his wife, purchasing lingerie, 
 must express her preferences in French. 
 
 Sir Philip Temple perused two newspapers on the 
 morning following his release on bail the one in
 
 80 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 German and the other in French. The German, after 
 its news, was commercial and non-political, while the 
 French sheet, circulating in politer society, reflected 
 Court news, and probably Court views. At least, 
 future Court movements were foreshadowed, as of 
 national importance. The public proclamation of 
 the new Grand Duke was fixed for such-and-such a 
 date, which was some five days ahead. The Princess 
 Regent would leave Waldthal for the capital on such 
 a day. His Excellency Count Cavari was in residence 
 at his official house in Eisenburg. . . . Thus, or after 
 some such fashion, ran the fashionable information 
 of the Gazette, which Temple idly scanned at break- 
 fast. Mr. Wakeling had departed for Eisenburg and 
 his duties, leaving with Sir Philip an assurance that he 
 need fear no further misunderstandings, and a cordial 
 invitation to visit him in the capital. Mr. Wakeling, 
 you see, was a practical man, had lived fifty years, and 
 knew something of his own country and her worthies. 
 There was some historic glamor attaching to the name 
 of Temple of Templemore. 
 
 The Chancellor was in residence ! Philip regarded 
 the fact leisurely, and turned with equal leisure from 
 it to wonder if the Chancellor had received his letter. 
 Till now he had had no answer. He was also inter- 
 ested as to the fate of the other letters which he had 
 dispatched from his cell. Now that- he had found 
 that the consular machinery had not been set in motion 
 by him, he had a renewed suspicion of all the circum- 
 stances. His letter to Mr. Wakeling had miscarried, 
 and it was the German "drummer" who had saved 
 him. He could not overlook the fact, and somehow it 
 seemed to possess a curious but undetermined signifi-
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 81 
 
 cance. He wrote that morning to Berlin, to Paris, and 
 to Captain du Vallon at the Castle of Waldthal. He 
 did not write to his Excellency. 
 
 Yet it was from his Excellency that he first heard 
 indeed, in the evening of the same day. Count Cavari 
 wrote through his secretary, as every busy and distin- 
 guished man must, acknowledging the receipt of Sir 
 Philip Temple's letter, and stating that he had taken 
 steps to communicate with the necessary authorities. 
 Upon this formal document Temple had two criticisms 
 to make to himself the one that the Chancellor had 
 evidently accepted his uncorroborated statement as 
 to his identity, and the other that it came, so to speak, 
 a day after the fair. However, it was welcome in its 
 way and day, more especially as it was clear evidence 
 that he was to be troubled no more in the matter of 
 a ridiculous charge. The next day brought a confir- 
 mation of this, in an official communication from the 
 authorities, whose investigations had proved the truth 
 of the suspect's claim to be an important English 
 gentleman. Simultaneously he received a second 
 letter from the Chancellor's secretary, expressing 
 regret at the absurd mistake of the police and a hope 
 that Sir Philip Temple had not been greatly incon- 
 venienced thereby. 
 
 It was a civil thing for a busy man of affairs to have 
 done, and Temple recognized this. At the same time, 
 he was exercised still about his unanswered letters. 
 As he had thought, no one had dared to intermeddle 
 with the Chancellor's postbag, but it was abundantly 
 clear that no respect had been paid to any one else's. 
 We have heard as to the Consul's; and the next mail 
 brought Philip communications from Berlin and
 
 82 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Paris, from which it appeared that his original letters 
 to both Prince von Stregen and the Marquis de Pomeau- 
 Laval had only just been delivered, owing, no doubt, 
 to delay in the post. Captain du Vallon was still silent. 
 
 It seemed, then, that the Chancellor was the only 
 one who had received his letter in due course. 
 Temple passed many things in mental review, among 
 others the operations of agents provocateurs, of which 
 he had read, and various other reputed tricks of the 
 criminal police of different countries. After that, as 
 the weather was clouding, and the valleys of the Oden- 
 stock merged in mist, he spent a dull afternoon indoors, 
 with such books as the scanty library of the hotel 
 offered and his own reflections. Among these latter 
 reappeared the affair which was mainly responsible 
 for bringing him back to Waldthal. Now that he was 
 discharged his mind reverted to the dead woman, and 
 he pondered a good deal on the tragedy after he had 
 tired of his literature. He wrote to his Excellency's 
 secretary, acknowledging politely what he might con- 
 sider to be official apologies for his arrest, and in the 
 same letter stated his intention of advertising in the 
 hope of throwing some light on the identity of the un- 
 known victim. 
 
 He drew up the same afternoon a carefully framed 
 advertisement which he sent off to various papers in 
 England, France, and Germany, giving his own initials 
 and address at the Hotel du Cerf, Waldthal. From this 
 it seemed that he was not at present designing to leave 
 Eisenburg, despite the obloquy of his arrest. As a mat- 
 ter of fact he had made up his mind to witness the 
 Proclamation before he went on to what he had origi- 
 nally meant to be his destination Munich.
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 83 
 
 On the day following this dispatch of letters Sir 
 Philip Temple, armed with a fishing-rod and basket, 
 took the road to the upper waters of the Larche, dis- 
 tant in the hills some five miles from Waldthal. 
 
 The same day at the midday meal two men were 
 facing each other across the table in the chateau of 
 Demarne, in the Upper Odenstock. The chateau, an 
 elegant building of the eighteenth century, was perched 
 in a very picturesque and romantic situation. Behind 
 it the forests of the Odenstock, black and grim, sloped 
 upwards to the crown of the hills, whence they rolled 
 downwards in a tumbled confusion of vale and dale 
 across the plains of Montrais towards the border of 
 Graumark, in the German hegemony. Northward and 
 eastward the whole of Eisenburg lay stretched before 
 the eye, with the Castle of Waldthal in the middle dis- 
 tance, and even the towers and spires of the capital on 
 the dim horizon. From the windows of Demarne, the 
 seat of the Boar of the Odenstock, a magnificent pros- 
 pect is ever in the eye; for no sooner have its shafts 
 left the spacious, rambling park and gardens than 
 they descend by the white cataracts of the Larche, by 
 gaps and wooded spurs, to the lower heights about 
 Waldthal, and thence again to the glittering plains in 
 which the city of Eisenburg rises by the silver Effel. 
 Yet of this wonderful view the two men at the table 
 took no heed. They were not looking out of the win- 
 dows at all, but at each other. The Boar, as he was 
 popularly styled after the beast that, even in modern 
 times, still ravaged occasionally in the Odenstock, was 
 clean-shaven; but his companion, short, and rather 
 bald, wore a peaked or Vandyke beard, which he plucked 
 in an apparently abstracted and deliberate manner.
 
 84 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I assure you, my dear Baron," he said in his pleas- 
 ant voice, "that I was actuated by mere idle curiosity. 
 The narrative had been interrupted, and it interested 
 me. I wanted it finished." 
 
 " Well, it was n't," said Favrinck bluntly. 
 
 "But it will be," said the other softly. 
 
 "I cannot see why you lay such stress upon what 
 appears to me a triviality," said the Baron. 
 
 "It probably is a triviality," said his companion, 
 nodding. "In my life I have found trivialities often 
 to indicate significant things. Floating straws, my dear 
 Baron, show the direction of the current. I may be 
 watching a straw that means nothing, but I watch it. I 
 don't like losing chances, and, after all, it hurts no one 
 and amuses me." 
 
 " Oh, if it amuses you, Von Hauser " The Baron 
 
 shrugged his shoulders, and did not complete his 
 sentence. 
 
 ".Consider that he was interrupted in a very inter- 
 esting story, and at a critical point of it," went on 
 Von Hauser, lighting another cigar. " He was privileged 
 to be in the Castle on the night of that interesting event. 
 Think of it ! What would you not have given for that 
 privilege, my dear fellow?" The Baron snorted. "He 
 took there a dying woman for attention, an act of hu- 
 manity; and he left at midnight and went to the Hotel 
 du Cerf." 
 
 The Baron looked up. " I saw him then a tall, 
 rather slender, characteristic Englishman ? Yes, I saw 
 him that night in talk with Maillac." 
 
 "No doubt," assented his companion, and resumed 
 in his easy way: "He told Maillac, it appears, that he 
 designed to stay in Waldthal for some little time and
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 85 
 
 explore this"- he nodded out of the window " mag- 
 nificent domain of yours. But he returned to England 
 in obedience to a telegram, was absent a few days, and 
 came back. The day after his return he was arrested 
 on the charge of being a certain Ketschinski. Now, 
 Baron, do you know any one named Ketschinski ?" He 
 had turned his gray eyes on his host, who frowned and 
 brooded as if over some internal convulsion of thought. 
 
 " The agent of ? I saw him once," he said curtly. 
 
 "Did he bear the slightest resemblance to this Eng- 
 lish stranger?" asked Von Hauser. 
 
 "Not the least. He was a burly red man." 
 
 "Then," said the other, lifting his eyebrows, "what 
 a stupid police are these of your country, my dear fel- 
 low ! To make such a blunder!" 
 
 "I don't see what all this is leading to," remarked 
 the Baron impatiently. 
 
 "If I knew," said his friend slowly, "I should not 
 need to follow it up. As, like yourself, I am in igno- 
 rance, I feel interested and, so to speak, piqued. That 
 was why I dropped a note to the British Consul. Mail- 
 lac, as you know, is a regular soft-hearted, turnip-headed 
 fellow ; but even his confused account of the trial made 
 me wonder. I wonder still." He rose. "Baron, if it 
 had n't been for that note of mine, this Sir Philip Tem- 
 ple would be in the Hochmar Prison to-day registered 
 under a number and the name of Ketschinski." 
 
 Favrinck rose after his guest. " Have it as you will, " 
 he said. " Tell me what Grossbaum reports." 
 
 "Grossbaum," said Von Hauser, "offers us every 
 encouragement as to the friendly disposition of the 
 northeastern canton. But it is mainly the capital that 
 will decide. It always is."
 
 86 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I can answer for the south," responded the Baron 
 grimly. " I hold them in my hand, and they will move 
 when I want." 
 
 "Yes, you are a power, Baron," said the other po- 
 litely; "you have but to order. You are as one having 
 authority. I am only a spring in the machinery. I can 
 help it to go, if I keep well-oiled, and the other parts 
 are not out of order. You you are something still 
 of the mediaeval feudal lord. See what a stretch of 
 country obeys you, owns your sway." 
 
 He was at the window now, and before him spread 
 the Odenstock, with its fir-clad hills and its fertile val- 
 leys. The Baron also surveyed it, but there was no an- 
 swering smile of gratification on his heavy features. 
 
 " We are as old and as good a stock as the Wolfgangs," 
 he observed. "They have twice put an insult on 
 us; and the last was deadly. Time shall bring its 
 revenge." 
 
 "On an infant's head," interjected Von Hauser, 
 without any expression in his voice. 
 
 "On a Wolfgang's," corrected Favrinck. 
 
 There was a pause, and then Von Hauser resumed: 
 
 "It is the capital that will decide. There is where 
 our work must be." 
 
 "If my advice had been taken," said the Baron, "the 
 Prince would have moved immediately on the death 
 of Louis." 
 
 "And left the sympathies of the Eisenburgers, to 
 say nothing of Europe, a rally ing-point in the widowed 
 Grand Duchess and her interesting condition ! No, 
 my friend, it would have been fatal, and I told the 
 Prince so. What is more, I told well, other parties, 
 we will say. And other parties, as we must call them,
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 87 
 
 brought pressure to bear on the Prince. Yes, it was I 
 spoiled your scheme, my dear fellow." 
 
 "Well, the responsibility is yours," grumbled the 
 Baron. "I confess I like action." 
 
 " Action follows diplomacy ; action is assured by care- 
 ful organization," said Von Hauser. "You shall have 
 what action you want very soon, and then it will be 
 swift and certain, and there will be no risks. Mean- 
 while we must concentrate our attentions on the 
 capital." 
 
 "We shall get a test at the Proclamation," said 
 Favrinck. "That will show us where we stand." 
 
 "I hope so; and now, Baron, with your permission, 
 I will go. I must dine this evening at the Hotel du 
 Cerf, and hear the conclusion of my interrupted narra- 
 tive. After that I am due at Eisenburg." 
 
 Favrinck accompanied his guest into the big hall, 
 with its galleries, and, calling for his hat, himself stalked 
 out into the park. It was a wild place, forest mingling 
 with gardens and growing meadows, and below the 
 walls that shut off the encroaching Odenstock. The 
 Baron and his friend walked down to a gate in earnest 
 conversation, and at the gate they stopped and talked 
 together for a time. A hundred paces or more on this 
 declension of the hill a lusty brook, fresh from the 
 superior heights beyond, brawled and fumed among 
 its environing rocks on its way to contribute to the 
 Upper Larche. This falling valley was veiled now in 
 a tender light of obscuring clouds and threatening 
 spring rain, and through the curtain of trees a man 
 was picking his way down-stream. He had a rod over 
 his shoulder and a basket swung by his side. In the 
 middle of a sentence Von Hauser's quick eyes shot
 
 88 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 away to him, though he went on talking. The Baron's 
 broad back, formidable as a wall, was turned to the 
 forest and the glen, but Von Hauser's gaze nickered 
 between his companion and the fisherman. Suddenly 
 he left off abruptly, and, seizing the Baron's arm, pulled 
 that great bulk about as if on a swivel. 
 
 "Look! Look!" he said. 
 
 Favrinck's eyes obeyed the imperative command, 
 and turned, not inwards and downwards towards the 
 glen and the water, but upwards to a rise, thickly bushed 
 and precipitate in its descent. 
 
 " Why what Favrinck got no further ; he 
 
 stopped, gaping; a head emerged from the shrubbery, 
 and a glint of sunlight glanced from an iron barrel. 
 A loud report followed. 
 
 "Himmel!" It was the Baron's voice, but it was 
 Von Hauser who started to run. He ran with astonish- 
 ing speed for one no longer young, and considering the 
 rough nature of the ground. He reached the place 
 where the fisherman had fallen some moments before 
 the lumbering Baron, who found him bending over 
 the prostrate man when he arrived. 
 
 " Nothing much," he said, in a low voice ; " the bullet 
 has ploughed round his temple and stunned him. There 
 is no other hurt* that I can see. He will come to pres- 
 ently." He drew himself up and looked down on the 
 fisherman. Favrinck bent in his turn and grunted. 
 He looked at Von Hauser. 
 
 "I should like to know who dared do this in the 
 Odenstock," he said, with the rising choler of a slow 
 and bitter man. "I'll have them know I'm master of 
 the Odenstock." 
 
 "Do you not recognize an old friend?" asked
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 89 
 
 Von Hauser in a curious voice, under which one might 
 have suspected a deep agitation. 
 
 Favrinck looked at the face, glowing as he looked. 
 "By Heaven! the Englishman, isn't it?" he asked. 
 
 " The Englishman he is having bad luck," said 
 Von Hauser significantly. 
 
 The Baron eyed him. " You mean 
 
 " It is strange what a dead set fortune, let us say, 
 has made at this Englishman." 
 
 "What?" The Baron's slow brain absorbed the 
 words and their inner meaning. "The Wolfgangs !" he 
 thundered. "By God, I'll have them know I am 
 master of the Odenstock ! The Wolfgangs!" 
 
 " My dear friend, there is no Wolfgang, but a suck- 
 ing infant," said Von Hauser. He drew back. " Baron, 
 as this young gentleman is coming to, I will, with your 
 leave, go. I am anxious to see him, but not in these 
 circumstances. I unhesitatingly entrust him to your 
 hospitality." He laid a hand on the other's arm. " Look 
 you, my friend, I believe this man is valuable. I think 
 he is one of those trifles that matter." 
 
 He nodded as he turned away, and went lightly 
 down the glen for about a mile, which brought him 
 to a clearing with a small farmhouse. Here he had 
 left the carriage he had hired in the morning for the 
 purpose of exploring in the Odenstock like any com- 
 mon tourist ; and from this point he was driven com- 
 fortably to the Hotel du Cerf , which he reached before 
 evening fell. 
 
 When Philip Temple opened his eyes he found the 
 grim and stolid face of the Baron Favrinck looking on 
 him. In bewilderment he blinked, and then sat up, 
 finally getting shakily to his feet.
 
 90 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "You have had an accident," said the Baron. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose Temple looked at the fishing- 
 
 rod on the ground in a puzzled way, and then, obeying 
 a physical direction, put a hand to his head. He was 
 still dazed, but he felt that there was something the 
 matter with his head. 
 
 "It was a narrow squeak," said the Baron, scruti- 
 nizing the head with interest. "The bullet must have 
 struck on the bone behind and ploughed round. I've 
 known bullets do queer things like that." 
 
 "A bullet!" Temple gazed at him in perplexity. 
 
 " Yes, you have been shot at," said the other. " Can 
 you walk ? Come, let me give you an arm. My house 
 is not far." 
 
 Temple laughed confusedly. "Shot at!" he said, 
 and then, "Thank you. I seem to recognize your face." 
 
 "I yours," said the Baron. "You are the young 
 Englishman who was in the Hotel du Cerf the night 
 when the Grand Duke was born." 
 
 "Yes, I remember you now," said Temple. "You 
 
 are But the name did not come, and the Baron 
 
 gave him no assistance. They were walking up through 
 the park, the older man guiding the somewhat un- 
 steady steps of the younger. "Shot at!" repeated the 
 latter. "Who shot at me?" 
 
 "I wish I'd seen. I did n't," said his companion. 
 
 " Some clumsy sportsman these fools ought not 
 to be allowed guns," said Temple. 
 
 "There's no sportsman dare set foot within this 
 part of the Odenstock without my leave," said Favrinck 
 formidably. "You were trespassing yourself." 
 
 "So was the other apparently. As for me, I was in 
 ignorance, and I apologize."
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 91 
 
 Philip Temple smiled, but the face of the other did 
 not answer him with a ripple. 
 
 " There was no man out shooting to-day in the Oden- 
 stock, I tell you," he said harshly " at least, no man 
 shooting game." 
 
 "Then, sir," said Philip civilly, "you mean to im- 
 
 ply- 
 
 They had reached the house, and the Baron ushered 
 his guest in and rang the bell for his servants and brandy 
 ere he replied. Temple sank with a sigh into a sofa 
 in the long hall. 
 
 " The man who shot you shot at you," said the Baron, 
 motioning him to drink. 
 
 He was imperative in his ways, but the Englishman 
 did not resent this, and would not have resented it in 
 other circumstances. He did not notice it now; it would 
 have amused him in other conditions. He was taking 
 in more fully the meaning of his host's words, and he 
 drank mechanically. A drop of blood slipped down 
 his cheek, and he put up a handkerchief and stayed it. 
 
 "Is this Odenstock a favorite tiddler's-ground for 
 bandits? " he asked. 
 
 " Not this side of the Middle Ages," said the Baron. 
 "My ancestors decorated the forest with the gentry 
 and stamped out that sort of sport effectually." 
 
 "Ah!" said Philip, remembering in a gush. "You 
 are Baron Favrinck?" 
 
 His host nodded unceremoniously. "And you are 
 English?" he said, and waited. He was not used to be 
 so wary, but he felt Von Hauser would have approved. 
 
 "My name is Sir Philip Temple. I came here by 
 accident, and am still here by choice," said the younger 
 man.
 
 92 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Well, Sir Philip, if your life is not insured, I should 
 advise you to insure it at once after this." 
 
 "I gather that you think this was no accident," 
 said Temple slowly, " but a deliberate attempt to mur- 
 der me." 
 
 The Baron nodded. "I was at the gate. I saw it, 
 the man's head and his rifle." 
 
 "But why should any one want to kill me?" de- 
 manded the Englishman simply. 
 
 Favrinck shrugged his big shoulders. "If you can't 
 say, no one can," he replied. 
 
 Temple was silent, thinking. He mechanically 
 sipped his brandy, and under the stimulus of the spirit 
 his brain worked more briskly. He was looking back- 
 ward, and as he looked his face grew set, his mouth 
 hardened. 
 
 Meanwhile the Baron had exhausted his diplomacy, 
 and felt it time to hand on the case to Von Hauser. 
 
 "You are staying in Waldthal?" he asked. 
 
 " Yes, at the Hotel du Cerf ," replied Temple, coming 
 out of his thoughts. 
 
 "I will have you driven back," said Favrinck. It 
 was almost an order, but Temple thanked him. Fa- 
 vrinck rang a bell, and gave instructions to a servant. 
 Suddenly Temple became conscious of his fish-basket, 
 and pulled it round to the front. 
 
 "As it seems I was a poacher," he said, with a smile, 
 "I can do no less than offer you two brace of as fine 
 trout as I have caught for many years." He opened 
 his basket, displaying his booty. 
 
 "I think, in the circumstances, it would be unfair 
 for me to take them," said Favrinck, with a grim smile. 
 "You see, you paid a high price for them."
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 93 
 
 A little later, when taking leave of his guest, he was 
 moved to further graciousness, and added : " In future, 
 if you care to fish and to take the risks that appear to 
 attach to you in fishing, you are welcome to the Oden- 
 stock, Sir Philip." 
 
 The conversation he had that evening in the Hotel 
 du Cerf was with quite another person, yet there was a 
 certain resemblance in the key, as he noticed. His old 
 acquaintance Herr Kartolen had returned to the inn, 
 and Sir Philip greeted him warmly, thanking him for 
 his friendly act in writing to the British Consul. 
 
 "Ah, Monsieur," said Herr Kartolen, "I know 
 these stupid police in the country; they are always 
 blundering. I thought there would be no harm." 
 
 " No harm ! My dear sir," said Temple heartily, 
 " I verily believe I should be languishing in prison now 
 were it not for that act of yours." 
 
 "Indeed, Monsieur !" Herr Kartolen opened his eyes. 
 " But you would have got your witnesses to your identity." 
 
 "I called several," said Sir Philip, "by letter and 
 otherwise. All but one were silent; and that one, 
 our host, was unable, of course, to prove anything 
 more than that I had called myself Temple." 
 
 Herr Kartolen opened his mouth, evidently in amaze- 
 ment ; but Temple proceeded in his pleasantest manner : 
 
 "Come, you must be my guest to-night, Herr Kar- 
 tolen. I will take no denial, and you shall distract my 
 mind from stupid officials and prisons and troubles of 
 all kinds. If it is n't my birthday it ought to be." He 
 paused, with the wine list in his hand. " In a sense," 
 he said slowly, " I think it is my birthday a sort of 
 second birthday. We'll count it at that; and Maillac 
 has still some bottles of a famous wine."
 
 94 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Herr Kartolen allowed himself to be persuaded; 
 but after a certain interval at the beginning of the meal 
 it was not he who was distracting Temple's thoughts, 
 for it was Temple himself who was talking. The com- 
 mercial traveler reminded his host of the circumstances 
 in which they had parted, and begged for the rest of 
 the interrupted narrative of what happened in the 
 Castle of Waldthal on the night of the Grand Duchess's 
 death. This interested him greatly, and from it he took 
 Sir Philip, on light foot, over the subsequent events 
 in his stay in Waldthal. This he did with a flow of 
 questions and a very friendly and natural exhibition 
 of curiosity that could rouse no antagonism. There 
 was no reason why Sir Philip should not let him know; 
 he did not mind being "pumped" by this amiable 
 German. The hardest man to deal with is the man 
 who is free enough with his confidence when it does 
 not matter, for he is not suspected of keeping his own 
 counsel when it does matter. So Temple, attributing 
 his companion's curiosity to a national trait, indulged it, 
 until they both came to a stop this side of the trans- 
 actions of the afternoon. 
 
 "You have been fishing?" said the older man at 
 last, examining him with polite, mild eyes. "I hope 
 you had good luck." 
 
 "Fair," said Philip, throwing back his mind, with 
 a smile. 
 
 Had Herr Kartolen had any inkling of the adven- 
 ture of the afternoon and put his interrogations, he 
 would no doubt have been answered ; but Temple never 
 proffered information. And Herr Kartolen was silent, 
 until after a pause he said slowly: 
 
 "It seems to me, Monsieur, that the authorities in
 
 THE SHOT IN THE FOREST 95 
 
 Eisenburg made a bad mistake, and owe you some 
 reparation. You should apply for compensation." 
 
 "I suppose I might," said the Englishman care- 
 lessly. 
 
 "The British Consul should see to it that you secure 
 it," went on the commercial traveler. 
 
 It was, of course, consistent with a commercial travel- 
 er's calling that the question of compensation should 
 thus occur to him; but somehow Philip had all uncon- 
 sciously set his companion on a superior level. 
 
 "I don't think I am anxious to make money out of 
 the incident," he said languidly; yet his smile relieved 
 the answer of any possible charge of being a snub. 
 
 "One might make people pay for their stupid blun- 
 ders in other ways," said Herr Kartolen, with a shrug. 
 "The case must have been very badly spoilt by M. 
 Preval. It is the policeman's game all the world over. 
 Get a conviction if you can anyhow." 
 
 Temple's brow darkened. He held in his equable 
 mind a strong feeling in regard to M. Preval. He 
 distrusted him, and he distasted him; all that could 
 lie between a frank man and a crafty man, he felt, 
 divided them. 
 
 "I should like to pay out M. Preval," he said 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 "It should be easy," Herr Kartolen was of opinion. 
 "To pursue the case, to put before the government 
 his egregious blunder, would be to harass him, to ex- 
 pose him to censure. He deserves it ! " 
 
 "Yes, I think he undoubtedly has deserved it," 
 agreed Temple.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 
 
 YOU know how, to the Continental, if he speaks 
 French, every man is "Monsieur." "Monsieur" 
 is a fine and handsome leveler; it reduces the prince 
 to a plane on which he can meet the peasant without 
 loss of dignity. No doubt Maillac, good soul, was ac- 
 quainted with his English guest's title, and probably 
 Herr Kartolen had learned it from him; but to both 
 Temple was merely "Monsieur" or "M. Temple." 
 "Monsieur" will cover and comprise everything within 
 its generous and hospitable folds. Well, M. Temple 
 received a friendly but by no means an officious invi- 
 tation to "look up," as we should say, Herr Kartolen 
 at his office in Eisenburg, if so be M. Temple was ever 
 in the capital. 
 
 "I travel a good deal," explained Herr Kartolen. 
 " You will understand that. But I return to my head- 
 quarters often, and I am always in touch with them." 
 
 It was on the eve of Proclamation Day that Temple 
 arrived in Eisenburg, and he at once noted innumer- 
 able signs of the approaching event. It was a traditional 
 ceremony with the Wolfgangs that the proclamation 
 of the new Grand Duke, on his succession, should be 
 made from the Council Hall in the Platz, and this affair 
 was always carried out with much form and amid 
 public rejoicings. From the country districts, south
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 97 
 
 and north, all the day a procession of visitors streamed 
 into the little capital, anxious for good seats from which 
 to view the proclamation on the morrow. Temple 
 noted the gathering throngs everywhere in the 
 hotels, in the courtyards, overflowing into the streets, 
 filling cafe and hall and restaurant. The stable-yards 
 were crowded with vehicles, from market-cart to 
 brougham ; and the sightseers, in anticipation of greater 
 doings, had already begun by perambulating the streets 
 and watching the last touches of the decorators. 
 
 The Qity of Eisenburg is of comparative insignifi- 
 cance in size, though it possesses all the insignia and 
 paraphernalia of capitals. It is seated on two hills, 
 between which the Larche rushes from its mountain 
 home into the broader, smoother, and more sober 
 waters of the Effel. This latter river, which shuts off 
 Eisenburg from the low-lying eastern cantons, flows 
 in a dignified way by pretty courses to a junction with 
 the greater river, which forms the boundary of the 
 grand-duchy on its German frontier. In Eisenburg 
 all the features of European centers are reproduced 
 in miniature. There is the Palace, which stands on an 
 eminence overlooking the river to which its gardens 
 slope; there is the Council House to which deputies 
 are returned from the various cantons, and legislate 
 under the segis of Grand Duke and Chancellor; and 
 there is a handsome building in the Platz, which is the 
 seat of the law and the judiciary. 
 
 At Eisenburg there is an unmistakable metropolitan 
 air, notwithstanding the small dimensions of the an- 
 cient town; and on an occasion such as this, which 
 summed up and demonstrated, as it were, the rights 
 of the capital to its sovereign position, it was impossible
 
 98 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 even for a stranger accustomed to larger things not to 
 admit them. Temple strolled the streets, and, like 
 other sightseers, gazed at the decorations and viewed 
 the arrangements for illumination with interest. As 
 he went about he became aware that his friend the 
 Consul had spoken justly about the division among 
 the populace. It was evident that the coming cele- 
 bration meant more to some than to others. Gangs 
 of country cousins stared open-mouthed and beamed 
 their satisfaction on the surroundings. But among 
 the working-classes of the capital another spirit was 
 observable. There was a brisk trade in the sale of lilac, 
 which was the emblem of the Wolfgangs; and many 
 merry people paraded the streets with lilac badges, 
 lilac buttonholes, lilac in the hat, or lilac in the hair. 
 At the corner of the Platz, where a narrow mediaeval, 
 and evil-smelling street turned into it, Temple came 
 upon a bevy of girls, laughing, wide-mouthed, blue- 
 eyed. They wore the lilac badge, and one of them was 
 crowned with a ring of lilac blossom. The street was 
 like a defile between mountains, running tortuously 
 into darkness 'twixt high and ill-conditioned houses, 
 and suddenly a body of rough men emerged from its 
 jaws. The girls were abreast at the moment, and a 
 heavy, squat fellow, with a protruding jowl, broke the 
 linked line with an oath. He snatched the lilac, ground 
 and stamped it into the dirt under his feet, amid cries 
 of alarm and pain. 
 
 "That for your sucking-pig!" he shouted hoarsely. 
 
 The girls fled in terror, but the group behind the 
 aggressor gathered together, and spoke low. There 
 seemed to Temple something more ominous in this 
 quietude than if they had openly broken out into a
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 99 
 
 riot. He passed on. Upon the Rue des Vins, as the 
 alternative placard in that bilingual country styled it, 
 he saw the decorations snatched from the lamp-posts 
 as by the hands of hooligans. In the Place Grevan he 
 witnessed a conflict between police and mob which 
 was instructive, but not pleasant. He retired to his 
 hotel with a better understanding of the state of politics 
 and parties in Eisenburg. A little later he was surprised 
 and delighted to receive a visit from Captain Constan- 
 tine du Vallon. 
 
 Du Vallon was as full of fine airs and graces as ever. 
 He seemed, indeed, to have ripened his friendship with 
 the mere passage of time. He shook Temple warmly 
 by the hand, complimented him on the effect of Eisen- 
 burg air on his health and appearance, and then broke 
 into the explanation for which he had come. 
 
 "You wrote, Monsieur, at an unfortunate time. 
 I was away on some important affair; but, of course, 
 I would have stretched every point in the circum- 
 stances, short of absolute dereliction of duty, to be of 
 service to you. But, unhappily, I never received the 
 letter until too late." 
 
 "You did not receive it?" asked Temple. 
 
 "See, my friend." The Captain pulled from his 
 pocket an envelope on which were scribbled at least a 
 dozen addresses. "It followed me to Paris to the con- 
 sulate, but I was at Marseilles; then, look you, it went 
 to Bordeaux ; there was a mistake. It has passed through 
 a score of adventures, but it arrived. The post-office 
 is wonderful !" 
 
 "But it arrived too late," suggested Temple. 
 
 "My dear Sir Philip, I regret it, but I am glad my 
 evidence was not needed. It was a stupid affair
 
 100 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 those dull police! I gather they got hauled over the 
 coals. They tell me the sergeant was dismissed." 
 
 "I don't know," said Philip, "that it was the ser- 
 geant who ought to have been dismissed." 
 
 Du Vallon looked at him with his friendly attitude 
 of inquiring attention that was so like a terrier with 
 cocked ears, but Temple did not pursue the matter. 
 He changed the subject, touching on the ceremony of 
 the morrow, and the Captain swung off readily upon 
 the new course. He was to be at the head of his com- 
 pany of guards in the Platz before the Council Hall, 
 and it was evidently a point on which he required con- 
 gratulation. He received Sir Philip's compliments 
 and flushed. 
 
 "I thank you, Sir Philip," said he, with a certain 
 boyish simplicity. "I am proud to do my little in the 
 service of my sovereign. I want no other reward 
 than the satisfaction I shall get out of doing my 
 duty." 
 
 "There is," ventured the Englishman, "a division 
 of opinion in Eisenburg in regard to political matters." 
 
 Du Vallon uttered an oath. "There is a party of 
 knaves, of traitors a secret party. They would 
 hand the grand-duchy over to the German for the 
 benefit of their filthy trade. "They want inclusion in 
 the Zollverein. Bah ! Don't speak to me of them. 
 They will have a rough awakening." 
 
 "I have been through the streets to-night," said 
 Temple, " and I have witnessed certain scenes. Do the 
 authorities anticipate anything in the way of a counter- 
 demonstration to-morrow ? ' ' 
 
 " A counter-demonstration ! From those traitors ! 
 Heavens, Monsieur!" cried Captain Constantine du
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 101 
 
 Vallon, " the soldiery will be there ! The canaille dare 
 not!" 
 
 It was evident that in Court circles at least a state 
 of pleasurable excitement existed ; and when Du Vallon 
 left his friend he was full of gay spirits, and pressed him 
 to call at his apartments at the Palace. 
 
 "We will have a little dinner and good company," 
 he declared. "I will get some good fellows to meet 
 you," 
 
 Temple thanked him, offered a tentative accept- 
 ance, and as the Captain went out shot a remark after 
 him. 
 
 "Delighted you called. How did you know I was 
 here?" 
 
 Du Vallon faced round. "Oh, they know every- 
 thing at the Bureau des etrangers. I was told " 
 
 He rubbed his forehead meditatively. "The letter 
 came back to Eisenburg, you see, and I received it 
 only this morning. Then I inquired, and heard the 
 history. Also I learned you had left Waldthal and 
 were here." 
 
 "I wonder who gave you the letter and the infor- 
 mation," said Temple indifferently. 
 
 " Oh, the messenger the clerk what is his 
 silly name? Little Ku^." 
 
 "Ah!" Temple's ejaculation seemed to close the 
 topic, yet, after Du Vallon had gone, he sat wrapped 
 in thought for a quarter of an hour. Then he produced 
 from his pocket two letters, the envelopes of which 
 he submitted to careful scrutiny. His advertisement 
 regarding the unknown woman had brought him no 
 answers, save two or three communications from irrel- 
 evant and officious strangers. Two letters received
 
 102 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 from England during the last twenty-four hours 
 one from his mother and one from his banker in Lon- 
 don had shown signs of having been tampered 
 with. As he examined them again, increasing sus- 
 picion seized his mind. The envelopes had been 
 steamed and opened. He frowned deeply, with a 
 realization that he was in a situation which required 
 elucidation. Many things pointed to that; he could 
 not accept all that had happened as having occurred 
 naturally. There was, it seemed, a direction behind 
 all, even behind this visit of Du Vallon's. One of his 
 letters written from the Waldthal cell had never been 
 delivered, one had gone astray; two others, to Prince 
 von Stregen and the Marquis de Pomeau-Laval, had 
 been delayed in delivery. There was something that 
 certainly called for inquiry here, and he remembered 
 the advice of the amiable and cultivated commercial 
 traveler. Certainly some one ought to pay the price 
 of this, and he had an idea that perhaps that some one 
 might be the complacent M. Preval. Anyway, M. 
 Preval must wait until Proclamation Day was over. 
 
 The dawn was barred with rose and pink, and all 
 Eisenburg was awake and afoot in the first flush of it. 
 The sun came up in splendor, and the cloud-caps of 
 the mountains glistened in the west. It was a gala 
 day at Eisenburg, and the picnickers filled the little 
 city to overflowing. Towards midday the crush in 
 the Platz was almost intolerable. The shops were 
 shuttered against the press, but the cafes and restau- 
 rants were packed to suffocation. The Grand Ducal 
 party drove in procession to the cathedral at this hour, 
 and the populace, having witnessed the passage of the 
 carriages and the troops along the decorated streets,
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 103 
 
 spent the next hour in refreshing itself. In the Platz 
 the news spread suddenly like fire on the heather that 
 the carriages were returning. They entered the broad 
 Platz at a walk, and proceeded up the hill to the hand- 
 some Council Hall. A flight of shallow stone steps 
 mounted from the street to the portico above, where 
 the public proclamation was to be made, and amid 
 cheers the first state carriage rolled up and stayed. The 
 uniformed flunkeys opened the door, and a minor 
 Palace official descended amid bravas. The crowd 
 was in a holiday mood and was prepared to applaud all 
 and sundry. The official escaped up the steps into 
 security and obscurity, and two other officials alighted. 
 The applause was renewed, and the operation was 
 repeated on the next carriage. The Chancellor, his 
 Excellency Count Cavari, descended from the third 
 carriage, a slight, autocratic, pale-faced man, attended 
 by one of the State ministers. His keen eyes passed 
 swiftly over the scene, the broad Platz, the massed 
 spectators, and the gleaming river below, and then 
 amid a salvo of cheers he too slipped into the unseen. 
 
 Philip had taken up a position on the first floor of 
 a shop towards the crown of the hill, and not more than 
 fifty yards away from the basement of the Council 
 Hall. The scene was not of any unusual interest to 
 him, who had witnessed more imposing ceremonials 
 in various capitals, but as he was there he liked to ob- 
 serve. He observed placidly now, noted with a sense 
 of approval the resolute face of the Chancellor whom 
 he had once met in peculiar circumstances, admired 
 the graceful appearance of the Court ladies and the 
 dapper looks of Du Vallon's guards; and finally con- 
 templated silently the person of the Princess Alise
 
 104 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 when she stepped from the carriage which conveyed 
 her and the infant Grand Duke and his nurses. 
 
 Philip tried in his mind to isolate her from the en- 
 vironment, so as to see precisely what value she would 
 carry. He was wondering, amid the salvoes that boomed 
 to heaven, if she took anything out of that environment 
 which should not of right belong to her, which was, in 
 fact, meretricious. She was dressed in deep mourning, 
 and as she turned her movements were agreeably grace- 
 ful. She raised her face to the overcast sky, which at 
 that moment had seemed to threaten rain, and Philip 
 unconsciously drew in his breath. It was an appre- 
 ciative act. No, detached from their context, so to 
 speak, that figure and that face remained what they 
 were. She gave instructions to the attending nurses, 
 bowed to the hurrahing masses, and moved up the 
 steps to the Council Hall. 
 
 The ceremony within the Hall consisted of the pres- 
 entation to the deputies, and took half an hour. At 
 the end of that time the appearance of the first official 
 on the balcony of the Hall roused the temper of the 
 spectators in the Platz to fever heat. They roared 
 themselves hoarse as the stream filed out, and were 
 only silent when the Chancellor stepped forward to the 
 edge of the balcony to make his formal proclamation. 
 
 "I, Ferdinand Lorenzo, under the hand and seal of 
 his Serene Highness's Council . . ." 
 
 Temple's ears easily distinguished the words, for 
 the voice rang clear and firm in the air, and carried 
 through the silent Platz. 
 
 "... do hereby and now proclaim Louis George 
 Maximilian Heinrich Wolfgang Grand Duke of Eisen- 
 burg, Count of Elm . . ."
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 105 
 
 Temple's eyes left the Chancellor and the bundle of 
 lace which he held, and passed to the Princess Regent. 
 
 "... and herewith do I present unto you citizens 
 of Eisenburg your sovereign lord, in the name of 
 Louis XXV." " 
 
 Amid the shouts that greeted this Philip thought a 
 hostile note was discernible for the first time. From 
 downhill where the massed lines had burst into the 
 roadway ascended a sound between wild laughter and 
 jeering. The only result was to engage the attention 
 of the guards, who backed their horses into the crowd 
 by way of warning. By this time the clouds which had 
 been watched by the Princess Regent had opened 
 above, and a brisk summer shower was falling. It 
 descended upon the roofs of the houses, turning the 
 slates into a wonderful blueness, and upon the ground, 
 which was churned into mud under the feet of men 
 and horses. By the time the odd mediaeval ceremony 
 was ended it was raining fast, and the actors in the 
 drama were ushered hurriedly into their carriages, 
 now closed and hooded. Temple watched the first 
 two of the procession drive off, and as the affair had 
 ceased to be interesting, he left his place at the window 
 and joined the spectators on the footway below. As he 
 reached the level of the street a roar broke out down 
 the Platz, in which he recognized a familiar note; it 
 was a renewal of the jeering. He pushed his way 
 along the pavement, and through an accidental open- 
 ing in the crowd penetrated into the roadway. Here 
 in the thick rain soldiers were dashing about in their 
 heavy capes, endeavoring to push back the trespassing 
 mob. Umbrellas were up in all directions, and the 
 noise of the rain was as the steady beating of the surf
 
 106 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 on a shore. A closed carriage moved away from the 
 steps of the Council Hall, and rolled down the hill, 
 followed by faint cheering, and greeted as it descended 
 by noisy booing. It was evident that the dissentients 
 were gathered in that quarter. The next carriage moved 
 to take up, and Philip recognized it, partly on account 
 of the chestnut horses, and partly by the coachman; 
 it was the carriage in which the Princess had arrived. 
 Just at that moment he was elbowed back into the 
 gutter by a zealous policeman, and succeeding in re- 
 covering his balance, saw a man dodge under the 
 officer's arm and rush down the open Platz. Vaguely 
 he thought the form of the man familiar, but as he was 
 driven into the mob on the pavement immediately 
 afterwards by the further efforts of the policeman he 
 was able to give this fleeting recognition no more thought. 
 
 Suddenly arose the sound of a deep, hoarse roar- 
 ing, as it had been of a football field in his own coun- 
 try, and he felt himself become the center of a tre- 
 mendous and ferocious struggle. He managed to keep 
 his feet, instead of going down, as some unfortunates 
 did in the ugly press, and at last, finding himself tossing 
 on the eddies of a maelstrom, was flung out into safety, 
 breathless. He looked downhill. The tide of living 
 beings had broken across the Platz and was over- 
 flowing and engulfing everything. It was a tide full- 
 throated and raucous, screaming, an imminent and 
 deadly menace. . . . 
 
 Philip ran back a little. He could see two of the 
 carriages that had been descending come to a stop, 
 and the color of the horses of one of them dwelt in his 
 eye. The mob which had checked the progress of 
 these now broke and stampeded about them. It looked
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 107 
 
 as if they were seizing the horses. Temple ran swiftly 
 downhill. When he reached the closed landau with 
 the chestnut horses the driver and the postilion had 
 succeeded in breaking through the fringe of the mob, 
 and the carriage was forging slowly towards the bridge 
 over the Larche at the bottom of the Platz, which 
 leads to the other part of the city and the Palace. It 
 was evident that the crowd, which was mainly ill-dressed, 
 and clearly of the lowest class, was not animated by 
 goodwill. Although after the first onrush it did not 
 seem disposed to violence, it booed and jeered, and 
 raised many signs of its hostility. Slowly the 
 carriage moved down towards the bridge, but ere 
 it reached it, out of a side road there flowed a savage 
 stream of rioters, with the man whom Temple had 
 half recognized at the head. He was red of face and 
 wild of aspect, and he dominated the mob by his very 
 savagery. Temple could not catch what his hoarse 
 voice shouted, but a phrase struck him "Sucking- 
 
 Pig!" 
 
 Now he remembered where he had seen this fellow; 
 he it was who overnight had struck down and destroyed 
 the colors of the Wolfgangs. He towered above the 
 rioters now, gesticulating and shouting, and pointing; 
 and his example seemed to fire them; they gathered 
 round the carriage, which was being driven more briskly 
 by the coachman, and impeded its course. The driver 
 endeavored to force his way to the bridge, which they 
 had nearly reached, but a wall of living bodies blocked 
 his way. Somewhere behind the clotted mob of which 
 he was now become a part Temple was aware of sol- 
 diers with raised swords, of policemen armed. . . . 
 But that seemed far away. Before him were the chest-
 
 108 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 nut horses and a clamorous, angry, hot-breathing mob. 
 The horses had been forced round, and were now at 
 right angles to the bridge and their proper destination. 
 In that instant a face appeared at the window, flushed, 
 imperious, and frightened, and Temple pushed past 
 the man who stood in his immediate path. The coach- 
 man, apparently convinced that it was impossible to 
 struggle further against fate, and seeing a compara- 
 tively clear road open to him along the stream, plied 
 his whip. Shouting, the rioters broke into a run to 
 keep up with the carriage. They had triumphed so 
 far ; they had diverted the ducal carriage from its course. 
 
 Philip ran with the rest. So far as he could see there 
 was none in this excited and ill-favored throng who 
 was not hostile. He ran, therefore, with his mind on 
 future contingencies. Now the instinctive action of 
 the frightened coachman proved to be the very best 
 course he could have taken. His horses were equally 
 terrified with the driver, and their panic lent speed to 
 their legs; so that in a few minutes the carriage was 
 outstripping all but one or two of the rioters who had 
 clung to it. Philip, with good wind in him, was racing 
 close behind, when he saw a rioter who had clambered 
 into the front of the vehicle struggling with the footman. 
 Next moment the two men had lost their balance and 
 fallen heavily to the ground. He spurted, caught up 
 the carriage, and passed the opening. The coachman 
 raised his whip at him. 
 
 "No, no," he panted, "I'm on your side. Keep 
 this up, and you '11 beat them. There 's only one behind, 
 whom I'll attend to." 
 
 The coachman shook his head and shouted, and 
 Temple gathered that the road led nowhere. In that
 
 PROCLAMATION DAY 109 
 
 case, he thought, there was need to husband both wind 
 and strength. He dropped his pace, with a sharp 
 movement of his arm displaced the man who clung to 
 the carriage, and took his place like any little boy who 
 braves the call of "whip behind." 
 
 The road was slightly on the rise now, leaving the 
 Larche on one side. The pursuit straggled behind, 
 close enough to raise doubts as to the issue. Philip 
 occupied himself in regaining his breath, while the 
 heated horses still galloped on. 
 
 Presently he observed them to slacken as the ascent 
 grew steeper, and, jumping off, he ran round to the 
 coachman. The man indicated the houses ahead. 
 
 "There is no way out," he said. 
 
 A glance acquainted Temple with the character of 
 the neighborhood. They were somewhere in the re- 
 gion of the frontage of the River Effel, and the build- 
 ings that met his eye were of the warehouse type. Be- 
 tween two of them a yard opened. He slipped to the 
 door of the carriage. 
 
 "Madam, the mob is coming up fast," he cried 
 breathlessly. " You must take refuge here for a while, 
 until assistance comes." 
 
 " I do not fear them I The face, proud 
 
 and flushed with anger, changed suddenly. "Yes, I 
 will come," she said. "Quick!" 
 
 He helped her out cried to the coachman to get 
 back for assistance, and then with one bound sped 
 swiftly down the empty yard.
 
 CHAPTER VIH 
 
 THE WHARF 
 
 rpEMPLE'S quick eyes had noted that one of the 
 A warehouses backed upon a timber-yard, and it 
 was among the stacks of timber that he now took 
 shelter with his companion. They had only anticipated 
 the arrival of the first of their pursuers by a few seconds. 
 The carriage had immediately been surrounded by 
 some roughs, while others with a scarcely perceptible 
 halt had plunged after the fugitives. Temple hastily 
 made an inspection of his surroundings. The timber 
 rose in even piles on all sides, and so far he and his com- 
 panion had escaped notice through the cover these 
 afforded. To his right was a shed, in which was an 
 office, and more timber. Leftwards the yard seemed 
 to open up, and accordingly it was in this direction that 
 they sped. Presently a wall, some three feet in height, 
 rose before them, and over this they scrambled, now 
 alive to the approach of the pursuit behind. There was 
 a building a little ahead, and Temple pressed on to- 
 wards it. It presented a heavy bolted door against 
 them, but a half -open window to one side challenged 
 attention. He succeeded in pushing it farther open 
 and agilely slipped through. The noise of the rioters 
 issued from behind the woodstacks. 
 
 " Come, madam," he whispered, " give me your hands. 
 Put one foot on that sill."
 
 THE WHARF 111 
 
 There was no time for formalities; nor did the Prin- 
 cess hesitate. She obeyed, and the next moment found 
 herself without foothold; a pair of strong arms were 
 drawing her through the window. Set on her feet again 
 inside, she fell against Temple, who caught and stayed 
 her. 
 
 "Do you think," she panted like any frightened 
 woman " do you think they will find us ? " 
 
 "I hope not," he answered cheeringly. "Anyway, 
 we '11 make it as difficult for them as possible." 
 
 He closed the window noiselessly, and fastened it. 
 Then he beckoned to his companion, and they stole 
 out of the room and into a passage. They ascended a 
 flight of stairs, and on the first floor Temple made an 
 examination. It was evident to him that the place was 
 a warehouse attached to the yard without, and crossing 
 to what appeared to be a barred window he peered 
 through the cracks into the daylight beyond. By pull- 
 ing at the hinges he could just make a peephole wide 
 enough for his eye and perceive where he stood. The 
 building was a wharf, with a frontage to the River Effel. 
 
 The compartment of the wharf where they stood 
 was merged in a dim twilight, in which, however, ob- 
 jects were quite visible. A staircase ascended to other 
 floors, and there were many cases scattered about. 
 
 "Do you think they have discovered us?" asked 
 the Princess, breathless still. "Where are we?" 
 
 "They have certainly not discovered us yet," he 
 replied. "We are on the Effel." 
 
 "The Effel!" she cried out in dismay. "Then we 
 are cut off!" 
 
 "Not necessarily," he answered. "If you will stay 
 here, I will reconnoiter."
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 The Princess assented by sitting down on a wooden 
 case. She was tired by the run, and, moreover, she 
 had had a shock. 
 
 Temple, after looking to see that she was safe, set 
 about an exploration of the wharf. He first of all 
 descended and inspected the doors. One of these led 
 into the yard, and another out upon a side street. He 
 looked out of the barred window here with caution and 
 made out a few figures. Drawing back, he ascended 
 to the upper floors, without finding anything which 
 would assist them in their predicament. Then he went 
 back to the Princess. She was still seated. 
 
 "I can see better now," she said unexpectedly; and 
 it was also manifest that she had recovered herself. 
 "I must thank you for your kind services," she said, 
 speaking in French. 
 
 " A happy chance," said Temple, in the same tongue. 
 "I happened to be near." 
 
 "What did they want, those canaille?" she inquired 
 as suddenly as before. 
 
 "It was political demonstration, a riot, in which 
 nothing much happens unless it happens in the early 
 and hot-blooded stages," said Temple easily. 
 
 She looked at him and frowned. "You think it 
 nothing?" she demanded with asperity. 
 
 "Inconvenient, tiresome, but not dangerous." Tem- 
 ple emphasized his words. 
 
 He paused as a sound caught his ears, and then went 
 to the head of the stairs and listened. The Princess 
 watched him, but did not speak, and then he passed 
 below out of sight. When he returned he had a heavy 
 billet in his hand, and his face was thoughtful. 
 
 "Was it anything?" she asked in a low voice.
 
 THE WHARF 113 
 
 "Nothing of importance," he replied. 
 
 "How can you put me off like that?" she asked 
 angrily. "Am I a child?" 
 
 She had spoken in English, and for a moment he 
 wondered. 
 
 "There was a man who had gained admittance 
 through the window," said Temple, in the same tongue. 
 
 "Well!" She spoke eagerly, authoritatively. 
 
 "I had to stop him," was Philip's further contribu- 
 tion to the narrative. 
 
 But she extracted it all, if piecemeal. " Is he dead ?" 
 she asked, awed. 
 
 " I don't know I don't think so. In fact, I should 
 say not." Temple regarded his billet of wood, and the 
 Princess followed his gaze. A little shudder took hold 
 of her and ran through her limbs. 
 
 "Are you sure he was he was one of the rioters?" 
 she inquired, with a change in her voice. 
 
 "Yes," he replied, meeting her glance. "There 
 were several outside hunting." 
 
 " Then they will come again ; they will try this place 
 again." 
 
 "Probably." He mused, as if he had something to 
 follow up in his mind. " You know why they are here ? " 
 he asked next. 
 
 " Because they are opposed to the government 
 to wreak their vengeance on me, Princess Regent," 
 she stated proudly. 
 
 There was a flutter about her mouth which went 
 to Temple's heart; she was frightened, and she was 
 brave. What did she fear? Well, he could relieve her 
 of that fear at any rate. 
 
 " They imagine the Grand Duke to be here," he said.
 
 114 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "The Grand Duke! My baby!" The Princess 
 was amazed, and her eyes opened in a wild discharge 
 of fire. "They wanted him. Oh!" she cried, "I am 
 glad you went down. I hope he is dead." 
 
 "You see, they supposed that the Grand Duke left 
 the Council Hall with you, seeing that he arrived with 
 you." 
 
 She clenched her right hand. "By God's mercy I 
 sent him off with the Baroness. It was the rain, and 
 he was peevish. I thought it wiser. Heaven be thanked ! 
 He is safe in the Palace long since. And they wanted 
 him!" 
 
 Temple watched her curiously. Was she ignorant 
 of what he, an entire stranger, had taken only a few 
 hours to learn ? 
 
 "Was it to kidnap him?" she asked in a low voice. 
 
 "I suppose so. I don't know. I'm new to Eisen- 
 burg. It appears there is discontent among the lower 
 classes here." 
 
 " Discontent, yes. I have known that. But 
 
 this " She met his gaze, and, after a pause, said, 
 
 " I am sorry you had that ridiculous mistake made." 
 
 So she had remembered him, as he thought she 
 must have done from her use of the English tongue. 
 
 "It was, as you say, ridiculous," he replied. 
 
 "But," she went on, "you see now there was some 
 justification for their alarm." 
 
 "Yes," he replied thoughtfully. "It was not the 
 arrest I minded. That might have been in itself rather 
 a lark. It was afterwards." 
 
 " Afterwards - 
 
 Again a sound ascended from below, and he turned 
 again and went to the head of the stairs, billet in hand.
 
 THE WHARF 115 
 
 She watched him, as before, listen and disappear into 
 darkness. Waiting there, she experienced a certain wild 
 panic. Her heart beat against its bars, and seemed to 
 cease. It was the suspense. She strained her ears, 
 but could catch no ascending sound; and then a door 
 banged, and an instant clamor arose, of voices, of noises 
 indeterminable. Slowly detaching itself from this melee, 
 she caught the sound of feet coming up the naked stairs. 
 She was first conscious of the billet of wood in his hand. 
 
 "They have got in?" she panted. 
 
 "They have got through the window which was 
 not barred ; the door I managed to jam, and it will take 
 them some time to break it down." 
 
 " Did you " She glanced at the fearful billet. 
 
 "No," he answered, and then: "If I assure them 
 that the Grand Duke is not here, I think it would ap- 
 pease them. It is not you they want." 
 
 "Assure them ! No, a hundred times no," she broke 
 out indignantly. "Would you have me haggle or deal 
 with infamous creatures like these?" 
 
 He turned and listened to the noises which were in- 
 creasing in force below. 
 
 "There is no possibility of escape by either of the 
 outer doors," he said. "Each is guarded." 
 
 "Perhaps the soldiery will be here soon," she 
 suggested. 
 
 "I doubt if the coachman would have been allowed 
 to get through," he said. " But it is possible. Anyhow, 
 they have n't got out of their trap yet," he reminded 
 her, with a smile. 
 
 But the Princess was in no humor for smiling. 
 
 "This was a plot, then, for the abduction of the 
 Grand Duke," she said, as if startled by the idea.
 
 116 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "It looks like it," he agreed, and added: "They 
 don't want you. It was the child I heard them talking 
 about." 
 
 "Do you think I will purchase my safety that way?" 
 she cried scornfully. "I will surrender not one jot to 
 the ruffians." 
 
 Temple went to the stairhead and listened. If he 
 had hoped she would yield to his significant hint, he 
 showed no sign of disappointment. He closed the 
 door which was at the head of the stairs, and turned 
 about for the barred shutters on the water. Lifting 
 the iron staple from its sockets, he wrenched open 
 those shutters so that a flood of the bright daylight 
 entered the floor. For a moment he stood on the edge 
 looking down at the river, which was some fifteen feet 
 below. Then he came back to the Princess. "There 
 is one way out, if you will take it," he said. " With a 
 rope I can lower you to the water, where there is a barge." 
 
 "Yes." She was moving instantly, but he stopped 
 her. "Mind you, you must not let go. I will put a 
 loop in the rope, but it will depend upon your hold- 
 ing on." 
 
 " Yes, I will do it," she said. " Do you think I mind ? " 
 
 She approached the open door of the wharf and 
 looked out, and Temple without more words adjusted 
 the rope he had found. Then he put the loop in her 
 hands. 
 
 "I will lower it quickly, but not too quickly. Di- 
 rectly you feel something under your feet let go." 
 
 "Yes, yes." She seemed impatient of his instruc- 
 tions, and feverishly laid hold of the rope, twining her 
 delicate hands in the loop. 
 
 She sat on the edge of the precipice at his instance,
 
 THE WHARF 117 
 
 and ere he moved to the next stage in the proceedings 
 his brain took in, as it were in flashlight, the odd pic- 
 ture the slight, black-clad figure, the bronze-brown, 
 beautiful hair, the pale face, and impassioned eyes of 
 the Princess Regent as she sat on the dirty margin of 
 the wharf, with the blue waters of the Effel flowing 
 below. Then, tightening the rope, he gave warning, and 
 gently pushed her over. 
 
 She fell to her full outstretched length in a moment, 
 and in her eyes looking up was a desperate courage. 
 He paid out as fast as was advisable, and then called 
 out softly, " Now, you are safe the barge is under 
 you." She let go at his words, alighted unevenly, and 
 staggered and fell, but only upon a hospitable and 
 friendly deck. Temple turned and listened to the up- 
 roar behind. He judged that the rioters must be nearly 
 at an end of their task, and that the door was all but 
 down. There was no time to lose. When he looked 
 down again the Princess was looking up. 
 
 "What of you?" she called faintly. 
 
 He slipped the loop over an iron stanchion in the 
 floor and lowered himself outwards, slipping hand 
 over hand downwards. Once landed, he hastened to 
 the rear of the barge, where a small dinghy swung on 
 a painter, and he helped the obedient Princess into it. 
 
 "We are just in time," he said. "They will be 
 through in a few minutes." 
 
 He cast off and dipped the sculls he had found with 
 a long, firm sweep into the waters of the Effel. 
 
 The Princess sat facing him in silence for some 
 minutes, and then she turned and looked backwards. 
 Two figures were visible on the wharf, and it was evi- 
 dent that they understood what had happened, for they
 
 118 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 were standing at gaze. The dinghy was now a hundred 
 yards away and speeding downstream in the direction 
 of the Palace. Already the beautiful grounds that 
 abutted on the Effel had come into sight. The Prin- 
 cess sighed, and turned round to face the man once 
 more. 
 
 "You said," she began abruptly, "that after- 
 wards " 
 
 For a moment he did not follow her, and then he 
 recalled. 
 
 "Oh, yes, afterwards it was not so pleasant," he 
 said, smiling. 
 
 "It was abominably careless of them to make that 
 mistake," she commented. "It should have been easy 
 to find out who you were Sir Philip Temple?" 
 
 Her last words were an interrogation, very soft and 
 delightful on her lips; and it stirred in him a thrill of 
 pleasure that she had remembered his name. 
 
 " It should have been easy, but it was n't," he laughed. 
 "For some reason or other the local police were bent 
 on believing me to be one Ketschinski, and the magis- 
 trate proved dull." 
 
 "I'm sorry you had such an inhospitable welcome 
 at our hands," she said, after a pause. She looked at him 
 frankly. "I at least owe you gratitude." 
 
 He murmured a conventional phrase of repudiation. 
 " We had better use that jetty to land by," she said, in 
 a practical voice. 
 
 He looked over his shoulder, plied one oar, and so 
 drifted in to shore. The jetty gave access to a flight 
 of steps, which again led to a gate and the grounds of 
 the Palace. When Temple would have left her safe 
 within the gardens she refused peremptorily.
 
 THE WHARF 119 
 
 "You must come with me, Sir Philip." 
 
 He was rather a rueful object, having lost his hat, 
 and being disheveled in hair and tie and general ap- 
 pearance, but he submitted easily, and they talked in 
 quite an ordinary society manner as the Princess steered 
 the way towards the Palace. 
 
 "We have a wonderful show of lilac," she said, 
 pausing as they came out on a lawn. "This is in the 
 English fashion, as you perceive. Lilac is the national 
 emblem ; at least, it is the Wolfgangs' badge. They are 
 in their full glory now." 
 
 He gazed at the shrubberies, and his eye followed 
 farther into pleated alleys, purple and white and sil- 
 ver, all in the sweetness of their prime. 
 
 "So be the Wolfgangs!" he murmured. 
 
 She turned swiftly to him, as was characteristic of 
 her. "Thank you, Sir Philip. They shall be. It is 
 my sister's son. He is my care now. I have taken 
 the responsibility on me." She spoke sadly, remem- 
 bering the Grand Duchess. They resumed their 
 way and for a little while in silence, and then she 
 said: 
 
 "Your rude experiences of Eisenburg will not drive 
 you away?" 
 
 She had been witness to two of his experiences, and 
 he wondered as he replied what she would say if she 
 knew of the others. Fate, indeed, had compressed 
 many odd and ugly vicissitudes into the short compass 
 of his stay. 
 
 "No, I am interested. I was never in the grand- 
 duchy before." 
 
 "You, with your great Empire, laugh at our petty 
 States," she said challengingly.
 
 120 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "No, I don't think we do," he said. "I think that, 
 on the contrary, the notion of a kingdom in miniature, 
 a cameo, so to speak, takes hold of our imagination. 
 After all, it is not only bigness that matters. If we 
 conceive of things big enough, the mind is baffled, 
 and gives up as in contemplation of infinity. There 
 is something alluring in smallness, in definition, as 
 there is, say, in a small organism as cunningly con- 
 structed as a large one. We wonder at the large; we 
 admire the small." 
 
 "That is a view I never thought of," she confessed. 
 "I, too, am new to Eisenburg, as I only came with 
 my sister ; but Astra, my brother's State, is of not much 
 greater size." 
 
 The Palace, into the precincts of which they now 
 entered, was a rambling building in the Palladian style. 
 It looked across the Effel towards the vineyards of 
 eastern Eisenburg and the German marches, and it 
 dominated Eisenburg in a hospitable and paternal 
 fashion without fortifications or military defenses. 
 Sentinels kept ward on the outer approaches, but that 
 was rather in compliment and as a royal prerogative 
 than from any belief in their necessity. 
 
 The Princess was received amid a natural exhibi- 
 tion of excitement and relief. Word had reached the 
 Chancellor of the riot, and he had despatched the 
 soldiery to the Platz, where the story of the attack on 
 the carriage was the common property of bated breaths. 
 The gentleman usher, who informed her Highness of 
 this, concluded by stating that his Excellency was ex- 
 pecting a report each minute now. His Excellency, of 
 course, was at once acquainted with the news of the 
 Princess's arrival, and hastened to interview her. If
 
 THE WHARF 121 
 
 he felt any surprise at seeing Temple in the drawing- 
 room when the interview was granted, he did not show 
 it. Indeed, he cast a glance at the Englishman, and 
 passed on, without appearing to recognize him. 
 
 "It is not necessary to consider it a definite plot, 
 your Highness," he said, after the first exchanges, 
 " but it was certainly a riot which might have had very 
 grave results." 
 
 " Which would have had for me, had it not been for 
 Sir Philip Temple," she said impulsively, indicating 
 the Englishman. 
 
 Count Cavari turned, and his face lightened grayly. 
 " Pray forgive me, Sir Philip," he said ; " I did not rec- 
 ognize you " 
 
 " Not unnaturally, since you have seen me only once," 
 said the young man pleasantly. 
 
 "I understand you were able to be of use to her 
 Highness in this deplorable affair." 
 
 "Of use ! of use !" repeated the Princess impatiently. 
 " I owe my safety to Sir Philip, Count." 
 
 "He is to be heartily congratulated," said his Ex- 
 cellency, bowing. 
 
 "I feel that," said Temple, in his light voice, "I 
 have stolen a march on your soldiers, and shall not be 
 forgiven by Captain du Vallon." 
 
 "Du Vallon!" The Count's shrewd eyes dwelt 
 on the speaker. " Ah ! you are acquainted with Cap- 
 tain du Vallon. Yes, he has gone with a detachment 
 of guards. But her Highness is safe, which is the main 
 thing, however accomplished." 
 
 The Princess seemed put out by this formal and 
 bloodless recognition of a debt which her warm, woman's 
 heart acknowledged.
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Was your Excellency aware of this plot?" she 
 asked shortly. 
 
 "It is not necessary to go to the extreme of regard- 
 ing it as a definite plot," said the Count slowly. " We 
 deny that it was a plot. It was merely the ebullition 
 of ill-feeling on the part of certain malcontents." 
 
 "It must be understood, Count, that there is to be 
 no further ebullition of ill-feeling," said she, a little 
 dryly. 
 
 The Count bowed. "We have our fingers now on 
 the infected spot; we are able to act." He looked at 
 Temple, who had risen. "Perhaps Sir Philip will give 
 me the pleasure of his company." 
 
 Temple took his dismissal, as the Princess said 
 nothing; and the two men, after the ceremonies of 
 leave-taking, departed together. They spoke of various 
 matters, ranging from the events of the day to the 
 scenery, and thus in conversation reached the Palace 
 gates, where the Chancellor's carriage was waiting. 
 
 " Eisenburg owes you a debt, Sir Philip," said he, in 
 his very quiet, clear, office-like voice. "But you will, 
 I am sure, be generous and forgive it." He paused. 
 "By the way, did you get any replies to your adver- 
 tisement?" he asked. 
 
 " No," said Philip " none, that is, of any relevance." 
 
 "Ah! I was afraid not," said his Excellency. "I 
 was afraid not." 
 
 He inclined his head graciously to the young man 
 from the interior of his carriage.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 
 
 TEMPLE had some natural curiosity to read the 
 comments of the newspapers on the events of 
 Proclamation Day. The government organ, while 
 condemning the riot in unmeasured terms, went on to 
 deprecate any importance being attached to it. That 
 was evidently the cue for the loyalists. But the other 
 journal sounded a graver note ; it referred vaguely to the 
 discontent of certain classes, hinted at foreign intrigues, 
 and left on the reader an impression of its own belief 
 in the significance of the outbreak. Neither paper 
 contained any account of the adventures of the Princess 
 Regent beyond a passing reference to a "regrettable 
 attack" on a carriage in the Grand Ducal proces- 
 sion. Philip set his papers down on the breakfast- 
 table and picked up his letters. These he examined, 
 but he could find no sign that they had been tampered 
 with. He opened one from his banker, another from 
 his lawyer; and the third, which held him longest, was 
 from an old and frivolous acquaintance. 
 
 "I don't know where the deuce you are," wrote 
 Bobby Webb; "but if you are in town and accessible 
 come in on Wednesday. I 've got a topping party on. 
 I did hear you were in Eisenburg some time ago. I 
 forget who told me Jack Russell, I think. I once 
 spent a day there through losing my connections a
 
 124 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 blighter of a dull place. I never heard of it before. 
 But, rumly enough, I bucked into a sort of Consul 
 or Counsel, or something representing it, at Lady 
 Waghorn's not long ago Treval, Breval, or some- 
 thing. ..." 
 
 There was nothing of interest in a letter which 
 merely breathed the exuberant and uncivilized vitality 
 of its author. It was only the name of the " Consul or 
 Counsel, Treval, Breval," that set Temple thinking. 
 It set him thinking of M. Preval; and he remembered 
 that he had come to the capital partly with the idea 
 of seeing that suave gentleman. 
 
 He had repaired the ravages to his costume effected 
 by his part in the affair of the previous day, and towards 
 noon he left the hotel. It was not difficult to find one's 
 way about Eisenburg, and inquiries made in the hotel 
 had given him the information he wanted. It was a 
 beautiful soft morning, and the city was very peaceful ; 
 with the passing of the night there seemed to have passed 
 also the violent passions and disorders of the riot. 
 People went about their business placidly, chatted on 
 the pavements, peered into shop windows, and ex- 
 changed greetings. No doubt the events of Proclama- 
 tion Day were being eagerly discussed, but there was 
 no outward sign of any excitement or alarm. 
 
 Temple paid his first visit to the British Consulate, 
 but found that Mr. Wakeling was absent. As he had 
 intended to take counsel with this experienced man, 
 and benefit by his knowledge of the country, ere he pro- 
 ceeded to interview M. Preval, Temple was disappointed. 
 However, he did not wish to lose time, and so he made 
 his way to the offices of M. Preval. M. Preval was an 
 advocate of some note in Eisenburg, as he had already
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 125 
 
 been informed, and was rapidly advancing in fame. 
 Philip would like to have met him again under con- 
 ditions different from those which had formerly in- 
 vested them both, but for the present he was doomed 
 to failure. M. Preval, like the British Consul, was out. 
 He learned this in the outer office of a clerk, who po- 
 litely begged to know if M. Preval's partner, M. Mar- 
 chand, would serve the visitor's purpose. Temple con- 
 sidered. What he really wanted to learn was the reason 
 for his absurd prosecution. M. Preval, to judge from 
 his face, was far from being a fool, as also his reputation 
 demonstrated ; yet he had taken a prime part in a farce 
 
 which No ; he had long made up his mind that 
 
 M. Preval could, if he would, reveal to him something 
 in regard to that prosecution which he did not under- 
 stand. Philip Temple had realized that he was some- 
 how the center of a little mystery. It did not give him 
 much concern, but it did interest him a good deal. He 
 meditated, and resolved to see M. Marchand, at least, as 
 a preliminary. He had plenty of time on his hands. 
 
 On his assenting to the clerk's suggestion, he was 
 conducted into a farther room which was vacant, and 
 invited to wait. M. Marchand tarried, and Temple 
 occupied his time in looking about him, as he always 
 did. It was a plain lawyer's room, with documents in 
 order upon an American writing-table, black tin boxes 
 against the wall on one side, and on the other a neat li- 
 brary of law books. The window in front of the writing- 
 table looked on the pleasant street sloping to the River 
 Larche, with its bridge and its drooping willows. 
 
 Temple decided that this was M. Preval's room, 
 and he turned to examine the mantelpiece. It was 
 a litter of books and papers and letters, and at one end
 
 126 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 was a box of cigars. Stuck in the framework of the 
 portrait of what Temple took for the late Grand Duke, 
 which hung on the wall, were sundry visiting-cards. 
 These were negligently embraced in Temple's passing 
 gaze. The cover of a book struck his attention, and 
 he put a hand on it to examine the title, as it was too 
 bright of hue to be a law book. The action disturbed 
 a stack of papers, which fell from a stiff, perpendicular 
 position into a more comfortable horizontal one, and 
 in that act of settlement opened out untidily. Temple 
 looked to see that he had done no damage, and a 
 card arrested his eye and his mind. 
 
 It was an ordinary carte de visite, on which was 
 imprinted 
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN 
 GREEN PARK CLUB 104 Half Moon St., W. 
 
 What was it in the shining piece of pasteboard which 
 stirred him? Almost involuntarily his fingers went 
 to his coat, where his pocket-book was. It was, as 
 I have said, mainly an instinctive act; and then he 
 knew. His fingers were groping for a card that he 
 had deposited in the pocket-book a week or more 
 earlier, and that card bore the name of "Mr. Edward 
 Cayman." 
 
 The entrance of M. Marchand interrupted the 
 course of his thoughts. But there was nothing in that 
 interview. Sir Philip Temple desired particularly to 
 know when M. Preval would be able to give him au- 
 dience. M. Marchand could not say, looking askance 
 at the Englishman. But no doubt M. Preval would 
 communicate with Sir Philip Temple.
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 127 
 
 That was the substance of it, but Sir Philip Temple 
 had other things to consider than this quite unsatis- 
 factory interview. Obviously M. Marchand was not 
 at ease with him; obviously he knew something, and 
 equally obviously he feared. That was the least of it. 
 What was concerning Temple more than all else was 
 a chain connected up by fate, accident, destiny as 
 you will. There was Bobby Webb's letter, with its 
 reference to an Eisenburg "Consul or Counsel"; there 
 was the gentleman in the motor-car at the gates of 
 Templemore; and lastly, there was M. Preval and his 
 card. 
 
 There was only one conclusion to which a swift 
 imagination led. M. Preval, whom Bobby Webb had 
 met in London, was no other than Mr. Edward Cay- 
 man of the address that did not exist, of the club that 
 repudiated him. 
 
 It was high time, he thought, to construct a theory 
 out of his facts, and this he did later in the day. To 
 bring things clearly before his mind, he set them down 
 on paper thus: 
 
 "1. M. Preval informs Lady Augusta that her son 
 is seriously injured, with the result that she telegraphs 
 to him, and he returns to England. 
 
 " 2. Sir Philip Temple is arrested on a bogus charge, 
 and, but for the accidental intervention of a German 
 commercial traveler, would have gone to prison for an 
 indefinite term of years. 
 
 "3. Sir Philip has a narrow escape of his life at the 
 hands of a party unknown, whom Baron Favrinck 
 declares to have designed murder." 
 
 He looked at these items singly, extracted all infer- 
 ences that occurred to him, and finally arrived at his
 
 128 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 generalization. Some person or persons in Eisen- 
 burg did not want him in other words, wanted him 
 out of the way. 
 
 They had first endeavored to achieve their object 
 by mild means, and, these failing, owing to his un- 
 expected and insular tenacity of purpose, they had 
 proceeded to more violent means. Was it, he specu- 
 lated, that he was a suspect for any reason? Yet the 
 unknown enemies knew that he was Sir Philip Temple 
 of Templemore. Of what could he be suspected? 
 M. Preval had undertaken the prosecution for the 
 government. Was it the government who were at 
 the back of this strange plot? But for a government 
 to assassinate ! 
 
 It was here that he ceased to puzzle, and quietly 
 ordered his dinner. Opposite him at the little table 
 was an Italian with an agreeable address, who made 
 a pleasant associate. He was garrulous and communi- 
 cative, and just a little over-charmed with his own 
 knowledge. That, however, was considerable where 
 Eisenburg was concerned. He had witnessed the up- 
 roarious scenes of the previous day, and he shook his 
 head at them. 
 
 "There is more behind it," he opined. "It is only 
 a sign." 
 
 " I am told," said Temple, " that the Chancellor does 
 not attribute much importance to it." 
 
 "The Chancellor!" said the Italian. "Then he is 
 very stupid. No, he is not stupid. He is, as you know, 
 descended from an Italian house. He is a very clever 
 man. No one could accuse him of stupidity. But he 
 may not be well informed. He ought to be. Every 
 one knows that they talk of Albrecht openly in the
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 129 
 
 markets. I buy wine, and I hear what goes on. It is 
 not that they want Albrecht, these people. But they 
 talk of him. The lower classes want him. And this 
 long minority trade will suffer. Besides, there is 
 the Boar." 
 
 Temple was acquainted with the Boar, and was in- 
 terested. The Boar's feud, declared the Italian, was 
 a living force to reckon with, and, from what he had 
 seen of the Boar, Temple could credit it. 
 
 "The Baron's roots go as deep as the Wolfgangs'," 
 said his Italian friend; "a capable, bluff man, and one 
 that knows his mind. I have bought largely from his 
 southern vineyards, and I know." 
 
 Temple felt that he was gradually being absorbed 
 into the fabric of this little State; he was learning so 
 much. He knew so much of its intimate history which 
 could not be learned out of books; he was becoming 
 familiar with its principal figures. Already the dynas- 
 tic problem of Eisenburg had laid hold of his interest. 
 He finished his dinner leisurely, and later strolled out to 
 enjoy the evening air. The city had sunk to rest, save 
 for the cafes and places of amusement. He watched 
 the gloaming die on the face of the Effel, and then 
 turned through the gas-lit streets. In the Rue du 
 Paix, as it was alternatively called at the street corners, 
 the glare of a lamp fell upon a door-plate, which quite 
 by chance drew his eyes. It brought back a vision 
 of an agreeable and friendly traveler, who had done him 
 a great service. " Kartolen" was the name on the door. 
 
 Philip Temple stepped back into the road off the 
 pavement, and cast a glance upwards at the building. 
 It was not a shop, but rather in the nature of a private 
 dwelling-house, such as might belong to a doctor or
 
 130 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 some other professional man. He stood for a moment 
 regarding the house, and noticed a light in a lower win- 
 dow. This seemed to indicate the presence of some 
 one, possibly of the obliging Herr Kartolen himself. 
 Temple remembered the invitation extended to him, 
 and had a sudden impulse to call. A bell-handle pro- 
 truded conveniently under the light of the street-lamp. 
 He moved to the pavement again, and went up the two 
 steps towards the door. The street-lamp illumined 
 strongly also his own face at this moment, and some 
 one in the road was watching it out of the shadows. He 
 rang, and had to wait, until he had begun to think he 
 had made a mistake as to the existence of any one be- 
 hind the walls. Then the door opened, and a man's 
 face emerged carefully. It was not Herr Kartolen's, 
 but belonged to a younger man, formal of aspect and 
 dull of eye. 
 
 "Is Herr Kartolen in?" inquired Temple. 
 
 The clerk, if such he was, replied that he would 
 see, and demanded the visitor's name. He went away 
 armed with a card, and leaving Temple outside. Pres- 
 ently, after what seemed rather a lengthy interval, he 
 returned, and asked the caller to follow him. They 
 passed along a hall out of which a lighted room, fur- 
 nished as an office, opened to a room beyond in which 
 a light burned dimly. The clerk turned it up, and 
 stating that Herr Kartolen would be free shortly, if 
 the gentleman would wait, left the room and closed the 
 door. 
 
 Philip sat down at the table and whiled away the 
 time by looking over the newspapers which he found. 
 They were mainly German, and included the Klad- 
 deradatsch and Simplicissimus, which entertained him
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 131 
 
 faintly. But he soon wearied of reading and turning 
 pages, and sat back in his chair. A quarter of an hour 
 later it occurred to him that so courteous a man as Herr 
 Kartolen could only have one reason for keeping him 
 waiting so long, and that would be urgent business. 
 He had been inconsiderate, he reflected, in calling at 
 such an hour; and he got to his feet resolved to leave 
 a message with the clerk and take his leave. 
 
 He opened the door and looked out. There was 
 only a pin of light in the hall, and apparently the clerk 
 had closed the door of his room. Temple steered his way 
 in the twilight in search of it. It was, he remembered, 
 upon the other side. Then he caught a gleam of light 
 under a door. He had not thought the office so far down 
 the hall, but the uncertainty of the twilight had put 
 him out. He stepped across to it, and obeying an im- 
 pulse natural enough where offices and waiting-rooms are 
 concerned, turned the handle without knocking, and 
 stood in the open doorway. 
 
 To his surprise and dismay it was not the clerk's 
 office. It was a room of moderate size, with a table in 
 the middle, upon which a lowered gas-jet, heavily 
 shaded, flung a brilliant light, leaving the outer parts 
 of the chamber in comparative darkness. At the table 
 sat three men, who were now staring up at him through 
 the wall of gloom which lay between. The faces all 
 took the light and stood out boldly, and two of them 
 were familiar to Temple, Herr Kartolen's and that of 
 Baron Favrinck. 
 
 "I beg your pardon heartily," he said at once. "I 
 have stumbled in by accident. I was trying to find 
 the office." 
 
 Herr Kartolen rose. "Sir Philip Temple?" he
 
 132 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 said with a slight interrogation, but Favrinck, who had 
 also risen, pushed his way to the door, and closed it 
 behind the Englishman. The action had in it something 
 of a menace. The third man sat still at the table, looking 
 inquiringly on. Herr Kartolen spoke earnestly to the 
 Baron. 
 
 " We can't take risks," growled the latter. " I begin 
 to doubt your theory. Anyway the short way's the 
 best way." 
 
 Sir Philip looked at both men quietly. He knew 
 what was in progress, and he only found himself won- 
 dering curiously what the commercial traveler did 
 there. 
 
 " I came," he said, speaking very clearly and evenly, 
 "to call on Herr Kartolen, whose acquaintance I 
 made at Waldthal, and who was kindly of great service 
 to me there." His clear eyes passed on to the lowering 
 Baron. "This gentleman also was of service to me in 
 the same place. I wished to tell your clerk, Herr Kar- 
 tolen, that on further thoughts I would not disturb 
 you to-night." 
 
 The man sitting at the table gave a laugh which 
 drew Temple's attention. He was slight, of medium 
 height, and dark and quick-eyed, and he seemed quite 
 young, apparently not half the age of either of his 
 companions. 
 
 " You are a fool, Von Hauser," said the Baron angrily, 
 in answer to whispered remonstrances. 
 
 "Well, my friend, I am willing to answer for my 
 folly," said Herr Kartolen as he came forward. "Sir 
 Philip, excuse this little awkwardness. You see, your 
 mistake, intelligible and trivial as it is, has made both 
 parties uncomfortable."
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 133 
 
 He showed his teeth in his pleasant smile. 
 
 "I shall never forgive myself, Herr Kartolen," said 
 Temple. 
 
 In a moment, seeing that adroit approach, and the 
 ease with which Favrinck had been swept aside, he 
 marveled how he could ever have taken Herr Kartolen 
 for what he had professed to be. He had no doubt 
 of him now, for his mind was swift enough to make 
 inferences at a pinch. It was only deliberate when 
 there was time. Beneath the surface indolence of his 
 intellect there was an astonishing potential activity ; and 
 when Philip Temple moved, he moved with all his 
 forces and without looking back. He moved now, with 
 his gaze on the Boar of the Odenstock. 
 
 "My blunder," he said slowly, "has raised suspi- 
 cions in the mind of a gentleman to whom I am in- 
 debted. I regret it. Let me assure him that I merely 
 came to put a question to Herr Kartolen. I don't see 
 why I should n't put it now." 
 
 The young man at the table looked at him with eager 
 interest. 
 
 "I wish you would," he said, speaking for the first 
 time. " I like conundrums." 
 
 "This is one," said Temple. "Gentlemen, I find 
 Eisenburg an odd place. Two of you can bear witness 
 to that. Do I interest you, or shall I go?" 
 
 The Baron grumbled under his breath. 
 
 "Pray go on," said the young man at the table. 
 "We had finished our business." 
 
 "Let me take events seriatim then," said Temple 
 genially. "I arrive at Waldthal on the night of May 
 3rd, being, in fact, a victim of the deplorable railway 
 accident. A few days afterwards I receive a telegram
 
 134 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 from my mother, Lady Augusta Temple, asking me 
 to return at once. On doing so I find that she has been 
 informed by an adventitious stranger that I had been 
 seriously injured in the accident. That stranger I have, 
 I think, identified to-day with a certain M. Preval, 
 of Eisenburg." 
 
 Herr Kartolen changed his position; he sank into a 
 chair by the full-lighted table, but the Boar remained 
 still, a massive figure between Temple and the 
 door. 
 
 "On my return to Eisenburg I was arrested, as 
 Herr Kartolen knows, as one Ketschinski, a suspect. 
 It was owing to Herr Kartolen's kind offices that the 
 British Consul was informed, and I made good my 
 identity. My own letters to various friends on the 
 subject miscarried." 
 
 He paused. "This is as good as a novel," com- 
 mented the young man at the table, leaning now his 
 chin on his hands. Herr Kartolen's eyes were as bright 
 as a ferret's. 
 
 "A few days after my release," pursued Temple 
 in the same undramatic voice, "I was shot at in the 
 forest of Odenstock, of which act Baron Favrinck was 
 a witness." He made another pause. "If any gentle- 
 man here can throw a light on these events I shall be 
 grateful to him." 
 
 "They bear only one interpretation," said Herr 
 Kartolen promptly. "You have enemies." 
 
 "I gather that," said Temple dryly. 
 
 "You wished to ask me a question on this?" in- 
 quired Herr Kartolen softly. 
 
 "Yes, I did," said Temple. "I wanted to ask who 
 M. Preval is."
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 135 
 
 There was a momentary silence in the room, and 
 then it was broken by Herr Kartolen's voice. 
 
 "M. Preval is an agent of his Excellency the 
 Chancellor." 
 
 The Boar was staring at them hard out of murky 
 eyes, and the young man at the table showed a quickened 
 interest in his bearing, 
 
 "Then," said Philip slowly, "I am to assume that 
 M. Preval's actions are dictated by the Chancellor." 
 
 "My dear sir, not necessarily," said Herr Kartolen 
 deprecatingly. "M. Preval may speak and act for 
 himself. But he is intimately connected with the 
 government circles." 
 
 "He has appeared twice in my affairs," said Tem- 
 ple. " I want to know on whose authority his own 
 or another's." 
 
 "Another's," suddenly said the young man. 
 
 Temple's eyes wheeled round to him. The young 
 man laughed. 
 
 " We are coming upon further traces of our old friend's 
 hand," he went on, turning to Herr Kartolen. "It is 
 like him. It makes him an interesting antagonist. 
 But I should like to know what it means." 
 
 Favrinck's personality became active now; it 
 exhaled and occupied the room, as he lumbered 
 across it. 
 
 " I think this seance had better come to an end," he 
 said gruffly. 
 
 "Pardon me," said Herr Kartolen, and took him 
 aside. 
 
 The young man had arisen and approached the 
 Englishman. 
 
 "Your tale interests me," he said. "It is like medi-
 
 136 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 sevalism. They say we Continentals of this part live 
 under mediaeval conditions." 
 
 Ere Temple could reply Herr Kartolen was at his 
 elbow. 
 
 "Sir Philip, if you will honor me by waiting a few 
 minutes, this time you shall not be kept long." 
 
 He passed on to the young man, who nodded to 
 Temple in a friendly way, and they left the room in 
 company with the Baron. Three minutes later the 
 German returned. 
 
 "Well," he said smilingly, "what do you think 
 of us?" 
 
 "I think you are an amazing man for a commercial 
 traveler," said Temple dryly; "and I like your young 
 friend." 
 
 "Ah!" The so-called Herr Kartolen reflected. 
 "You are a shrewd man, Sir Philip, and think more 
 than you say. What is it you really think?" 
 
 "As a matter of fact I ought not to tell you," said 
 the Englishman. "But I am in no way concerned in 
 your politics, and I do not happen to be a newspaper 
 correspondent. I think you are conspirators." 
 
 Herr Kartolen laughed appreciatively. "I must 
 apologize," he said. " If one is a conspirator one must 
 not proclaim it on the housetops. I am Count von 
 Hauser, at your service." 
 
 "I think it is I who am at yours," said Temple 
 pleasantly. " I am in your debt already." 
 
 Count von Hauser was watching him thoughtfully. 
 "Will you tell me one thing?" he asked. "Was it you 
 who was with the Princess yesterday?" 
 
 "I had that privilege." 
 
 The Count nodded. "I had a vague suspicion of
 
 MR. EDWARD CAYMAN'S CARD 137 
 
 it before. I guessed it when I saw you. I congratulate 
 you. Those stupid and drunken fools blundered. 
 They deserved martial law. Nothing hurts a cause 
 like a bad blunder. It has been kept wonderfully quiet, 
 hasn't it?" 
 
 " Yet you know," Temple reminded him. 
 
 "I?" He shrugged his shoulders. "It is my busi- 
 ness." He paused. "The Princess is charming." 
 The remark seemed to Temple to require no comment. 
 A slight smile crept over the Count's face. "I have 
 lived in England," he said with apparent irrelevance. 
 " My friend Baron Favrinck has n't. He is somewhat 
 provincial let us say. You stay long in Eisenburg?" 
 
 "I intended to stay about a week," replied Temple. 
 "I came here for the Proclamation, and to make some 
 inquiries. Then I designed to have a little shooting." 
 
 "And having made inquiries ?" the Count 
 
 queried. 
 
 "I don't quite know when I shall leave," said 
 Temple slowly. 
 
 There was a look of satisfaction in the Count's eyes, 
 instantly quenched. 
 
 "If I can be of assistance in any way, command 
 me," he said politely. 
 
 Temple thanked him, and shortly afterwards they 
 parted. It was a beautiful night of stars and spring 
 breezes; and he stood in the doorway of his hotel to 
 admire it ere he entered. While he was there a figure 
 passed along the pavement, and the lights of the 
 hotel fell on it. He recognized little Kuss.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 
 
 SIR PHILIP TEMPLE turned over the letters 
 which arrived with his coffee. It appeared to 
 him that each one of them had been opened and re- 
 stuck, except the one that bore the seal. He had ex- 
 amined them before opening in order to make sure. It 
 was the sealed letter which he opened first, and which 
 gave him his surprise. It was in the hand of the Prin- 
 cess Regent, and was a friendly and informal invitation. 
 
 " DEAR SIR PHILIP TEMPLE, 
 
 " If you are at liberty I shall be glad if you can come 
 and drink tea at the Palace to-morrow afternoon. 
 "Yours sincerely, 
 
 ALISE OP ASTRA." 
 
 There was about this invitation a charming renun- 
 ciation, an abdication, of rank that raised a pleasant 
 glow in Temple's breast. It was the act of a girl who 
 felt herself under obligations to a stranger, and desired 
 to meet them frankly and graciously. And reading 
 it, Temple conjured up in his mental vision, not the 
 Princess Regent of unknown and awesome powers, 
 but a fair, bronze-haired girl, of a slim body, and a face 
 of moving beauty. He saw her in the dim twilight of 
 the wharf seated upon a packing-case; and he saw 
 her with the full flood of the daylight upon her face
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 139 
 
 after the opening of the shutters, a little pale, a little 
 frightened, tenacious, and proud, and tremulous, and 
 trusting. 
 
 He was glad that she did not spoil this view of her 
 that afternoon. Often afterwards he looked back on 
 that visit, endeavoring to analyze the constituents of 
 their relations. Princess Alise had received him on 
 the lawn, to which a servant had guided him, and, racket 
 in one hand, had offered him her other in the frankest 
 way. She was clad, of course, in mourning black for 
 her sister, which served to emphasize the slenderness 
 that was the property of girlhood. Temple speculated 
 on her age, even as he greeted her. She could not be 
 more than five-and-twenty, and for a Continental she 
 was over-young in appearance for that. But Astra 
 was a State of mixed blood, of racial affinities with the 
 north. Alise was certainly not German in any par- 
 ticular, nor yet Latin. She baffled him; and she re- 
 ceived him as a young hostess in England would have 
 received her equal. Looking back later, when he was 
 in his hotel that night, as well as still later, when stranger 
 things had happened, he could not remember having 
 once addressed her in the style of "Your Highness." 
 It was, perhaps, because he thought of her now always 
 as what she had seemed during that exciting escape, 
 and as what she had appeared in her address. She had 
 received him as a lady, as one possibly glad to be able 
 to lay aside the formalities and conventions which 
 necessarily beset her relations with Eisenburgers. 
 
 The tall, smiling, broad-faced, but comely girl on 
 the other side of the tennis-net was called into their 
 company. Temple was interested to find she was 
 Gertrude Cavari, daughter of the Chancellor. The
 
 140 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Princess had that fluency of manner that can achieve 
 anything in society. 
 
 "I'm sorry, Truda," she said in English, "Sir Philip 
 intervenes to rob you of victory. We must resume this 
 duel another time." 
 
 There was no princely stiffness about her; she moved 
 as a human woman, confident in herself. 
 
 "I should like to see the duel," said Temple, 
 smiling. 
 
 Alise sighed. "Ah," she said, "and I hoped you 
 had rescued me." Her glance had rested on him as 
 she spoke in the ordinary way of one who speaks to 
 another, had rested and floated away. Then swiftly 
 it came back, as if she had suddenly remembered some- 
 thing. Temple knew what she had remembered 
 that he had rescued her once before. 
 
 "I am," he said mildly, "one of those who like 
 gladiatorial shows." 
 
 "Oh, but," protested Truda, "we shall disgrace 
 ourselves. England 's the home of tennis." 
 
 "Which is why," he remarked lightly, "an English- 
 man should be in a position to appreciate prowess 
 on the field." 
 
 The Princess laughed. "Play, Truda," she called, 
 with a ball in her hand and the sunlight on her face. 
 The bump and swish of the balls on the rackets ensued 
 for some time in the intervening silence. The Princess 
 in changing courts between the services talked to 
 Temple, usually without looking at him ; and he found 
 it very pleasant there in the warm sun, seated on his 
 chair, with two graceful forms constantly moving in the 
 field of his vision. 
 
 "There, Truda, you've done it!" exclaimed Alise
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 141 
 
 at last. " And you have the extra satisfaction of having 
 a witness to my defeat." 
 
 Truda smilingly acknowledged her victory, com- 
 ing forward with ruffled hair, but the Princess remained 
 as neat as in the beginning. She was flushed from her 
 physical exertions, as she gave her orders to the ser- 
 vants who were arriving with the tea. 
 
 "I learned this habit," she said, as she flung herself 
 into a garden chair in the shade, "when I was quite a 
 little girl thirteen, I suppose in England, and it 
 has always appealed to me since as something essen- 
 tially romantic. This tea on the lawn, and the river 
 life I don't know why they engage one's feelings 
 so, but they do." 
 
 "You were in England?" he said, interested. 
 
 "As a girl. I was in London, and then in the Isle 
 of Wight, and Wales, and elsewhere. It was when I 
 was staying at Baystead with the Duke of Collingham 
 that I first made the acquaintance of the English sum- 
 mer and the English garden." 
 
 "The Duke of Collingham!" ejaculated Temple. 
 
 "Yes." She was silent a moment, and then added: 
 "I've never seen him since, but I remember him as 
 a very kind, stately old man. It was terrible that he 
 should lose his son in that way." 
 
 Temple was puzzled for the moment, and then his 
 mind made the necessary connections. Lord Stroud, 
 who had perished in the railway accident, had, of 
 course, been the Duke's son. He remembered that 
 his mother had spoken of it. Somehow that fact 
 and the fact of the Princess's acquaintance with the 
 family compressed them suddenly all into a closer 
 relationship.
 
 144 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 the Long Gallery in the Palace, as good a collection of 
 pictures as is in Europe, they say. The Grand Duke 
 Louis XXII was a famous collector." 
 
 "Thank you," he said. "I probably shall be in 
 Eisenburg for some little time longer. I should much 
 like to see the collection." 
 
 The Count accompanied him back to the Palace, 
 chatting in an amiable way. It was not until they had 
 penetrated the building that his manner underwent a 
 slight change. 
 
 " Would you be so good as to spare me five minutes, 
 Sir Philip?" he asked, and his gesture indicated the 
 door of a room. 
 
 Temple entered without answer. He felt that there 
 was something between the Chancellor and himself 
 that required investigation; he was on his. guard, and 
 watchful. 
 
 The room was evidently used officially, and the 
 Chancellor politely offered his visitor a chair. 
 
 "The government, Sir Philip," he began in his cold 
 way, "is indebted to you for your action in regard to 
 the Princess Regent the other day. It undoubtedly 
 saved her Highness from an objectionable position." 
 
 Temple bowed; he had no wish to be thanked by 
 Count Cavari after receiving the Princess's thanks. 
 
 "I understood you to say," proceeded his Excel- 
 lency after a pause, "that you were staying in Eisen- 
 burg for some time longer. Perhaps you will consider 
 I have no right to interfere with your movements. 
 But I ask you to believe that it is entirely in your 
 own interest that I advise you to reconsider that 
 determination." 
 
 "You mean," said the Englishman bluntly," that
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 145 
 
 you would advise me to leave Eisenburg. May I ask 
 why?" 
 
 The Chancellor took up a sheet of paper, examined 
 it, and set it down again. 
 
 "Obviously you have the right, though I thought 
 the explanation might have been unnecessary. You 
 are aware, Sir Philip, even in your brief sojourn among 
 us, that there is a certain division of opinion politically 
 in the grand-duchy." 
 
 "I have gathered so," said Temple dryly. 
 
 " Certain classes, certain sections of classes rather, 
 are unfavorable to the government. These disaf- 
 fected people look elsewhere for a leader, look in fact 
 outside the pale of the grand-duchy, abetted in quarters 
 that are well known. It is, in a word, a matter perilously 
 near high treason." 
 
 He paused, as if he wished his slow, momentous 
 sentences to sink into this young man's mind. 
 
 "In such a case," ventured Temple, almost with 
 indifference, "you, I take it, could act. But I fail to 
 see how all this concerns me and my movements." 
 
 The Chancellor's gray eyebrows contracted sud- 
 denly; it was evident he was of an imperious 
 temperament. 
 
 "It concerns you in this way, sir," he said sharply, 
 "that you would be wiser to choose your company 
 more carefully, or to leave the grand-duchy." 
 
 Sir Philip meditated, turning over in his mind the 
 occasions of his fellowship with people since his ar- 
 rival in Eisenburg. The Chancellor's advice, although 
 it had by its tone taken the form of a rebuke, seemed 
 sincere and even disinterested on the surface. His 
 flying thoughts (for he thought more swiftly than he
 
 144 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 the Long Gallery in the Palace, as good a collection of 
 pictures as is in Europe, they say. The Grand Duke 
 Louis XXII was a famous collector." 
 
 "Thank you," he said. "I probably shall be in 
 Eisenburg for some little time longer. I should much 
 like to see the collection." 
 
 The Count accompanied him back to the Palace, 
 chatting in an amiable way. It was not until they had 
 penetrated the building that his manner underwent a 
 slight change. 
 
 " Would you be so good as to spare me five minutes, 
 Sir Philip?" he asked, and his gesture indicated the 
 door of a room. 
 
 Temple entered without answer. He felt that there 
 was something between the Chancellor and himself 
 that required investigation; he was on his. guard, and 
 watchful. 
 
 The room was evidently used officially, and the 
 Chancellor politely offered his visitor a chair. 
 
 "The government, Sir Philip," he began in his cold 
 way, "is indebted to you for your action in regard to 
 the Princess Regent the other day. It undoubtedly 
 saved her Highness from an objectionable position." 
 
 Temple bowed; he had no wish to be thanked by 
 Count Cavari after receiving the Princess's thanks. 
 
 "I understood you to say," proceeded his Excel- 
 lency after a pause, "that you were staying in Eisen- 
 burg for some time longer. Perhaps you will consider 
 I have no right to interfere with your movements. 
 But I ask you to believe that it is entirely in your 
 own interest that I advise you to reconsider that 
 determination . ' ' 
 
 "You mean," said the Englishman bluntly," that
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 145 
 
 you would advise me to leave Eisenburg. May I ask 
 why?" 
 
 The Chancellor took up a sheet of paper, examined 
 it, and set it down again. 
 
 "Obviously you have the right, though I thought 
 the explanation might have been unnecessary. You 
 are aware, Sir Philip, even in your brief sojourn among 
 us, that there is a certain division of opinion politically 
 in the grand-duchy." 
 
 "I have gathered so," said Temple dryly. 
 
 " Certain classes, certain sections of classes rather, 
 are unfavorable to the government. These disaf- 
 fected people look elsewhere for a leader, look in fact 
 outside the pale of the grand-duchy, abetted in quarters 
 that are well known. It is, in a word, a matter perilously 
 near high treason." 
 
 He paused, as if he wished his slow, momentous 
 sentences to sink into this young man's mind. 
 
 "In such a case," ventured Temple, almost with 
 indifference, "you, I take it, could act. But I fail to 
 see how all this concerns me and my movements." 
 
 The Chancellor's gray eyebrows contracted sud- 
 denly; it was evident he was of an imperious 
 temperament. 
 
 "It concerns you in this way, sir," he said sharply, 
 "that you would be wiser to choose your company 
 more carefully, or to leave the grand-duchy." 
 
 Sir Philip meditated, turning over in his mind the 
 occasions of his fellowship with people since his ar- 
 rival in Eisenburg. The Chancellor's advice, although 
 it had by its tone taken the form of a rebuke, seemed 
 sincere and even disinterested on the surface. His 
 flying thoughts (for he thought more swiftly than he
 
 146 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 spoke or acted) embraced his experiences at Waldthal, 
 traveled along his sundry acquaintances, and finally 
 landed on Von Hauser and the Boar. 
 
 " I am not aware of keeping bad company," he said 
 slowly, "but if I do, I assure you, Count Cavari, that 
 I have no arriere-pensee in doing so. The politics of 
 the grand-duchy are no affair of mine." 
 
 "I am glad to have that assurance," said the Chan- 
 cellor shortly. "Yes, it is unfortunate that you have 
 been the occasion of natural suspicion. You know a 
 certain Count von Hauser who passes by the name of 
 Kartolen?" 
 
 Temple assented. "He was kind enough to assist 
 me by communicating with the British Consul when 
 my own letter miscarried," he said. 
 
 He thought the Chancellor started ever so slightly; 
 but his reply was hardly delayed a moment. 
 
 "Sir Philip, I am going to be very frank with you. 
 Last night you were seen to enter a house in which it 
 is known to us that certain disaffected people meet. 
 You were there for fully an hour, and you were accom- 
 panied to the door by one of the suspects." 
 
 "You are well informed," said the Englishman with 
 a smile. " But I assure you you 're at unnecessary 
 pains in watching my movements." 
 
 The Chancellor appeared to lose patience. "A 
 conspiracy is being hatched against the government," 
 he said, " and you were present at it. Do you tell me 
 you don't know who your associates were?" 
 
 "Two of them," said Temple reflectively, "be- 
 friended me when I was in need of help. The third " 
 
 "What of the third?" interjected the Chancellor 
 eagerly. 
 
 \
 
 TENNIS AND TEA 147 
 
 "I am quite unacquainted with," ended Temple. 
 
 "Pshaw!" The Chancellor put down the gold 
 pencil with which he had been fidgeting. "What is 
 the use of beating about the bush? We have reason 
 to know who the third was. And that is why I warn 
 you," he went on with an autocratic note in his voice. 
 "It is folly that you, a stranger, should become mixed 
 up in these things however innocently which is why 
 I ventured to suggest your withdrawal from the scene." 
 
 "I wish I could convince you," said Temple in his 
 easy and almost lazy voice, " how little I am concerned 
 with your politics in Eisenburg. I am here amusing 
 myself, entertaining myself, and even interesting my- 
 self, by observing all that goes on in what is to me an 
 unknown country. But what happens here is no con- 
 cern of mine. I am merely an occupier of the stalls." 
 
 Count Cavari searched him. He had no real under- 
 standing of the Anglo-Saxon, any more than Baron 
 Favrinck had. On the other hand, Count von Hauser 
 had a full comprehension of the racial type. He did 
 not credit an avowal of this sort, but he did not see how 
 to controvert it. He came back to another voice. 
 
 "I think, Sir Philip," he said, "that we are rather 
 at loggerheads just now. Perhaps it is my fault. If I 
 say to you that it would be advisable, not only in your 
 own interest but in that of the grand-duchy, that you 
 should go, will you do so?" 
 
 Temple was silent for a perceptible space of time. 
 " I don't think so," he said at last, " not after the state- 
 ment I have made!" 
 
 "You will understand," said the Chancellor quietly, 
 "that suspects are always liable to operations against 
 them."
 
 148 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Temple stretched his legs, recrossed them, and 
 laughed. "I seem, then," he said, "to have been a 
 suspect for some time." 
 
 "How do you mean?" The Chancellor contracted 
 his gray eyebrows. 
 
 "I have been the victim of two unlucky accidents, 
 which threatened in one case my liberty, in the other 
 my life. One I believe you may recall the affair 
 of the man Ketschinski." 
 
 "I remember. I greatly regret the blunder," said 
 the Count politely. 
 
 "The other, an attempt upon my life, took place in 
 the Odenstock." 
 
 "Indeed! It is monstrous." He paused. "Eisen- 
 burg does not appear safe for you, or healthy, Sir Philip. 
 On reconsideration, would it not be better to go?" 
 
 "I think not." Temple's slow words dropped from 
 his lips with measured force. 
 
 The Chancellor rose. "I am unfortunate in not 
 being able to persuade you what is best for yourself 
 as well as others," he said in a brisk, business-like 
 voice. "Well, you came as a guest, sir, and you shall 
 go as one." 
 
 It seemed as if he would have put out his hand, but 
 Philip said quietly: 
 
 " Not as a guest, Count, but as a suspect. No, you 
 do not shake hands with suspects, or prisoners at the 
 bar. When I entered this room it appears it was as a 
 defendant. I leave it as such." 
 
 He bowed, and the Chancellor stiffly returned his 
 bow as Temple turned away. On the minds of both 
 was the same impression, definitely registered that 
 it was War.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 
 
 IT was no business of his, Temple reflected, whether 
 the Chancellor knew of the secret conclave in 
 Herr Kartolen's rooms or not; and by similar reckon- 
 ing he saw no reason for communicating to the con- 
 spirators the Chancellor's knowledge of them. On 
 thinking it over he drew the inevitable inference that 
 the Count had only let him into his knowledge because 
 he thought it known to him already. But he was per- 
 plexed altogether by dates. If the Chancellor had only 
 just discovered him (as he imagined) to be dangerous, 
 why had the persecution begun before, almost immedi- 
 ately after his arrival at Waldthal ? He could only as- 
 sume, as he had already assumed, that suspicion had 
 attached to him from the outset. Did the Chancellor 
 imagine he had gained entrance to the Castle at Waldthal 
 as an emissary of the conspirators ? Surely it was im- 
 possible that he should be served so badly by his spies, 
 and moreover the railway accident furnished the Eng- 
 lishman's bona fides. But stay ! Was it not conceivable 
 that a partisan of the German Albrecht should take 
 advantage of the disaster in order to gain admission 
 to the Castle on such a fateful night ? If that were the 
 Chancellor's suspicion, it would account for everything. 
 Yet it seemed to him, looking at it in the white light of 
 reason, that a suspicion of so grotesque a character 
 argued a certain lack of balance, which he assuredly
 
 150 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 would never have attributed to the Chancellor, an 
 obviously able, cool, and diligent statesman. 
 
 It did not cost Temple much to leave the puzzle with- 
 out solution ; he was always master of his own mind, and 
 never worried about things that would keep. The prob- 
 lem, which had begun to fascinate him, would keep, as 
 also would that other problem as to the identity of the 
 unfortunate woman who had died in Waldthal Castle. 
 But it was some time since he had moved in the latter 
 question, and so he made another attempt. He drew 
 up an advertisement in somewhat different terms in- 
 viting information as to any lady of an estimated age 
 of five-and-twenty who had been traveling on the Conti- 
 nent during certain days in May, " probably from France 
 to Germany," and was missing. He copied this out 
 several times and sent it with the necessary remittances 
 to sundry newspapers in London and New York. Then 
 he looked about him for means of diversion. 
 
 In this connection he suddenly remembered Baron 
 Favrinck, and his bluff invitation. He smiled as he 
 recalled their next meeting, and he wondered if the 
 Baron had eliminated his distrust. Anyway, he was 
 not dependent on invitations or on any hospitality but 
 his own. The Odenstock was open to him for the most 
 part, and there were also the southerly and northerly 
 districts of the grand-duchy to explore. Temple did 
 not ignore the possibility that the Chancellor might 
 take action against him. The latter believed him to 
 be concerned in the political conspiracy against the 
 dynasty, and had frankly revealed his suspicion. Tem- 
 ple wondered if Count Cavari was wise in doing so. 
 He struck him as a diplomat of an unusual kind; in 
 fact, he puzzled him. But Temple was not going to
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 151 
 
 yield and tamely leave the country at the bidding of an 
 autocrat. For a long time the slow tide of his feeling had 
 been rising, and he was now an obstinate and determined 
 man, with a rather easy and good-natured countenance. 
 
 A day or two later he had just lunched in his pleasant 
 room overlooking the lower portion of the Platz when 
 he espied the huge form of Baron Favrinck as it were 
 boring its way to the hotel. Not any regnant prince 
 walked the street with such remoteness and assurance. 
 He entered the hotel, and after a delay of a few minutes 
 a waiter knocked on Temple's door. 
 
 "Yes, I will see Baron Favrinck. Show him up. 
 And you may clear." 
 
 He had known in his heart that the Boar had come 
 to see him, and he was prepared for a blunt and charac- 
 teristic opening. But the Baron surprised him. His 
 heavy face wore even an aspect of good cheer, and he 
 was obligingly civil. 
 
 "I was intending to ask you to lunch with me," he 
 said, " but I see you are early, or I am belated. Never 
 mind. Another time will do." 
 
 Temple avowed his obligations. 
 
 "You have not taken advantage of my sporting 
 invitation in the Odenstock, Sir Philip," he went on 
 with a broad and clumsy smile. 
 
 " It has been and is my hope to do so," said the young 
 man. 
 
 "There is some good sport to be had," remarked 
 the Baron. "The fishing is excellent in some of the 
 streams; and there is shooting" his face took on a 
 grim expression " boars among other things." 
 
 He laughed. "I never had the chance of hunting 
 boars," said Philip, in his level voice.
 
 152 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Favrinck turned his somber eyes upon him. 
 "Humph!" he grunted. "The sport is dying out in 
 these parts. But there are opportunities. I dare say 
 we could find one for you." 
 
 "I shall be delighted," murmured Temple, wonder- 
 ing if any inner significance attached to these ominous 
 remarks. 
 
 "You have probably seen all you want of Eisenburg," 
 suggested the Baron. 
 
 " Yes no," amended Temple, remembering the 
 hint of a return to the Palace thrown out by the Prin- 
 cess. " I may be here for a few days still." 
 
 The Baron scowled at the window. " Herr Kartolen 
 has told me the story of your experiences at the Castle 
 of Waldthal," he said. 
 
 "Herr Kartolen" Temple lingered a little over 
 the name "was good to me, good at need." 
 
 He was, it seemed, a singularly uncommunicative 
 young man, and the Baron's gracious expression had 
 long since faded from his face. When he departed his 
 scowl was fixed. Yet he had found out what he wanted, 
 or thought he had. He went from the hotel direct to 
 Herr Kartolen's rooms, and was for some time closeted 
 with his associate. 
 
 "I had my doubts, Von Hauser," he said, shaking 
 a big hand in emphasis. "Now I am sure. This 
 Englishman of yours is not what he pretends to be." 
 
 "What does he pretend to be?" asked Von Hauser 
 suavely. 
 
 "Bah! You know what I mean. Why equivocate 
 and jest on a serious matter ? I tell you there is danger 
 from him. His entrance into the grand-duchy was 
 dramatically contrived, and care was taken to throw
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 153 
 
 every suspicion upon him as inimical to the govern- 
 ment. It was cleverly managed, I grant you. But 
 what happens? He sloughs the skin of the fox at the 
 first touch of necessity. There was the affair of the 
 Princess and Bleiber, that stupid business. But he 
 takes a hand in it. And he was silent over his visit to 
 the Palace the other day." 
 
 "Why not?" inquired Von Hauser. "One does not 
 invariably communicate all one's movements to chance 
 acquaintances." 
 
 "I gave him every opportunity," growled Favrinck. 
 
 "You forget he is English," said Von Hauser, who, 
 as has been said, knew England very well. 
 
 "Recollect," said the Baron vehemently, "that he 
 blundered, as he called it, on our meeting, and from 
 there goes straight to the Palace." 
 
 "Probably to be thanked," put in the Count. 
 
 "To report!" thundered the Boar. "He probably 
 knows the identity of those who sat here." 
 
 "He certainly knows mine, for I told him," said 
 Von Hauser. 
 
 The Baron gasped in amazement. "You told him !" 
 he echoed, " and and " 
 
 Von Hauser shook his head. "No," he said softly. 
 "I believe in only admitting as much as any one may 
 possibly know. To acknowledge a certain portion 
 of the truth frankly, and apparently without necessity, 
 convinces that there is nothing else in reserve. Besides, 
 I have, as I have told you, a notion that this young man 
 may be useful. Let us wait." 
 
 " If he has reported our proceedings to Cavari " 
 
 began the Baron moodily. 
 
 "We should have been arrested. So it is plain he
 
 154 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 has n't," interposed Von Hauser briskly. He pushed 
 the paper which had lain before him across to his com- 
 panion. " Tell me what you make of that," he invited. 
 
 Baron Favrinck looked, but his face gave no sign of 
 intelligence. 
 
 "The London Times!" he said. "What is it? 
 Ah, Sir Philip He read, and handed the paper 
 
 back to Von Hauser. " I don't understand," he said 
 heavily. 
 
 "Sir Philip Temple advertises for information con- 
 cerning a woman who died as a result of the railway 
 accident," said Von Hauser. 
 
 "I don't understand," said the Baron, frowning 
 deeply. "There is too much mystery here, I suspect." 
 
 "I agree that there is a mystery," said Von Hauser, 
 " but, as far as Sir Philip is concerned, the explanation 
 is easy. His advertisement proves his good faith. It 
 was the woman who died in Waldthal." 
 
 "Yes," assented the Baron. "But who was she?" 
 
 "Precisely what Sir Philip Temple is anxious to 
 discover," replied his companion with a smile. "And 
 I think it probable he will ; he is a very obdurate young 
 man." 
 
 "I don't trust him," said Favrinck shortly. "How 
 do we know what this woman has to do with it all ?" 
 
 "My dear Baron, we know nothing. I wish we did. 
 Still, it will be interesting finding out." 
 
 "I prefer shorter and rougher ways," growled the 
 Boar. 
 
 " If you had your way, Baron," said Von Hauser with 
 amusement, "we should have the Middle Ages rein- 
 carnate again." 
 
 "I believe in short ways," growled the Baron. "If
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 155 
 
 a man seems dangerous I mark him ; if he proves dan- 
 gerous I " 
 
 Von Hauser leaned suddenly over to him. "Why 
 did you visit Temple to-day?" he asked. 
 
 "I wanted to invite him to the Odenstock," said 
 Favrinck, a grim smile lighting his face. "He has 
 my permission to go fishing and shooting there." 
 
 The Count regarded his companion musingly, and 
 then an expression of some contempt passed over his 
 face. "What is there to shoot?" he asked. 
 
 "There used to be wolves," said the Baron, with a 
 sly look of humor. 
 
 " But now there is nothing but " Von Hauser 
 
 hesitated. 
 
 "Boars!" roared Favrinck, bellowing his laughter. 
 "Don't falter, don't mince words. He shall have a 
 boar hunt if he will." 
 
 Von Hauser did not respond to the laugh. "This 
 man," he said with a certain gravity, "is obnoxious to 
 Cavari and the Regency party. He is worth watching." 
 
 "He shall be watched," said the Baron. 
 
 Von Hauser threw up his hands; the man was pig- 
 headed. Had he not sufficiently endangered the suc- 
 cess of their plots already? His influence was being 
 purchased at a huge price. Yet in the southern cantons 
 his name was almighty. Von Hauser had no particular 
 mission to protect a wandering Englishman, but he had 
 what was almost a superstition that this one might be 
 serviceable. Besides, he liked him. There was about 
 Von Hauser, astute intriguer as he was, a certain prim- 
 itive faith in instinct. He had an instinct about the 
 Englishman, his conduct in regard to whom had through- 
 out been based largely on that instinct. The inexpli-
 
 156 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 cable hostility of the Court party to Temple might 
 make him useful to the conspirators. It was a shrewd 
 idea, and that it was not wholly in the air was demon- 
 strated at their next meeting. Von Hauser gave himself 
 the pleasure of inviting Sir Philip to lunch at his quiet 
 rooms. 
 
 "Much better lunch with me at my hotel," suggested 
 the younger man. 
 
 Von Hauser 's smile deprecated the alternative. 
 
 "A mere commercial traveler " he protested; 
 
 and suddenly Temple realized. He felt that he owed 
 Von Hauser something, and moreover, he liked the 
 man. 
 
 "I wonder if you know," he said, "that that meeting 
 of yours was known to the Chancellor, and that he is 
 aware of your actions?" 
 
 "You mean," said the Count after a pause, "that to 
 him there is no commercial traveler? It seems he has 
 an excellent Secret Service. But it matters not. Things 
 go on all the same. Yes, it matters this much, that I 
 shall have the pleasure of accepting your hospitality" 
 he paused again "if you will repeat it." 
 
 "I urge it," said the Englishman good-naturedly. 
 
 " But if I am known - 
 
 "My dear Count," said Temple lightly, "I am 
 already supposed to be hand in glove with you. I 
 dare say we are watched now. As you say, his Excel- 
 lency has a good service of eyes. Come, let us give them 
 some work for their money." 
 
 "But, my dear sir," resumed Von Hauser at the 
 luncheon table, "this is not wise, not at all wise. If 
 you were a marked man before, you are doubly marked 
 now you are visibly scored all over."
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 157 
 
 "There is yourself," suggested Temple. 
 
 Von Hauser caressed his pointed beard. "I wonder 
 how long his Excellency has known. Yet it would be 
 foolish to arrest an unimportant commercial traveler, 
 would it not ? His papers would not be very interesting 
 documents, concerned as they are with sales and ac- 
 counts. Besides," he added with a twinkle, "there is 
 a German Consul as well as a British Consul." 
 
 " I know my course of action in case of emergency," 
 said the younger man, with a smile. 
 
 "No, my dear Sir Philip," pursued Von Hauser, "I 
 think on reflection we may eat our lunch without alarms 
 at present." He proceeded to do so, and presently 
 his train of thought took him elsewhere. " You are fond 
 of sport, like all your countrymen? You are to shoot 
 in theOdenstock?" 
 
 " Baron Favrinck has been good enough to invite me." 
 
 "You cannot have very agreeable memories of the 
 hospitality of the Odenstock," said Von Hauser softly. 
 
 Temple's face seemed to offer an inquiry. 
 
 "Was it not there you met with an accident?" 
 
 "It was there that Baron Favrinck saw, or thought 
 he saw, a man shoot at me," agreed the other. 
 
 "No, saw," said Von Hauser. "There was no doubt 
 about it." , 
 
 Again the Englishman's face expressed interrogation. 
 
 "I was witness," said the Count. 
 
 "You!" 
 
 "Yes, but it was not convenient to reveal myself then. 
 I was a commercial traveler only." 
 
 "Count, will you tell me why you have revealed 
 yourself at all?" asked Temple suddenly. 
 
 Von Hauser smiled frankly. " Would it have availed
 
 158 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 me to conceal myself any longer?" he asked. "It 
 appears the Palace knows all about us." 
 
 " I am not the Palace," said Temple bluntly. 
 
 " But you visit it you have the entree. You have 
 the confidence of the Chancellor." 
 
 "Yes," mused Temple, "by a chain of accidents. 
 His Excellency has mistaken me for one interested 
 in Eisenburger politics!" 
 
 "I wonder!" murmured Von Hauser. 
 
 "I am not," said Temple, paying no heed to this. 
 
 "I wonder!" again Von Hauser murmured, softer 
 than ever. 
 
 It was the contention of Count Cavari, in his audience 
 of the Princess Regent that afternoon, that Sir Philip 
 was dangerously interested in the domestic politics of 
 Eisenburg. The Princess was openly incredulous, but 
 she had to deal with a masterful man, and one of strong 
 if narrow views. 
 
 "There is proof of his friendship with Baron Fa- 
 vrinck, your Highness," he declared. 
 
 "Why not? He knows nothing of us and our divis- 
 ions," retorted the Princess. "Besides, it is contrary 
 to his action the other day. Your Excellency must 
 have more serious grounds than mere suspicion on 
 which to base so grave a charge." 
 
 He had not conceived that so strong a will could rule 
 in so feminine a nature when he had urged on the Council 
 the appointment of the Grand Duchess's sister and 
 the Grand Duke's aunt as Regent. He had already 
 begun to see checks threatening his arbitrary authority. 
 He was accustomed to decisive action, and the fact that 
 Temple had befriended the Princess and had come to 
 tea at the Palace in consequence did not interfere with
 
 SOME INTRIGUES 159 
 
 his determination to get rid of him. The defect of his 
 Excellency was a neglect of human sentiment. He 
 had at his disposal means for abolishing embarrassing 
 strangers. An order for deportation was always available 
 and it had the advantages of being simple and blood- 
 less. He moved against Sir Philip Temple with a depor- 
 tation order. 
 
 Unfortunately for his scheme, the Regent in an access 
 of zeal was striving to do her duty. She had wasted 
 the long hours of one fine afternoon in the gardens with 
 a canvas and paint-box, and she was repentant. In a 
 flurry she summoned secretaries and officials, and 
 scrutinized documents which were to pass under her 
 name on behalf of the Grand Duke, lying in his elaborate 
 cradle "drugged with slumber and milk." This led to 
 the discovery of the order, and to an uncomfortable little 
 scene later. In the latter the Chancellor endeavored 
 to explain his position, but he found himself helpless 
 before a mere woman's obstinacy. 
 
 "I will not allow any one who has rendered a great 
 service to the State to be treated so inhospitably and 
 unjustly," was the most formal repudiation of the order 
 to which she was able to attain. Then she was wholly 
 human and personal. "Do you forget what he did on 
 Proclamation Day?" 
 
 The Chancellor, whose authoritativeness had bent 
 before the storm, saw his opportunity. 
 
 "I do not forget, your Highness," he said coolly. 
 "But I am afraid I do not place upon that action the 
 interpretation which your Highness does." 
 
 "How is that?" inquired Alise curiously. 
 
 "My information," said the Chancellor, glad to have 
 arrested her, " is that this Sir Philip Temple is involved
 
 160 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 with Baron Favrinck and Count von Hauser and others 
 in their treasonable schemes against the dynasty. He 
 is a wandering Englishman, and Englishmen are fond 
 of adventure. They look upon it as a kind of sport, 
 like their cricket or their football." 
 
 Princess Alise tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. 
 This was not explaining what interpretation the Chan- 
 cellor put upon a gallant rescue. 
 
 His Excellency noted the action, and put an inter- 
 pretation upon that. He was not, as has been explained, 
 tender of human sentiment, but he knew its symptoms. 
 
 "On the assumption," he went on equably, "that 
 this is true (and my information is hardly to be doubted) , 
 the presence of the Englishman in the crowd and his 
 subsequent acts are explicable." 
 
 "How?" demanded the Princess plumply. 
 
 " It might be desired to open up avenues of communi- 
 cation with the Palace. You will see, your Highness, 
 how valuable an ally would be with a foot in both 
 camps." 
 
 For a moment the Princess was silent and still. Then 
 she rose. " I regret that I cannot authorize the order," 
 she said curtly. 
 
 She had thought the suggestion over; the ingenuity 
 stayed her, daunted her; and then she had swept it 
 aside like a true woman in favor of her instinct. Her 
 rising was a signal for the Chancellor's withdrawal. 
 He had only bowed submissively to her words, and he 
 crossed to the door. As he went out there was an odd 
 set expression in his steel eyes. After all, as has been 
 stated, a deportation order is only one way, if it is the 
 most expeditious and least violent.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 A RESCUE 
 
 HHEMPLE stared at the letters before him. From 
 A various signs he knew that they had all been opened 
 before they reached him. He turned them over: one 
 from his mother, two from old friends, several social 
 invitations, some obviously commercial communica- 
 tions, a bulky package from his estate agent, unin- 
 teresting circulars and bills, advices from his brokers, 
 unclassed, epistles, and buried among them all, but 
 standing out by its very meanness of appearance, a dirty 
 envelope inscribed with uneducated writing that slanted 
 drunkenly towards corners. The circulars and formal 
 correspondence had doubtless been spared the finger 
 of the inquisitor, but all else had been sacrificed. He 
 realized now, almost fully, what it was to be a " suspect." 
 The mean letter came in its turn, an almost illegible, 
 and entirely unintelligible, communication in response 
 to his advertisement. He had already had a repetition 
 of his earlier experiences, letters from impostors, letters 
 from cranks, letters from persons desirous of advertise- 
 ment. This one happened to come solitary of its kind 
 to-day, and he did not know precisely how to class it. 
 
 " Mrs. Jane Carver have seen advertisement in paper 
 and she had a daughter in service with her Ladyship, but 
 has disappeared. Would be glad to know where she
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 is, and in what service, having lost her husband, and 
 being in poor circumstances, and obliged to leave 
 Baystead ever since ..." 
 
 It was not a crank's letter, but it looked like a beg- 
 ging letter. Temple speculated as to the unimaginable 
 confusion of a mind of which this could be the product. 
 The gap that parted the writer from the merest clerk 
 in an office must be formidable. He had never before 
 realized so vividly the value attachable to the power of 
 expression. 
 
 No he revised his first impressions it was not 
 a begging letter, but merely a pathetic letter. Mrs. 
 Jane Carver might have asked point-blank for assist- 
 ance, but had abstained. She had evidently her self- 
 respect, but was anxious to quicken the operations of 
 the advertiser who was to find her lost daughter. That 
 she had taken for granted with the simple faith of a 
 child, or an animal. "Her Ladyship !" There was to 
 poor Jane Carver only one ladyship, and so there was 
 no need to name her. She thought and wrote with all 
 the self-centered feelings of the lower classes. 
 
 His eyes dwelt momentarily on the scrawl, disengag- 
 ing a word Baystead. Somehow there was a familiar 
 ring, but he could not say why. He laid Mrs. Jane 
 Carver's epistle aside, and opened other letters in suc- 
 cession, coming at last to his mother's, which he usually 
 reserved for pleasurable reading when he had earned 
 his rest by the fulfillment of duties. 
 
 Lady Augusta wrote in a little strain of reproach 
 that he lingered so long abroad. "The country is 
 looking divine," she said. "Never was such a blaze 
 of gorse on the heaths, and the Templemore woods
 
 A RESCUE 163 
 
 are alight with wild hyacinth. England is always 
 more beautiful than any land in the world in a fair 
 May." There was, he felt, an invitation in that en- 
 comium, as well as a rebuke; and he smiled. " I had 
 a visitor here on Tuesday," the letter proceeded; "you 
 never met him, but we were ancient friends together. 
 Indeed, he did me the honor to ask my hand when I 
 was in my teens. I have no doubt that he has long since 
 congratulated himself that I refused it. I mean the Duke 
 of Collingham. Poor man, he is very sad since his 
 son's death. It was in your horrible accident; you 
 remember, I spoke of it to you. Strange, was n't it ? 
 Lord and Lady Stroud were killed outright. They 
 were able to identify Lord Stroud's body, but the other 
 was burned beyond recognition. They lie in Waldthal 
 churchyard. I shuddered as I listened, and thought 
 of you. Poor father ! It might have been poor mother ! " 
 
 "I will go back soon," murmured Philip Temple 
 to himself. "I will finish up and go back soon." 
 
 His glance drifted away in a muse of affection. He 
 heard the wind in the pines on Fassett Heights ; the long 
 grasses of Exmoor whistled in his ears; and the beat 
 of the estuary moved before him. His mother was 
 right. England was good in May. Why should he 
 waste his time in this exiguous and mediaeval country 
 among the homuncules and marionettes of miniature 
 politics ? He was almost considering the question of a 
 time-table and trains, when his meandering eyes lit 
 upon a tower of the Palace on the height across the 
 river. His thoughts were diverted by that chance of 
 vision. 
 
 He went that afternoon to see the pictures at the 
 Palace to which the Princess had referred. The gal-
 
 164 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 lery was open to the public on the completion of certain 
 forms; and he went as an ordinary member of the 
 public. Temple was not a connoisseur of pictures, 
 though he had inherited some fine examples of various 
 masters at Templemore. It was not altogether to see 
 the gallery that he went, and he was aware of it. There 
 had not seemed so deep a gap between the Princess and 
 himself on the three occasions on which they had met 
 as was obviously cleft by Fate and circumstance. 
 
 Somehow, to him she was a woman first, if at all a 
 Princess. There was something incongruous in her 
 being Regent over an independent State; he hardly 
 credited it, and certainly was unable to act up to a 
 belief in it. 
 
 He wandered about the gallery, idly examining the 
 pictures, in company with a sprinkling of evident 
 foreigners. Somewhere in the great block of the Palace 
 Princess Alise of Astra was possibly attending to her 
 duties as Regent. He smiled at the juxtaposition of 
 the beautiful woman and high powers of State; he 
 liked her better playing tennis, or pouring out tea on 
 the sunlit lawn. An enthusiastic Dutchman, who 
 had been making copious notes in a pocket-book about 
 the pictures seriatim, stared in amazement to see a 
 smile illuminate the face of the Englishman, gazing as 
 he was point blank at Del Sarto's tragic masterpiece. 
 Was it by the subject this Philistine had the audacity 
 to be amused, or was it the master's handling that 
 tickled the barbarian? 
 
 It was neither. Temple had not seen the picture; 
 he had been looking through walls into a sunlit room 
 and a sunlit garden. 
 ; "'A thing of beauty is a joy for ever,'" he quoted in
 
 A RESCUE 165 
 
 justification of himself as he went out. " I think I 've 
 never seen so symmetrical a beauty before." 
 
 At the door a casual question to a uniformed attend- 
 ant elicited the information that the Court was no longer 
 in residence; it had gone to Waldthal. Temple's mood 
 suffered a singular and instantaneous eclipse; the light 
 faded out of it suddenly. Nothing had been behind 
 those gallery walls. The whole Palace was as dead as 
 they. He did not attempt any explanation of this feel- 
 ing or any justification of it. 
 
 He found a letter at his hotel from Baron Favrinck, 
 conveying in quite civil terms a hope that Sir Philip 
 Temple would honor him with a call in the event of 
 his visiting the Odenstock. It was not quite an invita- 
 tion, and Temple wondered how a man could make 
 the distinction, could go half-way and no farther. Then 
 he looked at the envelope. As he had expected, it had 
 been tampered with. Count Cavari wanted him gone, 
 and if Temple followed his filial instincts he would go. 
 But this sort of thing was calculated to undo the 
 effects of Lady Augusta's letter. The Chancellor was 
 spoiling his own plans. And was it not Lady Augusta 
 who had been used to draw him back to England before ? 
 He stood looking down at the letter, and then plumped 
 into a chair before writing materials. 
 
 " Why the devil does n't the man arrest me if he 
 suspects me?" he demanded irritably, and dipped his 
 pen in the ink. 
 
 He wrote to Baron Favrinck a civil letter of thanks, 
 pausing to remember that he would have to stay at 
 Waldthal if he was to fish and shoot in the Odenstock ; 
 he wrote next to Lady Augusta; and, after a few busi- 
 ness letters, he turned over Mrs. Jane Carver's prim-
 
 166 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 itive epistle. It was hardly worth answering, yet it was 
 the cry of an animal, the bewildered and distracted 
 bleat of a creature that has lost its young. He took a 
 sheet of paper and wrote a few lines, asking the writer 
 to give him particulars as to her daughter, her name, 
 age, appearance, the name of her ladyship, and the 
 place at which she was last heard of. Then he care- 
 fully went through every letter and crossed out the 
 hotel 1 heading, substituting a poste restante address at 
 Lasheim, over the German border. He would no 
 longer allow the Chancellor to tap his private affairs 
 by means of his correspondence. 
 
 It was now about six o'clock, and he resolved to go 
 over to Lasheim to post his letters in order to avoid 
 all risk of their passing through the Eisenburg post- 
 office. Unfortunately, a view of the hotel was super- 
 scribed on each envelope, so that there would be no 
 difficulty in identifying letters from that source. Tem- 
 ple had not thought of that, and so he decided on post- 
 ing at Lasheim in order, as he phrased it, to make a 
 clean deal. He made arrangements through the mana- 
 ger of the hotel for the hire of a motor-car, and he dined 
 pleasantly alone. 
 
 The car was due at 8.30, and before that time Temple 
 had occasion to go out. As a matter of fact, he had 
 found a shop half-way up the Platz where the cigars 
 were of a far superior quality to those in the hotel, and 
 he wanted to purchase a supply. This took him twenty 
 minutes, by which time the dusk was falling. He de- 
 scended the Platz, and passed the house in which Von 
 Hauser had chambers. A little farther on a young 
 man was walking with a brisk step up the street, swing- 
 ing a stick jauntily. He drew Temple's eye, and as
 
 A RESCUE 167 
 
 he passed, humming an air lightly, the Englishman 
 recognized him. It was the young man who had made 
 the third at Von Hauser's secret conference. Temple 
 went down the Platz and entered his hotel. He had 
 smoked a cigar by the time the car was at the door; 
 and, wrapping himself up, he took his packet of letters 
 and a rug and entered the tonneau. 
 
 "Lasheim !" he said formally to the chauffeur. The 
 man did not appear to understand, and Temple repeated 
 the order more loudly, adding, "How do you get 
 to it?" 
 
 The chauffeur nodded with comprehension. "Ah, 
 Lasheim !" he said. "Yes, we must go along the lower 
 town and cross the Effel." 
 
 "Very well," said Temple, settling himself comfort- 
 ably. The car groaned, kicked, and started, and they 
 shot off lightly along the edge of the river. The chauffeur 
 picked his way through the narrow streets, which here 
 run in a maze about the lowest parts of Eisenburg. It 
 had not yet fallen dark, but was a lingering dusk in 
 which forms moved undetermined and the houses were 
 somber shadows. Suddenly out of the gloom Temple 
 saw a running figure emerge and behind it others. The 
 course of the flight was slantwise towards the track of 
 the car, and soon brought the actors into the light of 
 a street lamp. Temple, watching with interest, and also 
 with curiosity and a certain sympathy for the fugitive, 
 recognized the face as the lamp gleamed on it. He had 
 recognized it earlier that evening. It was the young 
 man who had been present at Von Hauser's table. He 
 spurted into the dusk, and Temple touched the chauf- 
 feur's arm, directing him, "Slower, slower! stop her!" 
 
 It was almost as if the fugitive had heard and under-
 
 168 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 stood the intention. At any rate, he increased his pace, 
 and altered his course, heading directly for the car, 
 which he reached as it came to a halt. Temple put 
 out a hand, and grasped him by the arm. The next 
 moment the car was in motion again, and an exhausted 
 passenger was leaning back in the tonneau, dragging 
 the breath heavily back into his winded body. Temple 
 said nothing, and the car was now clearing the out- 
 skirts of the town. Presently the young man sat up, 
 and strove to pierce the dusk with his eyes. 
 
 " Ah !" he ejaculated, "I wondered who it could be." 
 He was still panting. "Anyway, I took the chance. 
 It was high time. Sir Philip Temple ?" 
 
 Temple assented. The young man turned in his 
 seat, as if he would look back at the lights of Eisenburg. 
 
 " You know who those were I ran from ?" he asked. 
 
 "I have no idea," answered the Englishman. 
 
 The young man gave a laugh of delight. "I like 
 that spirit, my faith I do. Well, they are instruments 
 of the State. They are the Chancellor's lackeys, bull- 
 dogs how do you call it ?" He laughed again breath- 
 lessly. " It was a close shave. I ought to have known 
 better. But what a lark ! I say," he broke off to ask 
 in English, " is this your car ? It 's a Mercedes, is n't it ?" 
 
 Temple answered both questions, and almost ere he 
 had done so the young man had risen in his seat. 
 
 " Let me drive. I '11 drive," he called out in a per- 
 emptory voice to the chauffeur. 
 
 Temple laid a firm hand on him. "No," he said 
 decidedly. "Pray sit down." 
 
 The young man stared at him through the growing 
 darkness, and after a moment's pause subsided into 
 his seat. Temple thought he saw him smiling dimly.
 
 A RESCUE 169 
 
 "You are good to give me this means of escape," 
 he said next. " Why did you ? " 
 
 "I think," said Temple, "that it was a sporting 
 sympathy with the minority." 
 
 "But I may be a criminal escaping from justice," 
 suggested the other. 
 
 "Perhaps you are," agreed Temple without per- 
 turbation. 
 
 Again the boyish laugh sounded on the night. 
 
 "Where are we going?" he asked next. 
 
 "Lasheim," replied Temple. 
 
 "Good! That will just suit me. How fortunate!" 
 
 Temple was aware that his companion was hum- 
 ming an air. He was manifestly a gay and irresponsible 
 fellow, and Temple wondered at what mischief he had 
 been. He had a guess, but it was soon to be a certainty. 
 The young man turned to him abruptly as they sped 
 through the night and over the eastern plains of the 
 grand-duchy. 
 
 " At the same time, it is proper that you should know 
 how far you have committed yourself," he remarked 
 debonairly. 
 
 " If you wish to tell me," said the older man. " Other- 
 wise it does not concern me." 
 
 "Ah!" he paused. "Perhaps you may find it does. 
 That 's just the doubt. If it might n't concern you I 
 need not tell you. As it is I must." 
 
 Temple listened. 
 
 " I was in danger of arrest for treason." 
 
 " I suppose you have your politics," remarked Temple 
 philosophically. 
 
 " Oh, come, you know something, Sir Philip. I saw 
 you at Count von Hauser's. You don't remember me ?"
 
 170 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 " I recalled your face very well," said Temple. 
 
 " You recalled " He stopped abruptly. " You 
 
 knew Von Hauser as Herr something or other?" 
 
 "Yes," assented the other. 
 
 "I say, isn't that another motor?" demanded the 
 young man, suddenly turning about. "I'm sure it's 
 the noise of one." 
 
 "Very likely," said Philip. "This is probably a 
 main road." 
 
 "You are undisturbed?" said his companion. "I 
 recognize the national trait. Some of us have fits; 
 others laugh; you do neither and nothing. It is a car, 
 and a powerful one." He rose, and stared backwards 
 into the night. "I wonder if they want me. That 
 would be amusing, wouldn't it?" 
 
 "No, I don't think so rather a nuisance," said 
 Temple, looking back also. 
 
 "There you are. That 's what I mean," laughed 
 the young man. "You do nothing; you feel nothing. 
 'Rather a bore, eh?'" He laughed again. "Well, if 
 they're after me, I '11 have some fun. It 's dark enough 
 now not to be seen easily. If you slackened a little I 
 could jump. There 's only a ditch there, and I'd roll in." 
 
 "I'm going to take you to Lasheim," said Temple. 
 
 "I believe you are. I was only speculating. There 
 are lights. That 's Borldrecht, and the river, I believe ! " 
 
 They ran into the lights of the little border town and 
 crossed. The big car behind did not pass over. A 
 quarter of an hour later Temple sat in private rooms in 
 the chief Lasheim hotel talking with his host. 
 
 "I'm going to have supper," said the latter. "The 
 run has made me hungry. Besides, I missed my dinner 
 owing to circumstances. You '11 honor me, Sir Philip ? "
 
 A RESCUE 171 
 
 Temple excused himself. He had to post his letters 
 and to get back, but he smoked his cigar and drank 
 his glass of wine in a leisurely manner before rising. 
 His host talked at large and in a fresh-spirited way, but 
 on every subject now save Eisenburg and the arrest 
 he had escaped. It must be confessed that Temple 
 had a curiosity to know whom he had rescued, but as 
 no one seemed likely to give him the information he let 
 it pass. He felt that the waiter might know, or at least 
 the hotel-keeper who bowed so obsequiously, but he 
 went by them without making an inquiry which would 
 have been at once ridiculous and impertinent. His 
 car was waiting without, and a man glided away on 
 the further side, as if he had retired from gossip with 
 the chauffeur. Temple turned in the direction of the 
 post-office, which he had learned by a question at the 
 hotel bureau. As he dropped his letters in, some one 
 pressed by his side, and apologized. There seemed 
 something familiar, reminiscent in the act, as though 
 it had occurred before. Then he recognized little Kuss, 
 and greeted him. The little clerk had come over to 
 Lasheim on business, he explained, business connected 
 with the affairs of state. 
 
 "I have no doubt that it is important business," 
 said Temple gravely. 
 
 "Monsieur, you say right," said Kuss. "There are 
 responsible things to be done in state offices." 
 
 Temple nodded pleasantly and left him. When he 
 reached his car he remembered the man who had talked 
 with the chauffeur, and he knew now from size and 
 gait that it must have been little Kuss. He gave the 
 order to return, and the car swung out towards the river. 
 Before a hostelry in Borldrecht they passed the big
 
 172 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 car, drawn up and waiting with the chauffeur on his 
 seat; and then they slid out into the night westwards. 
 It was a beautiful drive, the wind strong with the fra- 
 grance of night and earth and distant mountain, and 
 the chauffeur made good time. 
 
 It somewhat astonished Temple half an hour after 
 his arrival at his hotel to see little Kuss go out of the 
 hall. He wondered how he could have managed to 
 return so soon; and then he remembered how he him- 
 self had contrived it, and an idea struck him. Little 
 Kuss must have had the big car. 
 
 As he undressed for bed, sleepy from the fresh air, 
 his thoughts returned to the clerk, and quite without 
 effort on his part, and even without a conscious desire 
 to recall anything, he realized how that meeting at the 
 post-office of Lasheim had seemed familiar. He re- 
 called Waldthal, the telegram he was sending, and the 
 little cock-sparrow who had jostled him and begged 
 pardon. It was funny. 
 
 His reflections broke off here abruptly, for in putting 
 his hand into a pocket of his coat he,had encountered a 
 packet which ought not to have been there. He drew 
 it forth, cut the string that bound it, and in wonder 
 opened it. In still greater wonder he surveyed it when 
 opened. It consisted of a little purple case in which 
 was a black pearl ring, and attached to this was a card 
 on which was written: "With the enduring thanks 
 of Albrecht of Suabia."
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 
 
 A LBRECHT of Suabia ! Of course, he ought to 
 *V have understood and realized it earlier. Not 
 that it was any concern of his. Yet stay ; there was one 
 way in which it might very well concern him. The 
 government had endeavored to seize Albrecht on a 
 charge of treason, and Temple had thwarted the officers 
 of the law. He wondered if he had been recognized 
 in the car, and to that wonder immediately succeeded 
 the thought that in so small a place it would be in any 
 event impossible to hide his tracks. And the awkward- 
 ness of the situation resided in the fact that he had 
 become already suspect, "ear-marked" by the Chan- 
 cellor, who had now begun to strike. There was evi- 
 dently room here for reflection. 
 
 He turned his attention to the pearl. The case must 
 have been slipped into his pocket surreptitiously while 
 he was in the Prince's hotel. He remembered that the 
 unknown young man had left the room for a few min- 
 utes, and had returned in smiling spirits. The young 
 man fascinated him, as he had begun to fascinate him 
 from the other side of Von Hauser's table. And he was 
 Albrecht ! Assuredly, there seemed to be something 
 in the Chancellor's contention, and Fate was pushing 
 him pertinaciously and irrevocably into the camp of 
 the conspirators. If Count Cavari had begun to move,
 
 174 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 as appeared likely, would not the obnoxious English- 
 man be among the proscribed ? Temple was, of course, 
 unaware of the Chancellor's design against him and 
 of its frustration by the Regent. But he saw fully 
 the risk he ran, and decided to make the necessary 
 moves on the chessboard to meet it. He reclothed 
 himself and sat into the morning writing; and what 
 he had written he carefully folded into two envelopes, 
 one of which was addressed to the British Consul 
 at Eisenburg and the other to an important Member 
 of Parliament in England. Both letters, which were 
 written on private paper and contained documents 
 and information for provisional use in an emergency, he 
 posted himself ere he retired for the night. As he un- 
 dressed for the second time his mind swung back to 
 Albrecht and to Lasheim, and he was troubled by 
 vague thoughts of little Kuss. Heavily among his 
 dreams moved little Kuss. 
 
 In the morning he took his resolution at once. All 
 fingers were pointing in one direction. There was the 
 Baron's invitation, there was the beautiful May weather, 
 there was the odd adventure over-night, and there was 
 yes, he was honest enough to accept among his reasons 
 that last one. Eisenburg had emptied itself for him, 
 and he was drawn by a certain vague sentiment, an 
 aberrant "rotten romantic feeling," as he phrased it, 
 to Waldthal. At any rate, he left Eisenburg before 
 midday in a slow train and ascended the valley in a 
 holiday mood. He established himself in his old quar- 
 ters in the Hotel du Cerf, and was made welcome with 
 pleasure but without any effusion by Maillac. Dinner 
 in the room over the babbling Larche in the fall of the 
 day was exquisite ; the lilac of the Wolfgangs was aflower
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 175 
 
 superbly in the gardens, and guelder roses and syringas 
 whitened the shrubberies. Maillac, pleasant gossip, 
 dribbled out his news at table. 
 
 Monsieur was aware that the Court was at Waldthal ? 
 It was said that Eisenburg air did not agree with the 
 little Grand Duke. Monsieur could understand that, 
 since his Highness had been born in the hills. Wald- 
 thal was his native air, and there he would naturally 
 flourish. Her Highness the Regent was devoted. It 
 was the best thing ever done to invest her with that 
 august authority. His Excellency the Chancellor was 
 in residence. His Excellency was looking rather white 
 and careworn. 
 
 "I have no doubt he has plenty of responsibiity on 
 his shoulders," observed Monsieur, carefully selecting 
 his liqueur. 
 
 "Monsieur, terrible!" Maillac threw up his hands 
 in an expressive gesture. "It is said that he is much 
 troubled with these malcontents, these revolutionary 
 ingrates of the nether Odenstock" he lowered his 
 voice, and looked round " his Honor the Baron's 
 estates. They are foolish people, and ungrateful. They 
 expect everything to go well always." Every one knew 
 that was impossible. 
 
 Temple wondered how far^fhe escape of Prince Al- 
 brecht would contribute to the increased cares of the 
 Chancellor. He must, he reflected, be by this time in 
 full possession of the story, and would, doubtless, learn 
 shortly, if he had not already learned, the identity of 
 the man in a motor-car. Again his mind was deflected 
 tangentially to little Kuss. He had an uneasy feeling 
 about little Kuss as he looked back over his various 
 meetings with the clerk.
 
 176 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Baron Favrinck had definitely referred to a shoot- 
 ing party, and to Temple had come prepared. He had 
 bought the necessary arms in Eisenburg, and he had 
 also his fishing-tackle. As the weather held still, the 
 day following his arrival he resolved to try his luck in 
 the pools of the upper Larche. The road to the Oden- 
 stock left the highway to the French frontier, and struck 
 southward towards the gorges about a mile out of 
 Waldthal, and some distance from the Castle. Here 
 he was driving his rustic cart towards a mill which 
 Maillac had recommended as a rendezvous, when he 
 came upon the Regent riding with her attendants. 
 There was a company of five or six, besides grooms, and 
 the cavalcade made quite an imposing picture against 
 the green of the wooded hill. There was an appalling 
 incongruity between it and the farmer's cart which 
 Temple was driving; but it did not appear that the 
 Princess was aware of it. After the first glance of sur- 
 prise she bowed as he saluted, and reined in, much to 
 the evident astonishment of her entourage. 
 
 "You have not, then, exhausted the beauties of Eisen- 
 burg, Sir Philip?" she said. 
 
 He indicated the fishing-tackle in the cart with a 
 smile as he answered lightly: 
 
 "I hope to exhaust the Larche of some beauties 
 before sunset." 
 
 "Yes," she mused, smiling, "I remember things so 
 well in England. It was always that sort of thing. But 
 there are more important things in life," she said, with 
 a sigh. "I don't know that you English ever realize 
 that fully." 
 
 "I can understand there may be things much more 
 important," said Temple, looking over her head at
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 177 
 
 the Castle in the distance " even for me, certainly 
 for you," he added. 
 
 "I have heard from my old friend the Duke of Col- 
 lingham," she said, after a momentary pause. "He 
 is coming to Eisenburg to take the bodies of his son 
 and daughter-in-law back to England. They lie in 
 the churchyard yonder. A melancholy journey, poor 
 old man ! He was ill at the time and could not come. 
 That horrible night !" Her brows bent. "It is strange 
 after all these years that we should meet so, is n't it ? 
 I hope he will stay at the Castle." 
 
 Temple murmured something sympathetic. "My 
 mother mentioned that he had called on her the other 
 day," he added. 
 
 The Princess looked at him alertly. " Your mother ! " 
 
 "My mother reigns in my stead at Templemore, 
 while I trifle," he explained, laughing. "She wants 
 me back, and I must go soon." 
 
 " She wants you back," she repeated. " I can under- 
 stand. Perhaps you should go." Her memory followed 
 up its thread, and she saw the thin-lipped, pallid Chan- 
 cellor facing the storm as she flashed the deportation 
 order before him. 
 
 "After exhausting the beauties of the Larche," he 
 suggested. 
 
 The Princess inclined her head, and rode off in the 
 circle of her attendants, and he drove on, though he 
 turned his body to look after them till they disappeared 
 round a bend in the road. The streams offered him 
 good sport, and he made a full basket. He lunched in 
 the open, under the feathery larches, off sandwiches 
 and a pint of wine ; and he whipped the pools right up 
 one of the gorges until the Larche was merely a torrent,
 
 178 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 and the shadows of evening were lengthening on the 
 hills. Then he decided to "call" on Baron Favrinck, 
 whose chateau of Demarne overlooked this gorge, and 
 to leave some trout upon him by way of a visiting card. 
 As he entered the park his mind engaged in a com- 
 parison between it and his own place of Templemore. 
 His thoughts returned with renewed force to Somerset- 
 shire and his mother, passing in their swift flight over 
 the forests and mountains of Eisenburg, over the vine- 
 yard valleys, the Castle of Waldthal. . . . 
 
 For a moment they hung there, and then went on. 
 He drew deep breaths of the spring air, and found it good ; 
 his full basket swung at his side. And there were the 
 unexplored woods and the hunting of the boar. He 
 reached the grim house with these considerations in 
 his mind. He had not thought to find Baron Favrinck 
 at home, but it appeared that he was, and Temple was 
 conducted through a long corridor into a spacious and 
 lofty chamber with blackened oak beams. At a table 
 sat the Baron, writing. He rose on his guest's entrance, 
 extended a hand in welcome, and admired the fish 
 lightly. 
 
 "Yes, we have good-sized trout in our streams," he 
 said. "These mountain trout are much the best to 
 eat. They lack the muddy flavor of the low plains." 
 
 Across the floor they chatted in this easy, social way 
 for a few minutes, and then the Baron rose. 
 
 "I have something I should like to show you," he 
 said with bluff graciousness, and Temple followed 
 where he led without a word. 
 
 Somewhere in the rear of the house, as he conjectured, 
 Baron Favrinck turned the handle of a door, and ushered 
 him into a large raftered room. It was probably of
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 179 
 
 mediaeval date, and its prevailing character and color 
 were resolutely mediaeval. The oak walls were hung 
 with ancient firearms, with swords and bucklers, with 
 casques and morions, and all the apparatus of a dead 
 chivalry. Suits of armor stood here and there elevated 
 on small platforms, like men-at-arms holding lance and 
 spear, the hollow, empty-ringing cases of departed 
 warriors, not even haunted by the ghosts of the past. 
 The floor was free and unencumbered, an ample space, 
 and benches ran crosswise at either end as if for the 
 accommodation of spectators. To Temple the place 
 bore the obvious aspect of a salle d'armes. He gazed 
 about him with interest. The Baron shut the door. 
 
 "Do you fence?" he asked. 
 
 "I have done so," replied the Englishman, "though 
 I am not an expert." 
 
 " Try a bout," said the Baron shortly, and took down 
 two foils from the wall. 
 
 Temple smilingly accepted one, and doffed his coat. 
 The two exchanged passes briskly for a little while, 
 and then suddenly and unexpectedly the Baron disen- 
 gaged and drew off. 
 
 "Did you learn in London?" he asked, and receiv- 
 ing an answer in the affirmative, gave an expressive 
 "Ah!" 
 
 " I think you had me at your mercy then," remarked 
 Sir Philip amiably. 
 
 The Baron grunted. " Half a dozen times," he said, 
 putting up his foil. "You were dead and done for 
 from the first. It was easy to see from the way you 
 shaped. Can you shoot ?" 
 
 Now, no man, however amiable, and particularly 
 if he be young, likes to have his prowess at games
 
 180 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 of skill and sport treated with open contempt, and 
 Temple was somewhat nettled. 
 
 "A little," he answered dryly. 
 
 Favrinck walked to a table on which were some cases, 
 and returned with two revolvers. 
 
 " This is a small bore, but a true one," he said, offering 
 Temple cartridges. " Shall we take thirty paces ? " 
 
 He strode down the length of the room, and pulled 
 out from the wall what appeared at first sight to be an 
 easel. When he had rolled it on its wheels into the 
 center of the room Temple perceived it to be a small 
 target. The Baron, having made this disposition, 
 came back. He spoke now as curtly as ever. 
 
 "This mark is thirty paces. Try your weapon." 
 
 Temple was a crack shot in the stubble, and he had 
 also seen training in the Militia. He lifted his arm 
 indifferently and fired. The somber eyes of the Baron 
 followed the shot. 
 
 " Good a bull's-eye," he said. 
 
 He lifted his own revolver and fired, obtaining a 
 bull's-eye. Temple replied, and again scored a bull's- 
 eye. The Baron followed with the same fortune; and 
 the Englishman's third shot also went home. Favrinck 
 dropped his weapon upon a table. 
 
 " Pray be seated, Sir Philip," he said, in another tone 
 of voice. "I should like a talk with you." 
 
 Temple stared at him curiously. He had begun to 
 wonder at the eccentric behavior of his host. After 
 all, it was somewhat childish play in which they had 
 been indulging. He stared and saw a grim, set mask 
 facing him with dusky eyes. 
 
 "You came to Waldthal owing to an accident some 
 weeks ago, Sir Philip Temple," said the Baron. " You
 
 THE BOAK OF THE ODENSTOCK 181 
 
 are still here. Am I to take it that it is the beauty of 
 our grand-duchy that keeps you here?" 
 
 "My dear sir," responded the Englishman sharply, 
 "you may assume what you like." 
 
 The Baron nodded. " I have already assumed that," 
 he said, "as have others. The fact is, Sir Philip, your 
 presence here is not considered desirable." 
 
 Temple let a slight pause ensue. The scene before 
 the Chancellor rebuilt itself for him in that moment. 
 He was suspected by both parties. 
 
 "Is not considered desirable by Baron Favrinck?" 
 he suggested. 
 
 " That is quite sufficient," said the other. 
 
 "Then," said Temple with dry sarcasm, "as I am 
 not wanted by Baron Favrinck, it is quite clear that I 
 must leave the country." 
 
 "It is too late for that," said the Baron harshly. 
 
 "What is it you mean?" inquired the Englishman, 
 with a frown. 
 
 " If you had gone earlier I would not have objected. 
 I would have wiped the matter out, to save argument. 
 But it is too late. Look you, Sir Philip, on what grounds 
 you meddle with our affairs I neither know nor care. 
 It suffices for m< that you do. You are, so far as I 
 see, a confidential agent of the Palace. If you are not 
 I don't care. I can't take any risks." 
 
 Temple smiled. The situation had its amusing face. 
 
 "I am supposed to be employed by Count Cavari to 
 keep an eye on Baron Favrinck?" he asked. 
 
 His smile ruffled the calm of the older man. 
 
 "You entered Eisenburg at a critical moment," 
 he retorted, with some ferocity of manner. "You have 
 been associated with the Palace, you have been seen
 
 182 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 with Palace spies, and there was that occasion when 
 you pretended to have blundered into our room. The 
 result of that is here and now," he said, stormily dashing 
 his huge hand on the table. " We have reason to be- 
 lieve that warrants have been issued for the arrest of 
 certain people, and I am informed to-day that an attempt 
 was made to put one of the warrants into force last 
 night. It follows directly on your appearance at the 
 rooms in the Platz. I tell you, sir, the time has gone 
 by for your withdrawal. You must go in another way, 
 and now!" 
 
 He thundered on the last word, and his moody eyes 
 gleamed red. It was the boar of the Odenstock now 
 at last, with his bristles and his savage eyes and his 
 tusks. Temple was conscious of the difficulties of the 
 position. It was absurd, of course, but so were the 
 Middle Ages ; and the Middle Ages were also barbarous. 
 He was in an atmosphere of medievalism in that room. 
 His mind and his body grew taut suddenly. 
 
 "You propose," said he, "because of these sus- 
 picions of yours to kill me now?" 
 
 "Yes," said the Boar. "But you have your chance. 
 You are no good with the rapier. You could not have 
 survived ten passes I proved that. You have your 
 chance with the pistols. You 're a pretty shot. Thirty 
 paces." 
 
 "And if," said Temple, "I am fortunate enough to 
 kill you?" 
 
 "There is a door at the end of the room into the 
 shrubbery and the forest. Never fear, no one of the 
 servants dares interfere with my orders. You will be 
 safe. And as for me," he smiled grimly, "I shan't 
 care in that event what happens in Eisenburg,"
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 183 
 
 His manner showed no sign of anticipating such 
 a fate. He was a confident boar. Temple's blood 
 ran warmer in a swift wave of anger. 
 
 "I protest. This is preposterous," he declared 
 hotly. "Why should I unnecessarily expose my life 
 because of your groundless and ludicrous suspicions ? 
 I know no more of your politics than I care for them. 
 A plague on both your houses !" he ended furiously. 
 
 But, furious as he was, he kept his nerve. The hand 
 that took the revolver from the Boar's fingers was firm 
 enough, and his will behind it all was cold and strong. 
 
 " One shot at thirty paces will suffice," said the Baron 
 coolly. 
 
 Temple cast a rapid glance about the room. It 
 lay in the modulated light of a late May afternoon. 
 A series of questions knocked on his consciousness, 
 beseeching entrance and answer; and at the end he 
 saw no answer for any of them only a ridiculous 
 body stretched in a ridiculous mediaeval room in silence. 
 Why was it that either he or the Baron was to serve 
 as that body? The whole thing was preposterous. 
 He was out in the valleys of the Odenstock whipping 
 for trout. He passed the cavalcade of the Princess 
 Regent. The old Duke of Collingham somehow 
 tumbled vaguely through his memory. It was a jumbled 
 memory of flashes; but when he looked down the 
 chamber and saw the Boar with his tusks he stiffened, 
 all memories suddenly shed. He was there on business, 
 looking over thirty paces with a serene and calculating 
 eye, and looking also with a certain intensity of interest 
 and anger. The Baron lifted an arm. 
 
 "That clock will strike within a minute," he said 
 in guttural English. " We will fire then."
 
 184 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Temple made no answer. His eyes were on his ad- 
 versary, intent and narrowed to that single object. 
 Outside of it there was nothing, either for eyes or 
 ears or mind. If it is possible to reduce the brain to 
 a blankness, he had accomplished it then ; the machinery, 
 as it were, had ceased. It had congealed in that act of 
 sight and waiting. Nor was the passage of time ap- 
 parent. It needs consciousness to interpret what is 
 merely a form of thought. Within the sixty seconds 
 might have been compassed an aeon or a moment. 
 Time had ceased to exist; it was empty space, in- 
 finity, nothingness. Then a sound broke on the silence, 
 and the Baron's face twitched as his glance slid to- 
 wards the opening door. In the aperture stood Count 
 von Hauser. 
 
 He took in the scene in a flash. The men stood 
 motionless at the measured distance, though no hand 
 was raised, no weapon leveled. Von Hauser moved 
 forward without speaking, and stepped into the direct 
 range between the duelists. 
 
 "I have no wish to be riddled from both sides," 
 he said, "but I fancy I may rely upon your discretion." 
 
 As he finished the clock struck. The Baron threw 
 his revolver noisily on the table, and approached, his 
 face moving ferociously. The Boar had two ene- 
 mies for his tusks. The only sign of the crisis visible 
 in Temple was a slightly longer indrawing of the 
 breath. 
 
 "I am instructed," said Von Hauser, with a little 
 ceremonious bow to Temple, "to render formally his 
 Highness's thanks for your great service to him last 
 night." 
 
 The Boar, gnashing his teeth and foaming, as we
 
 THE BOAR OF THE ODENSTOCK 185 
 
 must conceive him, stopped midway and glared out 
 of red eyes. 
 
 "What? "he roared. 
 
 Von Hauser looked at him a little coldly. "Sir 
 Philip Temple was instrumental last night, at con- 
 siderable risk to himself, in saving Prince Albrecht 
 from the secret police of the Palace." 
 
 The Baron's jaw dropped. "Caspar sent me word 
 that the warrant was issued, but I did not believe it 
 would be served. I did not think he would have dared." 
 He was silent. "Then if he has issued that warrant, 
 he would not hesitate over us." 
 
 "If it suits his purpose," said the Count. "But 
 having failed of the Prince, he may not desire to go 
 farther just now. We are possibly safe." 
 
 "Safe!" Favrinck repeated with scorn. "There 
 is no place they would dare take me. The Wolfgangs 
 know better." 
 
 "But this is Cavari, who perhaps knows worse," 
 suggested Von Hauser mildly, and turned his attention 
 to Temple. 
 
 The Baron's eyes turned with him. 
 
 "Why did you not tell this story of last night?" 
 asked the Boar abruptly. 
 
 "I fancy," said the Englishman after a moment, 
 "because I considered you incapable of compre- 
 hending." 
 
 A frown deepened on Favrinck's dark face; it was 
 almost as if the lips would lift over the fangs ; and then 
 he put back his head and burst into a loud explosion 
 of laughter. 
 
 Laughter seemed incongruous in the Boar, but 
 this was hardly laughter; it was a playful roar.
 
 186 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "What a joke! What an excellent joke!" he ex- 
 claimed. " At each other's throats all over a misappre- 
 hension ! I shall always remember that. Heavens, 
 to think of the time and temper I've wasted." 
 
 " I think," remarked Von Hauser dryly, " that Sir 
 Philip also requires some sympathy." 
 
 "He shall have his turn; he shall hunt the boar," 
 said the Baron, with his laugh. " Sir Philip, you shall 
 have a shot at me when you will." 
 
 "I wonder," said Temple, who had been listening 
 quietly "I wonder why, believing what you did, 
 you gave me a chance, why you discarded the rapier." 
 
 The Baron looked bluffly at him. "It would not 
 have been fair or equitable," he said. 
 
 "Yet you were confident of coming out right with 
 pistols," suggested Temple. 
 
 "Ah, my friend, the margin was all right," said the 
 Boar good-humoredly. "I take no risks." Which, 
 when he came to consider it, tickled Temple's fancy.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 
 
 issue of what Baron Favrinck persisted in 
 A looking upon as a humorous incident was a 
 cordial invitation to Temple. The service rendered 
 to Prince Albrecht had placed him beyond doubt in 
 the mind of the Baron, who showed a desire to make 
 up for his blunder in an access of hospitality. That 
 night he insisted that Temple should stay to dine, and 
 afterwards he had him driven in safety and comfort 
 to the Hotel du Cerf . Temple gathered that Favrinck 
 lived almost in feudal state, with retainers sworn to 
 his suzerainty. A large tract of country in the south, of 
 which the center was Montrais, owed allegiance to 
 him. It was that which made him what he was, the 
 most powerful subject in Eisenburg, and it was that 
 which gave force and danger to his support of Prince 
 Albrecht. The government had made a move, but it 
 had missed its object owing to the accident of Temple's 
 interference. Prince Albrecht had escaped the trap laid 
 for him, and would, no doubt, show more wariness in 
 the future. 
 
 "He should never have ventured. I warned him 
 of the rashness," declared Von Hauser, "though I did 
 not suspect Cavari of the courage to strike so." 
 
 "He is a machine; that is why he strikes. He had 
 it all cut and dried," said the Baron.
 
 188 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 But Von Hauser doubted. "There is more than 
 that in it. If it is cut and dried he will proceed against 
 me possibly against you." The Baron growled. 
 "But he has not stirred after the failure. I passed 
 safely and openly through the streets of Eisenburg 
 this morning. He does not want me, at all events with- 
 out the Prince. And, moreover, he could prove nothing 
 where I am concerned. But you, my friend " 
 
 "I will walk unarmed and naked in the streets, and 
 none will dare stay me," said the Baron stormily. 
 
 Von Hauser shrugged his shoulders, and turned to 
 Temple. 
 
 "I fear, Sir Philip, that you will not increase your 
 popularity by this latest adventure," he said. " You 
 were already deep in his Excellency's black books." 
 
 "Sir Philip shall have guarantees; he shall be pro- 
 tected as a guest of mine," said Favrinck, in his feudal 
 way. "I will set him a bodyguard. No man shall 
 suffer as guest of mine. Moreover," he said, reverting 
 to his laughter, "I owe him as much." 
 
 But all that Sir Philip would accept was the car- 
 riage to Waldthal. He refused courteously the offer 
 of a bodyguard, which he found was seriously intended, 
 but was obliged to accept the further hospitality of 
 the Baron. He was commanded to stay at the chateau, 
 and consented to transfer himself and his belongings 
 in the course of the next few days. 
 
 Nothing of any moment happened in those next days. 
 The Chancellor made no sign, and Von Hauser dis- 
 appeared ; the Baron journeyed to his Montrais estates ; 
 Temple continued to explore the Odenstock with rod 
 and gun, under the charge of an experienced forester 
 in the service of the Baron. From this man he learned
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 189 
 
 something of the place the Baron held in the esteem 
 of his tenants and lieges. He ruled paternally, an 
 autocrat of ruthless and generous habits, and none 
 questioned his authority. To his retainers he was 
 undoubtedly as great a man as any grand duke, and 
 one, moreover, who was in constant touch with them 
 and demonstrably human. 
 
 On the third day, and two days before the return of 
 the Baron, Temple met the Princess again. It was 
 in one of the roads of the lower Odenstock, and she 
 was, as before, in the company of her retinue and ahorse. 
 History did not repeat itself. Temple, on thinking it over 
 at night, was unable to determine if she had avoided 
 seeing him on purpose, or if it had happened in the 
 press of her entourage. At any rate, the cavalcade 
 swept by without so much as a greeting, and left him 
 a solitary pedestrian looking after it. 
 
 It was, of course, impossible for him to have been 
 in the Castle the previous afternoon and present at a 
 meeting between the Regent and the Chancellor. If 
 he had been it would have shed light on the situation. 
 Count Cavari had requested an audience, and laid 
 before her Highness various matters of state in that 
 civil, formal, and prosaic way of his. The Princess 
 signed certain documents at spots he indicated, and 
 received information relating to vital political affairs, 
 notably Prince Albrecht. The Chancellor's report hav- 
 ing been delivered up to this point, he made a small 
 pause, and then went on. 
 
 " The failure to seize the person of the Prince has, of 
 course, placed us in a difficulty." 
 
 "I was against it," interrupted the Princess hastily. 
 "But you overruled me."
 
 190 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 The Chancellor bowed his assent. "I explained 
 my cogent reasons to your Highness. If we secured 
 the Prince we practically nipped the conspiracy in 
 the bud. Without him it could not flower, and the 
 proofs in my hands were strong enough to enable us 
 to take that drastic course. There could have been no 
 trouble with Germany in the circumstances. The 
 Powers would have understood and sympathized with 
 us, a small and independent State resolved to protect 
 itself from filibusterers. The Prince was actually in 
 Eisenburg meeting his fellow-conspirators, and would 
 have been seized in the act had the coup come off. 
 Your Highness will see the strength of our position. 
 Your Highness admitted it." 
 
 "Yes," said the Princess impatiently, "if it had 
 succeeded. But it failed." 
 
 The Chancellor turned over some papers in his hand. 
 " I am in a position to say how it was it failed," he said 
 deliberately. "The car which rescued the Prince has 
 been traced, and it is found that it was one hired by 
 Sir Philip Temple." 
 
 Though he did not appear to look he was scanning 
 the Princess's face, and the sudden change on it was 
 noted by him. He had kept this piece of news pur- 
 posely from her for a dramatic moment. He had, of 
 course, known all along to what agency the escape of 
 the Prince must be ascribed, but he feigned now to 
 have discovered it only after inquiry in order to en- 
 hance the effect of his thunderbolt. The Princess's 
 face was an open register of her emotions. 
 
 "This cannot be possible," she said, after a moment. 
 
 "I'm afraid it is true," said the Chancellor. "The 
 description of the car tallies, also the description of
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 191 
 
 the hirer. The evidence of the hotel proprietor puts 
 it beyond doubt. Sir Philip hired a car that night to go 
 to Lasheim. He was seen later in Lasheim and in 
 Eisenburg on his return by one of my agents." 
 
 Unexpectedly the Princess turned on him. "He 
 has been watched by your spies, Count. How long is 
 this system of espionage to go on? I am sick of it. 
 Spies ! Spies ! Spies !" She beat her foot on the floor 
 restlessly, and frowned. 
 
 The Chancellor's face remained impassive. He felt 
 that he was winning, and he knew enough of woman 
 to realize that the worst thing at that juncture he could 
 do would be to exculpate himself or to argue. 
 
 " It is very regrettable. I deplore it," he murmured. 
 
 "What is it you want then?" demanded the Princess 
 presently. 
 
 "I think it is advisable to have Sir Philip watched 
 carefully," said he, cautiously feeling his way. "He 
 went direct from the rescue of the Prince to Waldthal, 
 and has been seen at Baron Favrinck's chateau." 
 
 Again the Princess was silent for a time. "If I 
 
 thought you were right " she began slowly, and 
 
 there ceased. "Count, why do you not arrest that 
 man?" she demanded suddenly. "You have proofs, 
 you say." 
 
 "If I arrested the Baron with the Prince still in the 
 field, your Highness, I should have a hornet's nest 
 about me. The Prince disposed of, I can do what I 
 like with the others. There is no rallying-point. I 
 do not say," he went on more slowly, "that I have 
 sufficiently clear evidence in the case of Baron Fa- 
 vrinck to put his complicity beyond doubt. And if 
 there was a doubt it would raise Montrais and the
 
 192 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 southern canton. Give me Albrecht," he ended grimly, 
 " and I '11 answer for the rest. But he escaped." 
 
 Their eyes encountered, and the Princess was angry 
 with him as she realized that he knew she understood 
 what he intended to convey. It was this Englishman 
 who was responsible for the disaster to their diplomatic 
 game. Albrecht was safe in German territory, and the 
 stranger had dealt their statecraft the severest possible 
 blow. The Princess rose to indicate the close of the 
 audience. "Your Excellency will kindly report to me 
 further to-morrow," she said. 
 
 Knowing something of the character of English peo- 
 ple, she instinctively distrusted the Chancellor's inter- 
 pretation of Temple's intervention. Doubtless he had 
 spoiled a striking coup d'etat, which was enough to 
 bring upon himself the severest displeasure of those 
 responsible for government. But she could not believe 
 that he was a party to the plot which they had only too 
 good reason to suppose was being secretly hatched 
 against the present dynasty. And so, although she 
 would not have signed that deportation order which 
 the Chancellor still carried among his papers, and had 
 not yet ventured to present again, she removed her 
 favor from the Englishman, passing him by with stern 
 and lofty coldness which left him chagrined and hurt 
 and bewildered. 
 
 It was not long, as may be conceived, before he real- 
 ized what had happened. The news of his connection 
 with the Albrecht episode had reached her. The Chan- 
 cellor had his revenge in part, and he was to gain a 
 further triumph that same afternoon. He reported 
 to her Highness, according to command; and among 
 other matters this :
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 193 
 
 "In reference to the affair of the Englishman, Sir 
 Philip Temple, it has been discovered that he is to be 
 the guest of Baron Favrinck from the day after to- 
 morrow, together with it is supposed Count von 
 Hauser." 
 
 "Von Hauser!" Alise repeated, and looked down, 
 her long dark bronze lashes veiling her beautiful eyes 
 for a moment. 
 
 "If this thould prove so," she said, in a hard voice, 
 "I should begin to think your view was correct, Count 
 I should begin to think that some step was needed." 
 
 There was no triumph visible on the Count's face as 
 he assured her of the correctness of his information. 
 "The Baron is at Montrais," he added. "Count von 
 Hauser is in Berlin, but returns to-morrow, we under- 
 stand. It looks like a prearranged meeting." 
 
 "If it is that there will be necessity for action," said 
 Alise very slowly. " Will your Excellency kindly report 
 to-morrow?" 
 
 His Excellency saluted, the smile that was not visible 
 upon his face illuminating his heart as he moved to- 
 wards the door. The voice of the Regent stopped him. 
 
 " Will you give me the pleasure of your company at 
 dinner to-night, Count?" she said. "I have a guest 
 I should like to honor, one who was good to me when 
 a child, the Duke of Collingham." 
 
 Nothing was visible again on his Excellency's white 
 face, but there was an obvious interval before his reply 
 came, and there was a subtle change in the voice. It 
 had lost temporarily its measured, formal quality. 
 
 " I shall be glad to obey your Highness's command," 
 he said. "I did not know you had guests." 
 
 "The Duke is to arrive this afternoon. He comes
 
 194 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 on the sad mission of removing his son's body to Eng- 
 land, to the family mausoleum." 
 
 "A sad mission indeed," murmured his Excellency, 
 and completed his exit. 
 
 Once in his rooms, he summoned a secretary sharply. 
 
 " Why was I not informed of the arrival of the Duke 
 of Collingham?" he demanded in a dry, clear voice. 
 
 "Your Excellency, there is no such arrival," replied 
 the secretary. 
 
 "Let me have the reports of the railway agents," 
 said the chief, and when they were brought he examined 
 them carefully. They contained the names of travelers 
 entering Eisenburg by the two main lines, and the 
 Duke's name was not among them. The explanation 
 was probably that the Duke had not crossed the fron- 
 tier at the time of the reports. His name would follow. 
 But it would be too late. The Chancellor had learned 
 it from the Regent. The Duke was to be her guest ! 
 To every triumph there is always the possibility of a 
 countervailing defeat. 
 
 The white-haired Duke arrived an hour later at 
 Waldthal Station, and it was after he had made the 
 stranger's acquaintance and was retiring for the night 
 that the Chancellor received the railway agents' report 
 in which the guest's name figured. Cavari had found 
 him a quiet, courteous gentleman with rather a slow 
 manner and a melancholy expression. He did not esti- 
 mate the Duke's intelligence very highly. At the din- 
 ner he gathered that his Grace's stay was for two or 
 three days only, and that he was to be the guest of the 
 Princess Regent for that time. The conversation did 
 not touch painful topics. The Princess recalled her 
 childish impression of her guest and of his beautiful
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 195 
 
 country place; and the Duke spoke of a frank-eyed, 
 white-robed little girl whom he had found wandering 
 in the portrait-gallery, and who had ingenuously in- 
 quired of him, "How long has your house ruled the 
 country?" 
 
 The Princess laughed. "Did I say that? How 
 rude and pert !" 
 
 " The exact place held by the English peerage is often 
 a puzzle to Continentals," said the Chancellor, joining 
 in. And then followed some discussion of international 
 usages. Later in the evening, ere the Duke took leave 
 of his hostess he put an inquiry to her. 
 
 " The son of an old friend of mine is somewhere here, 
 I 'm told Sir Philip Temple." 
 
 " Yes, I believe he is here," said the Princess, after 
 a pause. "At Waldthal, I understand." 
 
 She would have volunteered further information and 
 even have offered the aegis of her hospitality to both 
 strangers twenty-four hours before. Now she re- 
 frained. The Duke might "look up" his countryman 
 if he wished on his own account. 
 
 This was what the Duke did on the following after- 
 noon. Maintaining a brave appearance of stalwart 
 age against the advancing forces of decay, the old 
 gentleman took the road by the outer circle of the park 
 to the village. He passed near by where Temple had 
 experienced his ludicrous arrest a few weeks earlier, 
 and, like Temple, he too had his followers. These, 
 however, were not police-officers, but no other than 
 little Kuss and a companion, who chatted equably as 
 they walked and kept his Grace in sight. They followed 
 him into the village, and watched him disappear into 
 the Hotel du Cerf.
 
 196 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Now as to what took place in the Hotel du Cerf 
 between the two Englishmen neither little Kuss nor 
 his master might know. In fact, the former made no 
 attempt to discover. He left his duller companion as 
 sentry, and himself retreated post-haste to the Castle, 
 where his news was communicated to his Excellency. 
 
 After Kuss left the Chancellor's rooms with certain 
 instructions that were hardly clerical, his Excellency 
 remained at his seat by his writing-table for a quarter 
 of an hour, with his head supported on his hands, 
 gazing at the paper before him and seeing nothing. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Englishmen, who were strangers to 
 each other, greeted one another cordially in the Hotel 
 du Cerf. Lady Augusta was the link between them, 
 and it was impossible for Philip Temple not to be in- 
 terested in the personality of a man who had been a 
 suitor for his mother's hand. To him at thirty-five 
 it seemed so very far away, and incredible. He could 
 think of his mother only as his mother, and not as a 
 blushing debutante beset by wooers. He regarded 
 the stricken, handsome face of the older generation 
 before him with a compassion as well as interest, remem- 
 bering the errand which had brought the Duke. Be- 
 tween these two men, as between the Princess and her 
 guest, no mention was made of the tragedy. If the 
 Duke was strong enough to bear it, Temple was n't, 
 and so it passed. The talk ran on Templemore, Lady 
 Augusta, Eisenburg, its domestic affairs, and the 
 Princess. 
 
 " It is," reflected the Duke, " a terrible responsibility 
 for a young woman." 
 
 Temple agreed. "But she has apparently both 
 courage and spirit," he said.
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 197 
 
 "I should judge both," assented the Duke. "I 
 remember her as a child quite well. She came with 
 her aunt, the Duchess of Carazza. I suppose she was 
 just in her teens. She cannot be more than four-and- 
 twenty now," he ventured. 
 
 Temple thought she was five-and-twenty. "She 
 has other than German blood in her, which explains 
 her vivacity. There is the South in her blood." 
 
 "Yes; her aunt the Duchess was a wonderfully 
 beautiful woman." The Duke paused and looked out 
 on the hills beyond the babbling Larche. "You 
 have a pretty country here," he remarked, and his 
 eyes, falling from their flight, descended upon the 
 Church of St. Michael and the churchyard. The old 
 face winced. "Do you stay long?" he asked, turning 
 away from the window. 
 
 " I have no fixed plans," answered the younger man. 
 "I am getting an insight into the country." 
 
 "Its politics?" queried the Duke. "Ah, I under- 
 stand they are feverish. Isn't there a Pretender?" 
 
 " Yes," said Temple. " I fancy the situation 's inter- 
 esting, but I 'm only an outsider." He too looked up 
 at the hills in his turn. "To-morrow I am to pay a visit 
 to Baron Favrinck, rather a picturesque figure, as I 
 have reason to know." 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 "He is mediaeval, and he is in the mesh of politics. 
 He is one of the enigmas of Eisenburg, and, I believe, 
 is favorable to the Pretender. He is known as the Boar 
 of the Odenstock, a name which fits him personally, 
 though derived from his cognizance." 
 
 "The Boar!" the Duke repeated. "How odd! 
 It is our crest also, a boar rampant passant. It would
 
 198 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 be a mistake, Sir Philip, to become involved in local 
 intrigues, wouldn't it?" he asked in a kindly and 
 almost paternal manner. 
 
 "It would be a great mistake unless it were worth 
 any one's while," assented Temple. "I suppose it is 
 worth Baron Favrinck's while." 
 
 After some further exchanges, and a return to the 
 topic of Lady Augusta, the two men parted. The 
 Duke left for England the next day, and Temple saw 
 him off. 
 
 "I have done what I came for," he said, towards 
 the end. "I felt I could not rest until it was accom- 
 plished. There are those lines of Tennyson's, you 
 know: 
 
 To us, the fools of habit, sweeter seems . . .' 
 
 It was his due." 
 
 It was his only reference to his mission. Temple's 
 heart was sore for the lonely old man, and, touched 
 with his emotion, he would have made some vain but 
 kindly reply, when the Duke's gray face brightened. 
 
 " Dear me, there is the Princess ! I did not expect 
 
 her to " He broke off, rising from his seat and 
 
 descending weakly to the platform. "This is a 
 most unexpected and most appreciated honor, your 
 Highness." 
 
 His hat took a long sweep as he bowed after the 
 old style. 
 
 "Did you think I was going to let you steal away 
 like this?" demanded a cheerful, impulsive voice, as 
 Sir Philip turned. " Not if I had to break into a Council 
 meeting. But luckily we finished in time." 
 
 Her tell-tale eyes leaped to Temple, and froze. She
 
 THE REGENT'S GUEST 199 
 
 bowed stiffly to his salutation. How could he have 
 guessed that she had been on the point of signing his 
 deportation order at the Council an hour since? 
 
 She chatted with the Duke until the train went, 
 and Temple fell into the background and waited. He 
 said good-bye at the last to his countryman and moved 
 away, passing within a little of the Princess and her 
 lady-in-waiting. Outside the station he met the Chan- 
 cellor, and thought he looked worn and old as he 
 saluted him. His Excellency made a gesture showing 
 that he wished to speak, and Temple stopped. 
 
 "I want, Sir Philip, to renew my suggestion given 
 a week ago," he said, in tones unusually harsh. 
 
 "You did not approve of the air of Eisenburg for 
 my health, wasn't it?" inquired Philip, smiling. 
 
 "It can be put that way. Your actions since have 
 increased the unhealthiness of the climate." 
 
 "I rather appreciate the air. It is invigorating," 
 said Philip mildly. 
 
 " It may be too stimulating," replied the Chancellor, 
 "particularly on the hills." He waved a hand towards 
 the Odenstock. 
 
 "Oh, I don't know," said Philip indifferently. 
 
 The Chancellor moistened his gray lips. "It was 
 my duty to warn you in view of a certain service which, 
 however, may be now considered counterbalanced." 
 
 "It is a service I have never put into the balance," 
 rejoined the Englishman, as he lifted his hat and turned 
 on his heel.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 * 
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 
 
 ODO, Baron Favrinck, arrived from Montrais on 
 the following afternoon, and on the morning of 
 the same day Count von Hauser hurriedly left Berlin 
 with astonishing news for his confederate. Philip 
 Temple lunched at his inn, and sent on his luggage in 
 the Baron's carriage to the Odenstock in the after- 
 noon. He felt now that he was so far a suspect that it 
 was hardly worth while paying heed to appearances. 
 The Chancellor menaced him overtly, the Princess 
 ignored him, and he was under close espionage. He 
 had begun to understand little Kuss ever since that 
 night affair in Lasheim. Kuss had been about the 
 village for the past three days, and he had encountered 
 the little fellow once in the inn, and gravely saluted 
 him. But the espionage put Philip on his mettle, and 
 he was certainly not disposed to give up his visit to the 
 chateau because his movements were reported to Count 
 Cavari. It was, however, his luggage only that went 
 to the chateau, for he remembered that he had had no 
 letters for days, and that his correspondence was lying 
 at the poste restante in Lasheim. He did not know 
 how far the Baron's means of locomotion went, and 
 in any case he did not wish to trouble him; and so he 
 sent a telegram from Waldthal for a motor-car. He 
 would have a pleasant run through to Lasheim, get
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 201 
 
 his letters and do some shopping, and then motor back 
 to the chateau in the Odenstock. Owing to the un- 
 certainty of the hour of the Baron's arrival, his guest 
 was not due there till the evening. The car arrived 
 at four o'clock in the afternoon, and he recognized the 
 chauffeur as the man who had driven him before. 
 This was satisfactory, as it rendered explanations and 
 directions easier between them. As it was useful to 
 know the name of a servant you had found obliging, 
 Philip inquired it, and found that the man was called 
 Marken. He mounted the car behind Marken, and 
 waving his hand in farewell to Maillac, drove off down 
 the valley. At Eisenburg he did some shopping ren- 
 dered necessary by his prolonged stay, and then set 
 out for Lasheim. This time the journey was made in 
 daylight, and as he went the landscape was open to 
 him. They ran through the vineyards across the Effel, 
 and through the low-lying country on the German 
 border, reaching Lasheim between six and seven. 
 Arrived there, he went to the post-office to secure his 
 letters, and ordered a light refection at an hotel. 
 Over this he perused his correspondence. It had 
 accumulated for some days, and was bulky; but, as 
 he had taken the precaution on last writing to see that 
 no circulars or unnecessary rubbish reached him abroad, 
 he skimmed through it and gathered the gist fairly 
 quickly. There were letters from Lady Augusta, from 
 his man of business, the usual reports from his steward, 
 personal notes and invitations, all the communications 
 to which he had been accustomed, and in the midst a 
 vile scrawl on a dirty envelope, with the most fearsome 
 misspelling of the foreign names. 
 
 He remembered what that would be, and he opened
 
 202 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 it last of all. Mrs. Jane Carver wrote to answer his 
 queries. They could hardly, however, be dignified 
 with the style of "answers," as her letter was one 
 long unfinished sentence, containing several dependent 
 or relative sentences, and a number of wandering and 
 disconsolate verbs dislocated from their proper subjects. 
 
 "... which my lady was for long at Capperton 
 House and she married my Lord Stroud him going 
 abroad with her and my daughter and I can't hear 
 what has happened to her his Grace saying he would 
 inquire but not giving hope of anything so I take the 
 liberty, kind sir, to write you this. . . ." 
 
 It was the only portion of the letter that mattered, 
 and it did matter importantly in a way. It shed light 
 on the reason of the poor woman's action in answering 
 Temple's advertisement. No longer could he set hei 
 down as half-witted or as one under the obsession of 
 an idea. She had lost her daughter in the Waldthal 
 railway accident, and her daughter had been maid to 
 Lady Stroud. How oddly in point of time the letter 
 had arrived ! Had he chosen the day previous to 
 make this excursion for his correspondence, Temple 
 reflected, he would have been able to hand this piteous 
 appeal to the Duke of Collingham, himself a man of 
 sorrows. He recalled now why the name Baystead, 
 which had arrested him, and vaguely induced him to 
 write, had been familiar ; it was the name of the Duke's 
 place in the north. He folded up the shabby piece of 
 paper and gathered his correspondence. Probably the 
 poor woman had been assured of her daughter's death, 
 and refused to believe on evidence which was not mate- 
 rialized. Certainly, he could depend upon the Duke 
 behaving sympathetically to her in her trouble. He
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 203 
 
 would write to both, and to the Duke forward this 
 touching scrawl, which was in its way a human docu- 
 ment. He paid his bill, and went out into the street, 
 where the evening air hung fine and soft with a sprinkle 
 of rain in it. A quarter of an hour later he was speed- 
 ing through the vineyards of eastern Eisenburg on his 
 way to the Odenstock. He was not aware of it, but 
 while he had rested and read his letters in the inn Count 
 von Hauser had crossed the frontier, bound to the same 
 destination as himself. 
 
 By the time the car reached Eisenburg it was growing 
 dark, and the driver lit his lamps and swung out on 
 the upper road through the valley. He had suggested 
 this to Temple as a pleasant variation on the monotony 
 of the other route, and his suggestion had been accepted. 
 Five miles farther, however, it seemed as if they had 
 made a mistake, for a man stood in the road and waved 
 a flag and his arms. He jabbered a good deal in a 
 patois which Philip could not follow, but Marken ex- 
 plained that the man was just there to inform carriage 
 traffic that the road was under repair and impassable. 
 
 "Shall we have to go back?" asked Temple. 
 
 "No, sir," replied Marken. "There is a road just 
 off here which branches into the Odenstock and joins 
 the main road farther on." 
 
 " Good, let us take that," said Philip, throwing him- 
 self back in his seat. 
 
 Marken steered the car about and took the turning. 
 The drizzle continued, but was not unpleasant, and 
 very soon they entered the forest. Here they found 
 the acetylene lights useful among the black shadows 
 of the trees, and the car slackened pace. Marken was 
 evidently a careful driver. Gradually Temple became
 
 204 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 conscious of a noise in the air, and when his senses 
 examined it he recognized it to be the noise of another 
 car. 
 
 "Some one else been diverted, Marken," he 
 suggested. 
 
 Marken supposed it was so. The noise grew behind 
 like the buzzing of a fly, as the car ascended the Oden- 
 stock road on low speed, but looking round, Temple 
 could not make out its lights. Marken suddenly changed 
 the gear and they shot out along a level piece of road. 
 Temple calculated that they must now be several 
 hundred feet above the valley, moving amid the black 
 coverts of the pines. The car hummed along, and the 
 drizzle fell; and the car behind followed zealously in 
 the wake, its lights still invisible. Presently the road 
 ran down a little descent into a void of darkness, and 
 Marken put on the brakes; halfway through the car 
 stuttered, pitched, and stopped. 
 
 "What is it?" called out Temple. 
 
 Marken was understood to say that the ignition 
 must have gone wrong. Temple sat and waited, while 
 under the bonnet the man fingered and tested. The 
 next thing that happened was that the acetylene lamps 
 went out suddenly, as if blown with a blast of wind. 
 Temple called out again, and Marken straightened 
 himself. 
 
 "I shall have to light the oil," he said. "This is a 
 bad system of carrying the acetylene. I've told the 
 firm about it." 
 
 Temple nodded; he did not mind. It was surely 
 the unfortunate Marken who should mind, if any one 
 Marken, on whom the burden of the manual work 
 and responsibility fell. And then there arose in the air
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 205 
 
 and beat all about them the droning of the car in the 
 rear. Temple looked back hastily. If they were show- 
 ing no light the people must be warned. It was only 
 a narrow road, and the wounded car was blocking it. 
 He rose in the tonneau, and as he did so was aware 
 of a black shadow bearing down upon them. The 
 car behind was without lights also ! 
 
 Swiftly he jumped to the ground, and shouted an 
 alarm. The car came to a stop abruptly a dozen yards 
 away, and out of it swiftly issued black figures. Temple, 
 standing in darkness himself, looked up towards a 
 little denser gloom, and saw them more clearly than 
 he was visible. It was the running figures that sounded 
 a warning. Why should they rush down towards the 
 injured car like footpads closing on a victim? He 
 backed, moved aside among the pines, and felt in his 
 pocket for the revolver he had carried now for some 
 time. The foremost figure had followed his movements, 
 and darted off the road with a cry to his companion. 
 Temple shrank into the abysmal blackness which the 
 trees made. Apparently this maneuver disconcerted 
 the man, for he paused, and then, realizing how fool- 
 ishly he had begun in alarming his prey, he called out : 
 
 " Sir Philip Temple ! I am the bearer of important 
 news." 
 
 Philip in the shadows was passing a finger gently 
 along the barrel of his Mauser, and no answer came 
 from him. 
 
 It was manifest to him that the position could not 
 be maintained, for he had seen three figures descend 
 from the car, and it was known that he was somewhere 
 in the clump of trees. A determined approach from 
 three quarters must inevitably discover him, which
 
 206 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 was why he held his Mauser pistol and was passing his 
 fingers along the barrel without being aware of that 
 action. Of everything without, however, he was fully 
 aware. 
 
 He was aware that one of the figures was retreating 
 towards the car, and that the others kept their places 
 one on each side of the clump of trees. He was aware, 
 too, of a lighted match in the roadway, and then of a 
 pool of light upon it; and he was aware next of a big 
 glare that fell upon the edge of the forest out of the 
 acetylene lamp. It fell upon his ambush and exhibited 
 him to his enemies as pitilessly as the sun. Even as the 
 flash came and he realized its meaning he had moved. 
 He moved almost as he was discovered, springing forth 
 at one of the waiting figures beyond the track of the 
 searchlight. His rush carried him precipitately through 
 the zone of light into darkness beyond, and took the 
 man by surprise. He had not expected so sudden and 
 decisive a movement and he was unprepared for it. 
 He put up a hand weakly, and there was a report, 
 but Temple was not deflected from his course. As he 
 passed he shot the man through the shoulder so that he 
 dropped his weapon and cried out. A shot from one 
 of the other men followed, but spent itself aimlessly in 
 the wood. Temple ran, a discernible fleeting shadow, 
 deeper into shadows. 
 
 He ran with what speed it was possible for a man in 
 rather heavy wraps to attain on a dark night and through 
 impeded and unknown country ; and in his wake streamed 
 the pursuit. The way was upwards, and the slope was 
 less thickly timbered as he progressed, which was un- 
 fortunate for the fugitive. He looked back once or 
 twice, but each time saw signs of the pursuers and did
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 207 
 
 not relax his efforts. He loosed his overcoat as he lum- 
 bered along, and would have stopped to throw it off 
 if he had dared; but the propinquity of the enemy 
 rendered this step dangerous. And so the chase went 
 on for a matter of fifteen minutes, by which time Tem- 
 ple, muscular and well trained as he was, was nearly 
 spent. The weight he had to carry dragged him down, 
 and in the darkness he staggered and stumbled over 
 unseen obstacles. Once he went down altogether, 
 and another time he was caught and nearly choked 
 by a trailing branch in the path. He recognized that 
 he could not maintain his flight if the enemy did not 
 soon tire. So far they had kept on his track persistently. 
 He wondered if it would be better to turn and make a 
 stand before his breath was quite out and his limbs 
 were wholly exhausted. He had almost decided that 
 it would be wise to do so when, taking a slight incline 
 downwards, he came upon what looked in the darkness 
 like the outlines of a tall Indian ieepee. A moment 
 later he made it out; it was a charcoal-burner's hut, 
 such as he had seen in the upper Odenstock. He paused, 
 swerved, and ran for the entrance. 
 
 Scarcely twenty yards had separated him from the 
 foremost of his pursuers, and this man now reached 
 the hut, and he too paused. The darkness had not 
 been so great as to prevent his seeing Temple's strata- 
 gem. He paused and seemed to consider. His compan- 
 ion was some thirty yards away, and Temple, recognizing 
 this, lifted his pistol. To separate and destroy a force 
 in detail was, he remembered, an axiom of warfare. 
 If he shot this man before his ally could come up, he 
 would be in a position to deal with the latter. As he 
 lifted his arm the man appeared instinctively to realize
 
 208 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 his action. He dropped down behind a tree-stump, 
 which concealed him. Temple made no foolish attempt 
 to "bag" him there, but turned his attention elsewhere. 
 He threw off his encumbering overcoat, and felt about 
 the hut with his hand. It was made of wood and water- 
 proofed with slabs of earth, was nearly circular in shape, 
 and had a small opening at the top to let out the smoke 
 of a fire. It was evidently untenanted, for he could 
 find no trace of furniture or utensil in it. Perhaps it 
 had long been deserted. 
 
 He had hardly made his investigation when the 
 second man arrived, and dropped beside his comrade. 
 The third man he supposed he had put out of action. 
 The two made no sign for a time, for which Temple 
 was thankful, as it enabled him to regain his breath. 
 Probably the two behind the tree-stump were glad to do 
 the same. But presently one of the figures appeared sil- 
 houetted against the sky for a moment, and then slowly 
 loped off in the direction from which it had arrived. 
 Clearly they had decided upon some plan of campaign, 
 and until he returned there was to be a truce. Temple 
 with an eye on the stump resumed his exploration of 
 the hut. With his knife he cut into the earth and timber 
 in the rear, and though the impression on that conglom- 
 erate was not deep, he saw that it needed only sufficient 
 time to open a hole at the back. He set himself to do 
 this at once, and had succeeded in removing most of the 
 earth in a gap between two stout stakes when his at- 
 tention was engaged by a movement at the tree-stump. 
 The man hidden there had left his post and was creeping 
 away to the back and out of Temple's line of sight. 
 This maneuver alarmed him. Should he fire and 
 chance the risk of losing one of his precious cartridges ?
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 209 
 
 The ground was uneven and offered plenty of oppor- 
 tunities for cover, so that the probabilities were against 
 his finding the mark. But, on the other hand, it was 
 hazardous to lose sight of his man. He fired and 
 brought the figure to a halt; his shot must have gone 
 close, for it evidently frightened the man, who fell 
 behind a bush. And thus they remained for ten minutes 
 more in which only the silence and night prevailed. 
 At the end of that time a flash of light fell on the immedi- 
 ate foreground and traveled towards the hut. It was 
 the searchlight, for which the second man had doubt- 
 less returned to the car. Voices were heard in excited 
 talk, and Temple tried to make out the newcomer, but 
 all that was clear was that he had come by higher 
 ground and was now above the level of the hut's door- 
 way. The shafts of the light raked the wretched cabin, 
 and, creeping farther round as the man moved, dazzled 
 Temple. He was in the full glare of it unexpectedly 
 now, and he fired straight at the distant focus; but his 
 eyes were blinded, and it was like firing into lightning. 
 He missed. There rang out on his report another, and 
 he guessed what they intended. He was a fair target 
 now for any marksman. Happily this was not a marks- 
 man, for the bullet imbedded itself in the earth of the 
 hovel. Temple withdrew into the recesses, which shut 
 him off from seeing what went on without. The hut 
 was alive with light, and the oppressive glare swallowed 
 up everything else. There was nothing but light in 
 the place, light and dazzlement. It was fiendish. The 
 plight was desperate. Under cover of those merciless 
 rays the enemy could approach. Temple held his 
 pistol ready. He was in a little corner of shadow which 
 the searchlight could not reach, and he waited. As
 
 210 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 he had guessed, the attempt was made, but to his aston- 
 ishment it was two men who broke into the but. The 
 searchlight must obviously be in the hands of a third, 
 possibly the man he had wounded, or even the 
 thought of Marken was an instantaneous flash in his 
 brain as he met the onset. The first man went down 
 before the unerring bullet, fell to his knees cursing, 
 and as he did so flung his pistol savagely forward. It 
 took Temple on the side of the head. The other man's 
 shot struck him in the body at the same time, and he 
 spread out his arms helplessly and staggered drunkenly 
 for a little ere he fell on his face, his fair English hair 
 rumpled and disordered within the shafts of the ruth- 
 less light. 
 
 The second man stooped and turned him over on 
 his back roughly. 
 
 "Is he dead? Finish him," said his companion, 
 cursing with his pain. 
 
 " He 's finished," said the other, unbuttoning the 
 coat of his victim. " I don't miss at close quarters like 
 that. I drew straight on his heart." 
 
 The wounded man continued his curses, holding a 
 hand to his groin. His comrade was turning out the 
 pockets of their quarry. The lamp glare now wavered, 
 and threw the searcher into black shadow. He too 
 cursed at that; but the light streamed on him again. 
 
 "Bring it in," he shouted 
 
 At his words a man, with a terrified face, came into 
 the hut. It was Marken. The lamp he held swung in 
 a trembling hand. The searcher continued his work; 
 the man in the corner was swearing weakly. 
 
 " Get it, and get me out of this," he urged. " I believe 
 I'm done."
 
 THE CAR BEHIND 211 
 
 "This is it by the postmark. It's plain enough." 
 
 The searcher replaced a packet in Temple's coat 
 pocket. " He can have those," he said with grim humor, 
 " or rather the flame can." He turned briskly, an alert, 
 authoritative figure with narrow eyes and a cruel, 
 dogged face. "Can you walk?" he asked sharply. 
 
 The wounded man staggered to his feet. "No," 
 he said feebly. 
 
 "You must walk as far as the cars. Marken will 
 assist," said the other callously. 
 
 "What are you going to do?" inquired his comrade. 
 
 "I have a little business first, but it won't take long." 
 
 Marken assisted the wounded man out into the open, 
 and the leader of the three took the lamp. He put it 
 out, and emptied the contents upon the walls of the 
 hut. Then he struck a match and fired them. The 
 blaze shot up to heaven as he turned away, leaving the 
 body of their victim on the floor of the burning hovel. 
 
 By the irony of chance the means he had chosen to 
 cover the tracks of their crime actually revealed it. 
 A party of foresters in the employment of Baron Fa- 
 rinck was abroad that night, and the fire was detected 
 towards the lower Odenstock. Fires to a forester are 
 the most dreaded of all calamities, and it is recognized 
 that all the forces that can be mustered shall at once be 
 trained against the devouring enemy. Hence a move- 
 ment was made forthwith in the direction of the con- 
 flagration, and one Hugo arrived first on the scene. 
 
 " Pah ! it is only Stahbeck's winter hut," he called 
 out, as he approached it indifferently. 
 
 It stood in a clearing, and it was not likely that the 
 fire would spread. Nevertheless, the obligation of put- 
 ting it out was entailed on them; and the men armed
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 themselves with thick branches broken from the leafier 
 trees wherewith to beat out the flames. They had been 
 engaged at this work for some time when Hugo called 
 out. He had seen something odd. One of his fellows 
 came to his call, and both bent down. Odd it was, 
 indeed ! In a gap between two heavy pieces of timber 
 that went to make the framework of the hut protruded 
 a human head. Hugo and his companion shouted to 
 the others, who came round to view the spectacle. 
 
 "This is the man who did it," pronounced Karl 
 decidedly. "He has perished, being drunk. It is 
 justice." 
 
 "No," said young Hugo. "He has not perished, 
 see ! There is a movement. He has been trying to 
 crawl out." 
 
 The others exclaimed, and Karl, using a huge strength, 
 tore aside one of the stakes, thus widening the gap. 
 Burning sticks and thatch were falling within the hut. 
 Carefully two of the foresters extracted the body, and 
 removed it to a place of safety. 
 
 "It is the Englishman," said Hugo. "I recognize 
 him. He was fishing by his Excellency's permission 
 in the Larche waters."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 PIECES IN THE PUZZLE 
 
 COUNT VON HAUSER entered the Baron's 
 room, in which the latter sat writing. 
 
 "It will be wiser, I think, to send to Lasheim," he 
 said. 
 
 "I have already sent," said the Baron bluntly. 
 
 Von Hauser nodded. If he had no special appre- 
 ciation of brute force, he at least valued decision. He 
 sank into a chair. 
 
 "It is an interesting episode, and, I will confess, 
 puzzles me," he went on. "I don't think such deter- 
 mination has ever been equalled in modern times. 
 Cavari must be terribly scared." 
 
 "Of what?" asked the Baron. 
 
 " Ah, how I wish I knew ! But that makes it more 
 interesting. It is positively enchanting. I wonder 
 if our friend will be able to shed any light on it now." 
 
 "It is beyond question," said the Baron, dropping 
 his pen, " that he was lured to the hut and then assailed 
 and left for dead. The hut was then fired. The tracks 
 of motor-cars were found by Karl on the upper Wald- 
 thal road." 
 
 " There is an injury to the head," said Von Hauser, 
 "and the silver coin in the pocket was carried into the 
 flesh. The coin alone saved him, for it was over a vital 
 region. The smoke almost asphyxiated the unfortu- 
 nate man, but he is coming to slowly."
 
 214 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 " I have begun," said the Baron grimly, " to take an 
 interest in your Englishman." 
 
 "He is worth it," murmured Von Hauser. " I always 
 told you he was worth it." 
 
 "Meanwhile we have this advantage," pursued his 
 friend, "that Cavari will suppose him dead." 
 
 "That is why I wanted the Lasheim doctor," put 
 in Von Hauser. 
 
 "He should arrive within three hours. I sent the 
 40-h.p. car," responded the other. 
 
 Von Hauser had reached the chateau early in the 
 evening, and had dined with his friend. He had brought 
 him also wonderful news. Prince Albrecht, whose 
 activities no diplomacy could restrain, had crossed the 
 border and seized the Castle of Sturm which had be- 
 longed to his ancestors. This Castle had been escheated 
 by Louis XXI, but the Suabian house had never aban- 
 doned its claims to it. No action had been taken since 
 the escheatment, sixty years previously, but Albrecht 
 and his ancestors had always styled themselves as 
 princes of Sturm and Suabia. And now this hot-head 
 had lightly seized the Castle. It had never been put 
 to any use by the Wolfgangs, who merely kept a governor 
 and a small garrison in it, but no one in his senses 
 anticipated any such violent act as this seizure. The 
 news stirred the somber depths of the Baron. 
 
 "By Heaven," he thundered, slapping his thigh, 
 "that is the man for Eisenburg !" 
 
 Von Hauser was more cautious in his judgment, 
 but even he was inclined to think that the move was 
 good. 
 
 " It leaves us," he said cynically, " in the position of 
 seizing what belongs to us, and diverts attention from
 
 PIECES IN THE PUZZLE 215 
 
 our claim to what does not belong to us. To let Europe 
 think Albrecht is only taking what he has been cheated 
 of is to create a sympathy for him which would be 
 denied if he was supposed to be a pretender. Yes, 
 Baron, we have by this impulsive act converted our 
 pretender into a claimant." 
 
 The excitement among Albrecht's partisans was 
 proportionate to their ignorance of what Cavari would 
 do. They awaited his counter-stroke impatiently. 
 The small garrison at Sturm had been overpowered, 
 and the Castle was held by Albrecht himself and his 
 retainers. These were ostensibly unarmed, but every 
 one knew that they were the nucleus of Albrecht's 
 revolutionary army. By the Baron's orders two hundred 
 men from Montrais were even now on their way to 
 reinforce the new garrison. It was late ere the two men 
 retired to rest, and in the meantime Temple returned 
 to consciousness in a dim-lit room. He had some 
 difficulty in remembering what had happened. His 
 surroundings were strange the carved oakwork on 
 the walls, the rich bed-hangings, the great space of the 
 chamber, the woman who sat in the half-light on a 
 chair dozing. 
 
 He uttered some unintelligible sound, and she 
 straightened herself, rose, and came forward. 
 
 "You are awake, sir?" She put her cool hand on 
 his. She was a woman of middle age, with a kindly 
 face. 
 
 " Where " began Philip, and came to a halt. 
 
 " This is his Excellency the Baron Favrinck's house 
 of the Odenstock," said she, interpreting his unfin- 
 ished question. " You have been injured, and were 
 brought in by the foresters."
 
 216 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Ah!" The events of the night came streaming 
 back to him in a vision. He remembered. The last 
 thing he remembered was a man falling to his knees 
 in a blaze of light. Stay; no. He recalled some- 
 thing else. What was it? He was dragging himself 
 along the earth with a terrible stupor in his head, 
 and his throat full of bitter smoke. He was crawl- 
 ing on his side, with a pain at his heart and 
 then oblivion. 
 
 He asked no further question, but shut his eyes. 
 The woman turned. She had heard a noise in the 
 night, and she moved to the door. Philip fell away 
 into unconsciousness again. There was a sound of 
 the opening of doors, and presently footsteps approached 
 from without. A servant entered. 
 
 "It is the doctor," he whispered across the twilight. 
 
 The doctor nodded. "It is all right," he said in 
 German, and he went forward to the bed. His capable 
 hands passed over Temple's pulse. 
 
 "Ah!" he said, and beckoned the nurse to bring 
 the light nearer. For some minutes he stared down 
 at the patient's face. 
 
 Philip, his brain moving dully under a fog of sleep, 
 was aroused by the pulling down of the sheet from 
 across his chest. He opened his eyes, and made a weak 
 resistance with a gurgled remonstrance. 
 
 "Come, there is nothing to harm you. We shan't 
 be long," said the doctor. 
 
 Philip closed his eyes. He did not struggle. There 
 was a terrible smell of acrid smoke in his nostrils; his 
 eyes smarted with it. He was in the hut; no, the hut 
 merged into something else. 
 
 What was it? A railway-carriage, burning and full
 
 PIECES IN THE PUZZLE 217 
 
 of pungent smoke. A tall, authoritative man rose out 
 of it all. 
 
 "Poor devil! he'll want no attention." 
 
 Was that said over him? He struggled to open his 
 eyes and protest. Yes, there was the tall, authoritative 
 form sitting now on a chair and not standing. Some- 
 thing flashed along the lines of communication in his 
 brain. 
 
 " Poor devil ! . . ." The memory of that voice in 
 so critical a moment returned. 
 
 "You were in the accident?" he got out weakly. 
 
 The doctor nodded kindly. "You mustn't talk," 
 he commanded, and went on with his examination. 
 Almost before he had finished the patient had again 
 relapsed into sleep. 
 
 When Philip awoke again it was full day, and the 
 nurse was in the room. The doctor had rested and 
 had a meal, and he was to inspect the patient again 
 before he left. Philip was much recovered. He had 
 suffered more from shock and the asphyxiation by the 
 fumes of the fire than from material physical damage 
 by the bravo's bullet. He was well enough to have a 
 clear retrospect now, and his vocal cords had gained 
 strength. He greeted the doctor briefly and husbanded 
 himself. When the examination was over he inquired 
 the verdict. 
 
 "As you are a strong man, of good constitution and 
 in the prime of life, and as I should judge from your 
 complexion you have lived temperately, I don't think 
 you will eventually experience any lasting ill-effects. 
 But you owe your life to a coin apparently." He mused. 
 "We speak of that, don't we? Lives often depend on 
 the toss of a coin."
 
 218 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 He smiled at his witticism. 
 
 "You were in the railway accident at Waldthal, 
 doctor?" said Philip, clinging to his point. 
 
 "Yes," assented the doctor. "How did you know?" 
 
 "I too was there." 
 
 "You seem to have had bad luck," remarked the 
 doctor. 
 
 Philip looked at him, and through him. "Yes," 
 he assented dreamily, and then, recalling: "I asked 
 you if I could do anything ; I remember you said of one 
 man, 'Poor devil ! he'll need no attention.'" 
 
 "Did I?" said the doctor, smiling. 
 
 "I saw you in the dusk of the night and the fires. 
 I pulled a woman out of the wreckage. Do you re- 
 member I seized you by the arm and made you look at 
 her?" 
 
 The doctor appeared to be reflecting. He was gazing 
 out through the window at the sunlit garden. "I 
 believe," he began slowly " I think I recall. . . . 
 You speak German well, but with an accent." He 
 broke off to look at Temple on the bed. "You're 
 English?" 
 
 Temple assented. "Yes, you are that Englishman 
 then who would not be denied the importunate 
 Englishman. I remember now. Yes, yes." 
 
 Philip was feeling tired with the effort of talking and 
 exerting his mind; he gazed at the doctor in silence. 
 
 "You must go slow," said the latter. "There is no 
 danger. You will be able to get about soon enough, 
 but don't force it." He rose, and put out a big hand. 
 "Yes, it is odd how we have encountered in two crises," 
 he said. "You have had ill luck. By the way, did 
 that poor woman recover?"
 
 PIECES IN THE PUZZLE 219 
 
 "No," said Philip. 
 
 "I was afraid she would not. The shock in her 
 condition " 
 
 "Her condition?" repeated Philip softly, inquiringly. 
 
 "She was, as I suppose you saw, in a very deli- 
 cate state, far advanced towards motherhood. Poor 
 woman ! " 
 
 He smiled in a friendly way at Philip and left the 
 room, taking the nurse with him. Philip dozed. " Poor 
 woman!" "Poor devil!" "Poor woman!" The 
 phrases alternated in his weary brain. 
 
 By midday, however, he was greatly better, and able 
 to appreciate a visit from Von Hauser. The Count 
 was cheery and even affectionate. He congratulated 
 Temple on his escape, as by a miracle, and without 
 further beating about the bush plunged into the heart 
 of the mystery. The Count saw no use in wasting time 
 when he was sure of his ground. He made his inquiry, 
 and Temple told his story. 
 
 "An assault, my dear Sir Philip, which meant, I 
 assume, murder. You were to be disposed of." 
 
 "It looked like it," agreed Philip. 
 
 "Taken in sequence with other events, there is no 
 doubt in your mind, I take it." 
 
 "None whatever," assented the other. "But, on 
 the other hand, I have no explanation to offer." 
 
 "Ah!" Von Hauser stroked his beard. "What a 
 pity ! It robs us of our climax, does n't it ? These 
 men were what ? " 
 
 "It was too dark to see much. I can only say that 
 they were men," said Philip with a smile. "They 
 did n't carry either their names or their addresses or 
 their motives on their sleeves."
 
 220 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Von Hauser made a deprecating gesture, gently. " I 
 only referred to any theory you might have," he said. 
 
 "I don't think I have any," answered Temple, 
 pulling his brows into a frown. "But I fancy I may 
 have one presently. There seems to be something to 
 put together." He passed a hand over his forehead. 
 
 "Pray don't worry yourself," . said Von Hauser 
 softly. "If there is anything it will come again. We 
 shall add it up all right. In the meantime let me tell 
 you that Baron Favrinck has not called in the police." 
 
 A smile struggled over Temple's face. "I wonder 
 why." 
 
 "Well, we too put things together," explained Von 
 Hauser. "You see, you are not making your destiny; 
 it is being thrust upon you. Fate is using you, or per- 
 haps it is Count Cavari. ' Moab is my washpot.' Never 
 mind. We have this in reserve. Your case is not going 
 to be reported by the police." 
 
 "You suspected something?" inquired Temple. 
 
 " I put two and two together. It may be an accident 
 only, but then it may not. You have been singularly 
 unfortunate in your accidents. I think you had better 
 disappear, to cheat Providence, which at present seems 
 malevolent. What do you say, Sir Philip?" 
 
 "I don't think I am much in the state to assert my- 
 self," said Philip, smiling 
 
 It was not until next day that, feeling much recovered, 
 he devoted some time to the consideration of his own 
 curious case. He had plenty of time in which to do 
 so. There was a service of literature, books, magazines, 
 and journals at his disposal, but his hand was too tired 
 to hold the heavier articles, and his eyes, inflamed with 
 smoke, grew dim over the print. So he was obliged to
 
 think, when he was not sleeping or talking. He talked 
 with his extemporized nurse, whose name was Bertha. 
 She was a kindly, broad-faced woman of forty-five, 
 who had served as sewing-maid to the late Baroness 
 Favrinck, and she was Dutch in build and mind. She 
 knitted as she sat by his bed, and talked with him in a 
 dialectical German^ ^ 
 
 The Baroness had been a very gentle lady from 
 Silesia, very patient, and much grieving that she bore 
 no child. The estates would go, believed Bertha, to 
 his Excellency's nephew, a wild young man in Paris. 
 She had been in his Excellency's service for twenty 
 long years. Her home was in Gralotz, but her sister's 
 husband lived in Waldthal. She had a niece in service 
 at the Castle. Carlotta was a good girl, and was one 
 of the under-nurses. So she whiled away the long hours 
 for the injured man. 
 
 In those days of his convalescence, as his strength 
 and vitality returned, his mind began to resume its 
 edge and keenness. He turned over in review the events 
 of his stay in the grand-duchy. They bore more than 
 ever a sinister aspect. He had not a doubt that the 
 chauffeur, Marken, had been in alliance with his mur- 
 derous assailants, and he had acquainted Von Hauser 
 with his suspicion. That astute plotter returned with 
 an excellent reputation for Marken. 
 
 "He is said to be an honest, hard-working fellow, 
 much devoted to his business, and very patriotic." 
 
 Von Hauser's eyes contained a tiny twinkle. "He 
 has been somewhat unwell lately, and his employers have 
 given him leave of absence. They too are patriotic." 
 
 "I understand," said Temple, and he did. 
 
 It was, in fine, the latest of the Chancellor's attempts,
 
 222 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 and his bitterness grew with his returning strength. 
 It was war, not open war on the Chancellor's part, but 
 a dastardly secret war, the private campaign of bravoes. 
 Well, he accepted it. Anon, his thoughts swung round to 
 the Lasheim doctor, and his revelation. It shed new light 
 on an old tragedy. The unfortunate woman who had 
 died in Waldthal Castle had not been alone in her death. 
 That reminded him of something else. He begged 
 Bertha to search his coat for his letters, and he turned 
 them over on the counterpane of his bed, as he sat in 
 it propped with pillows. He read the letter from his 
 mother again. It seemed like a return to life and a new 
 and pleasant world, full of fresh flowers and the spring. 
 But he was hunting for something else. There were 
 stains of blood on the envelopes, his own blood. He 
 felt at his heart thankfully; it was beating regularly, 
 and he was warm and alive. But where was the letter 
 which he had skimmed in Lasheim? He found no 
 trace of it. The other letters showed signs of disturb- 
 ance; they had been plucked from their coverings, and 
 roughly replaced; they were torn in places. The black 
 marks of heavy fingers were on them. His correspond- 
 ence had not been safe even after his extraordinary 
 precautions. That set him thinking once more. There 
 is little to do when convalescent save to think and to 
 sleep. His assailants had gone through his corre- 
 spondence. The Chancellor had been equal to him. 
 No doubt he had been followed from Lasheim, maybe 
 even to Lasheim before that as well. And his assassins 
 had gone through his letters and then fired the hut. 
 But there was this missing letter. Why was that one 
 letter missing? . . . 
 
 It was puzzling. The only letter gone was that il-
 
 PIECES IN THE PUZZLE 223 
 
 literate scrawl from Mrs. Jane Carver which he had 
 wished to look at again. Why had it been taken? 
 Reflecting, he saw that he would have been unable to 
 satisfy Mrs. Jane Carver as to the fate of her daughter. 
 The only person of whose fate he could definitely speak 
 was the woman who had died in the Castle, the woman 
 of whom he had heard such curious news from the 
 Lasheim doctor. 
 
 This period was a time of reflection for others besides 
 Temple. It constituted the lull in the storm. There 
 was no excitement visible at the chateau, though its 
 retinue of servants had been reinforced from Montrais. 
 Foresters ranged the Odenstock, ostensibly on sylvan 
 duties, and well armed. The Boar was prepared for 
 emergencies. Von Hauser had slipped away on one 
 of his mysterious missions. Prince Albrecht remained 
 for the moment content with his move. He was in 
 the position of an impatient litigator, who had antici- 
 pated a verdict. He defied the government from his 
 mediaeval Castle of Sturm, challenging a trial of strength. 
 But there was no word of his pretensions. It was all 
 a matter of the estates of Sturm, wrongfully withheld 
 from him. This attitude made the Chancellor's position 
 more difficult. He could, of course, have met violence 
 by violence, which was the course urged by the indig- 
 nant Regent; but that would be to let loose the dogs 
 of war, and, to say the truth, his Excellency feared to 
 put the general loyalty to the ultimate test. The army 
 might be faithful, but the act of war would not fail to 
 divide the country into two factions, and he doubted 
 if the loyal party would prove to be the more numerous 
 and powerful. He shrank from that responsibility 
 which Princess Alise was willing, nay eager, to accept.
 
 224 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 She was embittered in these days. The Chancellor 
 had been able to convince her as to the nefarious de- 
 sign of the meddling Englishman. She learned that 
 he had accepted the hospitality of the arch-traitor in 
 the Odenstock, and was part and parcel of the plot. 
 His previous actions had been easily accounted for by 
 Cavari's explanation that he had thought to have one 
 foot in the Palace preserves for the better purposes of 
 the conspiracy. The Count had also taxed her patience 
 by his talk of a lawsuit against Prince Albrecht. It 
 was only the fact that he was secretly organizing and 
 mobilizing the military forces at the disposal of the 
 government that kept her from an open revolt against 
 the Chancellor's policy. And this was the situation as 
 the month of June passed towards its climax.
 
 CHAPTER XVH 
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 
 
 IT seemed that the Prince was always to precipitate 
 events. At least, ever afterwards Philip regarded 
 Albrecht's letter as the origin of everything that followed. 
 Cavari held his hand, a Fabius waiting on destiny and 
 the reports of his military officers. The Suabian kept 
 an almost royal state in his Castle of Sturm, and en- 
 joyed life; and in the south the Baron worked grimly 
 for an end which he regarded as inevitable. 
 
 The Lasheim doctor Ewald by name, tall, gaunt 
 and friendly had paid more than one visit to the 
 chateau, and had gone as quietly as he had come. He 
 registered a wonderful recovery for his patient. 
 
 "Good living, my dear sir," he proclaimed. "You 
 have not, like some of my countrymen, gone to bed 
 barrels of beer and got up beer-barrels. A little longer 
 time, and you will be as fit as you ever were." 
 
 Temple was delighted, acknowledged the skill of 
 the doctor very civilly, and offered a cigar. 
 
 "The lady," he said, reverting to what was often 
 on his mind, "whom you saw, who died after the ac- 
 cident there was no doubt about her condition." 
 
 "My dear Sir Philip, a tyro in the biological classes 
 could have told you that. We can't mistake the fruit 
 on the tree or the flower on the bush. I suppose the 
 poor creature died and was buried ?"
 
 226 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "In Waldthal," said Philip shortly. 
 
 "The grave of hope," said the doctor philosophically. 
 
 Philip wondered. Had some one hoped? Was 
 some one hoping still? He remembered the poor il- 
 literate mother, Mrs. Jane Carver. But his lady was 
 not her daughter, maid to my Lady Stroud. His 
 thoughts flew across the seas to the bereaved Duke 
 and his white hair and tottering steps. And on that 
 the figure of the Princess, last seen at the railway- 
 station, drifted like a ghost before him. 
 
 The day after Dr. Ewald's last visit arrived the mes- 
 sage from Prince Albrecht. It was brought by Von 
 Hauser, a deft traveler and a pleasant companion, and 
 in the most charming manner imaginable demanded 
 the custody of Sir Philip Temple's person. 
 
 "Sir Philip will, I am sure, give me the satisfaction 
 of personally thanking him," he had written. 
 
 "But I have had his thanks, and his ring," laughed 
 Temple. 
 
 Von Hauser was anxious, however, that he should 
 go, and used his sly, persuasive tongue. He had al- 
 ready framed a small plot in his ingenious brain. It 
 was not of large proportions, but he had an idea that 
 it might be useful. It might only prove a little squib, 
 but it might also turn out to be a bomb exploding under 
 the Chancellor's chair. In his calling as diplomat he 
 was wont to ply his fingers among a score of tiny 
 handles, using this or that as the emergency or the 
 development might decide. Von Hauser's conception 
 of diplomacy was summed up, as he confessed to a 
 friend, in a single purpose and a dozen ways to it. So 
 he designed to make use of Sir Philip Temple, who 
 might turn out either a squib or a bomb. It was not
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 
 
 difficult to overcome Philip's resistance, which was 
 purely perfunctory. As a matter of fact, he wanted 
 to get to Sturm, and he wanted to see Albrecht again. 
 The young man had made a charming impression on 
 him, which was in no way lessened by his late extrava- 
 gant action. Temple felt he had been forced into the 
 position of a conspirator, and he did not mind. Indeed, 
 deep-seated in his mind was a resentment against the 
 government of Eisenburg, all the more bitter that it 
 remained unexpressed. He was in the camp of the 
 enemy, and he was one of the enemy, so far as that 
 treacherous foe was concerned. If he could judge States 
 by their acts, the sooner this State was in other hands 
 the better. 
 
 So Sir Philip Temple left the Odenstock and jour- 
 neyed northward by night. He went in the Baron's 
 motor-car, and in the company of the Baron and Von 
 Hauser. There was, he gathered, something forward 
 on the part of the conspirators; but he did not learn 
 what this was until next day. Sturm was held almost 
 with ostentatious militariness. The soldiery, it is true, 
 wore no uniforms, but there was no mistaking their 
 air, which spoke of the drill-sergeant and the parade- 
 ground. And mingling with them were the Baron's 
 picturesque retainers from the south, good foresters 
 and stout farmers. Prince Albrecht welcomed his 
 guest in a very genial manner. 
 
 "As you were present at the beginnings of this little 
 comedy," he said pleasantly, "I thought you would 
 like to see the end." 
 
 "Is the end near?" inquired Temple, smiling. 
 
 Albrecht pursed up his lips. "Oh, it may be long- 
 drawn-out. But you shall not be bored with politics.
 
 228 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Come and see my new motor-car. It beats the Baron's 
 hollow." 
 
 They inspected the car, and then adjourned to the 
 Prince's apartments in the Castle, which had been the 
 governor's, and were comfortable enough, if not of 
 great elegance. 
 
 "Count von Hauser," said Albrecht, falling into a 
 chair and offering his guest a cigar, "has told me the 
 story of your attempted assassination. You are almost 
 royal in your risks, Sir Philip." He laughed. "What 
 have you done to Cavari?" 
 
 "I am rather taken up with thinking what I ought 
 to do with him," said Temple slowly. 
 
 "That 's the style. I like that," exclaimed Albrecht. 
 "Well, we are going to surprise him, and though he 
 fears, he does not know when or how. He is living on 
 tenter-hooks, is Cavari. I do not envy him his place. 
 The fact is, my dear sir, he is afraid." 
 
 The young man did not, however, unfold the plans 
 by which the Chancellor was to be confounded, and, 
 of course, Temple did not inquire about them. Instead, 
 he played a game of billiards and was handsomely 
 beaten, and later retired to bed. 
 
 Cavari was, in truth, hard hit. He dared not move 
 as he would have liked to move, for he was no coward, 
 only a very cautious campaigner, much handicapped 
 by circumstances. And so on both sides the farce was 
 kept up of pretending that Albrecht's seizure of Sturm 
 was merely a civil act, however uncivil in another sense, 
 veiling no secret pretensions on the Suabian's part. 
 Indeed, the Chancellor had just made a proposal for 
 a conference at which the question of the Sturm estates 
 and the terms of a possible indemnity might be dis-
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 229 
 
 cussed. Temple had arrived on the eve of that historic 
 meeting. The parties to the conference met at Falle, 
 midway between Sturm and Waldthal, each with a 
 suitable retinue. In the woods behind the village of 
 Falle, Albrecht's partisans were concentrated, and 
 a mile or so on the Waldthal road was a similar dispo- 
 sition of the Castle guards under Captain du Vallon. 
 The Princess Regent and the Chancellor arrived at the 
 Boar Inn some ten minutes after the Prince's party, 
 which included Sir Philip Temple. Von Hauser had 
 suggested the presence of the latter, and Albrecht had 
 assented. 
 
 " Yes, I have promised Sir Philip a good seat in the 
 stalls." 
 
 The Prince whimsically lifted his eyebrows at the 
 swinging sign of a tusked boar over the hostelry. 
 
 "Faith, the case has as good as gone against them 
 by that very omen," he said. "It is the Baron's cog- 
 nizance. I wonder they dare venture." 
 
 When the Princess stepped out of her car she passed 
 into the inn without noticing the sign ; but it struck the 
 Chancellor's eyes, which lingered on the rude picture 
 for some moments. His face was inscrutable, cold, 
 gray, and withered, as Temple thought as he looked 
 forth from a window at the scene. He, of course, was 
 not to be present at the conference, and amused him- 
 self in chatting with some of the Prince's followers. 
 The conference was confined to four people, the Prin- 
 cess and Albrecht with their respective advisers, Counts 
 Cavari and Von Hauser. Favrinck was in an ante- 
 chamber for some time, engaged in conversation with 
 a German, who was also an officer, and had charge of 
 the Sturm garrison. Then he joined Temple and some
 
 230 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 of the others in a guest-room, where the host had served 
 his distinguished visitors with coffee and wine. The 
 Baron ordered some beer and dropped heavily to his 
 seat. He was in a pleasant mood, and chaffed the 
 nervous innkeeper. He, too, had his joke about the 
 sign. Had they not run their heads into the boar's 
 lair? 
 
 The result of the conference was naturally nil, as 
 Europe knew next day. It was, indeed, only designed 
 on Cavari's part to give himself time to complete prepa- 
 rations, and to learn as much as he could of the enemy's 
 position. Albrecht he knew to be an impulsive young 
 man, and he might be able to provoke him into un- 
 foreseen revelation of his plans. On the other side 
 Albrecht, prompted by Von Hauser, had merely ac- 
 cepted the invitation because it could do no harm, 
 and might discover to them how far the Chancellor 
 was scared. But the Chancellor was magnificent in 
 his perilous situation, and he was aware of the value of 
 bluff. He had not winced once during the interview, 
 nor betrayed any feeling whatsoever. Von Hauser was 
 almost as cool and sphinx-like, so that the emotions 
 were left to Albrecht and the Princess. The former 
 was gay, and scrupulously courteous, as if he and she 
 had met in a drawing-room. To have seen his behavior 
 you would not have thought that there was any issue 
 of importance at stake. The Princess was ill at ease, 
 impatient, and indignant, and hardly restrained her 
 anger. Was there no justice in the world, that mere 
 thieves and robbers could go about in this debonair, 
 smiling fashion ? She hated the Prince's civilities, and 
 put a check upon herself in only receiving them coldly, 
 and not breaking out into a passionate denunciation 
 of him and all his works.
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 231 
 
 But at last the futile meeting came to an end. 
 
 " As his Highness has taken the remarkable course of 
 seizing by violence what should have been made the 
 subject of a claim under the laws, we fall back upon our 
 constitutional right of redress," said the Chancellor. 
 
 "Which is ?" said Von Hauser softly. 
 
 "As we may be advised," snapped Cavari, shooting 
 a glance at him. 
 
 On that note of menace (was it?) the conference 
 ended. The Prince shepherded the Princess from the 
 room, with his most elaborate civility, and in despite 
 of her obvious chagrin. Behind came Von Hauser and 
 the Chancellor, silent and watchful. Even Albrecht's 
 sense of gayety was daunted. The little inn had 
 sprung suddenly into importance. Never before had 
 it harbored such distinguished people. The inn- 
 keeper was on pins and needles. Just before the 
 rising of the conference Baron Favrinck leaned over 
 to Temple. 
 
 "Let us get out," he said, and led the way into the 
 square hall. 
 
 It was a small affair, out of which the conference- 
 room opened. From this emerged just then Prince 
 Albrecht in attendance on the Princess Alise, the latter 
 haughty and flushed with anger. The shafts of her 
 eyes drove straight at Temple where he stood by the 
 Baron, and the delicate curves of her nostrils moved 
 and swelled with evident passion. She passed him by 
 with a stare. Temple changed color under this re- 
 fusal to recognize him, but he had not time to consider 
 it further before Count Cavari made his appearance. 
 He had exchanged some words with Von Hauser, when 
 his keen glance took in Philip. Suddenly his face
 
 232 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 grayed to a horrid pallor, and twitched; he came to a 
 pause, and set one hand against the wall. 
 
 "Ere you go, a little wine, your Excellency," mur- 
 mured Von Hauser, who had been watching him 
 carefully. 
 
 The Chancellor made a gesture of refusal, recovering 
 himself. He passed on, inclining his head as he went 
 by Temple, and moved out into the sunshine. There 
 was a trembling in his withered hands, visible to the 
 eagle-eyed man who accompanied him. 
 
 The Princess and her suite disappeared in a cloud 
 of dust, and the Prince's party went back to Sturm. 
 In the evening Von Hauser summed up to his fellow- 
 conspirators. 
 
 " We have made sure of this one thing that his 
 Excellency is afraid to move. We have time." 
 
 "We don't want time," said Favrinck bluntly. 
 "It is he who wants it." 
 
 "Shall I say then that we have time until to- 
 morrow?" said Von Hauser softly. 
 
 "Nothing can stop that," said the Boar. 
 
 "Gentlemen, I think I could," the Prince inter- 
 vened. There was a startled look on the faces of the 
 others. "But I don't think I will," went on Albrecht 
 thoughtfully. " It 's the quickest way, and I like quick 
 ways. And besides, there 's the old axiom about the 
 omelette. But I don't like it. I rather fancy I 'm 
 ashamed of it." 
 
 "In affairs of state there is or should be no con- 
 siderations of the sort, your Highness," remarked Von 
 Hauser. "It is all founded in philosophy. There is 
 a different ethical system for every different develop- 
 ment of organic life. The cell has its code, the private
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 233 
 
 individual his, proper to him; there is also a system of 
 morality incumbent on that aggregation of units, the 
 family; and States, a still further evolution of organic 
 life, require still different laws. We arrogate to our- 
 selves as human beings the power to take animal life 
 rightly. The parallel holds if you apply it." 
 
 " It is ingenious, my dear Count," laughed Albrecht, 
 " and anyway I 'm going through with it. But I wish 
 I 'd not met her. What a beautiful creature ! Yes, I 
 wish I 'd not met her to-day. It was n't necessary." 
 
 Albrecht swung out of the room lightly as he spoke. 
 
 "It was useful," said Von Hauser to himself, and 
 turning to Favrinck, asked : 
 
 "Did you see the Chancellor's face in the hall when 
 he recognized Sir Philip?" 
 
 The Baron nodded. "What does it mean?*' 
 
 "I have never seen a man so near a breakdown. 
 I tell you, Baron, he is doubly afraid. He fears on all 
 sides. The man is haunted." 
 
 "What does it mean?" repeated the Baron. 
 
 "If I knew that," said Von Hauser, "I could crack 
 him like this." He snapped his fingers. "There is 
 some deathly meaning in it. I wonder! I wonder!" 
 He mused, and went away in a muse. 
 
 But Baron Favrinck was not given to musing. He 
 solved problems with the sword, or he wanted to. He 
 was solving one on the following day and was glad. 
 Von Hauser had agreed to the step, and the Prince 
 acquiesced. The Baron was in counsel with Colonel 
 Doletsch, who had organized the garrison. 
 
 Meanwhile at Waldthal there had been some con- 
 cern over the health of his Highness the Grand Duke. 
 Doctors had advised a higher air, and it had been
 
 234 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 decided that he should be established at Kroon, a chalet 
 in the Odenstock among the pines and the cool breezes. 
 This, however, was not bruited abroad. The child 
 was to go with his nurses under an escort, joining there 
 the Regent, who herself preceded him to make all 
 necessary arrangements. But in courts and in palaces 
 there is ever a leakage of gossip, and Von Hauser was 
 well served by his spies. This had been chosen as the 
 opportunity of their great coup. 
 
 Among the pines Doletsch's men were in hiding 
 from daybreak, and witnessed the arrival of the Regent. 
 She came on horseback with two attendants, and per- 
 sonally superintended the preparations which had 
 already been put in hand by the servants who had been 
 sent forward. The Grand Duke and his escort were 
 expected late in the afternoon. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the Baroness Hals, who had ac- 
 companied the Princess, strolling in the woods, came 
 upon what she described as "two horrid-looking men" 
 and promptly took to her heels. She reported breath- 
 lessly to her Highness, who was disposed to scold her 
 lady-in-waiting for her display of panic. But the 
 "horrid-looking men" had seen the lady and her flight, 
 and they in turn had reported to Doletsch; and to 
 prevent complication and to make quite sure of events 
 Doletsch struck. Thus it came about within twenty 
 minutes that his forces converged on the chalet, which 
 fell into his hands. The Princess was at once amazed 
 and infuriated. Her majestic anger affected even that 
 hardened soldier of fortune. He trusted that her High- 
 ness would continue her ministrations under his im- 
 mediate protection. Her Highness flamed. 
 
 "You are brigands, sir," she declared. "It is gro-
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 
 
 tesque that you should be able to violate the law. In 
 Astra you would have been laid by the heels long since, 
 and perished off the earth." 
 
 Doletsch shrugged his shoulders at the tirade, but 
 he was above all a practical soldier, and he did not 
 want women to embarrass him. He saw difficulties 
 arising out of the presence of the Princess, and so 
 he determined to get rid of her. Accordingly he sent 
 her under guard to Sturm, where she arrived early 
 in the afternoon, a passionate woman on the verge of 
 tears. 
 
 Favrinck brought the news to Von Hauser, chuckling, 
 but Von Hauser looked grave and frowned. As for Al- 
 brecht, when it reached him he was in dismay. He 
 had been playing a game of billiards with his guest, 
 and stepped aside to hear Von Hauser. He threw 
 up his hands, dropping his cue. 
 
 "What did I say? I should never have met her. 
 My dear Count, this is abominable." He dropped 
 
 into a chair. "I felt small yesterday; to-day " 
 
 He made a gesture. 
 
 "Colonel Doletsch was evidently in a difficulty," 
 argued Von Hauser. 
 
 "Yes, yes," the Prince nodded. "But so am I. 
 He transfers it to me. Von Hauser, you must entertain 
 her." 
 
 Something of this conversation reached Temple's 
 ears as he stood by the billiard-table, not Von Hauser's 
 low-pitched voice, but Albrecht's clear, frank tones. 
 He was clearly put about by something. Von Hauser 
 knew his master well enough. He looked at the Count 
 after a silence, and smiled whimsically. 
 
 " At any rate, I must have assistance. I feel a ruffian,"
 
 236 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 he said. He got up. "Come, Sir Philip," he said 
 lightly, "let us join the ladies." 
 
 Temple, only half understanding, followed him, 
 and they entered the drawing-room in the tower, a 
 chamber furnished in better style than its fellows. Up- 
 right by a window that looked south on the broken 
 lands towards the Odenstock was her Highness Alise 
 of Astra, Regent of Eisenburg. She turned on hearing 
 them enter, and a light kindled in her eyes. She had 
 new fuel to feed it on. 
 
 "This, then, is your Highness's doing," she broke 
 forth "you and your friend's," including Temple 
 with flashing scorn. "You make war on babes in 
 arms and women." 
 
 "Faith, your Highness, the babes should not be in 
 arms," said Albrecht flippantly " and the women 
 should," he added under his breath to Philip. 
 
 The Princess struggled to be calm. 
 
 " Was it by your orders that the chalet at Kroon was 
 seized this morning, and myself made prisoner?" she 
 asked. 
 
 "It was, madam, incidental to the campaign, and I 
 regret the necessity," returned the Prince. 
 
 "A campaign," said Alise of Astra, "which is di- 
 rected against a child, and is designed to rob him of 
 his inheritance." 
 
 "The affairs of nations are on another level than 
 those of individuals, your Highness," said Albrecht, and 
 murmured to Temple : " I wish I could recall Von Hau- 
 ser's appeal to philosophy. It was really excellent." 
 
 "You war on a child," repeated the Regent bitterly. 
 "You are content to rise upon a child's ruin." 
 
 Albrecht pushed his moustache upwards in evident 
 embarrassment.
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 237 
 
 "I believe, madam, I should save the child much 
 trouble. There is a peril in sovereignty." 
 
 "Oh, this is cant !" she cried vehemently. "I prefer 
 you with the brutal, naked truth in your mouth. I 
 prefer Baron Favrinck, who grinned at me somberly. 
 At least, he made no pretenses, he did not dissimulate. 
 For God's sake, say what end it means. What is the 
 all you want ? You want the grand-duchy against every 
 principle of right. What more do you want? Where 
 will it end?" 
 
 The Prince shot a glance at Temple, as if he would 
 invite sympathy or help. 
 
 "The destiny of nations," he said, "is only accom- 
 plished by the arbitrament of arms and revolution. 
 Out of the melee God achieves what He wants." 
 
 "Pray leave God out of this wretched plot," she 
 exclaimed angrily. " If I thought it was He " 
 
 She ceased. From without came the sound of volley- 
 firing, where Doletsch's men were drilling. Alise 
 turned her head and listened, and, a sense of what 
 it all portended breaking on her outworn spirit, she 
 fell into a chair. 
 
 "But this is civil war!" she murmured brokenly. 
 "This is civil war!" 
 
 Her face was buried in her hands, and she sobbed. 
 The sound of her sobs, short, explosive, distracting, 
 carried through the room, and set Albrecht frowning. 
 
 "My God, it isn't worth it!" he muttered, as he 
 passed Temple on his way to the door. 
 
 It closed behind him, but Temple remained. The 
 sight of the Princess with her beautiful head bowed 
 upon the table was pitiful, was frightening; it blanched 
 his face. He might have stolen forth like Albrecht, but
 
 238 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 he held his ground, under an overpowering impulse. 
 It was a woman who sobbed there, and his spirit took 
 flight in a sudden elation. He felt that he could console 
 and assuage ; he never doubted it. Under the exaltation 
 of an unexpected emotion, never realized, never drawn 
 forth to the full till that moment, he felt that nothing 
 could stop him, that he was omnipotent where she was 
 concerned, with all the powers, vitality, and masterful- 
 ness of a Man. 
 
 He approached softly. 
 
 " Will your Highness tell me," he said in a low voice, 
 
 "the story of your capture and exactly what it means ?" 
 
 She had imagined that she was alone, for she had 
 
 heard the door click, and now her sobs ceased suddenly, 
 
 and she raised a tragic head, with light in tragic eyes. 
 
 " Go ! " she cried. " You would gloat over the misery 
 you have caused ! Go !" 
 
 She pointed across the room, but he did not move. 
 " You were seized by Colonel Doletsch's men at the 
 chalet?" he went on, ignoring this, and speaking in a 
 matter-of-fact way. " They brought you here. I gather 
 it was a plot against the Grand Duke. Perhaps if you 
 could tell me 
 
 She rose. " You have done well by your employers," 
 she said, with scorn and anger and weariness in her voice. 
 "You plotted cunningly. I was deceived. I thought 
 your voice and face honest. I believed in you. I wel- 
 comed your assistance once. Oh, it was cunning 
 to wish to keep in with the Court party ! But now at 
 least have done with pretences. Leave me. That last 
 insult you can spare me. You have your way, you and 
 your filibustering friends. At six o'clock the Grand 
 Duke will be in your hands, the Grand Duke a
 
 THE CHALET OF KROON 239 
 
 weeping infant, orphaned and helpless, and at your 
 mercy. And what can the mercy of such as you be 
 like? " 
 
 She ceased suddenly, and turned away. He opened 
 his mouth to speak, but refrained. There was no power 
 in him now to give comfort ; all he could have done was 
 to plead in his own behalf. That would do her no good. 
 Philip Temple had the gift of restraint in an amazing 
 degree. He bowed and went out.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE CAPTURE 
 
 Prince eyed him thoughtfully, and reached 
 A out a hand for his cigarettes. 
 
 " It was not nice ; it was harrowing. I object to being 
 harrowed," he said, lighting one. " I told Von Hauser 
 he should not have summoned me to this scene. He 
 thinks every one is as cold and callous as himself. Let 
 us forget it." 
 
 He smiled, but Philip's face reflected no answering 
 smile. 
 
 " I wanted to thank you for your hospitality, your 
 Highness, and beg to take leave of you," he said. 
 
 " What ! you must go ? Why, the fun has only just 
 begun. There will be an exciting finish." 
 
 His volatility was astonishing; the cruel scene with 
 the Princess had seemingly passed out of his mind 
 with his words. 
 
 " There is another thing I wish to say, by your High- 
 ness's permission," pursued Temple coolly. "I have 
 learned some things while here which I see that in honor 
 I am not free to disclose. But there is one point upon 
 which I should like a clear understanding, and that is 
 I claim to be free to act however I will in respect of 
 this last affair." 
 
 "This last?" the Prince looked his question. "Oh, 
 you mean the Princess. You want to intervene. How ?
 
 THE CAPTURE 241 
 
 On the other side, is it ? Pah ! my dear Sir Philip, it 
 is impracticable. It is a good sporting instinct, I know, 
 but it is impossible. The reign of the Wolfgangs is 
 doomed. They have not been a very creditable lot." 
 
 "I do not care," said Philip, "who sits in the grand- 
 ducal chair at Eisenburg. Personally, I have a bias in 
 favor of your Highness" Albrecht bowed "but 
 I have an interest in this latest phase which is purely 
 human and humanitarian. I am claiming my freedom 
 to act as I wish." 
 
 The Prince took his cigarette from his mouth. 
 " You mean you will what do you say over there ? 
 try to upset our apple-cart." He paused, replaced the 
 cigarette. "I don't know that it is purely humani- 
 tarian," he added, smiling. "There is a pretty woman 
 in the case. Heavens ! she was beautiful, was n't she, 
 when we stood like two small boys under correction? 
 I 'm glad I got away in time, or I should have felt like 
 you. You did n't, you see." He looked quizzingly, 
 boyishly, and frankly at Temple. 
 
 "I have put my case before your Highness," he 
 replied. 
 
 The Prince pulled out a watch. " Well, it does n't 
 matter," he said. " I 'm sorry to lose you. We shall 
 meet, I hope, again, and you will have no scruples by 
 that time." 
 
 He smiled, and nodded, and put out his hand. Tem- 
 ple now echoed the smile as they shook hands. Once 
 outside the Castle, he made for the stables. It was 
 close on six o'clock, and no doubt the Prince's watch 
 had influenced his action in allowing his guest to go. 
 If the Princess were right, the Grand Duke would be 
 in the hands of Doletsch long before he could reach
 
 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Kroon, which was ten miles from Sturm, and approached 
 by rather rough roads. However, Philip had deter- 
 mined to make the attempt to warn the escort, and he 
 had only one chance. It was bold to audacity, and it 
 had even a touch of impudence. But he felt that he 
 had explained his views with sufficient clarity to the 
 Prince, and was quit of his obligations as guest. Had 
 the chauffeur been in the stables, which had been 
 turned into a garage, it is even probable that Temple 
 would have thought it his duty to complete his dis- 
 entanglement from guestship by explaining what he 
 designed to do. As no one was on guard he simply 
 stole the car, after examining it to see that it was in 
 order. Five minutes later he was thundering down 
 the hill towards the broken land between Sturm and 
 the Odenstock. 
 
 Von Hauser sought Albrecht a little later with some 
 question, and was reproached for the affair of the 
 Princess. 
 
 "Sir Philip also suffered," said the young Prince, 
 laughing. "He has become a convert to the cause; 
 he is a Don Quixote to the rescue of distressed dam- 
 sels. I wish I had remembered your excellent axioms, 
 Count." 
 
 "Sir Philip?" inquired Von Hauser, alert. 
 
 "Yes, he has thrown us over; he has started on a 
 career of " 
 
 "Your Highness will excuse me. You let him go?" 
 
 The concern was evident in Von Hauser 's tones. 
 
 "Why, yes; he can do no harm. We have already 
 the stakes, have n't we ? He can indulge his philan- 
 thropic sentiments in safety and to his own satisfaction." 
 
 "Excuse me, your Highness." Von Hauser rang
 
 THE CAPTURE 
 
 a bell and a servant attended. "Find out where Sir 
 Philip Temple is," he commanded. 
 
 "Von Hauser, what is wrong?" asked Albrecht, 
 opening his eyes. "He could do no harm." 
 
 "I think, your Highness, it is well to take no risks," 
 said Von Hauser seriously. "I know this breed and 
 this particular kind of man." 
 
 The servant entered at this moment. "Your Ex- 
 cellency," he said, "Sir Philip Temple left the Castle 
 a quarter of an hour ago in one of the motor-cars." 
 
 Albrecht exclaimed. 
 
 "Tell the chauffeur to bring the other car out," said 
 Von Hauser authoritatively, as he turned to the Prince. 
 
 His Highness suddenly burst out laughing, and then 
 stopped abruptly. 
 
 "And all that decision for a sentiment!" he said. 
 "I don't understand the breed." 
 
 "I do, your Highness," said Von Hauser dryly. 
 
 Between the Castle of Sturm and Kroon, as has 
 been explained, stretched ten rough miles. The road 
 for the first three of these was a tolerable highway, 
 on which the car traveled with fair ease and speed; 
 but across the foothills of Odenstock it began at once to 
 deteriorate. It sank at times into a mere track, and 
 the country was broken and largely afforested. The 
 car, fortunately, was of strong build, and did not break 
 down, but its speed was necessarily reduced, and across 
 the outlying spurs of the hills it crawled and bumped 
 as awkwardly as any horse- wagon. There was always, 
 moreover, the risk of a puncture, and collapsed tires. 
 Temple had inquired the way to Kroon of several 
 people encountered on the road, and he was sure of 
 its situation on a bluff of the rising forest with its cham-
 
 244 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 bers to the streaming winds of the east. And now he 
 saw it on its perch, commanding the receding valley, 
 darkling in the evening with the withdrawal of the sun 
 behind the hills. The track grew steeper, and the car, 
 which was not of high power, dropped into a crawl. It 
 stopped, jumped forward a step or two to the bid of 
 the accelerator, and then stopped again. It was ob- 
 vious that the gradient was too heavy. Temple braked 
 her, and got out. The chalet gloomed above him half 
 a mile away; and he set out on foot. He had scarcely 
 abandoned his car five minutes when Von Hauser's 
 high-powered car emerged into sight below, and groaned 
 uphill past it without a pause. The noise arrested 
 Temple, and he turned. He struck into the thick wood 
 on his left. He suspected danger. 
 
 Von Hauser leaned over and shouted an order to 
 the chauffeur, who stopped, and two men alighted 
 from the big car and went into the forest in the direction 
 taken by Temple. Then the car moved forward again, 
 upward to the chalet, for Von Hauser was anxious to 
 know if the plot had already been successful, as he 
 expected, and at the same time he did not desire to 
 lose sight of Sir Philip. 
 
 But Philip had had a fair start, and the wood was 
 dense. His design was to reach the chalet and recon- 
 noiter. It might well be that he had come too late, and 
 that the Grand Duke had already been seized. If not, 
 he intended to make his way down towards Waldthal 
 and give warning. He had the disadvantage of not 
 knowing the forest here, or the tracks in it, but he 
 managed by his sense of direction, which was keen, to 
 maintain a fairly true line upwards, and he reached the 
 grounds of the chalet successfully, hot and perspiring.
 
 THE CAPTURE 245 
 
 He made a cautious circuit of it, hiding in the under- 
 brush. He saw some of the soldiery in the grounds 
 cooking over a fire; he noticed sentinels on the confines 
 of the garden, and he caught sight of Von Hauser, in 
 conversation with Doletsch; but there was nothing to 
 tell him whether the Grand Duke had been captured 
 or not. He came to the conclusion that he had better 
 descend towards Waldthal on the chance, even if it 
 were remote, that the escort had not arrived ; and having 
 settled this, he cast about for the road. Not that he 
 intended to keep the road, but it would be by the road 
 that the escort w T ould come, and he must be in touch 
 with that artery. He hit upon a track which, he decided, 
 must lead to Waldthal, and he descended through the 
 forest in a parallel line. He had hardly gone half a 
 mile before through the tree boles he espied a man on 
 a ridge a hundred yards away. He had not any certain 
 knowledge that he had been pursued, but he knew 
 enough of Von Hauser to credit him with that fore- 
 thought; and he waited anxiously to see if this man 
 was merely a forester or charcoal-burner, and not an 
 emissary of the Pretender. The man moved as one 
 unaccustomed to the woods, and, moreover, his dress 
 was not such as Temple had seen on woodsmen, and 
 this made him suspicious. In the midst of his fears, 
 from behind him issued a noise of cracking twigs, as 
 of some one forcing his way through bushes, and he 
 turned, startled to a new anxiety. He was behind the 
 bole of a pine in a comparatively open part, clear of 
 undergrowth, and if an enemy were in the rear would 
 be easily visible. Therefore it behoved him to take a 
 risk and go forward, which he did with great circum- 
 spection, passing from tree to tree to escape the notice
 
 246 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 of the man on his left, and also to dodge the man behind. 
 He had all but reached a patch of undergrowth when 
 he heard a shout behind him, a holloa that rang through 
 the forest, and brought to a standstill the man in front. 
 The shout was renewed, " We have him ! There, man, 
 there!" 
 
 Temple caught the words, and knew he was dis- 
 covered. He began to run, and reaching the under- 
 growth, plunged into it. Now he was aware that he 
 had to deal with two men, and he guessed that one of 
 them was not a forester, but the unseen man behind him 
 might very well be. In any case the forest hampered 
 him, and now that he was discovered there was no point 
 in keeping to it. He recalled, with a certain wincing 
 of the mind, that former chase in the forests of the 
 eastern Odenstock, and he turned through the under- 
 wood on to the road. He would challenge them in the 
 open, challenge them in the strength and fleetness of 
 their legs and their physical condition. 
 
 Temple, lean and strong, and now fully recovered 
 from the effects of the assault upon him, sprang into 
 a steady sprint down the rude track through a vast 
 avenue of pines, and into the road, one after the other, 
 his pursuers followed. They gained on him at once, 
 for the speed at which they started was terrific, but 
 Temple spurted and opened the gap between, and they 
 fell away. After the first mile, one man dropped off 
 exhausted, but his comrade kept on pluckily, though 
 now with lessening hope and yielding legs; and pres- 
 ently he was lost to sight round a bend of the road 
 which Temple turned, still padding weakly on. 
 
 Temple turned from his backward gaze to the road 
 in front, and suddenly drew up. A hundred yards away 
 was a company of soldiers.
 
 THE CAPTURE 247 
 
 "The escort!" he panted under his breath. 
 
 He began to move now again, but at a walk. Some- 
 where behind him the undaunted pursuer was flagging 
 out of pure physical exhaustion. Temple felt he could 
 have run all the way to Waldthal. But as he approached, 
 his eye made a recognition. It was Du Vallon, who 
 advanced a little way in front of his company, as Du Val- 
 lon would. The Captain made the recognition almost 
 simultaneously. "Sir Philip!" he exclaimed in sur- 
 prise; and when they were at close quarters, "I am 
 sorry about this, Sir Philip." 
 
 "What do you mean?" asked Philip, panting. 
 
 "Why, your choice. It was bad, it was ungenerous, 
 unhandsome." 
 
 " Let me understand," said the other. 
 
 The soldiers had halted at a word from their Captain, 
 and were waiting. 
 
 "You have chosen the wrong side; I do not under- 
 stand you," said Du Vallon sadly. "My orders are 
 to arrest any one I meet. I regret you must consider 
 yourself a prisoner." 
 
 Philip looked back almost unconsciously. Round the 
 bend in the road the lagging pursuer had come into 
 sight, and he halted, the breathless and valiant adherent 
 of Prince Albrecht. The sight of the soldiery deterred 
 him from the chase. 
 
 Temple smiled, as his eyes came back to those of 
 Captain Constantine du Vallon. It was all so ironical. 
 
 " I am your prisoner," he said. " Yet I came to 
 
 Oh, well, we are all in a pretty puzzle. Captain, I 
 could drink a bucket." 
 
 "My friend, you shall have a glass of good Rhine 
 wine. It is I myself who thought of it." Du Vallon
 
 248 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 issued an order, and his men closed. Their prisoner, 
 panting, sat down under the pines to rest, and drink, 
 and consider. 
 
 Captain du Vallon had sent out in pursuit of Von 
 Hauser's man, who took instantly to the forest for 
 shelter; and he himself returned to his prisoner. He 
 contemplated him lugubriously. 
 
 " I do not understand why you have taken the course 
 you have," he said. "Why should you take any part 
 in our affairs?" 
 
 "Any part I have taken," answered Temple grimly, 
 " has been forced upon me." 
 
 " You are with the traitors and the plotters," observed 
 Du Vallon. " I wish to God I had not entertained you 
 that night. You drew my confidence. I entertained a 
 traitor. I have always liked your countrymen." 
 
 He spoke bitterly, but without passion. 
 
 " Captain," said Philip, who had been examining 
 the party as he sat. "You are the Grand Ducal escort 
 to Kroon. Where is the Grand Duke?" 
 
 Du Vallon flashed a glance at him. "You are 
 harmless," he said. " It is of no consequence what you 
 know now. But I wish, Monsieur, his Excellency 
 would leave the affair in my hands to be decided by 
 the arbitrament of the sword or pistol. There would 
 be a traitor less among our foes." 
 
 "So far as I can gather from your remarks," said 
 Temple with a smile, " there will in any case be a traitor 
 less." 
 
 "Well, you are at the disposal of his Excellency. 
 It is out of my hands, which is why I speak to you thus. 
 It is not probable we shall meet again." 
 
 "My friend, you are a cheerful companion," said
 
 THE CAPTURE 249 
 
 Temple, draining his flask. " But where is the Grand 
 Duke?" 
 
 "At Waldthal," said Du Vallon shortly. "Your 
 infernal plot became known. A boy escaped from 
 Kroon and revealed everything, the seizure of the chalet 
 and the capture of her Highness the Regent." 
 
 Temple let his eyes pass critically along the units 
 of the company of guards. " I really believe," he said, 
 " that you stand a good chance to win in the fight. 
 After all, Doletsch does not strike one as highly capable." 
 
 "Doletsch!" Du Vallon echoed the name. He was 
 surprised at this sentiment and its detachment; and 
 then his characteristic temperament asserted itself. 
 " Why, if his Excellency would only give orders we would 
 wipe out this brood of traitors. But, unfortunately, my 
 orders only are to make a reconnaissance." 
 
 Suddenly Temple broke into laughter; not loud or 
 challenging, but low and almost private. Du Vallon 
 looked at him, as if he thought his prisoner had lost his 
 senses. Philip had realized the irony of the situation. 
 Here he was in the hands of one party who accused him 
 of treason, while the other party would undoubtedly 
 attribute the failure of the plot to his disclosure. He 
 was between the devil and the deep sea, but it must 
 be confessed that it was not the deep sea he feared so 
 much as his Excellency Count Cavari, in whose power 
 he now was. 
 
 Captain du Vallon made his reconnaissance and 
 retreated on Waldthal by dark, carrying with him his 
 prisoner. In spite of his frank expression of animosity 
 to Temple, he kept beside him, and talked a good deal. 
 Temple's case distressed him; he could make nothing 
 of it.
 
 250 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "And to think that I was such a fool to be taken in 
 from that very night when you entered Waldthal and 
 I entertained you. Why, you came meditating treachery. 
 Sir Philip, I wish I were free to act by you as I would 
 and as is right," he ended with an impulsive outburst 
 of ferocity. 
 
 "Is it that they say?" inquired Temple slowly. "Is 
 that what his Excellency says ? " 
 
 "That you have plotted against the dynasty from 
 the moment you set foot in the grand-duchy, that you 
 were working with the Suabian party from the outset. 
 Yes, that is said. Of course we know it is so." 
 
 " I wonder," said Philip, half to himself "I wonder 
 exactly how much of that the Chancellor believes." 
 
 "Believes!" Du Vallon fired. "All the truth, all 
 that there is, that is proved." 
 
 "Captain," replied Philip, with his pleasant smile, 
 "Truth is said to be in a well and drowned. You 
 remember I entered Waldthal on a mission of mercy." 
 
 " Yes. Ah ! It was a good excuse, a most skillful 
 entrance." Du Vallon nodded his head. "I can talk 
 to you now just like this, because you are in his Ex- 
 cellency's hands. There is no question as to how he 
 will deal with you. Otherwise I should never be like 
 this before you. I wish it was otherwise. But I obey 
 orders. Oh, yes, a fine dramatic entrance." 
 
 He felt that he was indulging a prisoner in the 
 condemned cell. All was over for this meddlesome 
 Englishman. 
 
 "Why do you suppose I am here?" asked Temple 
 suddenly. 
 
 " By the Grace of God, and my good luck." Du Val- 
 lon spread out his hands in a gesture.
 
 THE CAPTURE 251 
 
 " If I told you that I had come with the express pur- 
 pose of warning you against the plot to kidnap the 
 Grand Duke " said Philip and paused. 
 
 " My dear sir, you may say so if it pleases you," said 
 Captain du Vallon airily. 
 
 "But the man behind was Prince Albrecht's man 
 pursuing me," protested Philip. 
 
 "It is a pity in that case we failed to capture him," 
 said Du Vallon indifferently. 
 
 Temple turned away. All the facts, as seen by this 
 simple-minded and elemental soldier, were dead against 
 him. It was hopeless to argue with him. And he saw 
 beyond to other and succeeding arguments, when life 
 should be wholly at stake, and he winced and looked 
 aside. For if Du Vallon would not be convinced 
 Du Vallon, his friend how much chance had he 
 with Cavari his enemy ? 
 
 It was evident that he had none, as he realized to 
 the full when they arrived at the Castle. He was put 
 into a guard-room, pleasant enough in appearance, 
 and prettily situated with an outlook over the valley and 
 village below; and he was served with food and wine 
 like an honored guest. It was some time later that the 
 Chancellor visited him. There was no change visible 
 in his Excellency's face, and his expression showed no 
 sign of triumph. He greeted Temple with formal 
 courtesy and took a seat. 
 
 "The time seems to have come for a settlement 
 between us, Sir Philip Temple," he said, speaking in 
 an even, cold tone. 
 
 " I agree with your Excellency," said Philip, measur- 
 ing him with undisturbed eyes. "I should very much 
 like a settlement."
 
 252 ALISE OF ASIBA 
 
 " You realize the nature of your offense ? I warned 
 you some time back. I gave you your chance, and you 
 refused to take it. You chose to defy me. What I 
 foresaw then has come about." 
 
 "The seizure of the Castle of Sturm?" inquired 
 Philip politely. 
 
 But the Chancellor held the winning cards, and he 
 did not even acknowledge the hit by a difference of 
 tone. 
 
 "You have violated the hospitality of the grand- 
 duchy," he continued in his judicial voice, " and thrown 
 in your lot with its enemies. For such an act there can 
 only be one name and one penalty." 
 
 " ' I '11 be judge, I '11 be jury,' 
 Said cunning old Fury." 
 
 The jingle from "Alice in Wonderland" adapted 
 itself to the situation in Philip's head. " I wonder," 
 he said, repeating his query put to Du Vallon, "how 
 much you believe of it all." 
 
 The Chancellor met his gaze steadily. "I assume," 
 he said, " that a native willfulness and perhaps a sense 
 of adventure have led you into this pass ; but I can hold 
 out no hopes on that ground. I must warn you to be 
 prepared." 
 
 "I am quite prepared," replied Temple simply. 
 
 The Chancellor bowed and rang a bell, which brought 
 in an orderly. 
 
 "Call Captain du Vallon," he commanded, and for 
 a moment after the message had gone stared mutely 
 at the table. " I regret," he said slowly after this silence, 
 "that this is the end. I have no option." 
 
 What was there in that passionless, hard voice that
 
 THE CAPTUKE 253 
 
 had altered? Was it possible that a touch of emotion 
 entered it? For a moment Philip had a vision of the 
 father of pretty Truda patting her hair. In that prosaic 
 voice was there indeed a note of regret, of pain even, of 
 dumb resignation ? Philip stared at the gray face before 
 him, and then the door opened. Du Vallon entered 
 with two of his men and the Chancellor lifted his eyes. 
 
 " Convey the prisoner to the court," he said harshly. 
 
 Temple wondered. Was he to be tried now ? Surely 
 not. Legal forms would have to be considered. He 
 passed under guard along the corridors, and as he passed 
 there returned to him a memory, worn with strange 
 emotions. Was it not here that passing once (how 
 many years back was it?) he had caught a glimpse of 
 a gray figure fading into gloom ? He looked down the 
 corridor shrouded in twilight. But he remembered that 
 the Princess Alise was in Sturm, a prisoner like him- 
 self, and probably held to ransom. A whirl of odd 
 sensations, some pleasurable and others painful, filled 
 him. He looked back on the eventful weeks which 
 lay between his first and his second visit to the Castle 
 of Waldthal. They seemed crowded with incidents, 
 with adventure, with life. He had begun inauspiciously 
 with death ; and he was to end 
 
 His guards stopped before a door, and he was con- 
 ducted into a fairly large and well-lighted chamber. 
 At a table at the head of the room sat three men in 
 military costume, two in conversation, and the third 
 turning over some papers. They looked up as the 
 party entered, and Captain du Vallon saluted and went 
 forward to speak to the man in the middle. Presently 
 the latter nodded and looked at Temple. 
 
 "Sir Philip Temple?" he said inquiringly.
 
 254 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I am he, gentlemen, but may I ask who are you?" 
 said Philip, in a clear, steady voice. 
 
 "This is the court appointed to try your case," said 
 the other briefly. 
 
 "The court!" exclaimed Philip. "But my trial, I 
 assume, will be by the ordinary courts." 
 
 "You seem to be unaware, sir," said the President, 
 "that martial law has been proclaimed in Eisenburg."
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 
 
 Chancellor had refused to recognize the real 
 -1- state of affairs until forcible circumstances com- 
 pelled him. All along, as has been pointed out, the 
 pretense was made on both sides that Albrecht's seizure 
 of Sturm was not political. The Chancellor had made 
 the pretense because otherwise he would have been 
 compelled to recognize a state of war, and he was un- 
 prepared for that. So he temporized while he hurried 
 on preparations and the army was being mobilized. 
 The seizure of Kroon, however, and the capture of the 
 Regent, overt acts of war, had left him no option. The 
 army had received its orders and was camping at that 
 moment on the flank of Eisenburg city; and martial 
 law had been proclaimed throughout the grand-duchy. 
 Waldthal was protected by the regiment of guards, 
 whose colonel now presided over the tribunal which 
 was to decide as to Sir Philip Temple's guilt. 
 
 Colonel Lastner was a man of vigor and decision 
 and was a soldier to the finger-tips. He was also a 
 patriotic adherent of the Wolfgangs. 
 
 "If we make an example of the first scoundrel we 
 have caught, we shall go far to frighten the others," 
 he said to his colleague, Major Tepac. For all that 
 the loyalists had to fear was death in honest battle; 
 whereas for the invaders, if vanquished, remained a
 
 256 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 dishonorable death by execution. As Philip, passing 
 the length of the corridor, had recalled an earlier epi- 
 sode in his life, so now, facing the court over which 
 Colonel Lastner presided, he recalled his mock trial 
 in Waldthal and the smooth face of M. Preval. The 
 faces of his present judges showed nothing of that 
 smoothness. They were as hard and as wooden as that 
 of the Chancellor himself. A recital of the charges 
 against him followed the line which Temple had ex- 
 pected. It was a long and formal document, and he 
 wondered as he listened how it had been compiled in 
 so brief a space. Then it flashed through him that it 
 had not been compiled since his arrest; it had been 
 ready waiting. Oh for some means of tearing out of 
 the Chancellor his secret ! The riddle which had be- 
 wildered him so long, all through his stay in Eisenburg, 
 which had indeed been the magnet keeping him in the 
 grand-duchy, was still bewildering him. He had come 
 no nearer solving it, and it seemed as if he might die 
 now, leaving it eternally unsolved. 
 
 But if the recital was long, not so were the proceed- 
 ings. They were confined with military brevity to 
 evidence of facts. When little Kuss appeared to his 
 call Temple, remembering the suspicions which had 
 grown in him of late, was not surprised; but he was 
 surprised at the remarkable care with which his move- 
 ments had been followed. Spies had been at his heels 
 ever since his appearance in Waldthal. He had been 
 thought worth watching from the outset. He remem- 
 bered little Kuss at his elbows again and again. There 
 he was looking at his telegram in a post-office, and 
 there he was again at Lasheim, talking to the chauffeur, 
 the chauffeur who had played him false. It was easy
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 257 
 
 to demonstrate through Kuss's testimony that Sir 
 Philip Temple had been at the conference of the con- 
 spirators in the house of one Herr Kartolen, otherwise 
 Count von Hauser, agent of the Suabian Pretender. 
 It was easy to demonstrate that he had appeared in 
 the nick of time to rescue Prince Albrecht, when he 
 should have been seized by the Chancellor's secret 
 police. It was proved that he was familiar with Baron 
 Favrinck, "a notorious partisan" of the Suabian; and 
 he had been the guest of Prince Albrecht himself at 
 Sturm. He was sworn to as being present in the Prince's 
 suite at the Round Table conference by two military 
 witnesses. When finally Captain du Vallon came to 
 the table the prisoner saw the net closing about him. 
 Du Vallon testified to the arrest of the prisoner as he 
 was descending the Kroon road. 
 
 Regarding his judges steadfastly, Philip came to 
 the conclusion that they were honest men, and not such 
 as the judges before whom he had previously appeared. 
 But it was equally clear to him that they were preju- 
 diced and blinded by their prejudice in that critical 
 hour of Eisenburg's history. To his explanation of 
 his presence in Von Hauser's room he received no 
 response but silence; his statement of the relations with 
 Baron Favrinck was heard with manifest impatience; 
 and his description of his rescue of Prince Albrecht as 
 accidental was received with a shrug of the shoulders. 
 
 " I did n't even know who he was," he protested, 
 and here for the first and only time a grin went round 
 the court. 
 
 "You deny also, I suppose, that you have been at 
 Sturm with the Pretender?" asked the President with 
 sarcasm.
 
 258 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "No, I was there, but I had nothing to do with the 
 Prince's schemes. I was there as one gentleman stay- 
 ing with another. I came away from Sturm this after- 
 noon for the purpose of giving warning of the plot 
 against the Grand Duke." 
 
 This claim seemed to try the President's patience. 
 He lifted his eyebrows and frowned. "Where is your 
 evidence of that?" he inquired brusquely. 
 
 "I have no doubt Prince Albrecht would testify to 
 the truth of my statement," said Philip, feeling as he 
 spoke the weakness of his position. 
 
 "Unfortunately, you are not in a position to call 
 Prince Albrecht, whose testimony, moreover, would be 
 open to suspicion," observed the President dryly, and 
 feeling that things were not being conducted with 
 proper military speed, he hastened forward. 
 
 The verdict and sentence of the court had by this 
 time become a foregone conclusion. Philip was aware 
 of it, and he heard both with an impassive face. His 
 clear, fine eyes moved deliberately from one to another 
 of his judges all the while, and as the President's voice 
 ceased they strayed to where the witnesses sat. Cap- 
 tain du Vallon's gaze took hold of his and dwelt 
 there for a moment. The soldier's expressed more 
 than the prisoner's; it was sad and dull and re- 
 proachful. At the touch of his guard Philip Temple 
 turned, and walked from the room without having 
 spoken. 
 
 To Count Cavari in his room, busily engaged over 
 the telephone with the General in command at Eisen- 
 burg, came news of the court martial's findings. He 
 took the document from his secretary, and read it 
 slowly. The secretary went on with his work, and the
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 259 
 
 Chancellor sat back in his chair, the telephone receiver 
 in his hand for a moment forgotten. At what was he 
 looking? What vision was flitting through his mind? 
 Here was a clear case for rejoicing, in that a dangerous 
 enemy of the dynasty had come to his proper end. 
 Yet he did not look triumphant. Dangerous ! Ah, 
 yes; this was the end of a danger, a grave danger. 
 He was right. He sighed as it might be from relief 
 and lifted the receiver, and at that instant an excited 
 official burst into the room unceremoniously. 
 
 "Your Excellency, her Highness has arrived from 
 Sturm." 
 
 The Count laid the receiver on the table, and stared 
 at his subordinate. 
 
 "Her Highness has arrived!" he repeated. "I do 
 not understand." 
 
 " Her Highness was released and sent forward under 
 escort from Sturm," said the official. 
 
 The Chancellor rose. " I must see her at once. Keep 
 the end of this wire," he commanded, "and report 
 at once any information that comes through from the 
 capital, particularly despatches from Generals Mainz 
 and Dorreller. The movements in Montrais are of 
 special importance." 
 
 He passed out of the room on these words, and his 
 steps rang sharply in the passage. The Princess had 
 arrived ! It was news he had not expected, and he 
 wondered what it portended. Could it mean by any 
 possibility that the Suabian had thrown up the sponge ? 
 Or was it a step in some deeper plot ? 
 
 It seemed that it signified neither surrender nor 
 finesse. The Princess was resting back in her chair 
 when he was admitted, and looked tired and pale, but
 
 260 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 she sprang into life at once as she extended her hand 
 and he bowed over it. 
 
 "You have done well, your Excellency. Your action 
 was most prompt. You have saved the Grand Duke," 
 she cried impulsively. 
 
 A faint flash stirred in the grayness of the Chan- 
 cellor's cheeks. "I am honored by your Highness's 
 appreciation," he said. "The providential escape of 
 the page enabled us to change our plans in time. He 
 reported the presence of the enemy and your seizure. 
 I am glad to be able to congratulate your Highness on 
 your escape." 
 
 "Escape! No, it was a release, Count." Alise bit 
 her lip and frowned. "They had no further use for 
 me. They relied upon the plot going through; and 
 when it failed there was no point in detaining me. 
 At least, I don't know. Perhaps they thought they 
 had succeeded. I thought so, until I reached Wald- 
 thal. No, but they must have known. It was Count 
 von Hauser who released me. I saw the Suabian but 
 once, odious wretch, and he jeered at me. He was " 
 
 She paused as the tall, unanswering figure of Temple 
 crossed her mind. 
 
 "It is war now," she said abruptly. 
 
 "It is war," agreed Cavari, "but the odds are on 
 our side. General Mainz has five thousand troops 
 which he can throw north or south. We are watching 
 the Graumark border. Colonel Scheiller holds the 
 road to the north. I am expecting to hear Dorreller's 
 report at any moment. That should tell us where to 
 strike the main blow." 
 
 The Princess listened intently. " I am rejoiced to hear 
 this, your Excellency," she said, flushing. "I see you
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 261 
 
 were right in your tactics; you waited till the organi- 
 zation was complete. I withdraw my criticism. I am 
 afraid I have often been impatient." 
 
 The Chancellor was not the man to take undue 
 advantage of this generous apology. He bowed, and 
 a little smile illumined his face. 
 
 "I think we can rely on our generals. The mo- 
 bilization has been quite successful; and now that 
 your Highness is back to inspire the Army with 
 enthusiasm " 
 
 "It is the Grand Duke's part," she interrupted 
 quickly. 
 
 "The Grand Duke is an infant," said the Count, 
 still smiling, "and is represented by the Regent. It 
 is around the Regent as representative of his Highness 
 that patriotism will center." 
 
 "You think so? If I can be of that amount of use 
 
 then " She sighed. " In times like this one feels 
 
 only a woman. They tell me that there has been a 
 court martial held to-night," she added slowly. 
 
 The Chancellor's face set; he had other work before 
 him, and if his countenance had been accustomed to 
 register the changes of his mood, it would have darkened. 
 It was ill luck that the Regent should have heard that 
 news so soon. He had been master in Waldthal until 
 her arrival, and he would have acted for himself and 
 Eisenburg. Now he was under orders again. If only 
 her return had been delayed till the morning ! 
 
 "I accepted, as I was obliged to accept, the seizure 
 of Kroon and the capture of your Highness as an overt 
 act of war," he said quietly. "I immediately gave 
 orders to establish martial law in the grand-duchy, 
 fearing an outbreak in Eisenburg. I am inclined to
 
 262 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 think that the prompt measure averted the danger of a 
 rising among the discontented classes there." 
 
 Alise looked at the table. "And you had the first 
 trial this evening." 
 
 Cavari bowed. "The case was urgent. It was 
 necessary to show the conspirators that we would strike 
 at once and strike hard." 
 
 The Princess was silent for a moment, and then she 
 spoke in a metallic voice. 
 
 "Where is the finding of the court?" 
 
 " I will send for it with your Highness's permission," 
 he answered, and the necessary instructions were given. 
 
 When the document arrived the Regent took it, laid 
 it on the table before her under the strong electric light, 
 and began to read. It was couched in formal phrases 
 and legal terms which bewildered her and angered 
 her. She read a page, and then turned it impatiently 
 over. 
 
 "Is all this proved?" she inquired. 
 
 "Beyond question," he answered. 
 
 She read on, frowning, and turned another page. 
 She laid it aside impatiently. 
 
 "Why did this foreigner mix himself up in our 
 affairs?" she demanded angrily. 
 
 "Possibly he became interested in it as a sport. 
 Perhaps he was influenced by friendship." 
 
 "No, he would not - 
 
 She did not conclude. It was a scrap of her thoughts 
 thrown at him, torn from its context. 
 
 " It may be it was a matter of ambition or gain " 
 
 "No," she broke in sharply. "It could not be that. 
 The Temples of Templemore are a wealthy family 
 and of ancient descent." He noted that she must have
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 263 
 
 made inquiries as to the family possibly from the 
 Duke of Collingham. 
 
 "The point is," observed his Excellency, "that he 
 did so intervene, and must take the consequences." 
 
 "Yes, he must take the consequences," she said 
 harshly, and taking up the report turned the pages 
 quickly till she reached the end. Her eyes alighted 
 on a sentence, which was the sentence. She read it 
 twice, and then it blurred. She held the page up into 
 the light with tremulous hands, and then the blur faded 
 and it appeared as it were in letters of flame. " Is is 
 that the sentence of the court?" she inquired, in a slow 
 voice which she struggled to keep within control. 
 
 The Chancellor was confident. The interview after 
 all had taken place auspiciously, while the Regent was 
 feeling distinctly grateful to him for the Grand Duke's 
 safety. He did not notice the hands that trembled 
 or the voice that faltered. 
 
 "That is the sentence, your Highness," he said. 
 "It is the only sentence possible for such an offense." 
 
 "And when " She ceased, looking at him. 
 
 The Chancellor stirred. He saw something in her 
 face. 
 
 "I had fixed six o'clock to-morrow morning," he 
 said, wondering. 
 
 "Six o'clock!" Alise involuntarily glanced at the 
 gilt Empire clock whose ticking she could of a sudden 
 hear so plainly. It was ten o'clock. Eight hours ! 
 
 " It is necessary," she said, picking her words, " that 
 this should be signed by you, and countersigned by 
 me as Regent." 
 
 " That is so, your Highness," returned Cavari. 
 
 Alise rose from her chair. "Do you know, Count,"
 
 264 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 said she unexpectedly, "I am both hungry and tired. 
 I think we must postpone further business till later. 
 Would you oblige me by ringing that bell? Thank 
 you!" 
 
 She watched him leave, wondering to see him so 
 slight and worn. She had not noticed before. In 
 her hand was the court-martial document, which she 
 had not offered to return to him. He was quite alive to 
 that fact, and his mind was engaged on it as he went 
 out. Did she want to study it ? She had always shown 
 a reluctance to act against this Englishman. He could 
 not understand the reason. 
 
 Nor could Alise herself. Her reference to her hunger 
 was but a feint, though she was exhausted enough by 
 her untoward experiences. She felt the need of some 
 advice, of some sympathy, and there was none to whom 
 she might turn. Eisenburg was plunged in civil war, 
 and she regarded the face of the document she held, 
 as she sat in her private boudoir this Sir Philip Tem- 
 ple, with the clear, clean blue eyes, had been one of 
 those who brought it about. She drank a cup of coffee, 
 and sent for one of the ladies-in-waiting, a cheerful, 
 risible creature with a, flair for stories. But after half 
 an hour of this relaxation she tired, the flow of talk 
 irritated her, and she dismissed her companion. She 
 thought of sleep, but her brain was wide awake; and 
 she decided that it was the coffee. Her eyes fell on the 
 document of the court martial. "The sentence of the 
 
 court is " At six o'clock he would be shot, this 
 
 meddling Englishman, if she put her signature there 
 just on tjiat white space "Alise of Astra, Regent." 
 She could almost see the letters there. No, it was 
 blank ! They would take a man's life, written there.
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 265 
 
 She had never anticipated that such a duty would be 
 thrust upon her. Why had the Chancellor not managed 
 it without her? She forgot. She had returned and 
 
 was responsible. If she had not returned No ; 
 
 she was glad she had returned, so that she could stop 
 it. It was not necessary to take such extreme steps. 
 Why had he looked at her like that, the Englishman 
 with the clear, kind, still blue eyes? Well, he had 
 thrown in his lot with this Suabian wretch, and he must 
 pay the penalty. But that penalty need not be death; 
 it might be imprisonment, or 
 
 Alise of Astra had reached this point in her troubled 
 reflections when she was interrupted by the entrance 
 of one of her ladies. His Excellency the Chancellor 
 begged an audience, if her Highness had not yet 
 retired. Matters of urgency alone were his excuse. 
 
 The Chancellor was admitted. This boudoir of 
 the Regent was not a very spacious room. It was 
 rather a place she was wont to use for her private 
 meditations, a moderate-sized, pleasant chamber, with 
 windows to the east and to the south, where the range 
 of the Odenstock lay black against a lighter night. 
 The stars were out in heaven. She turned to receive 
 his Excellency. 
 
 "I would not have trespassed upon your Highness's 
 rest," he said rapidly, "but for my news. We have 
 heard from General Mainz. Dorreller reports the 
 departure of a large force from Montrais northwards. 
 He conjectures that a junction with Prince Albrecht's 
 forces is aimed at." 
 
 "This means ?" exclaimed the Princess, breath- 
 ing hard. 
 
 "Unless we are able to intercept or head them off,
 
 266 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 the junction threatens Eisenburg and the Castle," said 
 the Count shortly. 
 
 "They must be intercepted and crushed," declared 
 Alise, crushing her own hands together. "Your Ex- 
 cellency, give orders to that effect. They shall not win 
 in this iniquitous struggle, this sordid conspiracy." 
 
 She moved restlessly to and fro, her fingers inter- 
 locked. 
 
 "The report from Valovia is satisfactory," pursued 
 the Chancellor. "No movements have been observed 
 there. So far Waldthal is safe." 
 
 " It shall be safe so long as it shelters the Grand 
 Duke," said Alise vehemently. "Let General Mainz 
 reinforce us with another regiment. Perhaps they 
 will strike here." 
 
 "It is certain they would like to, as their previous 
 plot indicated; but there would be more danger in 
 Eisenburg. The Schloss has no defenses, and there 
 is always the possibility of a rising. The Castle has 
 withstood many leaguers." 
 
 The Princess's eyes were shining. " I trust to you," 
 she said, impulsively putting out a hand. "You are 
 both strong and wise." 
 
 The Chancellor bowed. "We shall strike and 
 strike hard even before they know it. I will go back 
 at once and send instructions to General Mainz. Dor- 
 reller will have the Montrais force under observation. 
 If your Highness will give me the paper you have 
 signed I will put matters in order." 
 
 The Princess looked down at the paper on the table. 
 Her eyes were blazing in the twilight, as her heart 
 blazed in the darkness. 
 
 "We must strike," he said.
 
 THE REGENT SIGNS 267 
 
 "Yes, yes," she exclaimed, and sat suddenly before 
 the table, pulling a pen from a buhl tray before her. 
 She dipped it in ink, and signed with a bold flourish 
 "Alise of Astra, Regent." 
 
 "Take it," she cried, rising. "Take it! There is 
 only one way with enemies of his Highness, traitors 
 to the State. Take it!" 
 
 The Chancellor bowed silently, and swiftly left the 
 room.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 
 
 WHEN he was gone the Princess moved to the 
 window and looked out. The light beyond 
 the dark mountains drew her eyes. It was somewhere 
 beyond those heights that the rebel forces were moving 
 to effect a junction with the Pretender's troops at Sturm. 
 General Mainz must strike between and prevent that 
 junction. Perhaps he was even now on his way, in 
 obedience to the Chancellor's instructions over the 
 telephone. Count Cavari had done well; he had used 
 Fabian tactics, and by waiting had got the advantage 
 of an unscrupulous enemy. She watched the mountain- 
 tops on which the light of the starred sky seemed to 
 rest. It must be past midnight, and creeping on towards 
 dawn. She consulted her watch and found the exact 
 time. Dawn seemed already heralded in the east by 
 the shimmering gray that broke over Eisenburg and 
 the distant plains. Within two hours it would be light; 
 and after that would come six o'clock. She started. 
 There had been nothing in the document about six 
 o'clock. She ought to have seen to that. Why need 
 it be six? She saw her name written in letters, black, 
 thick, and ominous, where there had only been a blank. 
 Did the letters matter so much as all that ? She wished 
 she had not signed. She cried out in alarm and fright. 
 She ought not to have signed !
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 269 
 
 She had never condemned a man to death before. 
 It was a shame that authority should put such a terrible 
 responsibility upon her. She had not asked the Chan- 
 cellor; but now she breathed the question to herself 
 fearfully. Would he be shot ? Would he be oh no, 
 it could not be so horrible as that. She recalled those 
 kindly clear eyes. Perhaps it was all a mistake. What 
 had the Duke said of him ? 
 
 "His mother was one of my earliest friends, and 
 I 've always heard good accounts of him." 
 
 Yes, there must be a mistake, a grievous and a ter- 
 rible mistake. What had he said when they were in 
 the twilight of the wharf together that day ? She could 
 not remember, as her mind was too dazed; but she 
 recalled the billet he had carried. He had killed a 
 man then. No, he had only been injured. And it was 
 done for her. Well, this was to be done for the child 
 in its cradle, for her dead sister's son, for the heir and 
 last of the Wolfgangs. 
 
 Need it be death? She caught at this suddenly, 
 wildly. Why need it be death? She would go to the 
 Chancellor and tell him her wish. The penalty must 
 be altered. It was to be at six o'clock. Feverishly she 
 looked at her watch again. The dawn lingered yet. 
 The Castle was wrapped in silence, yet there were 
 watchers. She rang a bell and summoned the officer of 
 the guard. 
 
 "Will you find his Excellency and say I wish to 
 speak with him on a matter of importance." She had 
 regained some of her self-possession with her decision. 
 
 "I beg your Highness's pardon," said Captain 
 du Vallon, "but his Excellency is absent. He left 
 the Castle an hour ago to inspect the defenses at 
 Valovia."
 
 270 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 He had gone then, and had no doubt made his ar- 
 rangements before going. Something like a panic 
 seized Alise. 
 
 " Tell me where the prisoner is kept," she demanded. 
 
 Captain du Vallon was surprised at the change in 
 her voice. 
 
 "Sir Philip Temple?" he asked. "In the old guard 
 cell, your Highness." 
 
 Alise hesitated not a moment. "I wish to see him. 
 You will take me there at once." 
 
 Du Vallon was bewildered, but as a soldier under 
 supreme orders he obeyed. The Princess walked fast 
 along the corridors and down the stairway to the re- 
 mote and ancient wing of the Castle in which the colonel 
 and officers of the guards had their quarters. They 
 passed one or two sentries, but the officer of the guard 
 and his august companion were unchallenged. They 
 reached the guard-cell, and at a word from Du Vallon 
 the sentinel turned the key in the door. 
 
 "Wait without," commanded Alise imperiously. 
 "I will let you know when I have finished." 
 
 " Pardon, your Highness, there is no light," stammered 
 the Captain. 
 
 " Give me this ; it will do." She plucked the sentry's 
 lantern from the floor. A flicker of light wavered in 
 the passage that led to the stone vault. 
 
 Alise passed through the opened door and closed 
 it behind her. She flung the feeble light of the lantern 
 round the cell, and was aware from a sound that the 
 prisoner had risen ere the light touched him. He stood 
 against the long blankness of the wall, and he looked 
 at her in silence. It was the Princess who spoke, hur- 
 riedly, yet with an attempt to conceal the stress of her 
 emotions.
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 271 
 
 "Sir Philip, I have come to tell you that you are to 
 have a fresh trial. I am not convinced " 
 
 "Madam!" he rushed in as she ceased breathless. 
 "Is this so? I owe it to you! But" he looked 
 bewildered " how are you here ? I left you a pris- 
 oner in Sturm." 
 
 "I am here now," she replied, striving gallantly to 
 resume her dignity and the aloof indifference proper 
 to her station. " It has been brought to my notice that 
 there is a certain question as to the interpretation of your 
 actions, and I have decided that a re-trial is necessary." 
 
 "And you have come to tell me that !" he exclaimed, 
 wondering. " How shall I thank you ! It is a beautiful 
 and gracious act." 
 
 Sweeping through her heart Alise was aware of a 
 wonder and a fear, and even of a resentment. Why 
 had he called her back to the recognition of that? Of 
 course she ought to have sent messengers formally to 
 him. Oh, she was furious with herself that she had 
 so condescended and forgotten herself and demeaned 
 herself. Why was she there, a wretched creature of 
 impulses, that never stayed to question their wisdom 
 or their propriety? In the light of her resolution that 
 the Chancellor should have this case re- tried, it had 
 already begun to seem a smaller affair, of little signifi- 
 cance. This prisoner no longer stood under sentence 
 of death. He was merely now a suspect on his defense. 
 She should turn and go forth, leaving him to digest 
 her news, and to marvel at her condescension. That 
 exhibition of her pity angered her, and hardened her 
 face as she gazed at him. 
 
 " I was not satisfied with certain witnesses," she said 
 coldly. "It may be that the second trial will confirm 
 their evidence."
 
 272 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Philip smiled very faintly. " I think it will probably 
 do that, your Highness," he said quietly. 
 
 "What!" she cried, breaking out. "Do you admit 
 your guilt, then? Yes, you must. I have interposed 
 foolishly." 
 
 Her eyes stormed, but his were very still. She re- 
 called them, clear and kind and blue. 
 
 "No," he answered, "I am not guilty; but the 
 second trial will confirm the first." 
 
 "Sir Philip Temple, what is it you mean?" she 
 demanded. 
 
 "I do not believe," he said slowly, "that the Chan- 
 cellor intends that I should escape him." 
 
 "The Chancellor! You would attribute to him a 
 prejudice against you?" she asked. 
 
 "I think," he said, as slowly as before, "that the 
 Chancellor is so firmly under the impression that I 
 am dangerous to Eisenburg, that he would not be 
 willing to let me slip through his fingers at any cost." 
 
 He had the memory of many events, of many hap- 
 penings in his mind, things unknown to the Princess, 
 who stared at him in bewilderment. 
 
 "If it be proved that you had no part in this plot," 
 she said authoritatively, "you are not dangerous to 
 the State." 
 
 "The Chancellor may think so," he said. 
 
 He would have seemed to her stubborn but that he 
 spoke so quietly, as if he had reason for his statement. 
 
 "Why should you believe that?" she asked. 
 
 "I have had some experience of his Excellency," 
 said Philip dryly. "I have felt his hand." Then he 
 changed his tone, for, after all, he liked life, and she 
 was here strangely to offer him a chance. " I am deeply
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 273 
 
 sensible of your kindness in looking into my case, your 
 Highness " he began. 
 
 "It was nothing but a sense of justice. I was not 
 convinced," she interrupted quickly, lowering the 
 lantern so that the faces of both were but dimly visible. 
 
 " I am grateful for that justice which I felt sure must 
 reside in the sovereignty of the grand-duchy," he 
 amended with a bow. "It is right that the sovereign 
 should be the fount of justice. I would appeal to justice. 
 But, your Highness, it is not possible that a second trial 
 would have any other result than the first." 
 
 "If you are innocent it would have," she said, like 
 a princess. 
 
 "It is not a question of innocence, madam; it is a 
 question of the Chancellor." 
 
 "You are singularly willful about the Chancellor," 
 she said, wondering. "What have you against his 
 Excellency?" 
 
 "Your Highness, I have detected him in hostility to 
 me ever since I entered the grand-duchy." The Prin- 
 cess did not reply; she remembered Cavari's attempts 
 to have the Englishman deported, and other things. 
 "I have been tracked all along by his spies. In the 
 Odenstock I was set upon by his bravoes, and left for 
 dead," continued Temple. 
 
 Alise uttered an exclamation of disbelief. "You 
 were assaulted!" 
 
 "I was attacked by secret assassins who robbed me 
 of a letter. Evidence points to their employment by 
 Count Cavari." 
 
 "It is impossible!" she exclaimed. "Why should 
 the Count do this horrible thing ? We are not assassins. 
 Why should he want your letter?"
 
 274 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I have never known. Perhaps that was a mere 
 chance," replied Temple. " Yet I have plenty of ground 
 for looking upon Count Cavari as my deadly enemy." 
 
 To Alise there was something final in this deliberate 
 and unemotional pronouncement of the strong and 
 quiet man before her. She felt that her impulsiveness 
 and her protestations beat themselves in vain against 
 that cold and settled conviction. There he stood, con- 
 demned to a horrid death within a few hours, and yet 
 refusing to take advantage of the chance she offered 
 him. It was fatalism. No; it was conviction. He 
 could never hope to escape that way. Was it so ? She 
 wondered and she feared. She was finding strange 
 and awful things in the exercise of sovereignty. She 
 was afraid. She could not save him against his will. 
 Her blood ran fiercely, as often in that passionate wo- 
 man's body. 
 
 "You will swear you are innocent of this charge?" 
 she broke out. 
 
 "Your Highness, I have sworn. I swear to you." 
 
 She took two steps towards him. "Come, I will 
 put you to a test that none can deny. I will try you by 
 an ordeal. They say you are guilty of a terrible con- 
 spiracy to rob the Grand Duke of his heritage. Come, 
 you shall prove them false." 
 
 Under the fierce sway of her idea she swept towards 
 the door of the cell, beckoning Philip. He advanced, 
 bewildered, to see her open the door and go forth, still 
 beckoning him. Outside Captain du Vallon and two 
 sentries stared amazed to watch their prisoner go by. 
 They fell back, silenced by an imperious sentence which 
 in his confusion he could not distinguish. Princess and 
 prisoner they moved along the vaulted passage and up
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 275 
 
 a staircase and out of the basement of the Castle to 
 the brighter lights of the superior floors. It was late 
 now, long past midnight, and only a few guards were 
 encountered at appointed places. These made no 
 attempt to interfere with the progress of the two. The 
 Princess led the way to a suite of rooms which faced 
 east and were situated near her own apartments. She 
 tapped on one of the doors here, and it was opened. A 
 dim light emerged from within. 
 
 " It is I, the Regent," she said firmly, and entered. 
 
 Temple followed her, abashed and awed. The 
 young woman who held open the door was dressed in 
 the garments of a nurse; the room was fitted as a day 
 nursery; and beyond, in still dimmer light, was a room 
 in which was a couch, a gilded bedstead of great size, 
 and upon a raised dais an ornate and golden cradle. 
 Temple understood. This was the nursery, and in the 
 heavy cradle was sleeping his Highness the infant 
 Grand Duke of Eisenburg. He realized this with the 
 balanced man's lack of understanding of a woman's 
 heart. He saw her, swift in her movements, imperative, 
 and noiseless. She spoke to the nurse, and the girl 
 retreated into a further chamber, closing the door. 
 
 You have seen the great waves beating still even 
 while the sea is returning to a calm. The high tide 
 of feeling had passed in Alise's heart, and her emotions 
 were now on the ebb, but they drew strongly still. She 
 put a hand on Temple's arm. 
 
 "You have sworn. You shall repeat it here." He 
 could hear the dying beat of her agitation. 
 
 "I have never worked or wished for any ill to this 
 child," he said gently, stooping over the cradle. 
 
 The tide receded swiftly ; she dropped her eager arm.
 
 276 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "I know it," she said. "I knew it always. I have 
 always had faith in your innocence, no matter how 
 black the case against you." She looked about her 
 vaguely. " I need not have brought you here. I could 
 have trusted you, Sir Philip. But they said you were 
 caught at Kroon the paper was so precise." 
 
 "I was taken near Kroon," he said softly. "But 
 I was on my way to warn the Castle of the plot against 
 the Grand Duke which I learned from you at Sturm. 
 I let Prince Albrecht know my intentions." 
 
 " You came to warn them ! Heaven help us ! How 
 horrible we must appear to you!" She leaned on a 
 chair, breathing deeply in her distress. 
 
 Suddenly a change in the light of the room attracted 
 her attention, and she drew herself erect. 
 
 "The dawn!" she exclaimed. "I remember why 
 I brought you here, why I wanted you to come. You 
 must go. You say the Chancellor will not suffer you 
 to escape" she stamped her foot "I will suffer 
 you to escape. It is I who do it. If you will not believe 
 me as Regent, you shall believe me as woman. If the 
 Regent cannot save you, I, Alise, shall. Go, Sir Philip. 
 There is the dawn. Quick ! At six o'clock 
 
 She broke off and listened. They were in the inner 
 room, and the door from an outer room opened, and 
 the young nurse appeared. 
 
 "Your Highness, there is a knocking on the door," 
 she said, looking at them both in a frightened way. 
 She could not understand what the great Princess did 
 here with a stranger, and in such emotion. 
 
 Alise cried out in a low voice, "A knocking, Car- 
 lotta !" She looked at Philip with white face. "I will 
 go and see," she said. "Stay here, while I see. It is 
 one of the ladies-in-waiting."
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 277 
 
 She went out, closing the door behind her, leaving 
 Philip and the girl alone with the sleeping child. The 
 voices had reached the infant, and he stirred in his golden 
 cradle, moving impotent plump hands ; a tiny wail 
 emerged. The nurse, Carlotta, bent over him, hushing 
 and soothing. Something was in need of adjustment 
 in the clothing, and the girl turned up a lamp, so that 
 the light fell brightly on the cradle. Standing where 
 he was Philip could see the infant Grand Duke, the 
 unconscious source and center of so much human 
 agitation and intrigue and trouble. It seemed gro- 
 tesque, it seemed to savor of the farcical, that this un- 
 differentiated atom of humanity should be the origin 
 of such internecine tumults and conflicts. His gaze 
 left the face and wandered; and suddenly he stooped 
 and put a hand towards the child's neck, upon which 
 the red light gleamed. He touched a brooch that bound 
 together the folds of a robe, for to his astonishment it 
 was engraved with the cognizance of a boar. 
 
 It was indeed amazing that the boar should decorate 
 the person of a sovereign whose traditional and bitter 
 enemy was himself represented by that very insignia. 
 By what strange and ironic blunder had this happened ? 
 Then all at once a memory returned to him in a flash. 
 It was a boar rampant passant in the language of heral- 
 dry. That was the crest of the Valences, Dukes of 
 Collingham ! He recalled his talk with the aged Duke 
 some weeks back. The boar rampant passant ! 
 
 He turned to the nurse, who had effected her alter- 
 ations and had hushed the child to slumber again. 
 
 "Where did that come from?" he asked in a low 
 voice, so as not to disturb the babe again. 
 
 She stared, trembled, and drew back, as though
 
 278 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 she had been struck. She stared at him as one waiting 
 for the next blow. 
 
 "What is it?" he asked, still low- voiced, and the low- 
 ness of his voice carried the panic still deeper into her 
 heart. 
 
 "I I never took it," she declared, whimpering. 
 "By the love of God I never intended to take it. He 
 wears it by night. I only keep it for him in the day." 
 
 There was some mystery in this. Temple had an 
 odd sensation, as of something bubbling up from his 
 heart and thrilling through his whole body. He was 
 as yet incapable of consecutive and plain thinking. 
 
 "Where did you get it?" he asked next. 
 
 "I found it." She got voice at least for that. "I 
 found it under the bed of the Grand Duchess when 
 she died." 
 
 "Under the bed of the Grand Duchess when she 
 died!" He repeated the words under his breath. 
 What did they mean? What did it all mean? This 
 was the badge of the Valences, Dukes of Collingham ! 
 And found under the bed of the Grand Duchess when 
 she died ! 
 
 "Were you present when her Highness died?" he 
 asked, cross-questioning still in the low, quiet voice. 
 
 "No; they brought me in when she was dead," 
 the girl said tremulously. "They brought me in to 
 take the baby, his Highness. I found the brooch, and 
 I kept it for him. No one saw it. I did wrong not to 
 tell them, I know." 
 
 Philip turned from her to the sleeping child. Strange 
 things were hatching in his mind, at first mistily, and 
 then with growing clearness. He opened his lips 
 to speak, and then was aware of a tall black woman
 
 DAWN IN THE CASTLE 279 
 
 of middle age standing towards an inner doorway. 
 She was silent, but she stared, and it seemed to him 
 that some horror was in her face. From the costume 
 she wore he took her for the head nurse. A door closed 
 behind him, and, turning, he saw the Princess moving 
 swiftly and noiselessly to him. Her eyes were wild 
 with feeling. She waved the nurses aside into the other 
 room. 
 
 "You must go at once," she said. "The Chancellor 
 is at the door, demanding admittance. He has heard 
 from the guard what has happened. He demands in 
 the name of the safety of the grand-duchy to be ad- 
 mitted. You are right. He wants your life ! I I 
 have done all I can. Am I not Regent? But I am a 
 woman. He is a man. I am afraid of him. I am 
 afraid of the Chancellor. Sir Philip, I did not know 
 he could be like this I did not know life could be 
 like this and to be in power " 
 
 Breathless she was pushing him away, back from 
 the cradle, back towards another room. 
 
 "Your Highness " he began, but she would 
 
 not hear. 
 
 "If he enters you will be lost. I see it plainly," she 
 cried. "I am Regent, but I have no power. Oh, and 
 I thought I knew ! They pretend to leave us power 
 so long as things go smoothly. In war the pretense 
 ends. Go now. Through that room a passage-way 
 leads to a window, and there is an outside flight of steps 
 thence to the garden in case of fire. It will take you 
 safely out of the Castle. You must escape from the 
 garden. Do you not hear?" she broke off. "He has 
 sent for guards, and they will force an entrance. He 
 says the life of the Grand Duke is at stake."
 
 280 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 She hurried him to the door into the passage, her 
 eyes gushing with her fear, and he was conscious of 
 the touch of her warm hands, of her breath on his 
 cheek. He was seized with an immense and terrible 
 longing. His heart was a huge and troubled void, 
 craving that he should crush her to it to fill the chasm. 
 He held her hand and kissed it. 
 
 "I will go," he said. "I will go and live. You have 
 given me life where no one else could. And if I seem 
 in return to have to strike at you, pardon me and believe 
 in me, Princess." 
 
 "I do not care. Do what you will. Oh, I do not 
 want this bloodshed. I am not fitted for it. Do what 
 you will. I believe in you always. I believe in you. 
 Go!" She withdrew her hand and shut the door on 
 him fast; and then she went back to the nursery, where 
 the awakened child was wailing anew, and the terrified 
 under-nurse was struggling to soothe him.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 
 
 ALISE of Astra stepped to the door and listened. 
 Outside were voices, low, disturbed, and mingling 
 confusedly. She turned the key and swung back the 
 door; and the group receded in dismay and shame, 
 all but the tall, spare old man in the foreground. 
 
 "Your Highness, I greatly regret this, but it was 
 a necessity in the highest interests of State." 
 
 His voice was not apologetic, though his words were ; 
 there was something authoritative in its tone. The 
 Princess felt, as her troubled eyes took in the group, 
 that she was face to face now with the Dictator. 
 
 "Other outrages in history have been accomplished 
 in that name and on that plea," she said haughtily. 
 "What is your wish?" 
 
 "Madam, there is one here dangerous to the peace 
 of the grand-duchy, a reckless and abandoned intriguer, 
 whose existence is a menace to the safety of the Grand 
 Duke, his Highness." 
 
 "There is none such here. Enter," she said, with a 
 wave of her hand. 
 
 The Chancellor bowed, turned and murmured an 
 instruction to one of the officers of the guard at his 
 back; and then he crossed the threshold. He looked 
 about the low-lit room, and passed on rapidly to the 
 central chamber, dedicated as the nursery of the Grand 
 Duke.
 
 282 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "By your gracious permission, your Highness," he 
 said curtly. 
 
 Alise watched him without moving. The guards had 
 slipped away in obedience to orders, and his Excellency 
 was alone. How she hated him that cold, implacable 
 old man, who used her like a schoolgirl with the forms 
 of courtesy and the hand of iron. She saw now she had 
 never had anything save the semblance of power. But 
 she had worsted him now; she had foiled his intrigues, 
 his schemes, his unscrupulous plans, and she rejoiced. 
 The under-nurse was bending over the cradle at her 
 task of soothing; and a gaunt figure stood a little way 
 off, showing a haggard face mutely to his Excellency. 
 
 He knew well that no one else was in the room, and 
 had known it from the moment the Princess had opened 
 the door. That was why he had dispatched the guards 
 to the gardens. The action was transferred to another 
 scene. He walked through the rooms and opening the 
 door into the passage, looked out. The line of the 
 Englishman's escape was obvious. He turned to the 
 still figure of the woman who had said nothing, but 
 still leaned heavily against a table. Nothing passed 
 between them. The Chancellor had said no word 
 since he entered. He went out again, passing the 
 Princess with a deep bow. 
 
 "I fear your Highness has been unduly tried to-day 
 by many things," he said suavely. 
 
 "By this monstrous intrusion most of all," cried 
 Alise. 
 
 He bowed again. "I deeply regret it," he said, and 
 went out. 
 
 She was worth no more now than mere words of 
 form and ceremony. She had become a mere formula,
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 283 
 
 a convention. Authority had gone from her. But 
 she had beaten the Chancellor ! She thrilled at the 
 thought. 
 
 Philip Temple reached the garden in the dim, gray 
 light of dawn, and struck across the lawn into a patch 
 of laurel bushes. He hid there listening to the noise 
 that of a sudden broke out on the air. Voices came 
 from various directions, and feet sounded near and 
 distantly. He had escaped only just in time. He 
 grew anxious after a quarter of an hour in ambuscade, 
 for with every minute the light grew, and with it the 
 chance of observation should he venture to break cover. 
 He could make out the figures of men now as they occa- 
 sionally crossed his line of sight, running to the call of 
 a comrade on the alarm, or hastening on some clue 
 of their own. He lay close in his form in the laurels, 
 and waited, trusting to find his opportunity presently. 
 
 When it seemed that the gray moving figures had 
 evacuated that part of the garden he ventured forth, 
 stealing swiftly towards the more embowered shrub- 
 beries, and so from one cover to another till he reached 
 a wilderness of undergrowth. The Chancellor had 
 taken every precaution. On discovering that the pris- 
 oner had made his escape he had reinforced the sentries 
 placed in various parts of the park and garden, and 
 he had also dispatched special search parties to scour 
 the grounds. Philip, not knowing his way about the 
 park, was at a disadvantage, for he had only a vague 
 notion in what direction to move. He knew that on 
 the north the park was fenced by a high wall, which 
 also ran round the inner garden, and constituted the 
 remains of an original investment of ramparts. The 
 park, which was less rigidly enclosed, and in places
 
 284 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 merely fenced, lay below this. Here it was that Philip 
 had trespassed on the occasion of his arrest in the 
 character of Ketschinski; and towards this he was 
 anxious to descend, as offering him the most likely 
 chance of escape. His trouble was that he did not know 
 what gave access to the park. He had heard of the 
 transmogrified ramparts, and was wondering if there 
 were any considerable breach or breaches in it. It 
 would be very easy to set a guard before these and so 
 close him in. Yet it was worth reconnoitering in case 
 the approaches below should prove practicable for one 
 reason or another. 
 
 He scouted among the shrubs of the wilderness, 
 drawing farther downward with each step, and at last 
 came to a pause, for across a stretch of lawn he could 
 see the wall, and as far as his eye could carry in the dim 
 light wall and wall again. There was no hope that way. 
 
 He turned back, struck as silently as might be through 
 the undergrowth northward, and presently found him- 
 self in a large fruit garden. The wall here had been put 
 to the practical uses of horticulture. Old established 
 peach-trees swarmed up its faded red bricks; plum- 
 trees and pear-trees also reached towards heaven. High 
 above the glass houses the wall sailed, to a height of 
 thirty feet, and a huge wistaria laden with its lilac trusses 
 scrambled along the outer face of a fruit-house. He 
 made his approach at this point with the greatest caution, 
 moving from shadow into shadow, by gooseberry and 
 currant bushes, and under the shelter of out-door vines, 
 until he had come to the greenhouses. On each side 
 of these the wall descended to its normal level, which 
 was some fifteen feet. Philip felt his way past vinery and 
 pinetum and stove-house until he had got beyond the
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 285 
 
 buildings themselves and to the neighborhood of some 
 potting-sheds. At these he threw a glance, and his 
 heart leaped afresh. He could climb from them to the 
 top of the wall, and so jump to the ground without the 
 Castle precincts. 
 
 He lost no time in scaling one of the sheds, and then 
 reached the wall above it. It was immensely broad, 
 and had clearly served in former times to defend the 
 Castle from the enemies of the Wolfgangs. Perhaps 
 even now it would be called upon to do so again. With 
 one glance behind him to see that he had not been 
 detected, he scrambled over the wall and leaped down 
 into the arms of a sentry ! 
 
 It was no time to reflect that this was probably an 
 honest Eisenburger bent on defending his country. 
 It was a question of life for Philip. The man had evi- 
 dently been crouching under the wall, waiting, no 
 doubt, from the time he had seen the escaped prisoner's 
 head appear above. He clutched Temple in a fierce, 
 determined grip, making, however, no attempt to use 
 his weapons. The surprise, coming upon him with 
 such a shock, galvanized Temple into an almost incred- 
 ible strength. It was as if the man's hands had been 
 snapped asunder. They parted, leaving him thrust 
 back, and gaping with his exertions. Then he recovered, 
 and plucking out his bayonet, thrust forward with it 
 ferociously, missed and stumbled. The next moment 
 he went down inanimate under the butt of his own 
 rifle, which he had dropped and Philip had picked up. 
 The latter paused momentarily to wonder if he should 
 carry the weapon with him in his flight, but decided 
 quickly to abandon it. It would encumber more than 
 it would avail him in what lay before him.
 
 286 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 His design, now that he was without the Castle walls, 
 was to make for the border and cross into German 
 territory. He calculated that northward it was scarcely 
 more than fifteen miles to Constantia, which would 
 suit him very well as a convenient center for such oper- 
 ations as he felt were still incumbent on him. He left 
 the wall, and with an easy loping run crossed the road 
 and struck northwards by the fields. The light had 
 spread up the eastern sky, lay in a dull pool down the 
 valley, and softened the dark crags and forests of the 
 Odenstock. When he had gone a mile he dropped 
 into a walk, thinking that he had put enough distance 
 between him and Waldthal, and being unwilling to 
 attract the attention of such of the country folk as might 
 be about. Next he drew near to a village of some size, 
 and skirted it to the east, being afraid lest the Chan- 
 cellor might have communicated with the authorities 
 and given them the alarm. His detour took him wide 
 of some hills into a farmland district where life was 
 already astir. He climbed an ascent, and halted on 
 the top to stare over the country which he had traversed. 
 Dawn was now full, and the fiery aura of the sun was 
 striking splendor in the eastern plains beyond the Effel. 
 It lit up the fields of the intervening valleys, and glit- 
 tered in a thousand petty lights from a distant hill. 
 He considered these and drew his deductions. It was 
 an army marching towards Waldthal. Was it a hostile 
 force ? Or was it the army of the grand-duchy moving 
 from Eisenburg? He knew nothing of the disposition 
 of the forces, or of what had happened since his arrest. 
 To him either party signified danger; and so he struck 
 northwards again, holding to the fields as much as pos- 
 sible and avoiding human intercourse. Above the
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 287 
 
 village of Favrette he shied at a farm building, though 
 by this time he was feeling exhausted, and would have 
 been glad of some refreshment and rest. To avoid it 
 he crossed a brook, passed through a hedge, and entered 
 a little wood. The moment after his entry he was in 
 the hands of two soldiers. He would have struggled, 
 but saw the hopelessness of doing so, for out of the under- 
 growth at the shout of his captors appeared a dozen 
 more. They spoke in German, and the tired man learned 
 wearily that he had fallen into the hands of Albrecht's 
 skirmishers. 
 
 As he was obviously no farmer they at once as- 
 sumed him to be a spy from Waldthal, and he was 
 bundled to the rear to be interviewed by the Captain, 
 a swaggering, swashbuckling fellow with a toasted 
 nose. 
 
 " Where do you come from ? " he demanded shortly. 
 
 "Waldthal Castle," declared Philip truthfully. 
 
 " Ha ! Who are you and what is your business ? " 
 
 "My name is Temple. I am English, and I am at 
 present only anxious to escape to Constantia." 
 
 The Captain eyed him narrowly and suspiciously. 
 "That is a likely tale," he sneered. "Why do you 
 want to escape?" 
 
 "Because," said Temple, "I have no desire to be 
 mixed up in a quarrel with which I have nothing to do." 
 
 This answer baffled the man for a moment, and then 
 he renewed his attack. 
 
 "How come you to be in this state?" He indicated 
 the absence of hat, and the general disorder of Philip's 
 clothes. 
 
 "I have succeeded in making my escape, Captain," 
 replied Temple. " I was in prison."
 
 288 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "Well, you shall be in prison again," he retorted 
 grimly, and shouted an order to his men. 
 
 In the issue Philip found himself being conducted 
 to the rear, and marched over two miles of country 
 littered with the tracks of the Suabian to Albrecht's 
 base, at Maagen. Colonel Doletsch had taken possession 
 of the village inn, and turned it into his headquarters; 
 and before him the captive was taken. 
 
 " Gives the name of Temple, claims to be English, 
 and to have escaped from Waldthal." The Colonel, 
 hard-bitten and abrupt, looked up from the notes. 
 He tried to recall something, frowning; and then he 
 grinned. 
 
 Spy ! No, but a capture more valuable than that 
 of many blundering spies. He dispatched a messenger 
 with a scribbled note, and went on with his work with- 
 out paying any further attention to the prisoner until 
 the door opened to admit not one of his many order- 
 lies and aides, but Baron Favrinck. 
 
 " Ah, Baron, I sent for you as I have a friend of yours 
 here, I believe." 
 
 Favrinck's moody eyes lighted. " Sir Philip Temple ! " 
 he exclaimed. " Well met, Sir Philip, and at an inter- 
 esting juncture. But I 'm afraid if you are in hopes of 
 carrying away news this time you will be disappointed." 
 
 "I have no wish to carry news," said Philip. "My 
 only wish is to make Constantia." 
 
 The Baron made an appearance of reflection. " Con- 
 stantia ! I don't think you are likely to get so far 
 at least not if I am consulted, and I generally am in 
 these affairs." He brayed with laughter, and almost 
 Philip thought he could see the fangs of the Boar. 
 "Colonel, when do we move?" he asked abruptly.
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 289 
 
 The other murmured something which was inaudible 
 to Temple. "Oh, well," went on Favrinck, "we have 
 a little time still in which to amuse ourselves. This 
 is what romancers call poetic justice, I believe." He 
 smiled on the Colonel and on Temple also, mightily 
 pleased. "But we must have Von Hauser. I shall 
 always have this against Von Hauser. The comedy 
 will not be complete without him." 
 
 He called an orderly and sent him off with a verbal 
 message. 
 
 " Baron Favrinck's compliments to Count von Hauser, 
 and he specially requests his presence on an affair of 
 immediate importance." 
 
 This message, reaching the Count while in consul- 
 tation with Prince Albrecht, brought both forthwith 
 to the scene. Von Hauser's face tightened slightly as 
 his eyes fell on Temple; Albrecht smiled and nodded. 
 The Baron beamed. 
 
 "Now, Von Hauser, I have you on the hip, infidel," 
 he exclaimed. "Your Highness, here we have the 
 truant." 
 
 "So I perceive," said Albrecht pleasantly. "Pray, 
 Sir Philip, how did you fare?" 
 
 Philip made a whimsical face. "As your Highness 
 sees," he replied, "but badly. Count Cavari seemed 
 to think of me as ill as does Baron Favrinck. In fact, 
 the prisoner has no friends." 
 
 Von Hauser was eyeing him without expression, but 
 carefully. 
 
 " I always told you," said the Baron to him trium- 
 phantly, "that this young gentleman was playing a 
 deeper game than you thought. And by Heaven he 
 took me in, thanks to you !" he roared angrily.
 
 290 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Von Hauser paid no heed. 
 
 "If I might have a chair," said Philip quietly, "I 
 should be greatly obliged. The fact is, I have been on 
 the run for some hours and had a trying time before 
 that." 
 
 " Where do you come from, Sir Philip ? " inquired 
 Albrecht, motioning for a chair. 
 
 " I broke out of the Castle of Waldthal as near as 
 I can make out about three this morning," said Philip 
 slowly. 
 
 " They do not seem to welcome their allies in Wald- 
 thal," said Albrecht pleasantly. "No wonder Cavari 
 loses adherents, if he treats all like this." 
 
 "Anyway, it's out of the frying-pan into the fire," 
 said the Baron grimly. 
 
 "Pardon me, Baron, I thought it was understood," 
 Albrecht spoke civilly, but with strange firmness and 
 authority. "I gave Sir Philip permission to depart, 
 knowing his intention." 
 
 The Boar glowered. "If your Highness takes 
 this tone " 
 
 " I do," said the Suabian shortly. 
 
 The Boar growled. 
 
 "It may perhaps relieve Baron Favrinck's mind 
 and ease his conscience," said the prisoner coolly, "if 
 I say that I arrived too late to interfere with the kid- 
 napping plot at Kroon. News of it had been carried 
 by an escaped page." 
 
 Von Hauser seemed to give a little nod. 
 
 "Really!" said Albrecht. "This is interesting. 
 And so they did what my friend the Baron is doing 
 in his turn, took you for a spy, and threw you into 
 prison?"
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 291 
 
 "I was accused," said Philip, looking at the Baron, 
 "of being concerned in the plot as agent for Baron 
 Favrinck." 
 
 The Prince burst out into laughter. "What divine 
 irony!" he exclaimed. "What a situation! and Fa- 
 vrinck here clamoring for your blood !" 
 
 The Colonel, who had listened to all this with interest 
 and in silence and possibly in wonder, here broke in, 
 his military side asserting itself. 
 
 "If Sir Philip has come from Waldthal, he should 
 be able to give us information as to the state of things 
 there." 
 
 "Sir," said the prisoner, turning to him, "I have 
 taken no part whatsoever in these internecine affairs 
 of the country, nor shall I take part in them." 
 
 "It seems to me that you have already taken too 
 large a part in them," sneered the Boar. 
 
 Albrecht lifted a hand that suggested silence. " I 'm 
 sorry you have come by such bad treatment at the 
 hands of the present authorities in Eisenburg, Sir 
 Philip," he said. " I hope you will give the next author- 
 ities a trial on chance. Would you be so good as to take 
 a letter from me to Constantia, a personal letter, 
 not a military dispatch. We are not going to violate 
 your neutrality." 
 
 His smile, as it always had done, charmed Philip, 
 who replied : 
 
 "Directly I am free, sir, I will do of my free will 
 anything in the world for you." 
 
 "Sir Philip, you are free now," said the Suabian, 
 turning away with his pleasant manner. 
 
 The Baron stumped from the room; the soldier, 
 seeing that the affair was settled out of his hands, re-
 
 292 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 sumed his dispatches like a good general; and Von 
 Hauser and Temple were left facing each other. The 
 latter spoke first. 
 
 "Do you know, Count, I feel most abominably 
 hungry. I wonder if you have left anything in the 
 larder?" 
 
 "My dear Sir Philip, I shall be delighted if you will 
 break your fast with me," said Von Hauser. " I have 
 already ordered a meal which should be ready by now. 
 Come." 
 
 He took Temple's arm in a friendly way, and led 
 him out of the room into a smaller private apartment, 
 with a table set out for breakfast. How good the West- 
 phalian ham looked ! How fresh and alluring the 
 coffee ! In a few minutes both men were busily plying 
 knife and fork, while the breath of the June morning 
 blew off the dew about them through the open window. 
 
 "It is wonderful, is it not?" said Von Hauser, ob- 
 serving his companion's nostrils tremble as he drew in 
 the fragrance of the morning. 
 
 "It is the hay," said Temple, smiling. "It always 
 affects me so, and I suppose there is the additional 
 satisfaction of feeling my head still on my body." 
 
 "Ah!" Von Hauser mused, looking at him. 
 
 Philip's eyes, fleeting out of the window once more, 
 rested on a party of soldiers filing through a field. 
 
 "This means bloodshed, Count," he said, coming 
 back to his companion. The sobbing words of the 
 Princess came back to him : " I do not want this blood- 
 shed. I am not fitted for it." 
 
 "Yes, my friend, it does," said Von Hauser slowly. 
 
 There was a slight pause between them. Philip 
 finished his coffee, and crossed his legs. "You were
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 293 
 
 good enough, Count," he began in his level, pleasant 
 voice, "to be interested in me and my problem." 
 
 "I was. I am," returned the Count, smiling. "I 
 may say I am increasingly interested in both you and 
 your problem." 
 
 " Well Temple broke off. " I 'm sure you 
 
 won't mind if I beg for a cigar. I've not smoked for 
 nearly twenty-four hours. Thank you so much." He 
 took one from the Count's case, cut it, and lighted it, 
 and resumed. "I shall not then pretend to doubt that 
 I shall be able to hold your interest for a time by what 
 I have to say." 
 
 The Count was mute ; he merely looked at the speaker. 
 Philip had had time even in that long, rough struggle 
 for safety to think over many things, and to confirm 
 the first amazing flash of revelation which had come 
 to him in the nursery at the Castle. He was prepared 
 with the whole current of the story as he conceived it; 
 the facts had been so long with him as separate and 
 detached items, and now they had fallen into their place, 
 as it were with a tap of the fingers. The riddle was 
 read ; the puzzle was solved. 
 
 "Let me recall to you, Count, how I entered the 
 grand-duchy tragically with a dying woman, injured 
 in the railway accident. I accompanied her to the 
 nearest house of refuge, which happened to be the 
 Castle of Waldthal. After some preliminary inquiries 
 the lady was admitted to be tended in the name of 
 humanity by the Court doctors who were then waiting 
 on her Highness, the late Grand Duchess. I never 
 saw the unfortunate woman again, and she was never 
 identified. She lies in St. Michael's churchyard yonder 
 among the unknown dead." He glanced through the
 
 294 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 open window at the beautiful June landscape. "Since 
 then I have been the victim of systematic persecution 
 at the hands of the Chancellor, Count Cavari." 
 
 "Yes," Von Hauser nodded. "It has been inex- 
 plicable." 
 
 " But is not now," said Temple. " Look you, Count. 
 The doctor who was called in to attend me at the Baron's 
 chateau proved to be a doctor who was present at the 
 accident, and whom I consulted about the woman. 
 It appears that when she entered Waldthal she was 
 in the same condition as the Grand Duchess. Two 
 children were born in the Castle that night, and only 
 one survived." 
 
 Von Hauser straightened himself. "What do you 
 hint at?" he exclaimed, shaken out of his habitual 
 calm. The hand that held the cigar trembled. "But, 
 
 my dear Sir Philip, why " He sank back in his 
 
 chair, and shrugged his shoulders expressively. 
 
 "I was the only person outside the immediate en- 
 tourage of the Chancellor who might be supposed to 
 know of the woman's condition," continued Temple, 
 paying no heed, "and I was at pains to attempt to 
 discover her identity. From that time war was declared 
 against me. I have been spied upon, I have been mal- 
 treated, my letters have been opened, and I have been 
 assailed by bravoes who took from my person what ? 
 A letter from a poor English woman inquiring into 
 the fate of her daughter, who had been maid to Lady 
 Stroud, the wife of Lord Stroud, son of the Duke of 
 Collingham, who with her husband was killed in the 
 railway accident. But the lady who died in the Castle 
 and is buried among the unknown dead, was not Lady 
 Stroud's maid. Lady Stroud's body was never iden-
 
 SIR PHILIP SOLVES HIS RIDDLE 295 
 
 tified, owing, it was said, to the ravage of the burning 
 carriage. Lady Stroud's maid disappeared from that 
 moment." 
 
 "But, good God!" cried Von Hauser, who had a 
 quick brain. "This is impossible!" and he rose. 
 
 " I had access last night to the nursery at the Castle," 
 went on Temple in his unemotional way, "and upon 
 the clothing of the child I recognized a brooch with 
 the crest of the Valences of Collingham, a boar rampant 
 passant. That brooch was picked up, she told me, 
 by the under-nurse near the bed of the Grand Duchess 
 when she lay dead. She secreted it, probably with 
 some idea of keeping it for herself, and then, her con- 
 science pricking her, she has been accustomed to use 
 it at night for the child. That brooch belonged to the 
 child's mother, by whose bed, not the Grand Duchess's, 
 it was picked up ; and the child is " 
 
 "A Valence, not a Wolfgang." The Count's eyes 
 were flashing and melting in an astonishing way. " What 
 a consummate plot ! What a master mind ! My dear 
 sir, never in my life have I underestimated Cavari. 
 Now I do homage to him ; I doff my hat to him. There 
 was only the remotest chance of discovery, and he 
 realized where it lay in you. Yet I verily believe 
 that had he not so greatly feared you, you would not 
 have discovered his secret. He has driven you to it. 
 He has undone himself. It is marvelous!" 
 
 "I think it is a very ironic situation," agreed 
 Temple. 
 
 " But but, my friend " the Count was sobered 
 
 now, his old diplomatic, cautious self again. "It is 
 an ingenious theory, as ingenious as the plot. But 
 what proof have you ? "
 
 296 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "None," said Temple, smiling back at him. 
 
 Von Hauser was silent. "As it stands, however, 
 it will be almost as useful to us," he murmured. 
 
 "My dear Count, if I had not the most convincing 
 belief in it I would not have said one word," said 
 Philip earnestly. 
 
 "I am glad you had the convincing belief," said 
 the Count dryly. " It does n't matter what belief we 
 have." 
 
 "No, I don't care what your party has," said Tem- 
 ple reflectively. "But there are one or two perhaps I 
 should like to convince yourself perhaps." 
 
 "You can already count me an adherent, an en- 
 thusiast," said Von Hauser genially. " Have you taken 
 any one else into your confidence?" he added abruptly. 
 
 " No." Philip paused. " But there is another whom 
 I should like to convince 
 
 " You shall convince him " 
 
 "It is her," corrected Temple. 
 
 "Ah!" Von Hauser's ejaculation was expressive. 
 
 "You have not told me how you escaped," he said 
 next. 
 
 Temple met his glance. "I escaped through the 
 instrumentality of the Princess," he said. "I owe 
 her my life." 
 
 "Ah!" said Von Hauser again, and then quietly, 
 "You will convince her?" 
 
 "Yes, I think so. At any rate I will write. I have 
 a plan. I think I will write," said Philip softly. 
 
 "Yes, my friend, you shall write/' said Von Hauser 
 as softly.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 
 
 TEMPLE wrote; and his letter reached the Regent 
 in the evening. By this time Cavari had the 
 satisfaction of knowing that General Mainz's force 
 lay between the Castle and the Suabian, while Colonel 
 Frankel was threatening the advance of the men of 
 Montrais. 
 
 The dispositions of the grand-ducal army were favor- 
 able, and yet the Chancellor's heart was heavy. He 
 had not seen the Princess since his intrusion into the 
 nursery, but he was in touch with her movements by 
 means of his elaborate system of espionage. If the 
 Englishman had not escaped, he would have been 
 comparatively at ease, but that untoward event gave 
 him pause. He moved about, haunted by an evil fore- 
 boding of disaster. Nothing had happened yet, nothing 
 save the madness of the Princess. He tore in pieces 
 the paper he had been reading in futile anger at the 
 emotional folly of woman. Yet there was no reason 
 why anything should happen. He reflected. He was 
 sure of his agents ; and the only two persons who shared 
 his dread secret were absolutely to be trusted. Dr. 
 Lemercier, who had been called into the web of the 
 plot, was bound to his cause by self-interest, the other 
 by fear. He thought of that other, gaunt, bleak, and 
 silent, and saw her white face and trembling hands.
 
 298 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 She had always been afraid. No, there was no danger 
 from his confederates, who had every reason to hide 
 their own participation in a bold and stupendous plot. 
 
 The Chancellor opened the dispatch from Colonel 
 Frankel, and almost as he did so in another room the 
 Princess was opening her letter. 
 
 " Votre Altesse" he had written, and his words of 
 thanks looked bare and meager and bloodless to him 
 . . . but he squared himself to his task. 
 
 "You cried that you did not want bloodshed, that 
 you were not fitted for it. Thank God, you are not. 
 Yet blood will flow and bathe this beautiful land unless 
 a miracle happens. I wonder if that miracle will hap- 
 pen. I want it to happen. As one who also feels the 
 horror of bloodshed, I beg you will do these two things. 
 Ask the under-nurse, whose name is Carlotta, for the 
 brooch which she found by the bed of the Grand Duch- 
 ess, your sister. Keep it; for it bears the device of the 
 Valences, Dukes of Collingham. When you have this, 
 confront the head nurse, whose name I don't know, and 
 inquire of her where is the child of the unknown 
 woman who died in Waldthal Castle. I myself hope 
 to put that question to his Excellency the Chancellor." 
 
 The Princess read in bewilderment, unable to make 
 out the drift of this strange communication, unable to 
 see any connection between its various parts, any 
 coherence in it. Was it possible ? 
 
 She read again, and then rang for an attendant. 
 
 "Send Carlotta to me," she commanded; and to 
 the girl, when she arrived shrinking and terrified, " Give 
 me the brooch you picked up by the bed of her High- 
 ness the Grand Duchess." 
 
 It was like obeying the instructions in a fairy-tale.
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 299 
 
 Carlotta fell on her knees weeping and poured out 
 her tale. She had designed to do no wrong. She had 
 not taken it for herself. The Grand Duke always 
 wore it by night. The Princess cut the pleas and the 
 tears short, and dispatched her for the brooch. 
 
 "It bears the device of the Valences." More and 
 more did she seem wrapped in a fairy-tale. And what 
 was this next instruction? "Inquire of her where is 
 the child of the unknown woman who died in Waldthal 
 Castle." 
 
 The nurse, bleak, gray-faced, and wonderfully silent 
 in her walk, entered the boudoir as Carlotta left, her 
 eyes red, her cheeks stained with tears. She entered 
 without suspicion, concluding that the Princess had 
 had to administer a rebuke to the careless girl. She 
 found the Princess regarding a brooch with wondering 
 eyes. These were turned upwards on the newcomer 
 with something shining and expectant in them. What 
 should come of this second instruction from fairy- 
 land? 
 
 "Where is the child of the unknown woman who 
 died in Waldthal Castle?" 
 
 The Princess's voice was devoid of color; it was 
 clear, even, and monotonous. She spoke as the pup- 
 pet of Fate. The woman before her blanched and shook. 
 She put out a hand, and clutched at a chair. 
 
 "The child?" she repeated weakly. 
 
 Alise looked on her with a growing excitement. 
 
 " The child," she repeated. " Speak ! " 
 
 The woman groaned. "His Excellency did not tell 
 you," she stammered. "The child is safe. . . . You 
 know. . . . The Grand Duke died with his mother. 
 . The child "
 
 300 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 Comprehension out of these agitated, broken, and 
 almost hysterical words flashed on the listener in a 
 moment flashed and struck her like the stroke of 
 lightning. 
 
 "The child, the Grand Duke is hers!" she said in 
 a voice bewildered and tense with emotion. 
 
 "It was the Chancellor," the woman got out. "I 
 was sworn to secrecy. He said it was necessary for 
 
 the safety of Eisenburg. The doctor " She found 
 
 she was speaking to an empty chamber. 
 
 Her agitation carried the Princess swiftly from the 
 room, heedless of all else but her bewildered feelings. 
 She sped down the corridors towards the nurseries, and 
 entered. In the golden cradle, under the charge of one 
 of the under-nurses, slept the infant whom she had 
 regarded as her sister's child, as the lawful inheritor 
 of the grand-duchy, as her special and State-appointed 
 charge. And looking down at him, it seemed to her 
 now that she saw nothing of the Wolfgangs, nothing 
 of her own race in him. She wondered why she had 
 not previously remarked on the alien features and 
 the alien coloring. " Drugged with slumber and milk" 
 the babe awaited the day of the Lord. That day had 
 dawned. Alise of Astra turned away, a sinking in her 
 heart, a strange feeling of vacancy, of emptiness in her 
 mind. She was no longer Regent; she had no place 
 there, no right there. She remembered how she had 
 proudly welcomed the privilege and the responsibility 
 devolving on her by her sister's death. She would 
 accept the office which God in His mysterious provi- 
 dence had thrown upon her, and she would be a faith- 
 ful custodian of the child, bereft of parents, and called 
 to such a high estate. She was nothing now, only Alise,
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 301 
 
 and after the first bitter moments of reaction she was 
 glad. 
 
 "I do not want this bloodshed," she had said, and 
 Sir Philip had repeated it in his letter. Well, this should 
 prevent bloodshed. She started. She must act at once. 
 She returned to her rooms, but the nurse had fled. What 
 did it matter ? She was merely the creature of a crafty 
 and treacherous man. But he should pay the penalty 
 of his crime. She wrote, not at length, but a short, 
 formal letter, and addressed it to his Highness Prince 
 Albrecht of Suabia. Within ten minutes Captain 
 du Vallon was riding with it on his way to Maagen. 
 
 Von Hauser always had several ways to his object, 
 and he was not likely to trust to one barrel when he 
 could use two. It was good that Sir Philip Temple 
 should make trial by his letter, but he had no intention 
 of depending on the success of that measure. There 
 were no proofs of the Great Plot, but that did not pre- 
 vent action being taken. Von Hauser, like Cavari, had 
 his channels open, and more especially connecting 
 with the capital, in which the Suabian Pretender had 
 a following of some importance. On the night on which 
 the Princess read her letter an astounding rumor spread 
 in the city. It started no one knew whence, and ran 
 like the fire across furze. Men whispered it in the 
 market-place, discussed it over dinner-tables, and 
 bruited it further to the winds of heaven. Of the two 
 papers in Eisenburg, one was devoted to the Court 
 and the established conditions ; but the other was freer, 
 more unfettered, and, circulating among commercial 
 classes, had even a German bias towards confederation. 
 It was this latter that appeared with the hint of a grave 
 crisis in the dynastic fortunes of the Wolfgangs. It
 
 302 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 was not an express statement; it was guarded, and 
 wrapt in cunning veils; but to those who had heard the 
 rumor (and who had not ?) the article could only mean 
 one thing. And seeing in print what each had only 
 dared to whisper, the Eisenburgers were emboldened 
 to speak openly, to wonder, and even to credit. The 
 news of this state of feeling in the capital reached Wald- 
 thal and the Chancellor at a critical moment. Panic- 
 stricken and hysterical, his accomplice had escaped 
 from the Princess's rooms to pour forth her story, and 
 crave protection. The Regent knew all about the sub- 
 stitution; she had cross-questioned her, and had shown 
 her knowledge. That she herself had been instrumental 
 in revealing the fraud to the Regent she never discovered 
 to him, and probably in her fright she had not known 
 that she had betrayed herself. The confederates eyed 
 each other grayly, the man with a rigid face, the woman's 
 fallen and shaking. 
 
 "The child was handed to you by Dr. Lemercier," 
 said the Chancellor in a harsh voice. "It is the child 
 of the Grand Duchess. You will swear to that before 
 any court. Dr. Lemercier and I will testify to the same 
 effect." 
 
 But when the report came over the wires to his private 
 office, he felt in his heart that the game was up. Was 
 it this Englishman ? How had the Princess discovered ? 
 Old and worn and white, he sat in the chair before his 
 desk, contemplating the past and the future with sad 
 eyes. Favorable reports as to the positions of the army 
 came in while he sat there, but there was little comfort 
 in those if he was to lose on another count. He had 
 staked everything on one bold act, decided upon, not 
 suddenly or on an impulse, but after long debate, when
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 303 
 
 Chance or Fate had seemed to offer the opportunity. 
 All his life he had fought against the growing influence 
 of Germany; all his life and with all his might he had 
 struggled to keep Eisenburg independent, out of the 
 arms of its powerful neighbor. To save Eisenburg had 
 become a religion with him, a faith, for which no sacri- 
 fice was too great. Whatever there was about his means, 
 there was nothing sordid in his ideal. Forty years had 
 he served the Wolfgangs, through the lives and reigns 
 of three Grand Dukes; and the end was here. With 
 the Princess crediting the story, with this rumor setting 
 the capital ablaze, there was no hope left. His scheme 
 had tottered and fallen in ruins about him. Yet he 
 could not see it perish without one heroic effort to save 
 it. If the Princess could be persuaded ! It was an hour 
 since the nurse had left him, yet the Regent would not 
 know that. She would suppose he had heard from 
 the capital; he would take her the news. It was his 
 duty to do so. 
 
 When the Chancellor, composed of face, rigid of 
 mien, and respectful as ever, was admitted to audience 
 of the Princess, he found her writing. She did not rise, 
 but gravely and coldly acknowledged his salutation. 
 Alise had thought of many things since the amazing 
 discovery. Her brain, quick at any time, if precipitate, 
 had been stimulated after the first flood of emotion. 
 She had picked out all the inner significance of Temple's 
 letter, and she had had time also to consider how she 
 stood to it all. She did not receive Cavari with the 
 furious indignation which her earlier impulses dictated. 
 She hated him, but newer feelings had intervened to 
 prevent this hatred from showing itself. It was con- 
 gealed and passive, as she turned cold eyes on him.
 
 304 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 "You desire to see me, Count?" she asked. 
 
 "I have come to report to your Highness that an 
 absurd and grotesque rumor is in circulation in Eisen- 
 burg, spread doubtless by the Suabian's machinations, 
 that his Highness the Grand Duke is not the son of the 
 late Grand Duke." 
 
 She had not expected this, but it made no difference. 
 
 "You mean they say in the capital that he is an im- 
 postor," she said in blunt terms. 
 
 "That is the unscrupulous report spread by our 
 enemies, a mischievous report which, unless energetic 
 measures are taken to stamp it out, will do considerable 
 harm." 
 
 "You are taking energetic measures?" asked the 
 Princess in the same cold voice of inquiry. 
 
 "I have done all that occurred to me as advisable," 
 he replied; "but there is one thing which is most ad- 
 visable of all" he paused, and her merciless eyes 
 raked him " that you should issue a statement in 
 your name to show the folly of this rumor." 
 
 "I have already issued a statement in my name" 
 the Princess's voice sounded almost harsh " to show 
 the truth of this rumor." 
 
 The Chancellor started. A blow like this fell with 
 double weight from its suddenness. 
 
 "What does your Highness mean?" he demanded. 
 
 " It is time we were done with pretenses between us," 
 cried Alise, and extended a hand. "See, do you know 
 what cognizance that is ? It is the crest of the Dukes of 
 Collingham, and this brooch was picked up by the bed 
 of the woman whose son is sleeping in the royal nursery. 
 The woman was Lady Stroud, and the child that is 
 called Louis XXV is her son. That" she dwelt 
 on the word " was known to you."
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 305 
 
 " Will your Highness permit me to inquire the origin 
 of this amazing cock-and-bull story?" said the Chan- 
 cellor without any change of voice. 
 
 "I know, I tell you I know," cried the Princess. 
 "The woman, your accomplice, has confessed. The 
 nurse, Carlotta, picked up the brooch. It is all demon- 
 strable. I have communicated with Prince Albrecht. 
 There is no Grand Duke here. He is the lawful Grand 
 Duke." 
 
 "You have communicated with the Pretender!" 
 he exclaimed in a louder voice. "Then, madam, you 
 have betrayed your trust. The blood of Eisenburg 
 be on your head!" 
 
 Alise's cold mask dropped from her at that. She 
 wheeled on him. 
 
 " You dare talk of bloodshed you who would 
 have sown the country-side with the blood of thousands 
 to gain your object ! " She remembered Temple. " You 
 would pass through crime, through assassination and 
 murder, to your goal. How do you reconcile that with 
 your conscience? I believe in simple justice, and in 
 single justice. You you She broke off. 
 
 "Yet I believe you have loved Eisenburg, but as it 
 should not be loved. What good or happiness or pros- 
 perity could come of living a lie ? Go now, before what 
 is due from you is required to be exacted of you." 
 
 The Chancellor stirred. He made a rally. 
 
 "I remain," he said, not without dignity, as he left 
 the room, " that I may be at the call of the State when 
 she needs me" 
 
 But when the news reached the Castle concerning 
 the disaffection among the troops of General Mainz, 
 and it was reported that a rising had taken place in
 
 306 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 the capital, the Count recognized the end, and bowed 
 to Fate. He was an affectionate husband and father, 
 and he realized the perils in which his family would be 
 placed in Eisenburg by this latter development. He 
 was first of all a practical man, and though it was prob- 
 able that his failure in this great coup would prove his 
 death, he saw no reason why it should prove his death 
 forthright by violence. It was in the early dawn that he, 
 like Sir Philip Temple only twenty-four hours previously, 
 made his escape. His motor-car took the road for the 
 capital, where he designed to call for his wife and 
 daughter on his way across the frontier. It was a haz- 
 ardous enterprize, but the Count was no coward. 
 
 A mile below Waldthal the car was held up by a 
 reconnoitering party from Albrecht's advancing forces. 
 General Mainz was paralyzed. The strange reports 
 out of the capital spread among his men wildly, and 
 though an official statement circulated by the Chan- 
 cellor followed these, there were still uncertainty and 
 gossip. Immediately upon that Von Hauser moved 
 again. He caused a copy of the Princess's letter to 
 Prince Albrecht to be sent in under flag of truce to the 
 General. Mainz knew not what to do. If this were 
 correct, the Regent acknowledged the Pretender. He 
 dared not act on his own responsibility, especially as 
 some of his regiments showed signs of mutiny. So he 
 ended by doing nothing, and allowed the Suabian to 
 cut him off from Waldthal. Among the advancing 
 troops of the German party was Sir Philip Temple, who 
 had not after all gone to Constantia. He rode in front 
 with the reconnoiterers, anxious to reach the Castle. 
 So far, indeed, he felt he had been justified of his plan. 
 No blood had been shed. He admired and wondered
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 307 
 
 at the resolution of the Princess, who had taken such 
 decisive action at once. 
 
 In the gray light he saw the motor-car. It was fate's 
 ironic revenge. This, quoth one soldier to another, 
 is a person of consequence. He must be stayed and 
 held. Temple pressed forward, where a cross-examina- 
 tion was in progress. 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "I am a gentleman traveling on private business 
 to the capital. Kindly order your men to release " 
 
 It was at this juncture that the eyes of the two men 
 met, the fallen Chancellor and his destined victim. 
 A slight smile flickered on Philip's visage, but the 
 Chancellor gazed unmoved at him. He was a man 
 who would die hard and stark. 
 
 "This is a gentleman I know," said Temple at last. 
 "It is as he says. Let him go. You have more im- 
 portant affairs to consider." 
 
 This was the suggestion of a person in high favor, 
 as was known, with Prince Albrecht, and he spoke 
 authoritatively. The men released the car, and it moved 
 forward. Cavari never turned his head, nor acknowl- 
 edged Temple's interference by any sign whatever. 
 Perhaps, the latter reflected, as he rode on, that inter- 
 vention had been almost a sufficient penalty for the 
 Chancellor to suffer. 
 
 As it fell out, Albrecht arrived at the Castle first. 
 A young man of eager and active habit, he could not 
 be restrained from a personal interview with the Prin- 
 cess in which to render thanks. 
 
 " Not only thanks," he declared to her, " but homage 
 to the most loyal spirit I have ever met." 
 
 He felt enthusiastic, and he showed his feelings. The
 
 308 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 impulsive letter of the Regent surrendering her au- 
 thority had touched him deeply. But the Princess had 
 no liking for him. To her he still appeared in the 
 dimensions of a usurper; nor could she forget that he 
 had aspired to the grand-ducal throne when he had 
 been ignorant of his rights. He left her slightly daunted, 
 to recover as was easy to his mercurial temperament. 
 She felt herself a stranger, an interloper. This was the 
 Suabian's castle, and she had no home in it, no rights. 
 Her thoughts returned to Astra, where her much- 
 embarrassed brother struggled with the responsibilities 
 of a poor soil and an impoverished exchequer. 
 
 The Suabian's soldiery took possession of Waldthal 
 without violence or display; Von Hauser did not desire 
 that they should make their entrance in the light of 
 conquerors, but as those with natural rights. There 
 was no one to oppose them, and so render force neces- 
 sary. The Chancellor's flight had left no one at the 
 helm, and it was known that the Regent had abdicated. 
 Captain du Vallon encountered Temple some time 
 after the arrival of the latter, and greeted him with 
 sad resignation. 
 
 "It is all over; there are no more Wolfgangs. The 
 line is ended. My friend, you who drank with me to 
 the birth of the Grand Duke must not mock me now." 
 
 " I have no disposition to do that," Temple assured 
 him. " I regret the denouement." 
 
 "Yet it was you, they say, who was instrumental in 
 making the terrible discovery." 
 
 "Fate used me," said Philip. "I did not seek to 
 become her instrument." 
 
 Du Vallon shook his handsome head. "All the glory 
 is gone. We have been cheated. His Excellency has
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 309 
 
 made us the laughing-stock of Europe. There is noth- 
 ing to live for. It was I who took her Highness's abdi- 
 cation to the Prince. I too was an instrument of Fate." 
 The Captain's drooping spirits revived. "I like his 
 Highness. He is a man; he is gay. Oh, he is every 
 inch a ruler." 
 
 And down the avenue of time Temple could see in 
 his mind's eye Captain Constantine du Vallon sworn 
 to the service of Prince Albrecht, and conscientiously 
 loyal to the new Grand Duke. Eisenburg would adapt 
 itself. Nothing of importance had happened, and no 
 blood had been shed. He had a mission at the Castle 
 which he acknowledged to himself, and one which he 
 would not admit. After dejeuner in the Prince's suite, 
 he set about the first. Von Hauser had lost no time in 
 restoring order, and, though there were excitement and 
 confusion, an organization reigned once more in Wald- 
 thal Castle. Under permission Temple sought the 
 nursery. He had not overlooked the enormous impor- 
 tance of his discovery to Lady Augusta's old friend 
 the Duke of Collingham. What news had been flashed 
 along the cables to the public prints of Europe he 
 knew not, but it seemed fitting that he should communi- 
 cate with the Duke personally. He entered the nursery 
 after displaying his permit, and came face to face with 
 the Princess. 
 
 Alise, after her troubled night, had awakened to an 
 empty life. She had no mission now, and a sense of 
 lassitude pervaded her. She kept her rooms, and wrote 
 letters to her brother, the Duke of Astra, to certain 
 friends, and to the Duke of Collingham. This last 
 letter set her thinking. She was not given to intro- 
 spection, but she wondered now how she felt towards the
 
 310 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 child she had supposed to be her sister's. Strong 
 curiosity mingling with an indefinite emotion and even 
 something of fear drew her to the nursery, where the 
 infant with his vacant blue eyes was awake in his cot. 
 Had she really cared for this tiny fragment of mortality, 
 or had she cared for something else, something amor- 
 phous and vague, a sentiment composed of fleeting 
 family pride, of ambition, and sisterly affection ? Never 
 again would she be ambitious. She had come in too 
 coarse contact with dreadful realities. 
 
 Nevertheless, as she looked down at the child, the 
 dispassion and remoteness of her mood changed. This 
 babe, which she could contemplate now with indiffer- 
 ence, with serene aloofness, became suddenly invested 
 with a newer, a stranger, and even a stronger significance. 
 A tiny, delicate hand moved helplessly, and at that a 
 gush of inexplicable feeling overcame her. Her eyes 
 filled; she was surcharged with some emotion she did 
 not understand. There was no room in the situation 
 for family pride. Was it pity? She could not say, as 
 the tears welled into her eyes, and drew a small sob 
 from her bosom, at the sound of which, starting, she 
 looked up and saw Temple. 
 
 He bowed silently, and after a moment said softly: 
 
 " You do not grudge what was done the down- 
 fall r?" 
 
 She shook her head. "You did what was right," 
 she answered. "There is no virtue in a lie. It was 
 all deceit and treachery," and after a moment, " I have 
 written to the Duke of Collingham." 
 
 "Thank you," he said simply; and there fell a silence 
 between them. In a little he added : 
 
 " The bloodshed has not occurred."
 
 ALISE SOLVES HERS 311 
 
 "No," she said impulsively, "I understood. It is 
 you who have saved it." 
 
 " Not I, but you," he corrected. " You who released 
 me from prison, and took that obloquy upon you." 
 
 " I was Regent then," she exclaimed a little bitterly. 
 
 He looked at her curiously. "Do you regret?" he 
 asked. 
 
 She turned her shining eyes on him, shining with 
 tears. " No," she said, "I I have no ambition. I 
 had once, but that was when I was a girl. I did not 
 dream of what life and power meant. I am a woman 
 now, and only a woman." 
 
 Temple was strangely moved. He knew now, and 
 he acknowledged it fiercely, defiantly, in every tissue 
 of his body, the real mission which had brought him 
 back to Waldthal. But he stood tense before her, his 
 quiet eyes alive with something she had never seen 
 there previously. 
 
 "Why," he asked, and his voice was exquisitely 
 modulated and low " why did you release me, 
 Princess ? " 
 
 She looked across the cradle at him, and then down 
 at the child with its vacant blue eyes and wandering 
 hands. 
 
 "You were wrongly condemned," she answered. 
 
 "How did you know?" he persisted. "You had 
 seen me at Sturm with the Prince." 
 
 " I knew," she replied quite low. 
 
 Great and habitual as was his self-control, he knew 
 it was breaking, and he did not heed. Nay, he rejoiced 
 in it. 
 
 The Princess looked at the infant, and her eyes were 
 as unseeing as the babe's. She did not see, yet she was
 
 312 ALISE OF ASTRA 
 
 aware that Philip had moved, and stood by her, not 
 opposite to her across the cradle. 
 
 "There is only one reason why you could have 
 known," he said, in a voice that shook. " It was that, 
 it was that, Princess. But how dare I? Yet if I go 
 hence, turning aside, and go with that knowledge in 
 my heart, it will be some comfort in all the years to 
 come. You cannot rob me of that." 
 
 "I would not rob you," she murmured. 
 
 He took her hand, and lifted it to his lips as he had 
 done once before. 
 
 " I will go with that assurance," he exclaimed, " with 
 that light in my heart that will not go out. You said 
 you believed in me always. That is enough." 
 
 Alise sobbed. " Oh, forget what I have been, and 
 remember only what I am," she cried. 
 
 "You what are you?" he asked in amazement, 
 all his body pulsing. 
 
 "A woman," she murmured, turning her face from 
 him. 
 
 "I will not go from you, if you are only a woman," 
 he said tensely. 
 
 " No, do not go," pleaded Alise, and trembled as he 
 took her into his arms. 
 
 THE END
 
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 " 00129346