THE CENTRE REPORTER, CENTRE HALL, PA.
LONG LIVE THE. KIN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Copyright, 1917, by the Ridgway Company Copyright, 1917, by Mary Roberts Rinehart
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CHAPTER IL
san
The Crown Prince Runs Away.
The Crown Prince sat in the royal
box and swung his legs. This was
hardly princely, but the royal legs did
pot quite reach the floor from the high |
crimson-velvet seat of his chair.
Prince Ferdinand Willlam Otto was
bored. His royal robes, consisting of
a pair of blue serge trousers, a short
Eton jacket, and a stiff, rolling collar
of white linen, irked him.
He had been brought to the opera
house under a misapprehension. His
aunt, the Archduchess Annunciata, had
strongly advocated “The Flying Dutch-
man,” and his English governess, Miss
Braithwaite, had read him some in- |
spiring literature about It. So here he
was. and the Flying Dutchman was pot
ghostly at all, nor did it fly. And in-
stead of flying, after dreary eons of
singing, it was moved off on creaky
rollers by men whose were |
thrown grotesquely on the sea back- |
ing.
The orchestra,
Not quite! At the top of the pri-
vate staircase reserved for the royal
family a guard commonly stood. He
had moved a few feet from his post,
however, and was watching the stage
through the half-open door of a private
loge. :
Prince Ferdinand William Otto
passed behind him with outward calm-
At the top of the public stair-
case, however, he hesitated. Here,
everywhere, were brass-buttoned offi-
clals of the opera house. A garderobe
| woman stared at him curiously. The
| little prince looked at the woman with
appeal In his Then, with his
heart thumping, he ran past her, down
the white marble staircase, to where
the great doors promised liberty.
the wardrobe woman,
out from behind her counter and stood
looking down the marble
after the small flying figure.
The old rented
glasses at the second landing, and who |
had left a leg in Bosnia, leaned over |
the ralling. “Look at that!" he ex- |
claimed. “He will break a leg, the |
solo and Intermittent thunder in the | couns rascal! Once I could have !
wings. was making a deafening din. | hut. there, he Is safe! The good God |
One of the shadows on the sea back- | watches over fools |
ing out its handkerchief and | “It looked
wiped nose. | the
Prince Ferdinand William Otto look- | }
ed across at the other royal box, and | hair.
caught Hedwig's eye. She | , . 0 opern-glass man was not | { to:
also had handkerchief; she : . % a . SS yi | A id : rince Ferdinand 11iis i i
took out and
mimicked Her
Royal Highness the Archduchess An-
nunciata occupied with the
storm
Prince
Fer nd William
In
consins,
Hilda,
casional rumble that told of some pal- | then they were off, up an endless, click-
pitating soul being at that moment ing roadway, where at the top the car
hurled and twisted and joyously | hung for a breathless gecond over the
thrilled, as per the lieutenant's descrip- | gulf below : then, falrly launched, out
tion,
Now it is a strange thing, but true,
that one does not reach the land of |
desire alone; the half of |
pleasure 18 the sharing of it with some |
one else, and the land of desire, alone, |
is not the land of desire at all. Quite |
lowed in his wake. Messengers clat-
{tered down the staircase to the court |
vard, Other messengers, breathless |
| and eager, flew that lighted
on a trestle, with the city far beneath | where the council sat, and where
them, and only the red, white, and blue | old king, propped up in bed,
lights far company; and into a tunnel, | and fought terror.
illed with roaring nolses and swift-| Hig eyes, weary with many years of
moving shadows, Then came the end | ryiing, of disappointments and bitter-
of all things—a flying leap down, a |pnegs, roved the They came to |
heart-breaking, delirious thrill, an up- | rest last on the photograph of al
suddenly, Prince Ferdinand William | ward sweep just as the strain was 100 | young man, stood on his bed- |
Otto discovered that he was lonely, At | great for endurance, side table.
that moment there was a soft whirring| Above the roaring of the wind In He was a
off to one side of him, and a yellow | thelr ears, neither child had heard the He
bird, rising and falling erratically on | flying feet of a dozen was
the breeze, careened suddenly and fell | down the allee, They never knew that
his feet. ia hatless young lleutenant,
Prince Ferdinand Willlam Otto bent | lipped with fear, had checked
| down and picked it up. It was a small | horse to its haunches at the
| toy aeroplane, with yellow slik planes, booth, and demanded to know
lin the land of
“Omnis 800
“that you have alarmed
people.”
sorry, didn’t think
to think.
'm sir. 1
wing | “A prince's duty 1s
the | did you go?”
ia park, sir.
to the park
hard end
to
waited | the
River
because to
ness, room.
at
hich
wil
“By ‘Nikky’ you
lLarisch?’
“Yes, sir.
“Go on.”
“We lke
Pike's-Peak-or-Bust
The king raised
“What was that?
Ferdinan
mean
"”
very
young man, in a uni- |
boyish, and smiling.
beside him, and {ts
knee, Wherever one
the eyes the
one, The king
was quite
form.
eyes. horses coming | There the same things
head wa
white- tood In
his |
ticket
his
room,
nt
on
nt the himsel
or
of
bow.
Olga, came | knew this, and because he Prince
who was blushed, explained,
dares to speak his pes
manager, at {nNOS ourhts he qanently Spo he scenic railway He
He hac
carried
anda
for the
old. and because there were few peo-
desire,
of the
staircase
soldier who opera |
shadows
he
assisted by a bass we ta out of my
search of the
followed by his
and children.”
took ike the little prince,” sald |
woman. “I have
iim often—he has the same bright | 5 { J the last ree leaped the
its
wardrobe geen
his Cousin
seen the
her own scrap of linen,
shadow. Then,
the
tel across at
Otto.
box
Princesses
by Hedw
wie
1 posite
; one hears
th the ea he f
attended h the ear, he di
CHAPTER IL.
ro
Chri :
and toward old Adelbert.
" op
ssl here,” she
honest
but
“An
ago
eves,
her own carr
ar then Am i moment
wig's name,
Ferdinand Willlnm Otto ran
ingers through which God-bles
. lina William
Hedwig blushed The arch- | known the backs
’
ind the fact mu sore roma Wb neti was
the a | The
and 1 re SOT
his father was ing of England and the e seem
Kings : directly of them And
Prince Otte up his mind to
14s . to's
a mn oF te wt
%, but ailroads a part of his own
h “I had thought of taking a
it.” he mid, after a second’s re- ‘ tod
“ { wheele at the
Ido you think your father ~ A
me a ticket?” il.
Grimm will, I 81
if strange
taking
by the shoul
to shaking. In
sound any
with
falling
were, 3
Ferdi
scenic
say,
ta v
is and a illiam \
oO tH nea k
Otto was uriou ine 80 10 RpOaA
Wi uriou ine,
rince's hit {lent } of cavalry came out from the
in im sient; Whit i |
that the crown
prince had not only initiative—witness
his flight
+ .
nurnesy
’ a thundering of
and
with
anclusively :
street,
Ferdinand Otto
11 4
con- flection
ery wearisome, If one
ander around the corridor Lucky
and at | prospect such a Kin
i
or. het-
hut aelf-control sell
country, to
1 yon."
The prince rose with alacrity. Then
he stopped. He must, of course,
Very unusual, all of it.
The Prince Ferdinand Otto ; v
| felt in his pocket for his handkerchief, j ES tache }
corner with his
|
plomacy. go with |
sandwich from the st Crown 1
of the great staircase
if
alone, and | nse
Prince Ferdinand William Otto had
the fulfillment of a
small, active mind.
a ¢
the
of the
one could only get to and, molstening a
tongue, wiped his face, Then he wiped |
great desire In his ask
one This was the
that Braithwa
pised! The crown prince felt
anen ite RO
le in
his
ance
untou
He
pocket, where his week's
of pocket money lay comfortably
hed.
meditated. - He could out
quickly, and be back before they knew
it. Even if he wandered about
the corridor, it would stretch his short
legs, And it was an fine day.
It looked already like spring
With the trepidation of na
who finds his cage door open,
hopping to the threshold, surveys the
world before venturing to explore it,
Prince Ferdinand William Otto
to his feet, tiptoed past the
go
Onty
outside
rose
and looked around him from the door.
way.
He picked up his hat and concealed
it by his side. Then nonchalantly, as
if to stretch his legs by walking ten
feet up the corridor end back, he
passed the dressing room door. An-
other moment, and he was out of sight
around a bend of the passageway, and
before him lay liberty.
nothing
American
secured a
the park.
had deseribed it
less than a ride on the
railroad, which had
concession in a far corner of
Hedwig's lieutenant
to him one
weenie
how vas taken in a small
loose on a track which dropped giddily
and rose which hurled
through sheetdron tunnels of incredible
thrust one out over a gorge,
ugain, one
blackness,
ners of precipitous heights, and finally
landed one, panting, breathless, shock-
ed. and reeling, but safe, at the very
platform shere one had purchased
ticket three eternities, which
were only minutes, before.
As the early spring twilight fell, the
made a twin row of pale stars
ahead. At the end, even as the wan-
deter gazed, he saw myriads of tiny
red, white, and blue lights, rising high
fn the air, outlining the crags and
peaks of the sheet iron mountain |
which was his destination, The land
of desire was very near!
There came to his ears, too, the oc |
strange boy to be his guest
tickets! Perhaps his
wns not sufficient.
“1 must see first how much it costs,’
he sald with dignity.
The other boy laughed,
You come with me. It won't cost
thing.” he said, and led the
toward the towering lights,
jut
nilowance
i
two
“Oh, gee!
nny-
way
boy to ride with him was an everyday
affair. Billy Grimm, at the ticket win-
dow, hardly glanced at the boy who
stood, trembling with anticipation, In
the shadow of the booth,
The car came, and they climbed in.
Perhaps, ns they moved off, Prince
Ferdinand William Otto had a qualm,
occasioned by the remembrance of the
English child who had met an une
timely end; but if he did, he pluckily
hid it.
“put your 1id on the floor of the car,”
gald Bobby Thorpe, depositing his own
atom there. “Father says, if you do
that, you're perfectly safe.”
Prince Ferdinand William Otto di.
vined that this referred to his hat,
and drew a smsdl! breath of relief. And
his shoes, Then, with his hands in
trousers pockets, he sauntered In
gsentries made
when they Ferdinand
Otto approaching. But one of them
to bring his musket to salute.
himself instead.
something strained around the
sentry’'s lower jaw suddenly
ns his royal
The two no
Willinm
saw
crossed
smile
luted. He glanced at oie, then at the
gecurely, and marched in.
“The young rascal!” said the sec.
ond sentry to himself, And by turn.
ing his head slightly—-for a sentry
learns to see all around like a horse,
without twisting his neck--he watched
the runaway into the palace,
Prince Ferdinand William Otto went
up the stone staircase. Here and
there he passed guards who stared and
saluted. Had he not been ohgessed
with the vision of Miss Braithwaite,
he would have known that relief fol
“Mere | Am, Sir" Said the
Prince.
Crown
things as they were would sound un-
grateful. Would, indeed, be most im-
polite. And then, exactly why had he
run away?
“Suppors,” said the king, “you draw |
up a chair and tell me about it. We'd i
better talk it over, I think.”
His royal highness drew up a chair,
and =at on it. His feet not reaching |
the floor, he hooked them around the |
chair rung. This was permissible be-
cause, first, the king could not woe |
them from his bed. Second, it kept
his knees from shaking.
“Probably yoa are aware,” sald the |
ing had
' They
and then. It w=
ho would quarrel with
to him as 1 y to man
quarreled
hrave man
Ferdinand IL
his
nustache
So now
d hi 1
i
eyebrows came
wp. “Hov
an went
lone, sire?”
“You do not
English woman
you?”
“She is a thoughtful and
| tious woman, sire,” he said stiffly. It
| happened that he had selected her.
| “She does her duty. And to
| boy being lonely, he has no time to be
lonely, His tutors—"
“How old is he?”
“Ten next month.”
The king sald nothing for a time,
Then-*It is hard,” he said at last,
“for seventy-four to see with the eyes
As for this afternoon--why in
the name of a thoasand devils did
they take him to see the ‘Flying
Dutchman? I detest it."
(TO BE CONTINUED)
that bi
companion,
regard
as a
goted
do
oonscion-
ns the