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EIGHT
TOLdSTSHOT
CGPYMGHZ W+, C/fARUV JC/?//3W/#J JOf'3 / / FREDERICK PALMER
In this story Mr. Palmer, the
noted war correspondent, haa paint
ed war as ha haa aeen It on many
battlefields, and between many na
tions. Hie Intimate knowledge of
armies and armaments has enabled
him to produce a graphlo picture of
the greatest of all ware, and hie
knowledge of condltlone hat led
him to prophesy an end of armed
conflicts. No man Is better quali
fied to write the story of the final
world war than Mr. Palmer, and
he has handled hie subject with a
master hand.
a—l ■
(Continued from Yesterday.)
"Hie BzoSUeocy Bays." non tinned
Ota officer, "that, although the house
f* an edmtmMy suited for stair pur
poaee. sea will dad another If you do-
T Ha wm too prfflta» and too ooosld
sraSe In hla attitude tor Maria not to
tofifl him to the same spirit.
' That la what we should naturally
BMflßr." and Marta homed her head In
todedsion.
I '’tVh should hare to begin Installing
pMrtalrfiraph and telephone service on
the lower floor at once," he remarked.
r&R toot. aU arm n*em mite must tie
pads before the general's antral."
■’ "Hfi haa been a guest hare before,"
toMto eerolntersntly and deteobedly.
' Has band daopped lower, to appar
mol disregard of hla preseuoe, as she
pah ooMoaol wMb beraelt She was
psOwfly etUL wtthaut even the move
Enat of an ojmdaeb. Other oonalden
pom than any he might suggest, he
subtly understood, held her attention.
They sets the criterion hr which she
would at length assent or dies sot. and
notbtog could hurry the Matte of to*
day, who yesterday bad been a
Otoflftgge toeurleh tbtpulsa.
R seemed a long time that he was
wetehfug the* wonderful profile under
the «ay bteok hair, soft with the soft
ness of flesh, rut firmly carved Hhe
lifted Iter brad gradually, her eyes
sweegtag pate fba spot where Del
larme bad lata flyfng, whwra filler
had mooned tba automatic. wb«*n*
Htrwnsky had fJucwrn Ptlaar oror the
parapet He m* tba glance arretted
and focugeed on tba flag of tba Ora y*.
which waa floating from a staff on the
outaklrta of tba loam, and teowly,
glowingly, tba light rippling on Its
folda waa refected to bar fsoa.
"She la for na! Hba te a Orgy?” bo
thongbt triumphantly The woman
and tba flag I Tba mstesr-of-fgat ataff
offloor fait tba tbteO of senUmont
*1 think wa can amoge It," Mkrte
atmotßDood wftb* rare aanila at aaaan L
"Ulan m to back to town and aat
tha tegadl onqn man to work." be
'And whan, rot «ooa you wfn tod
(ha bona* «t foot dtepcaai." aha aa
urad him.
Except that ha waa raising his eap
inteaad of saluting, ba waa oonactous
of withdrawing with tba deference due
to a aopartor.
In place of the amfla, after be had
genet name a frown and a look In her
•ymm aa If at something re-rolling ;
than tha amUe returned, to he auo
aaadad by tha frown, which waa fol
bteted btetehiadatarmtnata shaking of
tbohred.
[ f Ttewiaha Veranda Again.
tnoro Isrttatlng than ever for
Itha GstUand to kaap pace with bar
tssthtwk lnconslatsoclea. Hera waa
Marta tearing ooaily:
-‘Ttoto Caesar tba thlnga that are
Caaaae'al ’ Wa bare our property, our
txanw to pwjtaoC Perhaps tha Oroya
haw* eoae to at ay for good, so
gtractouanee* la oar only weapon. We
oac not light a whole army single-
SuTAr
*n>a barre found that oat. Marta?”
awld Mrs. Oaltand
"Wa haw# four rooms to tha baron 'a
tower and a kttoben a tore." Marta pro
ceeded. "With Minna we can make
oaiwatree vary comfortable and leave
tba bouse to the staff "
"Tba Gel land* In their gardener's
quarters! Tha staff of tha Grays in
ours! Your father will turn In hla
grave I" Mrs. OaUand exclaimed
"Hut. mother, It la not quits agree
able to think of three women living
In tha same house with a eoore of
strange oen’” Marta persisted
‘1 had not thought of that. Marta.
Of course, It would ba abominable I”
agreed Mrs. Oallaud, promptly capitu
lating where a point of propriety was
involved
When Marts Informed the officer—
the same one who had rung tha door
ball on is second visit—of the family a
decision ha appeared shocked at the
idaa of eviction that was Implied Hnt.
secretly pleased at the turn of events,
he hastened to apologise for war’s
brutal necessities, and Martas com
plslsanre led him to consider himself
something of a diplomatist Yes. more
than ever he was convinced of the
wisdom of an Invader ringing door
balls.
Meanwhile, tha eervtce-corp# men
had continued tbelr work until now
tbers was no veatlgs of war In tba
grounds that labor could obliterate;
and meeoea bad come to repair the
wall* of the house itself and plasterer*
to renew the broken ceilings.
All this Marta regarded In a kind
of charmed wonder that an Invader
could be so considerate. Her manner
with the officers In charge of prepara
tions had the simplicity and ease
which a woman of twenty-seven, who
Is not old-maidish because she is not
afraid of a single future, may employ
as a serene hostess. She frequently
asked if there were good news.
“Yes." was the uniform reply. An
unexpected setback here or resistance
there, but progress, nevertheless. But
she learned, too. that the first two
days' fighting along the frontier had
coet the Grays fifty thousand casual
ties.
"In order to make an omelet you
must break eggs!" she remarked.
“Spoken like a true soldier —like a
member of the staff!” was the reply.
In her constraint and detachment
they realized her conscious apprecia
tion of tbs fact that In earllsr time*
her people had been for the Browns;
but In her flashes of Interest In th*
progress of the war, flashes from a
woman's unmllltnry mind, they Judged
that her heart, was with the Grays. And
why not? Was It not natural that a
woman with more than her share of
Intellectual perception ebould be on
the right side? From her association*
It Was not to be expected that she
would make an outright declaration of
apostasy. This would destroy the value
and the atlraotlveness of her conver
sion. Reverence for the past, for a
father who bad fought for the Browne,
against, her own convictions, made her
attitude appear singularly and deli
cately correct.
The war was a week old—-a week
which had developed other tangents
and traps than l.a Tir —on the morn
ing that the first Installment of Junior
officers came to occupy the tables and
dees*. Where the family portraits had
hung In the dluing-room were now big
maps dotted with brown and gray
flags. Portable field cabinets with
sectional maps on a large scale were
arranged around the walls of the „raw
.g-room. In what had been the loung
lng-room of the old days of Ualland
prosperity, th* refrain of half a dosen
telegraph Instruments made medley
with the olloktng of typewriters. Cooks
and helpers were busy In the kitchen;
for the staff were to Uve like { <ntie
men; they ware to have their mo- lng
baths, their comfortable beds, and
regular meals No twinge of Indiges
tion or of rheumatism from expoSur,
was to Interfere with the working of
tbelr precious Intellectual processes.
No detail of assistance would be lack
ing to asva any bnreauoratic head time
and labor. The bedrooms were appor
tioned acoordlng to rank—that of the
master awaited the master; the best
servant's bedroom awaited Francois,
his valet.
When Bcnohard. the chief of lotelli
geooe. who fought the bottle of wits
and spies against Hans iron, came, two
boon before Weetertlng was due, the
laet of the staff except Westefllng and
his personal aide had arrived. Bouoh
ard, with hi* Iron gray hair, bushy eye
brows. strong, aquiline nose, and
hawk-llke eyes, bis mouth hidden by
a bristly mustache, was lean and sat
urnine, and he was loyal. No Jealous
thought entered his mind at having to
serve a man younger than himself.
He did not serve a personality; he
served a chief of staff and a prorss
•lon. The score of words which es
caped Mm as he looked over the ar
rangements were all of directing criti
cism and bitten off sharply, as If h*
regretted that he had to waste breath
In communicating even a thought.
"I tell nothing, but you tell me
everything!" said Bouchard's hawk
eyes. He was old-fashioned; he looked
his pert, which was one of the Many
points of difference between him and
Lenetron as a chief of Intelligence.
It tacked one minute to four when
Heffwnrth Westerllng, chief of stxff tn
name as well as power now, slighted
from the gray automobile that turned
In at the Galland drive. Hit Rxoel
leney had not occupied hie new head
quarters as boo a as he expected, but
this could have no Influence on results.
It he had loat fifty thousand men on
the first two days and two hundred
thousand since the war had begun,
should he allow this to disturb hta
well-being of body or mind? Hta well
being of body and mind meant the ulti
mate earing of lives.
Confidence waa reflected In Wester
lln-'s bearing and In his sm.le of com
mand as he passed through the staff
rooms, Turcas and Bouchard In hla
train, with taett approval of the ar
rangements. Finally, Turcaa. now vice
chief of staff, and the other chiefs
awaited hla pleasure In the library,
which was to he hla sanctum. On the
massive seventeenth-century desk lay
a number of reports and suggestion*.
Westerllng ran through them with ac
customed swiftness of sifting and then
turned to hla personal aide.
"Tell Franco!, that I will have tea
on tha veranda.”
From the fact that he took with him
the papers that he bad laid sent*, sub
ordinate generals, with the gift of un
spoken directions which I* a part of
their, profession, understood that he
meant to go over the subjects requip
lug special attention while he had tea.
"Everything la going well—well!"
he added.
"Well!” ran the unspoken communi
cation of confidence through the staff.
Bo well that His Excellency wan
calmly taking tea on the veranda! For
the Indefatigable Turcas the detail;
for Westerllng the front of Jove.
He had told Marta only two weeks
ago that he should see her again If
war came; and war had come. With
the Inviting prospect of a few holiday
moments In which to continue the In
terview that had been abruptly con
cluded In a hotel reception-room, he
started down the terrace steps. Above
the second terrace he saw a crown of
woman's hair—hair of Jet abundance,
shading a face that brought familiar
completeness to the scene. Their
glances met where the path ended
at the second terrace flight; hers shot
with a beam of restrained and ques
tioning good humor that spoke at
least a truce to the Invader.
"You called sooner than I expected,”
she said In a note of equivocal pleas
antry.
“Or I," he rejoined with a shade of
triumph, the politest of triumph. He
was a step above her, her head on a
level with the pocket of his blouee.
His square shoulders, commanding
height, and military erectnesa were
thus emphasized, as was her own femi
nine ellghtnees.
"1 want to tUank you," she said. “As
becomes a soldier, your forethought
was expressed In action. It was th#
promptness of the men you sent to
look after th* garden which aaved the
uprooted plants before they were put
reoovery."
"I wished It for your sake and eotne
what tor my own sake to be the same
that It was in the days when I need
to call." he said graciously. ‘Tea wu
from four to five, do you remember?
Will you Join me? I here just ordered
It"
A generous, pleasant conqueror,
this! No one knew better than Waster
ling how to be one when be chose. He
was something of an actor. Leaders
of men of his type usually are.
"Why, yes. Very gladly!" she ab
sented with no undue cordiality and
no undue constraint, quite ae If there
were no war.
Neutrality could not be better im
personated, he thought, than in the
even cleaving of her lip* over the
words. They seemed to say that a
storm had oome and gone and a new
set of masters had taken the place of
the old. As they approached the
veranda Pranoote was placing the tea
things.
•‘Juet like the old days, Isn't K?” he
exclaimed with hla Drat alp, convinced
that the officer*' commiaaary supplied
excellent tea In the field.
"Ye*, for the moment—ls we forget
the war!” she replied, and looked
away, preoccupied, toward the land
scape.
If we forget the war! She bore on
the words rather grimly. The change
that he had noted between the Marta
of the hotel reception-room and the
Marta of the moment was not alto
gether the work of ten years. It had
developed since she was In the capi
tal. In these three weeks war bad
been brought to her door. She had
been under heavy fire. Yet this sub
ject of the war was the one which he.
as an invader, consldersd himself
bound to avoid.
"We do forget It at tea. don't w*r
he asked.
"At least ws need not speak of It!"
•he replied.
"I am staying tonight. I was going
to ask If you wouldn't remain on the
veranda while I go over these pa
pers. It—lt would be very cosy and
pleasant."
“Why, yea," she agreed with evident
pleasure.
Tore as came. In answer to Wester
ling’s ring. The orders and sugges
tions on tha table eeemed to be the
product of thle lath of a man, the vlca
chtef, but a lath of ateel, not wood,
who appeared a runner trained for a
race of Intellects In the eoratoh class.
One by one, almost perfunctorily.
Westerllng gave hie assent as he
passed the papers to Turcas; while
Turoae’s dry voice, coming from be
tween a narrow opening of the thin
lips, gave hie reasons with a rapid
firer’a precision In answer to his
chief's Inquiries.
With each order somewhere along
that frontier some unit of a great or
ganism would respond. The reserves
from this position would be trans
ferred to that; such a position would
be felt out before dark by a reconnols
aance In force, however costly; the
raptd-ftrero of the 19th Division would
be transferred to the 20th; despite the
37th Brigade's losses. It would still
form the advance; General 80-and-So
would be superseded after ble failure
of yesterday; Colonel 80-and-Bo would
take his place as acting major-general;
more care must be exercised In recom
mendations for bronte crosses, lest
their value so depreciate that officers
and men would lack Incentive to win
them.
Marts was having a took behind the
scenes at the fountainhead of great
events. Powsrl power! Tbs abao
IHE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA.
fute power of the soldier in the saddle,'
with premier and government and all
the institutions of peace only a dim
background for the processes of war!
Opposite her was a man who could
make and unmake not only generals
but even the destinies of peoples. By
every sign he enjoyed his power for
Ha own sake. There must be a chief
of the five millions, which were as a
moving forest of destruction, and here
was the chief, his strength reflected
in the strong muscles of his short
neck as he turned his head to listen
to Turcas. Marta recalled the con
trast between Westerllng and I.an
stron as they faced each other after
the wreck of the aeroplane ten years
ago; the iron Invincibility of the
elder’s sturdy, mature figure and the
alert, high-strung Invincibility of the
slighter figure of the younger man.
He had taken up a paper thought
fully after Turcas withdrew, when he
looked up to Marta in answer to a
movement in her chair. She had bent
forward In a pose that freed her figure
from the chair-back in an outline of
suppleness and firmness; her lips were
parted, showing a faint line of the
white of her teeth, and he caught her
gazing at him in a kind of wondering
admiration. But she dropped her eye
lid® instantly and said deliberately,
less to him than to herself:
"You have the gift!”
No tea-table flattery that, he knew;
only the reflection of a fact whose ex
istence had been borne in on her by
observation.
'The gift? How?" he inquired,
speaking to the fringe of hair that
half hid her lowered face.
She looked up, smiling brightly.
"You don’t know what gift! Not
the pianist’s I Not the poet’s! Why,
of course, the supreme gift of com
mand 1 The thing that made you chief
of staff! And the war goes well for
you, doesn't It?”
Delicious morsel, thta, to a connois
seur in compliments! He tasted It
with the same self-satisfied smile that
he had her first prophecy. To her
who had then voiced a secret he had
shared with no one, ns his chest
swelled with a full breath, he bared
another in the delight of the Impres
sion he had made on her.
"Yes. as you foresaw—as I planned!"
he said. "Yes, I planned all, step by
step, till I was chief of staff and ready.
I convinced the premier that It was
time to strike and I ohose the hour to
•trike; for Bodlapoo was only a con
venient excuse for the last of all the
eteps.”
The subjective enjoyment of the
declaration kept him from any keen
notloe of the effect of hla words.
Lenny was right. It had been a war
of deliberate conquest; a war to
gratify personal ambition. All her life
Marta would be able to live over again
the feelings of this moment. It was as
if she were f’rozen, all except brain
and nerves, which were on fire, while
the rigidity of Ice kept her from
springing from her chair In contempt
and horror. But a purpose came on the
wings of diabolical temptation which
would pit the art of woman against
the power of a man who set millions
against millions In slaughter to gratify
personal ambition. She was thankful
that she was looking down as she
spoke, for she could not bring herself
to another compliment. Her throat
was too chilled for that yet.
"The one way to end the feud be
tween the two nations was a war that
would mean permanent peace," he ex
plained, seeing how quiet she was and
realizing, with a recollection of her
children's oath, that he had gone a lit
tle too far, He wanted to retain her
admiration. It had become as precious
to him as a new delicacy to Lucullus.
"Yes, I understand,” she managed
to murmur; then she was able to look
up. "It's all so immense!" she added.
“Your Ideas about war seem to be a
great deal changed." be hinted
casually.
“As I expressed them at the hotel,
you mean!” she exclaimed. “That
seems ages ago—ages!” The perplex
ity and indecision that, in a space of
silence, brooded In the depths of her
eyes came to the surface In wavering
lights. "Yes, ages! ages!” The waver
ing light* grew dim with a kind of hor
ror and she looked away fixedly at a
given point.
He was conscious of a thrill; the
thrill that always presaged victory for
him. He realised her evident dis
tress; he guessed that terrible pic
tures were moving before her vision.
"You see, I have been very much
■tirred up.” she said half apologetical
ly. “There are some questions I want
to ask—quite practical, selfish ques
tions. You might call them questions
of property and mercy. The longer
the war lasts the greater will be the
loss of life and the misery?”
“Yes, for both sides; and the heavier
the expense and the taxes.”
"If you win, then we ehall be under
your flag and pay taxes to you?”
"Yes, naturally."
"The Browns do not Increase In
population; the Grays do rapidly. They
are a great, powerful, civilized race.
They stand for civilisation!”
"Yes, facte and the world's opinion
agree,” he replied. Puzzled he might
well be by thle peculiar catechism. He
could only continue to reply until he
should see where *he wa* leading.
"And your victory will mean a new
frontier, a new order of International
relation* and a long peace, you think?
Peace—a long ”
Wae there ever a eoldler who did
not fight for peace? Was there ever a
call for more army-corps or guns that
was not made In the name of peace?
He had his re«dy argument, spoken
with the forcible conviction of an ex
pert _ _
(To be joatinued Tomorrow.)
The Handclasp
_On the Bohleu promenade at the
Hea. the guests amused themselves
asking questions which must be ans
wered dnd which were at times rather
embarrassing to the one whose turn
ii was to answer.
“Monsieur Jacques, do you prefer
fair or dark women?”
Monsieur Jacques was in a dreadful
dilemma, as Jane was dark and Mad
line fair. He mumbled something
about “expression” and “equally
charming" and other vague and non
committal things.
It was a beautiful evening, though
the air was rather heavy and not the
slightest breeze was blowing. Not
a sound was heard but the regular
beating of the waves against the
shore. They let little Raoul walk
ahead with a Venetian lantern, the
older people dropped behind and
Jacques had the pleasure of walking
sione with two sisters, the belles of
Hotel Bean Rivage.
The first time Jacques had met
these two bewitching girls he said to
himself: “That is how I want my fu
ture wife to look.”
He did not trouble his head o de
cide who pleased him most, Jane or
Madeline. After all the difference in
the color of their hair did not matter
much. In one way they were very
much alike. Their expression was
the same though their features were
quite as different as their characters.
They were both gay and full of joy
of living, but the one was a little less
open than the other, did not show her
feelings so much and kept the secrets
of her soul to herself, while her sis
ter might be read as easily as a hook.
“Then you prefer brunettes?” said
Madeline.
“By ,no means—by no means.”
He was still trying all kinds of
tricks to avoid giving a definite ans
wer, when fortunately the little lan
tern went out and left them in the
complete darkness. They stopped and
stood facing the sea whose waves
rolled lazily up on the beach. The
silence and darkness stirred up
strange sentiments in Jacques' heart.
It was as if he had led a beloved wo
man to the Idyllic spot to swear her
eternal love. But which one?
He got no time to think more of
this question for a small warm hand
stole into his and clasped it softly.
The electric current which emanated
from his hand affected him strongly.
He felt as if he had a long lost sis
ter or as If he had been born anew.
“Where is your lantern?” cried a
voice approaching. The hand was
quickly withdrawn and the older peo
ple came up. Matches were struck
and full of suspense Jacques started
into the darkness to make out which
of the sisters had revealed her feel
ings to him, but they were both a
few steps away telling their mother
of how the lantern had gone out.
This time Jacques seriously asked
himself the question: “Which one?”
The two girls came up to him again
and he hoped It would be easy to find
out the answer to his question if he
exchanged the same mute confession
with them both. When he met the
two sisters together in the hall the
next day he decided to force a decis
ion.
"You look so pale,” said Jane.
He looked at them both with a sad
smile and set a very clumsy trap for
them. "I have something to tell
you,” he said.
"Both of us?” them asked simulta
neously.
“One of you,”
"Whom then?”
Their unanimity made him quite
lose his head, but he. went on: “You
know that quite well.”
Empress Eugenie Visits Scene
of Former Triumphs
** " 4 ' \' ’ , -ja^
EMPRESB EUGENIE.
Pari*.- Before returning to her adopt,
sdopisd boms tn England, ex-Emprees
Eugenie seems determined to rake all
the old souvenirs of her former life and
grandeur. It wss tbe Tullerle* Gardens
which ahe honored with a visit. Once
mors she gsxed on that spot where stood
the superb palace of the Tullerles. from
the windows of which she and the Em
peror Napoi.on 111 watched the rising
of the populace which preceded the hor
ror* of the Commune after the fait of
Paris to tbs Qerman hordes and was fol
lowed by the flight of hersslf and her
consort to th* hospitable shores of En t
lead.
They- burst out laughing: “How fun
ny you are."
“How do you mean?”
He thought he caught a peculiar
ring in the laughter of one and gave
up maneuvering coming out Into the
open.
"Mademoiselle Jane,” he said, "last
night on the promenade you - laid
your hand in mine.”
Flushed with anger she said: "Is
that supposed to be a joke. I am
afraid 1 do not understand you."
Jacques was crushed. A party of
strangers came into the room and he
hurriedly withdrew.
In the afternoon he saw Madeline
in a lonely place in the garden. Was
she perhaps waiting for him. Ho
turned cold as ice, but gathering all
his courage he went up to her to ex
plain his mistake. Then she suddenly
took his hand and held it in her own—
like the night before. Tears of hap
piness dimmed his eyes, but he had
the presence to say:
"I knew it. I asked .Tane on pur
pose as a revenge because I thought
you were trying to tease me.”
It was his first lie in a love affair.
She accepted it without comment and
sealed their engagement with a smile.
There was something so exciting In
a secret engagement that they decid
ed to keep it secret. From now' on
their hands met every night in the
darkness during the promenades,
Jane’s was always with them. She
knew' nothing and did not disturb
them. But one evening, when they
were walking together she suddenly
stopped and hid her face in her hands
and burst out sobbing.
They tried to find out what was the
matter but she refused to say.
This incident made Jacques feel
THE GOLDEN FLY
She was the most charming little
creature I have ever seen. Her small
body was absolutely perfect and artists
everywhere had raved about her. In
her seventh year she was called the Lit
tle Countess by everyone in the circus.
Her mother, who had married twice,
had died early and she was now travel
ling about with her stepfather and ap
peared on the circus posters as the Gold
en Fly. He had always been very se
vere with her and It did not improve
matters that he was arrested and sent
to prison in a German town for his cruel
treatment of her. Never in her life had
she been so frightened as when she met
her stepfather again after his arrest. He
had pierced her with is dark vicious
eyes and locked the door. Then he had
strapped her to a chair and beaten her
with a hunting crop in return for the
days he had spent in prison for her sake.
There was no one In whom she could
confide, no one to talk to. Her step
father saw that she got the necessary
food to keep her In good condition and
enable her to make the money on which
he lived, but as soon as the performance
was over he locked her In her room
while he went out to drink and gamblo
returning in the eadly hours of the
morning, cursing and yelling at her.
Things had been going this way for
years. The Golden Fly was now a
grown up girl, but she was still regard
ed as a child and looked one with her
slender elfin like figure, her luxuriant
golden hair and innocent blue eyes,
which always looked sad and dreaming.
Her costumes were her only joy. On
these her stepfather spent plenty of
money, they were part of the business.
She had them In alt colors in silk and
velvet and often when she was atons
she put them on and smiled at her own
image in the mirror.
She had plenty of admirers at a dis
tance. The ladies thought her sweet
and charming and the young men fell in
love with her. She received dozens of
bouquets each day. but the stepfather
took them away from her as soon as sh#
came off the stage and exanuned them
closely to see that nothing ofwalue was
hidden among the flowers. Many were
the articles of jewelry, he found and Im
mediately sold.
Hard her training had been, but It had
taught her much. Daily heatings and
exercises had hardened until it was like
steel, every muscle in this body, which
looked so frail. She performed the most
difficult feats without the sighest ex
ertion and always with a smile on liar
beautiful face.
Everybody hated him. He always stood
underneath her when she was working
in the air in trapez, rings or on the rope
His face was red and bloated, and h#
wore evening dress, a low collar a ways
soft with perspiration and a heavy goio
en chain across his fat stomach. During
her whole performance he talked inces
santly. but nobody could make out
whether he was cursing, threatening or
scolding.
The name 'The Golden Fly was a
recent Invention of his made for SMS
turn which created a sensation ovwry
where. She emerged quite suddenly
the darkness under the dome in tic *»:
zling light of the electric spotlight OKS
suspended by a platinum wire so thV
that it was quite invisible, sue floate
down into the ring, graceful and nlry
like a butterfly.
Ther was ttie soul of a woman in net
little hardened body, and at an early
uge she felt the first sensation of lo»e,
while her stepfrther still looked upon
her as a mere child.
He -vas a young artist, slender ancJ
handsome with a fair mustache and ag
open honest face. He belonged to a
troupe of acrobats performing in flying
trapezes. They had been mutually at
tracted to each other. One day he heA
helped hev to put up her apparatus »nl
half In Joke he had mentioned that th«f
would make a splendid team togothet
Gradually they began to discuss 'a!
matter seriously and scarcely realists*
what was happening to them they f*f! u
love. The thought of what her step
father might do. however rested on ha*
like a nightmare and she was careful
not to be seen with him more than was
necessary.
At last, however, the young man de
cided that this must have an end and
went straight to her stepfather and ask
ed for her hand. The man grew furious
and refused to listen to Brother word,
not because he had any objection to the
mutch Itself, but because It owuld rob
hlru of the small fortune he made every
year For many years he had signed
ihe Golden Fly's salary and put In Into
his own pocket. He had saved nothing
spending the money In dissipation as
fast as It orae and he had figured on
her support for many years to oome.
The Voting acrobat saw plainly what
was the matter and as a practical man
he offered an amount In cash to bs paid
at once and a certain percentage of his
stepdaughter's salary or he would en
gage him to accompany them at a fixed
salary.
The stepfather, however, stubbornly
refused for It was clear to him that he
would get conslderauly leas than at
present, and he must have plenty of
money. lie had rlg..t and authority on
bis side so he gave no reason* but cate
gcA-Ically refused.
The two young people went about
sighing and mlseraole untl. ons day tht
Idea occurred to him that he would car
ry her off by force. He knew that sbt
loved him knsw the miserable exlttenoe
she led tt present but he also knew that
her dread of her brutal stepfather would
prevent her from consenting to an
elopement.
She was partially of see and If he
ones got her i»ti no law could fsres
TUFSDAY, SEPTEMBER S.
very l uneasy. He pondered over it
when alone but did not dare to speak
of it to Madeline. She had begun to
reveal herself as cold and calculating.
She talked of nothing but the featjg.
and entertainments she would give
when they were married, of dances
and theaters. In vain he tried to fight
down the thought that he did not love
Madeline.
Also the time drew nead when their
parents must be told and Jacques was
in despair. In this trouble he saw in
Jane the only one who could help rf.im
and one afternoon he took her out for
a walk.
“I must tell you something," he said.
She waited in silence.
“1 need your friendship—l am going
to ask you to do something for me
which you alone can do. It is in re
gard to your sister.”
As she looked firmly into his eyes
he grew confused.
“Undoubtedly you have seen-—Mad
eline and I thought—but we were mis
taken—perhaps we had better wait—i
we are both very young.”
Jane looked at him and said softly!
“I will do what you ask me to.”
After a short silence she said!
"Perhaps it is better so. You w’ould
never have been l able to make her
happy. She thought she loved you,
but she was mistaken. I am sure of
what I say. I have a very good rea
son.”
She stopped. Both were greatly ex
cited Then Jane confessed: "Do you
remember that night when the lantern
went out? It was I who took your
hand then.”
"That is a lie,” cried a shrill voice
close by. It was the little Raoul who
had sneaked up behind them unno
ticed.
“It is a lie." he repeated. “It was I
Who took hold of Monsieur Jacques'
hand, because I was afraid in the
dark. And he squeezed it so hard,
that it hurt me.” "y
her to return to the tyrant against her
will. .
On a certain night, the last of the
month when there was a general change
of program ancl many artists left, ho
had everything ready. A carriage was
waiting outside the door and he haa
bought clothes for her and railroad
tickets to Paris for them both. When
she returned from the ring and reached
the door leading to the street in the
rear of the establishment, he picked hes
up in his arms whispered something in.
her ear and put her Into the waiting car
riage, which immediately started.
At the same moment the carriage door
was torn open so violently that the win
dow pane broke and with flushed face
and bloodshot eyes the stepfather stood
thcA’e threatening and silent as on the
day when lie returned from the prison.
The acrobat was paralyzed and the girl
mechanically obeyed the stepfather's
commanding gesture. Her fear of him
was as strong as when she was a child
and trembling all over she went ahead
of him back into the building. As she
mounted the stairs leading to her dVess
ing room she heard his heavy step be
hind her. When she opened the door
he was close behind her and put
foot between preventing her from lock
ing the door. Then h* flung her across
the room, entered himself and locked
ihe door.
The oevobat came rushing up pale
with indignation. He threw the weight
of Ills whole body against lh*r*V»or
which was on the point of giving way
when somebody caught hold of him lrom
behind and he heard the manager’#
voice:
“You have scandal enough for tonight.
You are fined 200 francs."
He tightened every muscle to tear
himself loose and the veins in his fore
head stood out like shipcords but the
arms of his two colleagues were too
string for him and he gave up the
stvuggle. From the dressing room t ame
the sound of a whip striking a human
body mercilessly but not a cry of pain
and while his eyes closed Vie could see
the little body of his beloved writhing
under the cruel blows of her tormentor.
Kaiserin Interceded For Son
in Romance
THE KAISERIN OF GERMANY.
Berlin—B..' those close to the Inner
circle at court, It Is said that Prince
Oscar's romance with the Countess
Marie von Bassewlt to whom he will
will be married soon, would have
come to an untimely end had it not
been for the Interference of his moth
er. the Kalserln.
Prince Oscar is the fifth son of the
Kaiser and Kalserln and Is now at
tached to the pretty countess who
was a ludy-ln-waltlng in the Kalser
ln's suite. As goon as the news reach
ed the ears of the Kaiser he set a
stgm foot on the budding romsApe
and ordered that the countess bs s.Tu
away, W
The Imperial orders were strlotv
obeyed, but the prince persisted ’in
his wooing and the Kalserln seeing
that he was really in love, allowed the
romance to proceed. The countess
being of a lower rank than the prince,
found little favor with the Kaiser, but
the Imperial mother Interceded on her
behalf and finally won the Kaiser
over. He has consented to the mar-