Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 134, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1912 — The Grand Babylon Hotel [ARTICLE]

The Grand Babylon Hotel

CHAPTER XVII. In Which Many Things Happen. “Eugen! ” Prince Aribert called softly. At the sound of his own name the young man in the cellar feebly raised his head and stared us at the grating which separated him from the two rescuers. But his features showed no recognition. He gazed in an aimless, vague, silly manner for a few seconds, his eyes blinking under the glare of the lantern, and then his head slowly dropped again to his chest. He was dressed in a dark tweed traveling «uit, and Racksole observed that one sleeve, the left, waff torn across the upper part of the cuff, and that there were stains of dirt on the left shoulder. A soiled linen collar, which had lost all its starch and was half unbuttoned, partially encircled the captive’s neck; his brown boots were unlaced; a cap, a handkerchief, a partion of a watch chain, and a few gold coins lay on the floor. Racksole flashed the lantern into the corners of the cellar, but he could discover no other furniture except the chair on which the hereditary Prince of Posen sat, and a small deal table on which were a plate and a cup. ‘/E ugen!” cried Prince Aribert once ipore; but this time his forlorn nephew made no response whatever, and then he added in a low voice to Racksole, “Perhaps he cannot see us clearly.” “But he must surely recognize your voice,” said Racksole in a hard, gloom 7 tone.—— —— —r ——l “Thank God, he is not dead!” said Aribert.

“He may be worse than dead,” Racksole replied. “Worse than—What do you mean?” “I mean—he may be mad,” “Come,” Aribert almost shouted, with a sudden access of energy, a wild impulse for action; and, snatching the lantern from Racksole, he rushed into the dark room where they had heard t‘;e conversation of Miss Spencer and the lady in the red hat. For a moment Racksole did not stir from the threshold of the window. “Come,” Prince Aribert repeated, and there was an imperious command in his utterance.. “What are you afraid of?” “I don’t know,” said Racksole,” feeling stupid and queer. “I don’t know.” Then 'he marched heavily after ArlJ>ert into the room. On the mantlepiece were a couple of candles which had been blown out, and in a mechanical, unthinking way Racksole lighted them, and the two men glanced around the room. It presented no peculiar features: it was just an ordinary room, rather small, with an ugly wall paper and ugly pictures in ugly frames. Thrown over a chair was a man’s evening dress jacket. The door was closed. Prince Aribert turned th*e knob, but he could not open it. “It’s locked,” he said. “Evidently they know we’re here.” “Nonsense,” said Racksole brusquely. “How can they know?” and taking hold of the knob he violently shook the door and it opened. “I told you it wasn’t locked,” he ’added, and this small success of Opening the door seemed to steady the man.

The next moment they were out in the passage, which led to the front door of the house. This door stood open. “She has gone—that’s clear,” said Racksole, meaning the woman with the red hat. “And Miss Spencer after her, do you think?” questioned Aribert. “No. She would stay. She would never dare to leave. Let us find v the cellar steps.” / The cellar steps were happily not difficult to discover, for in moving a pace backward, Prince Aribert had a narrow escape from precipitating himself to the bottom of them. The lantern showed that they were in a curve.. Silently Racksole resumed possession of the lantern and went first, the Prince close behind him. At the foot was a short passage, and m this passage crouched the figure of a woman. Her eyes threw back the rays of the lantern, shining like a cat’s at midnight. Then, as the mein went nearer, they saw that it was Mias Spencer who ■ barred their .way. She seemed half to kneel on the stone floor, and in one hand she had what at first glance appeared to be a dagger, but whicn proved to be nothing more romantic than a long bread knife. "I heard you,” she exclaimed. “Get back. You mustn’t’ come here.” - There was a look, desperate and dangerous, on her face, and her form

shook with scarcely controlled passionate energy. ~ “Now, see here. Miss Spencer,” Racksole said calmly, we’ve had enough of this fandango. You’d better get up and clear out, or we’ll just have to drag you off.” He went calmly up to her, the lantern in his hand. Without another word she struck the knife into his arm, and 4he lantern fell, extinguished. Racksole gave a cry, rather of angry surprise than of pain, and retreated a few steps. In the darkness they could still perceive the glint of her eyes. “I told you you mustn’t come here,” the woman said. “Now get back.” Racksole positively laughed; it was a queer laugh; but he laughed and he could not help it The idea of this woman, this bureau clerk, stopping his progress and that of Prince Aribert by means of a .bread knife aroused his sense of humor. He struck a match, relighted the candle, and faced Miss Spencer again. “I’ll do it again,” she said, with a note of hard resolve. “Oh! no, you won’t, my girl,” said Racksole, and he pulled put his revolver, cocked it, and raised his hand. “Put down that plaything of yours,” he said firmly. “No,” she answered. “I shall shoot.” She pressed her lips together. “I shall shoot,” he repeated. “One — two —three.” Bang! Bang! He had fired twice, purposely missing her. , Miss Spencer never blanched. Racksole was tremenduously surprised, and he would have been a thousandfold more could he have contrasted her behavior now with her abject terror on the previous evening when Nella had threatened her. “You’ve got a bit of pluck,” he said, “but it won’t help you. Why won’t you let us pass?” As a matter of fact, pluck was just what she had not, really. She had merely subordinated one terror to another. .

She was desperately afraid of Racksole’s revolver, but she was much more afraid of something else. “I daren’t,” she said, with a plaintive tremor. ‘Tom put .me in charge.” That was all. The men could see tears running down her poor, wrinkled face. Racksole began to take off his coat. “I see I must take off my coat to you,” he said, and he almost smiled. Then, with a quick movement, he threw the coat over Miss Spencer’s head and flew at her, seizing both her arms, while Prince Aribert assisted. Her struggles ceased; she was beaten. ‘That’s all right,” said Racksole. “I could never have used that revolver — to meap business with it, of course.” They carried her, unresisting, upstairs and on to the upper floor, where they locked her in a bedroom. She lay on the bed as if exhausted. “Now for my poor Eugen,” said Aribert. ~A,. Then, having locked the front door, and the French window of the sitting room, they proceeded again to the cellar: — —*"■ Here a new obstacle confronted them. The door was, of course, locked; there was no sign of a key, and it appeared to be a heavy door. They were compelled to return to the bedroom where Miss Spencer was incarcerated in order to demand the key of the cellar from her. She still lay moveless on the bed. “Tom’s got it,” she replied faintly to their question. “I swear to you. He took it for safety.” “Then how do you feed your prisoner?” Racksole asked sharply. “Through the grating,” she answered. Both men shuddered. They felt she was speaking the trqth. For the third time they went to the cellar door. In vain Racksole thrust himself against it; he could do no more than shake it. “Let’s try both together,” said Aribert “Now!” - There was a crack. “Again,” said Prince Aribert There was another crack, and then the upper hinge gave way. The rest was easy. / Over the wreck of the door they entered Prince Eugen’s prison. The captive stlH sat on his chair. The terrific noise and bustle of breaking down the door seemed not to have aroused him from his lethargy, but when Price Aribert spoke to him. In German, he looked at his uncle. "Will you not conie with us, Eugen?’’ said Prince Aribert “You need not stay here any longer, you know.” “Leave me alone,” was the strange reply. “Leave me alone. 'What do you want?" i ' “We are here to get you out of this scrape,” said Aribert gently.

Racksole stood aside. “Who is that fellow?” asked Eugen. “That is my friend, Mr. Racksole, an Englishman, or rather I should say an American, to whom we owe a great deal. Come and have supper, Eugen.” “I wonV’ answered Bugen ‘doggedly. “I’m waiting here for her. You didn’t think anyone had kept me here, did you, against my will? I tell you I’m waiting for her. She said she’d come.” “Who’s she?” Aribert asked, humoring him. “She! Why, you know! I forgot, of course, you don’t know. You mustn’t ask. Don’t pry, Uncle Aribert She was wearig a red hat.” Prince Aribert put his hands on the other’s shoulder, but Eugen shook him off violently, stood up, and then sat down again. Aribert looked at Racksole, and they both looked at Prince Eugen. n le latter’s face was now flu- - . :od ; and Racksole observed that the left pupil was more dila-ea than the right Tie man stared, muttered odd, fragmentary scraps «>f sentences, now grumbling, now whining. “His mind is unhinged,” Racksole whispered in English. “Hush!” said Aribert. “He under-’ stands English.” But Prince Eugen took no notice of the brief colloquy. “We had better get him upstairs, somehow,” said Racksole. “Yes,” Aribert assented. “Eugen, the lady’-wi th ’ the" red hat, the lady you'are waiting for, is upstairs. She has sent us down to ask you to come up. Won’t you come ” “Himmel! ” the poor fellow- -exclaimed, with a kind of weak anger. “Why did you not say this before ” He rose, staggering toward Aribert, and fell headlong on the floor. He had swooned. The two men raised him, carried him up the stone steps, and'laid him with infinite care on a sofa. He lay, breathing queerly through the nostrils, his eyes closed, his flngefs contracted; every now and then a convulsion ran through his frame. “One of us must, fetch a doctor,” Aribert “I will,” said Racksole, ~-

At that moment there was a quick, curt rap on the French window, and both Racksole and the Prince glanced round, startled. A girl’s face was seen pressed against the large window pane. It was Nella’s. Racksole unfastened the-catch, and she entered. “I have found you,” she said lightly. “You might have told me. I couldn’t sleep. I inquired from the hotel'folks if you had returned and they said no; so I slipped out. J guessed where you were. .. Racksole interrupted her with a question as to what she meant by this escapade, but she stopped him with a careless gesture. “What’s this?” She pointed to the form on the sofa. “That is my nephew, Prince Eugen,” said Aribet. “He is ill,” said Racksole. “His brain Is turned.” - ... —--- J - ■ - —.— ;• Nella began to examine the unconscious Prince with the expert movements of a girl who had passed hospital “to 5 be obtained in New York. “He has got brain fever,” she said. “That is all, but it will be enough. Do you know if there is a bed anywhere in this remarkable house?”

Indiana democrats now are busy feeding taffy to county, city and township officers throughout the state. Through the democratic political press bureau the servants of the people are being told that a new fee and salary law, revising salaries upward, is to be a part of the democratic legislative platform in 1913, if the democrats win next fall. The state board of accounts, by way of, proving its value tp the taxpayer, is at work preparing the way for salary boosts all up and down the line. The taxpayer will watch with some concern the outcome of the democratic game of salary grab.—lndianapolis Star.