Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1911 — The Knight of the Silver Star [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The Knight of the Silver Star

A Stelae® ©IT

By PERCY BREBNER

CHAPTER XXIV. •’ -ur £»U play a double game. I Count Vasca.” she said se- ' kjxryf* v erely. “You betrayed me, ssSeia] whom you professed to serve. You would now betray him to whom you have transferred ycnlr allegiance.” ~~ “For your sake,” he answered. “Do not forget that” “For my sake?” * XYou are a princess in Drussenland. You would be queen. As your knight I could but draw a good sword in your service; as a king I can give you my hand to help you mount the throne you covet” “I have ceased to covet a throne. Tomorrow I die.”

"Never by my will. I am here to save you. By the king’s permission I am here. If I can win your consent to be my wife he has promised you life and freedom. Even so far is Count Vasca powerful. But I have a far greater aim- Consent, and we. will leave this dungeon and the city. Before nightfall tomorrow Yadasara will be ih our hands, the king our prisoner. It wants but the sharp note of a trumpet to the city to my banner.” “Then let the trumpet sound at daybreak. Revolution will shake the city, and I shall be saved.” He paused a moment “The fortress is not yet in my hands, else had I not been forced to gain the king’s permission before I came to you. I cannot save you unless you come with me. From this dungeon the king protects us, afterward my friends—your subjects.” “And Sir Verrail?” “Him I cannot save. I would have done so if I could, but it is impossible. My followers demand his death, as they do the death of all those who have been brought into this land to fight for hire. He i§ a foreigner—a brave man, I grant—still, a foreigner.” “Yet you will be king tomorrow, so you tell me.” "Aye, as surely as that torch begins to burn low and shows that time clamors for your answer.” He spoke in a different tone. 1 perceived that his patience was nearly exhausted. “My answer is no,” she said firmly. “The rack is a crtiel companion, princess. Were I the greatest villain In Drussenland, yet should I be a gentler comrade than the rack.” “The rack kills the body. A villain would break my heart.” “Time is meaningless when in the nick’s embrace,” he answered. “Every second is an hour when agony thrills through every nerve. You may live for hours, and hours in such a case mean a lifetime.” “Yet I shall die honestly, loving a true man. Can a lifetime, be it of hours or years, be spent?” “You love this foreign dog?” “As my own soul.” She rose to her feet as she said it. My time had nearly come. Cautious- . ty i felt that my sword was loose tn ■ its scabbard. •*The torch burns low. Think once more.”

I wondered how he intended to take her without her consent, as O’Ryan had said he might do. Would he attempt to drug her? Suddenly he drew his sword. Was he about to wound her and thus secure her? He stirred the torch into a brighter flame with the point of his weapon. “See, I make the time as long as possible.” he said defiantly. “Though all the torches in Drussenland were here and each one were lighted from the dying flame of another, yet that time would not suffice to make me change.” said Daria slowly. “I believe—l know—that the God who looks down upon us will give me strength to bear what is before me. Go. Count Vasca, go! You are a double traitor. See that I do not betray you when the rack cracks these limbs of mine.” “I will see to that,” he answered harshly. “Your folly shall neither kill my ambition nor make me careless. Perhaps it is for my own safety, perhaps pity for you, I hardly know which, but the rack shall not hurt you. You shall make an easier end. There lies the death road. You shall take it tonight” He threw bis cloak back from his shoulder to give his sword arm freedom. Whether he meant to kill her I shall never know. My time had come. Darla sprang toward him. “For that I thank yon. You could do me no greater service.” She clutched the bosom of her dress with both. hands and tore it open, showing her white flesh. “Strike, and strike deep!” His moment of surprise was my moment of opportunity I drew myself up and stood in the dungeon. sword in band. Daria turned with a low cry<. The count, with an oath, pushed her aside, so that she fell upon the couch, and rushed at me. 1 remembered that the trap was just behind me. and I stepped aside as our blades met "You must crush your enemy now, count It is your last chance.” I hissed. “The road you were to take tonight I tafafc, The death way is for you.”

He did not answer. His eyes were fixed on mine, his sword flashed with mine. 'lt was to be a duel to the death. We both knew that. He tried to force me back toward the hole. I tried to make him change ground with me. We neither of us succeeded, yet he had the advantage, for the flickering torch was before me and spoiled my sight somewhat. Twice, thrice, he made a sudden effort to finish the matter, once almost breaking through my guard. The point of his weapon touched my arm and the blood showed. The count smiled. The next moment I had touched him. and there ensued a fierce encounter for a few moments. 1 succeeded in getting round him. Now his back was toward the trap, the torchlight in his eyes. The advantage was with me. Whether it was the light that troubled him or that his courage failed him I do not know, but he fought less freely. Time after time he only just managed to keep my point from his breast, and unconsciously he drew nearer to the hole. Once or twice his eyes left mine for an instant—a bad sign—but it did not make me careless. Not for a moment did I forget the man with whom I had to deal. Suddenly he attacked me more fiercely than before. “King!” I heard him utter between his teeth. Well could i understand him. His schemes were ripe. Tomorrow Yadasara would be

his if only he could slay me. His swordsmanship was not equal to bls ferocity, or perhaps he underrated my skill. I watched him, and 1 grew calmer. I waited until his heel was at the edge of the trap. Now I prepared to strike and end it, but once more he escaped me. He forced me back across the dungeon until my foot touched the wall, and he laughed. It was a strange laugh, such as few men laugh, for It ended in a gurgling sigh, almost like the sound a pipe gives as the last Of the water runs out, for the end had come. My blade had passed right through him. He threw up his arms aiid staggered back, falling beside the hole. I went to him. “He is dead.” “Clinton!” Daria was beside me. “My love,” I said, kissing her. "forget that name for awhile. We will go. I know the road. The danger is over.”

“But you—you”— “I am the count for tonight.” I took the cloak from the dead man and threw it around me 1 took his sword and put it on instead of my own, and I drew his hat well over my eyes. “Here is the key,” I said, drawing it from the cloak. “Stay! In case they should enter the dungeon when we are gone and should find that—it would betray us.” I took the dead man by his limp arms and drew him to the edge of the trap. Then I let him go, and he slid noiselessly out of sight. “Now come!” Her arm was in mine and I was Atting the key in the lock when there was a roar of voices in the corridor without “Vasca! The traitor! The traitor, Vasca!” “The king!” whispered Daria. A thundering knock came at the door. “Open in the king’s name!” “We are lost.” said Daria calmly. I (frew my sword and threw off the cloak. At least I might die fighting. "Clinton, kiss me.” “Open, open!” they shouted without “Kiss me.” I kissed her, one long kiss. “Now kil| me,” she said. Perhaps the request put the thought into my head. ' “You do not fear death?” "No.” 1 pointed to the trap. "Only dead men take it they say. and lie still in the river bed. Yet one dead man rose to the surface. We might rise alive. It is a poor chance, but if death comes it will find us in each other’s arms. It is better than waiting for tomorrow.’ 1 ' She shuddered a little. Theri she took my hands. “I am ready.” she said. “Quickly!” I sat down on the edge of the trap, even on the spot where a few moments before the dead count had rested. “Sit beside me.” 1 said to Daria. "Now put your arms round me so, now your- feet between mine, so. Do not struggle. To fall straight is our

only chance. My darling, 1 love you, I love you!” Our lips met "It is time. In another moment the door will be In.” I shuffled over the edge as I spoke, holding with one band. “You are ready?” "Yes.” “Now!” I let go my hold, and we slipped downward. (To be continued.)

HE THREW UP HIS ARMS.