Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1916 — THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK

By GEORGE BARR M’CUTCHEON

Author of "Graustark," “Beverly of Graustark,” Etc. Copyright, 1914, by Dodd, Mead and Company

SYNOPSIS Mr, Blithers, multimillionaire, discusaea with his wife the possibilities of marrying? •ff his daughter, Maud Applegate, to the Prince of Graustark, who Is visiting Mr, and Mrs. Truxton King in America in antleipatlon of getting some one to take up the loan Russia holds. A Mr. Scovllle Is attentive to Maud. Prince Robin Is accompanied by Count Quinnox, minister of war; Lieutenant Dank and Hobbs, the valet. The prince had balked at a matrimonial alliance with the Princess of Dawsbergen, both of them wishing to choose for themselves. Mr. Blithers visits the Kings uninvited. Mr. Blithers discusses the Russian loan and gently hints at $20,000,000 his daughter will get when she marries the right man. Banners suddenly refuse to handle tne loan. Count Quinnox and King arrange a meeting with Blithers. King suspects him of blocking the deal. The prince as Mr. Schmidt sails on the Jupiter. Blithers buys $20,000,000 of Graustark bonds. A young lady disputes Robin's right to a table and deck chair. He learns she is Miss Guile of New York, and her aged companion Mrs. Gaston. He soon becomes better acquainted with Miss Guile.

CHAPTER VII. A Letter From Maud. ; m mR. BLITHERS, triumphant, /%/■ left Red Roof shortly after Ij 1 luncheon; Mr. Blithers, dismayed, arrived at Blitherwood a quarter of an hour later. He had had his way with Robin, who, after all, was coming to dinner that evening with Count Quinnox. "The prince, after a few words in private with the count, changed his mind and accepted Mr. Blithers’ invitation with a liveliness that was mistaken for eagerness by that gentleman, who had made very short work of subduing Mrs. King when she tried to tell him that her own dinner party would be ruined if the principal guest defaulted. I-Ie was gloating over his victory up to the instant he reached his own lodge gates. There dismay sat patiently waiting for him In the shape of a messenger from the local telegraph office in the village below. He had seen Mr. Blithers approaching in the distance, and with an astuteness that, argued well for his future success in life, calmly sat down to wait instead of pedaling his decrepit bicycle up the long slope to the villa. He delivered a telegram and kindly vouchsafed the information that it was from New York. Mr. Blithers experienced a queer sinking of the heart as he gazed at the envelope. Something warned him that if he opened it in the presence of the messenger he would say something that a young boy ought not to hear. “It’s from Maud,” said the obliging boy, beaming good nature. It cost bim a quarter, that bit of gentility, for Mr. Blithers at once said something that a messenger boy ought to hear and ordered Jackson to go ahead. It was from Maud, and it said: I shall stay in town a few days longer. It is delightfully cool here. Dear old Miranda is at the Ritz with me, and we are having a fine spree. Don't worry about money. I find I have a staggering balance In the bank. The cashier showed me where I had made a mistake in ,subtraction of an even ten thousand. I was amazed to find what a big difference a little figure makes. Have made no definite plaits, but will write mother tonight. Please give my love to the prince. Have you seen today’s Town Truth? .Or, worse, has he seen it? Your loving daughter, . MAUD. A little later on, after he had cooled off to a quite considerable extent, Mr. Blithers lighted a cigar and sat down in the hall outside his wife’s bedchamber door. She was having her beauty nap. Not even he possessed the temerity to break in upon that. He sat and listened for the first sound that yvould indicate the appeasement of beauty 7, occasionally hitching his chair a trifle nearer to the door in the agony of impatience. By the time Jackson returned from the village with word that a copy of Town Truth was not to be had until the next day he was so close to the door that if any one had happened to stick a hatpin through the keyhole at precisely the right instant It would have punctured his left ear with appalling results. “What are we going to do about it?” he demanded three minutes after entering the chamber. His wife was prostrate on the luxurious couch from which she had failed to arise when he burst in upon her with the telegram in his hand. "Oh, the foolish child!” she moaned. “If she only knew how adorable he Is she wouldn’t be acting In this perfectly absurd manned. Every girl who was here last night is madly in love with him. Why must Maud be so obstinate?” Mr. Blithers was very careful not t«, mention his roadside experience with the prince, and you may be .pure that he said nothing about his proposition to the young man. _ He merely de-

' dared, with a vast bitterness in his | soul, that the prince was coming to ; dinner. But what the deuce was the i use? | ought to be soundly—spoken ; to,” said he, breaking the sentence i with a hasty gulp. “Now, Lou, there’s i just one thing to do. I must go to New j York on the midnight train and get her. Thai woman was all right as a tutor, but hanged if I like to see a daughter of mine traipsing around New York with a schoolteacher. 1 She”— "You forget that she has retired on a competence. She is not in active employment, WIU. You forget that she is one of the Van Yalkens.” “There you go, talking about good old families again. Why is it that so blamed many of your fine old blue i stockings are hunting jobs”— ' | “Now, don’t be vulgar, Will,” she cut in. “Maud is quite safe with Miranda, and you know it perfectly j well, so don’t talk like that. I think it would be a fearful mistake for you to go to New York. She would hover forgive you and, what is more to the point, she wouldn’t budge a step if you tried to bully her into coming home with you. You know it quite as well as I do.” “Maud’s continued absence was explained to Prince Robin that evening, not by the volcanic Mr. Blithers, but by his practiced and adroit better half, who had no compunction in ascribing it to the alarming condition of a very dear friend in New York—one of the Van Valkens, you know. “Maud is so tender hearted, so i loyal, so really sweet about her j friends, that nothing in the world ! could have induced her to leave this I dear friend, don’t you knowA! “1 ara extremely sorry not to have J met your daughter,” said Robin, very politely. “Oh, but she will be here in a day or two, prince.” “Unfortunately, we are leaving tomorrow, Mrs. Blithers.” “Tcunorrow?” murmured Mrs. ir.lthsrs, aghast.

“I received a cablegram today advising me to return to Edelweiss at. once. We are obliged to cut short a very charming visit with Mr. and Mrs. King and to give up the trip to Washington. Lieutenant Dank left for New York this afternoon to exchange our reservations for the first ship that w r e can”— “What’s this?” demanded Mr. Blithers, abruptly withdrawing his attention from Count Quinnox, who was in the middle of a sentence when the interruption came. They were on the point of going out to dinner. “What’s this?” “The prince says that he Is leaving tomorrow”— “Nonsense!” exploded Mr. Blithers, with no effort toward geniality. “He doesn’t mean It. "Why-why, we haven’t signed a single agreement”— “Fortunately it isn’t necessary for me to sign anything, Mr. Blithers,” broke in Robin hastily. “The papers are to be signed by the minister of finance, and afterward my signature is attached in approval. Isn’t that true, Count Quinnox?” “1 daresay Mr. Blithers understands the situation perfectly,” said the count Mr. Blithers looked blank. “Of course I understand it,” he said bluntly. “Still I had it in mind to ask the prince to put his signature to a sort of preliminary document which would at least assure me that he would sign the final agreement when the time comes. That’s only fair, isn’t it?” “Quite fair, Mr. Blitherß. The prince will sign such an article tomorrow or the next day at your office in the city. Pra> have no uneasiness, sir. It shall be as you wish. By the way, I understood that your solicitor—your lawyer*, I should say—was to be here this evening. It had occurred to me that he might draw up the statement, if Mrs. Blithers will forgive us In our haste” — “He couldn’t get here,” said Mr: Blithers and no more. He was thinking too intently of somethifig more Important. “What’s turned up?” “Turned up, Mr. Blithers?” “Yes—ln Groostock. What’s taking you off in such a hurry ?”

“The prince has been away for nearly six months,” said the count, as if that explained everything. “Was it necessary to cable for him to come borne?” persisted thejfiß&n--cier. “Graustark and Dawsbergen are endeavoring to form an alliance, Mr. Blithers, and Prince Robin's presence at the capitol is very much to be desired in connection with the project.” “What kind of an alliance?” The count looked bored. “An alliance prescribed for the general improvement of the two races, 1 should say, Mr. Blithers.” He smiled. “It would in no way impair the credit of Graustark, however. It is what you might really describe as a family secret, if you will pardon my flippancy.” The butler announced dinner. “Wait for a couple of days, prince, and I’ll send you down to New York by special train,” said Mr. Blithers. The prince resolutely declared he would be obliged to take the first available steamer. “We shall go down tomorrow,” he said, and even Mr. Blithers subsided. He looKeu to his wife in desperation. She failed him for the first time in her life. Her eyes were absolutely messageless. ' • “I’ll go down with you,” he said, and then gave his wife a look of defiance. The next morning brought Maud’s letter to her mother. It said: Dearest Mother I inclose the cutting from Town Truth. You may see for yourself what a sickening thing it is. The whole world knows by this time that the ball was a joke—a horrible joke. Everybody knows that you are trying to hand me over to Prince Robin neatly wrapped up in banknotes. And everybody knows that lie is laughing at us, and lie isn’t alone in his mirth either. Whnt'must the Truxton Kings think of US? 1 can't bear the thought of meeting that pretty, clever woman face to face. I know I should die of mortification, for, of course, she must believe that I am dying to marry anything on earth that has a title and a pair of legs Somehow, 1 don’t blame you and dad. You really love me, I know, and you want to give me .the best that the world affords. But why, oil why, can't you let me choose for myself? I don't object to having a title, hut I do object to having a husband that 1 don’t want and who certainly could not bv any chance want me. Tou think triat 1 am in love with Channka Bcoville. Well, I'm not. 1 am very fond of him, that's all, and if it came to a pinch 1 would marry him In preference to any prince on the globe. Today I met a couple of girls who were at the ball. They told me that the prince is adorable. They are really quite mad about him. and one of them had the nerve to ask what It was going to cost dad to land him. Town Truth says he is to cost ten millions! Well, you may just tell dad that I’ll help him to practice economy. He needn't pay a nickel for my husband— when 1 get him So, dearest mother, I am going abroad to forget. Miranda is going with me. and we sail next Saturday on the Jupiter, 1 tliink. We haven't got our suit, but Mr Bliss says he is sure he can arrange it for me. If we can't get one on the Jupiter we’ll tike some other boat that is just as Inconspicuous You set- I want to go on a ship that isn’t likely to be packed with people I know, for it Is my intention to travel incog, as they say in the books. I know dad will be perfectly furious, but I’m going or die, one or the other. Now. it won’t do a bit of good to try to stop me. dearest. The best thing for you and dad to do is to come down at once and say goodby t« me, but you are not to go to the steamer! Never! Please, please come, for I love you both and I do so want you to love me. Come tomorrow and kiss your horrid, horrid, disappointing, loathsome daughter—and forgive her too. Mr. Blithers was equal to the occasion. He slapped his knee with resounding force and uttered an ejaculation that caused his wife to stare at him as if the very worst had happened. He was a chuckling lunatic! “Immense!” he exclaimed. “Immense!” “In heaven’s name, what are you saying, Will?” “Great Scott, can’t you see? He goes abroad, she goes abroad. See? Same ship. See what I mean? Nothing could be finer. They”— “But I do not want my child to go abroad," walled the unhappy mother. “I cannot bear”— “Stuff and nonsense! Brace up! Grasp the romance. Both of ’em sailing under assumed names. They see each other on deck. Mutual attraction. Love at first sight. Both of ’em. Money no object. There you are. Leave it to me.” “Maud is kind of girl to take up with a stranger on board” — “Don’t glare at me like that! Love finds the way, it doesn’t matter wlfht kind of a girl she listen to me, Lou, we’ve got to be mighty careful that Maud doesn’t suspect that we’re putting up a job on her. .. She’d balk at the gang plank, and that would be the end of it. She must not know that he is on board. Now, here’s the idea,” and he talked on in a strangely subdued voice for fifteen minutes, his enthusiasm mounting to such heights that she was fairly lifted to the seventh heaven he produced, and, for once in her life, she actually submitted to his bumptious argument without so much as a single protesting word. The down train at 2:17 p. m. had on board a most distinguished group of passengers, according to the Pullman conductor, whose skillful conniving resulted in the banishment of a few unimportant creatures who had paid for chairs in the observation coach, but who had to get out, whether or no, when Mr. Blithers loudly said it was a rrajsance having everything on the shady side of the car taken “on a hot day like this.” He surreptitiously informed the conductor that there was a prince In his party, and that highly Impressed official at once informed ten other passengers that they had no business in a private car anil would have to move. The prince announced that Lieutenant Dank had secured comfortable cabins-fin a steamer sailing Saturday, but he did not feel at liberty to mention the name of the boat owing to his determination to avoid newspaper men, who no doubt would move heaven and earth for an interview, now that he had become a person of so much Importance in the social world. Inhis identity was to be more

completely obscured than at any time since he landed on American soil. He thanked Mr. Blithers for his offer to command the “royal suit” on the Jupiter, but declined, volunteering the somewhat curt remark that it was his earnest desire to keep as far away from royalty as possible on the voyage over. A remark that Mr. Blithers couldn’t quite fathom, then or afterward. Arriving at the Grand Central terminal, Prince Robin and the count made off in a taxicab, smilingly declining to reveal their hotel destination. “But where am 1 to send my attorney with the agreement you are to sign, prince?” asked Mr. Blithers, plainly irritated by the young man’s obstinacy in declining to be “dropped" at his betel by the Blithers motor. “I shall come to your office at 11 to morrow morning; Mr Blithers," said Robin, his hat in his hand He had bowed very deeply to Mrs. Blithers. "But that's not right,” blustered the financier. "A prince of royal blood hadn’t ought to visit a money grub ber’s office. It’s not"— “Noblesse oblige," said Robin, with his hand on his heart. "It has been a pleasure to know you, Mrs. Blithers. 1 trust we may meet again. If you should ever come to Graustark please consider that the castle is yours, as you hospitable Americans would say.” “We surely will.” said Mrs. Blithers. Both the prince and Count Quinnox bowed very profoundly and did not smile. “And it will be ours,” added Mr. Blithers, more to himself than to his wife as the two tall figures moved off with the throng. Then to his wife: “Now to find out what ship they’re sailing on. 11l fix it so they’ll have to take the Jupiter, whether they want to or not.” “Wouldn’t it be wisdom to find out what ship Maud is sailing on. Will? It seems to me that she Is the real problem.” “Right you are!” said he instantly. “I must be getting dotty in my old age, Lou.” ' (To be continued.)

“Fortunately it isn’t necessary for me to sign anything, Mr. Blithers.”