GOOSE GIRL 

 
 337 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL
 
 They acclaimed her the queen. Page 380.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 ANDRE CASTAIGNE 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 COPYRIGHT 1909 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPAXY 
 
 PRESS OP 
 
 BRAUNWORTH & CO. 
 
 BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. Y.
 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 
 CHAPTEE PAGE 
 
 I SOME IN RAGS 1 
 
 II AN AMERICAN CONSUL . . . . .22 
 
 III FOR HER COUNTRY 41 
 
 IV THE YOUNG VINTNER . . . . .60 
 V A COMPATRIOT ... 76 
 
 VI AT THE BLACK EAGLE 95 
 
 VII AN ELDER BROTHER . . . .113 
 
 VIII THE KING'S LETTER 133 
 
 IX GRETCHEN'S DAY ..,.. 153 
 
 X AFFAIRS OF STATE . . . . 173 
 
 XI THE SOCIALISTS ...... 186 
 
 XII LOVE'S DOUBTS ...... 206 
 
 XIII A DAY DREAM 221 
 
 XIV FIND THE WOMAN 235 
 
 XV THE WRONG MAN 256 
 
 XVI HER FAN 273 
 
 XVII AFTER THE VINTAGE 290 
 
 XVIII A WHITE SCAR 305 
 
 XIX DISCLOSURES 313 
 
 XX THE KING 329 
 
 XXI TWIN LOCKETS 347 
 
 XXII A LITTLE FINGER 363 
 
 XXIII HAPPINESS .... 371 
 
 152*536
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 SOME IN RAGS 
 
 A^J old man, clothed in picturesque patches 
 and tatters, paused and leaned on his stout 
 oak staff. He was tired. He drew off his 
 rusty felt hat, swept a sleeve across his forehead, 
 and sighed. He had walked many miles that day, 
 and even now the journey's end, near as it really 
 was, seemed far away. Ah, but he would sleep 
 soundly that night, whether the bed were of 
 earth or of straw. His peasant garb rather en 
 hanced his fine head. His eyes were blue and 
 clear and far-seeing, the eyes of a hunter or a 
 woodsman, of a man who watches the shadows in 
 the forest at night or the dim, wavering lines on 
 the horizon at daytime; things near or far or 
 roundabout. His brow was high, his nose large 
 and bridged; a face of more angles than con- 
 
 1
 
 2 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 tours, bristling with gray spikes, like one who 
 has gone unshaven several days. His hands, 
 folded over the round, polished knuckle of his 
 staff, were tanned and soiled, but they were long 
 and slender, and the callouses were pink, a cer 
 tain indication that they were fresh. 
 
 The afternoon glow of the September sun 
 burned along the dusty white highway. From 
 where he stood the road trailed off miles behind 
 and wound up five hundred feet or more above 
 him to the ancient city of Dreiberg. It was not 
 a steep road, but a long and weary one, a steady, 
 enervating, unbroken climb. To the left the 
 mighty cliff reared its granite side to the hang 
 ing city, broke in a wide plain, and then went on 
 up several thousand feet to the ledges of dragon- 
 green ice and snow. To the right sparkled and 
 flashed a wild mountain stream on its way to the 
 broad, fertile valley, which, mistily green and 
 brown and yellow with vineyards and hops and 
 corn, spread out and on to the north, stopping 
 abruptly at the base of the more formidable chain 
 of mountains. 
 
 Across this lofty jumble of barren rock and 
 glacial cleft, now purpling and darkening as the
 
 SOME IN RAGS 3 
 
 sun mellowed in its decline, lay the kingdom of 
 Jugendheit ; and toward this the wayfarer gazed 
 meditatively, absorbing little or nothing of the 
 exquisite panorama. By and by his gaze wa 
 vered, and that particular patch in the valley, 
 brown from the beating of many iron-shod 
 horses, caught and chained his interest for a 
 space. It was the military field, and it glittered 
 and scintillated as squadron after squadron of 
 cavalry dashed from side to side or wheeled in 
 bewildering circles. 
 
 "The philosophy of war is to prepare for it," 
 mused the old man, with a jerk of his shoulders. 
 "France! So the mutter runs. There is a Na 
 poleon in France, but no Bonaparte. Clatter- 
 clatter! Bang-bang!" He laughed ironically 
 and cautiously glanced at his watch, an article 
 which must have cost him many and many a 
 potato-patch. He pulled his hat over his eyes, 
 scratched the irritating stubble on his chin, and 
 stepped forward. 
 
 He had followed yonder goose-girl ever since 
 the incline began. Oft the little wooden shoes 
 had lagged, but here they were, still a hundred 
 yards or more ahead of him. He had never been
 
 4 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 close enough to distinguish her features. The 
 galloping of soldiers up and down the road from 
 time to time disturbed her flock, but she was evi 
 dently a patient soul, and relied valiantly upon 
 her stick of willow. Once or twice he had been in 
 clined to hasten his steps, to join her, to talk, to 
 hear the grateful sound of his own voice, which 
 he had not heard since he passed the frontier cus 
 toms; yet each time he had subdued the desire 
 and continued to lessen none of the distance be 
 tween them. 
 
 The little goose-girl was indeed tired, and the 
 little wooden shoes grew heavier and heavier, and 
 the little bare feet ached dully ; but her heart 
 was light and her mind sweet with happiness. 
 Day after day she had tended the geese in the 
 valley and trudged back at evening alone, all 
 told a matter of twelve miles ; and now she was 
 bringing them into the city to sell in the market 
 on the morrow. After that she would have little 
 to do save an hour or two at night in a tavern 
 called the Black Eagle, where she waited on 
 patrons. 
 
 On the two went, the old man in tatters, the 
 goose-girl in wooden shoes. The man listened;
 
 SOMEINRAGS 5 
 
 she was singing brightly, and the voice was sweet 
 and strong and true. 
 
 "She is happy ; that is some recompense. She 
 is richer than I am." And the peasant fell into 
 a reverie. 
 
 Presently there was a clatter of horses, a jin 
 gle of bit and spur and saber. The old man 
 stepped to the side of the road and sat down on 
 the stone parapet. It would be wiser now to wait 
 till the dust settled. Half a dozen mounted offi 
 cers trotted past. The peasant on the parapet 
 instantly recognized one of the men. He saluted 
 with a humbleness which lacked sincerity. It was 
 the grand duke himself. There was General Duc- 
 witz, too, and some of his staff, and a smooth 
 faced, handsome young man in civilian riding- 
 clothes, who, though he rode like a cavalryman, 
 was obviously of foreign birth, an Englishman 
 or an American. They were laughing and chat 
 ting amiably, for the grand duke of Ehrenstein 
 bothered himself about formalities only at formal 
 times. The outsider watched them regretfully as 
 they went by, and there was some envy in his 
 heart, too. 
 
 When the cavalcade reached the goose-girl, the
 
 6 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 peace of the scene vanished forthwith. Confu 
 sion took up the scepter. The silly geese, instead 
 of remaining on the left of the road, in safety, 
 straightway determined that their haven of ref 
 uge was on the opposite side. Gonk-gonk ! Quack- 
 quack! They scrambled, they blundered, they 
 flew. Some tried to go over the horses, some en 
 deavored to go under. One landed, full-winged, 
 against the grand duke's chest and swept his viz 
 ored cap off his head and rolled it into the dust. 
 The duke signed to his companions to draw up ; 
 to proceed in this undignified manner was impos 
 sible. All laughed heartily, however ; all except 
 ing the goose-girl. To her it was far from being 
 a laughing matter. It would take half an hour 
 to calm her stupid charges. And she was so tired. 
 
 "Stupids !" she cried despairingly. 
 
 "From pigs and chickens, good Lord deliver 
 us !" shouted the civilian, sliding from his horse 
 and recovering the duke's cap. 
 
 Now, the duke was a kind-hearted, thoughtful 
 man, notwithstanding his large and complex af 
 fairs of state ; as he ceased laughing, he searched 
 a pocket, and tossed a couple of coins to the for 
 lorn goose-girl.
 
 SOME IN RAGS 7 
 
 "I am sorry, little one," he said gravely. "I 
 hope none of your geese is hurt." 
 
 "Oh, Highness !" cried the girl, breathless 
 from her recent endeavors and overcome with the 
 grandeur of the two ducal effigies in her hand. 
 She had seen the grand duke times without num 
 ber, but she had never yet been so near to him. 
 And now he had actually spoken to her. It was a 
 miracle. She would tell them all that night in 
 the dark old Krumerweg. And for the moment 
 this prospect overshadowed all thought of her 
 geese. 
 
 The civilian dusted the royal cap with his 
 sleeve, returned it, and mounted. He then looked 
 casually at the girl. 
 
 "By George !" he exclaimed, in English. 
 
 "What is it?" asked the duke, gathering up 
 the reins. 
 
 "The girl's face ; It is beautiful." 
 
 The duke, after a glance, readily agreed. 
 "You Americans are always observant." 
 
 "Whenever there's a pretty face about," sup 
 plemented Ducwitz. 
 
 "I certainly shouldn't trouble to look at a 
 homely one," the American retorted.
 
 8 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Pretty figure, too," said one of the aides, a 
 colonel. But his eye held none of the abstract ad 
 miration which characterized the American's. 
 
 The goose-girl had seen this look in other 
 men's eyes ; she knew. A faint color grew under 
 her tan, and waned, but her eyes wavered not the 
 breadth of a hair. It was the colonel who finally 
 was forced to turn his gaze elsewhere, chagrined. 
 His face was not unfamiliar to her. 
 
 "Beauty is a fickle goddess," remarked Duc- 
 witz tritely, settling himself firmly in the saddle. 
 "In giving, she is as blind as a bat. I know a 
 duchess now but never mind." 
 
 "Let us be going forward," interrupted the 
 duke. There were more vital matters under hand 
 than the beauty of a strolling goose-girl. 
 
 So the troop proceeded with dust and small 
 thunder, and shortly passed the city gates, which 
 in modern times were never closed. It traversed 
 the lumpy cobbles of the narrow streets, under 
 hanging gables, past dim little shops and mar 
 kets, often unintentionally crowding pedestrians 
 into doorways or against the walls. One among 
 those so inconvenienced was a youth dressed 
 as a vintner. He was tall, pliantly built, blond
 
 SO M El N RAGS 9 
 
 as a Viking, possessing a singular beauty of the 
 masculine order. He was forced to flatten him 
 self against the wall of a house, his arms ex 
 tended on either side, in a kind of temporary 
 crucifixion. Even then the stirrup of the Amer 
 ican touched him slightly. But it was not the 
 touch of the stirrup that startled him ; it was the 
 dark, clean-cut face of the rider. Once they were 
 by, the youth darted into a doorway. 
 
 "He? What can he be doing here? No, it is 
 utterly impossible ; it is merely a likeness." 
 
 He ventured forth presently, none of the per 
 turbation, however, gone from his face. He ran 
 his hand across his chin; yes, he would let his 
 beard grow. 
 
 The duke and his escort turned into the broad 
 and restful sweep of the Konig Strasse, with its 
 fashionable residences, shops, cafes and hotels. 
 At the end of the Strasse was the Ehrenstein 
 Platz, the great square round which ran the pal 
 aces and the royal and public gardens. On the 
 way many times the duke raised his hand in salu 
 tations ; for, while not exactly loved, he was liked 
 for his rare clean living, his sound sense of jus 
 tice and his honest efforts to do what was right.
 
 10 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Opera-singers came and went, but none had ever 
 penetrated into the private suites of the palace. 
 The halt was made in the courtyard, and all dis 
 mounted. 
 
 The American thanked the duke gratefully 
 for the use of the horse. 
 
 "You are welcome to a mount at all times, Mr. 
 Carmichael," replied the duke pleasantly. "A 
 man who rides as well as yourself may be trusted 
 anywhere with any kind of a horse." 
 
 The group looked admiringly at the object of 
 this marked attention. Here was one who had 
 seen two years of constant and terrible warfare, 
 who had ridden horses under fire, and who bore 
 on his body many honorable scars. For the great 
 civil strife in America had come to its close but 
 two years before, and Europe was still captive to 
 her amazement at the military prowess of the 
 erstwhile inconsiderable American. 
 
 As Carmichael saluted and turned to leave the 
 courtyard, he threw a swift, searching glance at 
 one of the palace windows. Did the curtain stir? 
 He could not say. He continued on, crossing the 
 Platz, toward the Grand Hotel. He was a bach 
 elor, so he might easily have had his quarters at
 
 SOME IN RAGS 11 
 
 the consulate ; but as usual with American consu 
 lates even to the present time it was situated 
 in an undesirable part of the town, over a Bier- 
 halle frequented by farmers and the middle class. 
 Having a moderately comfortable income of his 
 own, he naturally preferred living at the Grand 
 Hotel. 
 
 Where had he seen that young vintner before ? 
 
 Meanwhile, the goose-girl set resolutely about 
 the task of remarshaling her awkward squad. 
 With a soft, clucking sound she moved hither 
 and thither. A feather or two drifted lazily about 
 in the air. At last she gathered them in, all but 
 one foolish, blank-eyed gander, which, poising on 
 a large boulder, threatened to dive headforemost 
 into the torrent. She coaxed him gently, then se 
 verely, but without success. The old man in 
 patches came up. 
 
 "Let me get him for you, Kindchen," he vol 
 unteered. 
 
 The good-fellowship in his voice impressed her 
 far more than the humble state of his dress. But 
 she smiled and shook her head. 
 
 "It is dangerous," she affirmed. "It will be
 
 12 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 wiser to wait. In a little while he will come down 
 of his own accord." 
 
 "Bah !" cried the old man. "It is nothing ; I 
 am a mountaineer." 
 
 In spite of his weariness, he proved himself to 
 be a dexterous climber. Foot by foot he crawled 
 up the side of the huge stone. A slip, and his life 
 would not have been worth one of the floating 
 feathers. The gander saw him coming and stirred 
 uneasily. Nearer and nearer came this human 
 spider. The gander flapped its wings, but hesi 
 tated to take the leap. Instantly a brown hand 
 shot up and caught the scaly yellow legs. There 
 was much squawking on the way down, but when 
 his gandership saw his more tractable brothers 
 and sisters peacefully waddling up the road, he 
 subsided and took his place in the ranks without 
 more ado. 
 
 "You are a brave man, Herr." There was ad 
 miration in the girl's eyes. 
 
 "To court danger and to overcome obstacles 
 is a part of my regular business. I do not know 
 what giddiness is. You are welcome to the serv 
 ice. It is a long walk from the valley." 
 
 "I have walked it many times this summer.
 
 But this is the last day. To-morrow I sell the 
 geese in the market to the hotels. They have all 
 fine livers" lightly touching a goose with her 
 willow stick. 
 
 "What, the hotels?" humorously. 
 
 "No, no, my geese !" 
 
 "What was that song you were singing before 
 the horses came up ?" 
 
 "That? It was from the poet Heine" sim- 
 
 He stared at her with a rudeness not at all in 
 tentional. 
 
 "Heine? Can you read?" 
 
 "Yes, Herr." 
 
 The other walked along beside her in silence. 
 After all, why not? Why should he be sur 
 prised? From one end of the world to the other 
 printer's ink was spreading and bringing light. 
 But a goose-girl who read Heine ! 
 
 "And the music?" he inquired presently. 
 
 "That is mine" with the first sign of diffi 
 dence. "Melodies are always running through 
 my head. Sometimes they make me forget things 
 I ought to remember." 
 
 "Your own music? An impresario will be
 
 14 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 discovering you some fine day, and your fortune 
 will be made." 
 
 The light irony did not escape her. "I am 
 only a goose-girl." 
 
 He felt disarmed. "What is your name ?" 
 
 "Gretchen." 
 
 "What else?" 
 
 "Nothing else" wistfully. "I never knew 
 any father or mother." 
 
 "So?" This was easier for the other to under 
 stand. "But who taught you to read?" 
 
 "A priest. Once I lived in the mountains, at an 
 inn. He used to come in evenings, when the snow 
 was not too deep. He taught me to read and 
 write, and many things besides. I know that 
 Italy has all the works of art ; that France has 
 the most interesting history ; that Germany has 
 all the philosophers, and America all the money," 
 adding a smile. "I should like to see America. 
 Sometimes I find a newspaper, and I read it all 
 through." 
 
 "History?" 
 
 "A little, and geography." 
 
 "With all this wide learning you ought to be 
 something better than a tender of geese."
 
 SOMEINRAGS 15 
 
 "It is honest work, and that is good." 
 
 "I meant nothing wrong, Kindchen. But you 
 would find it easier in a milliner's shop, as a 
 lady's maid, something of that order." 
 
 "With these?" holding out her hands. 
 
 "It would not take long to whiten them. Do 
 you live alone?" 
 
 "No. I live with my foster-mother, who is 
 very old. I call her grandmother. She took 
 me in when I was a foundling ; now I am taking 
 care of her. She has always been good to me. 
 And what might your name be?" 
 
 "Ludwig." 
 
 "Ludwig what ?" inquisitive in her turn. 
 
 "Oh, the other does not matter. I am a 
 mountaineer from Jugendheit." 
 
 " Jugendheit ?" She paused to look at him 
 more closely. "We are not friendly with your 
 country." 
 
 "More's the pity. It is a grave blunder on 
 the part of the grand duke. There is a mote 
 in his eye." 
 
 "Wasn't it all about the grand duke's daugh 
 ter?" 
 
 "Yes. But she has been found. Yet the
 
 16 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 duke is as bitter as of old. He is wrong, he was 
 always wrong." The old man spoke with feel 
 ing. "What is this new-found princess like?" 
 
 "She is beautiful and kind." 
 
 "So?" 
 
 The geese were behaving, and only occasion 
 ally was she obliged to use her stick. And as 
 her companion asked no more questions, she 
 devoted her attention to the flock, proud of their 
 broad backs and full breasts. 
 
 On his part, he observed her critically, for 
 he was more than curious now, he was inter 
 ested. She was not tall, but her lithe slenderness 
 gave her the appearance of tallness. Her hands, 
 rough-nailed and sunburnt, were small and 
 shapely ; the bare foot in the wooden shoe might 
 have worn without trouble Cinderella's magic 
 slipper. Her clothes, coarse and homespun, were 
 clean and variously mended. Her hair, in a 
 thick braid, was the tone of the heart of a 
 chestnut-bur, and her eyes were of that mysti 
 fying hazel, sometimes brown, sometimes gray, 
 according to whether the sky was clear or over 
 cast. And there was something above and be 
 yond all these things, a modesty, a gentleness
 
 SOMEINRAGS 17 
 
 and a purity; none of the bold, rollicking, 
 knowing manner so common in handsome peasant 
 girls. He contemplated her through half-closed 
 eyes and gave her in fancy the trifling furbe 
 lows of a woman of fashion; she would have 
 been beautiful. 
 
 "How old are you, Gretchen?" 
 
 "I do not know," she answered, "perhaps 
 eighteen, perhaps twenty." 
 
 Again they went forward in silence. By the 
 time they reached the gates the sun was no 
 longer visible on the horizon, but it had gone 
 down ruddy and uncrowned by any cloud, giv 
 ing promise of a fair day on the morrow. The 
 afterglow on the mountains across the valley was 
 now in its prime glory ; and once the two way 
 farers paused and commented upon it. Once 
 more the mountaineer was agreeably surprised; 
 the average peasant is impervious to atmos 
 pheric splendor, beauty carries no message. 
 
 Arriving at length in the city, they passed 
 through the crooked streets, sometimes so nar 
 row that the geese were packed from wall to wall. 
 Oft some jovial soldier sent a jest or a query 
 to them across the now gray backs of the geese.
 
 18 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 But Gretchen looked on ahead, purely and se 
 renely. 
 
 "Gretchen, where shall I find the Adlergasse?" 
 
 "We pass through it shortly. I will show 
 you. You are also a stranger in Dreiberg?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 They took the next turn, and the weather- 
 beaten sign Zum Schwartzen Adler, hanging in 
 front of a frame house of many gables, caused 
 the mountaineer to breathe gratefully. 
 
 "Here my journey ends, Gretchen. The 
 Black Eagle," he added, in an undertone ; "it is 
 unchanged these twenty years. Heaven send 
 that the beds are softer than aforetime !" 
 
 They were passing a clock-mender's shop. 
 The man from Jugendheit peered in the win 
 dow, which had not been cleaned in an age, but 
 there was no clock in sight to give him warn 
 ing of the time, and he dared not now look at 
 his watch. He had a glimpse of the ancient 
 clock-mender himself, however, huddled over a 
 table upon which sputtered a candle. It touched 
 up his face with grotesque lights. Here was 
 age, mused the man outside the window; noth 
 ing less than fourscore years rested upon those
 
 'Good night, Gretchen. Good luck to you." Page 19.
 
 SOMEINRAGS 19 
 
 rounded shoulders. The face was corrugated 
 with wrinkles, like a frosted road; eyes heavily 
 spectacled, a ragged thatch of hair on the head, 
 a ragged beard on the chin. Aware of a shadow 
 between him and the fading daylight, the clock- 
 mender looked up from his work. The eyes of 
 the two men met, but only for a moment. 
 
 The mountaineer, who felt rejuvenated by 
 this contrast, straightened his shoulders and 
 started to cross the street to the tavern. 
 
 "Good night, Gretchen. Good luck to you and 
 your geese to-morrow." 
 
 "Thanks, Herr Ludwig. And will you be 
 long in the city?" 
 
 "That depends; perhaps," adding a grim 
 smile in answer to a grim thought. 
 
 He offered his hand, which she accepted 
 trustfully. He was a strange old man, but 
 she liked him. When she withdrew her hand, 
 something cold and hard remained in her palm. 
 Wonders of all the world ! It was a piece of gold. 
 Her eyes went up quickly, but the giver smiled 
 reassuringly and put a finger against his lips. 
 
 "But, Herr," she remonstrated. 
 
 "Keep it; I give it to you. Do not question
 
 20 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 providence, and I am her handmaiden just now. 
 Go along with you." 
 
 So Gretchen in a mild state of stupefaction 
 turned away. Clat-clat! sang the little wooden 
 shoes. A plaintive gonk rose as she prodded 
 a laggard from the dank gutter. A piece of 
 gold! Clat-clat! Clat-clat! Surely this had been 
 a day of marvels; two crowns from the grand 
 duke and a piece of gold from this old man in 
 peasant clothes. Instinctively she knew that he 
 was not a peasant. But what could he be? 
 Comparison would have made him a king. She 
 was too tired and hungry to make further de 
 ductions. 
 
 She was regarded with kindly eyes till the 
 dark jaws of the Krumerweg swallowed up both 
 her and her geese. 
 
 "Poor little goose-girl !" he thought. "If she 
 but knew, she could make a bonfire of a thou 
 sand hearts. A fine day !" He eyed again the 
 battered sign. It was then that he discerned 
 another, leaning from the ledge of the first story 
 of the house adjoining the tavern. It was the 
 tarnished shield of the United States. 
 
 "What a penurious government it must be!
 
 SOME IN RAGS 21 
 
 Two weeks, tramping about the country in this 
 unholy garb, following false trails half the time, 
 living on crusts and cold meats. Ah, you have 
 led me a merry dance, nephew, but I shall not 
 forget !" 
 
 He entered the tavern and applied for a room, 
 haggling over the price. 
 
 X
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 
 
 THE nights in Dreiberg during September 
 are often chill. The heavy mists from 
 the mountain slip down the granite clifts and 
 spread over the city, melting all sharp outlines, 
 enfeebling the gas-lamps, and changing the 
 moon, if there happens to be one, into something 
 less than a moon and something more than a pew 
 ter disk. And so it was this night. 
 
 Carmichael, in order to finish his cigar on the 
 little balcony fronting his window, found it nec 
 essary to put on his light overcoat, though he 
 perfectly knew that he was in no manner forced 
 to smoke on the balcony. But the truth was he 
 wanted a clear vision of the palace and the 
 lighted windows thereof, and of one in partic 
 ular. He had no more sense than Tom-fool, the 
 abetter of follies. She was as far removed from 
 him as the most alien of the planets ; but the
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 23 
 
 magnet shall ever draw the needle, and a woman 
 shall ever draw a man. He knew that it was 
 impossible, that it grew more impossible day by 
 day, and he railed at himself bitterly and satir 
 ically. 
 
 He sighed and teetered his legs. A sigh moves 
 nothing forward, yet it is as essential as life it 
 self. It is the safety-valve to every emotion ; it 
 is the last thing in laughter, the last thing in 
 tears. One sighs in entering the world and in 
 leaving it, perhaps in protest. A child sighs for 
 the moon because it knows no better. Carmichael 
 sighed for the Princess Hildegarde, understand 
 ing. It was sigh or curse, and the latter mode 
 of expression wastes more vitality. Oh, yes ; 
 they made over him, as the world goes ; they 
 dined and wined him and elected him honorary 
 member to their clubs; they patted him on the 
 back and called him captain ; but it was all in a 
 negligent toleration that turned every pleasure 
 into rust. 
 
 Arthur Carmichael was Irish. He was born 
 in America, educated there and elsewhere, a lit 
 tle while in Paris, a little while at Bonn, and, like 
 all Irishmen, he was baned with the wandering
 
 24 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 foot ; for the man who is homeless by choice has 
 a subtle poison in his blood. He was at Bonn 
 when the Civil War came. He went back to 
 America and threw himself into the fight with all 
 the ardor that had made his forebears famous 
 in the service of the worthless Stuarts. It wasn't 
 a question with him of the mere love of fighting, 
 of tossing the penny ; he knew with which side 
 he wished to fight. He joined the cavalry of 
 the North, and hammered and fought his way 
 to a captaincy. He was wounded five times and 
 imprisoned twice. His right eye was still weak 
 from the effects of a powder explosion; and 
 whenever it bothered him he wore a single glass, 
 abominating, as all soldiers do, the burden of 
 spectacles. At the end of the conflict he returned 
 to Washington. 
 
 And then the inherent curse put a hand on his 
 shoulder ; he must be moving. His parents were 
 dead ; there was no anchor, nor had lying ambi 
 tion enmeshed him. There was a little property, 
 the income from which was enough for his wants. 
 Without any influence whatever, save his pleas 
 ing address and his wide education, he blarneyed 
 the State Department out of a consulate. They
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 25 
 
 sent him to Ehrenstein, at a salary not worth 
 mentioning, with the diplomatic halo of dignity 
 as a tail to the kite. He had been in the service 
 some two years by now, and those who knew him 
 well rather wondered at his sedative turn of 
 mind. Two years in any one place was not in 
 reckoning as regarded Carmichael; yet, here he 
 was, caring neither for promotion nor exchange. 
 So, then, all logical deductions simmered down to 
 one : Cherchez la femme. 
 
 He knew that his case would never be tried in 
 court nor settled out of it; and he realized that 
 it would be far better to weigh anchor and set 
 his course for other parts. But no man ever 
 quite forsakes his dream-woman ; and he had en 
 dued a princess with all the shining attributes of 
 an angel, when, had he known it, she was only 
 angelic. 
 
 The dreamer is invariably tripping over his 
 illusions; and Carmichael was rather boyish in 
 his dreams. What absurd romances he was al 
 ways weaving round her ! What exploits on her 
 behalf! But never anything happened, and 
 never was the grand duke called upon to offer 
 his benediction.
 
 26 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 It was all very foolish and romantic and im 
 possible, and no one recognized this more readily 
 than he. No American ever married a princess 
 of a reigning house, and no American ever will. 
 This law is as immovable as the law of gravita 
 tion. Still, man is master of his dreams, and he 
 may do as he pleases in the confines of this small 
 circle. Outside these temporary lapses, Car- 
 michael was a keen, shrewd, far-sighted young 
 man, close-lipped and observant, never forget 
 ting faces, never forgetting benefits, loving a 
 fight but never provoking one. So he and the 
 world were friends. Diplomacy has its synonym 
 in tact, and he was an able tactician, for all that 
 an Irishman is generally likened to a bull in a 
 china-shop. 
 
 "How the deuce will it end?" musing half 
 aloud. "I'll forget myself some day and trip 
 so hard that they'll be asking Washington for 
 my recall. I'll go over to the gardens and listen 
 to the band. They are playing dirges to-night, 
 and anything funereal will be a light and happy 
 tonic to my present state of mind." 
 
 He was standing on the curb in front of the 
 hotel, his decision still unrounded, when he no-
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 27 
 
 ticed a closed carriage hard by the fountain in 
 the Platz. The driver dozed on his box. 
 
 "Humph! There's a man who is never trou 
 bled with counting the fool's beads. Silver and 
 copper are his gods and goddesses. Ha! a 
 fare!" 
 
 A woman in black, thoroughly veiled and 
 cloaked, came round from the opposite side of 
 the fountain. She spoke to the driver, and he 
 tumbled off the box, alive and hearty. There 
 seemed to be a short interchange of words of 
 mutual satisfaction. The lady stepped into the 
 carriage, the driver woke up his ancient Buce 
 phalus, and went clickety-clack down the Konig 
 Strasse toward the town. 
 
 To Carmichael it was less than an incident. 
 He twirled his cane and walked toward the pub 
 lic gardens. Here he strolled about, watching 
 the people, numerous but orderly, with a bright 
 military patch here and there. The band struck 
 up again, and he drifted with the crowd toward 
 the pavilion. The penny-chairs were occupied, 
 so he selected a spot off-side, near enough for all 
 auditual purposes. One after another he care 
 lessly scanned the faces of those nearest. He
 
 28 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 was something of an amateur physiognomist, 
 but he seldom made the mistakes of the tyro. 
 
 Within a dozen feet of him, her arms folded 
 across her breast, her eyes half shut in the 
 luxury of the senses, stood the goose-girl. He 
 smiled as he recalled the encounter of that after 
 noon. It was his habit to ride to the maneuvers 
 every day, and several times he had noticed her, 
 as well as any rider is able to notice a pedestrian. 
 But that afternoon her beauty came home to him 
 suddenly and unexpectedly. Had she been other 
 than what she was, a woman well-gowned, for in 
 stance, riding in her carriage, his interest would 
 have waned in the passing. But it had come 
 with the same definite surprise as when one finds 
 a rare and charming story in a dilapidated book. 
 
 "Why couldn't I have fallen in love with some 
 one like this?" he cogitated. 
 
 With a friendly smile on his lips, he took a 
 step toward her, but instantly paused. Colonel 
 von Wallenstein of the general staff approached 
 her from the other side, and Carmichael was curi 
 ous to find out what that officer's object was. 
 Wallenstein was a capital soldier, and a jolly 
 ifellow round a board, but beyond that Car-
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 29 
 
 michael had no real liking for him. There were 
 too many scented notes stuck in his pockets. 
 
 The colonel dropped his cigarette, leaned over 
 Gretchen's shoulder and spoke a few words. At 
 first she gave no heed. The colonel persisted. 
 Without a word in reply, she resolutely sought 
 the nearest policeman. Wallenstein, remaining 
 where he was, laughed. Meantime the policeman 
 frowned. It was incredible ; his excellency could 
 not possibly have intended any wrong, it was 
 only a harmless pleasantry. Gretchen's lips 
 quivered; the law of redress in Ehrenstein had 
 no niche for the goose-girl. 
 
 "Good evening, colonel," said Carmichael 
 pleasantly. "Why can't your bandmaster give 
 us light opera once in a while?" 
 
 The colonel pulled his mustache in chagrin, 
 but he did not give Carmichael the credit for 
 bringing about this cheapening sense. For the 
 time being Gretchen was freed from annoyance. 
 The colonel certainly could not rush off to her 
 and give this keen-eyed American an oppor 
 tunity to witness a further rebuff. 
 
 "Light operas are rare at present," he re 
 plied, accepting his defeat amiably enough.
 
 30 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Paris is full of them just now," continued 
 Carmichael. 
 
 "Paris? Would you like a riot in the gar 
 dens?" asked the colonel, amused. 
 
 "A riot?" said Carmichael derisively. "Why, 
 nothing short of a bombshell would cause a riot 
 among your phlegmatic Germans." 
 
 "I believe you love your Paris better than 
 your Dreiberg." 
 
 "Not a bit of doubt. And down in your heart 
 you do, too. Think of the lights, the theaters, 
 the cafes and the pretty women!" Carmichael's 
 cane described a flourish as if to draw a picture 
 of these things. 
 
 "Yes, yes," agreed the colonel reminiscently ; 
 "you are right. There is no other night equal 
 to a Parisian night. Ach, Gottl But think of 
 the mornings, think of the mornings!" dole- 
 fully. 
 
 "On the contrary, let us not think of them !" 
 with a mock shudder. 
 
 And then a pretty woman rose from a chair 
 near-by. She nodded brightly at the colonel, 
 who bowed, excused himself to Carmichael, and 
 made off after her.
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 31 
 
 "I believe I stepped on his toe that time," said 
 Carmichael to himself. 
 
 Then he looked round for Gretchen. She was 
 still at the side of the policeman. She had 
 watched the scene between the two men, but was 
 quite unconscious that it had been set for her 
 benefit. She came back. Carmichael stepped 
 confidently to her side and raised his hat. 
 
 "Did you get your geese together without 
 mishap?" he asked. 
 
 The instinct of the child always remains with 
 the woman. Gretchen smiled. This young man 
 would be different, she knew. 
 
 "They were only frightened. But his high 
 ness" eagerly "was he very angry?" 
 
 "Angry? Not the least. He was amused. 
 But he was nearly knocked off his horse. If 
 you lived in America now, you might reap a 
 goodly profit from that goose." 
 
 "America? How?" 
 
 "You could put him in a museum and exhibit 
 him as an intimate friend of the grand duke of 
 Ehrenstein." 
 
 But Gretchen did not laugh. It was a serious 
 thing to talk lightly of so grand a person as the
 
 32 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 duke. Still, the magic word America, where the 
 gold came from, flamed her curiosity. 
 
 "You are from America?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Are you rich?" 
 
 "In fancy, in dreams" humorously. 
 
 "Oh ! I thought they were all rich." 
 
 "Only one or two of us." 
 
 "Is it very large, this America?" 
 
 "France, Spain, Prussia would be lonesome if 
 set down in America. Only Russia has anything 
 to boast of." 
 
 "Did you fight in the war?" 
 
 "Yes. Do you like music?" 
 
 "Were you ever wounded?" 
 
 "A scratch or two, nothing to speak of. But 
 do you like music?" 
 
 "Very, very much. When they play Beetho 
 ven, Bach, or Meyerbeer, ach, I seem to live in 
 another country. I hear music in everything, 
 in the leaves, the rain, the wind, the stream." 
 
 It seemed strange to him that he had not no 
 ticed it at first, the almost Hanovarian purity 
 of her speech and the freedom with which she 
 spoke. The average peasant is diffident, with
 
 a vocabulary of few words, ignorant of art or 
 music or where the world lay. 
 
 "What is your name?" 
 
 "Gretchen." 
 
 "It is a good name ; it is famous, too." 
 
 "Goethe used it." 
 
 "So he did." Carmichael ably concealed his 
 surprise: "You have some one who reads to 
 you?" 
 
 "No, Herr. I can read and write and do sums 
 in addition." 
 
 He was willing to swear that she was making 
 fun of him. Was she a simple goose-girl? 
 Was she not something more, something deeper ? 
 War-clouds were forming in the skies; they 
 might gather and strike at any time. And who 
 but the French could produce such a woman 
 spy? Ehrenstein was not Prussia, it was true; 
 but the duchy with its twenty thousand troops 
 was one of the many pulses that beat in unison 
 with this man Bismarck's plans. Carmichael 
 addressed her quickly in French, aiming to catch 
 her off her guard. 
 
 "I do not speak French, Herr," honestly. 
 
 He was certainly puzzled, but a glance at her
 
 34 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 hands dissolved his doubts. These hands were 
 used to toil, they were in no way disguised. No 
 Frenchwoman would sacrifice her hands for her 
 country; at least, not to this extent. Yet the 
 two things in his mind would not readily co- 
 hese: a goose-girl who was familiar with the 
 poets and composers. 
 
 "You have been to school?" 
 
 "After a manner. My teacher was a kind 
 priest. But he never knew that, with know 
 ledge, he was to open the gates of discontent." 
 
 "Then you are not happy with your lot ?" 
 
 "Is any one, Herr?" quietly. "And who 
 might you be, and what might you be doing here 
 in Dreiberg, riding with the grand duke?" 
 
 "I am the American consul." 
 
 Gretchen took a step back. 
 
 "Oh, it is nothing that will bite you," he 
 added. 
 
 "But perhaps I have been disrespectful!" 
 
 "Pray, how?" 
 
 Gretchen found that she had no definite ex 
 planation to offer. 
 
 "What did Colonel Wallenstein say to you?" 
 
 "Nothing of importance. I am used to it. I
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 35 
 
 am perfectly able to take care of myself," she 
 answered. 
 
 "But he annoyed you." 
 
 "That is true," she admitted. 
 
 "What did the policeman say ?" 
 
 "What would he say to a goose-girl?" 
 
 "Shall I speak to him?" 
 
 "Would it really do any good?" skeptically. 
 
 "It might. The duke is friendly toward me, 
 and I am certain he would not tolerate such 
 conduct in his police." 
 
 "You would only make enemies for me ; inso 
 lence would become persecution. I know. Yet, 
 I thank you, Herr " 
 
 "Carmichael. Now, listen, Gretchen ; if at any 
 time you are in trouble, you will find me at the 
 Grand Hotel or at the consulate next door to the 
 Black Eagle." 
 
 "I shall remember. Sometimes I work in the 
 Black Eagle." And recollection rose in her mind 
 of the old man who had given her the gold piece. 
 
 "Good night," he said. 
 
 "Thank you, Herr." 
 
 Gretchen extended her hand and Carmichael 
 took it in his own, inspecting it.
 
 36 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Why do you do that?" 
 "It is a good hand ; it is strong, too." 
 "It has to be strong, Herr. Good night." 
 Carmichael raised his hat again, and Gretchen 
 breathed contentedly as she saw him disappear 
 in the crowd. That little act of courtesy made 
 everything brighter. There was only one other 
 who ever touched his hat to her respectfully. 
 And as she stood there, dreaming over the un 
 usual happenings of the day, she felt an arm 
 slip through hers, gently but firmly, even with 
 authority. Her head went round. 
 "Leo?" she whispered. 
 
 The young vintner whom Carmichael had 
 pushed against the wall that day smiled from 
 under the deep shade of his hat, drawn down 
 well over his face. 
 
 "Gretchen, who was that speaking to you?" 
 "Herr Carmichael, the American consul." 
 "Carmichael!" The arm in Gretchen's stiff 
 ened. 
 
 "What is it, Leo?" 
 
 "Nothing. Only, I grow mad with rage when 
 any of these gentlemen speak to you. Gentle 
 men ! I know them all too well."
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 37 
 
 "This one means no harm." 
 
 "I would I were certain. Ah, how I love you !" 
 he whispered. 
 
 Gretchen thrilled and drew his arm closely 
 against her side. 
 
 "To me the world began but two weeks ago. 
 I have just begun to live." 
 
 "I am glad," said Gretchen. "But listen/' 
 
 The band was playing again. 
 
 "Sometimes I am jealous even of that." 
 
 "I love you none the less for loving it." 
 
 "I know ; but I am sad and lonely to-night" 
 gloomily. "I want all your thoughts." 
 
 "Are they not always yours ? And why should 
 you be sad and miserable ?" 
 
 "Why, indeed!" 
 
 "Leo, as much as I love you, there is always 
 a shadow." 
 
 "What shadow?" 
 
 "It is always at night that I see you, rarely 
 in the bright daytime. What do you do during 
 the day? It is not yet vintage. What do you 
 do?" 
 
 "Will you trust me a little longer, Gretchen, 
 just a little longer?"
 
 38 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Always, not a little longer, always. But wait 
 till the music stops and I will tell you of my 
 adventure." 
 
 "You have had an adventure?" distrust 
 fully. 
 
 "Yes. Be still." 
 
 There were tones in Gretchen's voice that the 
 young vintner could never quite understand. 
 There was a will little less than imperial, and 
 often as he rebelled, he never failed to bow to it. 
 
 "What was this adventure?" he demanded, as 
 the music stopped. 
 
 She told him about the geese, the grand duke, 
 and the two crowns. He laughed, and she joined 
 him, for it was amusing now. 
 
 The musicians were putting away their instru 
 ments, the crowd was melting, the attendants 
 were stacking the chairs, so the two lovers went 
 out of the gardens toward the town and the 
 Krumerweg. 
 
 Meanwhile Carmichael had lectured the po 
 liceman, who was greatly disturbed. 
 
 "Your Excellency, I am sure Colonel von Wal- 
 lenstein meant no harm."
 
 AN AMERICAN CONSUL 39 
 
 "Are you truthfully sure?" 
 
 The policeman plucked at his beard nervously. 
 "It is every man for himself, as your excellency 
 knows. Had I spoken to the colonel, he would 
 have had me broken." 
 
 "You could have appealed to the duke." 
 
 "Perhaps. I am sorry for the girl, but I have 
 a family to take care of." 
 
 "Well, mark me ; this little woman loves music ; 
 she comes here often. The next time she is 
 annoyed by Wallenstein or any one else, you 
 report it to me. I'll see that it reaches his high 
 ness." 
 
 "I shall gladly do that, your Excellency." 
 
 Carmichael left the gardens and wandered 
 with aimless step. He was surprised to find 
 that he was opposite the side gates to the royal 
 gardens. His feet had followed the bent of his 
 mind. Yet he did not cross the narrow side 
 street. The sound of carriage wheels caused 
 him to halt. He waited. The carriage he had 
 seen by the fountain drew up before the gates, 
 and the woman in black alighted. She spoke to 
 the sentinel, who opened the gates and closed
 
 40 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 them. The veiled lady vanished abruptly be 
 yond the shrubbery. 
 
 "I wonder who that was?" was Carmichael's 
 internal question. "Bah! Some lady-in-wait 
 ing with an affair on hand."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 
 
 OUNT, must I tell you again not to broach 
 that subject? There can be no alliance be 
 tween Ehrenstein and Jugendheit." 
 
 "Why?" asked Count von Herbeck, chan 
 cellor, coolly returning the angry flash from the 
 ducal eyes. 
 
 "There are a thousand reasons why, but it 
 is not my purpose to name them." 
 
 "Name only one, your Highness, only one." 
 
 "Will that satisfy you?" 
 
 "Perhaps." 
 
 "One of my reasons is that I do not want any 
 alliance with a country so perfidious as Jugend 
 heit. What! I make overtures? I, who have 
 been so cruelly wronged all these years? You 
 are mad." 
 
 "But what positive evidence have you that 
 Jugendheit wronged you?" 
 41
 
 42 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Positive? Have I eyes and ears? Have I 
 not seen and read and heard?" This time the 
 duke struck the desk savagely. "Why do you 
 always rouse me in this fashion, Herbeck? 
 You know how distasteful all this is to me." 
 
 "Your highness knows that I look only to the 
 welfare of the country. In the old days it was 
 a foregone conclusion that this alliance was to 
 be formed. Now, you persist in averring that 
 the late king was the chief conspirator in ab 
 ducting her serene highness, aided by Arns- 
 berg, whose successor I have the honor to be. 
 I have never yet seen any proofs. You have 
 never yet produced them. Show me something 
 which absolutely convicts them, and I'll surren 
 der." 
 
 "On your honor?" 
 
 "My word." 
 
 The grand duke struck the bell on the chan 
 cellor's desk. 
 
 "My secretary, and tell him to bring me the 
 packet marked A. He will understand." 
 
 The two men waited without speaking, each 
 busy with thought. The duke had been in 
 his youth, and was still, a handsome man,
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 43 
 
 splendidly set up, healthy and vigorous, keen 
 mentally, and whatever stubbornness he pos 
 sessed nicely balanced by common sense. He 
 might have been guilty in his youth of a few 
 human peccadillos, but the kingly and princely 
 excesses which at that time were making the 
 east side of the Rhine the scandal of the world 
 had in no wise sullied his name. Ehrenstein 
 means "stone of honor," and he had always 
 carried the thought of this in his heart. He 
 was frank in his likes and dislikes, he hated 
 secrets, and he loved an opponent who engaged 
 him in the open. Herbeck often labored with 
 him over this open manner, but the mind he 
 sought to work upon was as receptive to po 
 litical hypocrisy as a wall of granite. It was 
 this extraordinary rectitude which made the duke 
 so powerful an aid to Bismarck in the days 
 that followed. The Man of Iron needed this sort 
 of character as a cover and a buckler to his 
 own duplicities. 
 
 Herbeck was an excellent foil. He was as 
 silent and secretive as sand. He moved, as it 
 were, in circles, thus always eluding dangerous 
 corners. He was tall, angular, with a thin, im-
 
 44 
 
 mobile countenance, well guarded by his gray 
 eyes and straight lips. He was a born financier, 
 with almost limitless ambition, though only he 
 himself knew how far this ambition reached. 
 He had not brought prosperity to Ehrenstein, 
 but he had fortified and bastioned it against 
 extravagance, and this was probably the larger 
 feat of the two. He loved his country, and 
 brooded over it as a mother broods over her 
 child. Twice had he saved Ehrenstein from the 
 drag-net of war, and with honor. So he was 
 admired by fathers and revered by mothers. 
 
 The secretary came in and laid a thin packet 
 of papers on the chancellor's desk. "It was 
 the packet A, your Highness?" his hand still 
 resting upon the documents. 
 
 "Yes. You may go." 
 
 The secretary bowed and withdrew. 
 
 The duke stirred the papers angrily, took one 
 of them and spread it out with a rasp. 
 
 "Look at that. Whose writing, I ask?" 
 
 Herbeck adjusted his glasses and scrutinized 
 the slanting hieroglyphics. He ran over it sev 
 eral times. At length he opened a drawer in 
 his desk, sorted some papers, and brought out
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 45 
 
 a yellow letter. This he laid down beside the 
 other. 
 
 "Yes, they are alike. This will be Arnsberg. 
 But" mildly "who may say that it is not a 
 cunning forgery?" 
 
 "Forgery !" roared the duke. "Read this one 
 from the late king of Jugendheit to Arnsberg, 
 then, if you still doubt." 
 
 Herbeck read slowly and carefully. 
 
 Then he rose and walked to the nearest win 
 dow, studying the letter again in the sharper 
 light. Presently his hands fell behind his back 
 and met about the paper, while he himself stared 
 over into the royal gardens. He remained in 
 this attitude for some time. 
 
 "Well?" said the duke impatiently. 
 
 Herbeck returned to his chair. "I wish that 
 you had shown me these long ago." 
 
 "To what end?" 
 
 "You accused the king?" 
 
 "Certainly, but he denied it." 
 
 "In a letter?" 
 
 "Yes. Here, read it." 
 
 Herbeck compared the two. "Where did you 
 find these?"
 
 46 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "In Arnsberg's desk," returned the duke, the 
 anger in his eyes giving place to gloomy re 
 trospection. "Arnsberg, my boyhood playmate, 
 the man I loved and trusted and advanced to the 
 highest office in my power. Is that not the way ? 
 Do we ever trust any one fully without being 
 in the end deceived? Well, dead or alive," the 
 duke continued, his throat swelling, "ten thou 
 sand crowns to him who brings Arnsberg to me, 
 dead or alive." 
 
 "He will never come back," said Herbeck. 
 
 "Not if he is wise. He was clever. He sent 
 all his fortune to Paris, so I found, and what 
 I confiscated was nothing but his estate. But 
 do you believe me" putting a hand against his 
 heart "something here tells me that some day 
 fate will drag him back and give him into my 
 hands?" 
 
 "You are very bitter." 
 
 "And have I not cause? Did not my wife die 
 of a broken heart, and did I not become a broken 
 man? You do not know all, Herbeck, not quite 
 all. Franz also sought the hand of the Princess 
 Sofia. He, too, loved her, but I won. Well, his 
 revenge must have been sweet to him."
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 47 
 
 "But jour daughter has been restored to 
 her own." 
 
 "Due to your indefatigable efforts alone. Ah, 
 Herbeck, nothing will ever fill up the gap be 
 tween, nothing will ever restore the mother." 
 The duke bowed his head. 
 
 Herbeck studied him thoughtfully. 
 
 "I love my daughter and she loves me, but I 
 don't know what it is, I can't explain it," ir 
 resolutely. 
 
 "What can not your highness explain?" 
 
 "Perhaps the gap is too wide, perhaps the 
 separation has been too long." 
 
 Herbeck did not press the duke to be more 
 explicit. He opened another drawer and took 
 forth a long hood envelope, crested and sealed. 
 
 "Your Highness, here is a letter from the 
 prince regent of Jugendheit, formally asking 
 the hand of the Princess Hildegarde for his 
 nephew, Frederick, who will shortly be crowned. 
 My advice is to accept, to let bygones be by 
 gones." 
 
 "Write the prince that I respectfully decline." 
 
 "Do nothing in haste, your Highness. Tem 
 porize; say that you desire some time to think
 
 48 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 about the matter. You can change your mind 
 at any time. A reply like this commits you to 
 nothing, whereas your abrupt refusal will only 
 widen the breach." 
 
 "The wider the breach the better." 
 
 "No, no, your Highness; the past has dis 
 turbed you. We can stand war, and it is 
 possible that we might win, even against Jugend- 
 heit; but war at this late day would be a colos 
 sal blunder. Victory would leave us where we 
 began thirty years ago. One does not go to 
 war for a cause that has been practically dead 
 these sixteen years. And an insult to Jugend- 
 heit might precipitate war. It would be far 
 wiser to let me answer the prince regent, saying 
 that your highness will give the proposal your 
 thoughtful consideration." 
 
 "Have your way, then, but on your head be 
 it if you commit me to anything." 
 
 The duke was about to gather up his docu 
 mentary evidence, when Herbeck touched his 
 hand. 
 
 "I have an idea," said the chancellor. "A 
 great many letters reach me from day to day. 
 I have an excellent memory. Who knows but
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 49 
 
 that I might find the true conspirator, the arch- 
 plotter ? Leave them with me, your Highness." 
 
 "I shall not ask you to be careful with them, 
 Herbeck." 
 
 "I shall treasure them as my life." 
 
 The duke departed, stirred as he had not been 
 since the restoration of the princess. Herbeck 
 sometimes irritated him, for he was never in the 
 wrong, he was never impatient, he was never 
 hasty, he never had to go over a thing twice. 
 This supernal insight, which overlooked all 
 things but results, set the duke wondering if 
 Herbeck was truly all human. If only he could 
 catch him at fault once in a while! 
 
 Count von Herbeck remained at his desk, his 
 face as inscrutable as ever, his eyes without ex 
 pression, and his lips expressing nothing. He 
 smoothed out a sheet of paper, affixed the state 
 seal, and in a flowing hand wrote a diplomatic 
 note, considering the proposal of his royal high 
 ness, the prince regent of Jugendheit, on behalf 
 of his nephew, the king. This he placed in the 
 diplomatic pouch, called for a courier, and des 
 patched him at once for the frontier. 
 
 The duke sought his daughter. She was in
 
 50 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 the music-room, surrounded by several of her 
 young women companions, each holding some 
 musical instrument in her hands. Hildegarde 
 was singing. The duke paused, shutting his 
 eyes and striving to recall the voice of the 
 mother. When the voice died away and the 
 young women leaned back in their chairs to 
 rest, the duke approached. Upon seeing him 
 all rose. With a smile he dismissed them. 
 
 "My child," he began, taking Hildegarde's 
 hand and drawing her toward a window-seat, 
 "the king of Jugendheit asks for your hand." 
 
 "Mine, father?" 
 
 "Even so." 
 
 "Then I am to marry the king of Jugend 
 heit?" There was little joy in her voice. 
 
 "Ah, we have not gone so far as that. The 
 king, through his uncle, has simply made a 
 proposal. How would you regard it, knowing 
 what you do of the past, the years that you 
 lived in comparative penury, amid hardships, 
 unknown, and almost without name?" 
 
 "It is for you to decide, father. Whatever 
 your decision is, I shall abide by it." 
 
 "It is a hard lesson we have to learn, my child.
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 51 
 
 We can not always marry where we love ; diplo 
 macy and politics make other plans. But for 
 tunately for you you love no one yet." He put 
 his hand under her chin and searched the deeps 
 of her gray eyes. These eyes were more like 
 her mother's than anything else about her. "The 
 king is young, handsome, they say, and rich. 
 Politically speaking, it would be a great match." 
 
 "I am in your hands. You know what is 
 best." 
 
 The duke was poignantly disappointed. Why 
 did she not refuse outright, indignantly, con 
 temptuously, as became one of the House of Ehr- 
 enstein? Anything rather than this compla 
 cency. 
 
 "What is he like?" disengaging his hand and 
 turning her face toward the window. 
 
 "That no one seems to know. He has been 
 to his capital but twice in ten years, which 
 doubtless pleased his uncle, who loves power for 
 its own sake. The young king has been in Paris 
 most of the time. That's the way they educate 
 kings these days. They teach them all the vices 
 and make virtue an accident. Your father loves 
 you, and if you are inclined toward his majesty,
 
 52 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 if it is in jour heart to become a queen, I shall 
 not let my prejudices stand in the way." 
 
 She caught up his hand with a strange pas 
 sion and kissed it. 
 
 "Father, I do not want to marry any one," 
 wistfully. "But a queen!" she added thought- 
 fully. 
 
 "It is only a sound, my dear; do not let it 
 delude you. Herbeck advises this alliance, and 
 while I realize that his judgment is right, my 
 whole soul revolts against it. But all depends 
 upon you." 
 
 "Would it benefit the people? Would it be 
 for the good of the state?" 
 
 Here was reason. "Yes; my objections are 
 merely personal," said the duke. 
 
 "For the good of my country, which I love, 
 I am ready to make any sacrifice. I shall think 
 it over." 
 
 "Very well; but weigh the matter carefully. 
 There is never any retracing a step of this kind." 
 He stood up, his heart heavy. Saying no more, 
 he moved toward the door. 
 
 She gazed after him, and suddenly and silently 
 she stretched out her arms, her eyes and face
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 53 
 
 and lips yearning with love. Curiously enough, 
 the duke happened to turn. He was at her side 
 in a moment, holding her firm in his embrace. 
 
 "You are all I have, girl !" with a bit of break 
 in his voice. 
 
 "My father !" She stroked his cheek. 
 
 When he left the room it was with lighter 
 step. 
 
 The restoration of the Princess Hildegarde 
 of Ehrenstein had been the sensation of Europe, 
 as had been in the earlier days her remarkable 
 abduction. For sixteen years the search had 
 gone on fruitlessly. The cleverest adventur 
 esses on the continent tried devious tricks to 
 palm themselves off as the lost princess. From 
 France they had come, from Prussia, Italy, 
 Austria, Russia and England. But the duke 
 and the chancellor held the secret, unknown to 
 any one else a locket. In a garret in Dres 
 den the agents of Herbeck found her, a singer 
 in the chorus of the opera. The newspapers 
 and illustrated weeklies raged about her for a 
 while, elaborated the story of her struggles, the 
 mysterious remittances which had, from time to 
 time, saved her from direst poverty, her ambi-
 
 54 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 tion, her education which, by dint of hard work, 
 she had acquired. It was all very puzzling and 
 interesting and romantic. For what purpose 
 had she been stolen, and by whom? The duke 
 accused Franz of Jugendheit, but he did so 
 privately. Search as they would, the duke and 
 the chancellor never traced the source of the re 
 mittances. The duke held stubbornly that the 
 sender of these benefactions was moved by the 
 impulse of a guilty conscience, and that this 
 guilty conscience was in Jugendheit. But these 
 remittances, argued Herbeck, came long after 
 the death of the old king. He had his agents, 
 vowed the duke. Herbeck would not listen to 
 this. He preferred to believe that Count von 
 Arnsberg was the man. 
 
 There was an endless tangle of red tape be 
 fore the girl became secure in her rights. But 
 finally, when William of Prussia and Franz 
 Josef of Austria congratulated the duke, every 
 body else fell into line, and every troop in the 
 duchy came to Dreiberg to the celebration. Then 
 the world ran away in pursuit of other adven 
 tures, and forgot all about her serene highness. 
 
 And was she happy with all this grandeur,
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 55 
 
 with all these lackeys and attentions and en 
 virons? Who can say? Sometimes she longed 
 for the freedom and lack-care of her Dresden 
 garret, her musician friends, the studios, the 
 crash and glitter of the opera. To be sud 
 denly deprived of the fruits of ambition, to reach 
 such a pinnacle without striving, to be no longer 
 independent, somehow it was all tasteless with the 
 going of the novelty. 
 
 She looked like a princess, she moved and 
 acted like one, but after the manner of kindly 
 fairy princesses in story-books. All fell in love 
 with her, from the groom who saddled her horse, 
 to the chancellor, who up to this time was known 
 never to have loved anything but the state. 
 
 She was lovely enough to inspire fervor and 
 homage and love in all masculine minds. She 
 was witty and talented. Carmichael said she 
 was one of the most beautiful women in Europe. 
 Later he modified this statement by declaring 
 that she was the most beautiful woman in Europe 
 or elsewhere. Yet, often she went about as one 
 in a waking dream. There was an aloofness 
 which was not born of hauteur but rather of a 
 lingering doubt of herself.
 
 56 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 She was still in the window-seat when the 
 chancellor was announced. She distrusted him 
 a little, she knew not why; yet, when he bent 
 over her hand she was certain that his whole 
 heart was behind his salute. 
 
 "Your Highness," he said, "I am come to an 
 nounce to you that there waits for you a high 
 place in the affairs of the world." 
 
 "The second crown in Jugendheit?" 
 
 "Your father ?" 
 
 "Yes. He leaves the matter wholly in my 
 hands." 
 
 The sparkle in his eyes was the first evidence 
 of emotion she had ever seen in him. It rather 
 pleased her. 
 
 "It is for the good of the state. A princess 
 like yourself must never wed an inferior." 
 
 "Would a man who was brave and kind and 
 resourceful, but without a title, would he be an 
 inferior?" 
 
 "Assuredly, politically. And I regret to say 
 that your marriage could never be else than a 
 matter of politics." 
 
 "I am, then, for all that I am a princess, 
 simply a certificate of exchange?"
 
 His keen ear caught the bitter undercurrent. 
 "The king of Jugendheit is young. I do not 
 see how he can help loving you the moment he 
 knows you. Who can?" And the chancellor 
 enjoyed the luxury of a smile. 
 
 "But he may not be heart whole." 
 
 "He will be, politically." 
 
 "Politics, politics; how I hate the word! 
 Sometimes I regret my garret." 
 
 The chancellor frowned. "Your Highness, I 
 beg of you never to give that thought utterance 
 in the presence of your father." 
 
 "Ah, believe me, I am not ungrateful; but 
 all this is new to me, even yet. I am living in 
 a dream, wondering and wondering when I shall 
 wake." 
 
 The chancellor wrinkled his lips. It was more 
 of a grimace than a smile. 
 
 "Will you consent to this marriage?" 
 
 "Would it do any good to reject it?" 
 
 "On the contrary, it would do Ehrenstein 
 great harm." 
 
 "Give me a week," wearily. 
 
 "A week!" There was joy on the chancel 
 lor's face now, unmasked, unconcealed. "Oh,
 
 58 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 when the moment comes that I see the crown of 
 Jugendheit on your beautiful head, all my work 
 shall not have been in vain. So then, within 
 seven days I shall come for your answer?" 
 
 "One way or the other, my answer will be 
 ready then." 
 
 "There is one thing more, your Highness." 
 
 "And that?" 
 
 "There must not be so many rides in the morn 
 ing with his excellency, Herr Carmichael." 
 
 She met his piercing glance with that mild 
 duplicity known only to women. "He is a gen 
 tleman, he amuses me, and there is no harm. 
 Grooms are always with us. And often he is only 
 one of a party." 
 
 "It is politics again, your Highness ; I merely 
 offer the suggestion." 
 
 "Marry me to the king of Jugendheit, if you 
 will, but in this I shall have my way." But she 
 laughed as she laid down this law. 
 
 He surrendered his doubt. "Well, for a week. 
 But once the banns are published, it will be nei 
 ther wise nor " 
 
 "Proper? That is a word, Count, that I do 
 not like."
 
 FOR HER COUNTRY 59 
 
 "Pardon me, your Highness. All this talk is 
 merely for the sake of saving you needless em 
 barrassment." 
 
 He bowed and took his leave of her. 
 
 " Jegundheit ! Ah, I had rather my garret, my 
 garret !" 
 
 And her gaze sped across the Platz and ling 
 ered about one of the little window-balconies of 
 the Grand Hotel.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 
 
 THE Black Eagle (Zum Schwartsen Adler) 
 in the Adlergasse was a prosperous tavern 
 of the second rate. The house was two hundred 
 years old and had been in the Bauer family all 
 that time. 
 
 Had Frau Bauer, or Frau-Wirtin, as she 
 was familiarly called, been masculine, she would 
 have been lightly dubbed Bauer VII. She was a 
 widow, and therefore uncrowned. She had been 
 a widow for many a day, for the novelty of being 
 her own manager had not yet worn off. She was 
 thirty-eight, plump, pretty in a free-hand man 
 ner, and wise. It was useless to loll about the 
 English bar where she kept the cash-drawer ; it 
 was useless to whisper sweet nothings into her 
 ear ; it was more than useless, it was foolish. 
 
 "Go along with you, Herr ; I wouldn't marry 
 the best man living. I can add the accounts, I 
 can manage. Why should I marry ?" 
 60
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 61 
 
 "But marriage is the natural state !" 
 
 "Herr, I crossed the frontier long ago, but 
 having recrossed it, never again shall I go back. 
 One crown-forty, if you please. Thank you." 
 
 This retort had become almost a habit with 
 the Frau-Wirtin ; and when a day went by with 
 out a proposal, she went to bed with the sense 
 that the day had not been wholly successful. 
 
 To-night the main room of the tavern swam in 
 a blue haze of smoke, which rose to the blackened 
 rafters, hung with many and various sausages, 
 cheeses, and dried vegetables. Dishes clat 
 tered, there was a buzzing of voices, a scraping 
 of feet and chairs, a banging of tankards, alto 
 gether noisy and cheerful. The Frau-Wirtin pre 
 ferred waitresses, and this preference was shared 
 by her patrons. They were quicker, cleaner; 
 they remembered an order better ; they were not 
 always surreptitiously emptying the dregs of 
 tankards on the way to the bar, as men invaria 
 bly did. Besides, the barmaid was an English in 
 stitution, and the Frau-Wirtin greatly admired 
 that race, though no one knew why. The girls 
 were fully able to defend themselves, and were 
 not at all diffident in boxing a smart fellow's ears.
 
 62 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 They had a rough wit and could give and take. 
 If a man thought this an invitation and tried to 
 take a kiss, he generally had his face slapped for 
 his pains, and the Frau-Wirtin was always on 
 the side of her girls. 
 
 The smoke was so thick one could scarcely see 
 two tables away, and if any foreigner chanced to 
 open a window there was a hubbub ; windows were 
 made for light, not air. There were soldiers, non 
 commissioned officers for the fall maneuvers 
 brought many to Dreiberg farmers and their 
 families, and the men of the locality who made 
 the Black Eagle a kind of socialist club. Social 
 ism was just taking hold in those days, and the 
 men were tremendously serious and secretive re 
 garding it, as it wasn't strong enough to be pop 
 ular with governments which ruled by hereditary 
 might and right. 
 
 Gretchen came in, a little better dressed than 
 in the daytime, the change consisting of coarse 
 stockings and shoes of leather, of which she was 
 correspondingly proud. 
 
 "Will you want me, Frau-Wirtin, for a little 
 while to-night?" she asked. 
 
 "Till nine. Half a crown as usual."
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 63 
 
 Gretchen sought the kitchen and found an 
 apron and cap. These half-crowns were fine 
 things to pick up occasionally, for it was only 
 upon occasions that she worked at the Black 
 Eagle. 
 
 In an obscure corner sat the young vintner. 
 He had finished his supper and was watching 
 and scrutinizing all who came in. His face 
 brightened as he saw the goose-girl; he would 
 have known that head anywhere, whether he saw 
 the face or not. He wanted to go to her at once, 
 but knew this action would not be wise. 
 
 In the very corner itself, his back to the vint 
 ner's, and nothing but the wall to look at, was the 
 old man in tatters and patches, the mountaineer 
 who possessed a Swiss watch and gave golden 
 coins to goose-girls. He was busily engaged in 
 gnawing the leg of a chicken. Between times he 
 sipped his beer, listening. 
 
 Carmichael had forgotten some papers that 
 day. He had dined early at the hotel and re 
 turned at once to the consulate. He was often a 
 visitor at the Black Eagle. The beer was sweet 
 and cool. So, having pocketed his papers, he 
 was of a mind to carry on a bit of badinage with
 
 64 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Frau Bauer. As he stepped into the big hall, 
 in his evening clothes, he was as conspicuous as a 
 passing ship at sea. 
 
 "Good evening, Frau-Wirtin." 
 
 "Good evening, your Excellency." She was 
 quite fluttered when this fine young man spoke to 
 her. He was the only person who ever caused her 
 embarrassment, even though temporary. There 
 was always a whimsical smile on his lips and in 
 his eyes, and Frau Bauer never knew exactly 
 how to take him. "What is on your mind?" 
 brightly. 
 
 "Many things. You haven't aged the least 
 since last I saw you." 
 
 "Which was day before yesterday !" 
 
 "Not any further back than that ?" 
 
 "Not an hour." 
 
 She turned to make change, while Carmichael's 
 eyes roved in search of a vacant chair. He saw 
 but one. 
 
 "The goose-girl ?" he murmured suddenly. "Is 
 Gretchen one of your waitresses ?" 
 
 "She comes in once in a while. She's a good 
 girl and I'm glad to help her," Frau Bauer re 
 plied.
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 65 
 
 "I do not recollect having seen her here be 
 fore." 
 
 "That is because you rarely come at night." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 Gretchen carried a tray upon which steamed 
 a vegetable stew. She saw Carmichael and nod 
 ded. 
 
 "I shall be at yonder table," he said indica 
 ting the vacant chair. "Will you bring me a 
 tankard of brown Ehrenstanier ?" 
 
 "At once, Herr." 
 
 Carmichael made his way to the table. Across 
 the room he had not recognized the vintner, but 
 now he remembered. He had crowded him against 
 a wall two or three days before. 
 
 "This seat is not reserved, Herr?" he asked 
 pleasantly, with his hand on the back of the 
 chair. 
 
 "No." There was no cordiality in the answer. 
 The vintner turned back the lid of his stein and 
 drank slowly. 
 
 Carmichael sat down sidewise, viewing the 
 scene with never-waning interest. These Ger 
 man taverns were the delight of his soul. Every 
 body was so kindly and orderly and hungry.
 
 66 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 They ate and drank like persons whose con 
 sciences were not overburdened. From the corner 
 of his eye he observed that the vintner was study 
 ing him. Now this vintner's face was something 
 familiar. Carmichael stirred his memory. It 
 was not in Dreiberg that he had seen him before. 
 But where? 
 
 Gretchen arrived with the tankard which she 
 sat down at Carmichael's elbow. 
 
 "Will you not join me, Herr?" he invited. 
 
 "Thank you," said the vintner, without hesita 
 tion. 
 
 He smiled at Gretchen and she smiled at him. 
 Carmichael smiled at them both tolerantly. 
 
 "What will you be drinking?" 
 
 "Brown," said the vintner. 
 
 Gretchen took up the empty tankard and 
 made off. The eyes of the two men followed her 
 till she reached the dim bar, then their glances 
 swung round and met. Carmichael was first to 
 speak, not because he was forced to, but because 
 it was his fancy at that moment to give the 
 vintner the best of it. 
 
 "She is a fine girl." 
 
 "Yes," tentatively.
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 67 
 
 "She is the handsomest peasant I ever saw or 
 knew." 
 
 "You know her?" There was a spark in the 
 vintner's eyes. 
 
 "Only for a few days. She interests me." 
 Carmichael produced a pipe and lighted it. 
 
 "Ah, yes, the pretty peasant girl always in 
 terests you gentlemen." There was a note of bit- 
 nerness. "Did you come here to seek her?" 
 
 "This is the first time I ever saw her here. And 
 let me add," evenly, "that my interest in her is 
 not of the order you would infer. She is good 
 and patient and brave, and my interest in her is 
 impersonal. It is not necessary for me to make 
 any explanations, but I do so." 
 
 "Pardon me!" The vintner was plainly 
 abashed. 
 
 "Granted. But you, you seem to possess a pe 
 culiar interest." 
 
 The vintner flushed. "I have that right," with 
 an air which rather mystified Carmichael. 
 
 "That explains everything. I do not recollect 
 seeing you before in the Black Eagle." 
 
 "I am from the north; a vintner, and there
 
 68 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 is plenty of work here in the valleys late in Sep 
 tember." 
 
 "The grape," mused Carmichael. ''You will 
 never learn how to press it as they do in France. 
 It is wine there; it is vinegar this side of the 
 Rhine." 
 
 "France," said the vintner moodily. "Do you 
 think there will be any France in the future?" 
 
 Carmichael laughed. "France is an incurable 
 cosmic malady; it will always be. It may be 
 beaten, devastated, throttled, but it will not die." 
 
 "You are fond of France?" 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "Do you think it wise to say so here ?" 
 
 "I am the American consul ; nobody minds my 
 opinions." 
 
 "The American consul," repeated the vintner. 
 
 Gretchen could now be seen, wending her re 
 turn in and out among the clustering tables. She 
 set the tankards down, and Carmichael put out 
 a silver crown. 
 
 "And do not bother about the change." 
 
 "Are all Americans rich?" she asked soberly. 
 "Do you never keep the change yourselves ?" 
 
 "Not when we are in our Sunday clothes."
 
 "Are all Americans rich?" she asked, soberly. Page 68.
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 69 
 
 "Then it is vanity." Gretchen shook her head 
 wisely. 
 
 "Mine is worth only four coppers to-night," 
 he said. 
 
 The vintner laughed pleasantly. Gretchen 
 looked into his eyes, and an echo found haven in 
 her own. 
 
 Carmichael thirstily drank his first tankard, 
 thinking: "So this vintner is in love with our 
 goose-girl? Confound my memory! It never 
 failed me like this before. I would give twenty 
 crowns to know where I have seen him. It's only 
 the time and place that bothers me, not the face. 
 A fine beer," he said aloud, holding up the sec 
 ond tankard. 
 
 The vintner raised his ; there was an uncon 
 scious grace in the movement. A covert glance 
 at his hand satisfied Carmichael in regard to one 
 thing. He might be a vintner, but the hand was 
 as soft and well-kept as a woman's, for all that 
 it was stained by wind and sunshine. A handsome 
 beggar, whoever and whatever he was. But a 
 second thought disturbed him. Could a man with 
 hands like these mean well toward Gretchen? He 
 was a thorough man of the world ; he knew inno-
 
 70 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 cence at first glance, and Gretchen was both in 
 nocent and unworldly. To the right man she 
 might be easy prey. Never to a man like Colonel 
 von Wallenstein, whose power and high office 
 were alike sinister to any girl of the peasantry ; 
 but a man in the guise of her own class, of her 
 own world and people, here was a snare Gretchen 
 might not be able to foresee. He would watch 
 this fellow, and at the first sign of an evil Car- 
 michael's muscular brown hands opened and shut 
 ominously. The vintner did not observe this pe 
 culiar expression of the hands ; and Carmichael's 
 face was bland. 
 
 A tankard, rapping a table near-by, called 
 Gretchen to her duties. There was something re 
 luctant in her step, in the good-by glance, in 
 the sudden fall of the smiling lips. 
 
 "She will make some man a good wife," said 
 Carmichael. 
 
 The vintner scowled at his tankard. 
 
 "He is not sure of her," thought Carmichael. 
 Aloud he said : "What a funny world it is !" 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "Gretchen is beautiful enough to be a queen, 
 and yet she is merely a Hebe in a tavern."
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 71 
 
 "Hebe?" suspiciously. The peasant is always 
 suspicious of anything he doesn't understand. 
 
 "Hebe was a cup-bearer to the mythological 
 gods in olden times," Carmichael explained. He 
 had set a trap, but the vintner had not fallen 
 into it. 
 
 "A fairy-story." The vintner nodded ; he un 
 derstood now. 
 
 Carmichael's glance once more rested on the 
 vintner's hand. He would lay another trap. 
 
 "What happened to her ?" 
 
 "Oh," said Carmichael, "she spilled wine on a 
 god one day, and they banished her." 
 
 "It must have been a rare vintage." 
 
 "I suppose you are familiar with all valleys. 
 Moselle?" 
 
 "Yes. That is a fine country." 
 
 The old man in tatters sat erect in his chair, 
 but he did not turn his head. 
 
 "You have served ?" 
 
 "A little. If I could be an officer I should like 
 the army." The vintner reached for his pipe 
 which lay on the table. 
 
 "Try this," urged Carmichael, offering his 
 pouch.
 
 72 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "This will be good tobacco, I know." The 
 vintner filled his pipe. 
 
 Carmichael followed this gift with many ques 
 tions about wines and vintages; and hidden in 
 these questions were a dozen clever traps. But 
 the other walked over them, unhesitant, with a 
 certainty of step which chagrined the trapper. 
 
 By and by the vintner rose and bade his table- 
 companion a good night. He had not offered to 
 buy anything, another sign puzzling to Car- 
 michael. This frugality was purely of the thrifty 
 peasant. But the vintner was not ungrateful, 
 and he expressed many thanks. On his way to 
 the door he stopped, whispered into Gretchen's 
 ear, and passed out into the black street. 
 
 "Either he is a fine actor, or he is really what 
 he says he is." Carmichael was dissatisfied. "I'll 
 stake my chances on being president of the 
 United States, which is safe enough as a wager, 
 that this fellow is not genuine. I'll watch him. 
 I've stumbled upon a pretty romance of some 
 sort, but I fear that it is one-sided." He wrinkled 
 his forehead, but that part of his recollection he 
 aimed to stir remained fallow, in darkness. 
 
 The press in the room was thinning. There
 
 were vacant chairs here and there now. A carter 
 sauntered past and sat down unconcernedly at 
 the table occupied by the old man whose face 
 Carmichael had not yet seen. The two exchanged 
 not even so much as a casual nod. A little later 
 a butcher approached the same table and seated 
 himself after the manner of the carter. It was 
 only when the dusty baker came along and re 
 peated this procedure, preserving the same si 
 lence, that Carmichael's curiosity was enlivened. 
 This curiosity, however, was only of the evanes 
 cent order. Undoubtedly they were socialists 
 and this was a little conclave, and the peculiar 
 manner of their meeting, the silence and mys 
 tery, were purely fictional. Socialism at that 
 time revolved round the blowing up of kings, of 
 demolishing established order. Neither kings 
 were blown up nor order demolished, but it was 
 a congenial topic over which to while away an 
 evening. This was in the German states; in 
 Russia it was a different matter. 
 
 Had Carmichael not fallen a-dreaming over 
 his pipe he would have seen the old man pass 
 three slips of paper across the table; he would 
 have seen the carter, the butcher, and the baker
 
 74 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 pocket these slips stolidly ; he would have seen the 
 mountaineer wave his hand sharply and the trio 
 rise and disperse. And perhaps it would have 
 been well for him to have noted these singular 
 manifestations of conspiracy, since shortly he 
 was to become somewhat involved. It was grow 
 ing late; so Carmichael left the Black Eagle, 
 nursing the sunken ember in his pipe and sur 
 rendering no part of his dream. 
 
 Intermediately the mountaineer paid his score 
 and started for the stairs which led to the bed 
 rooms above. But he stopped at the bar. A very 
 old man was having a pail filled with hot cabbage 
 soup. It was the ancient clock-mender across 
 the way. The mountaineer was startled out of his 
 habitual reserve, but he recovered his composure 
 almost instantly. The clock-mender, his heavy 
 glasses hanging crookedly on his nose, his whole 
 aspect that of a weary, broken man, took down 
 his pail and shuffled noiselessly out. The moun 
 taineer followed him cautiously. Once in his 
 shop the clock -mender poured the steaming soup 
 into a bowl, broke bread in it, and began his 
 evening meal. The other, his face pressed 
 against the dim pane, stared and s bared.
 
 THE YOUNG VINTNER 75 
 
 "Gott in Himmel! It is he!" he breathed, then 
 stepped back into the shadow, while the moisture 
 from his breath slowly faded and disappeared 
 from the window-pane.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A COMPATRIOT 
 
 KRUMERWEG was indeed a crooked way. 
 It formed a dozen elbows and ragged 
 half -circles as it slunk off from the Adlergasse. 
 Streets have character even as humans, and the 
 Krumerweg reminded one of a person who was 
 afraid of being followed. The shadow of the 
 towering bergs lay upon it, and the few stars 
 that peered down through the narrow crevice of 
 rambling gables were small, as if the brilliant 
 planets had neither time nor inclination to watch 
 over such a place. And yet there lived in the 
 Krumerweg many a kind and loyal heart, 
 stricken with poverty. In old times the street 
 had had an evil name, now it possessed only a pit 
 iful one. 
 
 It was half after nine when Gretchen and the 
 vintner picked their way over cobbles pitted here 
 and there with mud-holes. They were arm in arm, 
 76
 
 A COMPATRIOT 77 
 
 and they laughed when they stumbled, laughed 
 lightly, as youth always laughs when in love. 
 
 "Only a little farther," said Gretchen, for the 
 vintner had never before passed over this way. 
 
 "Long as it is and crooked, Heaven knows it 
 is short enough !" He encircled her with his arms 
 and kissed her. "I love you! I love you!" he 
 said. 
 
 Gretchen was penetrated with rapture, for her 
 ears, sharp with love and the eternal doubting of 
 man, knew that falsehood could not lurk in such 
 music. This handsome boy loved her. Buffeted 
 as she had been, she could separate the false from 
 the true. Come never so deep a sorrow, there 
 would always be this he loved her. Her bosom 
 swelled, her heart throbbed, and she breathed in 
 ecstasy the sweet chill air that rushed through 
 the broken street. 
 
 "After the vintage," she said, giving his arm 
 a pressure. For this handsome fellow was to be 
 her husband when the vines were pruned and 
 freshened against the coming winter. 
 
 "Aye, after the vintage," he echoed ; but there 
 was tragedy in his heart as deep and profound 
 as his love.
 
 78 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "My grandmother I call her that for I 
 haven't any grandmother is old and seldom 
 leaves the house. I promised that after work to 
 night I'd bring my man home and let her see how 
 handsome he is. She is always saying that we 
 need a man about; and yet, I can do a man's 
 work as well as the next one. I love you, too, 
 Leo !" She pulled his hand to her lips and quick 
 ly kissed it, frightened but unashamed. 
 
 "Gretchen, Gretchen !" 
 
 She stopped. "What is it?" keenly. "There 
 was pain in your voice." 
 
 "The thought of how I love you hurts me. 
 There is nothing else, nothing, neither riches nor 
 crowns, nothing but you, Gretchen. How long 
 ago was it I met you first?" 
 
 "Two weeks." 
 
 "Two weeks ? Is it not years ? Have I not al 
 ways known and loved you?" 
 
 "And I ! What an empty heart and head were 
 mine till that wonderful day ! You were tired and 
 dusty and footsore ; you had walked some twenty 
 odd miles; yet you helped me with the geese. 
 There were almost tears in your eyes, but I knew 
 that your heart was a man's when you smiled at
 
 A COMPATRIOT 79 
 
 me." She stopped again and turned him round 
 to her. "And you love me like this ?" 
 
 "Whatever betide, Lieberherz, whatever be 
 fall." And he embraced her with a fierce tender 
 ness, and so strong was he in the moment that 
 Gretchen gave a cry. He kissed her, not on the 
 lips, but on the fine white forehead, reverently. 
 
 They proceeded, Gretchen subdued and the 
 vintner silent, until they came to the end of their 
 journey at number forty in the Krumerweg. It 
 was a house of hanging gables, almost as old as 
 the town itself, solid and grim and taciturn. 
 There are some houses which talk like gossips, 
 noisy, obtrusive and provocative. Number forty 
 was like an old warrior, gone to his chair by the 
 fireside, who listens to the small-talk of his neigh 
 bors saturninely. What was it all about ? Had he 
 not seen battles and storms, revolutions and 
 bloodshed? The prattle of children was pref 
 erable. 
 
 Gretchen's grandmother, Frau Schwarz, 
 owned the house ; it was all that barricaded her 
 from poverty's wolves, and, what with sundry 
 taxes and repairs and tenants who paid infre 
 quently, it was little enough. Whatever luxuries
 
 80 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 entered at number forty were procured by 
 Gretchen herself. At present the two stories 
 were occupied; the second by a malter and his 
 brood of children, the third by a woman who was 
 partially bedridden. The lower or ground floor 
 of four rooms she reserved for herself. As a 
 matter of fact the forward room, with its huge 
 middle-age fireplace and the great square of 
 beamed and plastered walls and stone flooring, 
 was sizable for all domestic purposes. Gretchen's 
 pallet stood in a small alcove and the old woman's 
 bed by the left of the fire. 
 
 Gretchen opened the door, which was unlocked. 
 There was no light in the hall. She pressed her 
 lover in her arms, kissed him lightly, and pushed 
 him into the living-room. A log smoldered dim 
 ly on the irons. Gretchen ran forward, turned 
 over the log, lighted two candles, then kissed the 
 old woman seated in the one comfortable chair. 
 The others were simply three-legged stools. 
 There was little else in the room, save a poor re 
 production of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 "Here I am, grandmother!" 
 
 "And who is here with you?" sharply but not 
 unkindly.
 
 A COM PATRIOT 81 
 
 "My man!" cried Gretchen gaily, her eyes 
 bright as the candle flames. 
 
 "Bring him near me." 
 
 Gretchen gathered up two stools and placed 
 them on either side of her grandmother and mo 
 tioned to the vintner to sit down. He did so, 
 easily and without visible embarrassment, even 
 though the black eyes plunged a glance into his. 
 
 Her hair was white and thin, her nose aquiline, 
 her lips fallen in, a cobweb of wrinkles round her 
 eyes, down her cheeks, under her chin. But her 
 sight was undimmed. 
 
 "Where are you from? You are not a Drei- 
 berger." 
 
 "From the north, grandmother," forcing a 
 smile to his lips. 
 
 The reply rather gratified her. 
 
 "Your name." 
 
 "Leopold Dietrich, a vintner by trade." 
 
 "You speak like a Hanovarian or a Prussian." 
 
 "I have passed some time in both countries. I 
 have wandered about a good deal." 
 
 "Give me your hand." 
 
 The vintner looked surprised for a moment. 
 Gretchen approved. So he gave the old woman
 
 82 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 his left hand. The grandmother smoothed it out 
 upon her own and bent her shrewd eyes. Silence. 
 Gretchen could hear the malter stirring above; 
 the log cracked and burst into flame. A frown 
 began to gather on the vintner's brow and a 
 sweat in his palm. 
 
 "I see many strange things here," said the 
 palmist, in a brooding tone. 
 
 "And what do you see?" asked Gretchen ea 
 gerly. 
 
 "I see very little of vineyards. I see riches, 
 pomp ; I see vast armies moving against each 
 other; there is the smell of powder and fire; 
 devastation. I do not see you, young man, 
 among those who tramp with guns on their shoul 
 ders. You ride ; there is gold on your arms. You 
 will become great ; but I do not understand. I do 
 not understand," closing her eyes for a moment. 
 
 The vintner sat upright, his chin truculent, 
 his arm tense. 
 
 "War !" he murmured. 
 
 Gretchen's heart sank; there was joy in his 
 voice. 
 
 "Go on, grandmother," she whispered. 
 
 "Shall I live ?" asked the vintner, whose belief
 
 A COM PATRIOT 83 
 
 in prescience till this hour had been of a negative 
 quality. 
 
 "There is nothing here save death in old age, 
 vintner." Her gnarled hand seized his in a vise. 
 "Do you mean well by my girl ?" 
 
 "Grandmother!" Gretchen remonstrated. 
 
 "Silence!" 
 
 The vintner withdrew his hand slowly. 
 
 "Is this the hand of a liar and a cheat? Is it 
 the hand of a dishonest man ?" 
 
 "There is no dishonesty there; but there are 
 lines I do not understand. Oh, I can not see 
 everything; it is like seeing people in a mist. 
 They pass instantly and disappear. But I re 
 peat, do you mean well by my girl?" 
 
 "Before God and His angels I love her ; before 
 all mankind I would gladly declare it. Gretchen 
 shall never come to harm at these hands. I 
 swear it." 
 
 "I believe you." The old woman's form re 
 laxed its tenseness. 
 
 "Thanks, grandmother," said Gretchen. 
 "Now, read what my hand says." 
 
 The old woman took the hand. She loved 
 Gretchen.
 
 84 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I read that you are gentle and brave and 
 cheerful, that you have a loyal heart and a pure 
 mind. I read that you are in love and that some 
 day you will be happy." A smile went over her 
 face, a kind of winter sunset. 
 
 "You are not looking at my hand at all, 
 grandmother," said Gretchen in reproach. 
 
 "I do not need, my child. Your life is writ 
 ten in your face." The grandmother spoke 
 again to the vintner. "So you will take her 
 away from me?" 
 
 "Will it be necessary?" he returned quietly. 
 "Have you any objection to my becoming your 
 foster grandchild, such as Gretchen is ?" 
 
 The old woman made no answer. She closed 
 her eyes and did not open them. Gretchen mo 
 tioned that this was a sign that the interview 
 was ended. But as he rose to his feet there was 
 a sound outside. A carriage had stopped. Some 
 one opened the door and began to climb the 
 stairs. The noise ceased only when the visitor 
 reached the top landing. Then all became still 
 again. 
 
 "There is something strange going on up 
 there," said Gretchen in a whisper.
 
 A COMPATRIOT 85 
 
 "In what way?" asked the vintner in like un 
 dertones. 
 
 "Three times a veiled lady has called at night, 
 three times a man muffled up so one could not 
 see his face." 
 
 "Let us not question our twenty-crowns rent, 
 Gretchen," interrupted the grandmother, wak 
 ing. "So long as no one is disturbed, so long 
 as the police are not brought to our door, it is 
 not our affair. Leopold, Gretchen, give me your 
 hands." She placed them one upon the other, 
 then spread out her hands above their heads. 
 "The Holy Mother bring happiness and good 
 luck to you, Gretchen." 
 
 "And to me ?" said the youth. 
 
 "I could not wish you better luck than to give 
 you Gretchen. Now, leave me." 
 
 The vintner picked up his hat and Gretchen 
 led him to the street. 
 
 He hurried away, giving no glance at the 
 closed carriage, the sleepy driver, the weary 
 horse. Neither did he heed the man dressed as 
 a carter who, when he saw the vintner, turned 
 and followed. Finally, when the vintner veered 
 into the Adlergasse, he stopped, his hands
 
 86 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 clenched, his teeth hard upon each other. He 
 even leaned against the wall of a house, his face 
 for the moment hidden in his arm. 
 
 "Wretch that I am! Damnable wretch! 
 Krumerweg, Krumerweg! Crooked way, in 
 deed!" He flung down his arm passionately. 
 "There will be a God up yonder," looking at 
 the stars. "He will see into my heart and know 
 that it is not bad, only young. Oh, Gretchen !" 
 
 "Gretchen?" The carter stepped into a 
 shadow and waited. 
 
 Carmichael did not enjoy the opera that 
 night. He had missed the first acts, and the last 
 was gruesome, and the royal box was vacant. 
 Outside he sat down on one of the benches near 
 the fountains in the Platz. His prolific imag 
 ination took the boundaries. Ah ! That morn 
 ing's ride, down the southern path of the moun 
 tains, the black squirrels in the branches, the red 
 fox in the bushes, the clear spring, and the 
 drink out of the tin cup which hung there for 
 the thirsty! How prettily she had wrapped a 
 leaf over the rusted edge of the cup ! The leaf 
 lay in his pocket. He had kissed a dozen times
 
 A COM PATRIOT 87 
 
 the spot where her lips had pressed it. Blind 
 fool ! Deeper and deeper ; he knew that he never 
 could go back to that safe ledge of the heart- 
 free. Time could not change his heart, not if 
 given the thousand years of the wandering Jew. 
 
 Bah! He would walk round the fountain 
 and cool his crazy pulse. He was Irish, Irish 
 to the core. Would any one, save an Irishman, 
 give way, day after day, to those insane maun- 
 derings ? His mood was savage ; he was at odds 
 with the world, and most of all, with himself. 
 If only some one would come along and shoulder 
 him rudely! He laughed ruefully. He was in 
 a fine mood to make an ass of himself. 
 
 He left the bench and strolled round the foun 
 tain, his cane behind his back, his chin in his 
 collar. He had made the circle several times, 
 then he blundered into some one. The fight 
 ing mood was gone now, the walk having calmed 
 him. He murmured a short apology for his 
 clumsiness and started on, without even look 
 ing at the animated obstacle. 
 
 "Just a moment, my studious friend." 
 
 "Wallenstein? I didn't see you." Carmichael 
 halted.
 
 88 
 
 "That was evident," replied the colonel jest 
 ingly. "Heavens! Have you really cares of 
 state, that you walk five times round this foun 
 tain, bump into me, and start to go on without 
 so much as a how-do-you-do ?" 
 
 "I'm absent-minded," Carmichael admitted. 
 
 "Not always, my friend." 
 
 "No, not always. You have some other mean 
 ing?" 
 
 "That is possible. Now, I do not believe that 
 it was absent-mindedness which made you step 
 in between me and that pretty goose-girl, the 
 other night." 
 
 "Ah!" Carmichael was all alertness. 
 
 "It was not, I believe?" 
 
 "It was coldly premeditated," said Carmi 
 chael, folding his arms over his cane which he 
 still held behind his back. His attitude and 
 voice were pleasant. 
 
 "It was not friendly." 
 
 "Not to you, perhaps. But that happens to 
 be an innocent girl, Colonel. You're no Herod. 
 There was nothing selfish in my act. You really 
 annoyed her." 
 
 "Pretense ; they always begin that way."
 
 A COMPATRIOT 89 
 
 "I confess I know little about that kind of 
 hunting, but I'm sure you've started the wrong 
 quarry this time." 
 
 "You are positive that you were disinter 
 ested?" 
 
 "Come, come, Colonel, this sounds like the be 
 ginning of a quarrel ; and a quarrel should never 
 come into life between you and me. I taught 
 you draw-poker; you ought to be grateful for 
 that, and to accept my word regarding my dis 
 interestedness." 
 
 "I do not wish any quarrel, my Captain; but 
 that girl's face has fascinated me. I propose to 
 see her as often as I like." 
 
 "I have no objection to offer; but I told 
 Gretchen that if any one, no matter who, ever 
 offers her disrespect, to report the matter to me 
 at the consulate." 
 
 "That is meddling." 
 
 "Call it what you like, my Colonel." 
 
 "Well, in case she is what you consider in 
 sulted, what will you do?" a challenge in his 
 tones. 
 
 "Report the matter to the police." 
 
 Wallenstein laughed.
 
 90 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "And if the girl finds no redress there," 
 tranquilly, "to the chancellor." 
 
 "You would go so far?" 
 
 "Even further," unruffled. 
 
 "It looks as though you had drawn your 
 saber," with irony. 
 
 "Oh, I can draw it, Colonel, and when I do I 
 guarantee you'll find no rust on it. Come," and 
 Carmichael held out his hand amicably, "Gret- 
 chen is already in love with one of her kind. Let 
 the child be in peace. What! Is not the new 
 ballerina enough conquest? They are all talking 
 about it." 
 
 "Good night, Herr Carmichael!" The col 
 onel, ignoring the friendly hand, saluted stiffly, 
 wheeled abruptly, and left Carmichael staring 
 rather stupidly at his empty hand. 
 
 "Well, I'm hanged! All right," with a tilt 
 of the shoulders. "One enemy more or less 
 doesn't matter. I'm not afraid of anything save 
 this fool heart of mine. If he says an ill word 
 to Gretchen, and I hear of it, I'll cane the black 
 guard, for that's what he is at bottom. Well, I 
 was looking for trouble, and here it is, sure 
 enough."
 
 A COMPATRIOT 91 
 
 He saw a carriage coming along. He rec 
 ognized the white horse as it passed the lamps. 
 He stood still for a space, undecided. Then he 
 sped rapidly toward the side gates of the royal 
 gardens. The vehicle stopped there. But this 
 time no woman came out. Carmichael would 
 have recognized that lank form anywhere. It 
 was the chancellor. Well, what of it? Couldn't 
 the chancellor go out in a common hack if he 
 wanted to? But who was the lady in the veil? 
 
 "I've an idea!" 
 
 As soon as the chancellor disappeared, Car 
 michael hailed the coachman. 
 
 "Drive me through the gardens." 
 
 "It is too late, Herr." 
 
 "Well, drive me up and down the Strasse 
 while I finish this cigar." 
 
 "Two crowns." 
 
 "Three, if your horse behaves well." 
 
 "He's as gentle as a lamb, Herr." 
 
 "And doubtless will be served as one before 
 long. Can't you throw back the top?" 
 
 "In one minute!" Five crowns and three 
 made eight crowns ; not a bad business these dull 
 times.
 
 92 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Carmichael lolled in the worn cushions, won 
 dering whether or not to question his man. But 
 it was so unusual for a person of such particular 
 habits as the chancellor to ride in an ordinary 
 carriage. Carmichael slid over to the forward 
 seat and touched the jehu on the back. 
 
 "Where did you take the chancellor to-night ?" 
 he asked. 
 
 "Du lleber Gott! Was that his excellency? 
 He said he was the chief steward." 
 
 "So he is, my friend. I was only jesting. 
 Where did you take him?" 
 
 "I took him to the Krumerweg. He was there 
 half an hour. Number forty." 
 
 "Where did you take the veiled lady?" 
 
 The coachman drew in suddenly and appre 
 hensively. "Herr, are you from the police?" 
 
 "Thousand thunders, no ! It was by accident 
 that I stood near the gate when she got out. 
 Who was she?" 
 
 "That is better. They both told me that they 
 were giving charity. I did not see the lady's 
 face, but she went into number forty, the same 
 as the steward. You won't forget the extra 
 crown, Herr?"
 
 A COMPATRIOT 93 
 
 "No ; I'll make it five. Turn back and leave 
 me at the Grand Hotel." Then he muttered: 
 "Krumerweg, crooked way, number forty. If I 
 see this old side-paddler stopping at the palace 
 steps again, I'll take a look at number forty my 
 self." 
 
 On the return to the hotel the station omni 
 bus had arrived with a solitary guest. A 
 steamer trunk and a couple of bags were being 
 trundled in by the porter, while the concierge 
 was helping a short, stocky man to the ground. 
 He hurried into the hotel, signed the police slips, 
 and asked for his room. He seemed to be afraid 
 of the dark. He was gone when Carmichael 
 went into the office. 
 
 "Your Excellency," said the concierge, rub 
 bing his hands and smiling after the manner of 
 concierges born in Switzerland, "a compatriot 
 of yours arrived this evening." 
 
 "What name?" indifferently. Compatriots 
 were always asking impossible things of Car 
 michael, introductions to the grand duke, invi 
 tations to balls, and so forth, and swearing to 
 have him recalled if he refused to perform these 
 offices.
 
 94 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 The concierge picked up the slips which were 
 to be forwarded to the police. 
 
 "He is Hans Grumbach, of New York." 
 
 "An adopted compatriot, it would seem. He'll 
 probably be over to the consulate to-morrow to 
 have his passports looked into. Good night." 
 
 So Hans Grumbach passed out of his mind; 
 but for all that, fortune and opportunity were 
 about to knock on Carmichael's door. For there 
 was a great place in history ready for Hans 
 Grumbach.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 
 
 r I iHE day promised to be mild. There was 
 JL not a cloud anywhere, and the morning 
 mists had risen from the valleys. It was good 
 to stand in the sunshine which seemed to draw 
 forth all the vagaries and weariness of sleep 
 from the mind and body. Hans Grumbach 
 shook himself gratefully. He was standing on 
 the curb in front of the Grand Hotel, his back 
 to the sun. It was nine o'clock. The broad 
 Konig Strasse shone, the white stone of the pal 
 aces glared, the fountains glistened, and the col 
 oring tree tops scintillated like the head-dress of 
 an Indian prince. Hans was short but strongly 
 built; a mild blue-eyed German, smooth-faced, 
 ruddy-cheeked, white-haired, with a brown but 
 ton of a nose. He drank his beer with the best 
 of them, but it never got so far as his nose save 
 95
 
 96 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 from the outside. His suit was tight-fitting, 
 but the checks were ample, and the watch-chain 
 a little too heavy, and the huge garnet on his 
 third finger was not in good taste. But what's 
 the odds? Grumbach was satisfied, and it's one's 
 own satisfaction that counts most. 
 
 Presently two police officers came along and 
 went into the hotel. Grumbach turned with a 
 sigh and followed them. Doubtless they had 
 come to look over his passports. And this hap 
 pened to be the case. 
 
 The senior officer unfolded the precious docu 
 ment. 
 
 "It is not yet viseed by your consul," said 
 the officer. 
 
 "I arrived late last night. I shall see him 
 this morning," replied Grumbach. 
 
 "You were not born in America?" 
 
 "Oh, no ; I came from Bavaria." 
 
 "At what age?" 
 
 "I was twenty." 
 
 "Did you go to America with your parents ?" 
 
 "No. I was alone." 
 
 "You still have your permit to leave Ba 
 varia ?"
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 97 
 
 "I believe so; I am not certain. I never 
 thought in those days I should become rich 
 enough to travel." 
 
 The word that tingled with gold soothed the 
 suspicious ear of the officer. 
 
 "What is your business in America?" 
 
 "I am a plumber, now retired." 
 
 "And your business here?" 
 
 "Simply pleasure." 
 
 "You are forty?" said the officer, referring to 
 the passports. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "This is rather young to retire from busi 
 ness." 
 
 "Not in America," easily. 
 
 "True, everybody grows rich there, with 
 gold mines popping open at one's feet. It must 
 be a great country." The officer sighed as he 
 refolded the documents. "As soon as these are 
 approved by his excellency the American consul, 
 kindly have a porter bring them over to the 
 bureau of police. It will be only a matter of 
 form. I shall return them at once." 
 
 Grumbach produced a Louis Napoleon which 
 was then as now acceptable that side of the
 
 98 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Rhine. It was not done with pomposity, but 
 rather with the exuberance of a man whose purse 
 and letter of credit possess an assuring circum 
 ference. 
 
 "Drink a bottle, you and your comrade," he 
 said. 
 
 This the officer promised to do forthwith. He 
 returned the passports, put a hand to his cap 
 respectfully and, followed by his assistant, 
 walked off briskly. 
 
 Grumbach took off his derby and wiped the 
 perspiration from his forehead. This moisture 
 had not been wrung forth by any atmospheric 
 effect. From the top of his forehead to the cow 
 lick on the back of his head ran a broad white 
 scar. At one time or another Grumbach had 
 been on the ragged edge of the long journey. 
 He went out of doors. There is nothing like 
 sunshine to tonic the ebbing courage. 
 
 Coming up the thoroughfare, with a dash of 
 spirit and color, was a small troop of horses. 
 The sunlight broke upon the steel and silver. 
 A waiter, cleaning off the little iron tables on 
 the sidewalk, paused. The riders passed, all 
 but two in splendid uniforms. Grumbach
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 99 
 
 watched them till they disappeared into the pal 
 ace courtyard. He called to the waiter. 
 
 "Who are they?" 
 
 "The grand duke and some of his staff, 
 Herr." 
 
 "The grand duke? Who was the gentleman 
 in civilian clothes?" 
 
 "That was his excellency, Herr Carmichael, 
 the American consul." 
 
 "Very good. And the young lady?" 
 
 "Her serene highness, the Princess Hilde- 
 garde." 
 
 "Bring me a glass of beer," said Grumbach, 
 sinking down at a table. A thousand questions 
 surged against his lips, but he kept them shut 
 with all the stolidity of his native blood. When 
 the waiter set the beer down before him, he said : 
 "Where does Herr Carmichael live?" 
 
 "The consulate is in the Adlergasse. He 
 himself lives here at the Grand Hotel. 'Achl 
 He is a great man, Herr Carmichael." 
 
 "So?" 
 
 "A friend of the grand duke, a friend of her 
 serene highness, liked everywhere, a fine shot 
 and a great fencer, and rides a horse as if he
 
 100 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 were sewn to the saddle. And all the ladies ad 
 mire him because he dances." 
 
 "So he dances? Quite a lady's man." To 
 Grumbach a man who danced was a lady's man, 
 something to be held in contempt. 
 
 "You would not call him a lady's man, if you 
 mean he wastes his time on them." 
 
 "But you say he dances ?" 
 
 "Ach, Gott! Don't we all dance to some tune 
 or other?" cried the waiter philosophically. 
 
 "You are right; different music, different 
 jigs. Take the coppers." 
 
 "Thanks, Herr." The waiter continued his 
 work. 
 
 So Herr Carmichael lived here. That would 
 be convenient. Grumbach decided to wait for 
 him. He had seen enough of men to know if he 
 could trust the consul. He glared at the amber- 
 gold in the glass, took a vigorous swallow, and 
 smacked his lips. A sentimental old fool ; he was 
 neither more nor less. 
 
 The wait for Carmichael was short. The 
 American consul came along with energetic 
 stride. He had been to the earlier maneuvers, 
 and aside from coffee and bacon he had had no
 
 breakfast. The ride and the cold air of morn 
 ing had made him ravenous. Grumbach rose 
 and caught Carmichael by the arm. 
 
 "Your pardon, sir," he said in good English, 
 "but you are Mr. Carmichael, the American 
 consul?" 
 
 "I am." 
 
 "Will you kindly look over my papers?" 
 Grumbach asked. 
 
 "You are from the United States?" Then 
 Carmichael remembered that this must be the 
 compatriot who arrived the night before. "I 
 shall be very glad to see you in the Adlergasse 
 at half after ten. It is one flight up, next door 
 to the Black Eagle. Any one will show you the 
 way. I haven't breakfasted yet, and I can not 
 transact any business in these dusty clothes. 
 Good morning." 
 
 Grumbach liked the consul's smile. More than 
 that, he recognized instantly that this hand 
 some young man was a gentleman. The in 
 herent respect for caste had not been beaten 
 out of Grumbach's blood; he had come from a 
 brood in a peasant's hovel. To him the word 
 gentleman would always signify birth and good
 
 102 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 clothes ; what the heart and mind were did not 
 matter much. 
 
 He had more than an hour to idle away, so he 
 wandered through the park, admiring the fresh 
 ness of the green, the well-kept flower-beds, the 
 crisp hedges, and the clean graveled paths. 
 There was nothing like it back there in America. 
 They hadn't the time there ; everybody was in the 
 market, speculating in bubbles. He admired the 
 snowy fountains, too, and the doves that darted 
 in and out of the wind-blown spray. There was 
 nothing like this in America, either. He was 
 not belittling; he was only making comparisons. 
 He knew that he would be far happier in his 
 adopted country, which would accomplish all 
 these beautiful things farther on. 
 
 He looked up heavenward, where the three 
 bergs shouldered the dazzling snow into the 
 blue. This impressed him more than all else; 
 that little wrinkle in the middle berg's ice had 
 been there when he was a boy. Nothing had 
 changed in Dreiberg save the Konig Strasse, 
 whose cobbles had been replaced by smooth 
 blocks of wood. At times he sent swift but un 
 certain glances toward the palaces. He longed
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 103 
 
 to peer through the great iron fence, but he 
 smothered this desire. He would find out what 
 he wanted to know when he met Carmichael at 
 the consulate. Here the bell in the cathedral 
 struck the tenth hour; not a semitone had this 
 voice of bronze changed in all these years. It 
 was good to be here in Dreiberg again. Should 
 he ask the way to the Adlergasse? Perhaps 
 this would be wiser. So he put the question to a 
 policeman. The officer politely gave him a de 
 tailed route. 
 
 "Follow these directions and you will have no 
 trouble in finding the Adlergasse." 
 
 "Much obliged." 
 
 Trouble ? Scarcely ! He had put out his first 
 protest against the world in the Adlergasse, 
 forty years since. He came to a stand before 
 the old tavern. Not even the sign had been 
 painted anew, though the oak board was a trifle 
 paler and there was a little more rust on the 
 hinges. Many a time he had fought with the 
 various pot-boys. He wondered if there were 
 any pot-boys inside now. He noted the dingy 
 consulate sign, then started up the dark and 
 narrow stairs. The consulate door stood open.
 
 104 
 
 A clerk, native to Ehrenstein, was writing at a 
 table. At a desk by the window sat Carmichael, 
 deep in a volume of Dumas. No one ever hur 
 ried here; no one ever had palpitation of the 
 heart over business. The clerk lifted his head. 
 
 "Mr. Carmichael?" said Grumbach in Eng 
 lish. 
 
 The clerk indicated with his pen toward the 
 individual by the window. Carmichael read on. 
 Grumbach had assimilated some Americanisms. 
 He went boldly over and seated himself in the 
 chair at the side of the desk. With a sigh Car 
 michael left Porthos in the grotto of Locmaria. 
 
 "I am Mr. Grumbach. I spoke to you this 
 morning about my passports. Will you kindly 
 look them over?" 
 
 Carmichael took the papers, frowning slightly. 
 Grumbach laid his derby on his knees. The 
 consul went over the papers, viseed them, and 
 handed them to their owner. 
 
 "You will have no trouble going about with 
 those," Carmichael said listlessly. "How long 
 will you be in Dreiberg?" 
 
 "I do not know," said Grumbach truthfully. 
 
 "Is there anything I can do for you?"
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 105 
 
 "There is only one thing," answered Grum- 
 bach, "but you may object, and I shall not blame 
 you if you do. It will be a great favor." 
 
 "What do you wish?" more listlessly. 
 
 "An invitation to the military ball at the 
 palace, after the maneuvers," quietly. 
 
 Carmichael sat up. He had not expected so 
 large an order as this. 
 
 "I am afraid you are asking something im 
 possible for me to obtain," he replied coldly, 
 thumbing the leaves of his book. 
 
 "Ah, Mr. Carmichael, it is very important 
 that I should be there." 
 
 "Explain." 
 
 "I can give you no explanations. I wish to 
 attend this ball. I do not care to meet the grand 
 duke or any one else. Put me in the gallery 
 where I shall not be noticed. That is all I ask 
 of you." 
 
 "That might be done. But you have roused 
 my curiosity. Your request is cut of the ordi 
 nary. You have some purpose?" 
 
 "A perfectly harmless one," said Grumbach, 
 mopping his forehead. 
 
 This movement brought Carmichael's eye to
 
 106 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 the scar. Grumbach acknowledged the stare by 
 running his finger along the subject. 
 
 "I came near passing in my checks the day 
 I got that," he volunteered. "Everybody looks 
 at it when I take off my hat. I've tried tonics, 
 but the hair won't grow there." 
 
 "Where did you get it?" 
 
 "At Gettysburg." 
 
 "Gettysburg?" with a lively facial change. 
 "You were in the war?" 
 
 "All through it." 
 
 Carmichael was no longer indifferent. He 
 gave his hand. 
 
 "I've got a few scars myself. What regi 
 ment?" 
 
 "The th cavalry, New York." 
 
 "What troop?" with growing excitement. 
 
 "C troop." 
 
 "I was captain of B troop in the same regi 
 ment. Hurrah! Work's over for the day. 
 Come along with me, Grumbach, and we'll talk 
 it over down-stairs in the Black Eagle. You're 
 a godsend. C troop! Hanged if the world 
 doesn't move things about oddly. I was in the 
 hospital myself after Gettysburg; a ball in the
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 107 
 
 leg. And I've rheumatism even now when a 
 damp spell comes." 
 
 So down to the tavern they went, and there 
 they talked the battles over, sundry tankards 
 interpolating. It was "Do you remember this ?" 
 and, "Do you recall that ?" with diagrams drawn 
 in beer on the oaken table. 
 
 "But there's one thing, my boy," said Car- 
 michael. 
 
 "What's that?" 
 
 "The odds were on our side, or we'd be fight 
 ing yet." 
 
 "That we would. The poor devils were al 
 ways hungry when we whipped them badly." 
 
 "But you're from this side of the water?" 
 
 "Yes; went over when I was twenty-two." 
 Grumbach sucked his pipe stolidly. 
 
 "What part of Germany?" 
 
 "Bavaria; it is so written in my passports." 
 
 "Munich?" 
 
 Grumbach circled the room. All the near 
 tables were vacant. The Black Eagle was gen 
 erally a lonely place till late in the afternoon. 
 Grumbach touched the scar tenderly. Could he 
 trust this man? Could he trust any one in the
 
 108 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 world? The impulse came to trust Carmichael, 
 and he did not disregard it. 
 
 "I was born in this very street," he whis 
 pered. 
 
 "Here?" 
 
 "Sh! Not so loud! Yes, in this very street. 
 But if the police knew, I wouldn't be worth 
 that!" with a snap of the fingers. "My pass 
 ports, my American citizenship, they would be 
 worthless. You know that." 
 
 "But what does this all mean? What have 
 you done that you can't come back here openly ?" 
 Here was a mystery. This man with the kindly 
 face and frank eyes could be no ordinary crim 
 inal. "Can I help you in any way ?" 
 
 "No; no one can help me." 
 
 "But why did you come back ? You were safe 
 enough in New York." 
 
 "Who can say what a man will do? Don't 
 question me. Let be. I have said too much 
 already. Some day perhaps I shall tell you why. 
 When I went away I was thin and pale and had 
 yellow hair. To-day I am fat, gray-headed; I 
 have made money. Who will recognize me now? 
 No one."
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 109 
 
 "But your name?" 
 
 Grumbach laughed unmusically. "Grumbach 
 is as good as another. Listen. You are my com 
 rade now; we have shed our blood on the same 
 field. There is no tie stronger than that. When 
 I left Dreiberg there was a reward of a thou 
 sand crowns for me. Dead or alive, preferably 
 dead." 
 
 Carmichael was plainly bewildered. He tried 
 to recall the past history of Ehrenstein which 
 would offer a niche for this inoffensive-looking 
 German. He was blocked. 
 
 "Dead or alive," he repeated. 
 
 "So." 
 
 "You were mad to return." 
 
 "I know it. But I had to come; I couldn't 
 help it. Oh, don't look like that ! I never hurt 
 anybody, unless it was in battle" naively. 
 "Ask no more, my friend. I promise to tell you 
 when the right time comes. Now, will you get 
 me that invitation to the gallery at the military 
 ball?" 
 
 "I will, if you will give me your word, as a 
 soldier, as a comrade in arms, that you have 
 no other purpose than to look at the people."
 
 110 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "As God is my judge" solemnly "that is 
 all I wish to do. Now, what has happened since 
 I went away? I have dared to ask questions of 
 no one." 
 
 Carmichael gave him a brief summary of 
 events, principal among which was the amazing 
 restoration of the Princess Hildegarde. When 
 he had finished, Grumbach remained dumb and 
 motionless for a time. 
 
 "And what is her serene highness like?" 
 
 To describe the Princess Hildegarde was not 
 only an easy task, but a pleasant one to Car 
 michael, and if he embroidered this description 
 here and there, Grumbach was too deeply con 
 cerned with the essential points to notice these 
 variations in the theme. 
 
 "So she is gentle and beautiful? Why not? 
 Achl You should have seen her mother. She 
 was the most beautiful woman in all Germany, 
 and she sang like one of those Italian nightin 
 gales. I recall her when I was a boy. I would 
 gladly have died at a word from her. All loved 
 her. The king of Jugendheit wanted her, but 
 she loved the grand duke. So the Princess
 
 AT THE BLACK EAGLE 111 
 
 Hildegarde has come back to her own? God is 
 good!" And Grumbach bent his head rever 
 ently. 
 
 "Well," said Carmichael, beckoning to the 
 waitress, and paying the score, "if any trouble 
 rises, send for me. You don't look like a man 
 who has done anything very bad." He offered 
 his hand again. 
 
 Grumbach pressed it firmly, and there was a 
 moisture in his eyes. 
 
 Together they returned to the Grand Hotel 
 for lunch. On the way neither talked very much. 
 They were both thinking of the same thing, but 
 from avenues diametrically opposed. Grumbach 
 declined Carmichael's invitation to lunch, and 
 immediately sought his own room. 
 
 Once there, he closed the shutters so as to 
 admit but half the day's light, and opened his 
 battered trunk. From the false bottom, which 
 had successfully eluded the vigilance of a dozen 
 frontiers, he took out a small bundle. This he 
 opened carefully, his eyes blurring. Mad fool 
 that he had been! How many times had he 
 gazed at these trinkets in these sixteen or more
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 years? How often had he uttered lamentations 
 over them? How many times had the talons of 
 remorse gashed his heart? 
 
 Two little yellow shoes, so small that they lay 
 on his palm as lightly as two butterflies ; a 
 little cloak trimmed with ermine ; a golden locket 
 shaped like a heart!
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 
 
 GRUMBACH was very fond of music, and 
 in America there were never any bands 
 except at political meetings or at the head of 
 processions ; and that wasn't the sort of music 
 he preferred. There was nothing at the Opera, 
 so he decided to spend the earlier part of the 
 evening in the public gardens. He was lonely ; 
 he had always been lonely. Men who carry 
 depressing secrets generally are. He searched 
 covertly among the many faces for one that was 
 familiar, but he saw none; and he was at once 
 glad, and sorry. Yes, there was one face; the 
 rubicund countenance of the bandmaster. It was 
 older, more wrinkled, but it was the same. How 
 many years had the old fellow swung the baton ? 
 At least thirty years. In his boyhood days 
 Grumbach had put that brilliant uniform side 
 by side with the grand duke's. As it was impos- 
 113
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 sible for him ever to become a duke, his ambition 
 had been to arrive at the next greatest thing 
 the bandmaster. As he neared the pavilion he 
 laughed silently and grimly. To have grown 
 wealthy as a master plumber instead! So much 
 for ambition ! 
 
 Subsequently he found himself standing be 
 side a young vintner and his peasant sweetheart. 
 Their hands secretly met and locked behind their 
 backs. Grumbach sighed. Never would he know 
 aught of this double love. This Eden would 
 never have any gate for him to push aside. He 
 would always go his way alone. 
 
 The girl turned her head. Seeing Grumbach, 
 she loosened the vintner's hand. 
 
 "Do not mind me, girl," said Grumbach, his 
 face broadening. 
 
 The girl laughed easily and without confu 
 sion. Her companion, however, flushed under 
 his tan, and a scowl ran over his forehead. 
 
 The band struck up, and the little comedy 
 was forgotten. But Grumbach could not see 
 anything except the girl's face, the fresh, 
 exquisite turn of her profile. Once his eye 
 wandered rather guiltily. Her figure was in
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 115 
 
 keeping with her face. Then he saw the little 
 wooden shoes. Ah, well, as long as kings sur 
 rounded themselves with armies and with pomp, 
 there would always be wooden shoes. The band 
 was playing Les Huguenots, and the girl 
 hummed the air. 
 
 "Do not go there to-night, Gretchen," said 
 the vintner. 
 
 "It is a crown." 
 
 "I will give you two if you will not go," the 
 vintner urged. 
 
 "Foolish boy, what good would that do? We 
 need every crown we have or can get, if we are 
 to be married soon. And you have not gone to 
 work yet. And every day costs you a crown 
 to live, and more, for all I know. You spend 
 a crown as carelessly as if all you had to do was 
 to pick them off the vines. Crowns are hard 
 to get." 
 
 "When one is happy, one does not stop to 
 bother about crowns," he said impatiently. 
 
 "But will such happiness last? Shall we not 
 be happier as our crowns accumulate, to ward 
 off sickness and hunger? Must I teach you 
 economy ?"
 
 116 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I shall apply for work to-morrow and waste 
 no more crowns, my heart." The vintner's hand 
 again sought hers, and he sent Grumbach a look 
 which said : "Smile if you dare !" 
 
 But Grumbach did not smile. He was too sad. 
 He fell into a dream, and the music faded in his 
 ear and the lights of the pavilion grew dim. He 
 was a boy again, and he was carrying posies to 
 the pretty little fraulein in the Adlergasse. 
 Dreams never last, and sometimes they are 
 rudely interrupted. 
 
 A hand was put upon his shoulder authori 
 tatively. The poh'ce officer who had examined 
 his passports that morning stood at Grumbach's 
 elbow. 
 
 "Herr Grumbach," he said quietly, "his ex 
 cellency the chancellor has directed me to bring 
 you at once to the palace." 
 
 "To the palace?" Grumbach's face was ex 
 pressive of great astonishment. The officer saw 
 nothing out of the ordinary in this expression. 
 Any foreigner would have been seized with con 
 fusion under like circumstances. "To the pal 
 ace?" Grumbach repeated. "My passports 
 were wrong in some respect ?"
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 117 
 
 "Oh, no, Herr; they were correct." 
 
 Grumbach roused his mind energetically. He 
 forced down the fast beating of his heart, ban 
 ished the astonishment from his face, and even 
 brought a smile to his lips. 
 
 "But whatever can the chancellor want of 
 me?" 
 
 "That is not my business. I was simply sent 
 to find you. His excellency is always interested 
 in German- Americans. It may be that he wishes 
 to ask what the future is there in America. We 
 have more in Dreiberg than we can reasonably 
 take care of." 
 
 "In the prisons?" 
 
 The officer laughed. "There and elsewhere." 
 
 "Is that right?" asked Grumbach, now thor 
 oughly on guard. 
 
 "It may not be right to ship our criminals 
 over there, but it is considered very good poli 
 tics." 
 
 "Shall we go at once? I never expected to 
 enter the palace of the grand duke of Ehren- 
 stein," Grumbach added. "It will be something 
 to tell of when I go back to America." 
 
 The only thing that reassured him was the
 
 118 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 presence of one officer. When they came for a 
 man on a serious charge, in Ehrenstein, they 
 came in pairs or fours. So then, there could be 
 pending nothing vital to his liberty or his in 
 cognito. Besides, his papers were all right, and 
 now there would be Carmichael to fall back on. 
 
 "The palace is lighted up," was Grumbach's 
 comment as the two passed the sentry outside 
 the gates. 
 
 "The duke gives the dinner to the diplomatic 
 corps to-night." 
 
 "A fine thing to be a diplomat." 
 
 "I myself prefer fighting in the open. Diplo 
 mats? Their very precious hides are never 
 anywhere near the wars they bring about. No, 
 no ; this way. We go in at the side." 
 
 "You'll have to guide me. Yes, these diplo 
 mats. Men like you and me do all the work. I 
 was in the Civil War in America." 
 
 "That was a great fight," remarked the offi 
 cer. "I should like to have been there." 
 
 "Four years; pretty long. Do you know 
 Herr Carmichael?" 
 
 "The American consul? Oh, yes." 
 
 "He and I fought in the same regiment."
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 119 
 
 "Then you saw some pretty battles." 
 Grumbach took off his hat. "See that?" 
 "Gott! That must have been an ugly one." 
 "Almost crossed over when I got it. Is this 
 
 the door?" 
 
 "Yes. I'll put you in snugly. You will 
 
 probably have to wait for his excellency. But 
 
 you'll have me for company till he appears." 
 Grumbach entered the palace with a brave 
 
 heart and a steady mind. 
 
 The grand duke had a warm place in his heart 
 for the diplomatic corps. He liked to see them 
 gathered round his table, fheir uniforms glitter 
 ing with orders and decorations. It was always 
 a night of wits ; and he sprang a hundred traps 
 for comedy's sake, but these astonishing lin 
 guists seldom if ever blundered into one of them. 
 They were eternally vigilant. It was no trifling 
 matter to swing the thought from German into 
 French or Italian or Hungarian ; but they were 
 seasoned veterans in the game, all save Car- 
 michael, who spoke only French and German 
 fluently. The duke, however, never tried need 
 lessly to embarrass him. He admired Car-
 
 120 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 michael's mental agility. Never he thrust so 
 keenly that the American was found lacking in 
 an effective though simple parry. 
 
 "Your highness must recollect that I am not 
 familiar with that tongue." 
 
 "Pardon me, Herr Captain !" 
 
 But there was always a twinkle in the ducal 
 eye and an answering smile in the consul's. 
 
 The somber black of Carmichael's evening 
 dress stood out conspicuously among the blue 
 and green and red uniforms. Etiquette compelled 
 him to wear silk stockings, but that was the 
 single concession on his part. He wore no 
 orders. An order of the third or fourth class 
 held no allurement. Nothing less than the 
 Golden Fleece would have interested him, and 
 the grand duke himself could not boast of this 
 rare and distinguished order. In truth, Car- 
 michael coveted nothing but a medal for valor, 
 and his own country had not yet come to rec 
 ognize the usefulness of such a distinction. 
 
 All round him sat ministers or ambassadors ; 
 he alone represented a consulate. So his place 
 at the table was honorary rather than diplo 
 matic. It was his lively humorous personality
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 
 
 the grand duke admired, not his representa 
 tions. 
 
 The duke sat at the head of the table and her 
 serene highness at the foot; and it was by the 
 force of his brilliant wit that the princess did 
 not hold in perpetuity the court at her end of 
 the table. For a German princess of that time 
 she was highly accomplished; she was ardent, 
 whimsical, with a flashing mentality which 
 rounded out and perfected her physical loveli 
 ness. Above and beyond all this, she had suf 
 fered, she had felt the pangs of poverty, the 
 smart of unrecognized merit; she had been one 
 of the people, and her sympathies would always 
 be with them, for she knew what those about her 
 only vaguely knew, the patience, the unmur 
 muring bravery of the poor. Never would she 
 become sated with power so long as it gave her 
 the right to aid the people. Never a new tax 
 was levied that she did not lighten it in some 
 manner; never an oppressive law was promul 
 gated that she did not soften its severity. And 
 so the populace loved her, for it did not take 
 the people long to find out what she was trying 
 to do for them. And perhaps they loved her
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 because she had lived the greater part of her 
 young life as one of them. 
 
 To-night there was love in the duke's eyes as 
 he looked down the table's length; there was 
 love in the old chancellor's eyes, too; and in 
 Carmichael's. And there was love in her eyes 
 as she gazed back at the two old men. But who 
 could read her eyes whenever they roved in 
 Carmichael's direction? Not even Gretchen's 
 grandmother, who lived in the Krumerweg. 
 
 "Gentlemen," said the duke, rising and hold 
 ing up his glass, "this night I give you a toast 
 which I believe will be agreeable to all of you, 
 especially to his excellency, Baron von Steinbock 
 of Jugendheit. What is past is past; a new 
 regime begins this night." He paused. All 
 eyes were focused upon him in wonder. Only 
 Baron von Steinbock displayed no more than 
 ordinary interest. "I give you," resumed the 
 duke, "her serene highness and his majesty, 
 Frederick of Jugendheit!" 
 
 The princess grew delicately pale as the men 
 and women sprang to their feet. Every hand 
 swept toward her, holding a glass. She had 
 surrendered that morning. Not because she
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 
 
 wished to be a queen, not because she cared to 
 bring about an alliance between the two coun 
 tries ; no, it was because she was afraid and had 
 burned the bridge behind her. 
 
 The tan thinned on Carmichael's face, but his 
 hand was steady. Never would he forget the 
 tableau. She sat still in her chair, her lids 
 drooped, but a proud lift to her chin. The collar 
 of pearls round her neck had scarce more luster 
 than her shoulders. How red her lips seemed 
 against the whiteness of her skin! Beautiful 
 to him beyond all dreams of beauty. God send 
 another war and let him die in the heart of it, 
 fighting! To dream lies as he had done this 
 twelvemonth, to break his heart over the moon! 
 He sat his glass down untouched, happily unob 
 served. He was in misery; he wanted to be 
 alone. 
 
 "Long live her majesty!" thundered the chan 
 cellor. He, too, was pale, but the fire of great 
 things burned in his eyes and his lank form 
 took upon itself a transient majesty. 
 
 In the ball-room the princess was surrounded ; 
 everybody flattered her; congratulated her, 
 and complimented her. All agreed that it was
 
 124 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 a great political stroke. And indeed it was, but 
 none of them knew how great. 
 
 Carmichael was among the last to approach 
 her. By this time he had his voice and nerves 
 under control. Without apparent volition they 
 walked down the stairs which led to the con 
 servatory. 
 
 "I thought perhaps you had forgotten me," 
 she said. 
 
 "Forget your highness? Do not give me 
 credit for such an impossibility." He bowed 
 over her hand and brushed it with his lips, for 
 she was almost royal now. "Your highness will 
 be happy. It is written." He stepped back 
 slowly. 
 
 "Have you the gift of prescience?" 
 
 "In this instance. You will be a great queen." 
 
 "Who knows?" dreamily. "When I recall 
 what I have gone through, all this seems like an 
 enchantment out of a fairy-book, and that I must 
 soon wake up in my garret in Dresden." 
 
 If only it might be an enchantment! he 
 thought. If only he might find her as the grim 
 old chancellor had found her, in a garret ! What ? 
 Dreaming again ? He shrugged.
 
 I thought you had forgotten me," she said. Page 124.
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 125 
 
 "Why did you do that ?" she asked quickly. 
 
 "I do not understand." 
 
 "You shrugged." 
 
 "I beg your highness' pardon !" flushing. "I 
 was not conscious of such rudeness." 
 
 "That is not answering my question." 
 
 "I beg of your highness " 
 
 "My highness commands !" But her voice was 
 gentle. 
 
 "It was a momentary dream I had; and the 
 thought of its utter impossibility caused me to 
 shrug. I assure your highness that it was a 
 philosophical shrug, such as the Stoics were wont 
 to indulge in." He spoke lightly. Only his eyes 
 were serious. 
 
 "And this dream; was there not a woman in 
 it?" 
 
 "Oh, no ; there was only an angel." 
 
 She knew that it was not proper to question 
 him in this manner ; but neither her heart nor her 
 mind were formal to-night. 
 
 "You interest me; you always interest me. 
 You have seen so many wonderful things. And 
 now it is angels." 
 
 "Only one, your Highness." This was daring.
 
 126 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "But perhaps I am putting my foot where angels 
 fear to tread," which was still more daring. 
 
 "Angels ought not to be afraid of anything." 
 She laughed; there was a pain and a joy in the 
 sound of it. She read his heart as one might 
 read a written line. 
 
 "Dreams are always unfinished things," he 
 said, getting back on safer ground. 
 
 "What is she like, this angel?" forcing him 
 upon dangerous ground again wilfully. 
 
 "Who may describe an angel one has seen only 
 in a golden dream ?" 
 
 "You will not tell me?" 
 
 "I dare not !" His eyes sought hers unflinch 
 ingly. This moment he was mad, and had not 
 the chancellor and Baron von Steinbock came up, 
 Heaven only knew what further madness would 
 have unbridled his tongue. 
 
 "Your Highness," began the benign voice of 
 the chancellor, "the baron desires, in the name of 
 his august master, to open the ball with you. Be 
 hold my fairy-wand," gaily. "This night I have 
 made you a queen." 
 
 "Can you make me happy also?" said she, so 
 low that only the chancellor heard her.
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 127 
 
 "I shall try. Ah, Herr Captain," with a 
 friendly jerk of his head toward Carraichael; 
 "will you do me the honor to join me in my cab 
 inet, quarter of an hour hence ?" 
 
 "I shall be there, your Excellency." Carmi- 
 chael was uneasy. He was not certain how much 
 the chancellor had heard. 
 
 "A little diplomatic business in which I shall 
 need your assistance," supplemented the chan 
 cellor. 
 
 Carmichael, instead of loitering uselessly in 
 the ball-room, at once sought the chancellor's 
 cabinet. He wanted to be alone. He made 
 known his business to the chancellor's valet who 
 admitted him. He stopped just across the 
 threshold. To his surprise the room was already 
 tenanted. Grumbach and a police officer ! 
 
 "Why, Grumbach, what are you doing here ?" 
 cried Carmichael. 
 
 "Waiting for his excellency. We have been 
 here something past an hour." 
 
 "What's the trouble ?" Carmichael inquired. 
 
 "Your excellency knows as much as I do," said 
 the officer, who was in fact no less than the sub- 
 chief of the bureau.
 
 128 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "And I am in the dark, also," said Grumbach, 
 twirling his hat. 
 
 Carmichael walked about, studying the many 
 curios. Occasionally Grumbach wiped his fore 
 head, and, absently, the inner rim of his hat. 
 Perhaps the three of them waited twenty min 
 utes ; then the chancellor came in. He bowed 
 cordially and drew chairs about his desk. He 
 placed Grumbach in the full glare of the lamp. 
 Carmichael and the sub-chief were in the half- 
 light. The chancellor was last to seat himself. 
 
 "Herr Grumbach," said the chancellor in a 
 mild tone, "I should like to see your papers." 
 
 "My passports, your Excellency ?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Grumbach laid them on the desk imperturba- 
 bly. The chancellor struck the bell. His valet 
 answered immediately. 
 
 "Send Breunner, the head gardener, at once." 
 
 "He is in the anteroom, Excellency." 
 
 "Tell him to come in." 
 
 The chancellor shot a piercing glance at 
 Grumbach, but the latter was studying the mural 
 decorations. 
 
 Carmichael sat tight in his chair, curious to
 
 learn what it was all about. Breunner entered. 
 He was thin and partly bald and quite fifty. 
 
 "Breunner, her highness will need many flow 
 ers to-morrow. See to it that they are cut in the 
 morning." 
 
 "It shall be done, Excellency." 
 
 The chancellor turned to the passports. 
 
 "There is only one question, Herr Grumbach. 
 It says here that you were a native of Bavaria 
 before going to America. How long ago did 
 you leave Bavaria?" 
 
 "A good many years, your Excellency." 
 Grumbach inspected the label in his hat. 
 
 "You have, of course, retained your Bavarian 
 passport?" 
 
 Carmichael was now leaning forward in his 
 chair, deeply interested. He saw that the chan 
 cellor was watching Grumbach as a cat watches 
 a mouse-hole. 
 
 Grumbach brought forth a bulky wallet. The 
 edges of Bank of England notes could be seen, 
 of fat denominations. 
 
 "Here it is, your Excellency ; a little ragged, 
 but readable still." 
 
 The chancellor went over it carefully.
 
 130 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Herr Captain, do you know this compatriot?" 
 
 "We fought side by side in the American war. 
 I saw no irregularity in his papers. I am rather 
 astonished to see him here and not at the police 
 bureau, if any question has arisen over his pass 
 ports." 
 
 "Fought side by side," the chancellor repeated 
 thoughtfully. "Then he is no stranger to you ?" 
 
 "I do not say that. We were, however, in the 
 same cavalry, only in different troops. Grum 
 bach, you have your honorable discharge with 
 you?" 
 
 Grumbach went into his wallet still again. 
 This document the chancellor read with an inter 
 est foreign to the affair under his hand. Pres 
 ently he laughed softly. Why, he could not 
 readily have told. 
 
 "I am sorry, Herr Grumbach. All this un 
 necessary trouble simply because of the word Ba 
 varia." 
 
 "No trouble at all, your Excellency," restor 
 ing his papers. "I have seen the inside of a real 
 palace, and I never expected such an honor." 
 
 "How long will you be making your visit?"
 
 AN ELDER BROTHER 131 
 
 "Only a few days, your Excellency. Then I 
 shall proceed to Bavaria." 
 
 "Your excellency has no further orders ?" said 
 the head gardener patiently. 
 
 "Good Heaven, Breunner, I had forgotten all 
 about you ! There is nothing more. Gentlemen, 
 your pardon for having detained you so long. 
 Herr Captain, you will return with me to the 
 ball-room ?" 
 
 "If your excellency will excuse me, no. I am 
 tired. I shall return to the hotel with Herr 
 Grumbach." 
 
 "As you please. Good night." 
 
 The three left the cabinet under various emo 
 tions. The sub-chief bowed himself off at the 
 gates, and Carmichael and Grumbach crossed 
 the Platz leisurely. 
 
 "How did you come by that Bavarian pass 
 port?" asked Carmichael abruptly. 
 
 "It is a forgery, my friend, but his excellency 
 will never find that out." 
 
 "You have me all at sea. Why did he bring 
 in the head gardener and leave him standing 
 there all that while?"
 
 132 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "He had a sound purpose, but it fell. The 
 head gardener did not recognize me." 
 "Do you know him?" 
 "Yes. He is my elder brother."
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 
 
 THE ambassador from Jugendheit, Baron 
 von Steinbock, was not popular in Drel- 
 berg, at least not among the people, who still held 
 to the grand duke's idea that the kingdom had 
 been behind the abduction of the Princess Hilde- 
 garde. The citizens scowled at his carriage, they 
 scowled at the mention of his name, they scowled 
 whenever they passed the embassy, which stood 
 in the heart of the fashionable residences in the 
 Konig Strasse. Never a hot-headed Dreiberger 
 passed the house without a desire to loot it, to 
 scale the piked fence and batter in the doors and 
 windows. Steinbock himself was a polished, ami 
 able gentleman, in no wise meriting this ill-feel 
 ing. The embassy was in all manner the most 
 important in Dreiberg, though Prussia and Aus 
 tria overshadowed it in wealth and prestige. 
 133
 
 134 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 At this moment the people gazed at the house 
 less in rancor than in astonishment. The king 
 of Jugendheit was to marry her serene highness ! 
 It was a bad business, a bad business ; no good 
 would come of it. The great duke was a weak 
 man, after all. 
 
 The menials in and about the embassy felt the 
 new importance of their positions. So then, im 
 agine the indignation of the majordomo, when, 
 summoned at dusk one evening to the carriage 
 gates, three or four days after the portentous 
 news had issued from the palace, he found only 
 a ragged and grimy carter who demanded per 
 emptorily to be admitted and taken to his excel 
 lency at once. 
 
 "Be off with you, ragamuffin!" growled the 
 majordomo. 
 
 "Be quick ; open the gates !" replied the car 
 ter, swinging his whip threateningly. 
 
 "Go away!" The majordomo spun on his 
 heels contemptuously. 
 
 "I will skin you alive," vowed the carter, strik 
 ing the iron with the butt of his whip, "if you do 
 not open these gates immediately. Open !" 
 
 There was real menace this time. Could the
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 135 
 
 fellow be crazy? The majordomo concluded to 
 temporize. 
 
 "My good man," he said conciliatorily, "you 
 have brains. You ought to know that his excel 
 lency will receive no man in your condition. If 
 you do not stop hammering on those bars, I shall 
 send for the police." 
 
 The carter thrust a hand through the grill. 
 There was a ring on one of his fingers. 
 
 "Imbecile, set your eye on that and admit me 
 without more ado !" 
 
 The majordomo was thunderstruck. Indeed, a 
 blast from the heavens would have jarred him 
 less. 
 
 "Open, then!" 
 
 The majordomo threw back the bolts and the 
 carter pushed his way in. That ring on the 
 carter's finger? The majordomo felt himself 
 slipping into a fantastic dream. 
 
 "Take me to the baron." 
 
 Vastly subdued the majordomo preceded the 
 carter into the office of the embassy. There he 
 left the strange guest and went in search of the 
 baron. The ambassador was in his study, read 
 ing.
 
 136 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Your Excellency, there is a man in the office 
 who desires to see you quickly." 
 
 The ambassador laid down his book. "Upon 
 what pretense did he gain admittance at this 
 hour?" he demanded. 
 
 "I refused him admittance, your Excellency, 
 because he was dressed like a carter " 
 
 "A carter!" The ambassador wrathfully 
 jumped to his feet. 
 
 "One moment, your Excellency. He wore a 
 ring on his finger, and I could not refuse him." 
 
 "A ring, you say ?" 
 
 Guarding his voice with his hand, the major- 
 domo whispered two words. 
 
 "Here, and dressed like a carter? What the 
 devil !" The ambassador rushed from the study. 
 
 It was dark in the embassy office. Quickly the 
 ambassador lighted some candles. Gas would be 
 too bright for such a meeting. 
 
 "Well, your Excellency?" said a voice from 
 the leather lounge. 
 
 "Who are you?" For this was not the voice 
 the baron expected to hear. 
 
 "My name at present does not matter. The 
 news I bring is far more important. His majesty
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 137 
 
 emphatically declines any alliance with the House 
 of Ehrenstein." 
 
 The ambassador stumbled into a chair, his 
 mind dulled, his shoulders inert. This was a 
 blow. 
 
 "Declines ?" he murmured. 
 
 "He repudiates his uncle's negotiations abso 
 lutely." 
 
 "Damnation!" swore the ambassador, coming 
 to life once more. 
 
 "The exact word used by the prince ; in fact, 
 the word has become common property in the last 
 forty-eight hours. Now then, what's to be done? 
 What do you suggest?" 
 
 "This means war. The duke will never swal 
 low such an insult." 
 
 "War ! It looks as if you and I, Baron, shall 
 not accompany the king of Prussia into Alsace- 
 Lorraine. We shall have entertainment at home." 
 
 "This is horrible!" 
 
 "The devil of a muddle!" 
 
 "But what possessed the prince to blunder like 
 this?" 
 
 "The prince really is not to blame. Our king, 
 Baron, is a young colt. A few months ago he
 
 138 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 gave his royal uncle carte blanche to seek a wife 
 for him. Politics demanded an alliance between 
 Jugendheit and Ehrenstein. There have been 
 too many years of useless antagonism. On the 
 head of this bolt from Heaven comes the declara 
 tion of his majesty that he will marry any other 
 princess on the continent." 
 
 "They will pull this place down, brick by 
 brick!" 
 
 "Let them! We have ten thousand more 
 troops than Ehrenstein." 
 
 "You young men are a pack of fools !" 
 
 "Softly, Baron." 
 
 "You would like nothing better than war." 
 
 "Unless it is peace." 
 
 "Where is the king?" 
 
 The carter smiled. "He is hunting, they say, 
 with the crown prince of Bavaria." 
 
 "But you, why have you come dressed like 
 this?" 
 
 "That is a little secret which I am not at lib 
 erty to disclose." 
 
 "But, great God, what's to be done?" 
 
 "Lie," urbanely. 
 
 "What good will lies do?"
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 139 
 
 "They will suspend the catastrophe till we are 
 ready to meet it. The marriage is not to take 
 place till spring. That will give us plenty of 
 time. After the coronation his majesty may be 
 brought to reason. This marriage must not fall 
 through now. The grand duke will not care to 
 become the laughing-stock of Europe. The 
 prince's advice is for you to go about your af 
 fairs as usual. Only one man must be taken into 
 your confidence, and that man is Herbeck. If 
 any one can straighten out his end of the tangle 
 it is he. He is a big man, of fertile invention ; 
 he will understand. If this thing falls through 
 his honors will fall with it. He will work toward 
 peace, though from what I have learned the duke 
 would not shun war." 
 
 "Where is the prince?" 
 
 "Wherever he is, he is working for the best 
 interests of the state. Don't worry about his 
 royal highness ; he's a man." 
 
 "When did you come ?" 
 
 "This morning. Though I have been here 
 before in this same guise." 
 
 "There is the Bavarian princess," remarked 
 the ambassador musingly.
 
 140 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Ha! A good thought! But the king is ro 
 mantic ; she is older than he, and ugly." 
 
 "You are not telling me everything," intui 
 tively. 
 
 "I know it. I am telling you all that is at 
 present necessary." 
 
 "You make me the unhappiest man in the 
 kingdom ! I have worked so hard and long to 
 ward this end. When did the king decline this 
 alliance ?" 
 
 "Evidently the moment he heard of it. I have 
 his letter in my pocket. I am requested to read 
 it to you. Listen : 
 
 " 'MY ILLUSTRIOUS AND INDUSTRIOUS UNCLE : 
 I regret exceedingly that at this late day I 
 should cause you political embarrassment; but 
 when I gave my consent to the espousal of any of 
 the various princesses at liberty, surely it was 
 understood that Ehrenstein was not to be consid 
 ered. I refuse to marry the daughter of the 
 man who privately strove to cover my father 
 with contumely, who dared impute to him a crime 
 that was any man's but my father's. I realize 
 that certain policies called for this stroke on 
 your part, but it can not be. My dear uncle, you 
 have digged a fine pit, and I hope you will find
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 141 
 
 a safe way out of it. I refuse to marry the Prin 
 cess Hildegarde. This is final. It can be ar 
 ranged without any discredit to the duke or to 
 yourself. Let it be said that her serene highness 
 has thrown me over. I shan't go to war about it. 
 
 FREDERICK.' ' 
 
 "Observe 'My illustrious and industrious un 
 cle' !" laughed the carter without mirth. "Our 
 king, you will see, has a graceful style." 
 
 "Your tone is not respectful," warned the am 
 bassador. 
 
 "Neither is the state of my mind. Oh, my king 
 is a fine fellow ; he will settle down like his father 
 before him ; but to-day " The carter dropped 
 his arms dejectedly. 
 
 "There is something going on." 
 
 "What, you are likely to learn at any moment. 
 Pardon me, Baron, but if I dared I would tell you 
 all. But his highness' commands are over me 
 and I must obey them. It would be a mental re 
 lief to tell some one." 
 
 "Curse these opera-dancers !" 
 
 The carter laughed. "Aye, where kings are 
 concerned. But you do him injustice. Freder 
 ick is as mild as Strephon." He gained his feet.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 He was young, pleasant of face, but a thorough 
 soldier. 
 
 "You are Lieutenant von Radenstein!" cried 
 the ambassador. "I recognize you now." 
 
 "Thanks, your Excellency !" 
 
 "You are in the royal household, the regent's 
 invisible arm. I have heard a good deal about 
 you. I knew your father well." 
 
 "Again, thanks. Now, the regent has heard 
 certain rumors regarding an American named 
 Carmichael, a consul. He is often seen with her 
 highness. Rather an extraordinary privilege." 
 
 "Rest your mind there, Lieutenant. This Car 
 michael is harmless. You understand, her high 
 ness has not always been surrounded by royal eti 
 quette. She has had her freedom too long not to 
 grow restive under restraint. The American is a 
 pleasant fellow, but not worth considering. 
 Americans will never understand the ways of 
 court life. Still, he is a gentleman, and so far 
 there is nothing compromising in that situation. 
 He can be eliminated at any time." 
 
 "This is reassuring. You will see the chan 
 cellor to-night and show him this letter ?"
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 143 
 
 "I will, and God help us all to straighten out 
 this blunder !" 
 
 "Amen to that ! One word more, and then I'm 
 off. If a butcher or a baker, or even a moun 
 taineer pulls the bell-cord and shows this ring, 
 admit him without fail. He will have vital news. 
 And now, good night and good luck to your ex 
 cellency." 
 
 For half an hour the ambassador remained 
 staring at the candlesticks. By and by he re 
 sumed his chair. What should he do? Where 
 should he begin? Suppose the chancellor 
 should look at the situation adversely, from the 
 duke's angle of vision, should the duke learn? 
 There was but one thing to do and that was to 
 go boldly to Herbeck and lay the matter before 
 him frankly. Neither Jugendheit nor Ehren- 
 stein wanted war. The chancellor was wise; it 
 would be better to dally with the truth than need 
 lessly to sacrifice ten thousand lives. But what 
 had the lieutenant further to conceal? The am 
 bassador wanted no dinner. He rang for his hat 
 and coat, and twenty minutes later he was in the 
 chancellor's cabinet.
 
 144 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "You seem out of health, Baron," was the 
 chancellor's greeting. 
 
 "I am indeed that, Count. I received a letter 
 to-day from the prince regent. It was sent to 
 him by his majesty, who is hunting in Bavaria. 
 Read it, Count, but I pray to you to do nothing 
 hastily." 
 
 The chancellor did not open the letter, he 
 merely balanced it. That so light a thing should 
 be so heavy with dark portents! His accus 
 tomed pallor assumed a grayish tinge. 
 
 "So his majesty declines?" he said evenly. 
 
 "You have already heard?" cried the amazed 
 ambassador. 
 
 "Nothing ; I surmise. The hour, your appear 
 ance, the letter to what else could they point? 
 I was afraid all along. Strange instinct we have 
 at times. The regent is to be pitied; he took 
 too much for granted. He has been used to 
 power one day too long. Ah, if his majesty 
 could but see her, could only know how lovely 
 she is in heart and mind and face! Is she not 
 worthy a crown ?" 
 
 "Herbeck, nothing would please me better, 
 nothing would afford my country greater pleas-
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 145 
 
 ure and satisfaction, than to see this marriage 
 consummated. It would nail that baseless lie 
 which has so long been current." 
 
 "I believe you. We two peoples should be 
 friendly. It has taken me months to bring this 
 matter round. The duke rebelled; her highness 
 scorned the hand of Frederick. One by one I 
 had to overcome their objections to this end. 
 The past refuses to be buried. Still, if you saw 
 all the evidence in the case you would not blame 
 the duke for his attitude." 
 
 "But those documents are rank forgeries !" 
 
 "So they may be, but that has not been 
 proved." 
 
 "Why should his late majesty abduct the 
 daughter of the grand duke? For what benefits? 
 To what end? Ah, Count, if some motive could 
 be brought forward, some motive that could 
 stand !" 
 
 "Motives, my friend? They spring from the 
 most unheard-of places. And motives in action 
 are always based on impulses. But let us waste 
 no time on retrospection. It is the present which 
 confronts us. You do not want war." 
 
 "No more do you."
 
 146 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "What remedy do you suggest?" 
 
 "I ask, nay, I plead that question of you." 
 
 "I represent the offended party." The chan 
 cellor's gaunt features lighted with a transient 
 smile. "Proceed, Baron." 
 
 "I suggest, then, that the duke must not 
 know." 
 
 "Agreed. Go on." 
 
 "You will put the matter before her highness." 
 
 "That will be difficult." 
 
 "Let her repudiate the negotiations. Let her 
 say that she has changed her mind. His majesty 
 is quite willing that the humiliation be his." 
 
 "That is generous. But suppose she has set 
 her heart on the crown of Jugendheit? What 
 then?" 
 
 The baron bit the ends of his mustache. 
 
 "Suppose that ?" the chancellor pressed relent 
 lessly. 
 
 "In that event, the affair is no longer in our 
 hands but in God's." 
 
 "As all affairs are. Is there no way of chang 
 ing the king's mind?" 
 
 "Read the letter, Count," said the ambassador. 
 
 Herbeck hunted for the postmark: Bavaria.
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 147 
 
 He read the letter. There was nothing between 
 the lines. It was the work of rather an irrespon 
 sible boy. 
 
 "May I take this to her highness?" asked the 
 chancellor. 
 
 "I'm afraid" 
 
 "I promise its contents will not go beyond her 
 eye." 
 
 "I will take the risk." 
 
 "His majesty is very young," was the chan 
 cellor's comment. 
 
 "Young! He is a child. He has been in his 
 palace twice in ten years. He is travel-mad. He 
 has been wandering in France, Holland, Eng 
 land, Belgium. He tells his uncle to play the 
 king till the coronation. Imagine it! And the 
 prince has found this authority so pleasant and 
 natural that he took it for granted that his 
 majesty would marry whomever he selected for 
 him. To have allowed us to go forward, as we 
 have done, believing that he had the whole confi 
 dence of the king !" 
 
 Herbeck consulted his watch. It was Half 
 after six. Her highness did not dine till eight. 
 
 "I shall go to her highness immediately,
 
 148 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Baron. I shall return the letter by messenger, 
 and he will tell you the result of the interview." 
 
 "God be with you," said the ambassador, pre 
 paring to take his leave, "for all women are con 
 trary." 
 
 After the baron was gone the chancellor paced 
 the room with halting step. Then, toward the 
 wraith of his ambition he waved a hand as if to 
 explain how futile are the schemes of men. He 
 shook himself free from this idle moment and 
 proceeded to the apartments of her highness. 
 Would she toss aside this crown, or would she 
 fight for it? He found her alone. 
 
 "Well, my good fairy, what is in your magic 
 wand to-night?" she asked. How fond she was 
 of this great good man, and how lonely he always 
 seemed ! 
 
 He saluted her hand respectfully. "I am not 
 a good fairy to-night, your Highness. On the 
 contrary, I am an ogre. I have here a letter. I 
 have given my word that its contents shall not 
 be repeated to the duke, your father. If I let you 
 read it, will you agree to that ?" 
 
 "And who has written this letter?" non-com- 
 mittally.
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 149 
 
 "His majesty, the king of Jugendheit," 
 slowly. 
 
 "A letter from the king?" she cried, curious. 
 "Should it not be brought to me on a golden sal 
 ver?" 
 
 "It is probable that I am bringing it to you at 
 the end of a bayonet," solemnly. "If the duke 
 learns its contents the inevitable result will be 
 war." 
 
 A silence fell upon them and grew. This was 
 the bitterest moment but one in the chancellor's 
 life. 
 
 "I believe," she said finally, "that it will not be 
 necessary to read his majesty's letter. He de 
 clines the honor of my hand: is that not it?" 
 
 The chancellor signified that it was. 
 
 "Ah !" with a note of pride in her voice and a 
 flash in her eyes. "And I?" 
 
 "You will tell the duke that you have changed 
 your mind," gravely. 
 
 "Do princesses change their minds like this?" 
 
 "They have often done so." 
 
 "In spite of publicity?" 
 
 "Yes, your Highness." 
 
 "And if I refuse to change my mind?"
 
 150 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I am resigned to any and all events." 
 
 "War." Her face was serious. "And what 
 has the king to suggest?" 
 
 "He proposes to accept the humiliation of be 
 ing rejected by you." 
 
 "Why, this is a gallant king ! Pouff ! There 
 goes a crown of thistledown." She smiled at the 
 chancellor, then she laughed. There was nothing 
 but youth in the laughter, youth and gladness. 
 "Oh, I knew that you were a good fairy. Listen 
 to me. I declare to you that I am happier at this 
 moment than I have been in days. To marry a 
 man I have never seen, to become the wife of a 
 man who is nothing to me, whose looks, charac 
 ter, and habits are unknown ; why, I have lived 
 in a kind of horror. You did not find me soon 
 enough; there are yet some popular ideas in my 
 head which are alien to the minds of princesses. 
 I am free !" And she uttered the words as with 
 the breath of spring. 
 
 The chancellor's shoulders drooped a trifle 
 more, and his hand closed down over the letter. 
 Otherwise there was no notable change in his ap 
 pearance. He was always guarding the muscles 
 of his face. Inscrutability is the first lesson of
 
 THE KING'S LETTER 151 
 
 the diplomat ; and he had learned it thirty years 
 before. 
 
 "There will be no war," resumed her highness. 
 "I know my father ; our wills may clash, but in 
 this instance mine shall be the stronger." 
 
 "But this is not the end." 
 
 "You mean that there will be other kings?" 
 She had not thought of this, and some of the 
 brightness vanished from her face. 
 
 "Yes, there will be other kings. I am sorry. 
 What young girl has not her dream of romance ? 
 But princesses must not have romances. Yours, 
 my child, must be a political marriage. It is a 
 harsh decree." 
 
 "Have not princesses married commoners?" 
 
 "Never wisely. Your highness will not make 
 a mistake like that." 
 
 "My highness will or will not marry, as she 
 pleases. Am I a chattel, that I am to be offered 
 across this frontier or that?" 
 
 The chancellor moved uneasily. "If your 
 highness loved out of your class, which I know 
 you do not, I should be worried." 
 
 "And if I did?" with a rebel tilt to her chin. 
 
 "Till that moment arrives I shall not borrow
 
 152 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 trouble. You will, then, tell the duke that you 
 have changed your mind, that you have recon 
 sidered?" 
 
 "This evening. Now, godfather, you may kiss 
 her serene highness on the forehead." 
 
 "This honor to me?" The chancellor trem 
 bled. 
 
 "Even so." 
 
 He did not. touch her with his hands, but the 
 kiss he put on her forehead was a benediction. 
 
 "You may go now," she said, "for I shall need 
 the whole room to dance in. I am free, if only 
 for a little while !" 
 
 Outside the door the chancellor paused. She 
 was singing. It was the same aria he had heard 
 that memorable night when he found her in the 
 dim garret.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 
 
 GRETCHEN was always up when the 
 morning was rosy, when the trees were 
 still dark and motionless, and the beads of dew 
 white and f rostlike. For what is better than to 
 meet the day as it comes over the mountains, and 
 silence breaks here and there, in the houses and 
 streets, in the fields and the vineyards? Let old 
 age, which has played its part and taken to the 
 wings of the stage, let old age loiter in the morn 
 ing, but not green years. Gretchen awoke as the 
 birds awoke, with snatches and little trills of 
 song. To her nearest neighbors there was about 
 her that which reminded them of the regularity 
 of a good clock ; when they heard her voice they 
 knew it was time to get up. 
 
 She was always busy in the morning. The tin 
 kle of the bell outside brought her to the door, 
 and her two goats came pattering in to be re- 
 153
 
 154 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 lieved of their creamy burden. Gretchen was 
 fond of them ; they needed no care at all. The 
 moment she had milked them they went tinkling 
 off to the steep pastures. 
 
 Even in midsummer the dawn was chill in 
 Dreiberg. She blew on her fingers. The fire was 
 down to the last ember ; so she went into the clut 
 tered courtyard and broke into pieces one of the 
 limbs she had carried up from the valley earlier 
 in the season. The fire renewed its cheerful 
 crackle, the kettle boiled briskly, and the frugal 
 breakfast was under way. 
 
 There was daily one cup of coffee, but neither 
 Gretchen nor her grandmother claimed this lux 
 ury ; it was for the sick woman on the third floor. 
 Sometimes at the Black Eagle she had a cup 
 when her work was done, but to Gretchen the 
 aroma excelled the taste. Her grandmother's 
 breakfast and her own out of the way, she car 
 ried the coffee and bread and a hot brick up to 
 the invalid. The woman gave her two crowns a 
 week to serve this morning meal. Gretchen would 
 have cheerfully done the work for nothing. 
 
 What the character of the woman's illness was 
 Gretchen hadn't an idea, but there could be no
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 155 
 
 doubt that she was ill, desperately, had the goose- 
 girl but known it. Her face was thin and the 
 bones were visible under the drum-like skin ; her 
 hands were merely claws. But she would have 
 no doctor; she would have no care save that 
 which Gretchen gave her. Sometimes she re 
 mained in bed all the day. She had been out of 
 the house but once since she came. She mysti 
 fied the girl, for she never complained, never 
 asked questions, talked but little, and always 
 smiled kindly when the pillow was freshened. 
 
 "Good morning, Frau," said Gretchen. 
 
 "Good morning, Liebchen." 
 
 "I have brought you a brick this morning, for 
 it will be cold till the sun is high." 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 Gretchen pulled the deal table to the side of 
 the cot, poured out the coffee, and buttered the 
 bread. 
 
 "I ought not to drink coffee, but it is the only 
 thing that warms me. You have been very pa 
 tient with me." 
 
 "I am glad to help you." 
 
 "And that is why I love you. Now, I have some 
 instructions to give you this morning. Presently^
 
 156 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 I shall be leaving, and there will be something 
 besides crowns." 
 
 "You are thinking of leaving?" 
 
 "Yes. When I go I shall not come back. Un 
 der my pillow there is an envelope. You will 
 find it and keep it." 
 
 Gretchen, young and healthy, touched not this 
 melancholy undercurrent. She accepted the 
 words at their surface value. She knew nothing 
 about death except by hearsay. 
 
 "You will promise to take it?" 
 
 "Yes, Frau." 
 
 "Thanks, little gosling. I have an errand for 
 you this morning. It will take you to the pal 
 ace." 
 
 "To the palace ?" echoed Gretchen. 
 
 "Yes. Does that frighten you?" 
 
 "No, Frau ; it only surprises me. What shall 
 I do?" 
 
 "You will seek her highness and give her this 
 note." 
 
 "The princess?" Gretchen sadly viewed her 
 wooden shoes and roughened hands. 
 
 "Never mind your hands and feet; your face 
 will open any gate or door for you.'*
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 157 
 
 "I have never been to the palace. Will they 
 not laugh and turn me out?" 
 
 "If they try that, demand to see his excel 
 lency, Count von Herbeck, and say that you 
 came from forty Krumerweg." 
 
 Gretchen shuddered with a mixture of appre 
 hension and delight. To meet and speak to all 
 these great ones ! 
 
 "And if I can not get in?" 
 
 "You will have no trouble. Be sure, though, 
 to give the note to no one but her highness. 
 There will be no answer. All I ask is that when 
 you return you will tell me if you were success 
 ful. You may go." 
 
 Gretchen put the note away and went down 
 stairs. She decked her beautiful head with a 
 little white cap, which she wore only on Sun 
 days and at the opera, and braided and berib- 
 boned her hair. It never occurred to her that 
 there was anything unusual in the incident. It 
 was only when she came out into the Konig 
 Strasse that the puzzle of it came to her forcibly. 
 Who was this old woman who thought nothing 
 of writing a letter to her serene highness ? And 
 who were her nocturnal visitors? Gretchen had
 
 158 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 no patience with puzzles, so she let her mind 
 revel in the thought that she was to see and 
 speak to the princess whom she admired and re 
 vered. What luck! How smoothly the world 
 was beginning to run ! 
 
 Being of a discerning mind, she idled about 
 the Platz till after nine, for it had been told to 
 her that the great sleep rather late in the morn 
 ing. What should she say to her serene high 
 ness? What kind of a curtsy should she make? 
 These and a hundred other questions flitted 
 through her head. At least she would wear no 
 humble, servile air. For Gretchen was a bit of 
 a socialist. Did not Herr Goldberg, whom the 
 police detested, did he not say that all men were 
 equal? And surely this sweeping statement in 
 cluded women ! She attended secret meetings in 
 the damp cellar of the Black Eagle, and, while 
 she laughed at some of the articles in the propa 
 ganda, she received seriously enough that which 
 proclaimed her the equal of any one. So long 
 as she obeyed nature's laws and Heaven's, was 
 she not indeed the equal of queens and princesses, 
 who, it was said, did not always obey these laws ? 
 
 With a confidence born of right and inno-
 
 ORE TOKEN'S DAY 159 
 
 cence, she proceeded toward the east or side gates 
 of the palace. The sentry smiled at her. 
 
 "I have a letter for her serene highness," she 
 said. 
 
 "Leave it." 
 
 "I am under orders to give it to her highness 
 herself." 
 
 "Good day, then !" laughed the soldier. "You 
 can not enter the gardens without a permit." 
 
 Gretchen remembered. "Will you send some 
 one to his excellency the chancellor and tell him 
 I have come from number forty Krumerweg?" 
 
 "Krumerweg? The very name ought to close 
 any gate. But, girl, are you speaking truth 
 fully?" 
 
 Gretchen exhibited the note. He scratched 
 his chin, perplexed. 
 
 "Run along. If they ask me, I'll say that I 
 didn't see you." The sentry resumed his beat. 
 
 Gretchen stepped inside the gates, and the 
 real beauty of the gardens was revealed to her 
 for the first time. Strange flowers she had never 
 seen before, plants with great broad leaves, 
 grass-like carpet, and giant ferns, unlike any 
 thing she had plucked in the valleys and the
 
 160 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 mountains. It was all a fairy-land. There were 
 marble urns with hanging vines, and marble 
 statues. She loitered in this pebbled path and 
 that, forgetful of her errand. Even had her 
 mind been filled with the importance of it, she 
 did not know where to go to find the proper en 
 trance. 
 
 A hand grasped her rudely by the arm. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" thundered the 
 head gardener. "Be off with you! Don't you 
 know that no one is allowed in here without a 
 permit ?" 
 
 Gretchen wrenched free her arm. She was 
 angry. 
 
 "How dare you touch me like that ?" 
 
 Something in her glance, which was singularly 
 arrogant, cooled even the warm-blooded Her 
 mann. 
 
 "But you live in Dreiberg and ought to 
 know." 
 
 "You could have told me without bruising my 
 arm," defiantly. 
 
 "I am sorry if I hurt you, but you ought to 
 have known better. By which sentry did you 
 pass?" for there was that about her beauty
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 161 
 
 which made him suspicious regarding the sen 
 try's imperviousness to it. 
 
 "Hermann !" 
 
 Gretchen and the head gardener whirled. 
 Through a hedge which divided the formal gar 
 dens from the tennis and archery grounds came 
 a young woman in riding-habit. She carried a 
 book in one hand and a riding-whip in the other. 
 
 "What is the trouble, Hermann?" she in 
 quired. "Your voice was something high." 
 
 "Your Highness, this young woman here had 
 the impudence to walk into the gardens and 
 stroll about as nice as you please," indignantly. 
 
 "Has she stolen any flowers or trod on any of 
 the beds?" 
 
 "Why, no, your Highness ; but " 
 
 "What is the harm, then?" 
 
 "But it is not customary, your Highness. If 
 we permitted this on the part of the people, the 
 gardens would be ruined in a week." 
 
 "We, you and I, Hermann," said her high 
 ness, with a smile that won Gretchen on the spot, 
 "we will overlook this first offense. Perhaps this 
 young lady had some errand and lost her way." 
 
 ''Yes, Highness," replied Gretchen eagerly.
 
 162 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Ah! You may go, Hermann." 
 
 "Your highness alone with " 
 
 "Go at once," kindly, but with royal firmness. 
 
 Hermann bowed, gathered up his pruning 
 knives and scissors which he had let fall, and 
 stalked down the path. What was it? he won 
 dered. She was a princess in all things save her 
 lack of coldness toward the people. It was 
 wrong to meet them in this way, it was not in 
 order. Her highness had lived too long among 
 them. She would never rid herself of the idea 
 that the humble had hearts and minds like the 
 exalted. 
 
 As the figure of the head gardener diminished 
 and shortly vanished behind a bed of palms, her 
 highness laughed brightly, and Gretchen, to 
 her own surprise, found herself laughing also, 
 easily and without constraint. 
 
 "Whom were you seeking?" her highness 
 asked, rather startled by the undeniable beauty 
 of this peasant. 
 
 "I was seeking your serene highness. I live 
 at number forty the Krumerweg, and the sick 
 woman gave me this note for you." 
 
 "Krumerweg?" Her highness reached for the
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 163 
 
 note and read it, and as she read tears gathered 
 in her eyes. "Follow me," she said. She led 
 Gretchen to a marble bench and sat down. 
 Gretchen remained on her feet respectfully. 
 "What is your name?" 
 
 "Gretchen, Highness." 
 
 "Well, Gretchen, sit down." 
 
 "In your presence, Highness?" aghast. 
 
 "Don't bother about my presence on a morn 
 ing like this. Sit down." 
 
 This was a command and Gretchen obeyed 
 with alacrity. It would not be difficult, thought 
 Gretchen, to love a princess like this, who was 
 not only lovely but sensible. The two sat mutely. 
 They were strangely alike. Their eyes nearly 
 matched, their hair, even the shape of their faces. 
 They were similarly molded, too ; only, one was 
 slender and graceful, after the manner of fash 
 ion, while the other was slender and graceful 
 directly from the hands of nature. The health 
 of outdoors was visible in their fine skins and 
 clear eyes. The marked difference lay, of 
 course, in their hands. The princess had never 
 toiled with her fingers except on the piano. 
 Gretchen had plucked geese and dug vegetables
 
 164 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 with hers. They were rough, but toil had not 
 robbed them of their natural grace. 
 
 "How was she?" her highness asked. 
 
 "About the same, Highness." 
 
 "Have you wondered why she should write to 
 me?" 
 
 "Highness, it was natural that I should," was 
 Gretchen's frank admission. 
 
 "She took me in when nobody knew who I 
 was, clothed and fed me, and taught me music 
 so that some day I should not be helpless when 
 the battle of life began. Ah," impulsively, "had 
 I my way she would be housed in the palace, not 
 in the lonely Krumerweg. But my father does 
 not know that she is in Dreiberg; and we dare 
 not tell him, for he still believes that she had 
 something to do with my abduction." Then 
 she stopped. She was strangely making this 
 peasant her confidante. What a whim ! 
 
 "Highness, that could not be." 
 
 "No, Gretchen; she had nothing to do with 
 it." Her highness leveled her gaze at the flow 
 ers, but her eyes saw only the garret or the 
 barnlike loneliness of the opera during rehear 
 sals.
 
 She led Gretchen to a marble bench and sat down. Page 173.
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 165 
 
 Gretchen did not move. She saw that her 
 highness was dreaming; and she herself had 
 dreams. 
 
 "Do you like music?" 
 
 "Highness, I am always singing." 
 
 "La la la !" sang the princess capriciously. 
 
 "La la la !" sang Gretchen smiling. Her 
 voice was not purer or sweeter ; it was merely 
 stronger, having been accustomed to the open 
 air. 
 
 "Brava!" cried the princess, dropping book 
 and whip and folding the note inside the book. 
 "Who taught you to sing?" 
 
 "Nobody, highness." 
 
 "What do you do?" 
 
 "I am a goose-girl; in the fall and winter I 
 work at odd times in the Black Eagle." 
 
 "The Black Eagle? A tavern?" 
 
 "Yes, Highness." 
 
 "Tell me all about yourself." 
 
 This was easy for Gretchen; there was so 
 little. 
 
 "Neither mother nor father. Our lives are 
 something alike. A handsome girl like you must 
 have a sweetheart."
 
 166 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Gretchen blushed. "Yes, Highness. I am to 
 be married soon. He is a vintner. I would not 
 trade him for your king, Highness," with a spice 
 of boldness. 
 
 Her highness did not take offense ; rather she 
 liked this frankness. In truth, she liked any one 
 who spoke to her on equal footing; it was a 
 taste of the old days when she herself could have 
 chosen a vintner and married him, with none to 
 say her nay. Now she was only a pretty bird in 
 a gilded cage. She could fly, but whenever she 
 did so she blundered painfully against the bright 
 wires. If there was any envy between these two, 
 it existed in the heart of the princess only. To 
 be free like this, to come and go at will, to love 
 where the heart spoke ! She surrendered to an 
 other vagrant impulse. 
 
 "Gretchen, I do not think I shall marry the 
 king of Jugendheit." 
 
 Gretchen grew red with pride. Her highness 
 was telling her state secrets ! 
 
 "You love some one else, Highness?" How 
 should a goose-girl know that such a question 
 was indelicate? 
 
 Her highness did not blush; the color in her
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 167 
 
 cheeks receded. She fondled the heart-shaped 
 locket which she invariably wore round her 
 throat. That this peasant girl should thus 
 boldly put a question she herself had never dared 
 to press ! 
 
 "You must not ask questions like that, 
 Gretchen." 
 
 "Pardon, Highness; I did not think." 
 Gretchen was disturbed. 
 
 But the princess comforted her with : "I know 
 it. There are some questions which should not 
 be asked even by the heart." 
 
 This was not understandable to Gretchen ; but 
 the locket pleased her eye. Her highness, ob 
 serving her interest, slipped the trinket from her 
 neck and laid it in Gretchen's hand. 
 
 "Open it," she said. "It is a picture of my 
 mother, whom I do not recollect having ever seen. 
 Wait," as Gretchen turned it about helplessly. 
 "I will open it for you." Click ! 
 
 Gretchen sighed deeply. To have had a 
 mother so fair and pretty! She hadn't an idea 
 how her own mother had looked; indeed, being 
 sensible and not given much to conjuring, she 
 had rarely bothered her head about it. Still, as
 
 168 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 she gazed at this portrait, the sense of her isola 
 tion and loneliness drew down upon her, and she 
 in her turn sought the flowers and saw them not. 
 After a while she closed the locket and re 
 turned it. 
 
 "So you love music?" picking up the safer 
 thread. 
 
 "Ah, yes, Highness." 
 
 "Do you ever go to the opera?" 
 
 "As often as I can afford. I am very poor." 
 
 "I will give you a ticket for the season. How 
 can I reward you for bringing this message? 
 Don't have any false pride. Ask for some 
 thing." 
 
 "Well, then, Highness, give me an order on 
 the grand duke's head vintner for a place." 
 
 "For the man who is to become your hus 
 band?" 
 
 "Yes, Highness." 
 
 "You shall have it to-morrow. Now, come 
 with me. I am going to take you to Herr Ernst. 
 He is the director of the opera. He rehearses 
 in the court theater this morning." 
 
 Gretchen, undetermined whether she was wak 
 ing or dreaming, followed the princess. She
 
 GRETCHEN'S DAY 169 
 
 was serenely unafraid, to her own great wonder. 
 Who could describe her sensations as she passed 
 through marble halls, up marble staircases, 
 over great rugs so soft that her step faltered? 
 Her wooden shoes made a clatter whenever they 
 left the rugs, but she stepped as lightly as she 
 could. She heard music and voices presently, 
 and the former she recognized. As her highness 
 entered the Bijou Theater, the Herr Direktor 
 stopped the music. In the little gallery, which 
 served as the royal box, sat several ladies and 
 gentlemen of the court, the grand duke being 
 among them. Her highness nodded at them 
 brightly. 
 
 "Good morning, Herr Direktor." 
 
 "Good morning, your Highness." 
 
 "I have brought you a prima donna," touch 
 ing Gretchen with her whip. 
 
 The Herr Direktor showed his teeth ; her high 
 ness was always playing some jest. 
 
 "What shall she sing in, your Highness ? We 
 are rehearsing The Bohemian Girl." 
 
 The chorus and singers on the little stage ex 
 changed smiles. 
 
 "I want your first violin," said her highness^
 
 170 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Anton!" 
 
 A youth stood up in the orchestral pit. 
 
 "Now, your Highness ?" said the Herr Direk- 
 tor. 
 
 "Try her voice." 
 
 And the Herr Direktor saw that she was not 
 smiling. He bade the violinist to draw his bow 
 over a single note. 
 
 "Imitate it, Gretchen," commanded her high 
 ness ; "and don't be afraid of the Herr Direktor 
 or of the ladies and gentlemen in the gallery." 
 
 Gretchen lifted her voice. It was sweeter and 
 mellower than the violin. 
 
 "Again!" the Herr Direktor cried, no longer 
 curious. 
 
 Without apparent effort Gretchen passed 
 from one note to another, now high, now low, 
 or strong or soft; a trill, a run. The violinist, 
 of his own accord, began the jewel song from 
 Faust. Gretchen did not know the words, but 
 she carried the melody without mishap. And 
 then, I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls. This 
 song she knew word for word, and ah, she sang 
 it with strange and haunting tenderness ! One 
 by one the musicians dropped their instruments
 
 ORE TC HEN'S DAY 171 
 
 to their knees. The grand duke in the gallery 
 leaned over the velvet-buffered railing. All real 
 ized that a great voice was being tried before 
 them. The Herr Direktor struck his music-stand 
 sharply. It was enough. 
 
 "Your highness has played a fine jest this day. 
 Where does madame your guest sing, in Berlin 
 or Vienna?" 
 
 "In neither," answered her highness, mightily 
 gratified with Gretchen's success. "She lives in 
 Dreiberg, and till this morning I doubt if I ever 
 saw her before." 
 
 The Herr Direktor stared blankly from her 
 highness to Gretchen, and back to her highness 
 again. Then he grasped it. Here was one of 
 those moments when the gods make gifts to 
 mortals. 
 
 "Can you read music ?" he asked. 
 
 "No, Herr," said Gretchen. 
 
 "That is bad. You have a great voice, Frau- 
 lein. Well, I shall teach you. I shall make you 
 a great singer. It is hard work." 
 
 "I have always worked hard." 
 
 "Good ! Your Highness, a thousand thanks ! 
 What is your name?" to Gretchen. She told
 
 172 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 him. "It is a good name. Come to me Monday 
 at the opera and I shall put you into good hands. 
 Some day you will be rich, and I shall become 
 great because I found you." 
 
 Then, with the artist's positive indifference to 
 the presence of exalted blood, he turned his back 
 upon the two young women and roused his men 
 from the trance. 
 
 "So, Gretchen," said her highness, when the 
 two came out again into the garden, "you are to 
 be rich and famous. That will be fine." 
 
 "Thanks, Highness, thanks! God grant the 
 day to come when I may be of service to you !" 
 Gretchen kissed the hands of her benefactress. 
 
 "Whenever you wish to see the gardens," add 
 ed the princess, "the gates will be open for you." 
 
 As Gretchen went back to the Krumerweg her 
 wooden shoes were golden slippers and her rough 
 homespun, silk. Rich ! Famous ! She saw the 
 opera ablaze with lights, she heard the roll of 
 applause. She saw the horn of plenty pouring 
 its largess from the fair sky. Rainbow dreams ! 
 But Gretchen never became a prima donna. 
 There was something different on the knees of 
 the gods.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 AFFAIRS OF STATE 
 
 THE grand duke stamped back and forth 
 with a rumble as of distant thunder. He 
 would search the very deeps of this matter. He 
 was of a patient mold, but this was the final 
 straw. He would have his revenge if it upset 
 the whole continent. They would play with 
 him, eh? Well, they had loosed the lion this 
 time. He had sent his valet to summon her 
 highness and Herbeck. 
 
 "And tell them to put everything else aside." 
 He kneaded the note in his hand powerfully. 
 It was anonymous, but it spoke clearly like truth. 
 It had been left with one of the sentries, who de 
 clared that a small boy had delivered it. The 
 sender remained undiscoverable. 
 
 His highness had just that hour returned 
 from the military field. He was tired; and it 
 was not the psychological moment for a thing 
 173
 
 174 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 like this to turn up. Had he not opposed it for 
 months? And now, having surrendered against 
 his better judgment, this gratuitous affront was 
 offered him! It was damnable. He smote the 
 offending note. He would soon find out whether 
 it was true or not. Then he flung the thing 
 violently to the floor. But he realized that this 
 burst of fury would not translate the muddle, 
 so he stooped and recovered the missive. He 
 laughed, but the laughter had a grim Homeric 
 sound. War ! Nothing less. He was prepared 
 for it. Twenty thousand troops were now in 
 the valley, and there were twenty thousand re 
 serves. What Franz Josef of Austria or Wil 
 liam of Prussia said did not amount to the snap 
 of his two fingers. To avenge himself of the 
 wrongs so long endured of Jugendheit, to wipe 
 out the score with blood! Did they think that 
 he was in his dotage, to offer an insult of this 
 magnitude? They should see, aye, that they 
 should ! It did not matter that the news reached 
 him through subterranean channels or by treach 
 ery ; there was truth here, and that sufficed. 
 
 "Enter !" he cried, as some one knocked on the 
 door.
 
 AFFAIRS OF STATE 175 
 
 Herbeck came in, as calm, as imperturbable 
 as ever. 
 
 "Your highness sent for me?" 
 
 "I did. Why the devil couldn't you have left 
 well enough alone ? Read this !" flinging the 
 note down on his desk. 
 
 Herbeck picked it up and worked out the 
 creases. When he had read to the final word, 
 his hand, even as the duke's, closed spasmodi 
 cally over the stiff paper. 
 
 "Well?" The query tingled with rage. 
 
 The answer on the chancellor's lips was not 
 uttered. Hildegarde came in. She blew a kiss 
 at her father, who caught the hand and drew 
 her toward him. He embraced her and kissed her 
 brow. 
 
 "What is it, father?" 
 
 Herbeck waited. 
 
 "Read," said the duke. 
 
 As the last word left Herbeck's lips, she 
 slipped from her father's arms and looked with 
 pity at the chancellor. 
 
 "What do you think of this, Hildegarde?" 
 
 "Why, father, I think it is the very best thing 
 in the world," dryly.
 
 176 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "An insult like this?" The duke grew rigid. 
 "You accept it calmly, in this fashion?" 
 
 "Shall I weep and tear mj hair over a boy I 
 have never seen? No, thank you. I was about 
 to make known to you this very evening that I 
 had reconsidered the offer. I shall never marry 
 his majesty." 
 
 "A fine time!" The duke's hand trembled. 
 "Why, in God's name, did you not refuse when 
 the overtures were first made? The truth, Her- 
 beck, the whole truth; for there is something 
 more than this." 
 
 Herbeck, in few words and without evasion, 
 explained the situation. 
 
 "Your Highness, the regent is really not to 
 blame, for his majesty had given him free rein 
 in the matter ; and his royal highness, working 
 as I have been for the best interests of the two 
 countries, never dreamed that the king would 
 rebel. All my heart and all my mind have been 
 working toward this end, toward a greater peace 
 and prosperity. The king has been generous 
 enough to leave the publicity in our hands ; that 
 is to say, he agrees to accept the humiliation of 
 being rejected by her serene highness."
 
 AFFAIRS OF STATE 177 
 
 "That is very generous of him !" said the duke 
 sarcastically. "Send for Ducwitz." 
 
 "Ducwitz, your Highness?" cried the chan 
 cellor, chilled. 
 
 "Immediately !" 
 
 "Father!" 
 
 "Must I give an order twice?" 
 
 "Your Highness, if you call Ducwitz I shall 
 surrender my portfolio to you." The chancellor 
 spoke without anger, quietly but firmly. 
 
 "Do so. There are others to take up your 
 work." The duke, for the moment, had thrown 
 reason to the winds. Revenge, the clamor of 
 revenge, was all the voice he heard. 
 
 The chancellor bowed, turned to leave the 
 room, when Hildegarde flew to the duke's side 
 and snatched at his sleeve. 
 
 "Father, you are mad !" 
 
 "At least I am master in Ehrenstein. Her- 
 beck, you will have the kindness to summon 
 General Ducwitz." 
 
 "Your Highness," replied Herbeck, "I have 
 worked long and faithfully in your service. I 
 can not recollect that I ever asked one personal 
 favor. But I do so now. Do not send for Duo
 
 178 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 witz to-night. See him in the morning. This 
 is no time for haste. You will throw the army 
 into Jugendheit, and there will follow a bloody 
 war. For I have to inform you that the prince 
 regent, recognizing the false position he is in, 
 has taken the ram by the horns. His troops are 
 already bivouacked on the other side of the pass. 
 This I learned to-day. He will not strike first ; 
 he will wait for you." 
 
 "I will have my revenge 1" stubbornly. 
 
 "Father, listen to me. 7 am the affronted 
 person; 7, I alone, have the right to say what 
 shall be done in the matter. And I say to you 
 if you do these cruel things, dismiss his excel 
 lency and bring war and death to Ehrenstein, I 
 will never forgive you, never, never! You are 
 wrong, wrong, and I, your daughter, tell you so 
 frankly. Leave it to me. There will be neither 
 war nor humiliation." 
 
 As the duke gazed at her the wrath gathering 
 in his throat receded and his admiration grew. 
 His daughter! She was a princess, indeed, as 
 she stood there, fearless, resolute, beautiful. And 
 her very beauty gave recurrence to his wrath. 
 A fool of a king he was, a fool of a king !
 
 AFFAIRS OF STATE 179 
 
 "My dear child," he said, "I have suffered too 
 much at the hands of Jugendheit. It was my 
 daughter the first time; it is my honor now," 
 proudly. 
 
 "Will it balance war and devastation?" the 
 girl asked quietly. "Is it not pride rather than 
 honor? The prince regent made a pardonable 
 blunder. Do not you, my father, make an un 
 pardonable one. The king is without blame, for 
 you appeal to his imagination as a man who 
 deeply wronged his father. I harbor no ill- 
 feeling against him or his uncle, because I look 
 at the matter from an impersonal point of view ; 
 it was for the good of the state. This blunder 
 can be undone ; therefore it is not wise to double 
 it, to make it irreparable." 
 
 "A Portia to the judgment!" said the chan 
 cellor, his eye kindling. "Let it all rest upon 
 my shoulders. I alone am to blame. It was I 
 who first suggested the alliance. We all have 
 dreams, active or passive, futile or purposeful. 
 My ambition was to bring about a real and last 
 ing peace. Your Highness, I have failed sig 
 nally. There is nothing to do now but to appoint 
 my successor." All the chancellor's force and
 
 180 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 immobility of countenance gave way, and he 
 looked the broken man. 
 
 Notwithstanding that he was generally hasty, 
 the duke was a just man. In his heart of hearts 
 he understood. He offered his hand, with half 
 a smile ; and when he smiled he was a handsome 
 old man. 
 
 "You are bidding me farewell, your High 
 ness ?" said Herbeck. 
 
 "No, Count. I would not let you go for half 
 my duchy. What should I do without your solid 
 common sense ? No ; remain ; we are both of us 
 too old to quarrel. Even a duke may be a fool 
 sometimes." 
 
 Herbeck laid his cold hand upon the duke's. 
 Then he went over to her highness and kissed her 
 hand gratefully, for it was truly at her feet the 
 wreath of victory lay. 
 
 "Highness," he said softly, "you are the fair 
 est, finest princess in the world, and you shall 
 marry when you will." 
 
 "And where?" 
 
 "I would that I could make it so. But there 
 is a penalty for being placed so high. We can 
 not change this unwritten law."
 
 iAFFAIRS OF STATE 181 
 
 "Heaven did not write it," she replied. 
 
 "No, my daughter," said the duke. "Man is 
 at the bottom of all the kinks and twists in this 
 short life; not Heaven. But Herbeck is right; 
 you shall marry when you will." 
 
 She sprang into his arms and kissed him. It 
 was, however, a traitorous kiss ; for she was say 
 ing in her heart that now she would never marry. 
 
 Herbeck's eyes wandered to the portrait over 
 the fireplace. It was the girl's mother. 
 
 The knock of the valet was again heard. 
 
 "Your Highness, there is a young woman, a 
 peasant, who desires to speak to her serene high 
 ness." 
 
 "Where is she ?" asked the duke. 
 
 "She is outside, your Highness." 
 
 "What! She enters the palace without any 
 more trouble than this?" 
 
 "By my orders, father," said Hildegarde, who 
 gathered that this privileged visitor must be 
 Gretchen of the Krumerweg. "Admit her." 
 
 "Truly we are becoming socialists," said the 
 duke, appealing to Herbeck, who replied with 
 his usual grim smile. 
 
 Gretchen was ushered in. Her throat was a
 
 182 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 little full as she recognized the three most im 
 portant persons in the grand duchy. Outwardly 
 she was composed. She made a curtsy to which 
 the duke replied with his most formal bow of 
 state. The sparkle of amusement was in his 
 eyes. 
 
 "The little goose-girl!" he said half -audibly. 
 
 "Yes, Highness." Gretchen's face was serious 
 and her eyes were mournful. She carried an 
 envelope in her hand tightly. 
 
 "Come to me, Gretchen," said the princess. 
 "What is it?" 
 
 Gretchen's eyes roamed undecidedly from the 
 duke to Herbeck. 
 
 "She is dead, Highness, and I found this letter 
 under her pillow." 
 
 It was Herbeck's hand that took the envelope. 
 But he did not open it at once. 
 
 "Dead?" Hildegarde's eyes filled. 
 
 "Who is dead ?" demanded the duke. 
 
 "Emma Schultz, father. Oh, I know you will 
 forgive me for this deception. She has been in 
 Dreiberg for a month, dying, and I have often 
 stolen out to see her." She let her tears fall un 
 restrained.
 
 The duke stared at the rug. Presently he 
 said: "Let her be buried in consecrated ground. 
 Wrong or right, that chapter is closed, my child, 
 and I am glad you made her last moments happy. 
 It was like you. It was like your mother. What 
 is in the letter, Herbeck?" 
 
 Herbeck was a strong man ; he was always far 
 removed from tears ; but there was a mist over 
 the usual clarity of his vision. He ripped down 
 the flap. It was only a simple note to her serene 
 highness, begging her to give the enclosed bank 
 notes to one Gretchen who lived in the Krumer- 
 weg. The notes represented a thousand crowns. 
 
 "Take them, little goose-girl," said the duke ; 
 "your ship has come in. This will be your 
 dowry." 
 
 An icy shiver ran up and down Gretchen's 
 spine, a shiver of wonder, delight, terror. A 
 thousand crowns ! A fortune ! 
 
 "Hold out your hand," requested Herbeck. 
 One by one he laid the notes on the goose-girl's 
 hand. "This is only a just reward for being 
 kind and gentle to the unfortunate." 
 
 "And I shall add to it another thousand," 
 said Hildegarde. "Give them to me, father."
 
 184 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 In all, this fortune amounted to little more 
 than four hundred dollars; but to Gretchen, 
 frugal and thrifty, to whom a single crown was 
 a large sum, to her it represented wealth. She 
 was now the richest girl in the lower town. 
 Dreams of kaleidoscopic variety flew through 
 her head. Little there was, however, of jewels 
 and gowns. This vast sum would be the buffer 
 between her and hunger while she pursued the 
 one great ambition of her life music. She tried 
 to speak, to thank them, but her voice was gone. 
 Tears sprang into her eyes. She had the power 
 to do no more than weep. 
 
 The duke was the first to relieve the awkward 
 ness of the moment. 
 
 "Count, has it not occurred to you that we 
 stand in the presence of two very beautiful 
 young women?" 
 
 Herbeck scrutinized Gretchen with care ; then 
 he compared her with the princess. The duke 
 was right. The goose-girl was not a whit the 
 inferior of the princess. And the thing which 
 struck him with most force was that, while each 
 possessed a beauty individual to herself, it was 
 not opposite, but strangely alike.
 
 AFFAIRS OF STATE 185 
 
 The goose-girl had returned to her gloomy 
 Krumerweg, the princess had gone to her apart 
 ments, and Herbeck to his cabinet. The duke 
 was alone. For a long period he stood before 
 the portrait of his wife. The beauties of his 
 courtship trooped past him ; for God had given 
 to the grand duke of Ehrenstein that which He 
 denies most of us, high or low, a perfect love. 
 
 "Always, always, dear heart," he whispered; 
 "in this life and in the life to come. To love, 
 what is the sickle of death?" 
 
 He passed on to his secretary and opened a 
 drawer. He laid a small bundle on the desk and 
 untied the string. One by one he ranged the 
 articles ; two little yellow shoes, a little cloak 
 trimmed with ermine. There had been a locket, 
 but that was now worn by her highness.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 
 
 HERMANN BREUNNER lived in the 
 granite lodge, just within the eastern 
 gates of the royal gardens. He was a widower 
 and shared the ample lodge with the undergar- 
 deners and their families. He lived with them, 
 but signally apart. They gave him as much re 
 spect as if he had been the duke himself. He 
 was a lonely, taciturn man, deeply concerned 
 with his work, and a botanical student of no 
 mean order. No comrade helped him pass away 
 an evening in the chimney-corner, pipe in hand 
 and good cheer in the mug. This isolation was 
 not accidental, it was Hermann's own selection. 
 He was a man of brooding moods, and there was 
 no laughter in his withered heart, though the 
 false sound of it crossed his lips at infrequent 
 intervals. 
 
 He adjusted his heavy spectacles and held the 
 186
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 187 
 
 note slantingly toward the candle. A note or a 
 letter was a singular event in Hermann's life. 
 Not that he looked forward with eagerness to 
 receive them, but that there was no one existing 
 who cared enough about him to write. This 
 note left by the porter of the Grand Hotel moved 
 him with surprise. It requested that he present 
 himself at eight o'clock at the office of the hotel 
 and ask to be directed to the room of Hans 
 Grumbach. 
 
 "Now, who is Hans Grumbach? I never knew 
 or heard of a man of that name." 
 
 Nevertheless, he decided to go. Certainly this 
 man Grumbach did not urge him without some 
 definite purpose. He laid down his pipe, reached 
 for his hat and coat for in the lodge he gen 
 erally went about in his shirt-sleeves and went 
 over to the hotel. The concierge, who knew 
 Hermann, conducted him to room ten on the en- 
 tresole. Hermann knocked. A voice bade him 
 enter. Ah, it was the German- American, whose 
 papers had puzzled his excellency. 
 
 "You wished to see me, Herr Grumbach?" 
 
 "Yes," said Grumbach, offering a chair. 
 
 Hermann accepted the courtesy with dignity. 

 
 188 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 His host drew up another chair to the opposite 
 side of the reading- table. The light overhead 
 put both faces in a semishadow. 
 
 "You are Hermann Breunner." began G rum 
 ba ch. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "You once had a brother named Hans." 
 
 Hermann grew rigid in his chair. "I have no 
 brother," he replied, his voice dull and empty. 
 
 "Perhaps not now," continued Grumbach, 
 "but you did have." 
 
 Hermann's head drooped. "My God, yes, I 
 did have a brother ; but he was a scoundrel." 
 
 Grumbach lighted a cigar. He did not offer 
 one to Hermann, who would have refused it. 
 
 "Perhaps he was a scoundrel. He is dead !" 
 softly. 
 
 "God's will be done!" But Hermann's face 
 turned lighter. 
 
 "As a boy he loved you." 
 
 "And did I not love him?" said Hermann 
 fiercely. "Did I not worship that boy, who was 
 to me more like a son than a brother? Had not 
 all the brothers and sisters died but he? But 
 you who are you to recall these things ?"
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 189 
 
 "I knew your brother ; I knew him well. He 
 was not a scoundrel; only weak. He went to 
 America and became successful in business. He 
 fought with the North in the war. He was not 
 a coward ; he did his fighting bravely and honor- 
 ably." 
 
 "Oh, no ; Hans could never have been a cow 
 ard; even his villainy required courage. But 
 go on." 
 
 "He died facing the enemy, and his last words 
 were of you. He begged your forgiveness ; he 
 implored that you forget that black moment. 
 He was young, he said; and they offered him 
 a thousand crowns. In a moment of despair he 
 fell." 
 
 "Despair? Did he confess to you the crime 
 he committed?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Did he tell you to whom he sold his honor?" 
 
 "That he never knew. A Gipsy from the 
 hills came to him, so he said." 
 
 "From Jugendheit?" 
 
 "I say that he knew nothing. He believed 
 that the Gipsy wanted her highness to hold for 
 ransom. Hans spoke of a girl called Tekla."
 
 190 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Tekla ? Ah, yes ; Hans was in love with that 
 doll-face." 
 
 "Doll-face or not, Hans evidently loved her. 
 She jilted him, and he did not care then what 
 happened. His one desire was to leave Dreiberg. 
 And this Gipsy brought the means and the op 
 portunity." 
 
 "Not Jugendheit?" 
 
 "Who knows? Hans followed the band of 
 Gipsies into the mountains. The real horror of 
 
 r 
 
 his act did not come home to him till then. Ah, 
 the remorse ! But it was too late. They dressed 
 the little . one in rags. But when I ran away 
 from them I took her little shoes and cloak and 
 locket." 
 
 Hermann was on his feet ! 
 
 Grumbach relighted his cigar which had gone 
 out. The smoke wavered about his face and 
 slowly ascended. His eyes were as bright and 
 glowing as coals. He waited. He had made 
 the slip without premeditation ; but what was 
 done was done. So he waited. 
 
 Hermann dropped his hands on the table and 
 leaned forward. 
 
 "Is it you, Hans, and I did not know you ?"
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 191 
 
 It is I, brother." 
 
 "My God!" Hermann sank down weakly. 
 The ceiling spun and the gaslight separated it 
 self into a hundred flames. "You said he was 
 dead!" 
 
 "So I am, to the world, to you, and to all who 
 knew me," quietly. 
 
 "Why have you returned?" 
 
 Hans shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps I 
 am a fool ; perhaps I am willing to pay the pen 
 alty of my crime. At least that was uppermost 
 in my mind till I learned that her highness had 
 been found." 
 
 "Hans, Hans, the duke has sworn to hang 
 you!" 
 
 Hans laughed. "The rope is not made that 
 will fit my neck. Will you denounce me, 
 brother?" 
 
 "I ?" Hermann shrank back in horror. 
 
 "Why not? Five thousand crowns still hang 
 over me." 
 
 "Blood-money for me? No, Hans!" 
 
 "Besides, I have made a will. At my death 
 you will be rich." 
 
 "Rich?"
 
 192 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Yes, Hermann. I am worth two hundred 
 thousand crowns." 
 
 Hermann breathed with effort. So many 
 things had beaten upon his brain in the past 
 ten minutes that he was dazed. His brother 
 Hans alive and here, and rich ? 
 
 "But riches are not everything." 
 
 "Sometimes they are little enough," Hans 
 agreed. 
 
 "Why did you do it?" Hermann's voice was 
 full of agony. 
 
 "Have I not told you, Hermann? There is 
 nothing more to be added." Then, with rising 
 passion: "Nothing more, now that my heart is 
 blistered and scarred with regret and remorse. 
 God knows that I have repented and repented. 
 I went to war because I wanted to be killed. 
 They shot me here, and here, and here, and this 
 saber-cut would have split the skull of any other 
 man. But it was willed that I should come back 
 here." 
 
 "My poor brother! You must fly from here 
 at once !" 
 
 "From what?" tranquilly. 
 
 "The chancellor is suspicious."
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 193 
 
 "I know that. But since you, my brother, 
 failed to identify me, certainly his excellency 
 will not. I shall make no slip as in your case. 
 And you will not betray me when I tell you that 
 I have returned principally to find out whence 
 came those thousand crowns." 
 
 "Ah ! Find that out, Hans ; yes, yes !" Her 
 mann began to look more like himself. "But 
 what was your part?" 
 
 "Mine? I was to tell where her highness and 
 her nurse were to be at a certain hour of the 
 day. Nothing more was necessary. My run 
 ning away was the expression of my guilt; 
 otherwise they would never have connected me 
 with the abduction." 
 
 "Have you any suspicions?" 
 
 "None. And remember, you must not know 
 me, Hermann, no matter where we meet. I am 
 sleepy." Hans rose. 
 
 And this, thought Hermann, his bewilderment 
 gaining life once more, and this calm, unruffled 
 man, whose hair was whiter than his own, a vet 
 eran of the bloodiest civil war in history, this 
 prosperous mechanic, was his little brother 
 Hans!
 
 194 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Hans, have you no other greeting?" Her 
 mann asked, spreading out his arms. 
 
 The wanderer's face beamed ; and the brothers 
 embraced. 
 
 "You forgive me, then, Hermann ?" 
 
 "Must I not, little Hans? You are all that 
 is left me of the blood. True, I swore that if 
 ever I saw you again I should curse you." 
 
 The two stood back from each other, but with 
 arms still entwined. 
 
 "Perhaps, Hans, I did not watch you closely 
 enough in those days." 
 
 "And what has become of the principal 
 cause?" 
 
 "The cause?" 
 
 "Tekla." 
 
 "Bah ! She is fat and homely and the mother 
 of seven squalling children." 
 
 "What a world ! To think that Tekla should 
 be at the bottom of all this tangle ! What irony ! 
 I ruin my life, I break the heart of the grand 
 duke, I nearly cause war between two friendly 
 states why? Tekla, now fat and homely and 
 the mother of seven, would not marry me. The 
 3evil rides strange horses."
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 195 
 
 "Good night, Hans." 
 
 "Good night, Hermann, and God bless you 
 for your forgiveness. Always come at night if 
 you wish to see me, but do not come often ; they 
 might remark it." 
 
 A rap on the door startled them. Hans, a 
 finger of warning on his lips, opened the door, 
 Carmichael stood outside. 
 
 "Ah, Captain!" Hans took Carmichael by 
 the hand and drew him into the room. 
 
 Carmichael, observing Hermann, was rather 
 confused as to what to do. 
 
 "Good evening, Hermann," he said. 
 
 "Good evening, Herr Carmichael." 
 
 Hermann passed into the hall and softly closed 
 the door after him. It was better that the Amer 
 ican should not see the emotion which still illu 
 mined his face. 
 
 "What's the good word, Captain?" inquired 
 Hans. 
 
 Carmichael put in a counter-query: "What 
 was your brother doing here?" 
 
 "I have told him who I am." 
 
 "Was it wise?" 
 
 "Hermann sleeps soundly ; he will talk neither
 
 196 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 in his sleep nor in his waking hours. He has 
 forgiven me." 
 
 "For what?" thoughtlessly. 
 
 "The time for explanations has not yet come, 
 Captain." 
 
 "Pardon me, Grumbach; I was not thinking. 
 But I came to bring you the invitation to the 
 military ball." 
 
 The broad white envelope, emblazoned with 
 the royal arms, fascinated Hans, not by its re 
 splendency, but by the possibilities which it af 
 forded. 
 
 "Thank you ; it was very good of you." 
 
 "It was a pleasure, comrade. What do you 
 say to an hour or two at the Black Eagle ? We'll 
 drown our sorrows together." 
 
 "Have you any sorrows, Captain?" 
 
 "Who hasn't? Life is a patchwork with the 
 rounding-out pieces always missing. Come 
 along. I'm lonesome to-night." 
 
 "So am I," said Hans. 
 
 The Black Eagle was lively as usual; and 
 there were some familiar faces. The vintner 
 was there and so was Gretchen. Carmichael 
 hailed her.
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 197 
 
 "This is my last night here, Herr Carmi- 
 chael," she said. 
 
 "Somebody has left you a fortune?" There 
 was a jest in Carmichael's eyes. 
 
 "Yes," replied Gretchen, her lips unsmiling. 
 "The poor lady who lived on the top floor of 
 my grandmother's house was rich. She left me 
 a thousand crowns." 
 
 Carmichael and Grumbach: "A thousand 
 crowns !" 
 
 "And what will you do with all that money?" 
 asked Hans. 
 
 "I am going to study music." 
 
 "I thought you were going to be married 
 soon," said Carmichael. 
 
 "Surely. But that will not hinder. I shall 
 have enough for two." Gretchen saw no reason 
 why she should tell them of the princess' gener 
 osity. 
 
 "But how does he take it?" asked Carmichael, 
 with a motion of his head toward the vintner, 
 half hidden behind a newspaper. 
 
 "He doesn't like the idea at all. But the Herr 
 Direktor says that I am a singer, and that some 
 day I shall be rich and famous."
 
 198 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "When that day comes I shall be there with 
 many a brava !" 
 
 The vintner, who sat near enough to catch a 
 bit of the conversation, scowled over the top of 
 his paper. Carmichael eyed him mischievously. 
 Gretchen picked up her coppers and went 
 away. 
 
 "A beautiful girl," said Hans abstractedly. 
 "She might be Hebe with no trouble at all." 
 
 Carmichael admired Hans. There was always 
 some new phase in the character of this quiet and 
 unassuming German. A plumber who was fa 
 miliar with the classics was not an ordinary per 
 son. He raised his stein and Hans extended his. 
 After that they smoked, with a word or two oc 
 casionally in comment. 
 
 At that day there was only one newspaper in 
 Dreiberg. It was a dry and solid sheet, of four 
 pages, devoted to court news, sciences, and ag 
 riculture. The vintner presently smoothed down 
 the journal, opened his knife, and cut out a 
 paragraph. Carmichael, following his move 
 ments slyly, wondered what he had seen to in 
 terest him to the point of preservation. The 
 vintner crushed the remains of the sheet into a
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 199 
 
 ball and dropped it to the floor. Then he finished 
 his beer, rose, and proceeded toward the stairs 
 leading to the rathskeller below. Down these 
 he disappeared. 
 
 An idea came to Carmichael. He called a 
 waitress and asked her to bring a copy of that 
 day's paper. Meantime he recovered the vint 
 ner's paper, and when he finally put the two to 
 gether, it was a simple matter to replace the 
 missing cutting. Grumbach showed a mild in 
 terest over the procedure. 
 
 "Why do you do that, Captain ?" 
 
 "A little idea I have; it may not amount to 
 anything." But the American was puzzled over 
 the cutting. There were two sides to it: which 
 had interested the vintner? "Do you care for 
 another beer?" 
 
 "No, I am tired and sleepy, Captain." 
 
 "All right ; we'll go back to the hotel. There 
 is nothing going on here to-night." 
 
 But Carmichael was mistaken for once. 
 
 A little time later Herr Goldberg harangued 
 his fellow socialists bitterly. Gretchen's business 
 in this society was to serve. They had selected 
 her because they knew that she inclined toward
 
 200 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 the propaganda. Few spoke to her, outside of 
 giving orders, and then kindly. 
 
 The rathskeller had several windows and doors. 
 These led to the Blergarten, to the wine-cellar, 
 and to an alley which had no opening on the 
 street. The police had as yet never arrested any 
 body ; but several times the police had dispersed 
 Herr Goldberg and his disciples on account of 
 the noise. The window which led to the blind 
 alley was six feet from the floor, twice as broad 
 as it was high, and unbarred. Under this win 
 dow sat the vintner. He was a probationer, a 
 novitiate; this was his second attendance. He 
 liked to sit in the shadow and smile at Herr Gold 
 berg's philosophy, which, summed up briefly, 
 meant that the rich should divide with the poor 
 and that the poor should hang on to what they 
 had or got. It may have never occurred to Herr 
 Goldberg that the poor were generally poor be 
 cause of their incapabilities, their ignorance, and 
 incompetence. To-night, however, there were 
 variety and spice with his Jeremiad. 
 
 "Brothers, shall this thing take place? Shall 
 the daughter of Ehrenstein become Jugendheit's 
 vassal ? Oh, how we have fallen ! Where is the
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 201 
 
 grand duke's pride we have heard so much about ? 
 Are we, then, afraid of Jugendheit?" 
 
 "No!" roared his auditors, banging their 
 steins and tankards. The vintner joined the 
 demonstration, banging his stein as lustily as the 
 next one. 
 
 "Have you thought what this marriage will 
 cost us in taxes ?" 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Thousands of crowns, thousands ! Do we not 
 always pay for the luxuries of the rich? Do not 
 their pleasures grind us so much deeper into the 
 dirt? Yes, we are the corn they grind. And 
 shall we submit, like the dogs in Flanders, to be 
 come beasts of burden?" 
 
 "No, no!" 
 
 "I have a plan, brothers ; it will show the duke 
 to what desperation he has driven us at last. We 
 will mob the Jugendheit embassy on the day of 
 the wedding ; we will tear it apart, brick by brick, 
 stone by stone." 
 
 "Hurrah!" cried the noisy ones. They liked 
 talk of this order. They knew it was only here 
 that great things happened, the division of riches 
 and mob-rule. Beer was cheaper by the keg.
 
 202 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 The noise subsided. Gretchen spoke. 
 
 "Her serene highness will not marry the king 
 of Jugendheit." 
 
 Every head swung round in her direction. 
 
 "What is that you say?" demanded Herr 
 Goldberg. 
 
 Gretchen repeated her statement. It was the 
 first time she had ever raised her voice in the 
 councils. 
 
 "Oh, indeed !" said Goldberg, bowing with rid 
 icule : "Since when did her serene highness make 
 you her confidante?" 
 
 "Her serene highness told me so herself." 
 Gretchen's eyes, which had held only mildness 
 and good-will, now sparkled with contempt. 
 
 A roar of laughter went up, for the majority 
 of them thought that Gretchen was indulging in 
 a little pleasantry. 
 
 "Ho-ho ! So you are on speaking terms with 
 her highness ?" Herr Goldberg laughed. 
 
 "Is there anything strange in this fact?" she 
 asked, keeping her tones even. 
 
 The vintner made a sign to her, but she ig 
 nored it. 
 
 "Strange?" echoed Herr Goldberg, becoming
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 203 
 
 furious at having the interest in himself thus 
 diverted. "Since when did goose-girls and bar 
 maids become on intimate terms with her serene 
 highness ?" 
 
 Gretchen pressed the vintner's arm to hold 
 him in his chair. 
 
 "Does not your socialism teach that we are all 
 equal?" 
 
 The vintner thumped with his stein in ap 
 proval, and others imitated him. Goldberg was 
 no ordinary fool. He sidestepped defeat by an 
 assumption of frankness. 
 
 "Tell us about it. If I have spoken harshly 
 it is only reasonable. Tell us under what cir 
 cumstance you met her highness and how she 
 happened to tell you this very important news. 
 Every one knows that this marriage is to take 
 place." 
 
 Gretchen nodded. "Nevertheless, her highness 
 has changed her mind." And she recounted pic 
 turesquely her adventure in the royal gardens, 
 and all hung on her words in a kind of maze. It 
 was all very well to shout, "Down with royalty !" 
 it was another matter to converse and shake 
 hands with it.
 
 204 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted the vintner. "Long live 
 her highness ! Down with Jugendheit !" 
 
 There was a fine chorus. 
 
 And there was a fine tableau not down on the 
 evening's program. A police officer and three 
 assistants came down the stairs quietly. 
 
 "Let no one leave this room !" the officer said 
 sternly. 
 
 The dramatic pause was succeeded by a babel 
 of confusion. Chairs scraped, steins clattered, 
 and the would-be liberators huddled together like 
 so many sheep rounded up by a shepherd-dog. 
 
 "Ho, there ! Stop him, you !" 
 
 It was the vintner who caused this cry; and 
 the agility with which he scrambled through the 
 window into the blind alley was an inspiration. 
 
 "After him !" yelled the officer. "He is prob 
 ably the one rare bird in the bunch." 
 
 But they searched in vain. 
 
 Gretchen stared ruefully at the blank window. 
 Somehow this flight pained her ; somehow it gave 
 her the heartache to learn that her idol was 
 afraid of such a thing as a policeman. 
 
 "Out into the street, every mother's son of 
 you !" cried the officer angrily to the quaking so-
 
 THE SOCIALISTS 205 
 
 cialists. "This is your last warning, Goldberg. 
 The next time you go to prison for seditious 
 teachings. Out with you !" 
 
 The socialists could not have emptied the cellar 
 any quicker had there been a fire. 
 
 Gretchen alone remained. It was her duty to 
 carry the steins up to the bar. The officer, rather 
 thorough for his kind, studied the floor under the 
 window. He found a cutting from a newspaper. 
 This interested him. 
 
 "Do you know who this fellow was?" with a 
 jerk of his head toward the window. 
 
 "He is Leopold Dietrich, a vintner, and we are 
 soon to be married." There was a flaw in the 
 usual sweetness of her voice. 
 
 "So? What made him run away like this?" 
 
 "He is new to Dreiberg. Perhaps he thought 
 you were going to arrest every one. Oh, he has 
 done nothing wrong ; I am sure of that." 
 
 "There is one way to prove it." 
 
 "And what is that?" 
 
 "Ask him if he is not a spy from Jugendheit," 
 roughly. 
 
 The steins clicked crisply in Gretchen's arms ; 
 one of them fell and broke at her feet.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 
 
 GRETCHEN, troubled in heart and mind 
 over the strange event of the night, walked 
 slowly home, her head inclined, her arms swing 
 ing listlessly at her side. A spy, this man to 
 whom she had joyously given the flower of her 
 heart and soul? There was some mistake; there 
 must be some mistake. She shivered; for the 
 word spy carried with it all there was in deceit, 
 treachery, cunning. In war time she knew that 
 spies were necessary, that brave men took peril 
 ous hazards, without reward, without renown; 
 but in times of peace nothing but opprobrium 
 covered the word. A political scavenger, the 
 man she loved? No; there was some mistake. 
 The bit of newspaper cutting did not worry her. 
 Anybody might have been curious about the do 
 ings of the king of Jugendheit and his uncle the 
 prince regent. Because the king hunted in Ba- 
 206
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 207 
 
 varia with the crown prince, and his uncle con 
 ferred with the king of Prussia in Berlin, it did 
 not necessarily follow that Leopold Dietrich was 
 a spy. Gretchen was just. She would hear his 
 defense before she judged him. 
 
 Marking the first crook in the Krumerweg was 
 an ancient lamp hanging from the side of the 
 wall. The candle in this lamp burned night and 
 day, through winter's storms and summer's 
 balms. The flame dimmed and glowed, a kindly 
 reminder in the gloom. It was a shrine to the 
 Virgin Mary ; and before this Gretchen paused, 
 offering a silent prayer that the Holy Mother 
 preserve this dream of hers. 
 
 A footstep from behind caused her to start. 
 The vintner took her roughly in his arms and 
 kissed her many times. 
 
 Her heart shook within her, but she did not 
 surrender her purpose under these caresses. She 
 freed herself energetically and stood a little 
 away from him, panting and star-eyed. 
 
 "Gretchen?" 
 
 She did not speak. 
 
 "What is it?" 
 
 "You ask?"
 
 208 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Was it a crime, then, to jump out of the 
 window?" He laughed. 
 
 Gretchen's face grew sterner. "Were you 
 afraid?" 
 
 "For a moment. I have never run afoul the 
 police. I thought perhaps we were all to be ar 
 rested." 
 
 "Well, and what then?" 
 
 "What then? Uncomfortable quarters in 
 stone rooms. I preferred discretion to valor." 
 
 "Perhaps you did not care to have the police 
 ask you questions?" 
 
 "What is all this about?" He pulled her to 
 ward him so that he could look into her eyes. 
 "What is the matter? Answer !" 
 
 "Are you not a spy from Jugendheit ?" thinly. 
 
 He flung aside her hand. "So ! The first doubt 
 that enters your ear finds harbor there. A spy 
 from Jugendheit; that is a police suggestion, 
 and you believed it !" 
 
 "Do you deny it?" Gretchen was not cowed 
 by his anger, which her own evenly matched. 
 
 "Yes," proudly, snatching his hat from his 
 head and throwing it violently at her feet ; "yes, 
 I deny it. I am not a spy from any country ; I
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 209 
 
 have not sold the right to look any man in the 
 eye." 
 
 "I have asked you many questions," she re 
 plied, "but you are always laughing. It is a 
 pleasant way to avoid answering. I have given 
 you my heart and all its secrets. Have you 
 opened yours as frankly?" 
 
 To meet anger with logic and sense is the sim 
 plest way to overcome it. The vintner saw him 
 self at bay. He stooped to recover his hat, not 
 so much to regain it but to steal time to conjure 
 up some way out. 
 
 "Gretchen, here under the Virgin I swear to 
 you that I love you as a man loves but once in 
 his life. If I were rich, I would gladly fling these 
 riches to the wind for your sake. If I were a 
 king, I'd barter my crown for a smile and a kiss. 
 I have done no wrong; I have committed no 
 crime. But you must have proof ; so be it. We 
 will go together to the police-bureau and settle 
 this doubt once and for all." 
 
 "When ?" Gretchen's heart was growing warm 
 again. 
 
 "Now, to-night, while they are hunting for 
 me."
 
 210 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Forgive me !" brokenly. 
 
 "Come !" 
 
 "No, Leopold, this test is not necessary." 
 
 "I insist. This thing must be righted pub- 
 licly." 
 
 "And I was thinking that the man I loved was 
 a coward !" 
 
 "I am braver than you dream, Gretchen." 
 And in truth he was, for he was about to set 
 forth for the lion's den, and only amazing clev 
 erness could extricate him. Man never enters 
 upon the foolhardy unless it be to dazzle a wom 
 an. And the vintner's love for Gretchen was no 
 passing thing. "Let us hurry ; it is growing 
 late. They will be shutting off the lights before 
 we return." 
 
 The police-bureau was far away, but the dis 
 tance was nothing to these healthy young people. 
 They progressed at a smart pace and in less than 
 twenty minutes they arrived. It was Gretchen 
 who drew back fearfully. 
 
 "After all, will it not be foolish?" she sug 
 gested. 
 
 "They will be searching for me," he answered. 
 "It will be easier if I present myself. It will
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 
 
 bear testimony that I am innocent of any 
 wrong." 
 
 "I will go in with you," determinedly. 
 
 The police officer, or, to be more particular, 
 the sub-chief of the bureau, received them with 
 ill-concealed surprise. 
 
 "I have learned that you are seeking me," said 
 the vintner, taking off his cap. His yellow curls 
 waved about his forehead in moist profusion. 
 
 Immediately the sub-chief did not know what 
 to say. This was out of the ordinary, conspicu 
 ously so. There was little precedent by which to 
 act in a case like this. So in order to appear that 
 nothing could destroy his official poise, he let the 
 two stand before his desk while he sorted some 
 papers. 
 
 "You are not a native of Dreiberg," he began. 
 
 "No, Herr; I am from Bavaria. If you will 
 look into your records you will find that my pa 
 pers were presented two or three weeks ago." 
 
 "Let me see them." 
 
 The vintner's passports were produced. The 
 sub-chief compared them to the corresponding 
 number in his book. There was nothing wrong 
 about them.
 
 212 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I do not recollect seeing you here before." 
 
 "It was one of your assistants who originally 
 went over the papers." 
 
 "What is your business?" 
 
 "I am a vintner by trade, Herr." 
 
 "And are there not plenty of vineyards in 
 Bavaria?" 
 
 "We vintners," with an easy gesture, "are of 
 a roving disposition. I have been all along the 
 Rhine and the Moselle. I prefer grapes to hops." 
 
 "But why Dreiberg? The best vineyards are 
 south." 
 
 "Who can say where we shall go next? Drei 
 berg seemed good enough for me," with a shy 
 glance at Gretchen. 
 
 "Why did you jump out of the window?" 
 
 "I was frightened at first, Herr. I did not 
 know that you merely dispersed meetings. I be 
 lieved that we were all to be arrested. Such 
 measures are in force in Munich." 
 
 "You accused him of being a Jugendheit 
 spy," broke in Gretchen, who was growing im 
 patient under these questions, which seemed to 
 go nowhere in particular. 
 
 "You be silent," warned the sub-chief.
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 213 
 
 "I am here because of that accusation," said 
 the vintner. 
 
 "What have you to say?" 
 
 "I deny it." 
 
 "That is easy to do. But can you prove it?" 
 
 "It is for you to prove, Herr." 
 
 "Read this." 
 
 It was the cutting. The vintner read it, his 
 brows drawn together in a puzzled frown. He 
 turned the slip over carelessly. The sub-chief's 
 eyes bored into him like gimlets. 
 
 "I can make nothing of this, Herr. When I 
 cut this out of the paper it was to preserve the 
 notice on the other side." The vintner returned 
 the cutting. 
 
 The sub-chief read aloud : 
 
 "Vintners and presses and pruners wanted for 
 the season. Find and liberal compensation. Ap 
 ply, Holtz." 
 
 Gretchen laughed joyously; the vintner 
 grinned ; the sub-chief swore under his breath. 
 
 "The devil fly away with you both !" he cried, 
 making the best of his chagrin. "And when you 
 marry, don't invite me to the wedding."
 
 214 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 After they had gone, however, he called for an 
 assistant. 
 
 "Did you see that young vintner?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Follow him, night and day. Find out where 
 he lives and what he does ; and ransack his room 
 if possible. He is either an innocent man or a 
 sleek rascal. Report to me this time each night." 
 
 "And the girl?" 
 
 "Don't trouble about her. She is under the 
 patronage of her serene highness. She's as right 
 as a die. It's the man. He was too easy; he 
 didn't show enough concern. An ordinary vint 
 ner would have been frightened. This fellow 
 smiled." 
 
 "And if I find out anything suspicious ?" 
 
 "Arrest him out of hand and bring him here 
 at once." 
 
 Alone once more the sub-chief studied the cut 
 ting with official thoroughness. He was finally 
 convinced, by the regularity of the line on the 
 printed side as compared with the irregularity of 
 the line on the advertising side, that the vintner 
 had lied. And yet there was no proof that he 
 had.
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 215 
 
 "This young fellow will go far," he mused, 
 with reluctant admiration. 
 
 On reaching the street Gretchen gave rein to 
 her laughter. What promised to be a tragedy 
 was only a farce. The vintner laughed, too, but 
 Momus would have criticized his laughter. 
 
 The night was not done yet; there were still 
 some more surprises in store for the vintner. As 
 they turned into the Krumerweg they almost ran 
 into Carmichael. What was the American con 
 sul doing in this part of the town, so near mid 
 night? Carmichael recognized them both. He 
 lifted his hat, but the vintner cavalierly refused 
 to respond. 
 
 "Herr Carmichael!" said Gretchen. "And 
 what are you doing here this time of the night ?" 
 
 "I have been on a fool's errand," urbanely. 
 
 "And who sent you ?" 
 
 "The god of fools himself, I guess. I am 
 looking for a kind of ghost, a specter in black 
 that leaves the palace early in the evening and 
 returns late, whose destination has invariably 
 been forty Krumerweg." 
 
 The vintner started. 
 
 "My house?" cried Gretchen.
 
 216 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Yours? Perhaps you can dispel this phan 
 tom?" said Carmichael. 
 
 Gretchen was silent. 
 
 "Oh ! You know something. Who is she ?" 
 
 "A lady who comes on a charitable errand. 
 But now she will come no more." 
 
 "And why not?" 
 
 "The object of her visits is gone," Gretchen 
 answered sadly. 
 
 "My luck!" exclaimed Carmichael ruefully. 
 "I am always building houses of cards. I don't 
 suppose I shall ever reform." 
 
 "Are you not afraid to walk about in this part 
 of the town so late ?" put in the vintner, who was 
 impatient to be gone. 
 
 "Afraid? Of what? Thieves? Bah, my little 
 man, I carry a sword-stick, and moreover I know 
 how to use it tolerably well. Good night." And 
 he swung along easily, whistling an air from 
 The Barber of Seville. 
 
 The insolence in Carmichael's tone set the vint 
 ner's ears a-burning, but he swallowed his wrath. 
 
 "I like him," Gretchen declared, as she stopped 
 before the house. 
 
 "Why?" jealously.
 
 217 
 
 "Because he is always like that; pleasant, 
 never ruffled, kindly. He will make a good hus 
 band to some woman." 
 
 The vintner shrugged. He was not patient 
 to-night. 
 
 "Who is this mysterious woman?" 
 
 "I am not free to tell you." 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 "Leopold, what is the matter with you to 
 night? You act like a boy." 
 
 "Perhaps the police muddle is to blame. Be 
 sides, every time I see this man Carmichael I 
 feel like a baited dog." 
 
 "In Heaven's name, why?" 
 
 "Nothing that I can remember. But I have 
 asked you a question." 
 
 "And I have declined to answer that question. 
 All my secrets are yours, but this one is an 
 other's." 
 
 "Is it her highness ?" 
 
 Gretchen fingered the latch suggestively. 
 
 "I am wrong, Gretchen ; you are right. Kiss 
 me!" 
 
 She liked the tone; she liked the kisses, too, 
 though they hurt.
 
 218 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Good night, my man !" she whispered. 
 
 "Good night, my woman! To-morrow night 
 at eight." 
 
 He turned and ran lightly and swiftly up the 
 street. Gretchen remained standing in the door 
 way till she could see him no more. Why should 
 he run like that? She raised the latch and went 
 inside. 
 
 From the opposite doorway a mountaineer, a 
 carter, a butcher, and a baker stepped cautiously 
 forth. 
 
 "He heard something," said the mountaineer. 
 "He has ears like a rat for hearing. What a 
 pretty picture !" cynically. "All the world loves 
 a lover sometimes. Touching scene!" 
 
 No one replied ; no one was expected to reply ; 
 more than that, no one cared to court the fury 
 which lay thinly disguised in the mountaineer's 
 tones. 
 
 "To-morrow night; you heard what he said. 
 I am growing weary of this play. You will stop 
 him on his way to yonder house. A closed car 
 riage will be at hand. Before he enters, remem 
 ber. She watches him too long when he leaves. 
 Fool!"
 
 LOVE'S DOUBTS 219 
 
 The quartet stole along in the darkness, noise 
 lessly and secretly. 
 
 The vintner had indeed heard something. He 
 knew not what this noise was, but it was enough 
 to set his heels to flying. A phase had developed 
 in his character that defied analysis; suspicion, 
 suspicion of daylight, of night, of shadows mov 
 ing by walls, of footsteps behind. Only a little 
 while ago he had walked free-hearted and care 
 less. This growing habit of skulking was gall 
 and wormwood. Once in his room, which was di 
 rectly over the office of the American consulate, 
 he fell into a chair, inert and breathless. What 
 a night ! What a series of adventures ! 
 
 "Only a month ago I was a boy. I am a man 
 now, for I know what it is to suffer. Gretchen, 
 dear Gretchen, I am a black scoundrel ! But if I 
 break your heart I shall break my own along 
 with it. I wonder how much longer it will last. 
 But for that vintner's notice I should have been 
 lost." 
 
 By and by he lighted a candle. The room held 
 a cot, a table, and two chairs. The vintner's 
 wardrobe consisted of a small pack thrown care 
 lessly into a corner. Out of the drawer in the
 
 220 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 table he took several papers and burned them. 
 The ashes he cast out of the window. He knew 
 something about police methods; they were by 
 no means all through with him. Ah! A patch 
 of white paper, just inside the door, caught his 
 eye. He fetched it to the candle. What he read 
 forced the color from his cheeks and his hands 
 were touched with transient palsy. 
 
 "The devil! What shall I do nowr" he mut 
 tered, thoroughly dismayed. 
 
 What indeed should he do ? Which way should 
 he move? How long had he been in Dreiberg? 
 Ah, that would be rich ! What a joke ! It would 
 afford him a smile in his old age. Carmichael, 
 Carmichael! The vintner chuckled softly as he 
 scribbled this note : 
 
 "If Herr Carmichael would learn the secret of 
 number forty Krumerweg, let him attire him 
 self as a vintner and be in the Krumerweg at 
 eight o'clock to-night." 
 
 "So there is a trap, and I am to beware of a 
 mountaineer, a carter, a butcher, and a baker? 
 Thanks, Scharfenstein, my friend, thanks ! You 
 are watching over me." 
 
 He blew out his candle and went to bed.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 A DAY DREAM 
 
 COLONEL VON WALLENSTEIN curled 
 his mustaches. It was a happy thought 
 that had taken him into the Adlergasse. This 
 Gretchen had been haunting his dreams, and 
 here she was, coming into his very arms, as it 
 were. The sidewalk was narrow. Gretchen, 
 casually noting that an officer stood in the way, 
 sensibly veered into the road. But to her sur 
 prise the soldier left the sidewalk and planted 
 himself in the middle of the road. There was no 
 mistaking this second maneuver. The officer, 
 whom she now recognized, was bent on intercept 
 ing her. She stopped, a cold fury in her heart. 
 To make sure, she essayed to go round. It was 
 of no use. So she stopped again. 
 
 "Herr," she said quietly, "I wish to pass." 
 
 "That is possible, Gretchen." 
 
 It was nine o'clock in the morning. The Ad 
 lergasse was at this time deserted.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Will you stand aside ?" 
 
 "You have been haunting my dreams, 
 'Gretchen." 
 
 "That would be a pity. But I wish to pass." 
 
 "Presently. Do you know that you are the 
 most beautiful being in all Dreiberg?" 
 
 "I am in a hurry," said Gretchen. 
 
 "There is plenty of time." 
 
 "Not to listen to foolish speeches." 
 
 "I am not going to let you pass till I have had 
 a kiss." 
 
 "Ah!" Battle flamed up in Gretchen's eyes. 
 Somewhere in the past, in some remote age, her 
 forebears had been men-at-arms or knights in the 
 crusades. 
 
 "You are very hard to please. Some wom 
 en" 
 
 "But what kind of women?" bitingly. "Not 
 such as I should care to meet. Will you let me 
 by peacefully ?" 
 
 "After the toll, after the toll !" 
 
 Too late she started to run. He laughed and 
 caught hold of her. Slowly but irresistibly he 
 drew her toward his heart. The dead-white of 
 her face should have warned him. With a su-
 
 A DAY DREAM 223 
 
 preme effort she freed herself and struck him 
 across the face ; and there was a man's strength 
 in the flat of her hand. Quick as a flash she 
 whirled round and ran up the street, he hot upon 
 her heels. He was raging now with pain and 
 chagrin. The one hope for Gretchen now lay in 
 the Black Eagle ; and into the tavern she darted 
 excitedly. 
 
 "Frau Bauer," she cried, gasping as much in 
 wrath as for lack of breath, "may I come behind 
 your counter?" 
 
 "To be sure, child. Whatever is the matter ?" 
 
 Wallerstein's entrance was answer sufficient. 
 His hand, held against his stinging cheek, was 
 telltale enough for the proprietress of the Black 
 Eagle. 
 
 "Shame!" she cried. She knew her rights. 
 She was not afraid to speak plainly to any offi 
 cer in the duchy, however high he might be 
 placed. 
 
 "I can not get at you there, Gretchen," said 
 the colonel, giving to his voice that venom which 
 the lady's man always has at hand when thwarted 
 in his gallantries. "You will have to come 
 hence presently."
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "She shall stay here all day," declared Frau 
 Bauer decidedly. 
 
 "I can wait." The colonel, now possessing 
 two smarts, one to his cheek and one to his vanity, 
 made for the door. But there was a bulk in the 
 doorway formidable enough to be worth serious 
 contemplation. 
 
 "What is going on here, little goose-girl?" 
 asked the grizzled old man, folding his arms 
 round his oak staff. 
 
 "Herr Colonel insulted me." 
 
 "Insulted you ?" The colonel laughed boister 
 ously. This was good ; an officer insult a wench 
 of this order ! "Out of the way !" he snarled at 
 the obstruction in the doorway. 
 
 "What did he try to do to you, Gretchen?" 
 
 "He tried to kiss me !" 
 
 "The man who tries to kiss a woman against 
 her will is always at heart a coward," said the 
 mountaineer. 
 
 The colonel seized the old man by the shoulder 
 to push him aside. The other never so much as 
 stirred. He put out one of his arms and clasped 
 the colonel in such a manner that he gasped. He 
 was in the clutch of a Carpathian bear.
 
 ADAYDREAM 
 
 "Well, my little soldier?" said the moun 
 taineer, his voice even and not a vein showing in 
 his neck. 
 
 "I will kill you for this !" breathed the colonel 
 heavily. 
 
 "So?" The old man thrust him back several 
 feet, without any visible exertion. He let his 
 staff slide into his hand. 
 
 The moment the colonel felt himself liberated, 
 he drew his saber and lunged toward his assail 
 ant. There was murder in his heart. The two 
 women screamed. The old man laughed. He 
 turned the thrust with his staff. The colonel, 
 throwing caution to the four winds, surrendered 
 to his rage. He struck again. The saber rang 
 against the oak. This dexterity with the staff 
 carried no warning to the enraged officer. He 
 struck again and again. Then the old man 
 struck back. The pain in the colonel's arm was 
 excruciating. His saber rattled to the stone 
 flooring. Before he could recover the weapon 
 the victor had put his foot upon it. He was still 
 smiling, as if the whole affair was a bit of 
 pastime. 
 
 On his part the colonel's blood suddenly cooled.
 
 226 
 
 This was no accident ; this meddling peasant had 
 at some time or other held a saber in his hand 
 and knew how to use it famously well. The colo 
 nel realized that he had played the fool nicely. 
 
 "My sword," he demanded, with as much dig 
 nity as he could muster. 
 
 "Will you sheathe it?" the old man asked 
 mildly. 
 
 "Since it is of no particular use," bitterly. 
 
 "I could have broken it half a dozen times. 
 Here, take it. But be wise in the future, and 
 draw it only in the right." 
 
 The gall was bitter on the colonel's tongue, 
 but his head was evenly balanced now. He 
 jammed the blade into the scabbard. 
 
 "I should like a word or two with you outside," 
 said the mountaineer. 
 
 "To what purpose ?" 
 
 "To a good one, as you will learn." 
 
 The two of them went out. Gretchen, over 
 come, fell upon Frau Bauer's neck and wept 
 soundly. The whole affair had been so sudden 
 and appalling. 
 
 Outside the old man laid his hand on the colo 
 nel's arm.
 
 ADAYDREAM 
 
 "You must never bother her again." 
 
 "Must?" 
 
 "The very word. Listen, and do not be a fool 
 because you have some authority on the genera! 
 staff. You are Colonel von Wallenstein ; you are 
 something more besides." 
 
 "What do you infer?" 
 
 "I infer nothing. Now and then there hap 
 pens strange leakage in the duke's affairs. The 
 man is well paid. He is a gambler, and one is 
 always reasonably certain that the gambler will 
 be wanting money. Do you begin to understand 
 me, or must I be more explicit?" 
 
 "Who are you?" 
 
 "Who I am is of no present consequence. But 
 I know who and what you are. That is all-suf 
 ficient. If you behave yourself in the future, 
 you will be allowed to continue in prosperity. 
 But if you attempt to molest that girl again 
 and I hear of it, there will be no more gold com 
 ing over the frontier from Jugendheit. Now, 
 do you understand?" 
 
 "Yes." The colonel experienced a weakness 
 in the knees. 
 
 "Go. But be advised and walk circumspect-
 
 228 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 ly." The speaker showed his back insolently, 
 and reentered the Black Eagle. 
 
 The colonel, pale and distrait, stared at the 
 empty door ; and he saw in his mind's eye a squad 
 of soldiers, a wall, a single volley, and a dishon 
 ored roll of earth. Military informers were 
 given short shrift. It was not a matter of tear 
 ing off orders and buttons ; it was death. Who 
 was this terrible old man, with the mind of a ser 
 pent and the strength of a bear? The colonel 
 went to the barracks, but his usual debonair 
 was missing. 
 
 "I am going into the garden, Gretchen. Bring 
 me a stein of brown." The mountaineer smiled 
 genially. 
 
 "But I am not working here any more," said 
 Gretchen. 
 
 "No?" 
 
 "She has had a fortune left her," said Frau 
 Bauer. 
 
 "Well, well !" The mountaineer seemed vastly 
 pleased. "And how much is this fortune?" 
 
 "Two thousand crowns." Gretchen was not 
 sure, but to her there always seemed to be a se 
 cret laughter behind those clear eyes.
 
 A DAY DREAM 29 
 
 "Handsome ! And what will you do now?" 
 
 "She is to study for the opera." 
 
 "Did I not prophesy it?" he cried jubilantly. 
 "Did I not say that some impresario would dis 
 cover you and make your fortune?" 
 
 "There is plenty of work ahead," said Gretch- 
 en sagely. 
 
 "Always, no matter what we strive for. But 
 a brave heart and a cheerful smile carry you 
 half-way up the hill. Where were you going 
 when this popinjay stopped you?" 
 
 "I was going to the clock-mender's for a clock 
 he is repairing." 
 
 "I've nothing to do. I'll go with you. I've 
 an idea that I should like to talk with you about 
 a very important matter. Perhaps it would be 
 easier to talk first and then go for the clock. If 
 you have it you'll be watching it. Will you come 
 into the garden with me now?" 
 
 "Yes, Herr." Gretchen would have gone any 
 where with this strange man. He inspired con 
 fidence. 
 
 The garden was a snug little place; a few 
 peach-trees and arbor-vines and vegetables, and 
 tables and chairs on the brick walk.
 
 230 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "So you are going to become a prima donna?" 
 he began, seating himself opposite her. 
 
 "I am going to try," she smiled. "What is it 
 you wish to say to me?" 
 
 "I am wondering how to begin," looking at 
 the blue sky. 
 
 "Is it difficult?" 
 
 "Yes, very." 
 
 "Then why bother?" 
 
 "Some things are written before we are born. 
 And I must, in the order of things, read this 
 writing to you." 
 
 "Begin," said Gretchen. 
 
 "Have you any dreams?" 
 
 "Yes," vaguely. 
 
 "I mean the kind one has in the daytime, the 
 dreams when the eyes are wide open." 
 
 "Oh, yes !" 
 
 "Who has not dreamed of riding in carriages, 
 of dressing in silks, of wearing rich ornaments ?" 
 
 "Ah !" Gretchen clasped her hands and leaned 
 on her elbows. "And there are palaces, too." 
 
 "To be sure." There was a long pause. "How 
 would you like a dream of this kind to come 
 true?"
 
 A DAY DREAM 
 
 "Do they ever come true ?" 
 
 "In this particular case, I am a fairy. I know 
 that I do not look it ; still, I am. With one touch 
 of my wand this oak staff I can bring you all 
 these things you have dreamed about." 
 
 "But what would I do with carriages and jew 
 els ? I am only a goose-girl, and I am to be mar 
 ried." 
 
 "To that young rascal of a vintner?" 
 
 "He is not a rascal !" loyally. 
 
 "It will take but little to make him one," with 
 an odd grimness. 
 
 Gretchen did not understand. 
 
 He resumed. "How would you like a little pal 
 ace, with servants at your beck and call, with 
 carriages to ride in, with silks and velvets to 
 wear, and jewels to adorn your hair? How 
 would you like these things? Eh? Never again 
 to worry about your hands, never again to know 
 the weariness of toil, to be mistress of swans in 
 stead of geese?" 
 
 A shadow fell upon Gretchen's face; the ea 
 gerness died out of her eyes. 
 
 "I do not understand you, Herr. By what 
 right should I possess these things ?"
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "By the supreme right of beauty, beauty 
 alone." 
 
 "Would it be honest?" 
 
 For the first time he lowered his eyes. The 
 clear crystal spirit in hers embarrassed him. 
 
 "Come, let us go for your clock," he said, 
 rising. "I am an old fool. I forgot that one 
 talks like this only to opera-dancers." 
 
 Then Gretchen understood. "I am all alone," 
 she said; "I have had to fight my battles with 
 these two hands." 
 
 "I am a black devil, Kindchen. Forget what I 
 have said. You are worthy the brightest crown 
 in Europe ; but you wear a better one than that 
 goodness. If any one should ever make you 
 unhappy, come to me. I will be your godfather. 
 Will you forgive an old man who ought to have 
 known better?" 
 
 There was such unmistakable honesty In his 
 face and eyes that she did not hesitate, but placed 
 her hand in his. 
 
 "Why did you ask all those questions?" she 
 inquired. 
 
 "Perhaps it was only to test your strength. 
 You are a brave and honest girl."
 
 A DAY DREAM 233 
 
 "And if trouble came," now smiling, "where 
 should I find you ?" 
 
 "I shall be near when it comes. Good fairies 
 are always close at hand." He swept his hat 
 from his head ; ease and grace were in the move 
 ment; no irony, nothing but respect. "And do 
 you love this vintner?" 
 
 "With all my heart." 
 
 "And he loves you ?" 
 
 "Yes. His lips might He, but not his eyes and 
 the touch of his hand." 
 
 "So much the worse !" said the mountaineer in- 
 audibly. 
 
 Gretchen had gone home with her clock; but 
 still Herr Ludwig, as the mountaineer called 
 himself, tarried in the dim and dusty shop. 
 Clocks, old and new, broken and whole, clocks 
 from the four ends of the world; and watches, 
 thick and clumsy, thin and graceful, of gold and 
 silver and pewter. 
 
 "Is there anything you want?" asked the 
 clock-mender. 
 
 Herr Ludwig turned. How old this clock- 
 mender was, how very old ! 
 
 "Yes," he said. "I've a watch I should like
 
 234 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 you to look over." And he carelessly laid the 
 beautiful time-piece on the worn wooden counter. 
 
 The clock-mender literally pounced upon it. 
 "Where did you get a watch like this?" he de 
 manded suspiciously. 
 
 "It is mine. You will find my name engraved 
 inside the back lid." 
 
 The clock-mender pried open the case, adjust 
 ed his glass and dropped it, shaking with ter 
 ror. 
 
 "You?" he whispered. 
 
 "Sh!" said Herr Ludwig, putting a finger to 
 his lips.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 
 
 THE watch, slipping from the clock-mend 
 er's hand, spun like a coin on the counter, 
 while the clock-mender himself, his eyes bulging, 
 his jaw dangling, it might be said, staggered 
 back upon his stool. 
 
 "So this is the end?" he said in a kind of mut 
 ter. 
 
 "The end of what?" demanded the owner of 
 the watch. 
 
 "Of all my labors, to me and to what little I 
 have left!" 
 
 "Fiddlesticks ! I am here for no purpose re 
 garding you, my comrade. So far as I am con 
 cerned, your secret is as dead as it ever was. I 
 had a fancy that you were living in Paris." 
 
 "Paris ! Gott! For seventeen, eighteen years 
 I have traveled hither and thither, always on 
 some false clue. Never a band of Gipsies I 
 235
 
 236 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 heard of that I did not seek them out. Nothing, 
 nothing ! You will never know what I have gone 
 through, and uselessly, to prove my innocence. 
 It always comes back in a circle ; what benefit to 
 me would have been a crime like that of which I 
 was accused? Was I not high in honor? Was I 
 not wealthy? Was not my home life a happy 
 one? What benefit to me, I say?" a growing 
 fierceness in his voice and gestures. "All my es 
 tates confiscated, my wife dead of shame, and I 
 molding among these clocks !" 
 
 "But why the clocks ?" in wonder. 
 
 "It was a pastime of mine when I was a boy. 
 I used to be tinkering among all the clocks in the 
 house. So I bought out this old shop. From 
 time to time I have left it in the hands of an as 
 sistant. The grand duke has a wonderful Frie- 
 sian clock. One day it fell out of order, and the 
 court jeweler could do nothing with it. I was 
 summoned, I! No one recognized me, I have 
 changed so. I mended the clock and went away." 
 
 "But what is the use of all this, now that her 
 highness is found?" 
 
 "My honor ; to the duke it is black as ever." 
 
 "Have you gone forward any ?"
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 237 
 
 "Like Sisyphus! I had begun to give up 
 hope, when the Gipsy I was seeking was seen by 
 one of my agents. He alone knows the secret. 
 And I am waiting, waiting. But you believe, 
 Ludwig?" 
 
 "Carl, you are as innocent of it all as I am 
 or as my brother was. Come with me to Jugend- 
 heit." 
 
 "No, Ludwig, this is my country, however un 
 justly it has treated me." 
 
 "Yes, yes. And to think that you and I and 
 the grand duke were comrades at Heidelberg! 
 But if your Gipsy fails you ?" 
 
 "Still I shall remain. This will be all I shall 
 have, these clocks. I am only sixty-eight, yet no 
 one would believe me under eighty. I no longer 
 gaze into mirrors. I have forgotten how I look. 
 There were letters found in my desk, all forger 
 ies, I knew, but so cleverly done I could only 
 deny. I saw that my case was hopeless, so I fled 
 to Paris. I wrote Herbeck once while there. He 
 believed that I was innocent. I have his letter 
 yet. He has a great heart, Ludwig, and he has 
 done splendid work for Ehrenstein." 
 
 "He keeps a steady hand on the duke."
 
 238 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "But you, what are you doing in Dreiberg, in 
 this guise?" 
 
 Herr Ludwig sat upon the counter and 
 clasped a knee. "Do you care for fairy- 
 stories ?" 
 
 "Sometimes." 
 
 "Well, once upon a time there lived a king. He 
 was young. He had an uncle who watched over 
 him and his affairs. They call such uncles prince 
 regents. This prince regent had an idea regard 
 ing the future welfare of this nephew. He 
 would bring him up to be a man, well educated, 
 broad-minded, and clean-lived. He should have 
 a pilot to guide him past the traps and vices 
 which befall the young. Time wore on. The 
 lad grew up, clean in mind, strong in body, lib 
 eral; a fine prince. No scandalous entangle 
 ments ; no gaming ; no wine-bibbing beyond what 
 any decent man may do. In his palace few saw 
 anything of him after his fifteenth year. He 
 went into the world under an assumed name. By 
 and by he came home, quietly. His uncle was 
 proud of him, for his eye was clear and his 
 tongue was clean. In one month he was to be 
 coronated. And now what do you think? He
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 239 
 
 must have one more adventure, just one. Would 
 his uncle go with him? Certainly not. More 
 over, the time for adventure was over. He must 
 no longer wander about ; he was a king ; he must 
 put his hand to king-craft. And one morning 
 his uncle found him gone, gone as completely as 
 if he had never existed. What to do ? Ah ! The 
 prince regent set it going that his majesty had 
 gone a-hunting in Bavaria. Then the prince 
 regent put on some old clothes and went a-ven- 
 turing himself." 
 
 "And the end?" 
 
 "God knows!" said Ludwig, sliding off the 
 counter. 
 
 Nothing but the ticking of the clocks was 
 heard. 
 
 "And fatuous fool that this uncle was, he com 
 mitted an almost irreparable blunder. He tried 
 to marry his nephew." 
 
 "I understand. But if you are discovered 
 here?" 
 
 "That is not likely." 
 
 "Ah, Ludwig, it is not the expected that al 
 ways happens. Be careful; you know the full 
 wording of Herbeck's treaty."
 
 240 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Herbeck ; there's a man," said Herr Ludwig 
 admiringly. "To have found her highness as 
 he did !" 
 
 "He is lucky," but without resentment. 
 
 The other picked up his watch. "Can I be 
 of material assistance?" 
 
 "I want nothing," haughtily. 
 
 "Proud old imbecile !" replied the mountaineer 
 kindly. "You have been deeply wronged, but 
 some day you will pick up the thread in the 
 labyrinth, and there will be light forward. I 
 myself shall see what can be done with the duke." 
 
 "He will never be brought to reason unless 
 indubitable evidence of my innocence confronts 
 him. With the restoration of the princess fifty 
 political prisoners were given their liberty and 
 restored to citizenship. The place once occupied 
 by my name is still blank, obliterated. It is 
 hard. I have given the best of my heart and 
 of my brain to Ehrenstein for this ! I am in 
 nocent." 
 
 "I believe you, Carl. Remember, Jugendheit 
 will always welcome you. I must be going. I 
 have much to do between now and midnight. 
 The good God will unravel the snarl."
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 241 
 
 "Or forget it," cynically. "Good-by, Lud- 
 wig" 
 
 There was a hand-clasp, and the mountaineer 
 took himself off. The clock-mender philosoph 
 ically reached for his tools. He had wasted time 
 enough over retrospection ; he determined to oc 
 cupy himself with the present only. Tick-tock ! 
 tick-tock! sang the clocks about him. All at 
 once a volume of musical sounds broke forth; 
 cuckoo-calls, chimes, tinkles light and thin, 
 booms deep and vibrant. But the clock-mender 
 bent over his work ; all he was conscious of was 
 the eternal tick-tock ! tick-tock ! on and on, with 
 out cessation. 
 
 Carmichael walked his horse. This morning 
 he had ridden out almost to the frontier and was 
 now on his return. As he passed through the 
 last grove of pines and came into the clearing 
 the picture was exquisite; the three majestic 
 bergs of ice and snow above Dreiberg, the city 
 shining white and fairylike in the mid-morning's 
 sun, and the long, half-circling ribbon of a road. 
 He sighed, and the horse cocked his ears at the 
 sound.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 No longer did Carmiehael take the south pass 
 for his morning 1 rides. That was the favored 
 going of her highness, and he avoided her now. 
 In truth, he dared not meet her now; it would 
 have been out of wisdom. So long as she had 
 been free his presence had caused no comment, 
 only tolerant amusement among the nobles at 
 court. It chafed him to be regarded as a harm 
 less individual, for he knew that he was far from 
 being in that class. There was a wild strain in 
 him. Dreiberg might have waked up some fine 
 morning to learn that for a second time her 
 princess had been stolen, and that there was a 
 vacancy in the American consulate. How many 
 times had he been seized with the mad desire to 
 snatch the bridle of her horse and ride away 
 with her into a far country! How often had 
 his arms started out toward her, only to drop 
 stiffly to his sides ! 
 
 March hares ! They were Solons as compared 
 with his own futile madness. But it was differ 
 ent now. She was to marry the king of Jugend- 
 heit; it was in the order of things that he ride 
 alone. He knew that court etiquette demanded 
 the isolation of the Princess Hildegarde from
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 243 
 
 male escort other than that formally provided. 
 The two soldiers detailed to act as her grooms 
 or bodyguards were not, of course, to be con 
 sidered. So, of the morning, he went down to 
 the military field to watch the maneuvers, which 
 were drawing to a close ; or rode out to the fron 
 tier, or took the side road to Eissen, where the 
 summer palaces were. But it was all dreary; 
 the zest of living had somehow dropped out of 
 things. 
 
 The road to Eissen began about six miles 
 north of the base of the Dreiberg mountain. It 
 swerved to the east. As Carmichael reached the 
 fork his horse began to limp. He jumped down 
 and removed the stone. It was then that he 
 heard the far-off mutter of hoofs. Coming along 
 the road from Eissen were a trio of riders. Car 
 michael laughed weakly. 
 
 "I swear to Heaven that this is no fault of 
 mine !" 
 
 Should he mount and be off before she made 
 the turn? Bah! It was an accident; he would 
 make the most of it. The bodyguard could easily 
 vindicate him, in any event. He remounted and 
 waited.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 She came in full flight, rosy, radiant, as lovely 
 as Diana. Carmichael swung his cap boyishly ; 
 and there was a swirl of dust as she drew up. 
 
 "Good morning, Herr Carmichael !" 
 
 "Good morning, your Highness !" 
 
 "Which way have you been riding?" 
 
 "Toward Jugendheit." 
 
 "And you are returning?" With a short nod 
 of her head she signaled for the two soldiers to 
 fall back. 
 
 The two looked at each other embarrassedly. 
 
 "Pardon, Highness," said one of them, "but 
 the orders of the duke will not permit us to leave 
 you. There have been thieves along the road of 
 late." 
 
 Thieves? This was the first time Carmichael 
 had heard of it. The real significance of the 
 maneuver escaped him; but her highness was 
 not fooled. 
 
 "Very well," she replied. "One of you ride 
 forward and one of you take the rear." Then 
 she spoke to Carmichael in English. 
 
 The soldiers shrugged. To them it did not 
 matter what language her highness adopted so 
 long as they obeyed the letter of the duke's in-
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 245 
 
 structions. The little cavalcade directed its 
 course toward the city. 
 
 "You have not been riding of late," she said. 
 
 Then she had missed him. Carmichael's heart 
 expanded. To be missed is to be regretted, and 
 one regrets only those in whom one is interested. 
 
 "I have ridden the same as usual, your High 
 ness ; only I have taken this road for a change." 
 
 "Ah !" She patted the glistening neck of her 
 mare. So he had purposely tried to avoid her? 
 Why? She stole a sly glance at him. Why 
 were not king's molded in this form? All the 
 kings she had met had something the matter with 
 them, crooked legs, weak eyes, bald, young, or 
 old, and daft over gaming-tables and opera- 
 dancers. And the one man among them all at 
 least she had been informed that the king of 
 Jugendheit was all of a man had politely de 
 clined. There was some chagrin in this for her, 
 but no bitterness or rancor. In truth, she was 
 more chagrined on her father's account than on 
 her own. 
 
 "You should have taken the south pass. It 
 was lovely yesterday." 
 
 "Perhaps this way has been wisest."
 
 246 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Are you become afraid of me?" archly. 
 
 "Yes, your Highness." If he had looked at 
 her instead of his horse's ears, and smiled, all 
 would have been well. 
 
 She instantly regretted the question. "I am 
 sorry that I have become an ogress." 
 
 "To me your highness is the most perfect of 
 women. I am guilty of lese-majesty." 
 
 "I shall not lock you up," she said, and added 
 under her breath, "as my good father would 
 like to ! Besides," she continued aloud, "I rather 
 like to set the court by the ears. Whoever heard 
 of a serene highness doing the things I do? I 
 suppose it is because I have known years of free 
 dom, freedom of action, of thought, of speech. 
 These habits can not change at once. In fact, 
 I do not believe they ever will. But the duke, 
 my father, is good; he understands and trusts 
 me. Ah, but I shall lead some king a merry 
 life !" with a wicked gleam in her eyes. 
 
 "Frederick of Jugendheit?" 
 
 "Is it true that you have not heard yet? I 
 have declined the honor." 
 
 "Your highness?" 
 
 "My serene highness," with a smile. "This,
 
 of course, is as jet a state secret ; and my reason 
 for telling 1 you is not a princess 5 , but a woman's. 
 Solve it if you can." 
 
 Carmichael fumbled the reins blindly. "They 
 say that he is a handsome young man." 
 
 "What has that to do with it? The interest 
 he takes in his kingdom is positively negative. 
 I have learned that he has been to his capital but 
 twice since he was fifteen. He is even now ab 
 sent on a hunting trip in Bavaria, and his coro 
 nation but a few days off. There will be only 
 one king in Jugendheit, and that will be the 
 prince regent." 
 
 "He has done tolerably well up to the pres 
 ent," observed Carmichael, welcoming this 
 change. "Jugendheit is prosperous; it has a 
 splendid army. The prince regent is a fine type 
 of man, they say, rugged, patient, frugal and 
 sensible." 
 
 "There is an instance where he made a cruel 
 blunder." 
 
 "No man is infallible," said he, wondering 
 what this blunder was. 
 
 "I suppose not. Look! The artillery is fir- 
 ing."
 
 248 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Boom-boom ! They saw the smoke leap from 
 the muzzles of the cannon, and it seemed minutes 
 before the sound reached them. 
 
 "I have a fine country, too," she said, with 
 pride; "prosperous, and an army not inferior 
 to that of Jugendheit." 
 
 "I was not making comparisons, your High 
 ness." 
 
 "I know that, my friend. I was simply speak 
 ing from the heart. But I doubt if the prince 
 regent is a better man than our Herbeck." 
 
 "I prefer Herbeck, never having met the 
 prince regent. But I have some news for your 
 highness." 
 
 "News for me?" 
 
 "Yes. I am about to ask for my recall," he 
 said, the idea having come into his mind at that 
 precise moment. 
 
 "Your recall?" 
 
 Had he been looking at her he would have no 
 ticed that the color on her fair cheeks had gone 
 a shade lighter. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Is not this sudden? It is not very compli 
 mentary to Ehrenstein."
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 249 
 
 "The happiest days in my life have been spent 
 here." 
 
 "Then why seek to be recalled?" 
 
 "I am essentially a man of action, your High 
 ness. I am growing dull and stupid amid these 
 charming pleasures. Action ; I have always been 
 mixed up in some trouble or other. Here it is 
 a round of pleasure from day to day. I long 
 for buffets. I am wicked enough to wish for 
 war." 
 
 "Cherchez la femme!" she cried. "There is a 
 woman ?" 
 
 "Oh, yes !" recklessly. 
 
 "Then go to her, my friend, go to her." And 
 she waved her crop over his head as in benedic 
 tion. "Some day, before you go, I shall ask 
 you all about her." Ah, as if she did not know ! 
 But half the charm in life is playing with hid 
 den dangers. 
 
 He did not speak, but caught up the reins 
 firmly. She touched her mare on the flank, and 
 the four began trotting, a pace which they main 
 tained as far as the military field. Here they 
 paused, for the scene was animated and full of 
 color. Squadrons of cavalry raced across the
 
 250 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 field; infantry closed in or deployed; artillery 
 rumbled, wheeled, stopped, unlimbered. Bang- 
 bang ! The earth shivered and rocked. Guerdons 
 were flying, bugles were blowing, and sabers were 
 flashing. 
 
 "It is beautiful," she cried, "this mimic war." 
 
 "May your highness never see aught else !" he 
 replied fervently. 
 
 "Yes, yes ; you have seen it divested of all its 
 pomp. You have seen it in all its cruelty and 
 horror." 
 
 "I have known even the terror of it." 
 
 "You were afraid?" 
 
 "Many times." 
 
 She laughed. It is only the coward who de 
 nies fear. 
 
 He would certainly ask for his recall or trans 
 fer. He was eating his heart out here in Drei- 
 berg. 
 
 They began the incline. She did most of the 
 talking, brightly and gaily; but his ears were 
 dull, for the undercurrent passed by him. He 
 was, for the first time, impressed with the fact 
 that the young ladies of the court never accom 
 panied her os. her morning rides. There were
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 251 
 
 frequent afternoon excursions, when several 
 ladies and gentlemen rode with her highness, 
 but in the mornings, never. 
 
 "Will you return to America ?" she queried. 
 
 "I shall idle in Paris for a while. I have an 
 idea that there will be war one of these days." 
 
 "And which side will you take?" 
 
 "I should be a traitor if I fought for France ; 
 I should be an ingrate if I fought against her. 
 I should be a spectator, a neutral." 
 
 "That would expose you to danger without 
 the right to strike a blow in defense." 
 
 "If I were hurt it would be but an accident. 
 War correspondents would run a hundred more 
 risks than I. Oh, I should be careful; I know 
 war too well not to be." 
 
 "All this is strange talk for a man who is a 
 confessed lover." 
 
 "Pardon me !" his eyes rather empty. 
 
 "Why, you tell me there is a woman ; and all 
 your talk is about war and danger. These are 
 opposites ; please explain." 
 
 "There is a woman, but she will not hinder me 
 in any way. She will, in fact, know nothing 
 about it."
 
 252 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "You are a strange lover. I never read any 
 thing like you in story-books. Forgive me! I 
 am thoughtless. The subject may be painful to 
 you." 
 
 The horses began to pull. Under normal cir 
 cumstances Carmichael would not have dismount 
 ed, but his horse had carried him many miles 
 that morning, and he was a merciful rider. In 
 the war days often had his life depended upon 
 the care of his horse. 
 
 "You have been riding hard?" 
 
 "No, only far." 
 
 "I do not believe that there is a finer horseman 
 in all Ehrenstein than yourself." 
 
 "Your highness is very good to say that." 
 Why had he not gone on instead of waiting at 
 the fork? 
 
 Within a few hundred yards of the gates he 
 mounted again. And then he saw a lonely 
 figure sitting on the parapet. He would have 
 recognized that square form anywhere. And he 
 welcomed the sight of it. 
 
 "Your Highness, do you see that man yonder, 
 on the parapet? We fought in the same cav 
 alry. He is covered with scars. Not one man
 
 253 
 
 in a thousand would have gone through what he 
 did and lived." 
 
 "Is he an American ?" 
 
 "By adoption. And may I ask a favor of your 
 highness ?" 
 
 "Two !" merrily. 
 
 "May I present him? It will be the joy of 
 his life." 
 
 "Certainly. All brave men interest me." 
 
 Grumbach rose up, uncovered, thinking that 
 the riders were going to pass him. But to his 
 surprise his friend Carmichael stopped his horse 
 and beckoned to him. 
 
 "Herr Grumbach," said Carmichael, "her se 
 rene highness desires me to present you." 
 
 Hans was stricken dumb. He knew of no 
 greater honor. 
 
 "Mr. Carmichael," she said in English, "tells 
 me that you fought with him in the American 
 war ?" 
 
 "Yes, Highness." 
 
 She plied him with a number of questions ; 
 how many battles they had fought in, how many 
 times they had been wounded, how they lived in 
 camp, and so forth; and which was the more
 
 254. THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 powerful engine of war, the infantry or the 
 cavalry. 
 
 "The cavalry, Highness," said Hans, without 
 hesitation. 
 
 She laughed. "If you had been a foot-soldier, 
 you would have said the infantry ; of the artil 
 lery, you would have sworn by the cannon." 
 
 "That is true, Highness. The three arms are 
 necessary, but there is ever the individual pride 
 in the arm one serves in." 
 
 "And that is right. You speak good Eng 
 lish," she remarked. 
 
 "I have lived more than sixteen years in 
 America, Highness." 
 
 "Do you like it there?" 
 
 "It is a great country, full of great ideas and 
 great men, Highness." 
 
 "And you will go back?" 
 
 "Soon, Highness." 
 
 The mare, knowing that this was the way 
 home, grew restive and began prancing and 
 pawing the road. She reined in quickly. As she 
 did so, something yellow flashed downward and 
 tinkled as it struck the ground. Grumbach 
 hastened forward.
 
 FIND THE WOMAN 255 
 
 "My locket," said her highness anxiously. 
 
 "It is not broken, Highness," said Grumbach ; 
 "only the chain has come apart." Then he 
 handed it to her gravely. 
 
 "Thank you !" Her highness put both chain 
 and locket into a small purse which she carried 
 in her belt, touched the mare, and sped up the 
 road, Carmichael following. 
 
 Grumbach returned to the parapet. He fol 
 lowed them till they passed out of sight beyond 
 the gates. 
 
 "Gott!" he murmured. 
 
 His face was as livid as the scar on his head.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE WRONG MAN 
 
 HERBECK dropped his quill, and there 
 was a dream in his eyes. His desk was 
 littered with papers, well covered with ink ; flow 
 ing sentences, and innumerable figures. He was 
 the watch-dog of the duchy. Never a bill from 
 the Reichstag that did not pass under his cold 
 eye before it went to the duke for his signature, 
 his approval, or veto. Not a copper was need 
 lessly wasted, and never was one held back un 
 necessarily. Herbeck was just both in great 
 and little things. The commoners could neither 
 fool nor browbeat him. 
 
 The dream in his eyes grew ; it was tender and 
 kindly. The bar of sunlight lengthened across 
 his desk, and finally passed on. Still he sat 
 there, motionless, rapt. And thus the duke 
 found him. But there was no dream in his eyes ; 
 they were cold with implacable anger. He held 
 a letter in his hand ,nd tossed it to Herbeck. 
 256
 
 THE WRONG MAN 257 
 
 "I shall throw ten thousand men across the 
 frontier to-night, let the consequences be what 
 they may." 
 
 "Ten thousand men?" The dream was shat 
 tered. War again? 
 
 "Read that. It is the second anonymous com 
 munication I have received within a week. As 
 the first was truthful, there is no reason to be 
 lieve this one to be false." 
 
 Herbeck read, and he was genuinely startled. 
 
 "What do you say to that?" triumphantly. 
 
 "This," with that rapid decision which made 
 him the really great tactician he was. "Let them 
 go quietly back to Jugendheit." 
 
 "No!" blazed the duke. 
 
 "Are we rich enough for war?" 
 
 "Always questions, questions ! What the devil 
 is my army for if not to uphold my dignity? 
 Herbeck, you shall not argue me out of this." 
 
 "Rather let me reason. This is some prank, 
 which I am sure does not concern Ehrenstein in 
 the least. They would never dare enter Drei- 
 berg for aught else. There must be a flaw in 
 our secret service." 
 
 "Doubtless."
 
 258 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I have seen this writing before," said Her- 
 beck. "I shall make it my business to inquire 
 who it is that takes this kindly interest in the 
 affairs of state." 
 
 The duke struck the bell violently. 
 
 "Summon the chief of the police," he said to 
 the secretary. 
 
 "Yes, yes, your Highness, let it be a police 
 affair. This letter does not state the why and 
 wherefore of their presence here." 
 
 "It holds enough for me." 
 
 "Will your highness leave the matter in my 
 hands?" 
 
 "Herbeck, in some things you are weak." 
 
 "And in others I am strong," smiled the chan 
 cellor. "I am weak when there is talk of war; 
 I am strong when peace is in the balance." 
 
 "Is it possible, Herbeck, that you do not ap 
 preciate the magnitude of the situation ?" 
 
 "It is precisely because I do that I wish to 
 move slowly. Wait. Let the police find out 
 why they are here. There will be time enough 
 then to declare war. They have never seen her 
 highness. Who knows ?" 
 
 "Ah ! But they have violated the treaty."
 
 259 
 
 "That depends upon whether their presence 
 here is or is not a menace to the state. If they 
 are here on private concerns which in no wise 
 touch Ehrenstein, it would be foolhardy to de 
 clare war. Your highness is always letting your 
 personal wounds blur your eyesight. Some day 
 you will find that Jugendheit is innocent." 
 
 "God hasten the day and hour !" 
 
 "Yes, let us hope that the mystery of it all 
 will be cleared up. You are just and patient in 
 everything but this." Herbeck idled with his 
 quill. The little finger of his right hand was 
 badly scarred, the mutilation of a fencing-bout 
 in his student days. 
 
 "What do you advise?" wearily. It seemed 
 to the duke that Herbeck of late never agreed 
 with him. 
 
 "My advice is to wait. In a day or so arrest 
 them under the pretext that you believe them to 
 be spies. If they remain mute, then the case is 
 serious, and you will have them on the hip. If, 
 on the other hand, this invasion is harmless and 
 they declare themselves, the matter can be ad 
 justed in this wise: ignore their declaration and 
 confine them a day or two in the city prison,
 
 260 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 then publish the news broadcast. Having them 
 selves broken the letter if not the spirit of the 
 treaty, they will not dare declare war. Every 
 court in Europe will laugh." 
 
 The duke struck his hands together. "You 
 are always right, Herbeck. This plan could not 
 have been devised better or more to my satisfac 
 tion." The duke laughed. "You are right. 
 Ah, here is the chief." 
 
 Herbeck read the letter in part to the chief, 
 who jotted down the words, repeating aloud in 
 a kind of mutter: "A mountaineer, a vintner, 
 a carter, a butcher, and a baker. You will give 
 me their descriptions, your Excellency?" 
 
 Herbeck read the postscript. 
 
 "But you don't tell him who " 
 
 "Why should he know?" said Herbeck, glanc 
 ing shrewdly at the duke. "His ignorance will 
 be all the better for the plot." 
 
 "Then this is big game, your Highness?" 
 asked the chief. 
 
 "Big game." 
 
 "One is as big and powerful as a Carpathian 
 bear. Look out," warned Herbeck. 
 
 "And he is?"
 
 THE WRONG MAN 261 
 
 "The mountaineer." 
 
 "And the vintner?" 
 
 "Oh, he is a little fellow, and hasn't grown his 
 bite yet," said Herbeck dryly. 
 
 The duke laughed again. It would be as good 
 as a play. 
 
 "I thank you, Herbeck. You have neatly ar 
 ranged a fine comedy. I do not think so clearly 
 as I used to. When the arrest is made, give it 
 as much publicity as possible. Take a squad 
 of soldiers ; it will give it a military look. Will 
 you be on the field this afternoon ?" 
 
 "No, your Highness," touching the papers 
 which strewed his desk ; "this will keep me busy 
 well into evening." 
 
 The duke waved his hand cheerfully and left 
 the cabinet. 
 
 "Your excellency, then, really leaves me to 
 work in the dark ?" asked the chief uneasily. 
 
 "Yes," tearing up the note. "But you will 
 not be in the dark long after you have arrested 
 these persons. Begin with the mountaineer and 
 the vintner; the others do not matter so much." 
 Then Herbeck laughed. The chief raised his 
 head. He had not heard his excellency laugh
 
 262 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 like that in many moons. "Report to me your 
 progress. Unfortunately my informant does 
 not state just where these fellows are to be 
 found." 
 
 "That is my business, your Excellency." 
 
 "Good luck to you !" responded Herbeck, with 
 a gesture of dismissal. 
 
 When her highness came in from her morn 
 ing's ride she found the duke waiting in her 
 apartments. 
 
 "Why, father," kissing him, "what brings you 
 here?" 
 
 "A little idea I have in mind." He drew her 
 (down to the arm of the chair. "We all have our 
 little day-dreams." 
 
 "Who does not, father?" She slid her arm 
 round his neck. She was full of affection for 
 this kindly parent. 
 
 "But there are those of us who must not ac 
 cept day-dreams as realities ; for then there will 
 be heartaches and futile longings." 
 
 "You are warning me. About what, father?" 
 There was a little stab in her heart. 
 
 "Herr Carmichael is a fine fellow, brave, 
 witty, shrewd. If all Americans are like him,
 
 THE WRONG MAN 263 
 
 America will soon become a force in the world. 
 I have taken a fancy to him ; and you know what 
 they say of your father no formality with 
 those whom he likes. Humanly, I am right ; but 
 in the virtue of everyday events in court life, 
 I am wrong." 
 
 She moved uneasily. 
 
 He went on: "Herbeck has spoken of it, the 
 older women speak of it ; and they all say " 
 
 "Say!" she cried hotly, leaping to her feet, 
 "What do I care what they say? Are you not 
 the grand duke, and am I not your daughter?" 
 
 In his turn the duke felt the stab. 
 
 "You must ride no more with Herr Carmi- 
 chael. It is neither wise nor safe." 
 
 "Father!" 
 
 He was up, with his arms folding round her. 
 "Child, it is only for your sake. Listen to me. 
 I married your mother because I loved her and 
 she loved me. The case is isolated, rare, out of 
 the beaten path in the affairs of rulers. But 
 you, you must be a princess. You must steel 
 your heart against the invasion of love, unless it 
 comes from a state equal or superior to your 
 own. It is harsh and cruel, but it is a law that
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 will neither bend nor break. Do you under 
 stand me?" 
 
 The girl stared blindly at the wall. "Yes, 
 father." 
 
 "It is all my fault," said the duke, deeply 
 agitated, for the girl trembled under his touch. 
 
 "I shall not ride with him any more." 
 
 "There's a good girl," patting her shoulder. 
 
 "I have been a princess such a little while." 
 
 He kissed the wheaten-colored hair. "Be a 
 brave heart, and I shall engage to find a king for 
 you." 
 
 "I don't want any playthings, father," with 
 the old light touch ; and then she looked him full 
 in the eyes. "I promise to do nothing more to 
 create comment if, on the other hand, you will 
 promise to give me two years more of freedom." 
 
 The duke readily assented, and shortly re 
 turned to his own suite, rather pleased that there 
 had been no scene ; not that he had expected any. 
 
 Now that she was alone, she slipped into the 
 chair, beat a light tattoo with her riding-whip 
 against her teeth, and looked fixedly at the wall 
 again, as if to gaze beyond it, into the dim fu 
 ture. But she saw nothing save that she was
 
 THE WRONG MAN 265 
 
 young and that the days in Dresden, for all their 
 penury, were far pleasanter than these. 
 
 Meantime the chief of police called his sub 
 altern and placed in his hands the peculiar de 
 scriptions. The word vintner caused him to give 
 vent to an ejaculation of surprise. 
 
 "He was in here last night. I have had him 
 followed all day. He lives over the American 
 consulate. Among his things was found the 
 uniform of a colonel in the Prussian Uhlans." 
 
 "Ha ! Arrest him to-morrow, or the day after 
 at the latest. But the mountaineer is the big 
 game. Do not arrest the vintner till you have 
 him. Where one is the other is likely to be. 
 But on the moment of arrest you must have a 
 squad of soldiers at your back." 
 
 "Soldiers?" doubtfully. 
 
 "Express orders of his highness." 
 
 "It shall be done." 
 
 Considerable activity was manifest in the po 
 lice bureau the rest of that day. 
 
 To return to Carmichael. He had never be 
 fore concerned himself with resignations. Up 
 to this hour he had never resigned anything he 
 had set his heart upon. So it was not an easy;
 
 266 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 matter for him to compose a letter to the secre 
 tary of state, resigning the post at Dreiberg. 
 True, he added that he desired to be transferred 
 to a seaport town, France or Italy preferred. 
 The high altitude in Dreiberg had affected his 
 heart. However, in case there was no other 
 available post, they would kindly appoint his 
 successor at once. Carmichael never faltered 
 where his courage was concerned, and it needed 
 a fine quality of moral courage to write this let 
 ter and enclose it in the diplomatic pouch which 
 went into the mails that night. It took courage 
 indeed to face the matter squarely and resolutely, 
 when there was the urging desire to linger on 
 and on, indefinitely. That she was not going 
 to marry the king of Jugendheit did not alter 
 his affairs in the least. It was all hopeless, ab 
 surd, and impossible. He must go. 
 
 Some one was knocking on the door. 
 
 "Come in." 
 
 "A letter for your excellency," said the con 
 cierge. 
 
 "Wait till I read it. There may be an an 
 swer."
 
 THE WRONG MAN 267 
 
 "If Herr Carmichael would learn the secret 
 of number forty Krumerweg, let him attire 
 himself as a vintner and be in the Krumerweg 
 at eight o'clock to-night." 
 
 This note was as welcome to the recipient as 
 the flowers in the spring. An adventure? He 
 was ready, now and always. Anything to take 
 his mind off his own dismal affairs. Then he 
 recalled the woman in black ; the letter could ap 
 ply to none but her. More than this, he might 
 light upon the puzzle regarding the vintner. 
 He had met the fellow before. But where? 
 
 "What sort of clothes does a vintner wear?" 
 he asked. 
 
 "A vintner, your Excellency?" 
 
 "Yes. I shall need the costume of a vintner 
 this evening." 
 
 "Oh, that will be easy," affirmed the concierge, 
 "if your excellency does not mind wearing 
 clothes that have already been worn." 
 
 "My excellency will not care a hang. Pro 
 cure them as soon as you can." 
 
 So it came about that Carmichael, dressed as 
 a vintner, his hat over his eyes, stole into the 
 misty night and took the way to the Krumerweg.
 
 268 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 He knew exactly where he wished to go : number 
 forty. It was gray-black in the small streets ; 
 and but for the occasional light in a window the 
 dark would have had no modification. Some 
 times he would lose the point of the compass and 
 blunder against a wall or find himself feeling 
 for the curb, hesitant of foot. The wayside 
 shrine was a rift in the gloom, and he knew that 
 he had only a few more steps to take. After all, 
 who was the lady in black and why should he 
 bother himself about her? She probably came 
 from the back stairs of the palace. And yet, 
 the chancellor himself had been in this place. 
 What should he do? Should he wait across the 
 street? Should he knock at the door and ask 
 to be admitted? No; he must skulk in the dark, 
 on the opposite side. He picked his way over 
 the street and stood for a moment in the denser 
 black. 
 
 A step? He trained his ear. But even as he 
 did so his arms were grasped firmly and twisted 
 behind his back, and at the same time a cloth 
 was wrapped round the lower part of his face, 
 leaving only his eyes and nose visible. It was 
 all so sudden and unexpected that he was passive
 
 THE WRONG MAN 269 
 
 the first few seconds; after that there was some 
 scuffling, strenuous, too. He was fighting 
 against three. Desperately he surged this way 
 and that. Even in the heat of battle he won 
 dered a little why no one struck him ; they simply 
 clung to him, and at length he could not move. 
 His hands were tied, not roughly, but surely. 
 In all this commotion, not a whisper, not a voice ; 
 only heavy breathing. 
 
 Then one of the three whistled. A minute or 
 two after a closed carriage came into the Krum- 
 erweg, and Carmichael was literally bundled in 
 side. His feet were now bound. Two of his 
 captors sat on the forward seat, while the third 
 joined the driver. Carmichael could distinguish 
 nothing but outlines and shadows. He choked, 
 for he was furious. To be trussed like this, 
 without any explanation whatever! What the 
 devil was going on? Unanswered. 
 
 The carriage began to move slowly. It had 
 to ; swift driving in the Krumerweg was hardly 
 possible and at no time safe. Carmichael set 
 himself to note the turns of the street. One 
 turn after another he counted, fixing as well as 
 he could the topography of the town through
 
 270 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 which they were passing. At last he realized 
 that they were leaving Dreiberg behind and 
 ^ere going down the mountain on the north side, 
 Jtoward Jugendheit. Once the level road was 
 reached, a fast pace was set and maintained for 
 miles. At the Ehrenstein barrier no question 
 was asked, and Carmichael's one hope was shat 
 tered. At the Jugendheit barrier the carriage 
 stopped. There were voices. Carmichael saw 
 the flicker of a lantern. His captors got out. 
 Presently there appeared at the door an old man 
 dressed as a mountaineer. In his hand was the 
 lantern. 
 
 "Pardon me, dear nephew Fools!" he 
 broke off, swinging round. "He has tricked you 
 all. This is not he!" 
 
 Three astonished faces peered over the old 
 man's shoulder. Carmichael eyed them evilly. 
 He now saw that one was a carter, another a 
 butcher, and the third a baker. He had seen 
 them before, in the Black Eagle. But this sig 
 nified nothing. 
 
 "Untie him and take off that rag. It may be 
 Scharfenstein." The old man possessed author 
 ity.
 
 THE WRONG MAN 271 
 
 Carmichael, freed, stretched himself. 
 
 "Well?" he said, with a dangerous quiet. 
 
 "Herr Carmichael, the American consul!" 
 The old man nearly dropped the lantern. "Oh, 
 you infernal blockheads !" 
 
 "Explanations are in order," suggested Car 
 michael. 
 
 "You are offered a thousand apologies for a 
 stupid mistake. Now, may I ask how you came 
 to be dressed in these clothes on this particular 
 night?" 
 
 Carmichael's anger dissolved, and he laughed. 
 All the mystery was gone with the abruptness of 
 a mist under the first glare of the sun. He saw 
 how neatly he had been duped. He still carried 
 the note. This he gave to the leader of this 
 midnight expedition. 
 
 "Humph!" said the old man in a growl. "I 
 thought as much." He whispered to his com 
 panions. "Herr Carmichael, I shall have the 
 honor of escorting you back to Dreiberg." 
 
 "But will it be as easy to go in as it was to 
 come out?" 
 
 "Trust you for that. The American consul's 
 word will be sufficient for our needs."
 
 272 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "And if I refuse to give that word?" 
 
 "In that case, you will have to use your legs," 
 curtly. 
 
 "I prefer to ride." 
 
 "Thanks. I shall sit with the driver." 
 
 "That also will please me." 
 
 "And you ask no further questions?" 
 
 "Why should I? I know all I wish to know, 
 which is more than you would care to have me." 
 
 The mountaineer swore. 
 
 "If we talk any longer I shall be late for 
 breakfast." 
 
 "Forward, then !" 
 
 On the way, it all came back to Carmichael 
 with the vividness of a forgotten photograph, 
 come upon suddenly: Bonn, the Rhine, swift 
 and turbulent, a tow-headed young fellow who 
 could not swim well, his own plunge, his fingers 
 in the flaxen hair, and the hard fight to the 
 landing ; all this was a tale twice told. 
 
 Vintner ? Not much !
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 HER FAN 
 
 IT was dawn when they began to pull up the 
 road to Dreiberg. The return had been 
 leisurely despite Carmichael's impatience. In 
 the military field the troops were breaking camp 
 for their departure to the various posts through 
 out the duchy. Only the officers, who were to 
 attend the court ball that evening, and the resi 
 dent troops would remain. The maneuvers were 
 over ; the pomp of miniature war was done. Car- 
 michael peered through the window. What a 
 play yonder scene was to what he had been 
 through! To break camp before dawn, before 
 breakfast, rain and hail and snow smothering 
 one; when the frost-bound iron of the musket 
 caught one's fingers and tore the skin ; the shriek 
 of shot overhead, the boom of cannon and the 
 gulp of impact ; cold, hungry, footsore, sleepy ; 
 here and there a comrade crumpling up strangely 
 273
 
 274 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 and lying still and white ; the muddy ruts in the 
 road ; the whole world a dead gray like the face 
 of death ! What did those yonder know of war ? 
 
 The carriage stopped. 
 
 "I shall not intrude, I trust?" said the old 
 man, opening the door and getting in. 
 
 "Not now," replied Carmichael. "What is all 
 this about?" 
 
 "A trifle ; I might say a damn-fool trifle. But 
 what did you mean when you said you knew all 
 you wanted to know ?" The mountaineer showed 
 some anxiety. 
 
 "Exactly what I said. The only thing that 
 confuses me is the motive." 
 
 The old man thought for a while. "Suppose 
 you had a son who was making a fool of him 
 self?" 
 
 "Or a nephew?" 
 
 "Well, or a nephew?" 
 
 "Making a fool of himself over what?" 
 
 "A woman." 
 
 "Nothing unusual in that. But what kind of 
 a woman ?" 
 
 "A good woman, honest, too good by far for 
 any man."
 
 HER FAN 275 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 "Suppose she was vastly his inferior in sta 
 tion, that marriage to him was merely a political 
 contract? What would you do?" 
 
 "I believe I begin to understand." 
 
 "I am grateful for that." 
 
 "But the risks you run !" 
 
 "I believed them all over last night." 
 
 "But you would dare handle him in this way ?" 
 
 "When the devil drives, my friend!" The 
 other smiled. "I was born in the heart of a war. 
 I have taken so many risks that the sense of dan 
 ger no longer has a keen edge. But now that 
 you understand, I am sure a soldier like your 
 self will pardon the blunder of last night." 
 
 "Your nephew is an ungrateful wretch." 
 
 "What?" coldly. 
 
 "He knew all along who I was. I dragged 
 him out of the Rhine upon a certain day, and 
 he plays this trick !" 
 
 "You ? Carmichael, Carmichael ; of course ; I 
 should have remembered the name, as he wrote 
 me at the time. Thank you! And you knew 
 him all the while?" 
 
 "No; I recalled his face, but the time and
 
 276 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 place were in the dark till this early morning. 
 Here we are at the gates. What's this ? Guards ? 
 I never saw them at these gates before." 
 
 "You will make yourself known to them?" 
 
 "Yes. But if they question me ?" 
 
 "Wink. Every soldier knows what that 
 means." 
 
 "When a fellow turns in early in the morn 
 ing?" Carmichael laughed hilariously. 
 
 "I ask you frankly not to let them question 
 me. When I left the city last night I never ex 
 pected to return." 
 
 "I'll do what I can." 
 
 Carmichael bared his head and leaned out of 
 the window. He recognized one of the guards. 
 A policeman in military uniform ! 
 
 "Good morning !" said Carmichael. 
 
 "Herr Carmichael?" surprised. "Your excel 
 lency?" 
 
 "Yes. I've been having a little junket, I and 
 my friend here." And Carmichael winked. 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 "But what" 
 
 "Sh! Very important affair," said the dis 
 guised officer. "Go on."
 
 HER FAN 277 
 
 But after the carriage had passed it occurred 
 to him that Carmichael wore a dress like a vint 
 ner's and that his friend was a mountaineer! 
 Du lieber Himmel! What kind of a mix-up was 
 this? The chancellor never could have meant 
 Carmichael ! 
 
 "Thanks !" whispered the old man. 
 
 "Did you see the soldier?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "He is one of the police in disguise. Be on 
 your guard. If you don't mind I'll use this car 
 riage to the hotel." 
 
 "You are a thousand times welcome. I will 
 leave you here. And take the advice of an old 
 man who has seen the four sides of humanity: 
 leave falling in love to poets and to fools !" 
 
 The mountaineer got out quickly, closed the 
 door, spoke a word to the driver, and slipped 
 into an alleyway. 
 
 Carmichael arrived at the Grand Hotel in time 
 to see her serene highness, accompanied by two 
 of her ladies and an escort of four soldiers, start 
 out for her morning ride. The zest of his own 
 strange adventure died. He waited till they had 
 passed, then slunk into the hotel. The concierge
 
 278 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 gazed at him in amazement. Carmichael winked. 
 The concierge smiled. He understood. Amer- 
 icaner or Ehrensteiner, the young fellows were 
 all the same. 
 
 "Police at the gates," mused Carmichael, as 
 he soaked his head and face in cold water. "By 
 George, it looks as if my friend the vintner was 
 in for some excitement ! Far be it that I should 
 warn him. He had his little joke; I can wait 
 for mine." 
 
 Gretchen ! Carmichael stopped, his collar but 
 half-way around his throat. Gretchen, brave, 
 kindly, beautiful Gretchen ! Now, by the Lord, 
 that should not be! He would wring the vint 
 ner's neck. He snapped the collar viciously. 
 He was not in an amiable mood this fair Septem 
 ber morning. And when some one hammered 
 on the door he called sharply. 
 
 Grumbach entered. 
 
 "You are angry about something," he said. 
 
 "So I am, but you are always welcome." 
 
 "You have overslept?" 
 
 "No ; on the contrary." 
 
 "Poker?" 
 
 "After a fashion," said Carmichael, the gram*
 
 HER FAN 279 
 
 ble gone from his voice. "I was beaten by three 
 of a kind." 
 
 "So?" 
 
 "But I found a good hand later." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Kings." 
 
 "Four?" 
 
 "Oh, no ; only one. I haven't drawn yet." 
 
 "You are not telling me all." 
 
 "No. You are going to the ball to-night ?" 
 
 "I would not miss it for five thousand crowns," 
 sadly. 
 
 "You look as if you were going to a funeral 
 instead of the greatest event of the year in Drei- 
 berg." 
 
 "I didn't sleep well either." 
 
 "Out?" 
 
 "No ; one does not have to go out in order not 
 to sleep." 
 
 "I'd like to know what's going on in that bul 
 let-head of yours." 
 
 "Nothing is going on; everything has 
 stopped." 
 
 "Can't you make a confidant of me, Hans?" 
 
 "Not yet, Captain."
 
 280 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "When you are ready it may be too late. I 
 leave Dreiberg for good in a few weeks." 
 
 "No!" For the first time Grumbach showed 
 interest. 
 
 "I have resigned the consulship." 
 
 "And for what reason ?" 
 
 Carmichael silently drew on his coat. 
 
 "Achl So you have one, too?" 
 
 "One what?" 
 
 "One secret." 
 
 "Yes. But it's the kind we can't talk about." 
 
 "I understand. Have you had breakfast?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Neither have I. Let us go together. It may 
 be we need each other's company this morn 
 ing. You and I won't have to bother about talk- 
 ing." 
 
 "You make a good comrade, Hans." 
 
 There was a large crowd outside the palace 
 that night, which was clear and starry. A 
 troop of cavalry patrolled the fence. Carriage 
 after carriage rolled in through the gates, com 
 ing directly from the opera. It was eleven 
 o'clock. All the great in the duchy were on
 
 HER FAN 281 
 
 hand that night. Often a cheer rose from the 
 ranks of the outsiders as some popular general 
 or some famous beauty passed. It was an or 
 derly crowd, jostling anjd! good-natured, held 
 only by curiosity. Every window in the palace 
 presented a glowing square of light ; and beams 
 crisscrossed the emerald lawns and died in the 
 arms of the lurking shadows. The gardens were 
 illuminated besides. It was fairy-land, paid for 
 by those who were not entitled to enter. Few, 
 however, thought of this inconsistency. A duchy 
 is a duchy ; nothing more need be said. 
 
 Carmichael was naturally democratic. To 
 ride a block in a carriage was to him a waste of 
 time. And he rather liked to shoulder into a 
 press. With the aid of his cane and a frequent 
 push of the elbow he worked his way to the gates. 
 And close by the sentry-box he saw Gretchen 
 and her vintner. Carmichael could not resist 
 stopping a moment. He raised his hat to 
 Gretchen, to the wonder of those nearest. The 
 vintner would have gladly disappeared, but the 
 human wall behind made this impossible. But 
 he was needlessly alarmed. Carmichael only 
 smiled ironically.
 
 282 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Do you know where the American consulate 
 is?" he asked low, so that none but Gretchen 
 and the vintner heard. 
 
 "Yes," said the vintner, blushing with shame. 
 "I live above the agency." 
 
 "Good ! I shall expect to see you in the morn 
 ing." 
 
 But the vintner was determined that he 
 shouldn't. He would be at work in the royal 
 vineyards on the morrow. 
 
 "To-morrow?" repeated Gretchen, to whom 
 this by-play was a blank. "Why should he wish 
 to see you ?" 
 
 "Who knows? Let us be going. They are 
 pressing us too close to the gates." 
 
 "Very well," acquiesced Gretchen, somewhat 
 disappointed. She wanted to see all there was 
 to be seen. 
 
 "It is half -after ten," he added, as if to put 
 forward some logical excuse for leaving at this 
 moment. 
 
 A man followed them all the way to the 
 Krumerweg. 
 
 Carmichael threw himself eagerly into the 
 gaiety of the dance. Never had he seen the ball-
 
 HER FAN 
 
 room so brilliant with color. Among all those 
 there his was the one somber dress. The white 
 cambric stock and the frill in his shirt were the 
 only gay touches. It was not his fault: the rules 
 of the service compelled him thus to dress. But 
 he needed no brass or cloth of gold. There was 
 not a male head among all the others to compare 
 with his. 
 
 He was an accomplished waltzer, after the 
 manner of that day, when one went round and 
 round like some mechanical toy wound up. 
 Strauss and Waldteuf el tingled his feet ; and he 
 whirled ambassadors' wives till they were breath 
 less and ambassadors' daughters till they no 
 longer knew or cared where they were. He was 
 full of subtle deviltry this night, with an under 
 current of malice toward every one and himself 
 in particular. This would be the last affair of 
 the kind for him, and he wanted a full memory 
 of it. Between times he exchanged a jest or 
 two with the chancellor or talked battles with old 
 Ducwitz; twice he caught the grand duke's eye, 
 but there was only a friendly nod from that 
 august personage, no invitation to talk. Thrice, 
 while on the floor, her highness passed him; but
 
 284 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 there was never a smile, never a glance. He be 
 came careless and reckless. He would seek her 
 and talk to her and smile at her even if the duke 
 threw a regiment in between. The Irish blood 
 in him burned to-night, capable of any folly. 
 
 He no longer danced. He waited and watched ; 
 and it was during one of these waits that he saw 
 Grumbach in the gallery. 
 
 "Now, what the devil is the Dutchman doing 
 with a pair of opera-glasses !" 
 
 It required some time and patience to discover 
 the object of this singular attention on the part 
 of Grumbach. Carmichael was finally convinced 
 that this object was no less a person than her 
 serene highness ! 
 
 Later her highness stood before one of the 
 long windows in the conservatory, listlessly 
 watching the people in the square. And these 
 poor fools envied her! To envy her, who was a 
 prisoner, a chattel to be exchanged for war's 
 immunity, who was a princess in name but a 
 cipher in fact! All was wrong with the world. 
 She had stolen out of the ball-room ; the craving 
 to be alone had been too strong. Little she cared 
 whether they missed her or not. She left the
 
 HER FAN 285 
 
 window and sat on one of the divans, idly open 
 ing and shutting her fan. Was that some one 
 coming for her? She turned. 
 
 It was Carmichael. 
 
 What an opportunity for scandal! She 
 laughed inwardly. The barons and their wives, 
 the ambassadors' wives and their daughters, 
 would miss them both. And the spirit of devil 
 try lay also upon her heart. She smiled at the 
 man and with her fan bade him be seated at her 
 side. The divinity that hedges in a king did 
 not bother either of them just then. 
 
 "You have not asked me to dance to-night," 
 she declared. 
 
 "I know it." 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 "I am neither a prince nor an ambassador." 
 
 "But you have danced with me." 
 
 **Yes ; I have been to Heaven now and then." 
 
 "And do you eject yourself thus easily?" 
 
 "By turning myself out my self-esteem re 
 mains unruffled." 
 
 "Then you expected to be turned out?" 
 
 "Sooner or later." 
 
 "Why?"
 
 286 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Again that word! To him it was the most 
 tantalizing word in the language. It crucified 
 him. 
 
 "Why?" she repeated, her eyes soft and 
 dreamy. 
 
 "As I have said, I am not a prince. I am only 
 a consul, not even a diplomat, simply a business 
 arm of my government. My diplomacy never 
 ascends above the quality of hops and wines im 
 ported. I am supposed to take in any wander 
 ing sailor, feed him, and ship him home. I am 
 also the official guide of all American tourists." 
 
 "That is no reason." 
 
 "Your father " He should have said the 
 grand duke. 
 
 "Ah, yes ; my father, the chancellor, the am 
 bassadors, and their wives and daughters ! I be 
 gin to believe that you have grown afraid of 
 them." 
 
 "I confess that I have. I had an adventure 
 last night. Would you like to hear about it?" 
 
 How beautiful she was in that simple gown of 
 white, unadorned by any jewels save the little 
 crown of sparkling white stones in her hair ! 
 
 "Tell me."
 
 HER FAN 287 
 
 He was a good story-teller. It was a crisp 
 narrative he made. 
 
 "A veiled lady," she mused. "What would 
 you say if I told you that your mystery is no 
 mystery at all? I am the veiled lady. And the 
 person I went to see was my old nurse, my foster- 
 mother, with whom I spent the happiest, freest 
 days of my life, in the garret at Dresden. Pouf ! 
 All mysteries may be dispelled if we go to the 
 right person. So you are to be recalled?" 
 
 "I have asked for my recall, your Highness." 
 
 "And so Dreiberg no longer appeals to you? 
 You once told me that you loved it." 
 
 "I am cursed with wanderlust, your High 
 ness." He regretted that he had not remained in, 
 the ball-room. He was in great danger. 
 
 "You promised to tell me what she is like." 
 
 Suddenly all his fear went away, all his trepi 
 dation ; the spirit of recklessness which had vised 
 him a little while ago again empowered him. He 
 was afraid of nothing. His face flushed and 
 there were bright points of fire in his eyes. She 
 saw what she had roused, and grew afraid her 
 self. She pretended to become interested in the 
 Watteau cupids on her fan.
 
 88 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "How shall I describe her?" he said. "I have 
 seen only paintings and marbles, and these are 
 inanimate. I have never seen angels, so I can 
 not draw a comparison there. Have you ever 
 seen ripe wheat in a rain-storm? That is the 
 color of her hair. There is jade and lapis-lazuli 
 in her eyes. And Ole Bull could not imitate the 
 music of her voice." He leaned toward her. 
 "And I love her better than life, better than 
 hope; and between us there is the distance of a 
 thousand worlds. So I must give up the dream 
 and go away, as an honorable man should." 
 
 Neither of them heard the chancellor's ap 
 proach. 
 
 "And because I love her." 
 
 The fan in her hand slipped unheeded to the 
 floor. 
 
 "Your Highness," broke in the cold even tones 
 of Herbeck, "your father is making inquiries 
 about you." 
 
 Carmichael rose instantly, white as the frill in 
 his shirt. 
 
 Hildegarde, however, was a princess. She 
 gained her feet leisurely, with half a smile on 
 her lips.
 
 HER FAN 289 
 
 "Count, Herr Carmichael tells me that he is 
 soon to leave Dreiberg." 
 
 "Ah!" There was satisfaction in Herbeck's 
 ejaculation, satisfaction of a frank order. But 
 there was a glint of admiration in his eyes as he 
 recognized the challenge in Carmichael's. He 
 saw that he must step carefully in regard to this 
 hot-headed young Irishman. "We shall miss 
 Herr Carmichael." 
 
 Her highness moved serenely toward the door. 
 Carmichael waited till she was gone from sight, 
 then he stooped and picked up the fan. Herbeck 
 at once held out his hand. 
 
 "Give it to me, Herr Captain," he said, with 
 a melancholy gentleness. "I will return it to her 
 highness." 
 
 Carmichael deliberately thrust the fan into a 
 pocket and shook his head. 
 
 "Your Excellency,! do not know how long you 
 stood behind us, but you were there long enough 
 to learn that I have surrendered my dream. 
 Nothing but force will cause me to surrender this 
 fan." 
 
 "Keep it, then, my son," replied the chancellor, 
 with good understanding.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 
 
 THE ducal vineyards covered some forty 
 acres of rich hillside. All day long the 
 sun beat squarely upon the clustering fruit. A 
 low rambling building of stone covered the 
 presses and bottling departments, and was with 
 in comparatively easy distance of the city. Dur 
 ing the vintage several hundred men and women 
 found employment. The grand duke derived a 
 comfortable private revenue from these wines, 
 the Tokay being scarcely inferior to that made 
 in Hungary. There was a large brewery be 
 sides, which supplied all the near-by cities and 
 towns. The German noble, be he king, duke, or 
 baron, has always been more or less a merchant ; 
 and it did not embarrass the grand duke of 
 Ehrenstein in the least to see his coat of arms 
 burnt into oaken wine-casks. 
 290
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 291 
 
 A former steward had full charge of the busi 
 ness, personally hiring and paying the help and 
 supervising the various branches. He was a 
 gruff old fellow, just and honest; and once you 
 entered his employ he was as much a martinet as 
 any captain at sea. The low cunning of the 
 peasant never eluded his watchful eye. He knew 
 to the last pound of grapes how much wine there 
 should be, how much beer to the last measure of 
 hops. 
 
 The entrance to the vineyards was made 
 through a small lodge where the ducal vintner 
 lived, and kept his books and moneys till such 
 time as he should be required to place them be 
 fore the proper official. 
 
 Upon this brave morning, the one following 
 the ball at the palace, the vintner was reclining 
 against the outside wall of the gates, smoking his 
 china-pipe and generally at peace with the world. 
 The bloom was early upon the grape, work was 
 begun, and the vintage promised to be excep 
 tionally fine. Through a drifting cloud of smoke 
 he discerned a solitary figure approaching from 
 the direction of Dreiberg, a youthful figure, 
 buoyant of step, and confident. Herr Hoffman
 
 292 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 was rather interested. Ordinarily the peasant 
 who came to this gate had his hat in his hand and 
 his feet were laggard. Not so this youth. He 
 paused at the gate and inspected the old man 
 highly. 
 
 "Herr Hoffman?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "I want work." 
 
 "So? What can you do?" He was a clean 
 youngster, this, but there was something in his 
 eyes that vaguely disturbed the head vintner. It 
 was like mockery more than anything else. 
 
 The youth recounted his abilities, and Hoff 
 man was gracious enough to admit that he 
 seemed to know what he was talking about. 
 
 "I have a letter to you also." 
 
 "Ach! We shall be properly introduced now," 
 said Hoffman, growling. "Let me see it." 
 
 He saw it, but with starting eyes. There was, 
 then, something new under the sun? A picker of 
 grapes, recommended by a princess ! He turned 
 the letter inside out, but found no illumination. 
 
 "Du lieber Gott! You are Leopold Dietrich?" 
 
 "Yes, Herr." 
 
 "How did you come by this letter ?"
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 293 
 
 "Her serene highness is patron to Gretchen, 
 the goose-girl, at whose request the recommenda 
 tion was given me." 
 
 This altered matters. "Follow me," said 
 Hoffman. 
 
 The two entered the office. 
 
 "Can you write?" 
 
 "A little, Herr." 
 
 "Then write your name on this piece of paper 
 and that. Each night you will present yours 
 with the number of pounds, which will be credited 
 to you. You must bring it back each morning. 
 If you lose it you will be paid nothing for your 
 labor." 
 
 Dietrich wrote his name twice. It was rather 
 hard work, for he screwed up his mouth and 
 cramped his fingers. Still, Hoffman was not 
 wholly satisfied with his eyes. 
 
 "Gottlieb," he said to one of the men, "take 
 him to terrace ninety-eight. That hasn't been 
 touched yet. We'll see what sort of workman 
 he is." He spoke to Dietrich again. "What is 
 Gretchen to you?" For Hoffman knew Gretchen ; 
 many a time she had filled her basket and drawn 
 her crowns.
 
 294* THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "She is my sweetheart, Herr." And there was 
 no mockery in the youth's eyes as he said this. 
 
 "Take him along, Gottlieb. You will have no 
 further use for this letter from her highness, so 
 I'll keep it and frame it and hang it in the office." 
 Which showed that Hoffman himself had had 
 lessons in the gentle art of mockery. 
 
 Terrace ninety-eight was given over to small 
 grapes ; thus, many bunches had to be picked to 
 fill the basket. But Dietrich went to work with 
 a will. His fingers were deft and his knife was 
 sharp; and by midsun he had turned his sixth 
 basket, which was fair work, considering. 
 
 As Hoffman did not feed his employees, Die 
 trich was obliged to beg from his co-workers. 
 Very willingly they shared with him their coarse 
 bread and onions. He ate the bread and stuffed 
 the onions in his pocket. There was no idling. 
 As soon as the frugal meal was over, the peas 
 ants trooped away to their respective terraces. 
 Once more the youth was alone. He set down his 
 basket and laughed. Was there ever such a fine 
 world? Had there ever been a more likable ad 
 venture? The very danger of it was the spice 
 which gave it flavor. He stretched out his arms
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 295 
 
 as if to embrace this world which appeared so 
 rosal, so joyous to his imagination. 
 
 "Thanks, thanks ! You have given me youth, 
 and I accept it," he said aloud, perhaps address 
 ing that mutable goddess who presides over all 
 follies. "Regret it in my old age? Not I! I 
 shall have lived for one short month. Youth was 
 given to us to enjoy, and I propose to press the 
 grape to the final drop. And when I grow old 
 this adventure shall be the tonic to wipe out many 
 wrinkles of care. A mad fling, a brimming cup, 
 one short merry month and then, the reckon 
 ing ! How I hate the thought !" 
 
 He sobered ; the laughter went out of his eyes 
 and face. Changeful twenty, where so many 
 paths reach out into the great world, paths 
 straight and narrow, of devious turnings which 
 end at precipices, of blind alleys which lead no 
 where and close in behind ! 
 
 "I love her, I love her !" His face grew bright 
 again, and the wooing blood ran tingling in his 
 veins. "Am I a thief, a scoundrelly thief, be 
 cause I have that right common to all men, to 
 love one woman? Some day I shall suffer for 
 this ; some day my heart shall ache ; so be it !"
 
 296 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 The sun began the downward circle ; the shad 
 ows crept eastward and imperceptibly grew 
 longer; a gray tone settled under the stones at 
 his feet. Sometimes he sang, sometimes he stood 
 dreaming. His fingers were growing sore and 
 sticky and there was a twinge in his back as he 
 shouldered his eighth basket and scrambled down 
 to the man who weighed the pick. He was be 
 ginning his ninth when he saw Gretchen coming 
 along the purple aisle. She waved a hand in 
 welcome, and he sheathed his knife. No more 
 work this day for him. He waited. 
 
 "What a beautiful day !" said Gretchen, with 
 a happy laugh. 
 
 "Aye, what a day for love !" 
 
 "And work!" 
 
 "Kiss me!" 
 
 "When you fill that basket." 
 
 "Not before?" 
 
 "Not even a little one," mischief in her glance. 
 
 Out came the knife and the vintner plied him 
 self furiously. Gretchen had a knife of her own, 
 and she joined him. They laughed gaily. Snip, 
 snip ; bunch by bunch the contents of the basket 
 grew.
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 297 
 
 "There !" he said at last. "That's what I call 
 work ; but it is worth it. Now !" 
 
 Gretchen saw that it would be futile to hold 
 him off longer ; what she would not give he would 
 of a surety take. So she put her hands behind 
 her back, closed her eyes, and raised her chin. 
 He kissed not only the lovely mouth, but the eyes 
 and cheeks and hair. 
 
 "Gretchen, you are as good and beautiful as 
 an angel." 
 
 "What are angels like?" 
 
 "An angel is the most beautiful woman a poet 
 can describe or imagine." 
 
 "Then there are no men angels ?" 
 
 "Only Gabriel ; at least I never heard of any 
 other." 
 
 "Then I do not want to be an angel. I had 
 rather be what I am. Besides, angels do not have 
 tempers ; they do not long for things they should 
 not have ; they have no sweethearts." She caught 
 him roughly by the arms. "Ah, if anything 
 should happen to you, I should die ! It seems as 
 though I had a hundred hearts and that they 
 had all melted into one for love of you. Do men 
 love as women love? Is it everything and all
 
 298 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 things, or only an incident? I would give up my 
 soul to you if you asked for it." 
 
 "I ask only for your love, Gretchen; only 
 that." And he pressed her hands. "All men are 
 rogues, more or less. There are so many cur 
 rents and eddies entering into a man's life. It is 
 made up of a thousand variant interests. No, 
 man's love is never like a woman's. But remem 
 ber this, Gretchen, I loved you the best I knew 
 how, as a man loves but once, honorably as it was 
 possible, purely and dearly." 
 
 The shade of trouble crossed her face. 
 
 "Why are you always talking like that? Do 
 I not know that you love me? Have I not my 
 dowry, and are we not to be married after the 
 vintage?" 
 
 "But your singing?" 
 
 "Singing? Why, my voice belongs to you; 
 for your sake I wish to be great, for no other 
 reason." 
 
 He ripped a bunch of grapes from the vine, 
 a thing no careful vintner should do, and held it 
 toward h?r. 
 
 "Have you ever heard of the kissing cher 
 ries ?" he asked.
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 299 
 
 She shook her head. He explained. 
 
 "This bunch will do very well." 
 
 He took one grape at the bottom in his teeth. 
 Gingerly Gretchen did the same. Their lips met 
 in a smothered laughter. Then they tried it 
 again. 
 
 And this Watteau picture met the gaze of two 
 persons on the terrace below. The empurpling 
 face of one threatened an explosion, but the smil 
 ing face of the other restrained this vocal thun 
 der. The old head vintner kicked a stone 
 savagely, and at this rattling noise Gretchen and 
 her lover turned. They beheld the steward, and 
 peering over his shoulder the amused counte 
 nance of the Princess Hildegarde. 
 
 "You " began the steward, no longer able to 
 contain himself. 
 
 "Patience, Hoffman!" warned her highness. 
 Then she laughed blithely. It was such a charm 
 ing picture, and never had she seen a handsomer 
 pair of bucolic lovers. A sudden pang drove the 
 merriment from her face. Ah, but she envied 
 Gretchen! For the peasant there was freedom, 
 there was the chosen mate ; but for the princess 
 
 "Your hat, scoundrel !" cried Hoffman.
 
 300 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 The vintner snatched off his hat apologetically 
 and swung it round on the tips of his fingers. 
 
 "Is this the way you work ?" 
 
 "I have picked nine baskets." 
 
 "You should have picked twelve." 
 
 It interested her highness to note that this 
 handsome young fellow was not afraid of the 
 head vintner. So this was Gretchen's lover? 
 He was really handsome; there was nothing 
 coarse about his features or figure. !And pres 
 ently she realized that he was returning her 
 scrutiny with interest. He had never seen her 
 highness at close range before, and he now saw 
 that Gretchen was more beautiful only because 
 he saw her through the eyes of a lover. 
 
 The pause was broken by Gretchen. 
 
 "Pardon, Highness !" 
 
 "For what, Gretchen?" 
 
 "For not having seen your approach." 
 
 "That was my fault, not yours. When is the 
 wedding?" 
 
 "After the vintage, Highness." 
 
 Her highness then spoke to the bridegroom- 
 elect. "You will be good to her ?" 
 
 "Who could help it, your Highness ?"
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 301 
 
 The pronoun struck her oddly, for peasants as 
 a usual thing never used it in addressing the no 
 bility. 
 
 "Well, on the day of the wedding I will stand 
 sponsor to you both. And good luck go with 
 you. Come, Hoffman ; my horse will be restive 
 and my men impatient." 
 
 She passed down the aisle, and the head vint 
 ner followed, wagging his head. He was not at 
 all satisfied with that tableau. He employed men 
 to work ; he wanted no love-affairs inside his vine 
 yards. As for her highness, she had come for 
 the sole purpose of seeing Gretchen's lover ; and 
 it occurred to her that the really desirable men 
 were generally unencumbered by titles. 
 
 "He will discharge me," said the young vint 
 ner gloomily. 
 
 "He will not dare," returned Gretchen. "We 
 have done nothing wrong. Her highness will 
 stand by us. It must be five o'clock," looking at 
 the sun. 
 
 "In that case, no more work for the day." 
 
 He swung the basket to his shoulder, and the 
 sun, flashing upon its contents, turned the 
 bloomy globes into dull rubies. He presented his
 
 302 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 card at the office and was duly credited with three 
 crowns, which, according to Gretchen, was a fine 
 day's work. Hoffman said nothing about dis 
 missal. 
 
 "Come day after to-morrow; to-morrow is a 
 feast-day. You are always having feast-days 
 when work begins. All summer long you loaf 
 about, but the minute you start to work you must 
 find excuses to lay off. Clear out, both of you !" 
 
 "Work at last," said Dietrich, as he and 
 Gretchen started for the city. "If I can get a 
 position in the brewery for the winter I shall be 
 rich." 
 
 "Oh, the beautiful world !" 
 
 "Do you recall the first day I met you?" he 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes. A little more and that dog would have 
 killed the big gander. What little things bring 
 about big ones ! When I walked into the city 
 that day, had any one told me that I should fall 
 in love, I should have laughed." 
 
 "And I!" 
 
 Arm in arm they went on. Sometimes Gretch 
 en sang ; often he put her hand to his lips. By 
 and by they came abreast of an old Gipsy. He
 
 AFTER THE VINTAGE 303 
 
 wore a coat of Joseph's, and his face was as lined 
 as a frost-bitten apple. But his eyes were keen 
 and undimmed, and he walked confidently and 
 erect, like a man who has always lived in the 
 open. 
 
 "Will you tell me how to find the Adlergasse?" 
 he asked in broken German. His accent was that 
 of a Magyar. He had a smattering of a dozen 
 tongues at his command, for in his time he had 
 crossed and recrossed the Danube, the Rhine, and 
 the Rhone. 
 
 They carelessly gave him specific directions 
 and passed on. He followed grimly, like fate, 
 whose agent he was, though long delayed. When 
 he reached the Adlergasse he looked for a sign. 
 He came to a stop in front of the dingy shop of 
 the clock-mender. He went inside, and the an 
 cient clock-mender looked up from his work, for 
 he was always working. 
 
 He rose wearily and asked what he could do 
 for his customer. His eyes were bothering him, 
 so the fact that the man was a Gipsy did not at 
 first impress him. 
 
 The Gipsy smiled mysteriously and laid a 
 hand on his heart.
 
 304 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Who are you ?" sharply demanded the clock- 
 mender. 
 
 "Who I am does not matter. I am he whom 
 you seek." 
 
 "God in Heaven!" The bony hands of the 
 clock-mender shot out and clutched the other's 
 coat in a grip which shook, so intense was it. 
 
 The Gipsy released himself slowly. "But first 
 show me your pretty crowns and the paper which 
 will give me immunity from the police. I know 
 something about you. You never break your 
 word. That is why I came. Your crowns, as 
 you offered, and immunity ; then I speak." 
 
 "Man, I can give you the crowns, but God 
 knows I have no longer the power to give you 
 immunity." 
 
 "So?" 
 
 The Gipsy shouldered his bundle. 
 
 "For God's sake, wait!" begged the clock- 
 mender. 
 
 But the Gipsy walked out, unheeding.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 A WHITE SCAR 
 
 TWO days later, in the afternoon. 
 "Grumbach," said Carmichael, "what 
 the deuce were you looking at the other night, 
 with those opera-glasses?" 
 
 "At the ball?" Grumbach pressed down the 
 ash in his pipe and brushed his thumb on his 
 sleeve. "I was looking into the past." 
 
 "With a pair of opera-glasses ?" 
 
 "Yes." Grumbach was perfectly serious. 
 
 "Oh, pshaw! You were following her high 
 ness with them. I want to know why." 
 
 "She is beautiful." 
 
 "You made a promise to me not long ago." 
 
 "I did?" non-committally. 
 
 "Yes. Soon I shall be shaking the dust of 
 Dreiberg, and I Want to know beforehand what 
 this Chinese puzzle is. What did you do that 
 compelled your flight from Ehrenstein ?" 
 305
 
 306 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Grumbach's pipe hung pendulent in his hand. 
 He swung it to and fro absently. 
 
 "I am waiting. Remember, you are an Amer 
 ican citizen, for all that you were born here. If 
 anything should happen to you, I must know the 
 whole story in order to help you. You know that 
 you may trust me." 
 
 "It isn't that, Captain. I have grown to like 
 you in these few days." 
 
 "What has that to do with it?" impatiently. 
 
 "Nothing, perhaps. Only, if I tell you, you 
 will not be my friend." 
 
 "Nonsense ! What you did sixteen years ago 
 doesn't matter now. It is enough for me that 
 you fought in my regiment, and that you were 
 a brave soldier." 
 
 "Those opera-glasses; it was an idea. Well, 
 since you will know. I was a gardener's boy. I 
 worked under my brother Hermann. I used to 
 ask the nurse, who had charge of her serene 
 highness, where she would go each day. Then 
 I'd cut flowers and meet them on the road some 
 where and give the bouquet to the child. There 
 was never any escort; a footman and a driver. 
 The little one was always greatly pleased, and
 
 AWHITESCAR 307 
 
 she would call me Hans. I was in love those 
 days." Grumbach laughed with bitterness. 
 "Yes, even I. Her name was Tekla, and she was 
 a jade. I wanted to run away, but I had no 
 money. I had already secured a passport ; no 
 matter how. It was the first affair, and I was 
 desperately hurt. One day a Gipsy came to me. 
 I shall always know him by the yellow spot in one 
 of his black eyes. I was given a thousand crowns 
 to tell him which road her highness was to be 
 driven over the next day. As I said, I was mad 
 with love. Why a Gipsy should want to know 
 where her highness was going to ride was of no 
 consequence to me. I told him. I was to get the 
 money the same night. It was thus that her 
 highness was stolen; it was thus that I became 
 accessory before the fact, as the lawyers say. 
 Flight with a band of Magyar Gipsies; weary 
 days in the mountains, with detachments of 
 troops scouring the whole duchy. Finally I es 
 caped. A fortune was offered for the immediate 
 return of the child. At the time I believed that it 
 was an abduction for ransom. But no one ever 
 came forward for the reward. There was a price 
 on my head when it was known that I had fled."
 
 308 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Grumbach stared into his pipe without seeing 
 anything. 
 
 "And no one ever came for the reward? That 
 is strange. Was immunity promised?" asked 
 Carmichael. 
 
 "It was inferred, but not literally promised." 
 
 "Fear kept them away." 
 
 "Perhaps. And there is Arnsberg." 
 
 "Was he guilty?" 
 
 "I never saw his hand anywhere." 
 
 "So this is the story ! Well, when a man's in 
 love he is, more or less, in the clutch of tempo 
 rary insanity." Carmichael's tone wasn't ex 
 actly cheery. 
 
 "Insanity! Then you do not judge me 
 harshly?" 
 
 "No, Hans. I've a wild streak in me also. 
 But what I can't understand is why you return 
 and put your head in the lion's mouth. The po 
 lice will stumble on something. I tell you frank 
 ly that if you are arrested I could do little or 
 nothing for you. The United States protects 
 only harmless political outcasts. Yours is a crime 
 such as nullifies your citizenship, and any gov 
 ernment would be compelled, according to the
 
 A WHITE SCAR 309 
 
 terms of treaty, to send you back here, if the 
 demand was made for your extradition." 
 
 "I know all that," Grumbach replied, dump 
 ing the ash into his palm and casting it into the 
 paper-basket. 
 
 "I suppose that when conscience drives we 
 must go on. But the princess has been found. 
 The best thing you can do is to put your pass 
 ports into immediate use and return to the States. 
 You can do no good here." 
 
 "Maybe." Grumbach refilled his pipe, lighted 
 it, and without saying more went out and down 
 into the street. 
 
 Carmichael watched him through the window. 
 Cloud after cloud of smoke ran wavering behind 
 the exile. He was smoking like one deeply per 
 turbed. 
 
 "He's a queer codger, and it's a queer story. 
 I don't believe I have heard it all, either. What 
 was he really hunting for with those glasses ? I 
 give it up." 
 
 He was not angry with Grumbach; rather he 
 seemed to be drawn to him more closely than ever. 
 Mad with love. That was the phrase. He 
 conned it over and over ; mad with love. That
 
 310 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 excused many things. How strangely the chess 
 men were moved! Had Grumbach not assisted 
 in the abduction, her highness would in all prob 
 ability have grown up as other princesses, artifi 
 cial, cold, reserved, seldom touched by the fires 
 of animated thought or action. In fact, had 
 things been otherwise, he never would have rid 
 den with her highness in the freshness of the 
 morning or fallen in love with her. By rights 
 he ought to curse Grumbach; but for him he 
 would still be captain of his heart. Mad with 
 love ! There was no doubt of it. And the phrase 
 rang in his ear for some time. 
 
 Grumbach was indeed perturbed, and this 
 sensation was the result of what he had not told 
 his friend. Gott! What was going on? He 
 hadn't the least idea where his footsteps were 
 leading him. He went on, his teeth set strongly 
 on the horn mouthpiece of his pipe, his hands 
 jammed in his pockets. And after a time he 
 woke. He was in the Adlergasse. And of all 
 that happy, noisy family, only he and Hermann 
 left! In one of the open doorways, for it was 
 warm, a final caress of vanishing summer, he saw 
 a fat, youngish woman knitting woolen hose.
 
 AWHITESCAR 311 
 
 Two or three children sprawled about her knees. 
 There was that petulance of lip and forehead 
 which marked the dissatisfaction of the coquette 
 married. 
 
 "Tekla !" Grumbach murmured. 
 
 He was not conscious that he had paused, but 
 the woman was. She eyed him with the mild in 
 difference of the bovine. Then she dropped her 
 glance and the shining needles clicked afresh. 
 Grumbach forced his step onward. And for this ! 
 He laughed discordantly. The woman looked 
 up again wonderingly. Now, why should this 
 stranger laugh all by himself like that ? 
 
 Hans saw the sign of the Black Eagle, and 
 directed his steps thitherward. He sat down and 
 ordered a beer, drinking it quickly. He repeated 
 the order, but he did not touch the second glass. 
 He threw back the lid and stared at the creamy 
 froth as a seer stares at his ball of crystal. Car- 
 michael was right; he was a doddering fool. 
 What was done was done, and a thousand con 
 sciences would not right it. And what right had 
 conscience to drag him back to Ehrenstein, where 
 he had known the bitterest and happiest moments 
 of his life? And yet, rail as he might at this
 
 S12 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 invisible restraint called conscience, he saw God's 
 direction in this return. Only he, Hans Grum- 
 bach, knew and one other. And that other, who ? 
 
 Fat, Tekla was fat ; and he had treasured the 
 fair picture of her youth these long years ! 
 Well, there was an end to that. Little fat Tekla, 
 to have nearly overturned a duchy, and never a 
 bit the wiser! And then Hans became aware of 
 voices close at hand, for he sat near the bar. 
 
 "Yes, Frau, he is at work in the grand duke's 
 vineyards. And think, the first day he picked 
 nine baskets." 
 
 "That is good. But I know many a one who 
 can pick their twelve. And you are to be married 
 when the vintage is done? You will make a fine 
 wife, Gretchen." 
 
 "And he, a fine husband." 
 
 "And you will bring him a dowry, too. But his 
 own people ; what does he say of them?" 
 
 "He has no parents; only an uncle, who 
 doesn't count. We shall live with grandmother 
 and pay her rent." 
 
 "And you are wearing a new dress," admir 
 ingly. 
 
 Gretchen preened herself. Hans dropped the
 
 AWHITESCAR 313 
 
 lid of his stein and pushed it away. His heart 
 always warmed at the sight of this goose-girl. 
 So she had a dowry and was going to be mar 
 ried? He felt of his wallet, and a kindly thought 
 came into being. He counted down the small 
 change for the beer, slid back his chair, and 
 sauntered to the bar. Gretchen recognized him, 
 and the recognition brought a smile to her face. 
 
 "Good day to you, Herr," was her greeting. 
 
 "When is the wedding?" 
 
 Gretchen blushed. 
 
 "I should like to come to it." 
 
 "You will be welcome, Herr." 
 
 "And may I bring along a little present?" 
 
 "If it so please you. I must be going," she 
 added to Frau Bauer. 
 
 "May I walk along with you?" asked Hans. 
 
 "If you wish," diffidently. 
 
 So Grumbach walked with her to the Krumer- 
 weg, and he asked her many questions, and some 
 of her answers surprised him. 
 
 "Never knew father or mother ?" 
 
 "No, Herr. I am only a foundling who fell 
 into kind hands. This is where I live." 
 
 "And if I should ask to come in ?"
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "But I shall be too busy to talk. This is bread- 
 day," evasively. 
 
 "I promise to sit very quiet in a chair." 
 
 Her laughter rippled ; she was always close to 
 that expression. "You are a funny man. Come 
 in, then ; but mind, you will be dusty with flour 
 when you leave." 
 
 "I will undertake that risk," he replied, with 
 a seriousness not in tune with the comedy of the 
 situation. 
 
 Into the kitchen she led him. She was moved 
 with curiosity. Why should any man wish to 
 see a woman knead bread? 
 
 "Sit there, Herr." And she pointed to a stool 
 at the left of the table. The sunlight came in 
 through the window, and an aureola appeared 
 above her beautiful head. "Have you never 
 seen a woman knead flour?" 
 
 "Not for many years," said Hans, thinking 
 of his mother. 
 
 Gretchen deliberately rolled up her sleeves and 
 began work. 
 
 There are three things which human growth 
 never changes: the lines in the hand, the shape 
 of the ear, and scars. The head grows, and the
 
 A WHITE SCAR 315 
 
 general features enlarge to their predestined 
 mold, but these three things remain. Upon 
 Gretchen's left arm, otherwise perfection, there 
 was a white scar, rough and uneven, more like 
 an ancient burn than anything else. Grumbach's 
 eyes rested upon the scar and became fixed. 
 
 "Where did you get that?" he asked. He 
 spoke with a strange calm. 
 
 "The scar? I do not remember. Grandmother 
 says that when I was little I must have been 
 burned." 
 
 "Gott!" 
 
 "What did you say, Herr?" 
 
 "Nothing. You can't remember? Think!" 
 tensely now. 
 
 "What's all this nonsense about?" she cried, 
 with a nervous laugh. "It's only a scar." 
 
 She went on with the kneading. She patted 
 the dough into four squares. These she placed 
 on the oven-stove. She wiped her hands on a 
 cloth for that purpose, and sighed contentedly. 
 
 "There ! It's a fine mystery, isn't it?" 
 
 "Yes." But Grumbach was shaking as with 
 ague. 
 
 "What is the matter, Herr?" with concern.
 
 316 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I grow dizzy like this sometimes. It doesn't 
 amount to anything." 
 
 Gretchen turned down her sleeves. "You must 
 go now, for I have other work." 
 
 "And so have I, Gretchen." 
 
 He gained the street, but how he never knew. 
 He floated. Objects near at hand were shadowy 
 and unusual. A great calm suddenly winged 
 down upon him, and the world became clear, clear 
 as his purpose, his courage, his duty. They 
 might shoot or hang him, as they saw fit ; this 
 would not deter him. It might be truthfully said 
 that he blundered back to the Grand Hotel. He 
 must lay the whole matter before Carmichael. 
 There lay his one hope. Carmichael should be 
 his ambassador. But, God in Heaven, where 
 should he begin ? How ? 
 
 The Gipsy, standing in the center of the walk, 
 did not see Grumbach, for he was looking toward 
 the palaces, a kind of whimsical mockery in his 
 dark eyes. Grumbach, even more oblivious, 
 crashed into him. 
 
 Grumbach stammered an apology, and the 
 other replied in his peculiar dialect that no harm 
 had been done. The jar, however, had roused
 
 AWHITESCAR 317 
 
 Hans out of his tragic musings. There was a 
 glint of yellow in the Gipsy's eye, a flaw in the 
 iris. Hans gave a cry. 
 
 "You? I find you at this moment, of all oth 
 ers?" 
 
 The Gipsy retreated. "I do not know you. It 
 is a mistake." 
 
 "But I know you," whispered Hans. "And 
 you will know me when I tell you that I am the 
 gardener's boy you ruined some sixteen years
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 DISCLOSURES 
 
 r 1 1 HE office of the American consulate in the 
 M. Adlergasse ran from the front to the rear 
 of the building. Carmichael's desk overlooked the 
 street. But whenever a flying dream came to him 
 he was wont to take his pipe to the chair by the 
 rear window, whence he could view the lofty 
 crests of the Jugendheit mountains. Directly be 
 low this window and running parallel with it was 
 the Biergarten of the Black Eagle. 
 
 It is a quiet tonic to the mind to look off, to 
 gaze at sunlit, cloud-embraced mountain peaks, 
 Walter Pater to the contrary. Carmichael's mind 
 that morning needed quiet, and so he came to 
 this window ; and with a smoldering pipe let him 
 self to dreams. He was still in the uniform of 
 the royal hunt, a meet having taken place that 
 morning. He saw darling faces in the rugged 
 outlines of the mountains, in the white clouds 
 318
 
 DISCLOSURES 319 
 
 billowing across, in the patches of dazzling blue 
 in between. Such is the fancy of a man in love ! 
 
 His letter of resignation was on its way, but it 
 would be in November before he heard definitely 
 from the department. By that time the great 
 snows would have blanketed the earth, and the 
 nadir of his discontent would be reached. But 
 what to do till that time? He could ride for 
 some weeks, but riding without companionship 
 was rather a lonesome affair. His own defiance 
 of the chancellor had erected an impassable bar 
 rier between her highness and himself. They 
 would watch him now, evade him, put small ob 
 stacles in his path, obstacles against which he 
 could enter no reasonable complaint. A withered 
 leaf, a glove, and a fan; these represented the 
 sum of his romance. 
 
 Two figures moved in the garden beneath. At 
 first he gave no attention to them. But when the 
 two heads came together swiftly, and then sep 
 arated, both smiling, he realized that he had wit 
 nessed a kiss. Ah, here was the opportunity; 
 and, by the Lord Harry, he would not let it slip. 
 If this fellow meant wrongly toward Gretchen 
 and how could he mean else? he, Carmichael,
 
 320 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 would take the matter boldly in his hands to do 
 some caning. He laughed. Here would be an 
 other souvenir ; to have caned 
 
 He jumped to his feet, dropped his pipe on the 
 sill of the window, and made for his hat and 
 sword-cane. The clerk went on with his writing. 
 Nothing the consul did these days either alarmed 
 or distracted him. 
 
 To gain the garden Carmichael would have to 
 pass through the tavern. The first person he en 
 countered was Colonel von Wallenstein. The 
 sight of this gentleman changed his plans for 
 the moment. He had a presentiment that this 
 would became rather a complicated affair. He 
 waited. Wallenstein spoke to Frau Bauer, who 
 answered him with cold civility. She heartily 
 despised this fine officer. Wallenstein twirled his 
 mustache, laughed and went into the garden. Car 
 michael was in a quandary. What should he do ? 
 
 Neither Gretchen nor the vintner saw Wallen 
 stein, who remained quietly by the door. He 
 watched them with an evil smile. He would teach 
 this pretty fellow a lesson. After some delibera 
 tion he walked lightly toward the lovers. They 
 did not hear him till he was almost upon them.
 
 DISCLOSURES 321 
 
 "A pretty picture!" 
 
 Gretchen colored and the vintner flushed, the 
 one with dismay and the other with anger. 
 
 "A charming idyl !" 
 
 "Leave us, Gretchen," said the vintner, with a 
 deceiving gentleness. 
 
 Gretchen started reluctantly down the path, 
 her glance bravely before her. She knew that 
 Wallenstein would not move; so she determined 
 to go round him. She was not afraid to leave 
 her vintner alone with this officer. But she mis 
 calculated the colonel's reckless audacity. As 
 she stepped off the path to go round him he 
 grasped her rudely and kissed her on the cheek. 
 She screamed as much in surprise as in 
 anger. 
 
 And this scream brought Carmichael upon the 
 scene. He was witness to the second kiss. He 
 saw the vintner run forward and dash his fist 
 into the soldier's face. Wallenstein, to whom 
 such an assault was unexpected, fell back, hurt 
 and blinded. The vintner, active as a cat, saw 
 Carmichael coming on a run. He darted toward 
 him, and before Carmichael could prevent him, 
 dragged the sword-cane away. The blade, thin
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 and pliant, flashed. And none too soon. The 
 colonel had already drawn his saber. 
 
 "Save him !" Gretchen wrung her hands. 
 
 The two blades met spitefully, and there were 
 method and science on both sides. But the sword- 
 cane was no match for the broad, heavy saber. 
 Half a dozen thrusts and parries convinced the 
 colonel that the raging youth knew what he was 
 doing. Down swooped the saber cuttingly. The 
 blade of the sword-cane snapped like a pipe-stem. 
 The vintner flung the broken part at the colonel's 
 head. The latter dodged it and came on, and 
 there was death's intent. 
 
 Meantime Carmichael had found a short hop- 
 pole, and with this he took a hand in the contest. 
 The pole was clumsy, but the tough wood was 
 stronger than steel. He hit the saber with good 
 will. Back came the steel. The colonel did not 
 care whom or what he struck at now. When Car 
 michael returned the compliment he swung his 
 hop-pole as the old crusaders did their broad 
 swords. And this made short work of the duel. 
 The saber dropped uninjured, but the colonel's 
 arm dangled at his side. He leaned back against 
 the arbor, his teeth set in his lip, for he was in
 
 DISCLOSURES 323 
 
 agony. Carmichael flung aside his primitive 
 weapon, his anger abated none. 
 
 "You're a fine example of a soldier ! Are you 
 mad to attack a man this way? They will break 
 you for this, or my name's not Carmichael. 
 You couldn't leave her in peace, could you ? Well, 
 those two kisses will prove expensive." 
 
 "I shall kill you for this !" 
 
 "Bah ! I have fought more times than you have 
 years to your counting," with good Yankee 
 spirit. "But if you think I'll waste my time in 
 fighting a duel with you, you're up the wrong 
 tree." 
 
 "Go to the devil !" 
 
 "Not just at present; there's too much for me 
 to do. But this is my advice to you : apply for a 
 leave of absence and take the waters of Wies 
 baden. They are good for choleric dispositions. 
 Now, I return the compliment: go to the devil 
 yourself, only choose a route that will not cross 
 mine. That's all !" 
 
 Gretchen and the vintner had vanished. Car 
 michael agreed that it was the best thing for 
 them to do. The vintner was no coward, but he 
 was discreet. Somebody might ask questions.
 
 324 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 So Carmichael returned to the consulate, equally 
 indifferent what the colonel did or where he went. 
 Of the vintner he thought: "The hot-headed 
 young fool, to risk his life like that !" He would 
 see later what he meant in regard to Gretchen. 
 Poor little goose-girl ! They would find that there 
 was one man interested enough in her welfare to 
 stand by her. His hands yet stung from the 
 contact of wood against steel, and his hair was 
 damp at the edges. This was a bit of old war 
 times. 
 
 "Are you hurt, Excellency?" asked the clerk 
 solicitously. 
 
 "Hurt?" 
 
 "Yes. I heard a woman scream and ran to the 
 window. It was a good fight. But that fellow 
 acli! To run away and leave you, an outsider, 
 to fight his battle !" 
 
 "He would have been sliced in two if I hadn't 
 come to the front. A hop-pole isn't half bad. I'll 
 bet that lady's man has a bad arm for some time 
 to come. As for the vintner, he had good rea 
 sons for taking to his heels." 
 
 "Good reasons ?" But there was a sly look in 
 the clerk's eyes.
 
 DISCLOSURES 325 
 
 "No questions, if you please. And tell no 
 one, mind, what has taken place." 
 
 "Very well, Excellency." And quietly the clerk 
 returned to his table of figures. But later he in 
 tended to write a letter, unsigned, to his serene 
 highness. 
 
 Carmichael, scowling, undertook to answer his 
 mail, but not with any remarkable brilliancy or 
 coherency. 
 
 And in this condition of mind Grumbach 
 found him ; Grumbach, accompanied by the old 
 clock-mender from across the way, and a Gipsy 
 Carmichael had never seen before. 
 
 "What's up, Hans?" 
 
 "Tell your clerk to leave us," said Grumbach, 
 his face as barren of expression as a rock. 
 
 "Something serious, eh?" Carmichael dis 
 missed the clerk, telling him to return after the 
 noon hour. "Now, then," he said, "what is the 
 trouble?" 
 
 "I have already spoken to you about it," 
 Grumbach returned. "The matter has gone badly. 
 But I am here to ask a favor, a great favor, one 
 that will need all your diplomacy to gain for 
 me."
 
 326 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 "For myself I ask nothing. A horrible blun 
 der has been made. You will go to the grand duke 
 and ask immunity for this Gipsy and this clock- 
 mender, as witnesses to the disclosure which I 
 shall make to his highness. Without this im 
 munity my lips will be sealed for ever. As I said, 
 I ask nothing for myself, nothing. There has 
 been a great blunder and a great wrong, too ; but 
 God sent me here to right it. Will you do this ?" 
 
 "But I must know ," began Carmichael. 
 
 "You will know everything, once you obtain 
 this concession from the duke." 
 
 "But why don't you want immunity for your 
 self?" 
 
 "There must be some one for the duke to pun 
 ish," heroically ; "otherwise he will refuse." 
 
 "Still, suppose I bargain for you, too?" 
 
 "When you tell him my name is Breunner 
 there will be no bargaining." 
 
 "What has this clock-mender to do with the 
 case?" 
 
 "He is Count von Arnsberg." 
 
 "By George! And this Gipsy?" 
 
 "The man who bribed me. Arnsberg is an in-
 
 DISCLOSURES 327 
 
 nocent man ; but this has to be proved, and you 
 are going to help us prove it." 
 
 All this was in English; the Gipsy and the 
 former chancellor understood little or nothing. 
 
 "I will do what I can, Hans, and I will let you 
 know the result after dinner to-night." 
 
 "That will be enough. But unless he concedes, 
 <3o not tell him our names. That would be ruin 
 and nothing gained." 
 
 "You have me a bit dazed," Carmichael ad 
 mitted. "I ought to know what this blunder is, 
 to have something to stand on." 
 
 Grumbach shook his head. "Later every ques 
 tion will be answered. And remember, at this 
 interview Herbeck must not be present. It will 
 have to be broken to him gently." 
 
 "Very well ; I promise to see his highness this 
 afternoon." 
 
 Grumbach translated the substance of this 
 dialogue to his companions. They approved. 
 The three of them solemnly trooped out, leaving 
 Carmichael bewildered. Alone, his mind searched 
 a thousand channels, but these were blind and led 
 nowhere. Blunder, wrong? What did Grumbach 
 mean by that? What kind of a blunder, and who
 
 328 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 was innocently wronged? No use! And while 
 he was thus racking his mind he heard steps on 
 the stairs. These steps were hurried. The door 
 above shut noisily. 
 
 "By George! I'll attend to that this minute. 
 We'll see what stuff this yellow-haired boy is 
 made of." 
 
 He mounted the stairs without sound. He 
 grasped the handle of the door, boldly pushed it 
 open, and entered, closing the door and placing 
 his back against it. 
 
 The instant he saw the intruder the vintner 
 snatched a pistol from the drawer in the table 
 and leveled it at Carmichael. 
 
 "Surely your majesty will not shoot an old 
 friend?"
 
 irely your Majesty will not shoot an old friend?" Page 328.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE KING 
 
 THE vintner slowly lowered the pistol till it 
 touched the table ; then he released it. 
 
 "That is better, your Majesty." 
 
 "Why do you call me that?" 
 
 "Certainly I do not utter it as a compliment," 
 retorted Carmichael dryly. 
 
 "You speak positively." 
 
 "With absolute authority on the subject, sire. 
 Your face was familiar, but I failed at first to 
 place it rightly. It was only after you had 
 duped me into going after the veiled lady that I 
 had any real suspicion. You are Frederick Leo 
 pold of Jugendheit." 
 
 "I shall not deny it further," proudly. "And 
 take care how you speak to me, since I admit my 
 
 identity." 
 
 329
 
 330 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Oho !" Carmichael gave rein to his laughter. 
 "This is Ehrenstein ; here I shall talk to you as I 
 please." 
 
 The king reddened, and his hand closed again 
 over the pistol. 
 
 "I have saved your majesty twice from death. 
 You force me to recall it to your mind." 
 
 The king had the grace to lower his eyes. 
 
 "The first time was at Bonn. Don't you recol 
 lect the day when an American took you out of 
 the Rhine, an American who did not trouble him 
 self to come round and ask for your thanks, who, 
 in truth, did not learn till days after what an 
 important person you were, or were going to be?" 
 There was a bite in every word, for Carmichael 
 felt that he had been ill-treated. 
 
 "For that moment, Herr, I thank you." 
 
 "And for that in the garden below?" 
 
 "For that also. Now, why are you here? You 
 have not come for the purpose of recalling these 
 two disagreeable incidents to my mind." 
 
 "No." Carmichael went over to the table, his 
 jaws set and no kindly spirit in his eyes. "No, 
 I have another purpose." He bent over the table, 
 .and with his face close to that of the king, "I de-
 
 THE KING 331 
 
 mand to know what your intentions are toward 
 that friendless goose-girl." 
 
 "And what is that to you ?" said the king, the 
 smoke of anger in his eyes. 
 
 "It is this much : if you have acted toward her 
 otherwise than honorably Well !" 
 
 "Go on ; you interest me !" 
 
 "Well, I promise to break every bone in your 
 kingly body. In this room it is man to man; I 
 recognize no king, only the physical being." 
 
 The king pushed aside the table, furious. No 
 living being had ever spoken to him like that be 
 fore. He swung the flat of his hand toward Car- 
 michael's face. The latter caught the hand by 
 the wrist and bore down upon it. The king was 
 no weakling. There was a struggle, and Car- 
 michael found himself well occupied for a time. 
 But his age and build were in his favor, and pres 
 ently he jammed the king to the wall and pin 
 ioned his arms. 
 
 "There ! Will you be patient for a moment ?" 
 
 "You shall die for this insult !" said the king, 
 as quietly as his hard breathing would allow. 
 He saw flashes of red between his face and the 
 other's.
 
 332 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "I have heard that before. But how?" ban- 
 teringly. 
 
 "I will waive my crown ; man to man !" 
 
 "Sword-sticks, sabers or hop-poles? Come," 
 savagely, "what do you mean by the goose-girl?" 
 
 So intent on the struggle were they that nei 
 ther heard the door open and close. 
 
 "Yes, my dear nephew ; what do you mean by 
 Gretchen?" 
 
 Carmichael released the king, and with feline 
 quickness stooped and secured the pistol which 
 had fallen to the floor. Not sure of the new ar 
 rival's purpose, he backed to the wall. He knew 
 the voice and he recognized its owner. 
 
 "Put it in your pocket, Mr. Carmichael. And 
 let us finish this discussion in English, since there 
 are many ears about the place." 
 
 "His royal highness ?" murmured the king. 
 
 "Yes, sire ! True to life !" 
 
 Carmichael dropped the pistol into a pocket, 
 and the king smoothed down his crumpled sleeves. 
 
 "A fine comedy!" cried Herr Ludwig jovially, 
 folding his arms over his deep chest. "A rollick 
 ing adventure ! Where's the story-book to match 
 it? A kingdom, working in the dark, headless;
 
 THE KING 333 
 
 fine reading for these sneaking journalists! 
 Thunder and blazes !" with an amiability which 
 had behind it a good leaven of despair. "Well, 
 nephew, you have not as yet answered either Mr. 
 Carmichael's question or my own. What do you 
 mean by Gretchen ?" 
 
 "I love her," nobly. "And well for you, my 
 uncle, that you come as you do. I would have 
 married her! Wrong her? What was a crown 
 to me who, till now, have never worn one save in 
 speech ? You have been the king." 
 
 "Bodies must have heads, kingdoms must have 
 kings. I have tried an experiment, and this is 
 the result. I wanted you to be a man, a human 
 man; I wanted you to grow up unfettered by 
 power ; I wanted you to mingle with peoples, here 
 and there, so, when you became their head physi 
 cian, you could ably minister to their political 
 diseases. And all this fine ambition tumbles down 
 before the wooden shoes of a pretty goose-girl. 
 Nothing makes so good a philosopher as a series 
 of blunders and mistakes. I am beaten ; I admit 
 it. I did my best to save you from this tangle ; 
 but it was written that you should put your foot 
 in it. But on top of this you have made a greater
 
 334. THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 mistake than you dream of, nephew. The Prin 
 cess Hildegarde is as fine a woman as ever your 
 Gretchen. Mr. Carmichael will agree to that," 
 maliciously. 
 
 Carmichael gave no sign that he understood ; 
 but there was no mistaking the prince regent's 
 inference, however. The recipient of this compli 
 ment stubbornly refused to give the prince the 
 satisfaction of seeing how neatly the barb had 
 gone home. 
 
 "But, Mr. Carmichael, what is your interest 
 in Gretchen?" 
 
 Carmichael trembled with joy. Here was an 
 opening for a double shot. "My interest in her 
 is better than yours, for I have not asked her to 
 become a king's mistress." 
 
 His royal highness bit his lip. 
 
 "Uncle !" cried the king, horrified at this rev 
 elation. 
 
 "Mr. Carmichael evidently has applied his ear 
 to some keyhole." 
 
 "No, thank you ! The window was open. My 
 clerk heard you plainly." 
 
 "Uncle, is this damnable thing true ?" 
 
 "Yes. What would you? You were deter-
 
 THE KING 335 
 
 mined to make a fool of yourself. But rest easy. 
 She is ignorant where this offer came from, and, 
 moreover, she spurned it, as Mr. Carmichael's 
 clerk will affirm. Oh, Gretchen is a fine little 
 woman, and I would to God she was of your sta 
 tion !" And the mask fell from the regent's face, 
 leaving it bitter and careworn. "Our presence is 
 known in Dreiberg ; it has been known for three 
 days at least. And in coming up here I had an 
 other errand. Oh, I haven't forgotten it. In the 
 street there are at least ten soldiers under the sub- 
 chief of the police; rather a curious conjunc 
 tion." 
 
 The king turned white. So it had come at 
 last! 
 
 Carmichael ran to the rear window. He 
 shrugged. "There's half a dozen in the garden, 
 too." 
 
 "Is there any way to the roofs?" 
 
 "None that would serve you." 
 
 "Mr. Carmichael," said the king, offering his 
 hand, his handsome face kindly and without ran 
 cor, "I should be an ungrateful wretch if I did 
 not ask your full pardon. I am indebted to you 
 twice for my life, little as it amounts to. And in
 
 336 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 my kingdom you will always be welcome. Will 
 you accept my hand, as one man to another?" 
 
 "With happiness, your Majesty. And I ask 
 that you pardon my own hasty words." 
 
 "Thank you." 
 
 "He is only young," sighed Ludwig. 
 
 The king emptied the drawer, put the contents 
 in his pack, tied the strings, and put it under 
 his arm. 
 
 "What are you going to do ?" asked the uncle, 
 vaguely perturbed. 
 
 "I am going down to the soldiers. I am no 
 longer a vintner, I am a king !" And he said this 
 in a manner truly royal. 
 
 "Gott!" burst from the prince regent. "This 
 boy has marrow in his bones, after all !" 
 
 "As you will find, dear uncle, the day after the 
 coronation. You will, of course, go down to them 
 with me?" 
 
 "As I am your uncle! But the incarceration 
 will not be long," Ludwig grumbled. "There are 
 ten thousand troops on the other side of the 
 passes, and they have been there ever since I 
 learned that you had gone a-wooing." 
 
 "Ten thousand? Well, they shall stay there,"
 
 THE KING 
 
 said the king determinedly. "I shall not begin 
 my reign with war. I am in the wrong ; I had no 
 business to be here. Technically I have broken 
 the treaty, though not in spirit." 
 
 "What will you do?" 
 
 "Tell the duke the truth. He will not dare go 
 far." 
 
 "He will be a good politician, too," said Lud- 
 wig, with a smile of approval at Carmichael. 
 "No, boy, there will be no war. And yet I was 
 prepared for it; nor was I wrong in doing so. 
 Already, but for Herbeck, there would be plenty 
 of fighting in the passes. Achl Could you but 
 see the princess !" 
 
 "I have seen her," replied the king. "Heaven 
 would have been kinder had I seen her months 
 ago." 
 
 "Say to his serene highness, then, that you are 
 willing to marry her." 
 
 "I'm afraid you do not understand, uncle," the 
 king replied sadly. "I have the supreme happi 
 ness to love and to be loved. Of that nothing 
 can rob me. And for some time to come, uncle 
 mine, I shall treasure that happiness." 
 
 "And the little Gretchen?"
 
 338 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "Yes, yes ! I have been a scoundrel." And the 
 king's eyes grew moist. "You are happy, Mr. 
 Carmichael ; you have no crown to weigh against 
 your love." 
 
 "Has he not?" mocked Ludwig. 
 
 "That, uncle, is neither kind nor gallant." 
 
 And from that moment Carmichael's heart 
 warmed toward the young man, whose sorrow 
 was greater than his own. For the king was giv 
 ing up the woman who loved him, while Car 
 michael was only giving up the woman he loved, 
 which is a distinction. 
 
 "I ask Mr. Carmichael's pardon," said Prince 
 Ludwig frankly. "But my temper has been sadly 
 tried. Will you grant me a favor ?" 
 
 "If it is in my power," said Carmichael. 
 
 "Go at once to our embassy and notify them 
 what has taken place." 
 
 "I will do that at once. If only I could find 
 some way for you to escape !" 
 
 "There is none," said the king . "Come, uncle ; 
 let us see what is going on down-stairs." 
 
 Carmichael followed them down. 
 
 "There they are, men!" cried the sub-chief. 
 "You are under arrest !"
 
 THE KING 339 
 
 "I am the king of Jugendheit," calmly an 
 nounced Frederick Leopold. "Will you subject 
 me to public arrest ?" 
 
 "And I," said the uncle, "am Ludwig, prince 
 regent. Let us go to prison as quickly as possi 
 ble, blockheads !" 
 
 The sub-chief laughed uproariously, and even 
 the disciplined soldiers smiled. The king of Ju 
 gendheit and the prince regent ! This was a good 
 joke, indeed! 
 
 "Your majesty and your royal highness," said 
 the sub-chief, his eyes twinkling, "will do me, a 
 poor sub-chief of the police, the honor of accom 
 panying me to the Stein-schloss." 
 
 "Lead on, lead on !" cried Ludwig. "But wait ! 
 I forgot. There can be no harm in asking why 
 we are arrested." 
 
 "You are accused of being military spies from 
 Jugendheit. That is sufficient for the present." 
 
 "Frederick, they do not believe us. So much 
 the better !" Ludwig pursed his lips into a whistle. 
 
 "May I retain this bundle?" inquired the king. 
 
 "Yes. I know what is in it. Forward, march !" 
 
 The soldiers formed into a square, and in the 
 center the prisoners were placed. Carmichael
 
 340 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 made as though to protest, but Prince Ludwig 
 signed for him to be silent. 
 
 "Remember !" he said. 
 
 The king looked in vain for Gretchen. Then 
 he beckoned to Carmichael, and whispered bro 
 kenly : "If you see her, do not tell her what has 
 happened. Better to let her think that I have 
 gone. And she will see nothing in the arrest of 
 the king of Jugendheit." 
 
 "I promise." 
 
 The troop marched along the street, followed 
 by many curious ones, and many heads popped in 
 and out of the gabled windows. Carmichael 
 watched them till they veered round a corner, and 
 then he returned to the consulate. There he left 
 a note for the clerk, telling him that he would not 
 be in the office again that day. Directly after, 
 he hurried off to the Jugendheit embassy. 
 
 An hour later Gretchen appeared before Frau 
 Bauer. Gretchen had gone home immediately 
 after the termination of the fight in the garden. 
 It had been the will of her lord and master for 
 her to remain at home throughout the day; but 
 this she could not do. She was worried. 
 
 "He was not hurt, Frau ?" she asked timidly.
 
 THE KING 341 
 
 "Oh, no ! The two of them gave themselves up 
 readily. They are snug in the Stein-schloss by 
 this time." 
 
 "The Stein-schloss!" Gretchen blanched. 
 "Holy Mother, what has happened?" 
 
 "Why, your vintner and Herr Ludwig were 
 arrested an hour ago, accused of being spies from 
 Jugendheit." 
 
 "It is a lie !" cried Gretchen hollowly. She 
 groped blindly for the door. 
 
 "Where are you going, Gretchen?" Frau 
 Bauer inquired anxiously. 
 
 "To her highness ! She will save him !" 
 
 Her highness was dreaming. She had fallen 
 into this habit of late. A flame in the fireplace, 
 a cloud in the sky, a dash of rain on the window, 
 all these drew her fancy. What the heart wishes 
 the mind will dream. Sunshine was without, clear, 
 brilliant; shadow was within, mellow, nebulous. 
 But to-day her dream was short. A maid of honor 
 announced that the young woman Gretchen 
 sought her presence. 
 
 "Admit her. She will be a tonic," said Hilde- 
 garde. 
 
 Gretchen appeared, red-eyed and disheveled.
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Instantly she flung herself at the feet of the 
 princess. 
 
 "Why, Gretchen!" 
 
 "They will not let me see him, Highness!" 
 Gretchen choked. 
 
 "What has happened, child?" 
 
 "They have arrested him as a spy from Ju- 
 gendheit, and he is innocent. Save him, High 
 ness !" 
 
 "How can I save him?" 
 
 "He is not a spy." 
 
 "That must be proved, Gretchen. I can not 
 go to the Stein-schloss and order them to liberate 
 him." She lifted Gretchen to her feet. 
 
 "I have been there, and they will not let me 
 see him. I love him so !" 
 
 "I can arrange that for you. I will go with 
 you myself to the prison." 
 
 "Thanks, Highness, thanks!" Gretchen was 
 hysterical. 
 
 The Stein-schloss had been the feudal keep; 
 now it served as the city prison. Its grim gray 
 stones were battle-scarred and time-worn ; a place 
 of deep dungeons, huge bolts and bars, and nar 
 row slits in the stone for windows. The prison
 
 THE KING 343 
 
 was both civil and military, but was patrolled and 
 sentineled by soldiers. The king and his uncle 
 had been given adjoining cells on the ground 
 floor. These cells were dry, and light entered 
 from the modern windows in the wall of the cor 
 ridor. The princess and her protegee were ad 
 mitted without objection. The sergeant in charge 
 of that floor even permitted them to go into the 
 corridor unattended. 
 
 Voices. 
 
 "Hush!" whispered her highness, pressing 
 Gretchen's arm. 
 
 "Ach! Wail, dear nephew, beat your hands 
 upon the bars, curse, waste your breath on stone. 
 Did I not warn you against this very thing when 
 you proposed this mad junket? Well, there are 
 two of us. A fine scandal! They will laugh at 
 us for months to come." 
 
 "Woe to the duke for this affront !" 
 
 Gretchen started to speak, but the princess 
 quickly put her hand over the goose-girl's 
 mouth. 
 
 "Ha ! So war is gathering in your veins ?" 
 
 "I will have revenge for this !" 
 
 "Good ! Bang bang ! Slash and cut ! War
 
 344 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 is a great invention on paper. Come, my boy ; 
 you were sensible enough when they brought us 
 here. Control yourself. Be a king in all the 
 word implies. For my part, I begin to see." 
 
 "And what do you see?" 
 
 "I see that the duke knows who we are, even if 
 his police do not. He will keep us here a day or 
 two, and then magnanimously liberate us with 
 profuse apologies. We shall be escorted to the 
 frontier with honors. His highness loves a jest 
 too well to let this chance escape. Besides, I see 
 in the glass the fine Italian hand of Herbeck. I 
 have always heard that he was a great statesman. 
 Swallow your wrath, even if your tongue goes 
 down with it." 
 
 "Gretchen, Gretchen !" said the king. 
 
 Gretchen could stand it no longer. She 
 wrenched herself free from the grasp of the 
 princess, who, with pitying heart, understood all 
 now. Poor unhappy Gretchen ! 
 
 "Here I am, Leopold!" the goose-girl cried, 
 pressing her body against the bars and thrusting 
 her hands through them. 
 
 "The devil!" murmured the man in the other 
 cell.
 
 THE KING 345 
 
 "You here, Gretchen ?" The king covered her 
 hands with passionate kisses. 
 
 "Yes, yes ! They have made a dreadful mis 
 take. You are no spy from Jugendheit." 
 
 "No, Gretchen," said the voice from the next 
 cell. "He is far worse than that. He is the 
 king, Gretchen, the king." 
 
 "Uncle!" in anguish. 
 
 "Let us have it over with," replied Prince Lud- 
 wig sadly. 
 
 "The king?" Gretchen laughed shrilly, 
 "What jest is this, Leopold?" 
 
 The king, still holding her hands, looked down. 
 
 "Leopold?" plaintively. 
 
 Still he did not speak, still he averted his head. 
 But God knew that his heart was on the rack. 
 
 The princess, remaining in the background, 
 not daring to interfere, felt the smart of tears 
 in her eyes. Ah, the poor tender little goose- 
 girl ! The pity of it ! This king was a scoun 
 drel. 
 
 "Leo, look at me ! You are laughing ! Why, 
 did we not work together in the vineyards, and 
 did we not plan for the future? Ah*, yes! You 
 are a king only to me. I see. But it is a cruel
 
 346 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 jest, Leopold. Smile at me! Say something!" 
 Gretchen was hanging to the bars now ; her body, 
 held in the vise of growing terror, was almost a 
 dead weight. 
 
 "Gretchen, forgive me !" despairingly. 
 
 "He asks me to forgive him!" dully. "For 
 what?" 
 
 "For being a villain! Yes," his voice keen 
 with agony. "I am the king of Jugendheit. 
 But am I less a man for that ? Ah, God help me, 
 I have a right to love like other men! Do not 
 doubt me, Gretchen ; do not think that I played 
 with you. I love you better than my crown, bet 
 ter than my honor !" 
 
 "Take care, nephew!" came Prince Ludwig's 
 warning. "Some one else is near." 
 
 "I care not! Before all the world I would 
 gladly proclaim it. I love her. I swear that I 
 'shall never marry, that my heart is breaking! 
 Gretchen, Gretchen! My God, she is falling! 
 Help her!" wildly; and he shook the bars with 
 supernatural strength till his hands were bleed 
 ing. 
 
 But Gretchen did not answer.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 
 
 CARMICHAEL tramped about his -com, 
 restless, uneasy, starting at sounds. Half 
 a dozen times his cigar had gone out, and burned 
 matches lay scattered on the floor. He was wait 
 ing for Grumbach and his confreres. Now he 
 looked out of a window, now he spun the leaves 
 of a book, now he sat down, got up, and tramped 
 again. Anything but this suspense. A full day ! 
 The duel in the Biergarten; the king of Jugend- 
 heit and the prince regent in the Stein-schloss ; 
 the flight of the ambassador to the palace, more 
 like a madman than one noted for his calm and 
 circumspection ; Gretchen carried into the palace 
 in a dead faint, and her highness weeping; the 
 duke in a rage and brought over only after the 
 hardest struggle Carmichael had ever experi 
 enced. And deeper, firmer, became his belief and 
 conviction that Grumbach's affair vitally con- 
 347
 
 348 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 cerned her highness. What blunder had been 
 made? He would soon know. He welcomed the 
 knock on his door. Grumbach came in, carry 
 ing under his arm a small bundle. He was pale 
 but serene, like a man who had put his worldly 
 affairs in order. 
 
 ""Well, Captain, what did his Highness say?" 
 
 "Where are your companions ?" 
 
 "They are waiting outside." 
 
 "The duke agrees. He will give us an audi 
 ence at eight-thirty. I had a time of it !" 
 
 "Did you mention my name?" 
 
 "No. I went roundabout. I also obtained 
 his promise to say nothing to Herbeck till the 
 interview was over. Again he demurred, but his 
 curiosity saved the day. Now, Hans, the full 
 story." 
 
 Grumbach spread out on the bed the contents 
 of the bundle. 
 
 "Look at these and tell me what you see, Cap 
 tain." 
 
 Carmichael inspected the little yellow shoes. 
 He turned them over and over in his hand. He 
 shook out the folds of the little cloak, and the 
 locket fell on the bed.
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 349 
 
 "When did you get this?" he cried excitedly. 
 "It is her highness' !" 
 
 "So it is, Captain ; but I have carried it about 
 me all these years." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Yes, Captain. Count von Herbeck is a great 
 statesman, but he made a terrible mistake this 
 time. Listen. As sure as we are in this room 
 together, I believe that she whom we call the 
 princess is not the daughter of the grand duke." 
 
 Carmichael sat down on the edge of the bed, 
 numb and without any clear idea where he was. 
 From the stony look on his face, Grumbach 
 might have carried the head of Medusa in his 
 hand. The blood beat into his head with many 
 strange noises. Btut by and by the world became 
 clearer and brighter till all things took on the 
 rosal tint of dawn. Free ! If she was not a prin 
 cess, she was free, free ! 
 
 The duke allowed the quartet to remain stand 
 ing for some time. He strode up and down be 
 fore them, his eyes straining at the floor, his 
 hands behind his back. He was in fatigue-dress, 
 and only the star of Ehrenstein glittered on his 
 breast. He was never without this order. All
 
 350 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 at once he whirled round, and as a sailor plunges 
 the lead into the sea, so he plumbed the very 
 deeps of their eyes as if he would see beforehand 
 what strange things were at work in their souls. 
 
 "I do not recognize any of these persons," he 
 said to Carmichael. 
 
 "Your highness does not recognize me, then?" 
 asked the clock-mender. 
 
 "Come closer," commanded the duke. The 
 clock-mender obeyed. "Take off those specta 
 cles." The duke scanned the features, and over 
 his own came the dawn of recollection. "Your 
 
 eyes, your nose Arnsberg, here and alive? 
 
 Oh, this is too good to be true!" The duke 
 reached out toward the bell, but Carmichael in 
 terposed. 
 
 "Your highness will remember," he warned. 
 
 "Ha! So you have trapped me blindly? I 
 begin to understand. Who is this fellow Grum- 
 bach? Did I offer immunity to him?" 
 
 "I am Hans Breunner, Highness, and I ask 
 ifor nothing." 
 
 "Breunner? Breunner? Hans Breunner, 
 brother of Hermann, and you put yourself into 
 my hands?" The tone developed into a sup-
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 351 
 
 pressed roar. The duke took hold of Hans by 
 the shoulders and drew him close. "You dog! 
 So you ask for nothing? It shall be given to 
 you. To-morrow morning I shall have you shot ! 
 Hans Breunner ! God is good to me this night ! 
 Thanks, Herr Carmichael, a thousand thanks! 
 And I need not ask who that damnable scoundrel 
 is who has the black face and heart of a Gipsy. 
 When I recollect what I have suffered at your 
 hands ! If only the late king were here, my joy 
 would be complete !" 
 
 "Your Highness," said Von Arnsberg quietly, 
 "all I have left in the world are these two with 
 ered hands, and may God cut them off if they 
 ever wronged you in any act. I am innocent. 
 Those letters purported to have been written by 
 me were forgeries. I could not prove this, so 
 I have been outlawed, with the sentence of death 
 over my head. But to-night I shall leave this 
 palace a free man, and you shall ask pardon for 
 the wrong you have done me." 
 
 There was no fear in the voice; there was 
 nothing but confidence. The duke glared at the 
 speaker somberly, recalling what Herbeck had 
 often said.
 
 352 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "What you say still remains to be proved. 
 Now, what is at the bottom of all this ?" was the 
 demand. "You men have not obtained this in 
 terview for the sake of affirming your innocence. 
 Herr Carmichael, here, declared to me on honor 
 that you were in possession of a great secret. 
 Out with it, without any more useless recrimina 
 tion." 
 
 Hans replied not in words but in actions. He 
 crossed the room to the duke's desk and spread 
 out his treasures under the flickering candle 
 light. The duke, with a cry of terror, sprang 
 toward the secret drawer. His first thought was 
 that the shoes and cloak, upon which only his 
 eyes ever rested now, had been stolen. He 
 straightened. Nothing was missing. He glanced 
 from face to face, from the articles on the desk 
 to those in the drawer. He was overwhelmed. 
 But he steadied himself; it was no moment for 
 physical weakness. Slowly, ignoring every one, 
 he came back to the desk and fingered the locket. 
 Just then it was exceedingly quiet in the room, 
 save that each man heard the quick breathing 
 of his neighbor. The duke opened the locket, 
 looked long and steadfastly at the portrait, and
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 353 
 
 shut it. Then he went to the drawer again and 
 returned with the counterparts. He laid them 
 side by side. The likeness was perfect in all de 
 tails. 
 
 "Carmichael," he said, "will you please help 
 me? My eyes are growing old. Do I see these 
 things, or do I not? And if I do, which is mine, 
 and what does this signify?" The tremor in 
 his voice was audible. 
 
 Grumbach answered. "This, Highness. I took 
 these from the little princess with my own hands. 
 They have never been out of my keeping. Those 
 you have I know nothing about." 
 
 The duke rubbed his eyes. "My daughter?" 
 
 "The Princess Hildegarde is not your daugh 
 ter, Highness," said Hans solemnly. 
 
 "Gott!" The duke smote the desk in despair, 
 a despair which wrung the hearts of those who 
 witnessed it. "Herbeck ! I must send for Her- 
 beck!" 
 
 "Not yet, Highness ; later," Grumbach said. 
 
 "But if not Hildegarde I believe I must be 
 growing mad !" 
 
 "Patience, your Highness !" said Carmichael. 
 
 "Patience !" wearily. "You say patience when
 
 354 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 my heart is dying inside my breast? Patience? 
 Who, then, is this woman I have called my 
 child?" 
 
 "God knows, Highness!" Hans stood bowed 
 before this parental agony. 
 
 "But what proof have you that she is not? 
 What proof, I say ?" 
 
 "Would there be two lockets, Highness ?" 
 
 "More proof than this will be needed. Pro 
 duce it. Prolong this agony of doubt not an 
 other instant." 
 
 "Speak," said Hans to the Gipsy, who was 
 viewing the drama with the nonchalance of a 
 spectator rather than a participant. 
 
 "Highness," said the Gipsy, bowing, "he 
 speaks truly. He came with us. For fear that 
 the little highness might be recognized as we 
 traveled, we changed her clothes. He took them, 
 together with the locket. One day the soldiers 
 appeared in the distance. We all fled. We lost 
 the little highness, and none of us ever knew what 
 became of her. She wore the costume of my own 
 children." 
 
 "We shall produce that in time," said Von 
 Arnsberg.
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 355 
 
 "Damnable wretch!" said the duke, address 
 ing the Gipsy. 
 
 The other shrugged. He had been promised 
 immunity ; that was all he cared about, unless it 
 was the bag of silver and gold this old clock- 
 mender had given him a few hours gone. 
 
 "I am summoning her highness," said the 
 <duke, as he struck the bell. 
 
 "And, Highness," added Grumbach, "despatch 
 some one for Gretchen, who lives at number forty 
 the Krumerweg." 
 
 "The goose-girl? What does she know? Ah, 
 I remember. She is even now with her highness. 
 I shall send for them both." 
 
 Gretchen? Carmichael's bewilderment in 
 creased. What place had the goose-girl in this 
 tragedy ? 
 
 "Now, while we are waiting," resumed the 
 duke, his agitation somewhat under control, "the 
 proof, the definite proof !" 
 
 "Her highness stumbled one night," said 
 Hans, "and fell upon the fire. I snatched her 
 back, but not before her left arm was badly 
 burned." 
 
 The Gipsy nodded. "I saw it, Highness."
 
 356 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 And that was why Grumbach went to the mili 
 tary ball with opera-glasses! Carmichael was 
 round-eyed. But Gretchen ? 
 
 "The Princess Hildegarde has no scar upon 
 either arm," continued Grumbach. "I have seen 
 them. They are without a single flaw." 
 
 "More than that," reiterated the duke. "That 
 is not enough." 
 
 They became silent. Now and then one or the 
 other stirred. The duke never took his eyes off 
 the door through which her highness would 
 enter. 
 
 She came in presently, tender with mercy, an 
 arm supporting Gretchen, who was red-eyed and 
 white. 
 
 "You sent for us, father?" 
 
 How the word pierced the duke's heart ! "Yes, 
 my child," he answered ; for it mattered not who 
 she was or whither she had come, he had grown 
 to love her. 
 
 "I am sorry you sent for Gretchen," said Hil 
 degarde. "She is ill." 
 
 Gretchen sighed. To her the faces of the 
 men were indistinct. And, besides, she was with 
 out interest, listless, drooped.
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 357 
 
 "My child, will you roll up your left sleeve?" 
 said the duke. 
 
 "My sleeve?" Hildegarde thoughtfully looked 
 round. Roll up her sleeve? What possessed her 
 father? 
 
 "Do so at once." 
 
 "I can not roll up this sleeve, father," blush 
 ing and a trifle angry at so strange a request. 
 
 Hans opened his knife and laid bare her left 
 arm. She uttered a little angry cry. "How dare 
 you?" She tried to cover the arm. 
 
 "Let me look at it, Hildegarde," requested the 
 duke. 
 
 To him she presented her arm, for she now 
 understood that a serious affair was in progress. 
 But there was neither mole nor scar upon the 
 round and lovely arm. 
 
 "Why do you do this, father? What is the 
 meaning?" 
 
 No one answered ; no one had the heart to an 
 swer. Without waiting for the duke to bid him 
 continue, Hans unceremoniously ripped open 
 Gretchen's left sleeve. The ragged scar was 
 visible to them all. And while they grouped
 
 358 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 round the astonished goose-girl they heard her 
 highness cry out with surprise. 
 
 "What is this?" she said, pointing to the two 
 pairs of shoes and the two cloaks. She held up 
 the locket, the twin of which hung round her 
 neck. "Where did these come from?" 
 
 "My child," the duke answered, unashamed of 
 his tears, "only God knows as yet what it means ; 
 but the outward sign testifies to a strange and 
 horrible blunder. The locket you hold in your 
 hand was taken from you when you were an in 
 fant. The one you wear round your neck is, 
 according to the statement of one of these men, 
 not genuine." 
 
 "And the significance?" She grew tall, and 
 the torn sleeve fell away from her arm. 
 
 "That what is done must be all undone. I 
 know you to be brave. Strengthen your heart, 
 then. I stand before you the most wretched man 
 in all this duchy. These men affirm that I am 
 not your father. They say that you are not my 
 daughter." 
 
 "And that Gretchen is!" spoke Hans. His 
 conscience was costing every one something dear. 
 
 "I?" Gretchen drew closer to Hildegarde.
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 359 
 
 The duke studied the portrait of the mother 
 and then the faces of these two girls. Both 
 possessed a resemblance, only it seemed now that 
 Gretchen was nearest to the portrait and Hilde- 
 garde nearest to the doubt. 
 
 "You say she wore the costume of a Gipsy 
 child when you lost her?" said the duke. 
 
 "Yes." Von Arnsberg took from under his 
 coat a small bundle which he opened with shak 
 ing fingers. He had been in the Krumerweg that 
 afternoon. 
 
 "Why, those are mine!" exclaimed Gretchen 
 excitedly. 
 
 "You see?" said Von Arnsberg. "Would you 
 not like to be a princess, Gretchen?" 
 
 A princess? Gretchen's heart fluttered. A 
 princess? She saw the king shaking the bars 
 of his cell; she heard his voice calling out his 
 love for her. A princess ? She laid her head on 
 Hildegarde's shoulder. She was weak, and this 
 was some dream. 
 
 "But who, then, am I?" asked Hildegarde. 
 There was no sign of weakness here. 
 
 Again there was no answer. 
 
 "Tell what you know," said Hans to the
 
 360 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 Gipsy. "Highness, he alone knows the man who 
 brought about all this." 
 
 "The archplotter of this damnable conspir 
 acy?" The duke's eyes became alive, his face, 
 his whole body. Every beat of his heart cried 
 out for vengeance. "Who is he ? Tell me ! Give 
 him to me, man, and all of you shall go free. 
 Give him into these hands. His name!" The 
 duke's hands worked convulsively as if they 
 were already round the throat of this unseen, 
 implacable enemy. He was terrible in this mo 
 ment. 
 
 The Gipsy produced a letter. It had to be 
 held carefully, as it was old and tattered. The 
 duke read it. Beyond that it made the original 
 offer it was worthless. The handwriting was 
 palpably disguised. The duke flung the missive 
 to the floor. 
 
 "Fool! Is that all you have? Tell me what 
 you know, man, or I shall have you shot in the 
 morning, immunity or no immunity ! Quick !" 
 
 "Highness," said the Gipsy, thoroughly 
 alarmed, "this is how it happened. My band 
 was staying at the time in Dreiberg. We told 
 fortunes and exhibited an Italian puppet-show.
 
 TWIN LOCKETS 361 
 
 The letter came first. I was poor and sometimes 
 desperate. I was to take her away and leave her 
 with strange people." 
 
 "Ah!" interrupted the duke, with despairing 
 gesture toward Grumbach, "why did you not 
 leave us all in peace ?" 
 
 "Highness, a great wrong has been done, and 
 God brought me here to right it." 
 
 "You are a brave man," darkly. 
 
 "I am in your hands, Highness," sturdily. 
 "In a mad moment I committed a crime. I shall 
 abide by whatever punishment you may inflict." 
 
 "Continue," said the duke to the Gipsy. 
 
 "Well, Highness, I would not accept till I had 
 talked personally with him. He came at last. 
 His face was hidden and his voice muffled. But 
 this I saw ; when he gave me the first half of the 
 money I was certain I should know him again." 
 
 "How?" 
 
 "By his little finger, Highness." 
 
 "His little finger?" Von Arnsberg repeated. 
 
 The two women, large-eyed and bewildered, 
 clung to each other's hand tensely. These were 
 heart-breaking times. Gretchen's mind, how 
 ever, absorbed nothing, neither the words nor
 
 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 the picture. Her thoughts revolved round one 
 thing ; if she were a princess she could be happy. 
 But the other, from under whose feet all tangible 
 substances seemed to be giving way, she was 
 possessed by two thoughts which surged in her 
 brain like combatants. If not a princess, what 
 was she? If not a princess, she was free. She 
 stole a swift glance at Carmichael, who seemed 
 far removed from the heart of this black busi 
 ness ; and had he been looking at her he would 
 have seen the gates opening into Eden. 
 
 "What was this little finger like?" asked the 
 duke, shuddering. 
 
 "One time it had been cut or mangled." 
 
 "The man was tall?" 
 
 "Yes, Highness." 
 
 The duke silently toyed with the little yellow 
 shoes. Suddenly he laughed ; but it was the ter 
 rible laughter of a madman. There were death 
 and desolation in it. 
 
 "Come, all of you; you, Gretchen, and you, 
 Hildegarde; come, Carmichael, and you, Arns- 
 berg ; all of you ! Let us go and pay a visit to 
 our good friend, Herbeck !"
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A LITTLE FINGER 
 
 r 1 1HE king of Jugendheit, Prince Ludwig, 
 A and the chancellor sat in the form of a 
 triangle. Herbeck was making a pyramid of 
 his finger-tips, sometimes touching his chin with 
 his thumbs. His face was cheerful. His royal 
 highness, still in the guise of a mountaineer, sat 
 stiffly in his chair, the expression on his face 
 hardly translatable; that on the king's not at 
 all. He was dressed in the brilliant uniform of 
 a colonel in the Prussian Uhlans, an honor con 
 ferred upon him recently by King William. 
 Prior to his advent into the Grand Duchy of 
 Ehrenstein he had been to Berlin. A whim, for 
 which he was now grateful, had cozened him into 
 carrying this uniform along with him on his ad 
 ventures. It was only after he met Gretchen 
 that there came moments when he forgot he was 
 a king. He was pale. From hour to hour his 
 heart seemed to grow colder and smaller and 
 363
 
 364 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 harder, till it now rested in his breast with the 
 heaviness of a stone, out of which life and the 
 care of living had been squeezed. He rarely 
 spoke, leaving the burden of the conversation to 
 rest upon his uncle's tongue. 
 
 "So your royal highness will understand," 
 said Herbeck, "that it was the simplest move I 
 could make, and the safest. Were it known, or 
 had it been known this morning, that the king 
 of Jugendheit and the prince regent had entered 
 Dreiberg in disguise and had been lodged in the 
 Stein-schloss, there would have been a serious 
 riot in the city. So I had you arrested as spies. 
 Presently a closed carriage will convey you to 
 the frontier, and the unfortunate incident will be 
 ended." 
 
 "Thanks !" said Prince Ludwig. 
 
 "And when you cross the frontier, it would be 
 wise to disperse the troops waiting there for 
 you." 
 
 Prince Ludwig smiled. "It was only an army 
 of defense. The duke had nearly twenty thou 
 sand men at the maneuvers. I have no desire 
 for war; but, on the other hand, I am always 
 ready for it."
 
 A LITTLE FINGER 365 
 
 "There will never be any war between us," 
 prophetically. "The duke grows impatient at 
 times, but I can always rouse his sense of justice. 
 You will, of course, pardon the move I made. 
 There will be no publicity. There will be no 
 newspaper notoriety, for the journalists will 
 know nothing of what has really happened." 
 
 "For that consideration your excellency has 
 my deepest thanks," replied Prince Ludwig. 
 
 "I thought it best to let you go without see 
 ing the duke. The meeting between you two 
 might be painful." 
 
 "That also is thoughtful of your excellency," 
 said the king. "I have no desire to see or speak 
 to his highness." 
 
 "There is, however, one favor I should like to 
 ask," said the prince. 
 
 "Can I grant it?" 
 
 "Easily. I wish to leave a sum of money in 
 trust, to be paid to one Gretchen Schwarz, who 
 lives in the Krumerweg. She is ambitious to be 
 come a singer. Let nothing stand between her 
 and her desires." 
 
 "Granted." 
 
 The heart of the king, at the sound of that
 
 366 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 dear name, suddenly expanded and stifled him. 
 The stiffness went out of his shoulders. 
 
 "Ah, this little world of ours, the mistakes and 
 futile schemes we make upon it!" The chan 
 cellor dallied with his quill pen. "It was a cyni 
 cal move of fate that your majesty should see 
 the goose-girl first." 
 
 "Enough!" cried the king vehemently. "Let 
 us have no more retrospection, if you please. 
 Moreover, I shall be obliged to you if you will 
 summon at once the carriage which is to take us 
 to the frontier. The situation has been amicably 
 and satisfactorily explained. I see no reason 
 why we should be detained any longer." 
 
 "Nor I," added Prince Ludwig. "I am rather 
 weary of these tatters. I should even like a 
 bath." 
 
 The three of them were immediately attracted 
 by a singular noise outside in the corridor. The 
 door swung in violently, crashing against the 
 wall and shivering into atoms the Venetian mir 
 ror. The king, the prince, and the chancellor 
 were instantly upon their feet. The king 
 clutched the back of his chair with a grip of 
 iron: Gretchen? Her highness? What was
 
 A LITTLE FINGER 367 
 
 Gretchen doing here ? Ah, could he have flown ! 
 He muttered a curse at the chancellor for the 
 delay. But happily Gretchen did not see him. 
 
 The duke came in first, and he waited till the 
 others were inside; then he shut the door with 
 lesser violence and rushed over to the chancellor. 
 
 "Herbeck, you villain !" 
 
 The chancellor stared at the Gipsy, at Von 
 Arnsberg, at Grumbach. 
 
 "Herbeck, you black scoundrel!" cried the 
 duke. "Can you realize how difficult it is not 
 to take you by the throat and strangle you here 
 and now?" 
 
 "He is mad!" said Herbeck, bracing himself 
 against the desk. 
 
 "Yes. I am mad, but it is the sane madness 
 of a terribly wronged man. Come here, you 
 Gipsy!" The duke seized Herbeck's hand and 
 pressed it down fiercely on the desk. "Look at 
 that and tell me if it is not the hand of a Judas !" 
 
 "That is the hand, Highness," said the Gipsy, 
 without hesitation. 
 
 The duke flung the hand aside. As he did so 
 something snapped in Herbeck's brain, though 
 at that instant he was not conscious of it.
 
 368 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "It was you, you! It was your hand that 
 wrecked my life, yours ! Ah, is there such vil 
 lainy? Are such men born and do they live? 
 My wife dead, my own heart broken, Arnsberg 
 ruined and disgraced ! And these two children : 
 which is mine?" 
 
 To the king of Jugendheit the ceiling reeled 
 and the floor revolved under his feet. 
 
 "Villain, what have you to say? What was 
 your purpose?" 
 
 How many years, thought Herbeck, had he 
 been preparing for this moment ? How long had 
 he been steeling his heart against this very 
 scene? Futile dream! He drew himself to 
 gether with a supreme effort. He would face 
 this hour as he had always planned to face it. 
 Found out ! He looked at his finger, touched it 
 with an impersonal curiosity. He had forgotten 
 all about such a possibility. Where had he read 
 that there is no crime but leaves some evidence, 
 infinitesimally small though it be, which shall 
 lead to the truth ? After all, he was glad. The 
 strain, borne so long, was gradually killing him. 
 A little finger, to have stopped the wheel of so 
 great a scheme ! Irony !
 
 A LITTLE FINGER 369 
 
 "Your Highness," he said, his voice soft and 
 strangely clear, "I have been waiting for this 
 hour. So I am found out! How little we know 
 what God intends !" 
 
 "You speak of God? You blaspheme!" 
 
 "Bear with me for a space. I shall not hold 
 you long." 
 
 "But why? What have I done to you that 
 you should wreck all I hold dear?" 
 
 "For you I have always had a strong affec 
 tion, strange as it may sound." Herbeck fum 
 bled with his collar, which was tightening round 
 his throat like a band of hot iron. "I have prac 
 tically governed this country for sixteen years. 
 In that time I have made it prosperous and 
 happy ; I have given you a substantial treasury ; 
 I have made you an army ; I have brought peace 
 where you would have brought war. To my 
 people God will witness that I have done my duty 
 as I saw it. One day I fell the victim of a mad 
 dream. And to think that I almost won !" 
 
 "And I ?" said Hildegarde, her hands clenched 
 and pressed against her bosom. "What have 
 you done to me, who am innocent of any wrong? 
 What have you done to me?"
 
 370 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "You, my child? I have wronged you great 
 est of all. The wrong I have done to you is ir 
 reparable. Ah, have not my arms hungered 
 for .the touch of you, my heart ached for the 
 longing of you? To see you day after day, 
 always humble before you, always glad to kiss 
 the back of your hand! Have I not lived in 
 hell, your Highness ?" turning to the duke. 
 
 "What am I, and who am I ?" whispered Hil- 
 degarde, her heart almost ceasing to beat. 
 
 "I am your father 1" simply.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 HAPPINESS 
 
 THE grand duke of Ehrenstein beheld the 
 chancellor with that phase of astonish 
 ment which leaves the mind unclouded. The 
 violent storm in his heart gave way to a calm, 
 not at all menacing, but tinctured with a pro 
 found pity. What a project! What a mind 
 to conceive it, to perfect it down to so small a 
 detail as a jeweler's mark in the gold of the 
 locket! And a little finger to betray it! In a 
 flash he saw vividly all this man had undergone, 
 day by day, unfaltering, unhesitant, forgetting 
 nothing, remembering everything but the one 
 insignificant item which was to overthrow him. 
 He felt that he was confronted with a great 
 problem ; what to do with the man ? 
 
 Prince Ludwig took off his hat. "Herbeck, 
 you are a great politician." 
 
 "No, prince," replied Herbeck, with ineffable 
 371
 
 372 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 sadness. "Had I been a great politician I 
 should have succeeded. Ah, give this to my 
 merit; self never entered into this dream. For 
 you, my child, only for you. And so great was 
 this dream that I almost made you a queen! 
 You are my flesh and blood, the child of my wife, 
 whom I loved. She was only a singer in the 
 opera, at Dresden, but her soul was great, like 
 yours. It is a simple story." 
 
 Hildegarde did not move, nor had she moved 
 since the revelation. Carmichael, a secret joy 
 in his heart, watched the girl for the slightest 
 swaying, that inevitable prelude to fainting. 
 But Hildegarde was not the kind of woman who 
 faints in the face of a catastrophe, however 
 great it might be. The only sign of life lay in 
 her beautiful eyes, the gaze of which remained 
 unswervingly fixed upon the chancellor's ashen 
 countenance. 
 
 "Hildegarde," said the duke, "you shall be 
 come my daughter, and you shall dwell here till 
 the end of your days. I will try to right the 
 wrong that has been done to you." 
 
 "No, your Highness," she replied. "There is 
 but one place for me, and that is at my father's
 
 HAPPINESS 373 
 
 side." And resolutely she walked to the chan 
 cellor's left and her hand stole down and met 
 his firmly. "My father, I forgive you," she 
 said, with quiet dignity. 
 
 "They are all wrong, Frederick," whispered 
 Prince Ludwig. "She is as much a princess as 
 the other." 
 
 "You forgive me ?" The chancellor could not 
 believe his ears. 
 
 "Yes, father." 
 
 Then, recalling all the child-hunger in his 
 arms and heart, he swept her to his breast con 
 vulsively; and the unloosed tears dropped upon 
 her bright head. 
 
 "And who am I ?" said Gretchen. 
 
 "Breunner, you say this little goose-girl is my 
 daughter ?" 
 
 "I solemnly swear it, Highness. Look into 
 her face again carefully." 
 
 The duke did so, a hand on either cheek. He 
 scrutinized every contour, the color of the eyes, 
 the low, broad brow, the curve of the chin. Out 
 of the past he conjured up the mother's face. 
 Yes, beyond any doubt, there was a haunting 
 likeness, and he had never noted it before.
 
 374; THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 "But who will prove it to the world?" he cried 
 hopelessly, still holding Gretchen's wondering 
 face between his hands. 
 
 "I shall prove it," said the king. 
 
 "You? And how?" 
 
 "I shall marry Gretchen ; I shall make her a 
 queen. That will be proof enough." 
 
 "A fine stroke, nephew ; a bold stroke !" Prince 
 Ludwig laid his hand upon the king's shoulder 
 with rare affection. 
 
 "If you accept her without further proof, I, 
 her father, can do no less." And the duke kissed 
 Gretchen on the forehead and led her over to the 
 king, gravely joining their hands. 
 
 "Gretchen !" murmured the king. 
 
 "I do not know how to act like a princess." 
 
 "I shall teach you." 
 
 Gretchen laid her head on his breast. She was 
 very tired and much bewildered. 
 
 The duke paced the length of the cabinet sev 
 eral times. No one interrupted his meditation. 
 Back and forth, one hand hanging to the oppo 
 site shoulder, the other folding over his chin. 
 Then he paused with abruptness. 
 
 "Your Majesty, I regret that your father is
 
 HAPPINESS 375 
 
 not alive to accept my apologies for so baselessly 
 misjudging him. Arnsberg, nothing that I can 
 do will restore these wasted years. But I offer 
 you the portfolio." 
 
 "I am only a broken man, your Highness ; too 
 old." 
 
 "It is my will." 
 
 Arnsberg bent his head in submission. 
 
 "As for you," said the duke to the Gipsy, "go, 
 and if you ever step this side the frontier again 
 you will be shot out of hand." He stopped 
 again in front of Grumbach. "I promised to 
 have you shot in the morning. That promise 
 holds. But a train leaves for Paris a little after 
 midnight. My advice is for you not to miss it." 
 
 "And my father, your Highness?" said Hilde- 
 garde bravely. 
 
 "Herbeck, your estates are confiscated, your 
 name is struck from the civic and military lists. 
 Have you any ready funds?" 
 
 "A little, your Highness." 
 
 "Enough to take you for ever out of this part 
 of the world?" 
 
 "Yes, your Highness." 
 
 "You do not ask to be forgiven, and I like
 
 376 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 that. I have judges in Dreiberg. I could have 
 you tried and condemned for high treason, shot 
 or imprisoned for life. But to-night I shall not 
 use this prerogative. You have, perhaps, three 
 hours to get your things in order. To-morrow 
 you will be judged and condemned. But you, 
 Hildegarde " 
 
 "No, your Highness ; we shall both take the 
 train for Paris. Gretchen, you will be happy." 
 
 Gretchen ran and flung herself into Hilde- 
 garde's arms ; and the two of them wept. Hil 
 degarde pushed Gretchen away gently. 
 
 "Come, father, we have so little time." 
 
 And this was the sum of the duke's revenge. 
 
 It never took Carmichael long to make up his 
 mind definitely. He found his old friend the 
 cabman in the Platz, and they drove like mad to 
 the consulate. An hour here sufficed to close his 
 diplomatic career and seal it hermetically. The 
 clerk, however, would go on like Tennyson's 
 brook, for ever and for ever. Next he went to 
 the residence of his banker in the Konig Strasse 
 and got together all his available funds. Eleven 
 o'clock found him in his rooms at the Grand
 
 HAPPINESS 377 
 
 Hotel, feverishly packing his trunk and bag. 
 Paris! He would go, also, even if they passed 
 on to the remote ends of the world. 
 
 The train stood waiting in the gloomy Bahn- 
 hof. The guards patrolled the platform. Pres 
 ently three men came out of the station door. 
 Two were officers; the third, Colonel von Wal- 
 lenstein, was in civilian dress. He was sullen 
 and depressed. 
 
 Said one of the officers : "And it is the express 
 command of General Ducwitz that you will re 
 turn here under the pain of death. Is that ex 
 plicit?" 
 
 "It is." The colonel got into his compartment 
 and slammed the door viciously. 
 
 In the next compartment sat Grumbach. He 
 was smoking his faithful pipe. He was, withal, 
 content. This was far more satisfactory than 
 standing up before the firing-line. And, besides, 
 he had made history in Ehrenstein that night; 
 they would not forget the name of Breunner 
 right away. To America, with a clean slate and 
 a reposeful conscience ; it was more than he had 
 any reasonable right to expect. Tekla! He 
 laughed sardonically. She was no doubt sound
 
 378 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 asleep by this time, and the end of the chapter 
 would never be written for her. What fools 
 these young men a-courting were! War and 
 famine and pestilence ; did these not always fol 
 low at the heels of women ? 
 
 As the station-master's bell rang, the door 
 opened and a man jumped in. He tossed his 
 bag into the corner and plumped down in the 
 seat. 
 
 "Captain?" 
 
 "You, Hans?" 
 
 "Yes. Where are you going?" 
 
 "I am weary of Dreiberg, so I am taking a 
 little vacation." 
 
 "For how long?" suspiciously, 
 
 "Oh, for ever so long!" evasively. And Car- 
 michael lifted his feet to the opposite seat and 
 prepared to go to sleep. 
 
 Hans said nothing more. He was full of wis 
 dom. He had an idea. The fleeing chancellor 
 and his daughter were on the train, and he was 
 certain that his friend Carmichael knew it. 
 
 The lights of the city presently vanished, and 
 the long journey began, through the great clefts 
 in the mountains, over gorges, across rivers,
 
 HAPPINESS 379 
 
 along wide valleys, and into the mountains 
 again; a journey of nearly seventy hours. At 
 each stop Carmichael got out, and every time 
 he returned Hans could read disappointment on 
 his face. Still he said nothing. He was an ad 
 mirable comrade. 
 
 By the aid of certain small briberies on the 
 train and in Paris Carmichael gathered, bit by 
 bit, that the destination of the woman he loved 
 was America. But never once did he set eyes 
 upon her till she and her father mounted the 
 gang-plank to the vessel which was to carry 
 them across the wide Atlantic. The change in 
 Herbeck was pitiable. His face had aged twenty 
 years in these sixty odd hours. His clothes, the 
 same he had worn that ever-memorable night, 
 hung loosely about his gaunt frame, and there 
 was a vacancy in his eyes which was eloquent of 
 mental collapse. The girl quietly and tenderly 
 guided him to the deck and thence to his state 
 room. Carmichael abided his time. 
 
 A French newspaper contained a full account 
 of Herbeck's coup and his subsequent flight. It 
 also recounted the excitement of the following 
 day, the appearance of Gretchen on the steps of
 
 380 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 the palace, and the great shouting of the people 
 as they acclaimed her the queen of Jugendheit. 
 
 The second day out Carmichael's first oppor 
 tunity came. He discovered Herbeck and his 
 daughter leaning against the rail. He watched 
 them uneasily, wondering how he might ap 
 proach without startling her. At last he keyed 
 up his courage. 
 
 "Good morning, your Highness," he stam 
 mered, and inwardly cursed his stupidity. 
 
 At the sound of his voice she turned, and there 
 was no mistaking the gladness in her eyes. 
 
 "Mr. Carmichael?" 
 
 "Yes. I was surprised to learn that you were 
 taking the same boat as myself." 
 
 How clumsy he was ! she thought. For she 
 had known his every move since the train drew 
 out of Dreiberg. 
 
 "Father, here is our friend, Herr Carmi 
 chael." 
 
 "Carmichael?" said Herbeck slowly. "Ah, 
 yes. Good morning." 
 
 And Carmichael instantly comprehended that 
 his name recalled nothing to the other man's re 
 membrance.
 
 HAPPINESS 381 
 
 "You are returning to America?" she asked. 
 
 "For good, perhaps. To tell the truth, I ran 
 away, deserted my post, though technically I 
 have already resigned. But America has been 
 calling me for some days. You have never been 
 to sea before?" 
 
 "No ; it is all marvelous and strange to me." 
 
 "Let us walk, my child," said Herbeck. 
 
 "You will excuse me, Mr. Carmichael?" she 
 said. Never more the rides in the fair morn 
 ings. Never more the beautiful gardens, the 
 music, the galloping of soldiers who drew their 
 sabers whenever they passed her. Never more 
 any of these things. 
 
 "Can I be of any assistance?" he said, in an 
 undertone. 
 
 "No," sadly. 
 
 The days, more or less monotonous, went past. 
 Sometimes he saw her alone on deck, but only 
 for a little while. Her father was slowly im 
 proving, but with this improvement came the 
 natural desire for seclusion ; so he came on deck 
 only at night. 
 
 The night on which the vessel bore into the 
 moist, warm air of the Gulf Stream was full of
 
 382 THE GOOSE GIRL 
 
 moonshine, of smooth, phosphorescent billows. 
 Herbeck had gone below. The girl leaned over 
 the rail, alone and lonely. And Carmichael, 
 seeing her, could no longer still the desire in his 
 heart. He came up to her. 
 
 "See!" she exclaimed, pointing to the little 
 eddies of foam speeding along the hull. "Do 
 you know what they remind me of? Mermaids' 
 fingers, grasping and clutching at the boat as 
 if to drag it down below." 
 
 How beautiful she was with the frost of moon 
 light on her hair ! 
 
 "You must not talk like that," he admonished. 
 
 "I am very unhappy." 
 
 "And when you say that you make me so, 
 too." 
 
 "Why ?" She had spoken the word at last. 
 
 "Do you remember the night you dropped 
 your fan?" leaning so closely toward her that 
 his arm pressed against hers. 
 
 "I remember." 
 
 "You put that word then. In honor I dared 
 not answer. You were a princess ! I was only a 
 soldier of fortune. But now that you are in 
 trouble, now that you have need of me, I
 
 HAPPINESS 383 
 
 may answer. I may tell you now why, why I 
 have thrown ambition and future to the winds, 
 why I am here at your side to-night. Need I 
 tell you? Do you not know, and have you not 
 known ? Am I cruel to speak of love in the mo 
 ment of your great affliction? Well, I must be 
 cruel. I love you ! Faithfully and loyally, now 
 and hereafter, through this sad day into hap 
 pier ones. I ask nothing for this love I offer; 
 I ask only that I may use it in your service, in 
 good times or bad." 
 
 "Ask what you will," she whispered. "I am 
 happy now !" 
 
 THE END
 
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