HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1931-12-17, Page 6PAGE SIX
NITENSDNILLESSIENNININNTINESSICANNENICNNLININNT
w
of the
By S. R. erockett
(Continued from Last Week)'
CHAPTER LII.
The 1'Iargrai's Powder Chests.
It was indeed Alexis the Deacon
who met the Lady Theresa, And the
matter had •been arranged just as Bor-
is said. Alexis the Deacon, a wise
man of many disguises, remained in
'Courtland after the abrupt departure
cif 'Prince Ivan. Theresa found , him
in the hospital, where, sheltered by a
curtain, she heard him talk with a dy-
ing man—the son of a Greek merch-
ant domiciled in Courtland, whose tal-
ent for languages and quick intelli-
gence had induced. Prince Conrad to
place him on his immediate staff of
officers,
"I bid you reveal to me the plans
and intents of the Prince," Theresa
heard Alexis say, "otherwise I 'can-
not give you this.
At this the young Greek groaned
and turned aside his head, for, he lov-
ed the Prince. Nevertheless, he spoke
into the ear of the physician all he
knew, and as a reward received a
sleeping draught, which induced the
sleep from which none awaken.
And afterwards Theresa .had spoken
also.
So it was this same Alexis—spy,
surgeon, assassin, and chief confidant
of Ivan Prince of 'Muscovy—who, in
front of the watehfires, 'bent over the
hand of Theresa von Lynar on that
stormy night which succeeded the
crowning victory of the Russian arms
in Courtland.
"This way, madam. Fear not, The
Prince is eagerly awaiting you—'both
Princes, in.deed," Alexis said, as he Sed
her into the camp through lines of
lighted tents and curious eyes looking
at them from the darkness. "Only tell
them all that you have to tell, and,
trust me, there shall be no bounds to
the gratitude of the Prince, or of
Alexis the (Deacon, his most humble
servant."
Theresa thought of what this
boundless gratitude had obtained for
the young Greek, and smiled. They
came to an open space before a light-
ed pavilion, 'Before the door stood a
pair of officers trying in vain to shield
their gay attire under scanty shoulder
cloaks from the hurtling inclemency
of the night. Their ready swords,
however, barred the way.
"To see the Prince—his Highness
expects es," said Alexis, without sal-
ute. And with no further objection
the two afficers stood aside, staring
eagerly and curiously however under
the hood of the lady's cloak whom
Alexis brought so late to the tent of
their master.
"Hal" muttered one of thein con-
fidentially as the pair passed within,
"I often wondered what kept our Ivan
so long in Courtland.. iIt was more
than his wooing of the Princess Mar-
garet, I will wager!"
"Curse the wetl" growled his fellow,
turning away. He felt it was no time
for speculative scandal.
Theresa,and her conductor stood
within thtent of the commander of
the' Muscovite army. The glow of
light, though it cane from candies set
within lanterns of horn. was great e-
nough to be dazzling to her eyes.She
found herself in the immediate pres-
ence of Prince Ivalt, who rose with
his usual lithe grace to greet her. An
older man, with a grey pinched face,
sat listlessly with his elbow on the
small camp table. Ile leaned his fore-
head on his palm. and looked down.
,Behind, in the half dark of the tent, a
lav wide divan with cushions was
revealed, and all the upper end of the
tent was -filled ep with a huge and
. h:'srluwypile of kegs and boxes, only
Bali concealed behind a curtain.
"I bid you welcome, my lady," said
Prince Iran, 'taking her hand. ".S•urely
never did ally come welcomer than
you to our camp to -night, (lily ser-
vant Alexis has told me of your good
will --loll towards ourselves and to.
Prince Lnuic." 1(He 'indicated the si-
Sett .sitting- figure with a little move-
ment of his hand s'ufficient'ly con-
temptuous.) "Let us hear your news,
and Then will we find yon such lodg-
ing and w'el'come as may he among
oissommesmowsmossiormii
rough soldiers and in a camp of war."
As he Was speaking "Theresa von
'L'ynar loosened her long cloak of
'blue, its straight folds dank and heavy
with the rain's. The eyes of the
.Prince of Muscovy grew wider. 'Hith-
er'to this woman had been to hint but
a common• traitress, possessed' of
great secrets, doubtless to 'be flattered
a little, and then—afterwards—
thrown aside. Now he stood gazing
at her his hands resting easily on the
table, his body a little bent. As she
revealed herself to him the pupils of
his eyes dilated, and amber gleans
seemed to shoot across the irises. He.
thought he had never seen so beauti-
ful a woman. As he stood there,
sharpening' his features and moisten-
ing his lips, Prince Ivan looked ex-
oeedingly like a beast of prey looking
out of Isis hole upon a quarry .which
comes of its own accord within reach
of his claws.
,But in a moment he had recovered
himself, and cane forward with re-
newed reverence.
"-lladam," :he said, bowing low,
"will you be pleased to sit down
You are wet and tired."
!He went to the flap of the pavilion
and pushed aside the dripping flap.
"Alexis!" he cried, "call up :nay
people. IBid them bring a brazier,
and telt .these lazy fellows to serve
supper in half ,an hour on peril of
their heads,
;He returned and stood before Ther-
esa, who had sunk back as if fatigued
on an ottoman covered with' thick
furs. II -ler feet nestled in the bear-
skins which covered the floor. The
Prince looked anxiously down.
"Pardon me, your shoes are wet,"
he said. "We are but Muscovite
boors, brit we know how to make la-
dies comfortable, Permit 'mel"
And before Theresa could murmur
a negative the Prince had knelt down
and was uulossing the latchets of her
shoes.
"A moment!" he said, as he sprang
again to his feet with lithe alertness
which distinguished him. Prince
Ivan ran to la 'coiner where, with brus-
que hand of a master, he had tossed
a score ,of priceless furs to the ground.
He rase again and carie towards
Theresa with a flash of something
scarlet in his. hand.
"You will pardon us, madam, he
said, "you are our guest—the sole la-
dy in our camp. I lay it upon your
good nature to forgive our rude
makeshifts."
And again Prince Ivan knelt. He
encased Theresa's feet in dainty Or-
iental slippers, small as her own, and
placed them delicately and. respect-
fully on the couch.
"There, that is betted" ,he said,
standing over her tenderly,
"I thank you, 'Prince." She answer-
ed the action more than the words,
smiling upon him with her large gra-
ciousness; "I am not wonth'y of so
great favour,"
"My lady," said the Prince, "it is
a proverb of our house that though
one day Muscovy shall rule the
world, a woman will always rule Mus-
covy, 1 am as nay fathers were!"
Theresa did not answer. She only
smiled at- Prince, the e n ce, .leaning .a little
further back and resting her heed
easily upon the palm of her hand. The
servitors brought in more lamps,
which they slung along the ridge-
pole of the roof, and these shedding
dawn a .mellow light enhan'ced the
ripe splendorofTheresa's beauty.
(Prince Ivan acknowledged to hint-,
;elf that he had spoken the truth when
he 'said that he had never seen a .wo-
man so beautiful, Margaret? ais, Mar-
garet was well enough; Margaret was
a princess, a political necessity, but
this woman 'was of a nobler fashion,
after a much more truly 'Russ. And
the Prince o'f Muscovy, who laved 'his
fruit with the least touch of over -ripe-
ness, would not admit to himself that
this woman was one hour past' the.
prime of her gloribus beauty. And in-
deed there was much to be said for
this judgment.
Theresa's splendid head was set
against the dusky skins.:IIcr rich hair
of Venice gold, escaping a little from
THE SEAFORTH NEWS.
the massy carefulness of its ordero
coils, had been 'blown into wet curl
that clung closely to her white nee!
Viand tendrilled about her broad lo'w
brow". The -warmth, of the tent anc
the soft luxury of the rich rugs ha'
brought :a flush of red' to a dice'
which yet tingled with the volleying
of the Baltic raindrops.
"Alexis nihver 'told me this woman
was so beaui`ilfitl," he. said to himself.
"Who is ahe? She cannot be of Court-
land, .Such a marvel could not have
been hidden Irani the during all eny
stay there!"
'So he addressed himself to making
the 'discovery,
"My lady," he said, "you are' ou'r
guest. Will you deign to tell us how
mare formally we mnay'addrets you
You are no 'Courtl'ander, as all Etas'
seel"
"I .int a Dane," she anewe'red smil-
ing; "I ani called the 'Lady 'Theres'a
IFor the present let that suffice. I am
venturing much to 'cone to you thu'sl
My father and 'b'rot'hers built a castle
volt the Baltic shore on Mad that has
been the " inheritance .of nay mother
'Then came'the reivers of Kern•sbturg
,and 'burned the castle to the ground.
.They burned it with fire 'from cellar
to roof -tree. And they slackened the
'fire with. the blood.'af any nearest.lcin-
dred!„
As she spoke Theresa's, eyes glit-
tered and altered. The Prince read
easily the ,mean ng of that excitement.
Iiow was he to know all that lay be-
hind, ?
"And so," he said,:"you have no.
good-wit to the Princess Joan' of Ho-
henstein--and Courtland, Or to, any
of her favourers ?" he added, after a
.pause.
At the pante the grey -headed ,man,
who had been sitting unmoved by the
table with his elbow on the board,
raised a strangely wizened 'face to
Theresa's.
."What"—he said, in broken accents,
stammering in his speech and grap-
pling with the words as if, like a
wrestler at a fair, he must throw each
one severally --"what ---who has a
word to say against' the Lady Jloan.
Princess of (Courtland'? 'Whoso
wrongs her has me to'reckon. with -
aye, were it my brother !Ivan h•ini-
s'el'f I"
"Not 1, certainly, my good Louis.,"
answered Ivan easily. "I would not
wrong the Iady by word or deed for
all Germany front Bor-Teussia to the
Rhine -fall!"
'He turned to Alexis the Deacon,
who was at his elbow,
"F111 up his cup—remember what I
bade you!" he.said sharply in an un-
dertone.
"His cup is full, he will drink no
more. He pushes it from hint!" an-
swered Alexis in the same hall -whis-
per. But neither, as it seemed, took
any particular pains to prevent their•
words carrying to the ear of Prince
Louis, And, indeed, they had rightly
judged. 'For swiftly as it .had come
the momentary flash of manhood died
out on the meagre face. The arm
upon which he had leaned swerved
limply aside, and the grey beard fell
helplessly forward upon the table,
"So much domestic affection is
somewhat belated," said Prince Ivan,
regarding Louis of Courtland with
disgust. ""Look at him! .Who can won-
der at the lady's 'taste? He is a pret-
ty Prince of a great province. But if
live he will do well enough to fill a
chair and hold a golden rod. Take him
away, Alexis!"
"Nay," said Theresa, with quick
alarm, "let hint stay. There are many
things to speak of. We may need to
consult Prince Louis later."
"I fear the Prince will not be of
great use to us," smiled Prince Tvan
"'If I had only known, I would have
conserved his princely senses more
carefully. But for heads like' his the
light wine of our country ivdanger-
ously strong.".
He glanced about the pavilion, 'The
servants had not yet retired,,
"Convey his Highness to the rear,
and lay Trine upon the powder' bar-
rels!" 1He indicated with his hand the
array of boxes and kegs piled in the
dusk of the tent, The servitors did as
they were told; they lifted Prince
Louis and
have t would h e carried'him
to
that grim couch but, struck with
some peculiarity, Alexis the Deacon
suddenly bent over his lax body and
thrust his hand into the bosom of his
princely habit, now ternfshed thick
with wine stains and spitted meats.
"Excellency,'" he said, turning to his
).taster, "'the (Prince is scall His heart
do.es not beat. It is the stroke!' I
warned you it would come!'
'Prince Ivan strode hastily towards
the (body of 'Louis .of Courtland,
^.Surely net?" he cried, in seeming.
astonishment. "This may prove very,
inconvenient. Yet, after all, what
does it matter? With your assistance,
madam, the city is ourre. And then,
what matters dead prince or living
prince? A garrison in every fort, a
squadron' of good Cossacks pricking
across every plain, a tax -collector in
every village -these are the hest se-
curitiesef !princedom. But this is like
our good Louis. He never 'did aity-
thiitg at a' right time all his life.°
Theresa stood on the other side of
1 the dead 'man. as the servitors lowered
s him fop. the nis'pection of their lord.
The weary wrinkled face had .been
smoothed as with the passage of a
I hand.; (Only the deft cornet of the
1 mouth was drawn down, but n t so
o much as to be dislfiguritig,
"1 ani glad she spoke kindly of his
wife at the last," she murntnred. And
she added to .herself, "Theis 'falls out
well -it relieves •me of a necessity,"
"Spoken like a woman!" cried.
Prince 'I'van, looking adtniriirglyat
her. "Pray ,forgive my bitter speech,
and rement'ber that 1 have a borne long
with this mare 1"
fHe 'turned to. the servitors and dir-
ected them with a notionof his hand
towards the back 01 the pavilion.
"Drop the curtain," he said.
IAit'd a$ the silken 'folds rustled hea-
vily down the curtain fell upon' the
career and regality of Louis, Prince
. of Gaurtllan'd,
The men died not bear hint far, Tihey
placed hien upon the boxes of the
powder for the IM'argr'a'f's canon,,
which for safety and' dryness I.v'an
• had bade them bring to his own pav-
ilion. The dead man lay in the dark,
open-eyed, Staring at the circling sha-
dows as the servitors moved athwart
the supper table, tat which, a Wo-
nsan sat eating and drinking with her
enemy, •
'T'heres'a von Lynar sat directly op-
posite the Prince of Muscovy, 'Dhe
board sparkled with me'll'ow lights re-
flected from 'many lanterns, The ser-
vitors had depar'ted% Only the meas.
used tread of the sentinels was heard
without. They were alone.
Ansi then Theresa spoke. Very ful-
ly she told what She had learned of
the defences of the place, which gates
were guarded by the 'Kernsbergers,
which by the .lien . of P,l'assen'burg,
which by the remnants of the broken
army of. Courtland. .'Slhe ,spoke•in a
h'uslTed voice, the Prince sipping and
nodding as he Booked into her eyes.
She agave the password's of the inner
and outer defences, the numbers of
the defenders at each gate, the pians
for bringing provisions up the Alla—
indeed, everything that a besieging
general needs to know.
Ansi so soon as ,she had told the
passwords the Prince asked her to
pardon hint a moment. He struck a
silver bell and with s'c'arce, a moment's
delay Alexis entered:
"Go," said the Prince; "send one of
our 'fello'ws familiar with the speech
of Courtland into the city by the
tPlassenburg Gate, The pes'savord's
are 'Henry the Lion'' at the otter gate
and `Remember' at the inner port. Let
the man be dressed '!n' ithe 'ha'bit orf 'a
countryman, and carry with him some
wine and pravend. Fol'lo'w 1,ini and,
report immediately."
'W'hile the Prince was speaking Ile
had never taken his eyes off Theresa
von Lynar, though be had appeared
to be regarding Alexis the Deacon.
Theresa did not blanch. Not a muscle
of her face quivered, And within his
Muscovite heart, full of treachery as
an egg of meat, Prince Ivan said,
"She is no 'traitress, this dame; hut a
simpleton with all her beauty. The
woman is speaking the truth,"
And Theresa was speaking the
truth. She had expected some such
test and was prepared; but she only
told the defenders' plan to one man;
and as for the passwords, she had ar-
ranged with 'Boris that at the earliest
dawn they were to be changed and
the forces redistributed.
(While these' two waited for the re-
turn of Alexis, the Prince encouraged
Theresa to speak .of her wrongs, Ile
watched with approbation the sparkle
of hereye as be' spoke of Joan of the
Sword IPand, He noted how she shut
drown her lips when Henry the Lion
was .mentioned, how her voice shook
as site recounted. the cruel end of her
kin.
'Though at ordinary times most sab-
er, the Prince now added cup to cup,
and like a Muscovite tie grew more
bitter as the wine mounted to' his
head. Fle leaned for'w'ard ,and laid his
,hand upon his companion's 'w'hite
wrist Theresa quivered a little but
did not.take it away. The Prince,was
beco siing
conlfdcntial.
les" he saidleanin
g towards her,
,
"you have suffered great wrongs, and
do well to hate with the hate that
craves vengeance. But even you shall
be satisfied, To -:morrow au.d 'to -mor-
row's to -morrow you and I shall have
out our hearts' desire upon our ene-
mies, Yes, for many days. Sweet —
sweet it shall be sweet and very
slow, for 1, too, have wrongs, as you
shall 'heart,
"Trul'y, I did well to come to you!"
said 'Theresa, giving her hand willing-
ly into his. He ,clasped her finge'rs,
and would have kissed her but for the
table_: between:
"You speak truth." Hehissed the
words bitterly, "Ineleed, you did bet-
ter than well, I also have wrongs
and 'Ivan of Muscovy will show you a
Muscovite veage ance.
"For I will give you the life of the
women who thwarted Ivan of Mus-
covy. If you will .it, no hand' but
yours shall have the shedding -of the
blood, of your house's enemy. 1s not
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1931.
this your vengeance, ;already sweet in
prospect ?
"Ib is sweet indeed(" answered
Theresa
"Your Ilighi'tess!" said the voice of
Alexis at the tent door, "am I per-
mitted to 'speak?"
"Speak loll!" crioet Iyan, without re-
laxing his clasp upo=n "the Band of
Theresa von Lynar. Indeed, moment-
arily it
omentarily`it became a grip.
"The men went safely through at
the Plasseniburg Gate: 'The passwords
were correct. The tn'an w'hio chal-
lenged spoke with a IZernslbprg ac-
cent!"
'The (Prince's grasp relaxed.
"`It is well," he said. `Now go 'to the
captains and tell them to be in their'
posts about the city a'c'cording to the
plan—the main assault to be d'eli'ver
erect by the gate Of the sea. At .dawn
11 will be with you! Go! Aboveall, do
not :forget the passwords—,firs't 'Hen-
ry the Lion!' . then, `Rene iob'er 1'
Alexia the Deacon s'alu'ted and
went. •
The 'Prince rose and came about the
table ne'a'rer to 'T'h'eresa von. Lynar.
She drew her breath quickly and
checked it as sharply with a kind of
so'b, 'Her left Band went down to her
side naturally. ,But the action steadied
her, and she threw back her :head and
smiled up . at her companion debon-
airly as though she had ao care in the
world.
'Th'eresa repeated the password's
'sl'owly and audibly.
" `Henry the Lion!' 'Remember!''
"Ahl" (she broke off with a laugh)
"1 •ant not likely to forget." I•vah laid
his hand on her shoulder, glad to see
her so resolute.
('To Be Continued)
Poplar forests stretch from east to
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PROFESSIONIAL CARDS.
Medical
DR. H: IdUiGIII R1O'SIS, Physician
and Surgeon. Late of •London Hos-
pital, London, England, Special
attention to diseases of the eye, ear,
hose and throat. Office and resi-'
deince behind Dominion Bank, Office
Phone No. 5; Residence Phone 104.
DR, F. J. B'UI13,ROIWIS, Seaforth.
Office and, residence; Goderich street,
east of the United Church. Conner
for the County of Huron. Telephone
No. 46.
'DR. C. MAOI{IAy..—C, Mackay,
honor graduate of Trinity University
and gold medallist of Trinity Medical
College; member of the College ' of
Physicians' and Surgeons of Ontario..
DIR. F. J. R. IIOIRISITEIR-Eye, Ear
Nose and Throat. Graduate in Medi-
cine, University of Toronto I697.
Late Assistant New York O'plhthal-
mic and Aural `Institute, 'Moorelfield's
Eye, and Golden Square throat hospi-
tals, London, England, At 'Comm-
ercial Hotel,. Seaforth, 3rd Monday in
each month, from 11 a.m. to .3 p.m.
DIR. W. C.'SIP!ROAT. Graduate of
Fniculty of Medicine, University` of
Western Ontario, London, Member
of College of Physicians " and Sur-
geons of Ontario. Office in rear of
Aberhart's drug store, Seator.@h.
Phone 90, Hours 1.30-4 p.m., 7.30
-9 p.m. Other hours by appointment.
Dental LLi•
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Dr. R. R. Rots, graduate of North-
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centiate Royal
i-centiate,Royal College of Dental Sur-
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hardware, Main St., Seaforth. Phone
151.
DR. F. J. BIECHIELY, graduate
Royal College of Dental Surgeons,
Toronto, Office over W. R. Smit'h's ,i
grocery, Main St., Seaforth. -P•iyones.
office 1S5W, residence 155',3.
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