Princess Zara

ver that they were not alone in the garden, but the draft carried the sm

" murmured the princess. "My guests will

riends are very anxious to hear something from you. When can you be present

was masterful, and unco

at in my short journeys up and down the paths, finally ending among the cushions of the Turkish bower, I had had her with me for a companion. You will discover by this statement that I was still mindful of her presence near me, even tho

masterful, as I have said. More than that it was familiar. It was even

and I had no doubt to whom he referred; neither had I any doubt at the moment, that this man talking so confidentially with the princ

e implicated with the nihilists, since he dared to speak to her so openly, so masterfully, and with such confident reliance upon the m

nity. Say that I was entirely successful; that everything in Paris and Berlin is in the most excellent cond

becoming very i

ho could this man be who dared to address my princess by her given name, for in my secret soul she was my princess

ision. "I will not be hurried. They are sworn to ob

e under this restraint, Zara. I am afraid that they will

f there is any sign of insubordination," was the haughty rejoinder. "Such

is d

u know that

iberia and our agents cannot find him in the city prisons. We have made every effor

ht and put to the torture. I can make Prince Michael tell me. Moré

yed us; he would nev

that I have gone too far with him. It i

ed into the hell of doubt, uncertainty, and disillusionment. She spoke of "her prince"-and there could be no possible doubt that she referred to Prince Michael-as if he were already a mere puppet in her hands, to bow before her and fawn at her

er to go into the garden, I had believed in her as a devout worshipper believes in his deity, thinking no evil, believing that she could do no wrong, and placing her upon a pedestal that was high above all of the petty conside

a little, Zara. The prince wil

ttered; that she repudiated utterly the insinuation he had made. "You use the term as if you thought it were a pleasure to me to lead men on, simply because God gave me the beauty and the power. I hate it; oh, how I hate it! Suppose that Jean Morét is dead, who, then, in God's name is responsible for his death? I, I alone! Do you think t

alize what you say,

utright, inte

wish they would kill me and so end all this ha

h! You must not

ty of action and speech. What care I for all the murderers and assassins who form this terrible society of which we are members? Hear me? They could only swear my life away as they have done to others in many parallel cases. They could only destroy me; and Ivan, sometimes, upon my bended knees I pray for death. What matter would it be to me how death might come, so long as I am prepared to welcome it? I hate and loathe myself when I stop to consider all the contemptible acts I am compelled to perform, when I pause to realize the utter prostitution of self-respect I am forced to undergo, in order to carry on the plots of our 'good friends,' as you call them. Good friends, indeed! To whom, let me ask you, do they demonstrate the friendly spirit

ust not talk so.

a time before I return to the salon. Delive

that she had stepped out upon the path. I closed my eyes, the better to think upon the remarkable revelations that had come to me as a result of that conversation. One, two, five, perhaps ten minutes I remained thus, turning the extraordinary incident over in my mind. But presen

thinking it over had been the result of the same impulse which sends a frightened woman to her own room, to close the door behind her in order that she may be alone. By the act of closing my eyes, I shut out the world by which I was surrounded-that world which had now become so hateful to me because of the work I had to do. But nevertheless I looked up steadily into the eyes of the princess, wondering at the calmness and grace of

DILY INTO THE EY

ge

mly, but with conviction. The remark

eplied, a

not been

N

hea

incess,

re she spoke again, so that I began to

o me one favor in regard to this conversation you have

t unquestionably have done, it was strange that she could command herself so well as t

as and who I was. In that interval I wondered what this beautiful creature before me would think, or say, if she could have guessed that it was the chief of the most remarkable secret service bureau in the world w

and I watched her closely as I did so, holding myself well in hand, the while, in

then? I will exp

prin

you will give me your arm, we w

rdinary citizen, the danger was no less, for I had but to repeat what I had heard, to bring about an investigation which could result in only one way. Her composure was absolute as we walked side by side towards the house, nor did she once refer to the subject upon wh

we were silent during the moment that was required to traverse the length of t

e dread of this riotously beautiful creature who could use her God-given feminine attributes to attain such deplorable ends. What had seemed to me to be a creature of utter loveliness, had

d, with no purpose save to avoid comment on the apparent fact that the princess and I had been so long a time together

idn't know but you had gone. This is my friend Alexis Durnief. You'v

nief?" I asked, sha

beria, and I am very glad to be back here again. I haven't had an oppo

the princess herself joined us at that moment, I did not give it a second thought. H

go," I said. The house of Princess Za

ur? Why?" Prince

t I feel like it," I told him, shruggin

lf hour in the garden upset you, Dubravnik?" He essayed a light laugh

ll," I as

ers upon very few of her friends, and never on new acquaintan

minutes-the time that it takes to walk the length of it, so I do not feel as greatly hon

me; and as I turned she added: "but these rooms are suffocating, so if you will give me your arm now, Mr. Dubravnik, we w

e called after her. "You arrived just in time, prince

e asked laughing; but there was an undercurrent of

plied, as gravely, "since I wa

nsciously tightened its clasp upon my arm as we moved away-

s altogether too foreign to my natu

oping after us. I glanced down at my companion, and saw th

olution for all proble

is the solution

e? What

cowar

ttle side paths, and I drew her into it, noticing that there was just a suggestion of resistance from my companion when I did so; but it was only for an instant. Then, as I pause

ir, and it had touched her cheeks as with a magic wand which softened and heightened every feature. Instead of transforming her into something that she

ight, looking up into my face with her beautiful eyes now widened with serious concern, with her full, lithe, graceful bo

d of hidden insects as the gowns of gorgeously bedecked women brushed against the growing things! Over our heads, beyond the glass roof, the storm still howled, although with less violence, and the contrast seemed strangely in keeping with the