The Wewoka Herald (Wewoka, Indian Terr.), Vol. 1, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 1905 Page: 2 of 8
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By S • R: CROCKETT. Author of u7Re@afdefi£$o
CHAPTER VIII.
Prince Wasp.
"So." he said, as he faced the
secretary, tow somewhat composltely
styled, Johann, Count von Leon, "so
young springald, you think lo court a
foolish princess. You play upon her
with your pretty words and graceful*
compliments. That, is an agreeable
relaxation. Only—you have in addi-
tion to reckon with me, Ivan, heredi-
tary Prince of Muscovy."
And with a sweep of his hand
across his body he drew his sword
from its sheath.
The sword of the young secretary
came into hand with equal swiftness.
"Follow me. Count von I.oen," said
the prince.
And with his lithe and springy walk
the Prince of Muscovy passed again
Into the alleys of the rose garden till
he reached the first open space, where
he turned upon the secretary.
"We are arrived," he said, "our busi-
ness Is so pressing, and will be so
uuickly finished, that there is no need
for the formality of seconds. Though
I honor you by crossing my sword
with yours, it is a mere formality. I
have such skill of the weapon, as 1
dare say report has told you, that you
may consider yourself dead already,
fiuard!"
But Johaun Pyrmont had been
trained in a sofiool which permitted
no such windy preludes, and with the
fencer's smile on his face> he kept
his silence. His sword would an-
swer all such boastings, and that in
good time.
And so It fell out.
From the very first crossing of the
swords Prince Wasp found himself
opposed by a quicker eye, a firmer
wrist, a method and science infinitely
superior to his own. His most dash-
ing attack was repelled with apparent
ease, yet with a subtlety which inter-
nosed nothing but the most delicate
,of guards and parries between Prince
Ivan and victory. This gradually in-
furiated the prince, till suddenly los-
ing his temper he stamped his foot in
anger and rushed upon his foe with
the true Muscovite fire.
But lo! the blade was turned aside,
the long-delayed answering thrust
glittered out, and the secretary's
sword stood a couple of hand-breadths
in the boaster's shoulder.
The prince staggered, cried out
some unintelligible words in the Mus-
covite language, and pitched forward
slowly on his face among the tram-
pled leaves and blown rose petals of
the palace garden.
The secretary grew paler than his
wont, and ran to lift his fallen enemy.
But, all unseen, other eyes had watch-
ed the combat, and from the door by
which they had entered, and from
behind the trees of the surrounding
glade, there came the noise of pound-
ing footsteps and fierce cries of
"Seize him! Kill him! Tear him to
pieces! He has slain the good prince,
the friend of the people! The Prince
Ivan is dead!"
The secretary eyed this unkempt
horde with haughty scorn, and ills
fearless attitude, as he striped his
stained sword through his handker-
chief and threw the linen away, had
something to do with the fact that the
rabble halted at the distance of half
a dozen yards and for many minutes
contented themselves with hurling
oaths and imprecations at him.
At last they did come on, not all
together, but in Irregular, undiscip-
lined rushes. Johann's sword streaked
out this way and that. There was an
answering cry of pain, a turmoil
among the assailants as a wounded
man whirled his way backward out of
the press. Hut this could not last
for long The odds were too great.
Then suddenly came a voice: "Back,
uu your lives, dogs and traitors! Ger-
mans to the rescue! Danes, Teuts,
Northmen to the rescue!"
Following the direction of the
sound, Joliann saw a young man drive
through the press, his sword bare In
his hand, his eyes glittering with ex-
citement. It was the Danish prisoner
of the guard-hall at Kernsberg, that
same Sparhawk who had fought with
Werner von Orseln.
The secretary placed himself back
to back with his ally, and their two
bright blades waved every way.
A second time the courage of the
crowd worked itself up, and they
came on.
Those before would have gladly
fallen behind but could not for the for-
ward thrust of their friends. Still the
ring narrowed, and the pair of gallant
fighters would doubtlessly have been
swept away had not a diversion come
to alter the face of things.
Out of the gate which led to the
wing of the palace occupied by the
Princess Margaret burst a little com-
pany of halberdiers, at sight of whom
the crowd gave suddenly back The
Princess herself was with them.
"Take all prisoners, and bring them
within," she cried. "My brother is
from home, or you dare not thus brawl
in the very precincts of the palace!"
And at her words the soldiers ad-
vanced rapidly. A further diversion
was caused by the Sparhawk sudden-
ly cleaving a way through the crowd
and setting off at full speed in the
direction of the river.
The Princess and her guard were
left with only the secretary and the
unconscious body of the Prince of
Muscovy.
"Sirrah," she cried severely to the
former, "is this the first use you make
of our hospitality, thus to brawl in the
street underneath my very windows
with our noble guest the Prince Ivan?
Take him to my brother's room, and
keep him safely there to await our
lord's return. We shall see what the
Prince will say to this. And as for
this wounded man, take him to his
own apartments and let a surgeon be
sent to him."
So, merely detailing half a dozen to
carry the Prince to his chambers, the
captain of the guard conducted the
t - f. ; '
(g
The prince staggered.
secretary to the very room in which
an hour before he had met the brother
of the Princess. Here he was con-
fined, with a couple of guards at the
door. Nor had he been long shut up
before he heard the quick step of the
Princess coming along the passage-
way.
"So." site said, as soon as the door
was shut, "you have killed Prince
Wasp!"
"I trust not," said the secretary,
gravely; "I meant unly to wouud Ultn.
But as he attacked me I could not do
otherwise than defend myself."
"Tut," cried the Princess, "I hope
you have killed him. It will be good
riddance, and most like the Muscovites
will send an army—which, with your
Plassenburg to help us, will make a
pretty fight. It serves him right, at
all events, for Prince Wasp must al-
ways be thrusting his sting into hon-
est folk.
"The laws are strict against duel-
ing," she continued. "The Prince Ivan
is in high favor with my elder brother,
and it will be well that you are seen
110 more in Courtland—for the pres-
ent, that is. But in a little the Prince
Wasp will die or he will recover. In
either case the affair will blow over.
Then you will come back to teach me
more foreign customs."
She smiled and held out her hand.
Johann kissed it, perhaps without the
fervor which might have been expect-
ed from a brisk young man thus high-
ly favored by the fairest and spright-
liest of princesses.
"To-nigjit," she went on, "there will
be a boat beneath that window. It
will be manned by those whom I can
trust. A ladder of rope will be thrown
to your casement. By it you will de-
scend, and with a good horse and a
sufficient escort you can ride either
to Plassenburg—or to Kernsberg,
which is nearer, and tell Joan of the
Sword Hand that her sister the Prin-
cess Margaret, send you to her."
She went to the door, and with her
fingers on the handle she turned her
head about with a pretty, vixenish
expression. "I am so glad you stung
the Wasp. I love you for it!" she
said.
At seven it grew dark, and at ten
all was quiet in the city. The river
rushed swiftly beneath, and the noise
of it, as the water lapped against the
sto.ne foundations of the summer pal-
ace, helped to disguise the noise of
oars, as the boat a dark shadow upon
greyish water, detached itself from
the opposite shore and approached ihe
window from whose open casement
Johann Pvrmont looked out.
A low whistle came from under-
neath, and presently followed the soft,
reeving whisk of a coil of rope as it
passed through the window and fell at
his feet. The secretary looked about
for something to fasten it to, and final-
ly decided upon the iron uprights of
the great desk at which the Prince
had stood earlier in the day.
No sooner was this done than Jo-
hann set his foot on the top round and
began to descend. The boat seemed
very far away, a mere spot of black-
ness upon the river face.
But presently, and while making up
his mind to practice the gymnastic of
rope ladders quietly at home, h* made
out a man holding the ladder, while
two others with grappled boat hooks
kept the boat steady fore an«t aft.
A shrouded figure sat in the stern.
The secretary was handed from one
to the other of the rowers till he
reached the shrouded figure in the
stern.
"Drawr this about you. Count," a low
voice whispered, and in another mo-
ment Johann found himself under the
shelter of one cloak with that daring
slip of nobility, the Princess Margaret
of Courtland.
They touched the shore almost at
the place where the Sparhawk had
landed in the morning when he es-
caped from the city rabble, and a
stone's throw further up the bank they
found the horses waiting, ready ca-
parisoned for the journey.
So soon as he had distinguished the
slim figure of the secretary landing
from the boat the Sparhawk appeared
on the crest of the hill.
"Good-bye! For the present, good-
bye, dear Princess," said Johann, with
heart in his voice. "God knows, I can
never thank or repay you. My heart
is heavy for that. I am unworthy of
all your goodness."
"Let there be no talk of parting ex-
cept for the moment," she said. "Go,
you are my knight. Perhaps one day,
if you do not forget me, I may he yet
far kinder to you!"
And with a kiss and a little sob the
Princess sent her lover, more and
more downcast and discouraged bj),
reason of her kindness, upon his way.
So much did his obvious depression af-
fect Margaret of Courtland that after
the secretary had reached the top of
the river bank, she suddenly bad« the
rowers wait a moment before casting
loose from the land.
"Your sword! Your sword!" she
called aloud, risking any listener in
her eagerness; "you have forgotten
your sword!"
Now it chanced that the Sparhawk
had come up with the little party- of
travelers.
"Do not trouble, I will bring the
sword," he said to Johann, with his
usual impetuosity, and without a mo-
ment's hesitation he flung himself
Found himself swaying over the dark
water.
down the bank. The Princess had
leaped nimbly ashore, and was stand-
ing with the sheathed sword in her
hand.
When she saw the figure come
bounding towards her down the pebbly
bank she gave a little cry, and, drop-
ping the scabbard, she threw her arms
impulsively about the Sparhawk's
neck.
"I could not let you go like that—
without ever telling you that I loved
you—really, I mean," she whispered,
while the youth stood petrified with
astonishment, Vithout sound or mo-
tion. "I will marry none but you—
neither Prince Ivan nor another. A
woman should not tell a man that,
lest he despise her; but a princess
may, because the man dare not tell
her."
• • * * •
"And what said you?" asked the
secretary of his .companion, as they
rode together through the night out
on their road to Kernsberg.
"Why, I said nothing—speech was
not needed," quoth the Dane coolly.
"She kissed you?"
The Dane shrugged his shoulders in
the dark.
"Well, I take what the gods send."
he replied. "She was a pretty girl,
and her Princess-ship made no differ-
ence in her kissing, so far as I could
see. I serve you to the death, my
Lady Duchess; but if a Princess loves
me, by the way, why, I am ready to in-
dulge her to the limit of her desires!"
"You are an accommodating youth."
sighed the secretary, and forthwith
returned to his own melancholy
thoughts.
(To be continued.)
Doubting Dennis.
Judy—Will ye give me yer promise,
Dennis, that ye'll love me forever?
Dennis—Sure, an' Oi'd like to do
that same, Judy, but Oi'm hardly of
the opinion that Oi'l last as long as
that.
I
Quite a Different Thing.
Mrs. Yeast—You sny your husband
always brings you a novel when he
comes home late at night?
Mrs. Crlmsonbeak— No, I didn't. I
said he brought home a lot vf fiction;
that's what I said.
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Phelps, E. G. The Wewoka Herald (Wewoka, Indian Terr.), Vol. 1, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, August 25, 1905, newspaper, August 25, 1905; Wewoka, Indian Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc123028/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.