By Neva's Waters.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 68, 19 March 1908, Page 6

By Neva's Waters.

BdnrW Sjtiinde-et the* SwcetjiHUtory of. Alexeniar this Finis, .. - . C**r of All the Russian. .

JOHN R CARLING. .-.-.. AUTHGB OF •THJI SHADOW OF THEtaSAB, , »S"THB YiKTJtG'S SKULL " "THIS WJOBO -EIOTUKE.'

CHAPTER XIX. THE PRINCESS'S KISS. "Fair lady," said Wilfrid, bowing as : he spoke, "you axe alone, thengh. it be. the unwritten law of a masquerade that every one must have a companion." ' "Then are you breaking .that law," replied the lady; "for you, too, seem alone?" "A Courtenay is ambitious, you seer he will have for his conrpanioa/none but the fairest.""And have you not found Ijer in Pauline de Vaucluse?" Her tone was slightly satirical. Had she seen Mm in the ballroean, he won-, dered, and' recognised with iflshom he was dancing? "Your highness, it was ncttfor Pauline de Vaueluse that I wrought for three ■months in a solitary attic." t ">To; it was for a wronged'and widowed empress," replied the Duchess, feigning not to see his meaning. "Lord Courtenay, the Empress is unspeakably grateful for your good work. The one desire of her heart was to see the fall of the wicked Ministry, and, thanks to you, she has been enabled 1 to see it. You wanted no reward, but the Empress prays you to name one." "Why, I thought I had.named one." "Foolish Englishman," she murmured, averting lict head, " hiave you not forgotten that?" And then, as if wishful to divert Shis thoughts from herself,.she said, with her eyes set upon the rivei— "Have you any scene;.lik& this in England/ , Patriotic as lie was, Wilfrid was fainto confess that his ovgn land' could never at any time show a scene so fairy-like as that presented by St. Petersburg on a midsummer night. It was now on the-istroke of twelve, and though, the glow of tlie setting sun had scarcely faded from the western sky, yet the eastern horizon was already becoming shot with golden streaks. This intermingling of dusk and dawn illumined by the glory of a full moon, produced a light soft and clear, poetic and dreamlike. The river flowed, silent and majestic, breaking here and there into silver ripples. Its long line of quays and palaces, fading away in dim perspective, seemed like the fabrics of a vision too lovely to' be real.

"I think not. Let the refusal be given, however; that would.not prevent the Czar from entering with his troops." "Not so." Such an act were an but-' rage upon the law of nations. The Czar would have to face an immediate renewal of the war with England." "And he wbiild he ready to face it were I to act as you suggest." Was she a person so great in the political world that her detention at the British Embassy would be a sufficient .cause for war between two empires? It was an amazing statement, and yet her air, quiet and grave, somehow carried conviction with it. . '"Your highness," said Wilfrid, with a sort of reproachful despair, "have you not mystified mc long enough? May I .not know who you are? . You promised -at our last meeting to reveal to mc your name and history." i "Let mc redeem my word, then." Shcsat down within a hemicycle that formed part of the parapet of the terrace, and motioned Wilfrid to a place beside her. ■ At their back flowed the shining river; before them, and bordering the whole length of the terrace, rose a grove of dark pines whose leaves rippled to the night-breeze. From the far-off ballroom came the faint sound of the orchestral music. ■ Though attentive to every word spoken by the Duchess, Wilfrid, mindful of the four men in the chocolate-colour-ed liveries, kept a watchful eye upon all sides, though he doubted very much whether the quartet would show themselves so long as he was with her. Now and again groups of laughing masqueraders would make their appearance; and, at their approach, the Duchess either suspended her talk or continued in a whisper till the revellers had gone by.

"I am at your service, Lord Courtenay. Question mc." ■ "First, then, explain the ptizzling mystery of how I came to save your life without retaining any remembrance of that event."

"That is easily answered. More than eight years ago—l was then a giri of fourteen—my, sister ard I were staying at the Castle of Silverstein in Saxony. One evening, among other diversions, there happened to be a series of tableaux vivant3, in one of which my sister and I took part, each clad in the garb of a forester; and," added the Duchess, with a touch of vanity, "if all that was said of us be true, we made a pair of "handsome lads. The next morning before breakfast my sister, always full of mischief, proposed an especial piece of daring. ■ 'Let us put on the dress we wore in the tableau vivant, and take a walk outside the castle- grounds.' I laughingly consented; and escaping the eyes of our elders we two girls sallied forth in male garb. The keeper of the lodge, past- whom we boldly_ inarched, failed to penetrate, our disguise, and, doubtless, wondered-.why we laughed so when at a safe distance from the gate. It was a sunny morning, and we turned our steps to the forest that lay eastward of the castle. Forgetful of time, we wandered onward till at last it began to dawn upon us -that we were a long .way. from home,.and were, perhaps, doing a foolish thing; for we now suddenly remembered that a bear had recently been seen in this wood.

Enchanting as was 4:he scene, it was made more so to Wilfrid by the presence of the young Duchess, attractive both by her beauty and : by the romantic air of mystery surrounding her. It filled him -with pleasure to learn that while he had been seeking her, she. had been seeking him. "I saw you leave the ballroom," she: observed, "and.as soon as I could conveniently do so, I stole away. Not finding you in " She paused. They were no longer alone. Merely a gallant and his inamorata in close conversation, and apparently so enwrapped in each other, as to be oblivious of everybody else. Never-' theless, the Duchess turned her face riverward again; and, evidently fearing lest her voice, if overheard, should lead to her betrayal, she refrained from speaking till the two had fairly passed by

"I fear-a spy in everyone I see tonight," she, murmured. 'T!s our meeting, then, a crime?" "iilj enemies would endeavour to make it such." ", '

"Scarcely had the thought seized us when we actually came upon two little black cubs rolling over each other at the foot of a hollow tree. The sight turned our blood cold, for one glance showed that this hollow trunk was a bear's den, and we did not doubt that its savage tenant was not far off. Then calme a heavy pattering upon the fallen leaves, and a moment afterwards the mother bear appeared, growling arid making directly for us. Too terrified to move, my sister and I clung to each other, uttering wild screams.

"Let mc know who these enemies are, that I may make them mine, too." "Shall I take you at your word?" she said gravely. "Yes? Tien mark. The one whose enmity I hare most cause to dread is the woman with whom you have danced to-nignt." "Pauline de Vaucluse." "None other." "That is a hard saying." "Nevertheless, it is a true one." "That Pauline de Vaucluse would use this meeting to your hurt, and to mine? Nay, I cannot so think of the Baroness. I would that I could bring your highness face to face, with her for a few minutes. I feel certain that such interview would end in your becoming the best of friends."

Wilfrid himself could now have related the sequel, but preferred to hear it from her lips. It was a pleasure to listen to her voice. The Duchess saw his smile, and smilecFin turn. "Need I tell you what happened? The report of a musket rang out, and the bear rolled over dead. The shot had been fired by a young man- who came forward with a smile in whicu I fancied there lurked a trace of contempt. Of course, Lord Courtenay, you took us for what we seemed to be, namely, two youths, and as such, we doubtless looked very silly, screaming and making no attempt to save ourselves; and' yet, perhaps, if you had been without a musket, you might not have looked so brave a& ylou did justthen." ■ '"'

"Having full proof of her guilt, I have no desire for such interview," she answered coldly. It seemed clear from this that the Duchess must be known to Pauline. What act had Pauline committed against the Duchess that it should be called by the strong term "guilt"? "That your highness has enemies," he said, after an interval of silence, "is, alas! but too true. They, or rather their agents, are here to-night." "How do' you know this ?" "Concealed behind some shrubbery, I overheard four men talking." "Of mc? But not knowing .my name how could you tell I was the person meant ?"

"Quite true, your highness." "Naturally, we did not like to say that we were girls, and so after thanking you, we hastened off arid reached Silverstein without our escapade having become kriowri."'

"Because they spoke-of a lady wearing a grey mask and a grey serge domino trimmed with silver cord, such as' I see yours to be. One question -will show ■whether you are the lady meant by them. Tell mc, are you not seeking to present a letter to the Czarina?" The Duchess looked a little oddly at Wilfrid, as if surprised at this knowledge on his part. "It is true. I have upon mc a letter addressed to the Czarina," she murmured, speaking -with a certain hesitancy. "At this very moment these four men are looking for you, determined to prevent you by means fair or otherwise from giving that letter to the Czarina." "Lord Courtenay, you must not leave mc till I am safe in the ballroom again. This letter must not be taken from "us." The "us" thrilled Wilfrid. "I say us," she continued, with a smile, as pleasant as it wa3 mysterious, "because the letter is of vital consequence to you as -well as to mc." "Tour highness is safe with mc; have no , fear. But since you seem to live in an atmosphere of peril, why not seek to escape from it?" "How?" ' _ ' "THere fa a way open to you," said "Wilfrid, with a sudden and bold inspiration. "The British Embassy is about to be re-established at St. Petersburg. Let that be your asylum. Come with mc this night. Tell the Ambassador secret history. Make him tae guardian of your person. Under the protection of England you will be safe." "Lord Courtenay," she said decisively, "yours is an impossible remedy."

"Now, in our confusion we had forgotten to ask' the name of our deliverer.

"I will, believe so when you have proved it to lie such."

"Were I to take refuge there, the Czar would demand my surrender." "Very. likely; and-my good..uncle, the Ambassador, would -meet the , demard with a refusal." . -

"'We must'try to find out who he is/ said my sister, 'and show our 'gratitude by something more than words. .

' "So, later jn the day, and this i time dressed in a manner suitable to good girls, we drove forth in our carriage accompanied by our duenna. "Fortune favoured us, for as we were proceeding along the high road that skirts one side oi the forest; my sisterpressed my aim with the words, 'There he is.'

"Sure enough it was our rescuer coming out of the Kronprinz, a pretty little hostelry by the roadside. He mounted a phaeton that had.been standing at the inn door and drove off. The innkeeper was known to us, and from him we learned that the stranger was an English nobleman, Viscount Courtenay by name, who had been staying in the neighbourhood during the previous.fortnight. He had received the Prince's permission to shoot .upon the castle lands and to fish in its waters. ■

"We hesitated to put further questions, lest our duenna should ask us the. reason for our interest in this stranger; but as soon as we returned to the Schloss we got from the library a book on the British Peerage, and learned what little we could concerning Lord Courtenay, his family, and his ancestry.

"We went on the~ following day to take a look at the tear's den; this time armed foresters accompanied -ua. While I was walking roiind the., spot, my eye : was caught by a sparkle amid.the fallen leaves. I stooped, and picked up a golden locket. > We know at once by whom it had been lost when we found within a miniature of ypnrself."

Wilfrid had often wondered what had become of. that locket, a" locket he had ordered ..wrought after a special design, intending it as a gift to his mother.

"The restoring of this locket,' said my sister,. 'will; give sus \ ani opportunity; .of speaking with Lord Conrtenay. We will take it to the "Kronprinz;" and-tell him that we are .the two youths whpm he saved from the bear.' But on coming to the inn we found you had that very day left for England; so the locket remained ■with mc;"

../'And you have kept it ever.. since V Fpr answer, she pointed to!h"er throat, arid Wilfrid saw'the long lost locket hanging from a slender gold chain , . "Is it necessary at this 'late'" day to restore it?" she asked, making aa if to detach the locket from its chain. '

But Wilfrid gently restrained her. "It could not he in a fairer place." (To be continued daily.)