PRINCESS PROXY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20622, 22 July 1930, Page 16

PRINCESS PROXY.

BY RUSSELL WARREN

CHAPTER XVI. IMPASSE. Sylvia sat down again veiy quietly. Sho had, of course, no affection for the princess. Such a feeling could not be expected, although Sophie was, by blood, her half-sister. But she was young, and death was to ber a terrible and tragic thing. Tho mere mention of the dying of a perfect stranger touched her quick sympathy. And such u. death as this! Tho poor princess, so long the tyrant, of the, castle, the autocrat of all Karolia, now turn and ripped by the murderous bomb, lying in pain and delirium all these hours, and then dying, unconscious of her surroundings, with no one beside her but tho nuns, and, sho supposed, tho doctor. 'The tears welled to her eyes. *' Poor princess,'' she murmured; poor little princess!" Her thoughts went no further. Tho Prince Consort looked grave, but nothing more. He. was less affected by the princess' death than the girl. The (lend wi'iiiau had been his wife, but, he had hardly seen her before their marriage; since the ceremony ho had not seen her at ;ill. And he had looked on death, ill its more violent and horrible forms, too often to be deeply moved bv the- mere fact of a woman dying He stood l>y the mantelshelf, toying with a simpering Dresden shepherdess, and to Sylvia, catching sight of his reflection in the gilt-framed mirror, there seemed to be something sinister in his expression, something utterly at variance with any feeling of regret, something—she could not put it, into words. Radtzkoff was the. most genuinely agitated of the three. He bad almost, collapsed in a chair, and sat there, .staring blankly before him. Real pain was black eyes, bis lips quivered and his face bad gone suddenly leaner and more lined than ever. His impassive sellcommand had gone utterly, and his whole attitude was one of entire misery and dejection. The change was so overwhelming, so trade, that Sylvia was astounded. A rush of pity for the wretched man moved her. She crossed ovei to him and laid her hand gentlv on bis shoulder in silent sympathy. He looker! up at her gratefully. " She was so much to iue," be muttered, brokenly. " Ifer ways wore nothing—there was good at the bottom. We Radtzkoffs liave served life Royal House for centuries. I was luir fathers chancellor, and ] havo been hers since sho cnine to tho throne. "\Yo have worked hand in hand, side by side. We quarrelled—no. we disagreed-but f was loyal to her, and she was good to me. And now--Tie dropped bis hands in a gesture that was indescribably pitiful. " The doctor said she would recover. He said there was no danger," Rndtzkofl went, on dully, as if be had not, even the strength to be angry with the author of the misleading diagnosis. " 1 had not worried, I had spoken callously of her. And now—she was the last of her race, the last of tho Pctrovescc.'s. She has gone every tiling has gone " There was a long pause. The three stood staring miserably at. one another. Slowly tho chancellor recovered himself. 110 sat upright in his chair, lifted bis head. The muscles round hi» month tightened, his lips became sot, as ho j regained his self■> ont pd. Suddenly Prince Boris' voice cut right across the atmosphere of mourning, and it was suddenly keen and ineisiv. ' Well," he interjected, " v bat are wo going to do now j Svlvia. stared at him stupidly. Her thoughts m ere too far away to catch nt his meaning. Radtzkoff was silent, too, as though ho had not heard The Prince Consort left, the fireplace and strode across the room to them. His spurs jingled with a cold. metallic clink. His face was callous and expressionless, lie repented, as if lie had not spoken before: " What am we going to do :" Sylvia, standing with ber hand still on I Radtzkoff's shoulder, looked at him with I dawning comprehension in her eyes. "We're in a. fix now, nien't, we?" Pi j nee Boris went on sulkily. "'I he pri n cess dead on our hands, and we, can f tell a soul the truth about, it. A\ o can t, even bury her as the princess. She's got, to go under the ground as an English nobody. But dial's a detail. The noint, is—what, is going to happen to Karolia Radtzkoff looked up. Apparently die practical side of his nature was brought, back to its usual dominant position by this direct question into the future of bis | country. " Ye?.'' ho said gloomily, " what is' going to happen to Karolia : " Svlvia looked at the Prince Consort, | in perplexity. I " But suiely," she said, " you will bo. I come Reigning Prince ' He aiiswerecl he r savagely. " No, curse it. .No such l'lck. 1 become nobody. Sho turned to Radtzkoff for an explaini tion. | " P>y Karoliau law," the chancellor expounded, ' a consort, on I lie. death of a Reigning Prince,-s ceases to ii.ixe any voicein t lie government ol die country, ceases to h,i\e anything but. a purely nominal rank' unless he. or she has been appointed regent previously by I lie ile, e;ised, say, during the, infancy of an heir to tho throne. |Je bad quite recovered from his agitation. His voice, v.,is <\dm. clear and cold as ho sent cut lously explained the posit ion. But v ho is the heir to die throne now ?" Radtzkoff looked gloomy. " The nearest, ol kin by blood -is a cousin of Princess Sophie's- Prim-ess Margaiotla. wife, of Prince (.Mto of Malvolia; which mean, thai Kaiolia will be absorbed into .Malvolia ; it, will cease to !•" an independent state, and--" Svlvia interrupted curtly. The tone the discussion was taking jarred horribly upon her. It was so utterly cold-blooder! and selfish. Prince I'.oris had dropped even the pietcnce of soriow at the princess death; the chancellor had mastered his momonlarv agij.itii.il villi a rondinoss that seemed positively callous. They weie dismissing the future as it affected themselves, without, apparently, a thought. of | the poor torn body lying in I lie room down the corridor. " I see," the girl said, bitterly, "the Prince t'oiisort will become a ncuendty .111 d will probably have, to slink back to I ranscarpatliia. I hat's all you're thinking: that's all you cure about. Ami lb" chancellor w ill live, his position." " I'liless- " began I ,'adtl.olf. lbpaused, ■' I 'nless V- hat 'I lie i l ll alm cll or hesitated foi Iho light, words. I'rmce Boris tut in with candid II aiikm-s.-. " I liles., you I ,irn on. mail-uioiselle " I " 'I ii<- girl stai I'd af him wi< h something like ■ 1 lsnu-i " I can'i go on flke this. This- I hi- a wild thing releases me. I'm going be I. I•. Kngland, and I m going to da"

She. turned nv, ay. She v ar. so utterly tired of all this wrangling and arguing, pleading and pers'iadine It simply seemed to happen over mid over again. Tell minutes ago she had heen full of self congralulat ion at l lie liimii v and power that the odd turn nf r\c:ils had brought her, full of i>i eie ,il (he vay she carried out. her ifillicult part lull ol ant teipal Hi y 11 1111111• 11 as -.lie looked toi ward to the siii ci» of I lie plans she had i •iiireivt'd.

Hul. the shock of |he piiucess' ilealh had stni' k her \\ JI h (he shattering ellcct n| the holiih that, hail caused il I'lie dijlusivn mists that h.nl misled her wen dispersed. She v.,is thing Ironi the cia/.y pintKieln on which she had perched herself Her ai'v. fantastic castle had crashed (Jowi; mid lay in ruins ahout her. Iler dreams hud vanished at' the touch that had awakened her. Slip wa. hack on solid eaith. She, whs herself And

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sho knew that. she had been following an ignis i'atuus t liat, hnd been leading her blindly into the wire. " No," she repealed firmly, "il.'s utterly impossible. If you wero not ao desperate, Count Kadtzkoif, you would see that. And if it wero not, if it were simple and e;IS y—still, 1 could not do it. Oh, Ivo been dreaming. Ive been blinded 1 .jy the visions you liavo conjured up, and deafened by your percussions. Put, I r>ee tliingo as they aro now. I halo and loathe this mad position you've inveigled mo into; J hate and loathe this cruel, shameless imposture; I hato and loathe, and despise you both—and myself, too. You can't bribe or cozen or delude mo any longer. I'm tired of it all. 111 have no more of it. Ivc canied on ,iO far to keep things going till the princess should recover. But now she is dead she gulped -"mv work here is finished Prince Boris opened his mouth to speak, but I lie chancellor stopped him with a gesture. Ho was in tho saddle again now, and ho meant to carry on the campaign himself. He roso from his chair and stood before the girl, his hands behind his back, his chin thrust forward, his black piercing eyes fixed upon hers. His words fell slowly, as if he wished her to feel each with its duo weight. " J think you will soon get over this feeling, mademoiselle," ho began smoothly. " The shock of the princess' death has up,sr.t you, naturally, as it has upset, all of us. "it is a tragic thing, and a bitter loss but wo must be practical, in spite of our sorrow. V\ o arc like soldiers in a battle. Wo grievo it our leader falls, but we cannot afford to give way to our grief. We must have a new leader in his place, and fight on till the enemy is defeated. Afterward we may indulge in our sorrow; but until the battle is over wo must dismiss it from our minds and go on fighting. Our enemy now, mademoiselle, is led revolution. If we have to tell tho people that the princess is dead—and wo shall have a diliiculty, now, in inventing a plausible, story t• j account for her death without arousing their suspicions—it will give these rf>\olutionisls exactly the opportunity they require. They will say that tho Royal (fouso has coino to an end; that, there is no one to occupy tho throne; that Karolia. wdl become an appendage of .Malvolia; that they will be, ruled by an nlii'ii prince, and bo in the power of an alien people. F.'H us set, up a. republic. Tho way is clour. The masses of people v. ill agree. They will do it." "And Count Radtzkoff will bo laid on j tho shelf," Sylvia interjected icily. " Mademoiselle, I care nothing f■ -r myself." There was in his tone a reproach so doop tli.it, sho almost believed it. to be genuine. " I could havo retired info private life l"iig ago. ! have, money that none of these people could lay hands on; enough to keep an old man in the simplo couifoils ho requires. But my family havo served Iho throne for generations, and 1 havo had ;t hand in shaping the destinies of my country. And I cannot willingly leave Karolia to its fate. These . people are not, fit. to govern themselves. Tliev need to be ruled by heads wiser than their own. .If they set up a republic in j Karolia, if they tiy to carry on the I country according to their fantastic I theories, it iii'-ans ruin to Karolia. mademI oiselle—it means misery and death to the j couiptry I love, the count iv ] have served j to long." Sylvia, made ;i protesting gesture. She knew it wan all lalse. She. knew this man was play-acting, that, bis sorrowful tones and his devotion to Karolia were a. hollow sham. But, ho was extraordinarily plausible. "That, and that only, is the reason I ask you to < any on. mademoiselle. You ain of the blood. You have morally a. greater right to the thione than the Prince lot .Malvolia. With your help T will keep tho crown intact, and preserve Karolia I from the dangers that threaten, for another generation, at, any rate." The, girl beat lie.r hands upon Iho back I of the chair in front of her. ' tlh, stop," sho cried. "You have said .ill this before, over and over again, j on ha\ii dangled this bogey bofom my | ever, till !t lias dazzled inc. I believed you I then. It was that, und that alone, that, I made me kill in with your incredible scheme, and play a part, (hat .1 have I conio to loathe. But Y don't, believe von I now. I know what, your words arc, worth. | t don't believe in your imminent, revolu--1 tion. J rlon'fc believe, m your disintere.to.l- ---; ness. Ymi havo ruled this country, j through the princes", and yon don't v. anf Ito lose your power. "\ on want, to go on '1 ruling through me. But yon are mistaken this time. I've been your dupe and your I figure head long enough. It you must

still scheme and plot, and intrigue, you must do it, without me."

The chancellor smiled as one who takes a bit good -hu mon rod Iv. Wry well. I hen let us look at. the matter m a practical way. Sec what 1 have to offer you. Money —the princors' private fortune runs info hundreds of thousands. Luxury—this castle, with all its magnificence and giaudenr, and servants to wait, on you. Power—autocratic authority over all Karolia, all the people in it, to make or break as you pb'ase." lie looked .'it her critically. " I do not think you are an ambitions woman. But you aio capable ami you know your own powers. Knowing them, you want, to nsn them. You want, opporiunity to give them play. < 'no taste, of power, mademoiselle, and you wdl not want to give it, jip ; io sink back into the ruck where yon have no chance t <j u.e your talents, where vou arc muffled, stilled, shackled by pettiness, a soul in prison, like a caged eagle, beating its wings against, Iho bars that bold it, for e.scr from soaring to ils native peaks, high above the world, on wore born to liilo. Aie yon going to Hi row away this one wondeiful chance of ruling that fate has given you—the only chance you will c\er have!'"

It. is illlj><>ssil>lo.'' Sylvia muttered uneasily l<>i.kin_r ili iw ii, '| Ins man's words wriv so cleverly Hihiiiimis; they ai l.nl liko a. drug hi her veins. II'; read her through and through. She. did love weatlli, after her yeal s c>l' poverty and wret rheitliess ; .--hi: did 111 \ e liiMivy, alter (In: sordid citv fillii'o and (lie 11v:Iv hoardinghouse ; she did love power, li*-r tiny tasle of it. li.id liiadii her \in .icir.Mjs fur more. "It, i; Tint, l ni|iii>si I ile, mademoiselle ! ihi 11.i \i• I'nyal I'lood in your veins. Von ha\n played tin- princess magni ficentlv--" " For two davs," she interrupted t-corn-fully. " Tin.;.!', two days were the worst. II is (lII.'. beginning that is dilli.-nll. tiniD goes mi mjii: part, becomes your t-O 1 "lid sell. It Mm i .in art so success, hilly fiir Iv. 'I ilavs ymi can do it fur two mouths, two years, twenty yar.s, alt your lite." •' No," said the, -ill again. " 1 don't, want money, or luxuiy, or powei —at this price. I w l!l Hot i|o ii '• Think. ' lie. urged, " of -what, yon nrc ;;oi 11 g back tii—dull, lifeless, loulless, work in a miserable cilice, Jiving on a few \woh"l)cd shillings a week, gniiij; home lo with your mot her de]iendent upon you, ami yon nuahle to afford even a decent i|oe|or, with all the, comforts and luxuries sli" needs for ever out of her reach, so that she dies--when yon might have saved her |nr many yea. She 11 jiif.I'd ii)' at him ipiii kly, a reply on her i1I>s. lie lead her unspoken I hoii-hts, am! into his voice leapt the threatemn.: tone that, hi: had used at their lust, iuter\ iew. " Hit you think," lie asked snreiingly, " that if \ .11 f.iil Hie I : hall let you go hark to Kngkind with those hi.mls'! Do y..n think thai, il th" thioni! falls, tho Bolshevik Clovi'tuinenf will recognise them (To bo continued duily.)