PRINCESS PROXY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20628, 29 July 1930, Page 16

PRINCESS PROXY.

BY RUSSELL WARREN

CI l A PTE R XXII (Con ti nuod.) Quietly Sylvia told lior story. Now tlml it w;is all over, she could speak of it without emotion. She passed over tho incidents with Prince Boris as quickly us sho could while still convoying their importance as ihey affected I lie situation. Devenish made not a. singlo comment. A slight satrical sniilo even curved his lips as ho appreciated Radtzkoff's desperate schemes to get out of his entanglement, and the way in which every wrigglo involved him more deeply. Bub when she spoke of Prince Boris his jaw hardened, and there was a savage gleam in his eves.

" They've probably saved mo tho trouble by now," ho growled. " And I suppose it's a good tiling. But I must say I should have liked to have broken the little swine's neck myself." Fortescue, who had listened in silent amazement (o the extraordinary story, remarked quietly: " What, a perfectly beastly experience. -Miss Savil''. Yd i must have no end of pluck, to have come through it so well." She turned to him with a little grateful smile. " Do you think 1 did the right thing?" she asked. "It was so difficult—so hard to know what was the best. At times 1 got so bewildered I hardly knew what was right and what was wrong." " t think you did absolutely the right thing," said Fortescue heartily. " Quite." Devenish was emphatic. " You were perfectly justified in playing a little innocent deception to save the princess the risks incidental to the procession—you had .an uncommonly close shave yourself. When she was hit I think you did the best thing possible for everybody by carrying on. And. by jove, it must have been a task! V\ hat a nerve you must have!" " But when 1 found they had killed her. I couldn't go <>n then," Sylvia ventured a little timidly. "Of course not—impossible." He broke off the subject abruptly. "If 1 were you. Miss Savile, I d go to bed now. Von must want sleep badly." She stared at him in astonishment. '• 13ecl! Do you tlnnk I could sleep with all this"—sho waved a hand at the windows—" going on ?" " 1 think you will Hud that you can. You're utterly fagged out by till you've been through" And sleep will do you a world of good. I don't mind telling you"— he dropped his voice to a lower tone — " that you'll want all your strength and courage to-morrow. Tf it becomes neces-sary-I don't think it will—we'll wake

She smiled at him a little wearily. " Verv good, sir." she answered. " You're in command. If you order mo to sleep —I II try." Ihey ruse. Devenisb moved to the door and opened it for the two women. •' Good night," Sylvia said as she passed through. "Good night," he answered simply.

The words were banal enough, but there "as something in his voice that made her look up at him. Their eyes met for a moment and her lids fell, for there was something in his gaze that no woman can ever mistake, and it sent her to her room with glowing cheeks and a bounding heart. Devenisb closed the door and came back to the table, sat down, and lit a cigar. His face was stern.

" Now," he said to Fortescue, " how the devil are we going to get. these women out of this thoroughly hellish mess?" The three men sat round tho table, and their faces were graver than when Sylvia arid Adele had been present. " To begin with, we can't hold this placo long." said Devenish thoughtfully. " We've trot "

" Twenty-seven, including ourselves," answered Fortescue promptly, eighteen rifles with perhaps a hundred and fifty rounds each. The machine gun—dashed good stunt of yours. Devenish, smuggling that in—with five belts, a few bombs and our own revolvers. Finish." " Not. much good. We can hold up any attempt to rush us front and rear, and we needn't, worry much about snipers. But our flanks are in the air. They've only got to get into the, houses on either side ;ind they can swarm over the roof. I hat II take some holding. Hut 1 m not reallv worried about a direct attack. \\ e could make them pay for it. and our friends the Bolshies are not too eager to risk their skins. But if tliev set fire to the houses on either side, they can burn us out. If tliev get hold of any guns they can shell lis if they have aeroplanes they can bomb us; f shouldn t be surprised if they had gas. I hey re dashed efficient people once tliev get a move on. " Quite. When they really get to work, we can't hold this place two hours. That's settled. The next point is—do •we run anv risk of being relieved Will the armv stick to the government? fan lladtzkoff put down the rising, and if he can will he send us relief if we can manage to yet a chit, through to him?" " Parcsco knows best about that. Devenish turned to the Karolian and repeated the question in French. Pareseo shrugged his shoulders. " The Koyal Guard will probably remain loyal—unless they get. badly mauled. The other troops "—lie made, a significant gesture—" I don't think so. 'lhey arc rotten with sedition. If they think the

government is doomed tliev will try to ingratiate themselves with the new regime. If tliev aio told tho princess is dead tliev will all be for a, republic, 'lliey have, not been paid for months, and I think what they will do is—shoot their officers right and left, and come out, to loot, the city. Even if they hold firm, and Bad! zkoff puts down the revolution —1 think ho would see us in hell before he sent, a single man to help us." Devenish nodded

" I'm sure, you're right. And there's not the ghost, of a chance of help corning from outside, tho city. We've got. this little show entirely on our own. We can't even get, into touch with the other Legations. 'I he next tiling is—will they attack us, and when?"

"Sooner or later, certainly," said I'ort(»?•< ue. " They've all gone blood-mad and they'll sack the. city through and through. 'I hey'l] bring this place down if only to get at the wine cellar They don't care a eontinerilal for Great Ihitian or any other country. Tliev snap their lingers at the Powers. 'I hey'll smash everything they come across. 1 don't know," lie said reflectively, "whether tiiey'vn got any grudge against Miss Savilo for her part in the leoent affair. But. in ariv ca;.e. she's a pretty girl and -" lie nodded meaningly. Deveuish's jaw set I: .• and '.her.; was all ugly look in his eye-;. " Whatever liappens,"' he said softly,

"we must not let them get her alive." He shook himself back into tho straight line of discussion. " Sooner or later, then they'll be down on us. Tho point is—when?" He asked the question in French and looked at I'areseo.

" I think," said the little man, smoothing his flat hair, " when they have taken the castle. 'lhey will want to capture that lirst. Then they will break looso all over tho city." " Yes Most likely. And how long, 1 wonder, will it, take them to do that? The castle's a pretty strong place."

" Who can say? If they get artillery—" " Yes. it won't stand much in the way of U.K.," said Fortescue " Any rate, I don't think wo need expect a, visit tonight. But since we're certain to have an attack sooner or later, and \m> can't, hold out long, what are we going to do?" As lie spoke there came a dull report from somewhere outside and the windows shook and rattled. Another followed, and another. And then more distant reports.

"That settles it." said Fortescue. nodding as if the noise confirmed a thought in his own mind. " The Bolshies have gof, hold of some field guns, at any rate. That's them shelling flic castle. I expect "

" That's it for certain, find it. solves tho question for iiv AVe rnn'f. rtnnil out ngainst nliliiiA. I duu't waul to leave tho place withoafc a kick."- Devcnish

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growled thoughtfully " but when we've duno what we can, it's no good throwing lives away, especially—theirs." lie jerked his head towards the door Ivy which the two women had quitted the room. " When we can't hold out any longer wo must burn all tho papers and clear out." " M'yes. But where? How?"

Tho threo men stared at one another across tho tabic, their brows puckered anxiously. Dcvenish leant forward and began to trace patterns on the tablecloth with his forefinger. " Now listen," he said. " We're sure (o be attacked front and rear, so there's no escape by tho street. But look here tho r.nd bous j of the row barks on to I lie river, doesn't it? And all the houses in tho row have cellars, haven t they? " 1 see," said fortescue. " ou mean break a wav through from cellar to cellar. Yes, it could be done, it we. had time. " Start now. Detail a working party, two men at a time, ;ui hour on and two off. I don't know whether we shall put the wind up the people in the other houses —they may take us for Bolshies and pump lead into us." " No, they all cleared," Fortescue assured him. " Saw 'cm go, as soon as the first signs of the row began, ihats all right. But when we get to the river 1" " Get. a boat. One of us can swim for one. There, are lots along the quays, and there's a boat house just, above the bridge. Then we, must drop down the river—in the dark, if possible—until we're across the frontier into Rouruania."

"They'll stop us; fire at us.' "We must chance that. Got to run tiie gauntlet somehow. Anyway, it s all I can think of." Fortescue pondered slowly. His was not a quickly-moving brain. •' I think you're right," lie agreed at last. " It's pretty risky, but for the. life of me I can't think of a better stunt." Neither could Paresco. in fact, the littlo man was quite enthusiastic about it. lie did not think the. mob would burn the boats —they would bo too useful to themselves. They might perhaps put sentries on them, but there were ways of dealing with sentries. "Well, ! think 1 hat, settles it," Fortescue said, leaning back in his chair. " You'd better get to bed, Dcvenish- You must be pretty fagged. 1 II watch till one. and Paresco till four. He'll wake, you and then you can rouse me at seven."

" 1 wanr, to go up on the roof first, Dcvenish said, " and see if we can get any idea of how thjngs are going." They rose simultaneously and climbed the stairs to the, top floor, and then up a ladder through a trapdoor that led to the flat roof of the building. The view from the. roof was extra ordinary Below them lay the Grande Place, silent and steeped in shadow, save where the lime trees caught the orange glow of the burning hotel, which glowed like a live coal, erupting a burst of flames and sparks now and then as a portion of the upper floors crashed down into the fiery pit below. And at each crash a roar of savage and drunken ferocity went up from among the shrouding shadows. " A few of our friends keeping the fire warm," commented Fortescue. " Women amongst 'cm, too, by the sound of it. " They're the worst in these cases," answered Dcvenish.

With one accord they turned and looked up to where the castle stood, silhouetted black against the cloudless sky, rising tower on tower,, pinnacle on pinnacle, from the vague and shadowy sea of roofs that thronged up to it. Not. a light was to ho seen, but down to them came the sound of rifle shots, the occasional stutter of machine guns, and the low muttering of hoarse voices. It. was eerie to listen to tho sounds of the conflict, so desperately close, without anything to inform tho sight. , " Yes." said Devenish critically. Want a few cry lights to make it. really realistic." Then, as they watched, the guns opened again. From somewhere on the other side of the roofs they barked, arul shells burst against the black castle in splashes of vivid flame. A pall of dark smoke began to gather and blur the outline, of pinnacles and buttressed walls. "They're getting ou with it.' said Devenish. " Making pretty good shooting, too, Fortescue approved. Tie had been a gunner and spoke with professional pride. (To ho con tinned daily.)