CHAPTER XIII.—ON THE WARPATH.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 69

CHAPTER XIII.— ON THE WARPATH.

HILE Prafford was devouring the enticing viands of the Neptunberg and listenLag to the inspiriting conversation t)f the Frau >Generalin yon Bilderbaum, a certain captain in the third regiment of Guides was the pirey to a whole hos' of mixed sentiments, divergent ideals, and other troubles of a conscientious egotist. Uk-icfe yon Hugelweiler was sitting in his barrack quarters, smoking hard and thinking harder, and occasionally kicking the legs of the table in an excess of mantal indecision. " I am a loyalist by instinct," he murmured to ihimself, lighting his fourteenth cigarette. "But to whom? Loyalty is a virtue, a grand virtue as a rule, but loyalty to the wrong person is as immoral as worship paid to a false god 1 ." And having delivered himself of this platitudinous monologue, lie kicked another fake of varnish from t<he teg. of his long-suffering table. >N> He recalled 1 the post of honour that had been assigned him that morning on the slopes of Nussneim, and he longed to prove his worth by the solid arguments of a soldier's sword. And yet . . . and yet ... it ought to have been he, not George .Trafford, who 'was the honoured *guest at the Neptunburg that night. For tlh© memorj of his disappointment 'on the Rundisee rankled intolerably in his retentive braiin. Meyer had offered him a dirty task, and had cheated him of fame and glory because he had refused to undertake at. Heihated Meyer — hated him f.ar more than he loved the King. He hated Trafford, too, for winning tine King's Prize. He argued, with the superb unreason of a petty nature, that Trafford should' nave been conscious of his own deficiencies, and surrendered the palm to the obviously superior competitor who has only placed second. He threw away his last cigairette-end) witih a gesture of annoyance, and rose impatiently to his feet. He would 1 have liked^at that moment to have faced Meyer on even terms with measured swords and stripped body ; and having pinked the J^w's bosom, he would like to do the , same service to the cursed* Er.ijrlande.r who had come, betiween him and his honourable ambition. But Karl had played no part, .°o fax. as Jl3 knew, in the dishonourable intrigiiie which had prevented him being plac£d- first in the skating competition. Karl was a man who had pi'oved his personal courage in the rising of 1904, and who, despite the ugly rumours which flooded the city, had an ur.'&ou'bied cha-rm of personality. He repented of having tendered 1 his resignation, for the manner in which that resignation had been deferred touched all that was most soldierly and honourable in his heart. Aradl then into the troubled whirlpool of his thoughts came a vision, so calmly dominating, so unconquierably insistent, so sweetly imperious that the dictates alike of hate and loyalty grew faint and indecisive before the splendid allure seen of his inward eye. A princess stood before him, bright eyes looked pleadingly into his own, soft liana's caressed the lappet of his coat. A breath sweeter than the spices of Araby was in his nostrils. Conscience, maybe, called one way, but something stronger than conscience called the other. The cail of the one was clear and loud, but the call of the other stirred every fibre in his sensuous being. He sat down again in hit armchair, and buried his face in his hands, and b-icaii'-e his eyes w.ore blinded by the action the vision of Mathilde's youthful beauty and smiling lip-s grey clearer, more tangible, more .seductive. His mind harked back to the dismal moment when he was leaving the Rundsee, a defeated, discredited candidate for the blue ribbon- of the bkating world. The Princess had appeared to lira :i! a moment when her bright presiiue had seemed especially dazzling bj ojntras-t with the black thought* that Tilled iis brain. She had applied to h.Jii for a' i:-tance ; had promised, or at leaht hinted- at, the great lewarrl that would bear him rc.-e-erovvned to the htars Ti.at was worth much — evsiylhing, peiha;) — even a s/>ld ; er's honour. But would Ins honour inevitably be sacrificed by plu-i.ig his" sword at the I'iinct^'s ('ij.pT.al ' Tie j had reasons fur being tli- ilif-fiel with his pre.-e-nt ae*"viee, he argued. Kail — well, 1 he could not biina: him-df t'> di.-i X" X; il, ! bat he yd'- witamly <i ir.ni of \\limh mm a i'l wa> s-p&ken. His Commander-in-C'hief. Meyer. he knew for a s-cheming and un scrupulous politician iath?r than an honti-t J soldier. AnJ so, little by little, desire I suborned conscience, till he persuaded | himself, as self-centred men habitually | do, that the path of pleasure -w as the path j of duty. The* blare of a bugle broke rudely on his meditations. Rising and looking out of the window, he saw his men hurriedly j mustering in the barrack -j-ard. A second j later his door burst open and his colonel j entered. ' ''Captain Hugelw eiler.. proceed instantly] with a lull compan\ r and fifty rounds of | ball cartridges to the Domkiicheplatz/'

' came the sharp command. "There is I trouble outside the Strafeburg, and your orders are to restore tranquility at all costs." When the party at the Neptunburg brvofce up -abruptly, as *-t did soon affcej the glane of incendiarism had. flushed the I sky to a threatening crimson, Trafford ' paid a hasty leave-taking of his Majesty, and hastened down the great staircase to the entrance nail. Here stood Saunders ' in dose consultation with General Meyer. 1 "George," said the former, "if I were you I should stay here. There is no necessity to go, and if you come up* to my room we can watch things comfortably from my window." i '"Thanks," -said Trafford curtly," "I am' not fond of watching -things from the window." , j "You really must not leaive us," said the Commander-in-Chiei, with exaggerated I politeness. , 1 j "I'm afraid I must-, though," said,Trafj ford decisively, buttoning up his coat and , putting on his snow boots over his even- ! ing shoes. [ '"We really cannot allow you to depart," i persisted Meyer, walking to the. hall door and ostentatiously shooting a massive bolt. < A gleam lighted in Trafford's eye; but Ihis response was politeness itself. . ' " I mu?t insist on tearing myself 'away," ■ ' he retorted. " • j Saunders and Meyer exchanged glances. 1 "Herr Traffopd," said 1 the latter, "when ' I said you must not go, I N meant to couoh a command »in terms of courtesy. The streets of Weidenbruck are in a dangerous state to-night, and as the person responsible for the public safety I really cannot 1 sanction your departure from the Neptunj burg." ' . i j y Trafford glanced round him. On either side were flunkeys i n powdered wigs, knee ibreeches, and yellow coats. Between him ' and the street be desired to gain was — an elderly Jew. j "Is youT commajid based .solely oh a concern for my personal safety?" he asked. | "Solely," was Meyer's sarcastic reply. j •Then I shall disregard it," said Trafford, producing a revolver and flourish- , ing it ibout in reckless fashion, "for I am I quite japable ot protecting myself, dear 1 general, I assure you." • ! Meyer flinched violently as the muzzle of the deadly weapon was pointed in all directions, and most frequently at his own person. For a half-moment he hesitated ; he had been playing a game of bluff, but ', he hat 1 not appreciated the bluffing capa- ' bilities of his opponent. He might call , j the guard, but he had a nerve-destroyimg i idea that if he, did so the mad English- ! , man would '-av-e an accident witlh the re- S 1 volver and shoo" him "through the leg. His nalf-momeut's hesitation was fatal to has scheme for retaining Trafford in I the Neptunburg. The latter brushed past ; him, threw back the bolt, and with a 1 "Good-nigiht, SaundWs ; good-ndgh't, ! ! general," -vanished into the street. ' i Having gained the open, Trafford's first steps were directed hastily to the scene of the. la.te contest between the niob and I the soldiers. The roadway was strangely , empty, as though, some dominant attrac- ' 1 tion had lured away all such as could walk i or run, leavdn,g only thoae whom the rei cent fracas had robbed of tihei? limbs' use. I It was these latter to whom Trafford paid instant and anxious attention. One by one he bent over the prostirate forms with peering eyes and a nameless dread in his heart. There were about a dozen, soir<» dli Ad. some dying, some merely incapacitated. At the conclusion of his search Trafford heaved a deep sigh of relief, for they were all men, and what he had ieared had not happened. Then just a-s he was wondering what he could- dc U alleviate the sufferings of the stricken- ones, he saw a party of friars, black-coated and hooded, approaching the scene with charitable intent. And so, leaving the task of mercy to better hands than his, hs hastened .in tilie direction from which , distant sounds of shouting were audible.- j His ears led him towards the Cathedral t square, and as the noise of turbulence swelled louder and fiercer, ar.3 as his own sense of relief at the Princess's escape from danger made itself fe^t more con- ! sciously, a strange exaltaitioii of the spirit j took him. His heart sang at the joyous prospect of a disturbance beside which T the finest college rag on record would heem a and trivial thing. He ' quickened his footsteps to a run. lor his nerves were tau>' and tiagling with the , shrill joy of anarchy. Houses would be [ burnt instead of furniture, policemen would be assaulted with genuine ferocity, instead of the half-humorous roughness pi His undergraduate days. The .va-r-dvum was sounding in his ea.r?. Tlu trange brain, that could pity human suffering , with a superhuman .sympathy. wa« kindled » with the wild flames of primitive pugnicity. The strange heart, that could conceive a,n ethereal, passionless regard for a woman, was a fierce swirl of troubled , waters. . ' Ti afford — Tvtx>ne v Trafford — th , fire- • brand of Cains, was on the warpath. j