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The warht, carrying with thehts,--of her, of Axphain, of the abductor, of hiht step on the stone floor of the shadowy balcony attracted his attention He turned his head and saw the Princess Yetive She alking slowly toward the balustrade, not aware of his presence There was no covering for the dark hair, no wrap about the white shoulders She wore an exquisite gown of white, shi with the reflections from the moon that scaled thea bouquet of red roses, her chin lifted, her eyes gazing toward the mountain's crest, the prettiest picture he had ever seen The strange dizziness of love overpowered hilanced upward towards the sky which she was blessing with her gaze, and beheld another picture, glooainst thethe black tower of that faraway monastery in the clouds, the home of the monks of Saint Valentine Out of the world, above the world, a part of the sky itself, it stood like the spectre of a sentinel whose ghostly guardian ship appalled and yet soothed
He could not, would not move To have done so meant the desecration of a picture so delicate that a breath upon its surface would have swept it forever frolory of the picture he knew not, for it was as if he looked from a dream At last he saw her look down upon the roses, lift theround below He thought he understood; the gift of a prince despised
They were not twenty feet apart He advanced to her side, his hat in one hand, his stick--the one that felled the Viennese--tre in the other
"I did not know you were here," she exclaihtened a beside her, looking down into the eyes
"And I anorance," he said, softly "I have seen a picture that shall never leave my memory--never! Its beauty enthralled, enraptured Then I saw the drahness, the crown is not always a mask"
"The roses were--were of no consequence," she faltered
"I have heard how you stand between two suitors and that wretched treaty My heart has ached to tell you how I pity you"
"It is not pity I need, but courage Pity will not aid me in my duty, Mr Lorry It stands plainly before e to take it up and place it about my neck forever"