"Father says the United States papers are full of awful war scares from

the Balkans. Are we a part of the Balkans, Yetive?" she asked of Yetive,

with a puzzled frown, emphasizing the pronoun unconsciously. "He says

I'm to come right off home. Says he'll not pay a nickel of ransom if the

brigands catch me, as they did Miss Stone and that woman who had the

baby. He says mother is worried half to death. I'm just going to cable

him that it's all off. Because he says if war breaks out he's going to

send my brother Dan over here to get me. I'm having Aunt Josephine send

him this cablegram from St. Petersburg: 'They never fight in

Balkans. Just scare each other. Skip headlines, father dear. Will be

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home soon. Beverly.' How does that sound? It will cost a lot, but he

brought it upon his own head. And we're not in the Balkans, anyway. Aunt

Joe will have a fit. Please call an A. D. T. boy, princess. I want to

send this message to St. Petersburg."

When Candace entered the princess's boudoir half an hour later, she was

far from being the timid youth who first came to the notice of the

Graustark cabinet. She was now attired in one of Beverly's gowns, and it

was most becoming to her. Her short curly brown hair was done up

properly; her pink and white complexion was as clear as cream, now that

the dust of the road was gone; her dark eyes were glowing with the

wonder and interest of nineteen years, and she was, all in all, a most

enticing bit of femininity.

"You are much more of a princess now than when I first saw you," smiled

Yetive, drawing her down upon the cushions of the window-seat beside

her. Candace was shy and diffident, despite her proper habiliments.

"But she was such a pretty boy," protested Dagmar. "You don't know how

attractive you were in those--"

Candace blushed. "Oh, they were awful, but they were comfortable. One

has to wear trousers if one intends to be a vagabond. I wore them for

more than a week."

"You shall tell us all about it," said Yetive, holding the girl's hand

in hers. "It must have been a most interesting week for you."

"Oh, there is not much to tell, your highness," said Candace, suddenly

reticent and shy. "My step-brother--oh, how I hate him--had condemned

me to die because he thought I was helping Dantan. And I was

helping him, too,--all that I could. Old Bappo, master of the stables,

who has loved me for a hundred years, he says, helped me to escape from

the palace at night. They were to have seized me the next morning. Bappo

has been master of the stables for more than forty years. Dear old

Bappo! He procured the boy's clothing for me and his two sons

accompanied me to the hills, where I soon found my brother and his

men. We saw your scouts and talked to them a day or two after I became a

member of the band. Bappo's boys are with the band now. But my brother

Dantan shall tell you of that. I was so frightened I could not tell what

was going am. I have lived in the open air for a week, but I love it.

Dantan's friends are all heroes. You will love them. Yesterday old Franz

brought a message into the castle grounds. It told Captain Baldos of the

plan to seize Gabriel, who was in the hills near your city. Didn't you

know of that? Oh, we knew it two days ago. Baldos knew it yesterday. He

met us at four o'clock this morning;--that is part of us. I was sent on

with Franz so that I should not see bloodshed if it came to the

worst. We were near the city gates Baldos came straight to us. Isn't it

funny that you never knew all these things? Then at daybreak Baldos

insisted on bringing me here to await the news from the pass. It was

safer, and besides, he said he had another object in coming back at

once."




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