Part 17

"For I _am_ Long-Sword," he continued, "even as I _am_ Sir Charles Brandon. And, ere we grow busy in the business of death, I want to say, in order that my friend, De Lysle, may not be misunderstood, that, although he recognized me after he entered the cabin, where I was prisoner, yet he knew nothing of my coming to Annapolis, until I walked in upon him at the Coffee-house. I was going home. Long-Sword the Pirate was to be buried, forever. In ten days, I should have sailed.... But the Fates were against me--I shall not go home--I shall die as Long-Sword, instead." He bowed gracefully to the Governor. "I thank your Excellency! Now, cry on your dogs!"

At this instant, Constable came through the house and out on the esplanade.

"What is it?" he exclaimed--"what does it mean?"

"It is the passing of Long-Sword the Pirate," Brandon answered. "Will not your Excellency begin?"

"I would much rather you surrendered," said Colonel Sharpe.

"No doubt! it would save you a few lives," he mocked.

"You decline to yield?"

Brandon bowed.

"Then shoot him, sergeant!" was the order.

But before a trigger could be pulled, or a flintlock fall, Brandon was upon them. His sword flashed in and out, there was a swaying back and forth, shouts and cries, the clubbing of muskets, the groans of the wounded, a melee, in which all were mingled in a blur of strife and struggle....

Then, the line parted; and through the opening, his sword at the lunge, staggered Brandon. Blood gushed from his face and head, from his breast, from his legs. He was almost sped. He came a little way--faltered--stopped. A soldier stepped out behind him and passed his hanger through his throat. He fell without a word. So, Long-Sword died.

The Governor, his wrath passed, looked down at the dead, and shook his head, sadly.

"He was a brave man!" he said. "May I meet death as fearlessly, when my time comes.... Gentlemen, this deplorable scene is over--let me suggest that you hasten to the ladies, and keep them on the other side of the house, until all traces of the conflict have been removed."

He hooked his arm within Maynadier's, and went slowly in.

"I have had enough of crime and punishment," he said, as they passed the doorway. "What think you, shall we excuse Parkington--let him depart in peace, for England?"

"Yes!" replied Maynadier.

"How say you, Marbury?" the Governor asked.

"As I have said all along: let it rest! let him go!"

"There are some things that are not explained, but they can bide--yes, I think that he may go.--Parkington!" he called.

Parkington, who was kneeling by the body of his dead friend, arose and came forward.

"Sir Edward!" said the Governor. "We have decided to pursue your matter no further, upon the condition, however, that you will continue to bear the name of Parkington, and reside in this house, as a guest, until the first ship sails for England. Are you content?"

Parkington bowed low. "More than content, your Excellency. I am deeply grateful. Moreover, there are pressing reasons, now, for my instant return to England."

He drew the Annapolis paper from his pocket, and, pointing to the item in larger type at the foot of the last column, passed it across.

Colonel Sharpe read:

"_FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS REWARD!_

"_For information sent to the undersigned, that will lead to the location of the present whereabouts of the Honourable Roger James Howard de Lysle, who, it is thought, sailed for America, incognito, about the first of April, last past. He is of average size, with black hair and eyes, fair complexion, clear cut features, and fine bearing. By the sudden demise of the persons intervening, he has succeeded to the title and estates of the Earl of Doncaster._"

The Governor ceased. "My lord," he said, extending his hand, "you have my congratulations! But I think, for reasons which you will understand," he added, "you best cling to the old name, so long as you are in America."

The Earl bowed. "Your Excellency is right. As Parkington I came to Annapolis, as Parkington I shall leave it.--Will you wait here one moment, sir?"

He returned, presently, with Miss Stirling.

"My dear," he said, "I did myself the honor of asking you to marry me, when I was simply Roger de Lysle; and, though you did not promise, yet you were good enough to consider it not unfavorably, I thought. Now, in the presence of his Excellency the Governor, your uncle, I do myself the further honor of asking you to become the Countess of Doncaster."

Miss Stirling's heart beat wildly.

"The Countess of Doncaster!" she repeated, wonderingly. "You are the Earl?"

"I am the Earl," he answered. Then he smiled, the winning, fascinating smile that was his, and held out his arms to her. "Will you go home with me, dear?" he asked.

Without hesitation, she went to him.

"I will go, my lord," she answered. "I will go."

FINIS.

ADVERTISEMENTS

_A NEW SPARKLING ROMANCE_

The Woman in Question

By JOHN REED SCOTT

_Author of "The Colonel of the Red Huzzars," "The Princess Debra," and "Beatrix of Clare"_

THREE FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD

_12mo. Decorated cloth, $1.50_

"_The Woman in Question_" is a romance, but not of Valeria nor mediaeval England. Mr. Scott has remained home in America, and the scenes are laid in the Eastern United States. The story is distinctly modern in tone and theme, and centers in and around Fairlawn Hall, an old mansion with a marvellous garden, lying on the outskirts of Egerton, where the new master has come with a party of friends--to find mystery, misfortune, and love awaiting him.

Mr. Scott shows steady improvement in each succeeding novel, and he has planned this latest story well, filling it with many surprises and dramatic moments.

"The story has dash and verve."--_New York Times Saturday Review of Books._

"There are few heroines in latter-day American fiction comparable with charming Mildred Gascoyne."--_Philadelphia North American._

"The dialogue is bright and sparkling, the characters interesting, and the plot sufficiently exciting. The woman in question, young, beautiful, and spirited, is involved in mystery, the unfolding of which introduces some thrilling episodes."--_Boston Evening Transcript._

J. B. LIPPINCOTT CO.

PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA

_DELIGHTFULLY FASCINATING_

The Princess Dehra

By JOHN REED SCOTT

In which we meet again the characters of his dashing success, "_The Colonel of the Red Huzzars_" (Eleven editions).

Mr. Scott displays uncommon dramatic skill in the handling of his characters--the same, by the way, as those who were met in his "Colonel of the Red Huzzars." It is a continuation of that former dashing romance of an American army officer who turns out to have royal blood in his veins which eventually wins for him a throne and enthrones him in the heart of a charming princess; mystery, intrigue, plot, and counterplot, all are here, and the reader will find his attention held until the very last page, when loyalty and the wit of a woman triumph in the face of even "the Book of Laws" and a clever rascal.

"Here is a new story to set the pulses tingling."--_Philadelphia Press._

"Since Hope's 'Prisoner of Zenda,' nothing better has been done than this new story by the author of 'The Colonel of the Red Huzzars.'"--_Cincinnati Enquirer._

"There are situations involving the principal characters which are ingenious in conception and cleverly woven into the story by essential and natural sequence, and at these situations the reader feels a desire to continue the story, even if the house be burning. He has produced a story that is interesting and exciting without being overdrawn."--_Boston Evening Transcript._

_Four Full-page Illustrations in Color by Clarence F. Underwood. 12mo. Decorated Cloth, $1.50._

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA

_THE DASHING NOVEL_

THE COLONEL OF THE RED HUZZARS

By JOHN REED SCOTT

Stirring adventures, courtly intrigue, and fencing both of sword and wit, fill the pages of this story. The plot is built upon a wager between Major Dalberg, U. S. A., and a friend that within a certain time both would be dining with the king and dancing with the princess royal of Valeria. Strangely enough, Dalberg proves to be of the blood royal of Valeria, is reinstated into his ancestral rights, and when matters are about to reach a climax, the pretender steps in, and there ensues an encounter between American pluck and unscrupulous cleverness.

"There's not a dull page in it."--_The Index, Pittsburg._

"A slap-dashing vacation-day romance."--_Evening Sun, New York._

"So naively fresh in its handling, so plausible through its naturalness, that it comes like a mountain breeze across the far-spreading desert of similar romances."--_Gazette-Times, Pittsburg._

Illustrations in Colors by CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD

12mo. Decorated cloth, $1.50

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY Philadelphia

_A New Romance Teeming with Love and Adventure_

BEATRIX OF CLARE

By JOHN REED SCOTT

Whose "Colonel of the Red Huzzars" (Eleven Editions) captured first place as 1906's most dashing novel.

England in the time of Richard III forms the setting for this tale of romance and adventure, which takes place close about the throne. Beatrix, beauty, heiress, and Countess of Clare, is won by the young knight and courtier, De Lacy, beneath the friendly smiles of both king and queen, while their love affair is troubled by abduction and bloodshed, and influenced by the great events which stir the kingdom and even threaten the crown. The novel is full of "go" from start to finish.

"Not a dull line in the book." _Pittsburg Dispatch._

"The story is ennobling as well as bright and fascinating." _Baltimore Sun._

"Holds the interest closely to the end." _Boston Ev. Transcript_

"Noteworthy as a real contribution to historical romance." _San Francisco Chronicle._

FOUR FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY CLARENCE F. UNDERWOOD.

12mo. Cloth, $1.50.

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA

_A NOVEL OF COMPELLING INTEREST_

The Heart of Desire

By ELIZABETH DEJEANS

_Author of "The Winning Chance."_

WITH COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE KINNEYS 12MO. CLOTH, $1.50

A remarkable novel, full of vital force, which gives us a glimpse into the innermost sanctuary of a woman's soul--a revelation of the truth that to a woman there may be a greater thing than the love of a man--the story pictured against a wonderful Southern California background.

"One of the big headliners in bookland."--_Detroit News._

"The book is a tissue of mysteries, quite apart from the ordinary usages, but solved in the end satisfactorily."--_Chicago Tribune._

"One of those rare examples of literary composition the artistic excellence of which is uniform and even throughout."--_Charleston News and Courier._

"There is color, vitality, and freshness in the picture, and charming variety of detail in the development of story. Horton is the ideal lover, strong-hearted, wilful, persevering; and Kate is the vivid, tantalizing, impersonal creature in an armor of secrecy. But the author transforms this woman into a being of rarest and most beautiful human qualities--or rather, brings those latent emotions to the fore. She is a woman racked by grief over death and unhappy marital experiences in youth, and, later, a woman 'lied to, tortured, duped, and her heart polluted and desecrated'; and in giving up her beloved lawyer-friend, whom she would have married, to the 'helpless, motherless, hampered' child who so passionately claimed his love, Kate's humanism stands out in almost supernatural power."--_Boston Evening Transcript._

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA