She gazed at the hawk enviously. How proud and free he was, so high up

there, circling and circling. Even the fox was freer than she; the

forests were his, and he might go whither he listed. And the fish that

leaped in frolic from the water, and the blackbird in the rushes! She

could not understand.

She would never marry Doppelkinn--never.

But how should she escape--how? On Wednesday night she would be given

her quarterly allowance of a thousand crowns, and on Thursday she must

act. . . . Yes, yes, that was it! How simple! She would slip over

into Doppelkinn, where they never would think to search for her. She

knew a place in which to hide. From Doppelkinn she would go straight

to Dresden and seek the protection of her old governess, who would hide

her till the duke came to his senses. If only she had an independent

fortune, how she would snap her fingers at them all!

She was distracted by the sound of jangling steel. Artemis had cast a

shoe. How annoying! It would take ten minutes to reach old Bauer's

smithy, and ten minutes more to put on a shoe. She brought the filly

down to a walk.

What was the use of being a princess if one was not allowed to act in a

royal fashion? It wasn't so terrible to wear men's clothes, and,

besides, they were very comfortable for riding a horse; and as for

riding a bicycle in the public streets, hadn't that ugly Italian

duchess ridden through the streets of Rome, and in knickerbockers, too?

Nobody seemed to mind it there. But in Barscheit it had been little

short of a crime. She recalled the flaming fagots and the red-hot wire

of her unfortunate wheel. A smile rippled over her face, but it passed

quickly. There was nothing left to smile over. They were going to

force her to marry a tomb, a man in whom love and courage and joy were

as dead things. Woe to Doppelkinn, though--woe to him! She would lead

him a dance, wild and terrible.

If only she were Betty, free to do what she pleased, to go and come at

will! She wasn't born to be a princess; she wasn't commonplace enough;

she enjoyed life too well. Ah, if only she might live and act like

those English cousins of hers with whom she went to school! _They_

could ride man-fashion, hunt man-fashion, shoot, play cards and bet at

the races man-fashion, and nobody threatened them with Doppelkinns.

They might dance, too, till the sun came into the windows and the rouge

on their faces cracked. But _she_! (I use the italics to illustrate

the decided nods of her pretty head.) Why, every sweet had to be

stolen!




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