V

THE ESCAPE

For half an hour the Princess von der Tann succeeded admirably in

immersing herself in the periodical, to the exclusion of her unhappy

thoughts and the depressing influence of the austere countenance of

the Blentz Princess hanging upon the wall behind her.

But presently she became unaccountably nervous. At the slightest

sound from the palace-life on the floor below she would start up

with a tremor of excitement. Once she heard footsteps in the

corridor before her door, but they passed on, and she thought she

discerned the click of a latch a short distance further on along the

passageway.

Again she attempted to gather up the thread of the article she had

been reading, but she was unsuccessful. A stealthy scratching

brought her round quickly, staring in the direction of the great

portrait. The girl would have sworn that she had heard a noise

within her chamber. She shuddered at the thought that it might have

come from that painted thing upon the wall.

What was the matter with her? Was she losing all control of herself

to be frightened like a little child by ghostly noises?

She tried to return to her reading, but for the life of her she

could not keep her eyes off the silent, painted woman who stared and

stared and stared in cold, threatening silence upon this ancient

enemy of her house.

Presently the girl's eyes went wide in horror. She could feel the

scalp upon her head contract with fright. Her terror-filled gaze was

frozen upon that awful figure that loomed so large and sinister

above her, for the thing had moved! She had seen it with her own

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