ain rumbled on down the valley. Miss Vance cried out in
dismay.

"Never mind. There will be another train in a half hour," said Jean.
"Here is the Schloss," pointing to a pepper-box tower neatly
whitewashed, which rose out of a huge mass of broken stone. "And here,
I suppose, is the capital of the kingdom over which the Wolfburghs now
reign feudal lords?"

Clara found herself against her will looking curiously at the forge,
the dirty shop, the tiny bier-halle, and a half a dozen huts, out of
which swarmed a few old women and children.

"Where are the men of this village?" Jean demanded of the station
master, a stout old man with a pipe in his mouth.

"Gone to America, for the most part," he said, with a shrug.

Lucy came up hastily, an angry glitter in her soft eyes. "You have no
right to make me play the spy in this way!" she said haughtily, and
going into the little station sat down with her back to the door.

"You? It is I--I----" muttered Jean breathlessly. "And who lives in
the tower, my good man? It is not big enough for a dozen hens." She
slipped a florin into his hand.

"Four of the noble ladies live there. The princesses. The gracious
sisters of Furst Hugo. There come two of them now."

A couple of lean, wrinkled women dressed in soiled merino gowns and
huge black aprons, their hair bristling in curl papers, crossed the
road, peering curiously at the strangers.

"They came to look at you, Fraulein," said the man, chuckling.
"Strangers do not stop at Wolfburgh twice in the year."

"And what do the noble ladies do all the year?"

"Jean, Jean!" remonstrated Clara.

"Oh, Miss Vance! This is life and death to some of us! What do they
do?"

"Do?" said the man, staring. "What shall any gracious lady do? They
cook and brew, and crochet lace and----"

"Are there any more princesses--sisters of Furst Hugo?"

"Two more. They live in Munich. No, none of them are married.
Because," he added zealously, "there are no men as high-born as our
gracious ladies, so they cannot marry."

"No doubt that accounts for it," said Jean. "Six. These are 'the
channels into which the income will flow,' hey?" She gave him more
money, and marching into the station caught Lucy by the shoulder,
shaking her passionately. "Do you think any American girl could stand
that? How would YOU like to be caged up in that ridiculous tower to
cook and crochet and brew beer and watch the train go by for
recreation? T