A Servant of Satan: Romantic Career of Prado the Assassin — page 32: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

24 A SERVANT OF SATAN. or, at any rate, for an advance sufficient to stave off the most pressing claims, had been met by astern refusal, and the ‘‘cent per cent. gentry” of the capital proved equally ob- durate in declining to loan any further sums on the strength of the inheritance due him at his majority. On the other hand, it was perfectly clear to Frederick that he would be obliged to remain absent from Germany for several years, ntil the incident with his colonel had blown over. But he could not hope to do this without money—especially now that he was married—and the only person from whom there was the slightest prospect of his obtaining any financial as- sistance was his father.’ He was in no cheerful frame of mind as he thought of all this while awaiting his father’s summons. Had the latter already received news of his son’s conduct? ‘That was hardly possible. It was too soon. How, then, was he to explain the events of the last ten days to the general, of whom he stood somewhat in awe? His meditations were interrupted by Franz’s return to tell him that General von Waldberg was ready to receive him. ‘His excellency would hardly believe me when I told him of the Herr Graff’s arrival,” said Franz, with a beam- ing smile, ‘‘but he is much delighted, as I knew he would be.” : | Frederick’s heart sank as he pictured to himself the grief and anger which the discovery of the true reason of his un- expected visit would cause his father. His hesitating knock at the general’s door was answered by a cheery ‘‘Come in;” and hardly had he entered the room when he found himself clasped in his father’s arms. General Count von Waldberg was still at that time a re- markably handsome and young-looking man. Tall, and straight as a dart, his appearance was extremely aristo- cratic; his hair and mustache were tinged with gray, but his bright blue eyes were undimmed by age. - comicbooks.co