"I am a Pole," she said, "and to us Poles, the Star of Poland has
stood for centuries as a pledge of the restoration of our
long-lost kingdom. It was the principal jewel of the Polish
Coronation sword which vanished many hundreds of years ago--in
the thirteenth century, one of my compatriots once told me--and
it was one of the most treasured national possessions in the
Chateau of our great king, John Sobieski at Villanoff, outside
Warsaw. My friend, I am not religious, and since my childhood I
have renounced the ancient faith of my fathers, but, when I think
of the extraordinary chain of circumstances by which this
treasure came into my possession, I almost believe that God has
chosen me to restore this gem to the King of an independent
Poland.
"Four years ago I was in the United States, a very humble dancer
in vaudeville of the third or fourth class. When I was appearing
at Columbus, Ohio, I met a German, a man who had been an officer
in the Prussian Guard but had come to grief and had been forced
to emigrate.
"This man's name was Hans von Schornbeek. Like so many German
officers who go to America, in his time he had been
everything--waiter, lift-man, engine-driver and heaven knows what
else, but when I met him he was apparently well-off.
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