*** start of the project gutenberg ebook 1214 *** the street of seven stars by mary roberts rinehart chapter i the old stucco house sat back in a garden, or what must once have been a garden, when that part of the austrian city had been a royal game preserve. tradition had it that the empress maria theresa had used the building as a hunting-lodge, and undoubtedly there was something royal in the proportions of the salon. with all the candles lighted in the great glass chandelier, and no s...