The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-04-30 00:00:00

SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1887.

ADRIENNE;
08,
TRE SHADOW OF THE PAST.

[ALL EIGHTS RESERVED 4

CHA.PTER XXII.
41. ',Emma usually slept very lightly, but by some
chance fatal to his schemes, on this evening his
B,l,llhlLers were heavy, though not uninterrupted, for,
Aady saw from the convulsive twitching of his features
When she looked in on him, that he was suffering from
13411. Yet she dared not venture to arouse him, for
6138 knew that would bring upon herself an explosion
of his ire.
She silently removed from the table the articles
hieLi were strewn on it, to make room for the supper
Brie had been forced to delay to this unusual hour.
In doing this she put the letters brought by Pierre
11 here they were not seen by him immediately on awak-
ing, as Adrienne had intended when she placed them
there.

M . LeCOLA sleep was troubled by hideous visions;
rY the phantoms of his victims flit past him one
One, with extended fingers pointed deridingly to-
wards him, and they seemed to hiss forth:
" Traitor! murderer': regicide! go to meet your
doom ! It is falling !—lalling !—falling
ne half awoke with the dreadful sensation of beinp
Precipitated downward through an interminable space;
3et he could not thoroughly arouse himself. Then two
women approached him. One of regal air and stately
beav'ug, seemed overwhelmed with affliction, as she
cried in desolate tones:
"'Too late !—too late !"
The other syllabled with distinct utterance:
" Your treasure is gone—your hopes are crushed!"
The first half of the sentence struck a chord in his
Veins which instantly vibrated to its meaning. The
naiser's soul was aroused at once, and he awoke with
a sharp pain at his heart, and a faint sickness which
utmost unnerved him, but the vivid consciousness of
the 'words he had heard remained with him. He
Uttered:

"It isa warning. I will go at once and see. '
lie rose immediately and went towards the lower
'netn to visit his treasure closet, and ascertain if any
nue had entered it. He had removed the jewels, but
a large sum of money in gold was still there, which he
bid left to pay the men whom he expected to perform
So important a service for him on this night.
As M. Lecour unclosed the door, the bloodhound
sPrang forward, gave a sharp growl, and was ready
to Spring at his throat, but a word from him sent
nina back to his lair. The animal, in the four past
claTe, had been tamed by hunger, for bread had been
,sunplied to him very sparingly by his master's own
!llind, till that morning, when M. Lecour had given
lama a full meal and ventured to caress him after it,
zithout receiving any indication on the part of the
nltnal of an intentioa to become unruly towards him-
self again.
fle earned a wait taper in his hand, from which he
.lighted the candles that stood upon the table. As
ne did so, he thought he saw the flash of the carbuncle
:Which had so mysteriously disappeared a few days
before. He had been greatly annoyed at the loss of
a geta of such value, and he stooped down and
search
the floor with care, hoping that his previous
for it had not been sufficiently thorough to in-
sure success.
It was not the carbuncle he had ,seen, but some-
Ting so startling, so strange, that a feeling of intense
ure-ed was aroused in his soul, to be followed by a
Paroxysm of fury so overpowering as to threaten his
thaea°ll. The floor of the room was uneven; one of
planks had sunk towards the centre, and into this
a few
pool of blood from the wound of the slaughtered
hound had flowed, and remained undisturbed. On the
8_ rnooth planks around it, a finger had traced with the
red fluid the following warning:
"Beware! old man! The hour approaches in which
right shall conquer injustice l"
The letters seemed to burn into his brain; to scorch
me vision, as he read the warning. He peered at the
cbaracters, hoping to find them strange to him, but
.With a shiver he recognised them. Suddenly a new
li?neght darted into his brain. He sprang up clenched
Lim hands, and furiously exclaimed:
1' If I believed that I would immolate her on the
Vet ! Her life! what is it to my welfare? Nothing
--nothing, But I will not be too precipitate—l will
212_4 some of her writing and then judge for myself."
lii. Lecour arose from the crouching position he had
assumed the better to exasnine the writing, and find-
ing his keys, proceeded to open the secret door which
Led into his treasure closet. This was concealed behind
a Picture copied from one of David's—Cain medi-
tating the murder of Abel, and it was a fitting com-
panion for the other horrible productions of his own,
Which hung upon the surrounding walls.
The door swung open at his practised touch; behind
It was a second one of iron, studded with immense
nails, and secured by a strong lock. This, too, yielded
Without an effort, and he started back with an excla-
naation at what met his sight from within. For a
brief space he stood as one paralysed; for against a
bag of coin was placed a masterly sketch representing
the White Terror as she usually appeared to him ;
it was drawn with a pencil dipped in phosphorous,
and in the darkness of the closet it stood forth clear
and distinct, perfecb repreeentotrion of that form oo
full of dread to him.

He threw the door wide open, the light of the candles
flashed upon the image, and also upon the ring which
he had believed for ever lost. M. Lecour snatched
it up, and disengaged a slip of paper on which was
traced a few lines in the game writing as that on the

"The secret is yours no longer. I have penetrated to your
hoarded wealth, but I do not wishto appropriate a tithe of
It ; though I might justly do so. I give you back this ling
.which was once the gage of a true love that might at last
flave been happy.but for your cruel interference ; and with
Its restoration I warn you that the end approaches. I restore
It to avert suspicion from the helpless girl who has ventured in
the tiget's den in the vain hope that her innocence and purity
nllght tame the ferocious nature which will not even spare its
Own when once its ire is aroused.
"Be careful how you act toward Adrienne Durand, for
tile White Terror will fearfully avenge any wrong done to her..

With burning eyes and panting breath, M. Lecour
read these words, and fear and fury raged alternately
In his breast.
Ile seized the picture, trampled it under foot, and
utterly defaced it as he exclaimed:
" Out of my sight, shadow of a detested reality !
.Threaten as you will; fear you, as at moments I may
he weak enough to do, I still defy you. When my
n tight reason sways me, lam not under your demi-
_at ion. With other phantoms you come in my dreams,
but I know you are but an unreal mockery. By human
bands were these things placed here, and woe to her
Who
aided in doing so, when I have once convinced
myself of her guilt I"
M. Lecour snatched up the defaced picture, held it
In the flame of a candle, and with savage triumph be.
held it shrivel into a blackened and charred mass. This
he threw again beneath his feet, and trampled upon
the very ecstasy of passion.
He then placed the restored ring upon his finger, and
examined every part of the room, to ascertain if
Possible, by what means the intruder had gained ad-
Mittence, not only into the room guarded by the
formidable dog, but into his very holy of holies—the
shrine in which he kept his treasures.
He discovered nothing; the locks had not been
tampered with. How, then, could the room have been
entered, and by whom? The writing upon the floor,
and that on the paper was a fa(' simile of that of his
deceased wife ; and if not written by her spirit, it
Must have been done by Adrienne herself, for IL
Lecour had already remarked that the inexplicable
resemblance between Madame Lecour and this young
girl extended even to the character of their writing.
Hitherto he had accounted for this in the fact that
both had been educated in the same convent, and had
Probably been instructed in the same style of cali-
graphy ; but now he discovered in this resemblance
food for the new suspicions which had been aroused
in his mind.
Angry as he was, the deep craft of his nature
Swayed him even at this moment. He must first
seek confirmation of his suspicions, and if found,
The iron iron compression of his lips and the reientiess
gleam of his eyes, expressed sufficiently what remained
unuttered.
As he strode across the gallery on his way to the
room of the hapless girl, Eady Fame down the stair-
case in the hall carrying a light in her hand. She looked
so wild and terrified that M. Lecour paused and con-
fronted her.
" What has happened, that you seem scared out of
the little wit that Nature gave you ?”
She looked around in a bewildered, helpless manner,
and faltered:
•" Wh a-a-r is de prince? What's come o' him ?"
the
fool 111e).1" thundered her master. "What does
fool mean? What has happened up-stairs?"
"Oh, lor' ! Oh, lor' ! nothin' as I knows on—but he
aint thar— he's gone clean away."
Words are inadequate to convey an idea of the
furious rage that darkened and convulsed the features
of the listener. He was literally so choked with fury
that he had no power to articulate, and the appalled
negro would scarcely have been surprised if he had
fallen in a fit at her feet.
They stood gazing at each ether, until M. Lecour
recovered breath to ask, almost in a whisper, but it
'Was an awfully distinct one:
" Where then is that wretched girl? What has become
of her?"

$6 --
She's a lyin' wi' her head on de foot o' his bed
sleepint like a baby, an' I don't blieve dat she knows
dat he's gone."
"All, well, I shall soon find that out."
This was uttered with the same unnatural calm-
ness, and he walked slowly and with effort up the
stairs.

As he entered the room, Adrienne started up. Her
eyes fell on the empty couch, and she asked in a be-
wildered manner:
"Is it time to go, mon pare? Have they taken
the prince away already? I must have slept very
"Louis is gone, and I require you to tell me what
has become of him."
There was &omething in the tone of his voice that
made her tremble, and she grew as pale as death as she
faltered : _

" Gone ! impossible! I could not have slept while
they removed him, and how is it that we did not accom-
pany him ?"
'A b, truly—why are we here when he is not to be
found? That I repeat, is for you to explain, made-
moieelle."

" / ?—were not you to superintend his departure?
To go with him from the house? Mon pere, this
seems hke cruel trifling. Oh, what has really happened
while My senses were locked in sleep ?"?
"While you feigned sleep, you mean, for that your
slumbers were real I do not believe. If you value
your own safety, you had better inform me of what
has become of my ward. It is not yet time for my
agents to arrive, yet Louis has disappeared. Explain
this extraordinary condition of affairs, mademoiselle,
for lam putting great force on my passion to keep
cool enough to listen to you."
"I \pave none to offer. lam as ignorant of -what
has taken place as you are."
"And do you dare to tell me that he was removed
from beside you, and you know nothingof it? Do you
take me for an idiot, that you expect to pass off this
shallow imposition upon me? Where is Louis? Answer
truly, or take the direst consequences that can befall
you.',
M. Lecour had lay this time recovered his voice, and
his tones vibrated like thunder in the ears of the
frightened girl. Adrienne scarcely comprehended yet
the actual position of affairs, but the alarmed face of
Eady showed her that she stood in extreme danger from
the fury of the enraged man before her. She faintly
said:

" If the prince has beenremoved, it must have been
done by your own emissaries, for no other person was
aware of his presence here. I was overcome with
fatigue, and slept soundly. lam not accountable for
this contretemps, and I cannot explain it."
"Then be the consequences on your own head."
He rushed furiously towards her, as if to use violence
against her, but Eady threw herself before him and
exclaimed :

"Not ag'in, marster—not ag'in shall you do murder
in my presence. Once afore you did it, and you knows
what follered. De White Terror'll haunt you wuss'n
ever ef you hurt a ha'r of her head."
"The White Terror is no longer a dread to me. I
defy her."
His face was scarcely human, it was so distorted by
passion, and Adrienne shrank appalled before it. She
attempted to fly, but her trembling limbs refused to
obey her will, and she sunk upon her knees and raised
her hands imploringly.
"Spare me—l am innocent," burst from her pale
lips.
At that instant the drapery was lifted from the
recess in front of the window, exactly as on a previous
occasion, and the phantom bride stood with upraised
arm and threatening hand, as she uttered in deep, ring-
ing
tones:
"Beware! Is it not enough to have warned you
once, but must I come in person to repeat it?"
Thus arrested in his dire purpose, M. Lecour rushed
towards the figure over which the curtain instantly
fell; he tore it aside with frantic haste, but the
niche was empty; he sounded the walls and struck
at the window. When he found that the latter would
not yield to his efforts to open it, he dashed the glass
Into fragments, and thrusting forth his head, looked
searchingly around, but the night was too dark to re-
veal anything, for the moon had not yet risen.
Eady whispered to the terrified Adrienne:
"Now's your chance, young mistis. Run down-
sta'rs, an' stay in de Madame's parlour; he won't
foller you in thar. I don't know what all dis means,
but he sham% harm you while ole Eady can help
it." _

Thus admonished, Adrienne gathered her sinking
energies and fled from the apartment. She scarcely
breathed until she found herself locked safely in the
lower room of her own turret.
Subdued and frightened by what had just occurred,
in spite of his bold defiance, M. Lecour turned again
to the room hoping to discover some clue to the
singular disappearance of Louis. His eyes wandered
wildly over the furniture, and they fell at last upon
an open -paper which had been left on the table by
Father Eustace. He took it up and read:
"All stratagems are fair when dealing with a traitor. Knon
that I came hither armed with both ecclesiastical and political
power to guard against the treachery which was to have been
consummated to-night. I have known your plans from the
beginning, a& I have taken such measures as will for ever de-
feat them.
"When this is read by you, Louis XVII. will be beyond your
reach, and all your dreams of distinction through his means at
an end.
"No treachery has been practised against you by any
member of your household. Do not accuse Adrienne Durand
of having betrayed you, for when I tempted her to do so, nay,
commanded her obedience as a daughter of the Church, she re-
fused. Her nature is noble, and she is incapable of returning
kindness with ingratitude.
"It is useless to attempt to discover any trace of Louis, for
I have taken such precautions as must baffle the keenest search.
"FATHER EUSTA CE

"No; I reserve that crowning revelation for our next meet-
ing, which must take place to-morrow; and in the interim, if
evil has befallen the young girl beneath your roof, severe re-
tribution will be exacted of you."

M. Lecour ran his eyes over these lines with a feel-
ing of stupefaction. He scarcely comprehended their
tenour, and he read them a second time, while Eady
watched him with stealthy eagerness, ready to fly at a •
moment's warning.
He folded the paper up mechanically, for the great-
ness of the blow stunned him, and placed it carefully
in his pocket..

At that instant a wild, prolonged cry, twice repeated
came from the woods in the rear of the house. It
was the signal agreed on which was to warn him of
the arrival of his confederates. He went slowly down
the staircase, followed by the negress carrying a light.

In the hall below, M. Lecour cook it from her hand
and sternly said:
"To your own den, and repent of the words you
dared to use to me to-night, for you shall surely rue
them bitterly."
Glad to escape, Eady hurried away, but she did not
go to her cabin. She sped along in the darkness, and
sought the room in which Adrienne had taken refuge,
to learn from her, if possible, the solution of the extra-
ordinary events of the evening, for she was in a maze
of fear and mystery.
M. Lecciir went towards the private entrance of
which such good use had already been made, and, on
opening it he found three men standing ready to
enter.

He lost not a moment in acquainting them with his
disappoiniment, and urged them to the pursuit with
the offer of a large reward.
The men turned away, and struck through the
woodland. Suddenly a descent was made upon them
by the emissaries of Father Eustace ; and surprised
by the unexpected nature of the attack, they were soon
overpowered, and securely bound and gagged.
Their captors then silently returned, to resume their
watch near the chateau.

Adrienne threw herself upon a seat nearly in a
state of insensibility. She scarcely yet comprehended
what had occurred, or how she had rendered herstlf
liable to the suspicions of M. Lecour.
Eady found her trembling and weepingin a pitiable
state cf excitement, and the two consulted in guarded
tones on the safest means of removing Adrienne with-
out delay from the violence that had already menaced
her life.
Presently a heavy step was heard overhead, and
Eady apprehensively said :
"It's his step, an' he's actilly gone into de madame's
room—a place I thought he'd never ha' sot his foot in
agin after all that's come and gone. What can he be
lookin' for thar, I wonder?"
Before Adrienne could reply, the voice of M. Lecour
sounded harshly down the private staircase:
"Adrienne come hither !"
She feared to reply, for after the recent scene of
violence through which she had passed, she dared not
go to him without some pledge on his part that he
would do her no injury.
After a brief pause, his voice came more menacingly
than before:

"Adrienne, I know you are there; come up to me
without further delay. I promise you that I will do
you no bodily harm; but I must speak with you, that
you may nomprehend on what terms we must hence-
forth live together."
"Oh! what shall I do? what must I do ?" asked the
agitated girl in a tremulous whisper.
•
Eady reluctantly replied:
"I'm 'fraid you mics' go, young mistis. It can't
do no harm to hear what he have to say, an'
keep watch over you. Besides after what de White
Terror said to him, I blieve he'll be afeard to harm
you."
Adrienne shuddered at this reference to accetits
she believed came from the lips of one belonging to
another sphere; and with a brief prayer for help and
protect;on, she summoned courage to ascend to the
upper MOM. _

(To be continued.)