Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-12-07

him acquainted with his perilous situation.
and then exclaimed aloud, ooh have
forgotten to order my carriage for to NOR
row morning" and thereupon rang the
bell. In a few moments jacques appeared.
somewhat surprised at being summoned
at so late an hour.
jacques said my uncle, II have been
! obliged to ring for ou''-laying a stress
on Obliged, and Mt the, same time pointing
downwards with his hand-"as forgot to
tie you that l shall require the carriage
tomorrow morning at eight o c ock You
must 90 to Pierre stosnight, and tell him
to prepare the horses for long drive'-
My uncle again pointed downwards, and
then raised his hands in an attitude of
distress "Do you understand me,
jacques 2
'Mais, oui monsieur" replied jacques
But no; Jacques did not understand the
danger yet-what was to be done
jacques" said my uncle, "it is very
bad night, is it not? All Just the nigh:
for highwaymen to attack unprotected
tra7 7ellers, or for housebreakers to rob the
arders Of exposed houses Do not forget
to go to Pierre Immediately" Saving this
my uncle again made downward sign,
and again raised his hands in supp icaton.
Good night, jacques. Do you under
stand me-about the carriage p
For a moment jacques stood hesitatng
on the threshold of the door but in an in
slant brighter look came over his face
az ne answered.
"Oui, je comprends bien ce que mon-
sieur vent dire"
He then retired, and my uncle tried to
compose himself until help should arrive
but every moment his anxiety grew deep
er; he could not but believe there was
man under the o d on which he was wing
for, even had the heel of the boot been a
mistake, the laugh could have been no de-
lusion. Again if Il man were real V there,
it could be for nc good purpose it might
lie even to take his life. He calculated
that he must already have waited jacques
arri al more than an hour, but still he
came not Perhaps he had not understood
the fearful prospect before my uncle ;
perhaps Jacques was even now sleeping
calmly and never dreaming cf ILL., Then
a still worse thonght would steal into his
mind perhaps Jacques was accom-
plice in the plot and was to share the
booty yet Jacques had always been faith
ful and honest, so why distrust him now +?
As the rain battered down the chimney
and fell sputterin2 on the warm logs, my
uncle would fancy it was the sound of the
pistol in the hands of the robber being
cooked and primed for the dire attempt
An hour and half passed away, and
then he fancied he heard a slight move
ment in the hall Yes, some one was as
cendinG the staircase-two or three men
were evidently coming up cob !" thought
my unc'e, ''it is the rest OF the gang; all
is over with me- when suddenly his bed
room door was burst open, and in walked
the faithful jacques followed by Piorre
and two strong gendarmes They each
carried n lantern; and, whilst one stood
Mt the door, two placed themselves on each
side, and the other Mt the foot of the bed
In another moment two men were dragged
from under the valance, both of whom
were armed with daggcrs and pistols
The gendarmes produced some hand
B n,,A, nd r1loca2 thor, ., r. ~.
two deplorable looking fellows, who began
to howl piteous'y during the operation
and threw themselves on their knees, de-
caring they were starving; that they only
intended stealing enough to eat; that, as
for hurting monsieur, it was the thing far
thest frou their thoughts. The cendarmes
commanded them to he silent, adding that
the more they said the worse would be
their chance of punishment, and, with the
help of Pierre, led them out of the room
II an hours time they were safely lod ged
in the lookup of the neighboring village.
Jacques remained with my uncle, who by
this time hal forgotten his fright, and was
full Of pity for the two men. Perhaps"
said he, they really did want bread /
cannot believe they meant to do me per-
sonal injury
Jacques tried to dissuade him from this
charitable opinion, though, as it turned
out, he did not succeed; for, month af-
forwards, when their trial came on, nv
uncle refused to appear against them, de-
claring that nobody could have intended
to perpetrate much mischief who could
laugh at his nightcap, and that, if the men
had intended to do him harm, they had
had quite sufficient punishmt mt in being
shut up for q month. In vain did the
village notaire argue the point with him
! in vain did the cure declare 1t was duty
owed 10 society at large to prosecute the
men; and he foretold no good GU: of su ch
/ uncal cd for leEiency.
/ Ny uncle's only reply was that kind
ness is sure to have its own reward and
/ to hi. dying day he always believed that