The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-05-31

claimed the passenger, with j,vial
laugh thai had scarcely the ring oil hon
est mirth in it.
Perhaps Nj. de Villeneuve, for all his
staggering department, was i'll at ease
as to the results OF Our voyage, and
strove to carry it off gaylv; such were
my thoughts as the Catherine wheels be-
gam to fevolve In cascades of whirling
fire ard the crowd TO cheer. 1t was the
moment for our start, but 1 hesitated 10
pull the trigger, Tor now strange bustie
and confusion below attracted my atten-
ton.
A mounted gendarme, his sabre and
carhine clanking, had ridden up at the
iull gallop OF his reeking horse, followed
at some distance by three others, who
spurred iuriously forward There were
| few hurried questions, then smoth-
cred curry, a roar Of voices. and asway-
ing backwards and forwards Of the ex-
| cited populace.
l looked down at the crowd OF up
turned faces.
''stopl stopl Au nom de Ia loi! En-
glishman, atayW cried out tne brigadier
OF the foot police.
| "Let go, fo0l!" thundered the man who
sat beside me in the car.
| "But it is the police that" 1 began,
thinking THAT M. de Villeneuve mad sud
denly taken leave OF his senses.
"Come down! stop-haul the ropeW
was the shout from below; but as the
words reached my ear my companion
.bent forward. Something flashed in his
hand-a dagger-knife-and the cord was
cut, and the balloon darted upwards.
"ln the name of the law-ah! you
won't? TiensW cried gendarme, dis
charging mis- carbine, an example that
was followed by his comrades; but The
bail whlstled idly by, while we rose and
rose until the inn and the gardens and
the shouting crowd and the sputtering
fireworks had diminished to plgmy size,
and presently disappeared altogethe, (,
land Inc balloon rode on, solitary,
through the fields of air.
"a nous deuX, maintenantw said M.
1de Villeneuve, with a ehuckle that was
lineomprehensible to me. "a singular
salute our friends gave us, eh, when they
bade US bon yoyageW
Themoon, half iull, had now risen, and
l could see the face Of my companion
the warthy. keen face of a man forty
wears OF age, with short dark hair, sli gh :
ly grizzled, fiery black eyes, and very
white, strong, sharp-pointed teen,
which gave him when he smiled sOme-
wnat the expression of a laughing wolf.
He was a man of powerful frame, and
the fingers OF bhe gloved hand wnieh he
now laid upon my arm were as strong
and supple AS 6, eel. -.
"Avow," said This strange passenger,
with grin that an ogre might have
etvied, ''avow that you take me for d
queer specimen OF the French provincial
gentry, iheinP But first, how comes il
that the pere Killick is absent, and a
bIancbec OF your age mas the honor 10 be
my pilot"
told him briefly ana In offended tones
what had occurred, and how it was he
and 1 found ourselves together 80 far
above terra frma, at The same time eau
| tioning him not, as he had done before,
| to take il ON himself to interfere with the
management OF The balloon.
1--WE must now" / added, ''iook out
for a place to descend, for the wind Is
I1reshening, and--'
ssLet it iresheni" rudely interrupted
NJ. de Villeneuye. "Sets lair for Spain,
uOes 1t notW
Fer Spainr' I echoed in surprise.
Could this selt-concelted country gen.
lleman really deem that we were bound
on suvh a journey us pnatr could not
help laughing as sard, "Why tor Spain,
mOnsfearF"
"Well, Italy would have served me as
we'll had the wind been a westerly one.
| talk both languages equally, and
know every wine-shlp in Cadiz as well
as do those OF Genoa, % ans wei ed M. de
viiieneuve, again cnuckling. aha, lad,
what are you about that you finger that
ropep ....,
ans wefed 'cufdiy, "because II fs time
now to sink toa lower level ana de-
| scend-" .U -
.Descend, eh?" briskly put in my fel.
lIow-voyaRer. ave may as well under.
stand each other at once. Hands Of the
rope, 4 say, il you would keep tue rool
on your skuIl,n he added threateningly
as he drew q revolver from wIJnln ais
waistcoat, and deliberately pointed the
barrel at my head. "Tll show you WHO'S
Captain up here."
NV brain reefed and my Blood ran eald
as the horrible Thought flashed upon me
that / was, at tnat Iearlul height above
! the earth, In COMPANY with madman.
!, Nothing surely save insanity could ae.
: count tor the extraordinary behafi0r oI
M. de VIlleneuye.
Butt suppose put a toierabiy good
/, countenance on the matter, for my for
, lmidable companion laughed again, but
less Ili-naturediy; as he said:
You lace il out well, boy. like a
[ youugsLer who shows a heart somewhat
| bigger than a chickens. And Pm moi
. SO bad as 1 look-never do thisp'-ne
drew his hand as he spoke edgeways
|. with a meaning gesture, across his
. tnroat-"When can get my little profits
, by qaieter means. But you stare at ME
) as ii | were a mUunte bank seltihg quack
, medicines. Can you guess why those
. gsndarmes were so peremptory an nouI
ago? Because they wanted the pleasure
/ OF my company back Of .r6tioh, thaL's
J all. DID you ever hear, AhElafs, o
| Risque-Son-couW
sRisque-son-cou?' I repeated in per
pIexity.
sAy, Pierre Paul Grincheux, II yor
j, please, dit Risqae!s0n-coa," said thu
man, with an odd sort OF pride, ''it's ;
name, II you read the reports Of our tri
} bunals, that you may have met with
PouIon, Brest, Lambessa-I know ever,
} | one Of these charming retreats like mJ
+ pocket. l have had enough sea air fo
+. one while, SO gave myself leave OF alb
J sence"
Il And then l remembered to have seen
/ a paragraph in a local paper announcing
} the escape from Touton OF a criminal o
: the worst and most dangerous type, VIII,
had not as yet been recaptured, ant
/, whose grotesque nickname OF Neck-or