The Lake County star., 1877-11-29

eeives = woman. The dress OF this
man 10 In disorder, he Is pale and
wild, nevertheless, his bearing is noble,
and II he is q criminal, he is ct least
not Q vulgar one. This mysterious ap-
partition has struck no terror to.the
soul OF Mdlle. de Merinville; the
event, on the contrary, Is rather at
tractive to her Imagination. She does
not utter cry-she looks, she waits. I
Madame! In the name of Heaven.
save mel ~ Such are the first words
which the stranger addressed to her.
II voice was rude and stern, but his
Gest re was supplicating. His words,
/. This dramatic situation, were In
harmony with the romantic and
strange ideas Of the recluse of Sombre-
court. This man certainly was out
side Of the commonplace.
BY asign she reassured the unknown,
and he ran forward.
"I am followed" he said, .'my
sword is stained with blood-I have
killedu
oh, the glance of this man had
nothing languishing about 1t he had
no shiny gloves, no curly hair; his
speech was brief and abrupt, his coun-
| tenance fierce, his limbs were convul-
sively agitated, his hair was tumbled
he was the beau ideal of the romantic
and sinister. And then, to complete
the picture, he had q martial figure,
distinguished features, q thick beard, q
broad forehead the glance In his eye
had in 1t something fatal; he was a
type of the middle ages-in short, all
incarnate drama.
"You have killed." said Lucie, with
q timid accent and slight movement
as of fright, but surely 1t is not a
murder!"
"a duel; is not that a murder ?"
replied the unknown in q lugubrious
tone. "Oh, young gill, pity me!
This night is the night Of blood" He
Interrupted himself with sort of hor-
ior, then he went on with wild air:
81 have against me oil the appear
ance of crime. A prophetic voice cried
on the day Of my birth, fatality
'fatalityv What can save me? A
miracle! Angel Of Heaven, to you be.
longs this power, this right. fall at
your feet"
The stranger is on his knees to
Lucie. He is handsome, with all the
happy gifts of nature, with all the
mysterious strangeness of the situation.
His incoherence, in harmony with the
circumstances, has deeply interested
the mistress of SombrecOurt. Here Is,
perhaps, one of the exceptional beings
| Of whom she has dreamed. Lucie be-
lieves herself called upon to play one
| of those sublime and devoted roles
which she has 30 mary times admired
In modern literature.
| "Enter,u said she to the unknOwn;
if any danger threatens you, will
save you; swear it,"
| The sound of an armed cavalcade
troubles, at this moment, the silence of
the night. The gendarmes have pene-
| trated the wood where there has been
q combat and a murder. She hears
their threatening voices they have
discovered a corpse. Let the assassin
beware! They seek for him!
Beautiful unknown" said the
young man, "you tremble, see your
suffering. Oh! / am mad, little
worthy of your interest. DO not let
me disturb your rest. The enemy Is
at hand, surrender me-"
"Never, never!" cried Lucie. "Oh,
my God! lend me help Monsieur.
why have you fought? Who forced
you to it?"
"A woman !"
"a woman! 1t was then love"
"Love !" repeated the unknown with
bitter irony. II have never loved, no
never" Then, with plaintive voice
he added: "And 1 hoped still this
morning that my heart would remain
frozen this evening l have less hope
of It,"
Lucie redeemed and paled. Hurried
steps echoed in the neighboring apart
ment; they recognized the iron n-heeled
boots of the cavaliers of an armed
force. Mademoiselle de Merinville
seized quickly the arm of the stranger,
pushed him into q bOudoir adjoining
her chamber, closed the door upon
him, and went before the gendarmes.
"Gentlemen, what do you seek !"
said she to them.
"a wretch, a murderer; have you
seen no oneY"
mo one"
"You have heard nothing ?"
"Nothing, gentlemen"
"Will you permit us to continue our
search? 1t Is in the general interest,
and for your personal safety"
Gentlemen, consent to 1t willing
ly; visit everything except my cham
ber no one could enter that without
my knowledge"
"Mademoiselle, nothing could be
more Just" And the gendarmes re-
tired to pursue elsewhere their search.
Lucie returned to her apartment
she did not dare to take her domestics
into her confidence in regard to this
strange event. Her position was cruel,
and yet she found charm in 1t.
Firmly convinced that the unknown
/ - utS rats. .pvax nd
to him, she spoke to him, she reassur-
ed him. He had already obtained over
her q strange power.
"Your name. Confide II to me-"
said she in timid voice.
my name," replied the young man,
in dull and melancholy tone; "Ol-
gar, the unhappy Olgar; 1 cannot give
you the other-frightful destiny for
bids.n
"But your family?"
"Is illustriOus, and rs to my heart"
"Oh, say no more !"
"Is still worthy Of yours"
This response, uttered in haste, and
as If finvoluntarily, troubled the mind
of Lucie, she dared not question him
more. The conversation was never
theless terminated little Dy little
OighI, anyways uIuSYuo anu 5aNobo,
continued to surround himself with
mysteries, but beneath his rude ex-
terror and his rough language one
could see occasionally refined manners
and tone uncommon among men of
society. ALL was quiet around them,
yet other storms might be threatening;
there were perils to fOresee. The
hours of the night were passed by
| them In alterations of fear and de-
spair, Of tender emotions and cold
words, of abandon and reticence. of
10y and alarm. All this led toward
love. However, before break of day
they must think Of the retreat. Olgar
had not for an instant overstepped the
bounds Of respect or the law Of proprie-
| fu hut 0l0ar had aW0rn To I.ncia with