The Red Cloud chief., 1879-05-15

be among the b~anqueters then he heard
the orchestrs timing up, and on the
stroke Of 10 there Wa . tap at the door,
and q servant entered 20 nv. with Hi,
!, Excellency's compliments, that IL VA
time to 20 down TO the bali broom
Down the red cl~oth-cosered staircase
went Kamoutsine with the leisurely pac&
BETTING . member of the family, and
entered the salon Just - the national
anthem announced the arrival Of the
Emperor. With one rapid glance be
singled ont the Countess Damerof, Who,
somewhat pale and . tribe uneasy. KEEP,
her eyes fixed upon the grand entrance,
and obtained from his uncle the honor
Of q presentation. The Countess
bowed, but did not bestov . glance on
the young provincial; her eyes were in
search Of Q gusrdsmsn.
As the last notes Of the anthem died
away, the orctestrs struck up . waltz
by Strauss.
"Permit the Generals nephew 70
claim tbs execution Of your promise"
said the Prince, whiriing the stupe6sd
Countess away.
"Bless me. how odd you look in
multi" said the young woman, with a
burst OF laughter, to her partner,
though he felt her t:emble as she rec
ognized his voice.
Round the great salon they went, and
at every turn KamOutsine encountered
the astcnished eyes Of an acquaintance
who had recognized him, and aperfectly
audible babble and laugh began to run
| through the hall. As the Prince led bis
partner back TO her seat he pressed
lightly the tips OF her fingers and whis-
pered, 81 have won my wager and will
claim the forfeit whenever the authori-
ties permit me-"
The Countess blushed but m.de no
answer.
81 risked my head, as you did me the
honor to remark last night; Of course
you will pay?"
81 will try, If it is any thing in rea-
SON."
81 will be generous" he answered
with a smile; "good-by."
He bowed and hurried away, but on
his passage towards the door vas seized
by the General and hurried towards the
Minister of Police.
"Permit me, your Excellency," said
the General, "tO present my nephew
from Odessa, and commend him to your
good Offices"
Delighted, I'm sure," murmured
the Minister, mechanically, but ere he
had glanced at the Generals protege,
KamOutsine was lost 10 the crowd.
Excuse his rudeness, but he's q little
countryfied," said the General, apollo
getically.
At that instant q scared looking A. d.
C. hurried up to the Minister and STAN
mered:
"Your Excellency, the Emperor
wishes to see yOu-His Majesty is furi-
ous!"
"Kamoutsine is here!" said the En-
peror, in a tone the very reverse of
amiable, when the Minister reached his
presence.
"Your Majesty, is it ~possibler"
"Kamoutsine is here, mind you. Ar
rest him Immediately, and find out who
presented him."
The Minister hurried to the General.
"Kamoutsine is here-have him al
rested"
w uO 10 h~0iuOuISIuc!
"The young man that was banished.
Be quick about it. The Emperor is
Wild"
"Great Heavene," cried the host,
lifting bis hands in horror, "and this
my first ball! Kamoutsine is here!" he
shouted to the first official he could find,
"Arrest him and find out who dared to
bring him here"
The official hurried away and gave the
alarm. "KamOutsine!" where's
Kamoutsine!" Shave you seen Ka-
moutsineP" became the general cry.
81 saw him waltzing with the Count
ess Damerof," said somebody.
They sought out the Countess.
"Madame, you were waltzing with
Kamoutsine. The Emperor is raging!
Who brought him here?"
81 didn't; bless the Emperor's heart,
and as for dancing, the only living
being l have danced with tonight was
the Governors nephew, a young gen.
tleman from Odessa. Oh, here is the
Governor! General, didn't you intro
duce your nephew to me?"
Certainly, but it isn't my nephew
we're talking about-it's Kamoutsine I
want to fini. The Emperor is fairly
beside himself. Who brought him
here?"
The Countess shrugged her white
shoulders and turned away. tapping her
forehead with her fan to intimate her
doubts of the Generals sanity. At the
same instant the Minister of Police
swooped down on the unhappy host.
"The Emperor is ~furious!"
81 know he isl know he is"
"And you are not ashamed Of your.
self to lend yourself to this abominably
bad pleasantly"
"But, Your Excellency. l don't un-
derSt -"
cit tell you the Emperor is wild about
it," cried the Minister with q whitening
look as he bounced away.
Finally q young A. D.. C, taking pity
his chief, whispered to him: "Your
E~xcellency, it was you that brought
81? You impertinent young jscka-
napes, what do you mean?" shouted the
General, who thought this was q little
much, especially from . subaltern.
"You presented him to the Countess
the young officer insisted.
"Nothing of the sort. The only per-
son l presented to her was my nephew"
"But don't you see that wasn't
your nephew at all? That was Ka-
moutsine. So you q understand that
The Emperor is furious"
"Triple idiot, that I vast" said the
General, sinking down upon q bench
and clasping his head in his hands; SIT
me at the time that there wasn't
q particle of resemblance"
Thus it became known how Kamout-
sine got into the ballroom, but it was