Litchfield enquirer., 1879-05-15

grave to VlSlt you.
 'He explained in few words how he cam to be placed in this fearful position. Misle by false information, his band had found theii, selves entangled in the Prussan lines; tho greater part had been destroyed, and only him self and five of his companions had, for th time, escaped. Thanks to his knowledge 0 the country about, and the goodwill of tit peasantry, to whom he was mostly WellknoWn the little band had thus far contrived to elud pursuit. And now they found refuge in on' of those sunken paths that here and there in tersect the forest and close to which, as Er nest well remembered, began the eXtensiv, grounds of the Villa Pottier, the residence 0 his financee. And then Ernest had volunteer ed to venture forth from the forest, to obtaii much needed provisions aud some instructions as to their future route. The river lay before them, broad and deep, incumbered with ice, a labyrinth of pools and quicksands, with every boat closely guarded by the Prussians. Be bind, circle of fire hemmed them in.
 Then it occurred to me that had chart of the river, with the soundings marked, tht sandbanks, and the various channels. w. pored over It earnestly. At one point, where the wood closely approached the riyer-in a narrow ravine inclosiqg the bed of a snlal streani-the channel appeared to be at it's shal lowest Here, too,a sandbank stretched bold ly halfway across-barely covered with water at tow tides-and at the further end rising above high-water mark in the form of al island. On this island has been built smal light house to mark the channel, with wooden hut for the light keeper. There were no lights in the river now, and the light house staff had been withdrawn; but the Prussians had moi thought fit to occupy the little island, which had seemed too insignificant, perhaps, to at tract their attention. Ernest anXiousy took the bearings of the lighthouse from tine cont1u ence of the little stream. He saw that If the ' could only reach it unobservcd they might bG able to cross the deeper channel beyond. \ raft could be inproyised quickly from the tiin bers of the hut, and once on the other sid. of the rivera sort of neutral zone not yet inc!l. ded in the Prussan llnes--i it would be easy hy a forced march, to reach our own army.
 :. Yes, that is our way said Ernest: give me the cnarJ or the river, that l may convince my comrades, who are not accustomed to i'm plicit obedience. And now, my dear brother, 1 must find my way to the Villa Pottier' He concealed the chart on hls person, and wrung my hand with emotion.
 ''At this moment the outer door was flung violently open with great chatter of military accoutrements-lny two German officers coming ill Ernest cast hasty burning glance around, and snalched up knife that lay on my table, a curious silver mounted Circassian dagger, which had been given me by one of my trav. eled friends, and which l commonly used as paper-knfe.
 '' Hush, whispered; they will not come here they will go to their own rooms.
 But tonight, of all nights, my inmates de- parted from their usual practice. They had been supping with comrades, and were merry and excited as if with wine. The light usual " plaPaH fOr fhpN1 in tho had hpaO O c cidentally extinguished, and seeing the glare from my room, they advanced and stood in the doorway, peerlng in with an owlisA expression of good-nature on their blond stolid faces
 "tNews for you, worthy sir, cried the elder. Venture not out tonight for after the hour just struck all circulation is forbidden except with special pass. The sentries are doubled and all are on the alert for a band of assas- sins -francs-tireurs, they call themselves-are lurking in the forest close by
 Il Ithought that the glare of Ernests eyes from under his capeline, hastily pulled over his face as the Prussians entered would have betrayed him; but our foes were in happy, uncritical frame of mind. They had net no tice-i my companion at the first moment, dag zled by the glare of my lamp; and when they
 sr,H srsp began to Ia11sh tfX vfsTfehangesa hl t . tse attitude unconseiously assumed by Ernest, who stood leaning over my fauteuil was rather familiar for servant. Anyhow, they began to rally me broadly about Susette. Here was second Fdust' cried one; the sage turned into the betrayer of innocence. They saw that was angered, and only laugh ed the louder, Ernest behind me boiling with rage, and ready in moment to spring upon them.
 '''We are two for two he muttered, under hls breath but l held up a warning finger. The thing was madness. In the extremity of suspense and danger, however, 1 found lum- inous idea; way of averting the present dan ger and placing my brother in comparative safety.
 "'Messieurs said gravely; I am gladyou can amuse yourselves with such childish joke. My servant here about whose presence you are pleased to make merry, has brought me an urgent message from my friend, M. Pottier, of the villa oh the heights.
 "'Ah, we know him Prince l.. is there, and some of the headquarters staff. There is q charming daughter, too Ha ha ! our Prin- ces know how to chose their quarters, They share the penchant of sagazats for the rustic of a petticoat.'
 Again thought that Eanest would have flown at them but warned him with glance to he patient.
 My friend, M Pettier, 1 said, sternly, Twill inform the Prince of the motives imputed to him.
 "'Oh, no, non cried the Germans pray don't repeat our words we were only Jest- ing. :,
 "'Well, as you have had your joke 1 said, resuming my good humor, perhaps you will give me your help. Madame Potter is dan gerously i'll, and requires my professional as- sistance to arrange her affairs. It is matter of urgent necessity. Susette will accompany me to the villa with a lantern. Kindly give me the consigne, that 1 may pass your sentres safely
 "The young men became instantly grave and sobered What you ask is impossible It is forbidden to tell the password: but we are anxious to oblge you. Come, we will ourselves accompany you, and pass you to your destination
 ''This was favorable turn of affairs on the whole, for the presence of these officers would insure us against detentions and awkward ex- aminations. True that when we reached the villa they might see the real Susette, and thus detect the false. but sufficient for the moment were its own peris. l eXtinguished my lamp at once, and we went out into the street, l holding fast by the supposed Susette, on the pretext of my near-sightedness. We passed a line of sentinels, eliciting challenges at every moment. At more than one post we were stopped and low conversation would ensue between onr conductors and the officer on du- ty. The word given-alPs well-we passed on, our hearts beginning to beat once more.
 ''As we descended the hill we emerged from the fog into clearer atmosphere, and were soon in sight of the house of M. Pottler The lower rooms were brilliantly lighted up, and the strains of music could be heard-clarionet and hern-in gay dancing measure, with the rush of dancers feet, the murmur of voices, and the sound of light laughter.
 '' For sick house merry one,' said one of my companions dryly; and at the moment I felt confeunded, thinking my ruse detected, incredible as it seemed that my friend should be thus dancing and making merry over his ceuntry's misfortunes. But as we approached the case became clear. Through the long win dows we saw the glitter of splendid uniforms: : a number of Prussians of high rank, as gath cred, were enjoying a frelic. There might have been unworthy French women among them. Of that l know nothing.
 ''To my intense relief at this point our con- panions drew off. Here were Herrs aud Vons, it seemed, of the blue blood, twlce-born Bar ens twosworded Danios and our humble infantry officers with the awe of rank inherent