The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-08-21

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against him.
Unluckily,' unused Captain Boltor
again throwing his head back, perhap
for philosophy's sake this time, .'tha
was just it. People liked him too much
especially ladies'. There was whispe
that an illustrious beauty, not far o.
from the reigning dynasty. had frette'
herself nearly crazy about him; an
though even the Court officials agree,
that he had behaved very well in
mysterious business that it would no
do to talk about, Rudy Eisenberg wen
to parade with face white as ghos
after masked ball, where it wa
thought some scandal had taken place
| would advise you never to touch oil
this part of the story if you mean t.
make any stay here. One thing only
oozed out and this was that the love, /
there was love, had been mutual; and
have heard that Rudy got a little wrong
in the head after it was all over. The
doctors spoke of brain fever and re.
commended change of air; so the old
Marshal, who knew nothing about mon.
ey, gave his son about enough to keer
him for a week and sent him off TO HON.
burg for the waters. The devils own
play was going on at that picturesque
little hole in those days and young
Eisenburg naturally found himself tum-
bled headlong into the set who lived
where it was hottest. There was Bob
Cheyke, of the Life Guards, and Agin-
court, who had just come into his title;
with Ivry de Videsac, the crack French
man, who went such a tremendous
smash two years later; and Chrichton
and Mauleverer, with Jack Nortiman,
Birbantaki Pasha, old Lord Chowser,
and do not know how many more of
the same lot. / fancy Rudy Eisenberg
did not know what to make of them at
first. Their ways were not his ways,
but he soon fell into them. As mis-
chance would have it, too, he spoke
little English and that helped, | dare
say, for he had got many of the stolid,
honest ideas of his countrymen about i'm
proving himself, and very likely thought
at times that he might some day have to
act his part in a Battle of Dorking, SO
that it might be as well to prepare for
the emergencies that would probably
arise out of such a situation, whether
he was among the conquerors or the
conquered. For a while Cheyke and
the rest of them used to always find
him in his den on the fifth floor of a
cheap hotel, porting over books of tao
tics and working out military problems
with corks and pins, or some one of
those wonderfully accurate maps issued
by his native war Office. But thew soon
badgered him out of that and he was
forever with them when they were go
ing fastest. He rode steeple chase on
Agincourt's horse and won it gallantlv
for him, but he also held the bank
against Ivry de Videsac and Lord
Chowser for three nights running with
out going to bed, and he won nothing,
as you may expect, at that game. The
Lord knows what happened next. 1t
was never made quite clear. Some fell |
lows will have it that NOrtiman and
Bob Cheyke, who had won whole pot |
Of money from him insisted on having
t at once, and it is certain that
! check, bearing the Field Marshars
signature, given in payment to Cheyke,
vas refused by the Bilkendorfs, his
bankers. But by the first express train
afterwards, the old Count came to
domburg himself, stalked into Bob's
ooms at the best hotel, laid down the
money on his toilet table and then
talked out again without word. L
ardly like to tell on my own response
ility what followed, but Lord Chowser
avs that he met the Marshal upon the
tairs leading to Rudy's room, and that
e could not help hearing what passed
etween them through the half open
DOR of Young Eisenburg's apartment.
was very brief. The old soldier
ternly confronted his son.
lche habe,' then said he, sdas
chmutzes geld bezahlt. have paid the
,ul gold for which you have dishonor-
d us. Now do your part. Ard as he
eased speaking he placed on the table
etween them a pistol he had brought
18th him. ae
The young man made no answer.
ut the next moment there was a loud
,port and the Marshal came forth from
Re presence of his dead son with that
hite, ashen face you have just seen.
e never smiled again. {
l"All the set who were mixed up in
le affair naturally tried to put the best
ce on it. Bob says he had right to
st his money and so does Nortiman; i
1T Chowser, though he is a hardish old
~, doesn't like to talk much on the
bject and | believe had to consult his i
'ctor respecting ghost, or something i
that sort, which he fancied was fol. v
wing him about and wanted to catch c
I'D of him whenever he was alone"
+" An | said, yawning, "very odd, d
1T it?' / did not know what else to s
and 1 don't know now. only was I
nd that the story was over. Bolton s
d then passed the rest of the even t
;, in witnessing some capital card
cks, performed by irregular professor G
sleight-of-hand, who was then max g
a great noise on the Continent. As 81
ooked at this amusing artist. also, 1 II
ought that if such very funny things n
a be done with cards by men of ex- m