The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-04-28

was looking down upon the old Fl,ria
chateau, which stood on rising groud
at about mile from Verreville. TIE
house was sunk in deep repose; it nd
few inmates now; only the servan,
among whom were Fifine and Maurie,
the old stewards son, who had late
come home to help his aged father b
his office.
In the shadow of the wall two figurs
stood whispering together. "This IS u
door which the key will open," said
woman's voice. 81 have kept it evr
since Twas in service here-they thouel
it was lost; 1 have always fancied
might come useful some day, and, no
the time has come. Go in at one,
Pierre, and be quick about it. I hay
told you all the receptacles where none
and Jewels and plate are kept. 70
can't make mistake.
'Must 1 90 alonep Won't you com
with me? We should do it all tn
quicker, two of us together, and it's q
ways so much pleasanter at night 1
have company in an old house like this
They say it's haunted, and there was
death here so lately. o! sweet Babetts
do, please, come with me-"
MAY be stewed in pot au-jeu first,
answered that young lady, very forcibl
and laconically. "You go along, PierrD
and look sharp, and don't be such
mixture of mule and milksop.
shall stay here and watch" So SAY
ing, she pushed her true knight withol
further ceremony through the doc
which she had opened.
On went Pierre, his teeth chattef5lI
and his heart beating in unison AZ
moonlight as it stole through thefopg
narrow windows of the old house, play
ing strange, uncanny games VIII him
as he went. Now a dark, gantic
figure seemed lurking in yondeporner,
now pale hand beckoned to i'm in a
moonbeam, now the shadow; formed
themselves into long black pcession
which came to meet him. With care
fully held breath, and feet tat scarce
dare tread, he passed near thcorridor,
where he knew, from Babett that the
servants room lay; but to b joy and
relief he heard no sound tere. The
family portraits as he passd them in
the long gallery, came to lii, now and
then, in a ray of moonshinesnd glared
at him; the wind Understanding
mysterious and startlingto i'm through
every keyhole; the rows of hairs in the
rooms looked as if they wre waiting
for party of ghosts. But ne worst of
all was that, carefully as h had been
schooled beforehand by Baette as to
whereabouts of all the valubles in the
chateau, he got nothing 70 his pains.
He ransacked the pantry, wlch he had
expected to find full of plate but found
nothing better than pewterpoon. He
sought hither and thither il the dead
Countess apartments for tn, casket of
diamonds but it had vanishedlike gems
seen in a dream. He discovered the
strong iron box where the Cont usually
kept his money in large suns, for in
those days it was not so easy send to
the bank for supplies, but tfpugh the
box was there, it was open AMI had not
a sou in it.
1t was terrible to have to return emp
ty-handed to his liege lady, wlo would
be certain to lay the whole bame for
the failure of their enterprise on his
and to make it no lirht bur-
den, too. Still, such fate was better
than risking meeting the ghosts any
longer. With flying steps he sped along
the corridor which he had to trpNverse
before he reached the narrow staircase,
at the bottom of which was the door
where Babette waited for him. But
why was it that before he had passed
half through the passage, which was lit
by several windows, through which the
fell, he paused with start
and a SILVER? A little way farther on
in front of him, it seemed to him that
he saw figure. A desperate hope that
this shade would melt into nothing, like
all the other apparitions which had
hitherto haunted him tonight; a feeling
that, at any cost, he must pass it to
reach his longed-for goal, the outside Of
the house-these things prompted the
luckless Pierre to hasten onward once
more. But when he drew nearer to the
form it was still there, visible in terrible
reality in a patch of moonlight. A few
steps further and Pierre threw his arms
above his head with a low cry; there,
not many PAGES from him, stood fe.
male figure, which exactly resembled
the dead Comtesse de Florion, whose
funeral he had seen go by but few
hours ago.
How he passed the phantom Pierre
could never afterward tell. The next
thing which he could remember,
when in future days he thought over the
matter, was standing in the cool night
air and the moonlight, blubbering in a
most hearty and open fashion, with
Babette pouring upon him from her fair
lips what was not exactly a shower Of
roses, such as should meet returning
hero. She rejected with scorn, like the
advanced freethinker that she was, his
story about the Countess ghost, and
called the whole thing the produce Of
his towards fancy.
Next morning the Mayor of Verre-
vile made a legal inspection of the
chateau, to secure for the Government,
as he said, but in reality for himself
for he had no absolute right for such 6
proceeding-any valuables he might
find there. He was, however, no more
fortunate than poor Pierre had been; he
did not find single object of value OF
single gold coin in the chateau. His
worship flew into arage and insisted on