The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1883-04-26

He ransacked the pantry. which he had
expected to find full of plate, but found
nothing better than q pewter spoon. He
hither and thitLer in the dead
apartments for the casket OF
diamonds but it had vanished like gems
seen in a dream. He discovered the
strong iron box where the Count usually |
kept his money in large sums, for in
those days it was not so easy to send tc
the bank for supplies, but though the
box was there, it was open and had not
o sou in it.
1t was terrible to have to return emp
ty-handed to his liege lady, who would
be certain to lay the whole blame for
the failure of their enterprise on his
shoulders, and to make it no light bur-
den, too. Still, such a fate was better
than risking meeting the ghosts any
longer. With flying steps he sped along
the corridor which he. had to traverse
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
moonbeams fell, he paused with a start
and a shiverP A little way farther on
in front of him, it seemed to him that
he saw a 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 tc
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 a fe.
male figure, which exactly resembled
the dead Comtesse de Florion, whose
funeral he had seen go by but a 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 fail
lips what was not exactly a shower OF
roses, such IS should meet a 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 q 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 a
proceeding-any valuab1es he might
find there. He was, however, no more
fortunate than poor Pierre had been; he
did not find a single object of value or
single gold coin in the chateau. His
having the servants and the servants
rooms searched, but with no success.
Fifine, Maurice and their companions
submitted quite calmly to the indignity,
though the Mayor had more than once
a shrewd and unpleasant suspicion that
he heard something like a suppressed
litter behind him; but when he looked
back he only saw Mdlle. Fifne and
Maurice following him with respectful
gravity. The whole business was GER
tainly, to say the least of it, singular,
for it was well known that there was a
deal of rich plate and jevgelry in the
chateau, and that the Count, before his
arrest and removal to the prison al
Toulon, had collected a considerable
sum of money preparatory to the trying
with his wife to make their escape from
France.
1t was some months after the events
just narrated that the good folks OF
Verreville began to be disturbed by
stories which went floating about in the
town concerning the church being
haunted. 1t was said that people who
had passed the old building at midnight
had seen a mysterious light cleaning
through the windo VS.; but Hitherto those
who had told the tale had none of them
hat the courage to look further into the
mntter. The old church was now com.
pletely dest rted; religious services had,
it is true, begun again to he publicly
performed in the land, but in Verreville
they were at this period carried on in a
pretty new chapel which had been
nearly built before the troublous days
began, and lately finished. Thus the
old church had become a place well
AIOCo AOl ShOoUo w 1ICHuCht.
We must mention here that the Count
de Florion had escaped, in some way
that had never been explained, from his
prison at Toulon, the very day after his
wife's funeral, and had made his home,
it is said, since then, in England. As
for Fifine and Maurice, they had mai.
ried soon after their mistress death,
and were now living on a little farm
which they had taken near the town,
and which they cultivated with care and
success.
But to return to the mysterious light
in the old church. One night Babette
and Pierre, who were still plighted low.
ers, though the extreme contempt OF
the maiden for her adorer had hithert.
prevented the final knot being tied
were coming from a friends house,
where they had spent the. evening.
When they reached the old church,
both of them perceived that there was,
most certainly, light shining through
its windows. Pierre's immediate i'm
pulse was sudden fight, but Babette,
still true to her colors as a philosophic
free-thinker, declared her intention OF
clearing up once for all the mystery.
She made the trembling Pierre wait
close by and then boldly advanced her.
self toward one of the church windows
and looked in.
AS Babette gazed at the sight which
met her view, it was SO strange and ut
terly unaccountable that she rubbed her
eyes, thinking she must be under som
optical illusion, but when she locke
again it was all still there. What she
saw was, shortly, this-and it was little
wonder that she was bewildered with
widest establishment; she beheld the
Countess grave open, and at the side Of
it stood Fitine, the farmers wife, with
a great glittering mass of something
which looked like a heap of gold and
silver lying at her feet. Babette's IA.
tionalistic principles forsook her mos,
treacherously and melted away like
morning mist; the notion suddenly
flashed across her that Fiine was
witch and she sank insensible to tn,
-