Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-04-13

uro of n mule and milksop. | shall
tay and watch" So saying, she pushed
Ter true knight without further ceremony
through the door, which she had opened,
On went Pierre, his teeth chattering
md his heart beating in unison, the moon
light, as it stole through the long, mar
row windows of the old house, playing
strange, uncanny games with them MS lie
went. Now n dark, gigantic figure SEEM
ed lurking i'll yonder corner, now pale
hand bcckoncd to him in II moonbeam,
now the shadows formed themselves into
II long, black procession, which came to
meet him. With carefully held breath,
and feet that scarce dare tread, he passed |
near the corridor where he knew, from |
Babette, that the servants room lay but
to his Joy and relief he heard no sound |
there. The family portraits, as lie passed
them in the long gallery, came to life,
now and then, i'll Il ray OF moonshlne and
glared at him the wind whispered some
thing mysterious and startling through
every keyhole the rows of chairs in the
rooms looked as if they were waiting for
party of ghosts. But the worst Of all
was that, carefully MS he had been school
ed beforehand by Babette ms to the where
abouts of all the valuables in the chat
eau, he got nothing for his pains He
ransacked the pantry. which he had ex-
pected to find full Of plate, but fourd
nothing better than n pewter spoon. He
sought hither and thither in the dead
countess apartments for the casket OF
diamonds, but it had vanished like gems
seen in II 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 to the
bank for supplies but though the box
was there il was open and had not sou
in it.
1t was terrible TO have to return empty
handed to his liege lady, who would be
certain to lay the whole blame for the
| failure of their enterprise on his shout
ders, and to make it no light burden too ;
still such a fate was better than risking
meeting the ghosts any longer. With fly
| ing steps he sped along the corridor
which he had to traverse before he reach
| ed 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 start and SILVER A little way
further on in front OF him, it seemed to
him that he saw figure. A desperate
hope that this shape would melt into
nothing, like all the other apparitlon-
which had hitherto haunted him tonight,
n feeling that, at any cost, he mnst pass
it to reach his longed-for goal, the out
side of the house-these things prompted
the lrckless Pierre to hasten onward once
more. But when he drew nearer to the
form it was still there, visible in terribl,
reality in patch of moonlight. A few
steps further, and Pierre threw his arm'
above his head with low cry there
not many PAGES from him, stood female
figure which exactly resembled the deat
Comtesse de Florion, whose funeral In
had seen go by but few hours ago.
How he passed the phantom Pierre
could never afterward tell. The mex
thing which he could remember, when il
future days he thought over the matter
was standing i'll the cool night air an,
the moonlight numbering in a mos
hearty and open fashion, with Babett'
pouring upon him from her fair lips VIVA
was not exactly shower Of roses, sucl
as should meet n returning hero. Sh
rejected with scorn, like the advanced
freethinker that she was, his story abou
the countess ghost, and called the who'll
the produce of his towards fancy.
Next morning the Mayor Of Nerrevill
made legal investigation of the chateau
to secure for the government, as he sail
but in reality for himsclf-for he had 1T
absolute right for such proceeding
any valuables he might find there. Iii
was, however, no more fortunate THAI
poor Pierre had been he did not find
single object of value or n single gol,
coin in the chateau. His worship flew
into a rage and insisted on having tn
servants and the servants rooms search
ed. but with no success. Fiiine, Maurice
and their companions submitted quit
calmly to the indignity, though the May
or had more than once Il shrewd and I'M
pleasant suspicion that he heard some
thing like suppressed litter behind him
but when he looked back he only say
Mile Fiiinc and NJ. Maurice following
him with respectful gravity. The who'll
business was certainly, to say the least o
1t, singular, for it was well known tina
there was deal of rich plate and jewelr.
i'll the chateau, and that the count, befor
his arrest and removal to the prison a
Toulon, had collected considerable sun
of money, preparatory to trying, wit
his wife, to make their escape fror
France.
1t was some few months afterthe event
&; Just narrated that the good folks of Nerre
5 vile began to be disturbed by storie
, which went floating about in the tow
: concerning the church being haunted.
was said that people who had passed til
1 old building at midnight had seen mys
t FERROUS light cleaning through the win
S dows but hitherto those who told tn
c tale had none of them had the courage t
look further into the matter. The oil
g church was now completely deserted ; re
t ligious services had, it is true, begu
: again to be publicly performed in tn
. land, but in Verreville they were at thi
, period carried on in n pretty new chape
: which had been nearly built before til
+, troublous days began, and lately finished
t Thus the old church had become plac
i well fitted for ghosts to frequent
3 We must mention here that the Coun
: de Plorion had escaped, in some way tina
> had never been explained, from his pri,
on at Toulon, the very day after his wife
: funeral, and had made his home, it wa
), said, since then in England. As for Fl
fine and Maurice, they had married 500
+ after their mistress death, and were no.
living on little farm which they In
:, taken near the town, and which they Gu
y tivated with care and success.
n But TO return to the mysterious ligh
- in the old church. One night Babett
I and Pierre, who were still plighted lovers
though the extreme contempt of til
maiden for her adorer had hitherto pr,
:, vented the final knot being tied, wer
~ coming back from friends house, wher
they had spent the evening. When the
. reached the old church, both of thei
;, perceived that there was, most certainl,
!, light shining through its windowi
u Pierre's immediate impulse was sudde