Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-01-25

himself, and he had evidently cooked it
as we'll. He was q man who looked
about forty, with straight black hair
and beard and q southern type of ply
there was a furtive, treach-
erous look in the small, deep-set gilt
tering eyes, and q gross animalism
about the heavy chin and thick under
lip, that his sycophantish smile and OBJ
humility heightened rather than
softened. He spoke little, but his
crjnging manner was peculiarly repul-
sive to me. Madame was equally
servile in her way, and servility so ill
suited her hard features and greedy
looking eyes that the effect was equally
disagreeable. I begged them to serve
my soup and chicken and omelette aux
fines herbes, OF which my meal consist
ed, at the same time, as [ desired to be
alone. and l felt it quite a relief when
the Unlocking pair quilted the room.
The meal, however, was excellent and
1 did justice to it.
When l had finished 1 lit a cigar and
turned round to enjoy a comfortable
smoke by the fire. Feeling q little
shivery and fearful of a cold, l rang
the bell for some cognac, hoping that a
servant M light answer the summons.
But no. to my intense disgust, there
was Madame with her grinning, sinister
face, and her thousand inquiries as to
whether Monsieur liked the potage and
the roti and the omelette, and with dis
%sertations upon the cooking of LA
Croix dor" then the merits of the cog
nae were descanted upon, it was Fin
champagne thirty years old. At last,
with the aid of the girl l have before
mentioned, the table was cleared and [
was once more alone.
"What is there associated in my mind
with the sign of La Croix d'or?'" I
asked myself, as soon as the woman's
irritating jabber had ceased to ring in
my ears. 1t was some time before my
memory went back as far as the night
OF which 1 read the paragraph in the
Weekly Dispatch, and remembered that
it was the sign of the inn at which that
mysterious death had taken place. But
that was up in the southeast, hundreds
of miles away, and no sign is more COM
mon throughout France than LA Croix
DOR Every one knows how easy it is
to build up a series of condolences and
link together a chain of suspicious cir
cumstances when the mind is irritated
or depressed. l thought of the william
~ous-looking landlord and his scarcely
less Unlocking wife, of the peculiar soli-
tude and gloom of the house; the mans
face l had remarked was of a southern
type; what if he were-here I grew
angry with myself and swallowed q
good draught of brandy and water.
What allied me-? Well, the d~reariness
of the day and my long walk through
such abominable weather were quite
sufficient to account for any amount of
depression; no doubt an incipient cold
was upon me. l mixed another glass
Of cognac, and tried to persuade myself
that [ had reasoned away my megrims,
but the ext moment [ was muttering:
~ wish she hadn't seen my pocket
book" After that l threw away my
cigar, jumped up, and rang for a can
die, though with a positive dread of that
sallow face and those greedy eyes. AS
[ rose l felt that l had not swallowed
two stiff tumblers of brandy and water
with impunity. That man, it was sup
posed, was a little inebriated when he
went to bed, I thought.
My bette moir answeredthis summons,
and, spite Of my brusque declaration
that | did not require Ler guidance, in
sisted upon showing me to my room
room and singing the praises of the bed,
which according to her description was
the softest and finest in all France.
Taking the light from her hand 1 al
most thrust her out and locked the
door. "Thank Heaven l am free of her
for tonight" 1 exclaimed, inwardly.
My copious draughts had not succeeded
in raising my depression or even in dis
polling those chilly, shivery sensations
which l feared were harbingers of a
cold, and they had superadded a strong
disposition to a splitting headache. Bad
liquor, l thought. Or perhaps it was
drugged? Again I tried to get angry
with my nervous %fancies, but the at
tempt was unsuccessful.
Before retiring to bed 1 resolved thor
oughly to examine the room. l began
with the door; that was satisfactory
enough; it was strong and had a good
lock, and a bolt as well, both of which
l made secure. No person could enter
that way without awaking me. I next
turned my attention to the window; it
was deep set with a heavy frame and
small panes of glass, and was fastened
by mean of one of those iron bolts,
working in a socket and with a heavy
horizontal handle, which are commonly
used. in France. opened it to endeavor
to discover the lookout; but the night
was so intensely dark, and the rain de-
scended in such torrents, that I could
perceive nothing but a black gulf.
Having made the window thoroughly
secure again, my next car was to as
certain that there was no second en-
trance to the room. I examined the
walls and the back of a large closet
which was situated near the bed, but
without finding anything suspicious.
Lastly I turned my attention to the bed
itself. I remarked that it stood unusu-
ally high from the floor, and that in
stead Of ~valances the lower part was
encased with polished wood, which also
formed framework for the bed to rest
in. 1t was thus impossible for any one
to lie concealed underneath. From a
canopy above the head depended heavy
curtains, the thick folds of which half
enclosed IT, as a tent. Now never