The state journal., 1884-07-26


his body, spent themselves in the blood
stained wall over his head. The tide of
slaughter ebbed away, leaving CHASTITY
heaps ofdead men. From one of these
shadow by-and-by detached ITSELF and
drifted homeward, to the spot where
Marie was waiting in terrible anguish.
Her courage came back with the need
for it; it took very little to add to the dis
guise which fire and wound had brought
upon him; besides, the people in the
house were at that moment much occu-
pied with dragging down the papers they
had pasted over their windows. He
erawled upstairs, and when she had
hastily bound up his wound and given
him some food he managed to get out on
the roof through the trap door. There he
spent three days, coming down at night,
till she was able to put up her new chintz
curtains and here In the garret he had re-
mained ever since sometimes fairly pa
tient sometimes finding his lot insup-
portable, and railing at fate, at Marie and
at Providence. He had had few mar
row escapes, but his wife was as cunning
as fox when he was concerned, and for
tune had favored him.
''I shall stand this no longer. l give
you notice of my determination, Marie.
You have her here, believe, solely TO
torment me. Figure to yourself having
to stand by helpless and see the creature
put an end to both one s dinner and
ones pipe She is not to come here any
more those are my orders. DO you
hear"
eyes. hear" said Marie quietly, "but
beg Of you to change your mind. We
are badly of, l allow, yet somehow or
other we can always rub along, and this
poor child is in worse plight than we are:
Worse? Nonsense. No one can be
worse off than l am. Denounced, ex-
ecuted, for I assure you | felt that bullet
go through my brain, saved just by the
hair OF my head"
"Such a mercy!" breathed the wife.
"a mercy, yes-but you who can go
and come and amuSe yourself never
think what this life must be to me, cooped
up like u rat in his hole There are
times when l believed should do better
to give myself up.
For the sake of Heaven, Jean!--"
'fAt any rate" said Jean, descending
from his heights, 81 will not have that
imbecilc here. You understand?
Maria locked at him indulgingly.
Eyes, my friend, understand. -
'1'll lay wager that you never got
that journal from old Plon-Plon?'
"He had not finished with it. -
There is no knowing to what depths of
accusing wickedness Madame Didier's
meditations would have led her, but that
presently she heard heavy crealling
step upon the stairs, and flew to awake
her husband and to hustle him into his
refuge. Nj. PlOn' visits were rare, and
she discouraged them with all her might,
yet when he arrived painting and putting
at the door, she was standing by the stove
working with little cOquettish air of
greeting about her
''HOu don tmean to say that you have
brought the journal yourself NJ. Plon!
Now that is kind of you, but it it disar
ranging yourself too much to climb up
these steep stairs, when | could have
fetched it with pleasure.
"Ah by the way, what news is there
to-day in lie Petit Journals"
There is the great robbery"
"The great robbery! Where?'
I'm the Rue Vivienne. The paper is
full of it-jewelry, diamonds, plate,
treasures of all kinds carried off, chest
and ALL that's the wonderful part of it,
for chest is not thing to hide in your
pocket.
AS the sound of his heavy footsteps
creaked down the stairs Jean came out
and flung himself in the chair which NJ
Plon had occupied.
CHOW that that old IDIOT has taken
l Il e1DT Iotfr l. l.
about"
'1s it true about the robbery? asked
Marie leaning over his shoulder
$50 it seems"
"And the reward?'
"Twelve thousand francs"
Twelve thousand francs?" repeated
his wife in amazcment. "Oh, you must
be mistaken"
There are the figures at any rate, see
fory yourself.
''Yes, see. Suppose it must. be so, as
it is in the paper; but-but-if we could
only have little part of itl''
Gan, ifr' said Jean with shrug.
But how will you manage? Stand
about the corners of the streets and ask
every escarpe that passes"
Il could almost do that" his wife
answered stoutly, "when | reflect that
with money we might have an advocate
and you might 60 free. My store grows
slowly, Jean?''
Jean dashed the paper to the ground,
and thrust his hands through his hair.
Don't talk Oft, if you wouldn't mad
den mer' he exclaimed Might
might am sick of nights! Cooped up
here can do nothing, but if 1 had only
common luck l might get the end of a
clew as we'll as any other poor devil
| tell you, Marie, have half a mind to
give myself up, and end everything"
She clung to him pale as death.
mo, nor
You'd get on better without me, )"
ooh, nor
jeans tragic air vanished in a rush OF
real emotion. He put his wife from him
and looked at her sorrowfully:
Poor soulr' he said slowly. "And
you really mean that | haven't tired you
out yet with all my moods and cross
wOrds?" No? Then, decidedly, we mus t
rub on a little longer still
Sec embraced him with all the graft
tude woman feels when her good offices
are accepted.
ITO morrow, she said cheerfully; to
morrow will bring you some tobacco"
She got up early the next morning
while Jean was yet asleep, and cheered |
herself as she looked at her scanty sup
ply of poor coffee, with the thought that |
she would be paid for her work in the |
course of the day. Meanwhile the break,
fast would not be very rich affair." and |
she was pOndering whether she could |
be so eXtravagant as to run to a cremerie |
near at hand for two sous worth of milk, |
when an unexpected sound filled her
with dismay. 1t was Perine's shuffling
step upon the stairs, and she was by no |
means sure how Jean would receive such |
an early visitor. Moreover, she did not
care that he should be disturbed, and she
a, al, H..