The Penn's Grove record., 1884-11-01


that the Baron gave Up his threatening
tone, and muttered cOm~placently-
'"Tamed already ~
The womau Barbe, who seemed 70
act as housekeeper, was not without
clever fingers, for she had drawn from
some antiquated wardrobe and fitted
and decked anew before evening a goT-
geous brocaded dress of thick silk such
as Valerie de Kergadec's great-grand-
mother wOre-bronZe-green and gold
/ With plenty of soft lace that had turned
veritably brown with years, it made a
rich quaint setting for the graceful girl
tsh figure, and showed 10 perfection the
auburn of her hair, while the flush OF
excitement gave coloragain to the dark
eyed face
sit may be like a fairy tale on both
sides, after all. Tire Marquis de Rouge.
mont will admire me and rescue me,
and 1t Will be better for him to marry a
silversmith's daughter than poor mad
Valerie de Kergadec. And l shall be
married to a Marquis, and live in a cas-
tie by the sea as beautiful as this place
would be If they had not let everything
in it 20 to rack and ruin. How glad
and amazed my dear father will be
And Pierre-he will make a pair of sill
yer bracelets for me. and say, How
could / have hoped to marry a girl who
is now La Marquise p And my faith
full Ludwig Holz-he promised so fer
vently last umnLer to be devoted to me
alone All, l am sorry for Ludwig
Holz !"
Sophie was thinking thus when the
Baron met her at the foot of the tur.
ret-stairs, told her that she looked
charming, and, with a grim smile OF
satisfaction, babe her follow him.
Just as tney reached a faded drawing
room, the Marquis stepped in from a
garden-terrace by one OF the windows
that stood open to the ground. He
bowed and kissed her hand, after a leer
of admiration, exclaiming, with coarse
flattery-
"Mademoiselle Valerie, all destined
brides should be sent to that school.
They have taught you to be more and
more beautiful"
Sophie, instead of blushing, turned
pale she was even more frightened
than angry. The Marquis de Rouge,
mont was a coarse heavy looking man,
with a face bloated and blotched from
a dlssipated life. 1t was only in her
first bewilderment that Sophie had stood
lifeless while he seized and kissed her
hand. When he offered his arm, she
turned to the old Baron and chung to
him and De Rougemont followed,
laughing loud, and asking if she had
learned bashfulness too.
Not a morsel of dinner could Sophie
touch. After every stolen glance, she
shrank more than ever from the repul-
sive man with the red face and the uu-
steady hand. AS soon as she could. she
withdrew by the terrace to the draw,
ing-room, leaving the Marquis laughing
loudly at his own stories and drinking
glass after glass of wine. In the draw
ing-roOm Sophie found a crumpled ne ws
paper that he had brought from Paris.
She would have shrunk from it by in
stinct, as from everything else belong
ing TO him ; but in one of the columns
she caught sight of her own name.
There was a paragraph telling of the
fatal accident to the only daughter of
IlOlloiCul Ldl ~ uCs vi Llb "tll-huOH III
firm of Larique, Brun, ct Gle. Madem-
oiselle Sophie Larique had been at
school at PontignOn. While bathing,
as 1t was supposed, for a venturesome
freak at a dangerous spot and out of
the usual hours, she was accidentally
drowned. The body was found three
days after, and was conveyed to Paris,
where, the report concluded, ''the fu-
neral took place yesterday at Pere La
chaise.n
A loud cry broke from Soph.e-'My
poor father ~ At that moment he
was grieving for her. In her anguish
for his sake she was almost mad. 1t
was all clear to her. They had found
her dress, and Valerie de Kergadec had
been drowned.
The Marquis had stepped out on to
the terrace. Sophie ran straight to
him.
'If you are a gentleman. listen
Don't let Monsieur lie Baron interfere.
Rescue me ~
The Baron came rushing from the
dining-Ioom and tried to stop her /; but
| Sophie cried out the louder, even above
his angry voice
81 have been kept here against my
will. | am not Valerie, but another
girl. | ran away from school, wearing
Valerie's dress-Ifound it on the beach,
and changed mine for it to escape. No,
nor-to the Baron-''you cannot silence
me | will be heard Valerie de Ker-
gadec was drowned they found her
and my dress, and think | am dead. 1t
was onlyto tell you this that | consented
to meet YOU, Monsieur lie Marquis Oh,
if YOU have any feeling of goodness or
kindness. believe me-help mel Write
to my father, Monsieur Larique, in
Paris, or write to Madame Dupin, at
Pontignon-do something for me ~
screamed Sophie, with clasped hands.
my poor father is mourning for me as
dead. | am wild-wild to send him
word, to get back to him ~
'.Wha a tragic actress she would
make ~ said the Marquis, with a roar
of laughter. ''She is playing the old
tricks with me. Ha, ha, ha, 1t is as
good as a play My little beauty, y u
need not try to confuse u wits and
laugh at as. happen to know you
have just studied your part out of the
newspaper in the next ROOM"
"But," said the Baron, after a mo-
ment's hesitation, ''she has told that
same story since she came. All, yes. |
know now ! We have a clever coquette.
as well as a wild one, to deal with. OF
course Valerie, being at school at Pom
tignon, heard of that other girl"
You must let lie go ~ cried Sophie
Jaeparafalv