New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-07-15

have fallen in love with him quite as
much as he had with her, and would
have married him long before she did,
but that her father besought her to
continue on the stage a little longer
for his benefit At last the oldNgentle-
man drank himself into The Carnaryon
Hospital, and only came out since to
occupy one OF the graves which are
always yaWning, ready dugin the Kim
barley Cemetery, for victims to fever
and alcohol; and then Marie La Cour
became to us and all our world.
"Sylvester's wife"
They took a little villa at the ex-
tremity of Putoitspan road, a neat
yeranda-sslrrounded residence, screen
ed from the dust and heat by tall
blue-gums, and half covered with creep
ers and tropical flowers. After that
we saw little Of the so we'll known
Marie La Cour. Occasionally, at long
intervals, they would invite a few
bachelor friends-myself included-to
witness their bliss, and on such even
ings the great bull-frogs which invaded
the garden Of 'sthe Casis,' as their place
was rightly named, would hush their
vile croaking as Sylvester wife thrilled
forth some gay chansonette to the &C
compartment of the Broadwood which
Dirk specially imported for her from
Europe; or sometimes the happy pair
would ride over to a picnic on the
banks Of the meandering Modder river,
nd MIG Sxy1x Il
tonish us with the feats of nrarksman-
ship which she would accomplish with
thepretty revolver-ivory handled and
chased with gold-which Dirk had
given her.
One night as Istrolled into the Albert
saloon for game OF billiards, [ found
a knot OF diggers gathered around a
new ARRIVAL handsome little French
man, who had come to the Fields to
look after some claims in which Pari-
sian firm had invested. He was laugh
ing conceitedly, and stroking his care
fully waxed imperial with self-satis-
fled air, when Dirk came in, and was
Immediately hailed by man who was
no friend OF his-the manager of some
ground which was always tumbling in
to Dlrk's claims. and smashing his
gear.
| did not hear exactly what he said,
but my attention was suddenly arrest
ed by seeing Dirk make bound at the
Frenchman, and seize him by the
throat, while his eyes fairly blazed with
passion. The Frenchman tried to uude
his grasp, but in a moment Dirk had
dashed him to the floor and was stand
ing over him, raging with fury.
"You miserable liar and scoundrel, y
hesaid, "ifever l hear ofyou mention
ing my wlfe's name again, I'll kill you'll"
Then he strobe out of the saloon.
A silence fell on the company stand
ing around the fallen Frenchman, and
as he staggered to his feet and skunk
away into side room, where the rat
tie OF dice went on all day long and far
into the night, no one found so much
as a word tothrow after him.
lmet Dick on several occasions af-
ter this curious episode, but, as if by
mutual consent, we avoided the sub
ject. One night, however, when the
moon was sailing majestically over
head and lighting up the dusty road
between the Pan and Kimberley with
flood OF lambert light, I was riding
slowly into camp when I heard the
pattering of a horse behind me, and
turning in the saddle confronted Dirk.
He was agltated and angry, and with
out a word OF greeting plunged into the
subject uppermost in his mind.
80 DO you know, old fellow" he said.
."Pve just been told by digger at
Hallis's that that rascally little
Frenchman has been repeating his lies
about being intimate with my wife in
Paris before she came out here. Not
only that, but he says he has minia-
ture OF her which she gave him, set in
gold. The unmitigated liar! Ii find
time [ shall canter over to his cabin
the other side of the mine tonight, and
ii he can't produce that souvenir it
will be ha1d for him. Ii he does, it
Won't be in his possession long"
"Don't do anything rash, Dirk" I
said. Remember, there is another to
think OF beside yourself"
'"That's what it is that bothers me,
old fellow" he replied; and then, rein
ing in his horses, and jogging along by
my side, he told me his trouble. It
that his wife denied any
intimacy with the Frenchman, but
stated that her father tried to force
his attentions on her in the old DAYS
when he was a half-starved ballet mas
ter, and she a struggling aspirant at
Paris theatre. The miniature was a.
new feature in thestory, and Dirk firm
ly believed it to bea myth, but was
bent on finding out whether it was so
or not.
After awhile he grew calmer, and
paid more attention to my entreaties
to him to proceed with caution.
On parting he shook me by the hand,
and his last words, shouted to me as
he galloped off at the turning for the
Oasis, were
~ shan't trouble the little French
man tonight, but let him keep out of
my way"
The next morning the body OF Jules
Lacroix was found lying on the floor
Of his cabin with an ugly hole in the
left temple. In one hand he grasped
fIuhf1x o,,+ ~ ~,