St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-01
one.o she said impulsiyelv and stopped.

one,' she said impulsively, and stopped.
! A quick and half insane CLEAN of terror
and suspicion lit up his deep eyes. ''For
! what, mademoiselle! For an accident-that
is nothing-absolutely nothing, for I am
strong and well now --seel'' he said trem-
blingly. Cor for whim-for a folly you
may say, that they will misunderstood. No,
mademoiselle is good, is wise. She will say
to herself 81 understand, my friend Mon
sieur de Ferrieres for the moment has Sc
cret. He would seem poor, he would take
the role oil artisan, he would shut himself
up in these walls-perhaps / may guess
why, but it is his secret think of it no
more" lie caught her hand in his with a
gesture that he would have made one of gal
lantry, but that in its tremulous intens ity be-
came piteous supplication.
II have said nothing, and will say nothing,
if you wish it.'' said Rosey, hastily; Shut
others may find out how you live here. This
is not fit work for you. You seem to be "a
gentleman. You ought to be lawyer, or d
| doctor, or in bank" she continued, tim
idly, with vague enumeration of the pre-
vailing degrees of local gentility.
He dropped her hand. "Ahl does not
mademoiselle comprehend that it is because
| am a gentleman that there is nothing be-
almost fiercely. ''What if I told you it is the
lawyer it is the doctor, it is the banker
that brings me, gentleman, to
this, ehs All, bah! What do I say9 This is
honest, what I do! But the lawyer, the
banker, tae doctor, what are they!" He
shrugged his shoulders, and, pacing the
apartment with furtive glance at the half anx-
ious, half frightened girl, suddenly stopped,
RI oil tina ntn he
hind the heap of bales and opened it. ''Look,
mademoiselle," he said, TREMENDOUSLY lifting
handful of worn and soiled letters and
| papers, 'Look-these are the tools of your
banker, your lawyer, your doctor With this
the banker will make you poor, the lawyer
will prove you thief, the doctor will swear
you are crazy, eh? What shall
you call the work of a gentleman--this-" he
dragged the pile of cushions forward cor
this?''
To the young girls observant eyes some of
the papers appeard to be of legal or official
character and others like bills of lading, with
which she was familiar. Their half-theatrical
exhibition reminded her of some play she had
seen; they might be the clue to some story, or
the mere worthless hoardings of a diseased
fancy. Whatever they were De Ferrieres did
not apparently care to explain further; in
deed, the next moment his manner changed
to his old absurd extravaganza. 'But this is
stupid for mademoiselle to hear. What shall
we speak of? Ali what should we speak of
in mademoisele's presence?"
But are not these papers valuable?'' asked
Rosey, partly to draw her hosts thoughts
back to their former channel
perhaps" He paused and regarded the
young girl fxedly. .s'Does mademoiselle
think so!''
81 don't know" said Rosey. "How
should I?''
''Ah! if mademoiselle thought Soft mad
emoiselle would deign-'' He stopped again
and placed his hand upon his forehead. ''It
might be so,'' he muttered.
II must 90 now" said Rosey hurriedly,
rising with an awkward sense of constraint,
''Father will wonder where 1 ann
81 shall explain. / will accompany you,
mademoisele.''
''No, no." said Rosey quickly; ''He must
not know l have been herer' She stopped.
The honest blush flew to her cheek, and then
returned again because she had blushed.
De Ferrieres gazed at her with an exalted
look. Then, drawing himself to his full
height, he said, with an exaggerated and in
descrbable gesture, $50, my child, go. Tell
your father that you have been alone and
unprotected in the abode of poverty and
suffering, but-that it was in the presence of
Armand de Ferrieres.''
He threw open the door with bow that
nearly swept the ground, but did not again
offer to take her hand. At once impressed
and embarrassed at this browning incongru-
ity, her pretty lip trembled between a smile
and cry as she said Good night' and
slipped away into the darkness.
Erect and grotesque De Ferrieres retained
the same attitude until the sound of her foot
steps was lost. when he slowly began to close
the door. But strong arm arrested it from
without, and large carpeted foot appeared
at the bottom of the narrow opening. The
door yielded and Mr.. Abner Mott entered the
room.