, 1888-11-20

placed them before his vis-a-vis, fixing
upon her a look long, piercing, fiery, as If
he would compel her by the force of mag
netism.
II wish, said he, II wish that the ace
of spades should be the turn-upl Cut.
madamel"
She cut, and Louis distributed the cards,
He turned one. 1t was the ace of spades,
Victory / nave wonl" he cried,
BY enchantment, then"
No, Lucienne, mol love you-it liz
the enchantment OF, love that winsl'
But my revenge, monsieur. you will
permit me to have my revenget'
"Revengey'
"CertainIy; I desire TO play against you
Did you think | would yield without a
struggle? If l win the matter ends here.
And as it was not, after all, the game
of ecarte they were playing, and the
turned card was the only one in which
they had the slightest interest. Nine.
d'Arcueil quickly gathered them together,
shufled them and gave them to her op
ponent.
And you wish the turn to be"-
The queen of hearts"
The eight of clubs showed itself upon
the top of the pack. Lucienne had lost.
"Againl" she persisted; try it again."
For well did she realize that it was
more than the ace of spades that she had
promised to obey; that Louis. her lover,
would not be dilatory in appointing the
rendezvous to which it, thisa ace of spades.
would call her-a rendezvous that, after
all, must end in parting; upon which scan
dial possibly would spy and tattle, and
chastisement attend for a reckless, erring
wife. Lucienne shuddered.
II cannot" she cried, 81 dare mott
am afraid. l dare not abandon my des
tiny to the will of a card You are a gal
ant man, Louis. Release me, | beg of
you-release me from this thoughtless
promise"
No; impossiblei and if l should you
would still suffer the same. l love you
you know it, and l believe that you love
me. No, it is impossible
Then begin anew-make the test over
againl"
Notwithstanding tells me | shall
win. What card will you take now?'
The one that came up before-the
eight of clubs
''Eh bienl Shuttle and give them to me
yourself"
Once more she did as he told her, shut
fed the cards and gave them to him, and
once more, as on the other occasions, the
card that De Fremont turned was the acc
of spades.
"Ahl' she cried, rising as if something
had stung her, Il was right-it is en-
chantmentl"
Whether she were sorry or glad Lu
clenne d'Arcueil could not at the moment
nave told you. 1t was very late. The
orchestra was playing the last waltz.
Without a word Louis placed his arm
around Lucienne's waist, and the two
lovers, heart to heart, the one with the
other, found themselves in the wave of
dancers.
Soon the music ceased, the guests made
their parting compliments-the ball was
over.
The next morning NJ. d'Arcueil con.
Quoted Lucienne to Andelys, and the day
afterward departed on his secret mission.
Whilst diplomats occupy themselves at
u distance with the interests of France,
the soldier also has his duty as a French
man, and almost Immediately following
the departure of the D,Arcueils from Paris
the til was ordered to depart for
Africa.
The news of such an order was not re-
ceived with delight, but gradually, as the
hour approached for them to start, Louis
de Fremont felt his ambition to reawaken
the captain desired to see himself q
%colonel. With scarcely time enough to
put their affairs in order, to drop a fare.
well line to friends and parents, to climb
lESO Iue NdBOlS, SGOp ~ Lyons duu JLCl
Mt Marseilles, the regiment embarked
upon the transport and in due time put
their feet upon African soil.
De Fremont, like the majority of
French officers, had made his debut in
Algeria, and now between skirmishes
amused himself revisiting places where,
as a simple lieutenant, he had first
pitched his tent, the field where he had
won his maiden spurs, " the bourgade or
struggling village where he had left u lady
love, for soldiers do not give up these
pleasing pastimes when they turn thciN
backs upon Paris.
Three months passed thus. By the end
of the fourth he was well under way with
u promising owe affair with a young in.
structress of music, born of French pa
rentage in Algeria, but Parisienne by in,
stinct. One knows that Arabs are always
in q state of instruction. Loui was
likely to remain in Africa a long while.
Nor was he astonished one morning
toward the middle of - to be ordered
to make a sortie against the tribe OF
Chachouia, then, as the military governor
had been informed by courier, making
daily ravages in the neighborhood of Con
stantine. 1t was his regiment that had
been selected to protect the c~olonists and
qucll the disturbance.
He went without reluctance, for those
of his comrades who knew the province of
Constantine spoke with enthusiasm of
that wonderfully beautiful country, Nth
its plain of the Gazelles, its mountains of
Albatre and Sci. A splendid country, but
one in which, behind its thickets of laurel
roses, its intoxicating perfumes, its cliffs,
precipices and seductive hedges, danger
lurked p~erpetually, danger from the willy
Chachouia, ready TO train upon You with
out a moments warning the shining bar,
rels of their moukalas.
On the evening in question Louis dc
Fremont and the 500 men whom he had
taken with him on the expedition were
resting at their sixth and last hating
place before reaching their destination,
gathered about a clear spring. A hun
bred meters further away the sentinels
were posted who guarded the camp. The
rest of the soldiers slept, drank or
mended their uniforms.