Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1888-01-07
MONSIEUR ALEXI


evidence. If he made no advances to his
fcllow-travclcrs on shipboarJ, he did not
rcpel Il casual chat with any one who
talked with him.
The waiter who had charge Of his berth
had only sc n Il sick man in the ate
room, and there was reason for it, for the
weather at the start had been bad.
Monsieur" was not cXacting, and SO
the water was glad when monsieur got
quite well again. Indeed, it was very
remarkable recovery, for when monsieur
was dressed and cane on deck, he ,cemed
to have grown ten, fifteen years younger.
No one, indeed, had taken any particular
notice of the gentleman. 1t had been
cold and raw in Liverpool, and heavy
coats and shawls were in demand, SO
monsieur had worn thick muilleraround
his neck, which had been drawn up to
his eyes, and he had ccughcd great
deal. When he had crawled up the gang
plank with a fce!'le, In 'tIrg step, the
surgeon, who was sharp enough, had
said to hims Ii: 81 he. c's Il passenger
who is going 20 be nuisance, calling me
up at ali hours of the nigh" But
the surgeon. and so was forgotten.
Monsieur might have found companion,
among the foreign element on board, but
he did not seem to hau ker after such
acquaintauccship. 1t was apparent that
he spoke number of languaecs, ard all
fairly well. There was Miss McBidd:c,
of Dcnvcr, who tried her italian on him,
and he bore it without wincing. Miss
McBiddic's acquaintanccShip had com
memo cd when monsieur had ye,y adroitly
prevented an oil crutt from pouring its
contents over her dress. lie was quiet V,
not ob:ru>ively, polite to the lady. She
had left a rug i'll the cabin among the
fifty other rugs, and he had selected hers
and brought it on deck for her Mt the
precise time when she wanted it. Now
that showed observation on his part, to
know the cXac. shade and color of her
wrap, and she was gratiied by the atten-
tiOn. Then there came Il flying scud. Il
bucketful of water, aboard, and monsieur
had interposed his coat just in time and
saved the lady from n we,ting. 1t was
natural that they should talk. Evidently
he was man who, though he had trav-
United States; in fact, he told her that
at the second day of their acquaintance.
He wanted information. "Did the lady
know anything about the West.''
"Io.s." was Miss McBiddic's terse
reply; "ihe West is my home. =
lie had some idea of going t o Montana,
or to California, but he was so ignorant
of the lay of the land. Europeans were
so stupid, and their conceptions of
America SO false. Perhaps he might
ask some questions lady could hot ex-
actly reply to, as to the possibilities OF
acquiring land in America, and its
value" Then Miss McBidd'c confessed
her want of definite information.
"But papa is the man for you. Owns
good deal of land in all the Terrific
ries, and has got it all down fine," re
piled the lady, and that led up to an in.
PRODUCTION to Colonel McBiddie
Certainly, We could fix you up right
away. Want quiet and rest, and the finest
climate in the world, and bit of hunt
ing. Know just the spot. There is ;
ranch that would suit you to dot
| Come on to Denver, where l live, and
would be Iroud to show you round
Just ask anybody for Colonel McBiddc
and you will have no trouble in spottin:
me-"
That is about the way the intimac,
began.
ut would be so nice, papa, to have
| man like that in Den;cr" And tha
night Almeria McBiddic made man,
clever plans ''His manners are yer,
elegant" she thought 'IIe hasn'
said he was Prince or Baron; bu
what nice foot he has and such a well
kept hand. and nervous fingers, that looI
d if they would take a strong grip o
anything they held. There is a grea
deal of latent energy in the mar. Yes
Monsieur Alexis plcases me more tha
any one l have met on this trip; an,
strange, is it no., that should find hir
just as am going home! He told m
half of his story to-day, when papa wa
absent. On account Of political opinion
he was obliged to leave Poland. Hi
lands were Just across the Russian boz
der" And then Miss McBddie went t
sleep and dreamed of Thaddeus of Wal
saw.
Colonel McBiddie had, however, aske
some leading questions of monsieur
"You are not Nihilist?"
ooh, dear me, no. l am very THANK
full that some ancestors of mine mad
matters comparatively easy for me, the
indolent successor If they acquired
poor cistle and some land by means whic
might not be considered quite legitima,
to-day, am content to let things renal
as they are: only what might have hee
right or might in the past will hardly d
Tor TO-DAY. l differed with tie Govcrnt
of my province, and took my precaution
I fed, but l had for some years befol
taken my prccautions-and you cann'
blame me- You do not hold me in Il
wrong, Colonel"
az h, not at ALL"
''It might have been an act of cowar'
ice to leave, but still 4 was sacrifice
for heretofore have Tel careless lif
with little care of the morrow. Thr'