, 1888-04-13

fellow in charge as o as possible.
Don't let him know we suspect his pres.
ence."
rejected that our p~recaution of writ.
ing everything referring to the culprit
was perhaps needless, as a common thief
from the Riviera would scarcely be likely
to understand English; still, in such cases,
the extreme of prudence was better than
the lack of it altogether.
The half hour elapsing between the
discovery OF this man and our arrival at
the next station was fraught with i'll
concealed terror for the sharp faced lady,
and much depressed excitement for me.
Would the man dash out, and either at
tack me or make good his escape before
the train stopped? Far better for me to
be worsted in a tussle with him than to
lose him and his booty forever. 1 could
not form a uess as to his strength, not
having seen more of him than the
branded hand. For the lady's sake 1 de-
voutly hoped that we might be spared a
scpffie. Presently, to my intense relief,
the train began to slacken its speed, and
the hoarse voice of the guard shouting
the name of the station sounded like
celestial music in my ears. / seized upon
the first official l could find, as we
stopped, and he, collecting the desired
force, mad shor work of arresting the
man who was stealing his ride. He was
dragged forth with very little resistance;
he saw how useless a fight would be, and
was soon in safe custody.
To my inexpressible joy, poor Jacks
medals were found upon the thief's per-
son, together with the greater part of my
aunt's property.
The man, a hardened scamp, was dis
posed for joking and sarcasm upon the
subject of his own detection.
"Were you mad or asleep when you
betrayed yourself by touching that lady's
foot?" 1 asked.
why, you see, sir" he replied with
a leer, ''those Englishwomen nave such
sticks of legs covered with black stock
ings, 1 took this old girls for the leg of
the bench, and too hold of it to give
myself a bit of a rest. Never was n fell
low more upset in his calculations than l
was when that leg moved. 1t was an
unlucky mistake"
Whether her ankles were those of a
sylph, or like drumsticks, 1 was devoutly
thankful to this lady for the role her
black stockings had played in helping me
to recover my stolen property. AS 1 as
sisted her into the train for the conclu-
sion of her journey, l inadvertently saw
for myself that the thievish ~rascal's mis-
take about the leg of the bench was not
altogether surprising. l wished l might
in some way be of service to her, in ac-
acknowledgement of the great help she had
given me, but 1 feared this exemplary
desire could never be realized, as 1
watched the train disappear, bearing her
with it.
Two days later l was in Paris, and the
happy recipient of an invitation from
Miss Moncrieff to dine with her at the
villa where she was temporarily lodged,
ten minutes distance by rail from the
city. "Miss Gould will meet you at the
station with the carriage" the note con-
cluded.
Descending from the train at the
station indicated, l noticed a neat little
Victoria drawn up in attendance, and
%alighting from it a length of spare, black
ankle with which l seemed strangely
familiar. l scanned the owners face,
and as I expected, beheld the well known
lineaments of the lady who had helped
me to bag my game.
"How very extraordinarily she ex-
claimed, as 1 approached the carriage
and introduced myself. ''Only think of
our having had such an exciting ad-
venture together without ever discover
ing that we ought to be friends"
"You are Miss Gould, 1 SUPPOSED"
eyes; Pm Mora's-Miss Moncrieff's
companion. She has told me long his
tories about you, and has been awaiting
your arrival with impotence. 1 re-
turned only yesterday from a trip to
Mentone, and found the poor child in
very low spirits. We must do our best
to cheer her up a little. Poor Jack, poor
Jackl'
Lovely, dark eyed Mora, pale as a lily
in her black dress; my heart went out to
her in sympathy for her great sorrow. 1
loved her from the moment when she put
both her hands in mine and welcomed
me as the friend and companion of her
lost brother, and before many weeks had
passed by l won from her the assurance
that my owe was returned.
AS for the estimable wearer of the
black stockings, she has made me her
slave for life, and 1 can never discharge
the debt of obligation 1 owe her for the
blessing she indirectly brought upon me.
Dysart is a good, harmless sort of fell
low enough, and Mora and l hope that
l.