, 1888-10-07

viz VI IL AA&9ohe PiestJ Ws
Il might meet her on the way home"
thought Mr.. Neal, as he took leave of
Mr.. Toggery and the remise,
81 wish there were not SO many holes
and caves in the rocks" said Margery;
''they are such convenient hiding places
for ~brigands."
TRY to think and talk of something a
little more cheering, my dear" said Ars.
Lee, whose mantle of timidity seemed to
nave fallen on Margery's shoulders.
At that moment there was a sudden
roar like thunder, and a huge piece of
rock, dislodged from the mountain above,
came crashing down upon h road. 1t
stopped not fifty yards ahead of the car
rage, making a formidable barrier where
the space vas too narrow to turn back
with safety.
The ladies screamed, the frightened
horses hung back trembling and FESTIVE,
while the old man urged them forward
close upon the great block of stone.
"Margery, is the old fellow mad2 He
seems to be trying deliberately to upset
usi" said Mrs. Lee, half under her breath.
"Stopl stopl not a step further, or you
will have US all over the precipicel' cried
Margery. Selling the coachman's arm.
Never till the day of their death will
those two women forget the Mortified ex-
preston of that white haired old man as
he turned his face toward them and said,
in awestruck tones:
Madame, for Gods sake tell me what
to do; l am stone blind, and cannot see
the danger before us. The good Lord for
give me for risking your lives"
1t was indeed a trying situation; to ad-
vance was impossible, and to turn bach q
great danger for a blind man and two
frightened women. No human being nor
habitation was in sight; darkness was
descending, and help hardly possible
from other carriages at so late an hour.
What shall we do2" was the mute ap-
peal in the eyes of the three unfortunates.
To spend the night IN the mountain. in
the intense cold. without food and in dan
ger from highway marauders was a
dreary prospect.
"Oh, that l had been willing to stay
quietly at home during carnival week."
cried Margery, dolefully.
How dared you run such a great risk
in undertaking to drive us down the
mountain when you cannot see an inch
before your facet" asked Mrs. Lee, indig-
nantly, of the now abject old man.
Lady, l earnestly beg your pardon,
undeserving though l am. The fault is
all mine; NJ. Joliceur is not to blame. My
grandson, Paolo, was to have driven you
over to Mentone, VT last night a gentle
man offered hi;g g. - enty francs to go to
Cannes instead !.aolo had a dream last
week that No. SG3 would win the prize in
the Marsac lottery; twenty francs was
needed to buy the series containing No.
303. Paolo let himself be tempted. but l
am worse than he-I, with my white
hairs, who ought to be telling my beads
in a corner, instead of driving over the
hills as l used to long ago. But Signora
mia, the delight of feeling the reins in my
hands again, and the fresh wind blowing
in my facet"
80 you let Paolo go to Cannes and you
risked our lives for a paltry twenty francs
for one of those Ubiquitous lotteries,
tool" exclaimed Mrs. Lee.
Yes, madame; Pm a very wicked old
nan. Paolo drove away from the JOLT
c9ur remise this morning with this car
riage. On the way to your hotel l took
his place, with little J~eannot to guide me.
The road after La Turbie is usually safe
INC quiet as a country lane. so l let jean
not off there, as his mother is i'll in a cot
tage near by. These horses and l have
steady heads and are ct home on these
roads. All, mel old Brix, the king of
drivers on the Riviera, has lost his crown
now and proved himself an old rascal.
But. madame, the demand for men was
great JueSo CdTulNdl udJS Ludhel OOlS OF
villains of us all. have never played the
rogue before, and, the blessed Madonna
helping me, I VIII not do it again"
In the meantime we are to stay here
on the mountain tonight, ca1ching our
death of cold, if no worse fate overtakes
US" said Margery, hopelessly.
"Is not that the sound of q horses
hoofs2" suddenly interrupted old Brix,
whose ears were sharper than those of
people blessed with sight.
The old man was right, and presently a
horseman was seen approaching at a
spanking pace round the brow of the hill.
1t was Sydney Neal, who had ridden
across the valley as Mr.. Toggery had ad-
vised. and by inquiring at La Turbie,
had followed the carriage. instead of COM
ing to meet it, as he had at first planned.
Margery sprang forward to meet him
with a welcome as eager as if he had been
an old and valued friend for years. After
ward only, she blushed q little at the
memory of how she had seized his arm
with both her hands, and begged him to
contrive some means of rescue.
With q man nerve, cool head and
fortunately sharp eyes, it was no very
difficult matter to unharness the horses,
turn the carriage round, by the united
efforts of the company, reharness and go
back to the first comfortable lodging for
the night,
Thanks to the intervention of the big
stone, Sydney Neal was enabled to as
sumo in one short hour the role he so COW
eted, that of protector and friend, to the
beautiful girl he had learned to love.
Old Brix escaped the punishment he de-
served; nay, worse, Neal was weakly in
dulgent enough to send the old fellow a
favor, to wear at his wedding with Mar
gerry, three months later.-Lucy Blake in
Frank Leslie.