, 1888-09-02
THE PELLETS OF BREAD.

word, with that courageous nature, lively
and n little inclined to teasing, that is the
characteristic of the children Of Paris.
Nevertheless. he had an excellent heart,
and was ready to throw himself into the
fire if necessary for the very one whom
an instant before he had made the target
for his jests.
1t was at R, that pretty little
neighboring city to Puy, that Paul found
himself one morning for pleasure and the
drinking of certain healthful waters, for
R, as every one knows, is n charming
summer resort, and filed during the sum-
mer at least with n crowd of guests. Paul
and his friend Edouard Duchesne, were
at the same hotel and took their meals
together at the table d'hote, where they
had for a neighbor in front of them an
Englishman known to be very rich and
very eccentric, and whose life, they said,
was but a series of endless journeyings
around the world.
If Paul betrayed himself n Partisan in
every act and feature, so did the stranger
betray the nativity of his melancholy
country. Short of stature and fat, the
face broad and rudy, the skull bald and
shining, the beard blonde, the eyes blue
as corn flowers, he was truly the most
perfect type of an Englishman that it is
possible to imagine. More than once
Paul had caught himself smiling at the
impossible visageo of Sir Arthur jacobson,
for such was this strangers name This
evening, then, when the events occurred
that 1 am going to tell you of, and, by
the way, the evening of departure of the
two young men, as the Inner was draw
ing to a close, exhilarated doubtless by
tho rhnnnnuopo thou hal tulran Da,,I
amused himself while talking to Edouard
in rolling balls of bread crumbs and
launching them between thumb and
finger, as school children launch balls of
paper, at his neighbor, the Englishman.
1t was n t~houghtless, not to say rude, ex-
hibition on the part of Paul, but then
Paul was not quite himself, and the
temptation was for the moment ~irresist-
ible.
AS the first pellet struck the arm of
Sir Arthur jacobson he slowly turned
his clear eyes upon Paul and his COM
panion, but his broad p~hysiognomy lost
nothing of its habitual placidity. One
would have supposed even that he had
seen and comprehended nothing, had it
not been for the fact that with an air of
the utmost indifference and phlegm he
lifted the morsel of bread crumb and
slipped it into the pocket of his vest;
still, however, without uttering n sylla.
BILE.
The bearing of this man was well cal
culated to excite the teasing humor OF
the Partisan, and scarcely a ONE had
elapsed since the launching of the first
pellet when q second followed it, and,
taking the same direction as the first,
went TO fatten itself upon his shoulder,
and like the other to travel the road to
Sir Arthur's pocket. Angered a little by
this systematic imperviousness, and GER
tainly for the time being blind to the in
suit and Inconvenience that such pleas
antry had for its object, Paul believed it
his duty to repeat his pellet for the third
time. 1t struck his Wis a Wis upon the
forehead Immediately between the eye
brows. And still he received it with
neither n movement nor a sign, though
the walters at the table could scarcely
repress their hilarity on seeing him with
the same stoical gravity lift his hand, re-
move it and send it to join It's comrades
in his pocket.
This amusement, in bad taste rs you
are bound to admit, had lasted long
enough, and as the guests were quitting
the table Sir Arthur rose and followed
their example, and Paul and his friend,
their heads decidedly heavy with wine,
got up in turn and went to smoke a cigar
on the terrace. Hardly, however, had
they made their appearance there
than Paul found himself confronted
by his recent victim, who regarded
him full in the face and in excellent
French stated that he desired to speak
TO him n moment.
"You must certainly understand, mon
sieur," said he, ''that the play to which
you delivered yourself a while ago con-
stitutes n serious %afTront, of which / de-
mand the reason. Moreover, as a gal
liant man you also see that you must ac-
cord me, without my forcing it, the
r~eparation that is my right"
Precisely, my lord; / see, and I am
at your service"
Tomorrow morning, then, monsieur,
at 8 o'clock, behind the park
1.-THE conditions7"
'Pistols-thirty paces-au wise. In
IN our my seconds will wait upon yours.
l have the honor, monsieur, t. salute
you"
(which proves once more, my dear
Paul, said Edouard, when the stranger
had turned on his heel, ''that it does not
do 70 trust to appearance. Who would
have supposed that devil of a little man
70 touchy on a point of honor? He takes
me thing. in my opinion, too seriously"
Ia, par Dieu, he has reason, - replied
4aHt. in whose brain the freshness of the
air had brought about a s~alutary reac-
ton. II nav committed a serious and
an offensive stupidity; it is just that 1
a the consequences. But a truce to
words; come with me to the house of NJ.
D.. whom l know slightly and whom
shall ask to be my second witness"
Promptly at the hour appointed next
morning Paul and his seconds and Sir
Arthur jacobson and his seconds arrived
at the spot indicated behind the park.
Paul was a commercial man, peacefully