Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-09-10

.r goa do betruy me, may yos dte as /
an dying and tctth no to loUe youf"
These two men had belonged to the
same regiment, and had stood shoulder
to shoulder on more than battlefield.
Dupont, after his term Of service was
over, had knocked about the world for
several years; he had been an acrobat IN
London, a gambler in Ceyiou, a miner
In Australia and q sheep farmer In New
Zealand, and now, with q few thousand
dollars in his pocket, he was on bis way
to Central America, with no very clear
ideas as to what he would do when he
got there. But he was not the man to
get the worst Of any situation in which
he might find himself Nothing fright
ened, nothing depressed him. Withal
he was q most entertaining companion,
having resources Of anecdote, hunor
and dare dsviltry that never knew ex-
haustion. No wonder, then, that Mau-
rice, who for more than two months past
had scarcely exchanged two score SEN
fences with q human being, wa highly
delighted to see thus Unexpectedly his
old conrads.
But after the first greetings had been
exchanged-and very hearty they were
on both sides-Maurice began to reflect
that perheps the encounter was not so
fortunate after all For Dupont, besides
being communicative, was inquisitive,
and he had not been ON board half an
hour before he had asked Maurice all
manner Of 1nanswerable questions about
himself, his destination, his objects IN
travelling and q dozen things besides.
How to meet this broadside of interroga-
tives Maurice knew not, for his character
was straightforward and unimaginative.
BE told lies awkward1y-and On the 9TH
er hand, II he kept silence the result
could only be to stimulate his friends in
quisitiveness still further. Finally he
attempted a compromise by informing
Dupont that for certain good and suff-
Gent reasons he preferred not to specify
his exact intentions just then, but that
after they had arrived in New York he
would willingly tell him all he cared To
hear.
Dupont, who had all the imagination
that Solange lacked, was gifted also with
the power Of effectively Disgusting his
feelings and designs when he deemed il
expedient to do SO. He accordingly pro-
fessed to be satisfied with the others
nltimasum; but, at the same time, mi.
yately made up his mind to get at the
bottom Of the mystery, whatever it was.
And very likely he would have sue
eeeded, but that destiny chose another
way to bring about the issue.
While the Santa Lucia was still a
thousand miles distant from her mort
sailing over smooth seas, with light but
rathsr fafiing winds, the second mate
fell III. and the captain, after investigat.
Ing his condition, returned to the deck
with Q grave face. The mate remained
shut up m his bunk for two days, dur
ing which time there was a great deal OF
more or lessoutspoken speculation among
the ships company as to the nature Of
his Illness. The captain, In answer to
al inquiries, responded that the mate
VA suffering from q bad attack Of in.
digestion and would be all right in a day
% twu. But on the third day Dupont,
who WAS always the first to discover
eyefything. told Maurice that the disease
them ate had was yellow fever. Twelu
hours later the mate was dead, and the1
IA truth was known to every one. Be
tore sunset . seaman had caught the in
lection, and that night three others wers
saized with the pestilence.
There were twenty-five persons or
board when the ship left St. Elmo; u
the end OF . week after the fever ap
peared only fifteen were left alive. III.
captain, Dupont and Solange were tn.
most active in nursing the sufferers. Ths
~ FIRST had seen yellow fever before
and Solsnge showed the hardness ana
adspeability Of an old campaigner. Thes.
snfee were also the only ones whoescapet
The panic that Is among the most effect
Ire ptedisposing causes Of the disease
AetastAth the men died they w~eresstches
PIN their hammocks and buried In tn,
- No . who had been attacked re
covered, but at length the epidemi,
seemed 70 have run its course, and TO
y days there were no fresh cases.
1hen. when al seemed well, Holsno,
himself was Emitssn. He struggled man
fully against ths fatal grasp Of the fever
bat IN vain.
When be realized that his time had In
deed eousc. tho anxiety caused by th,
akrsatM tho pesh 10 which his recon
Fas thsreby exposed had u
sWugssning his disoraer. H
n no lea pAir than Ms .hody
RAis whole soul upon fnl1lin,
M command, md be con3l