The morning call., 1891-05-03

Coleman took him az his ,oord
ing that his wife was dead and that he had
but one living child, daughter Of II, il was
strange that he kept mp such an extensive
establishment in which perhaps twenty
rooms stood richly furnished but unoccu-
pied. 1t was his pleasure, however, and his
pleasure was law.
Mile. Olympic de Caumartin was greatly
surprised when by merest chance she dis
covered Hepw0rth Coleman making HIM
self quite at home in remote room of the
house. We have seen how she showed her
confusion as she stepped into the doorway
and found herself face to face with the
young man. The glance that passed be-
tween them wrought a wonder in the heart
of each. | shall not say that they fell in
love at first sight Love cannot be so accu-
rately traced that its origin can be exactly
found out in any particular case. 1t is
enough to record that Mile. Olympic de eau
martin caught something new, something
sweet from that mOmentary gaze and shut
it uD in her heart Involuntary. with a
thrill that never again quite left her breast.
She went back through halls and rooms to
her own bOudOir, her cheeks and lips rosy
with excitement and gentle tremor in her
limbs.l
That evening in the library the Judge
told his daughter that he had given a suite
of rooms in the farthest wing of the man
J
York.
q have had letters from Mr.. Cartwright.
my banker there, asking me TO take care of
him, ard this seemed the best ] could do,
under the circumstances. did not see my
way to bringing him any nearer to lis. We
don't care to have another member added
to the family, eh. Olympic. dear@
Mile. de Caumartin blusEed: she may
have felt touch of guilt because she could
not muster courage to tell her father that
she had already visited Mr.. Coleman.
have not seen him yet" continued the
Judge, Il thought it best To- let him have
some rest before calling upon him. Cart
wright advises me that he is of an excellent
famlly-a man to be given the greatest at
tention, and for my bankers sake, if for
nothing else, must meet the demand upon
my hospitality. lie came fortnight earlier
than / expected, but had jules watching
for him, and you know Jules never fails"
But you should have told me before,
father dear" said Mile Olympic. "only
while ago, while wandering through the dis
tant wing of the house, invaded this young
gentleman's apartment. 1t surprised him
evidently as much as 1t abaShed me-"
1.-The obvious moral of which IL" replied
the Judge quickly. that you are hereafter
to be more careful about what rooms you
are tumbling into" As he spoke his dark,
oval face, with its fine grave SMILE was al
most like a boys. The flush that lay under
the skin sh0ne through with suggestion of
some depressed stimulus, as if great pas
sion had forced 1t up. In his eyes an under
glow, so to call it, smoldered with fascina-
ting yaguenes&
Nile Olympic sat for a moment on his
knee and stroked his long, black hair.
You will stay with me, tonight, father
dear" she presently murInured cOaxingly,
"yOu will not 90 out tonight
. must be gone little WHILE" he said
rising at once, but just little WHILE"
She Chang close to bin:
Not this night, please" she urged, with
a touching tremOr' in her voice. On, YOU
remember this night a year ago you had
that dreadful adventure in the dark room.
GU must not go out; please, for my sake
do not"
An expert observer would have seen while
this was going on a strange, half-wOrried,
almost fercely concentrated expression in
the judges eyes. 1t was as if he nightly
wished to remain with his child, but could
not by any effort resist some powerful
temptation tugglng at him and drawing him
away.
He kissed her tenderly, pushed her gently
from him and went out.
The girl cast herself upon a sofa and
buried her face in her hands, as vision of
that night one year before came up before
her eyes.
Some strange masked men had brought
her father home far in the night, white as n
ghost, helpless, speechleSs. apparently dead.
They put him down there In the room and
vanished.
He had no wound, no bruise, no mark
of any violence; but he recovered very
slowly, and he never told what had befallen
him.
Mile. Olympic knew of her fathers fire.
quent duels, and If he had been brought in
dead or badly off on account of a pistol-baIl
or rapier-thrust. she would not have been
surprised beyond measure; but this myster-
af lad M
the unaccountable condition of the Judge,
were taken hold upon by her imagination
and raised to the highest power Of romantic
meaning.
A year has passed, aud she. might not
have recalled the exact anniversary but for
the prattle OF an old servant, to the. effect
that she had seen her master, the Judge.
marching at the head of a company of
masked men, himself wearing an invisible"
mask and queer black velvet cap.
Mile. O'ympe observed that her father
was flushed. as if with wine, and his bearing
was Indlratlve OF some subtle and inde-
scribabe excitement within him. When he
went away she felt that something startling
was going TO happen soon.
CHAPTER ".
When Hepworth Coleman suddenly found
himself prisoner in that close. dark room
ne did not at first suspect any treachery on
the part of Judge Favart de Caumartin.
He expected that gentleman to return in
the course Of few minutes; but this favor
able impression was soon removed by GER
tain startling events that crowded one upon
another.
First low, rumblng. changing sound,
like the beating of metallic gongs ia the dis
lance, came through the walls and filed the
cell; then, as this died away to utter silence.
he heard tumultuous whisperings all around.
above, below. The thousand voices ali
seemed to be saying the same thing, which
pre- sently he made out to be the words:
The krewe is coming; make ready for the
KreweV When the whispering ended little
purple lights began to flash here and there,
but so mysteriously twiuked that he could
not locate them, and these were followed by
phantom faces, wan, waxen, family lumin-
Gus, appearing and fading instantly, sue
ceeded by intense darkness.
Now, Hepworth Coleman was a man of
iron nerve, an athlete in body and spirit