, 1891-11-07

away. Only downright insanity could
account for her doing such a thing. and
even assuming that she had done it,
some one must be aware of the fact, and
the reward that had been offered would
long since have led to her bringing back.
He was obliged, consequently, to ac-
quit Sallie of having had any hand in
the disappearance, and where else to
look he knew not. But on Saturday, the
ninth day after the calamity, he received
a letter from Sallie herself, which he
read with a mixture of hope and fear
that almost broke his heart.
Dear sir" it ran, 81 have, of course,
heard Of your loss, and l can say, with
out fear of your misunderstanding me,
that it interested me. Let me also re-
mark at the outset that the rewards you
offer would not be acceptable to me,
even were l to become entitled to them.
But, as you may easily imagine, my
mind, since our last meeting, has not
been entirely at ease: and if l were able
to forward FOUR efforts in this affair I
should feel justified in hoping hat any
hostile designs youmay have against me
would undergo some modification. 1t is
for this reason that / address you. do
not wish to exaggerate the value of the
information l possess-it may lead. to
nothing. But, at any rate, l believe /
have come into possession of something
that may turn out a clew; and If you
will call at my house alone at noon to-
morrow / will tell you what it is. must
s%tipulate, however, that you show this
letter to no one, nor intimate that you
havereceived it, for l will not run the
risk of being forestalled or interfered
with in the matter. You can, of course,
disregard this letter if you choose, or you
can attempt to draw my secret from me
by force; but IL you know me well you
will do neither of these things, but &C
cept my invitation under the conditions
that l have imposed"
There might, no doubt, be personal
danger to the count in going to this rem
devious. Sallie Matchin and he were
on terms of deadly enmity, and moth
ing would suit her better than to
have him out of the way. Going alone
to her house he might easily fall into a
fatal ambush; for, perilous though it
would be to commit violence upon a
man of his social prominence, Sallie was
a desperate woman and was capable of
anything.
If he hesitated, however, it was by no
means on account Of any considerations
as to his own safety. If he had known
that he were going TO certain death he
would still have been prompt to the
hour, provided only that he was assured
that Olympia had beer placed in safety.
But this was very far from certain. The
f4,14.rf .Asa.hN hA ,arA1 "a 1asA - I-..,
him to destruction; and his destruction,
so far from benefiting Olympia, might
remove the only chance remaining to
her to escape. And since no one was to
know on what errand he had gone, the
chances were against his fate being dis
covered.
Nevertheless, after weighing all CON
siderations, he resolved to go. 1t was a
chance, and the only one that had of
fered itself. Were he to neglect it he
might repent it forever. The only pre-
caution he took was to place a revolver
in his pocket, and at twelve o'clock the
next day he rang the bell at Sallie
Matchin's door.
Sallie, of course, was far too clever to
think of attempting to influence her Wis
itor by accentuating the seductiveness
of her beauty. She had already expert
enced the i'll success of such an effort,
and even had it been otherwise a man
in an agony about one woman is not in
humor to be attracted by another, apart
from the question of previous enmity.
But Sallie enjoyed her beauty on her
own account, and took pleasurein adorn-
ing it. So the tiger seems to feel a pride
in her glossy stripes and the coral snake
in its gaudy scales. This woman had
never felt so sweet n satisfaction with
herself and her prospect as when she
babe her visitor welcome that day; and
she looked as she felt. At the first
glance there seemed to emanate from
her the pure bloom and freshness
of May itself; but as one looked
more closely he became conscious of
something behind this innocent and
balmy aspect which vas as poisonous
and cruel as sin. The rich, glowing
color, the queenly grace, the dark, daunt-
less eyes, the smiling, curving lips, the
sparkle of a jewel here and there, and a
certain oriental lu~xuriousness of cos
tune and. demeanor, all contributed to
render her a splendid, ~pestilential Great
ultt buCh M luS jill VI lItulhtNal Italy
might have been, or Cleopatra. There
she stood, like a queen in her kingdom;
and she greeted the count with n smile
of pleasure 80 bright and spontaneous
that. had he been in a mood to speculate
about 1t, he might have imagined sne
wa glad to see him for his own sake.
II am heartily glad to see YOU, Count
de Lisle," she said. II thought it aver
chances that you did not come. You
evidently have courage. Shall l clap
my hands and let the assassins spring
forth upon your" She actually did clap
her hands as she spoke, and at the signal
the curtains in a doorway at the upper
part of the room parted, and in came
not a band of assassins, but-a pretty
French matchmaking, with the Rus
sian Samovar on a tray. Sallie watched
her guest under her eyelashes, but he
did not even turn his mead to see who
entered. He was turned to sterner is
sues than this, and Sallie smiled again.
Il am here on business" he said, seat
ing himself in the chair she indicated,
land l must request you to conduct this
interview on a business basis. You say
you have something to sell that l want
to buy. If you prove that you have it
Won ram mama yOrr nrica ~