The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-06-24

naming erect, due
... o. with her hand point
ing, as the landau suddenly came to q
stop.
Then there came thnss or four more
flashes in swift succession.
There, there, now look!' she crled
again. But not is gcne-lt has van
ished as quickly as it csme" she added,
sinking back into her seat, with a
full"
Boncourt had remarked nothing in
the flashes, except that size was very pale,
and was pressing her haIS to her heart.
Hurry on Francois! Brulez le chemin,
or we're in for ducking!" he cried; and,
rs the coachman again gave the horses
their heads, he turned, With laugh, to
his sister, saying, Il gave Ecu credit for
better nerve, Adele. Of corrse, it was
bat an hallucination.
mo. no! Speak not of it Sc, Alphonse.
Mon Dier! that face in the hash-it glared
ont from the luridness upon me, like q
demons from a nightmare There was
another face beside it, too-a fsee that l
recognized"
Describe them"
NO, no; not now; we will be soon
home; wait till We get there. CieS! what
wind!"
Fortunately, jasmine Lodge wss now
close at hand. though but little rain was
to accompany the tempest. But by the
time the shelter of the piazza was
reached tremen !ous gale was rushing
In from the sea, and the lashing of the
surf on the beach below the garden could
!, be distinguished above the screaming OF
the wind amid the trees.
See that everything's under cover,
Francois" called out Boncourt in French.
as both Adele and he were in the habit OF
addressing the servants: ana then, as
they were passing through the hallway,
!, he asked his valet, Maurice, who had ad-
mitted them, if every one was within
) doors.
All but 10 petit-grand Dip" was the
yalet's reply. grinningly applying deslg-
over the seas had already earned for him
self in below-stairs circles.
What! out in this storm?" said the
master, giving Francois his hat and cane.
where the deuce can the boy be?"
Francois had not the least idea, but
was hazarding a facetious suggestion
that le petit grand Dip might have been
blown away, or drowned in rain-drop,
when Madame Ronceville, who had gone
on upstairs, called to her brother that he
could follow her into her boudoir.
When he entered it, minute or two
later, she had already partly undressed.
with the assistance of her maid and was
reclining in fauteuil, with the signs Of
her recent disturbance still in her face
and manner.
You can return to me presently,
Eanine," said she, dismissing the maid
With gesture; and then Boncourt seated
himself before her, with an air Of mock
: curiosity.
g@Now for your disclosure, ma petite"
said he, smiling. The face in the fash2
Come, what was it like?"
sg Like on's-like female Hends!"
said Adele, with a slight shudder. But
if you don't become serious right of,
Alphonse, I shall say nothing more"
Boncourt at once became grayely atten-
tive.
q -Oh, Alphonse, it was drea dful-ap-
palling!" she went on, hurriedly. And
gether, as told You. The fash of light
the trees and rocks at the roadside-at
arst in listening attitude, as though but
that moment attracted by some distant
=
almost at the same instant, they both
lifted their faces, and their eyes encoun-
tered mine.
.Fleeting as was the fash, the Inca
znents of both were distinctly, steadily
revealed to me. One recognized; the
sther-oh, Alphonse, it was terrible!
Though sheeted by the lightning's glare,
Hseemed illuminated also by an. interior
1uridness Of its own-by sort of leap
ing inner balefnlness. that embodied
svery evil passion. and seemed to fairly
scoreh me with its menacing hate and
Vindictiveness!"
u &. But what was it like"
s""oested something in my memory
Some: ling In ,r~ ~. 49,. -anu .-e
sxat I, could not. NOT eah now, identify
II in my recullections. Imagine q ssace,
cld. ttEred, *rinkled and f.sssured, but
not With Tins; i&agiEo it lighted up and
Gistorted with every iawless hate and pas
and then ip-Sgine all this concentrated
npon me ia one threatening, blazing
glance, that still seems to scar me to the
soul! All, shall never never forget it."
Boncourt moved little uneasily in
his chair, as her words recalled a face
and look, somewhat similar to those de-
scribed, which he had himself encoun-
tered not long before; but, for certain
reasons Of his own, he decided not to
mention the circum stances to his sister.
But you were furnished clue to it's
identity" said he. Whose was the other
face that you recognized?"
1T was that of Miss Winford, the old
bankers housekeeper."
Tile deuce! Are you sure?"
Positively Her face is likewise dis
figured, as you know, and not likely to be
mistaken for another even in a lightning
fash. But, pitted and ugly as it is, it
seemed angelic in contrast with the ter
rible countenance that glared upon me.
Think no more of all this, Adele, or
great it as fanciful apparition
But what could have brought the staid,
eoody-goody Miss Winford into such m
. assoSi ationt Some discreet questions put
70 her might clear up the mystery.
Leave them unasked-no good can
come of it! Myctery be hangedl Only
face in 1ash-perbaps some wandering
maniacs wild face raised to yours by the
nerest ohance-and the rest, the signii-
cance of it, and oil that, supplied by your
) excited imagination! 1t is yet early, but
20 to sleep at once, na belle, and forget
all about it!"
She murmured an acquiesence, and
touched bell-rope for the recall of her
maid, as she received the goodnight kiss
that her brother seldom forgot to bestow.
As the latter was thoughtfully rede-
xcending the stairs, the lad Dip entered
by the front door, dripping with rain and
somewhat disheveled by the wind, but
otherwise with no abatement OF his coml-