Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1891-07-24

I Upper Mil on the morning Of the wedding
day. And the nkey was as happy as his
master. He danced, he knelt, he saluted
LabaIthe, whom he was gong TO leave for
ever, and tie counted up to nine with his
hoof. Now. just at the moment when he
was setting our for the Upper Mill, the young
spouse felt Tie paternal hand lying heavy on
his buck
Listen, said Labarthe, in an agitated
voice
He drew the son toward the stable.
MY son, I am an honest man, as you
know. l made great sacrifices for you.
Take Hercules away. Since he is the price
of your happiness, l consent to the separa-
ton But, and he waxed profane, II viii
never permit my competitor to make use of
him. In two years | would not have a sack
of flour to grind Go at once and give your
donkey this half pound of powdered cobalt,
which l have mixed with five quarts of
bran
Cadeton grew pale
Gear nothing" Labarthe went on u
have toreseen everything The first symp-
toms of the poisoning viii not appear for
two hours. In two hours Yanette viii be
your wife, and what's done can't be undone,
Come LIE quic,iln
but, papa" -
mo 1ooiIshness now. If you don't mind
me, everything shall be stopped"
Cadeton 1elC cold sweat start on his tenn
pies. What! the good donkey, that he had
ridden SO much when he was general! the
good donkey that had carried Yanettel the
uDforgettIng friend that had brought their
love to light! "Ch, no, mop said he, keep
ing away from the trough that was filled
with the bran. But he thought of Yanette'S
large eyes, of her bright smile, OF all the
radiant promise Of this day, for which he
had SO long waited.
"Oh! my Cod!' said he, burying his face
in his hands. And he heard Hercules MUNICH
ing the contents OF the trough.
Five minutes later Cadeton trembled a
little as he presented himself at the Upper
Mill Castagnet felt Of the donkey, ex-
amined HIM all over, found that he was
sound, and put YanAte's hand into that of
Cadeton. Hanette was Respondent. She
was all il white. She made light about her
as she walked through the fields. CadetOn
trembled. Coming out from the mayors
Office, Nv hat Is the matter with you! asked
she OF him, you are pale Cadeton told
her the whole story. And in the church,
when the Sa'isnacq organ played its prettiest
tune over the SHINING races OF the newly wed,
and when the Old culate declared, in solemn
Latin words, that the blessing of heaven
would descend on Yanette and Cadeton,
they, very hunbly, with great fervor in their
souls and with sweet tears in their eyes,
prayed with all their might that the good
God would accord them long life, that He
would cause great harvests of corn to grow
III the field for them to grind, that He would
send water to turn their mill, and also that
lie would keep life in the poor, innocent and
loved donkey tIIdt was called Hercules.
Alas! When they came back, arm in arm, to
the Upper Null, Hercules gave his last sigh /;
turning his master his great despairing
eyes, those eyes so profound, SO thoughtful,
SO loving, 50 mysterious that they had some
times disturbed the eyes OF men.
a year went by, and there came the
christening of the first son of Yanette and
Cadeton. The mayors wife having accepted
the part Of GodInothcr, and the schooluas-
ter's wife having attended the ceremony, the
young mother received heaps Of flowers Just
as if she had been Il fine lady. On the next
day there might have been seen the hand
soonest OF the bouquets spread piously under
the decaying oak, which served as boundary
mark between the lands OF the two mills
1t was there that Cadeton had buried Her
cules year belore-Translated for the Bos-
ton Transcript from the French by Jean
Raneau