Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-12-24

A pen uds put in his hand. and he affixed
his signature to each document.
"You mustn't expect from me any at
tempt to return you an equivalent for
your hospitality" remarked Sallie, as
she gracefully began the brewing of the
tea. u haven't the material nor the
ingenuity. There is not so much as an
assassin on the premises, not to speak of
magic mirrors and oriental enchanters,
and beautiful specters. By the way, that
was wonderfully clever trick. How
was it done:'
You must ask Garcia" replied the
count, quietly, as one who had made up
his mind to endure up to certain point,
and then no more.
do you think Garcia would tell me
any secret Of yours said Sallie She
gave the question flavor of arch sur
prise that sent the count on IA swift jour
ney Of expectation. After all, why had
Garcia left him? He began to surmise a
possible reason, but he said only, "Ihave
always found him useful man. Of
course know he has his weaknesses
"Yes; SO have we ALL" she replied.
"Even the Count de Lisle has weakness
es And yet, it seems to me, were | in
your place would have none. No man
ever had greater opportunity than you.
If you stood for yourself alone, what
could YOU not do: No one could attack
you. You could buy friends. police,
juries, judges and legislatures. You
could make laws and elect rulers. You
could yourself be the real ruler of this
country and hold the balance of power
in the world. With genius and purpose
and such wealth as yours all that would
not be impossible. But, then, you must
make sacrifices You must be solitary
If you give your confidence TO friend
or your heart to woman you are vul-
nerahle and can be overthrown. When
first learned who and what YOU Were
feared you. Here is man, said to
myself, who, from having a rope around
his neck, has risen to power lncaicu-
liable. The world has done its worst to
him; he will have his revenge upon the
world. The iron has entered into his
soul, and now his soul will be like iron.
He must be obeyed, for he can enforce
obedience. But when | heard" contin-
ued Sallie, suddenly changing from this
serious vein to a light and bantering
tone, ''that the Count de Lisle was in
love and about to be married | did not
fear him so much. To have attempted
to overthrow you by questioning the
means that had obtained you your wealth
would have been a desperate enterprise
Even robbers and nlurderers, if they be
srong and resolute enough, need fear
iothing. But to have given your heart
10 a girl-that was another matter. You
could be reached through her"
"And you5 Are you impregnable9'
asked he.
"Only in SO far that if I saw my way
to accomplish what supremely desire /
would let nothing deter me. | was an
innocent little girl once, but even then |
had strong desires, and without any op-
portunity to carry them out. made
some serious mistakes, and suffered from
them, but l had had my way, and l
found that most failures in this world
are due to not having been unscrupulous
enough. 1t needs courage to begin, but
when you discover what it is to be with
out scruples you wonder why anybody
Is controlled by them. They are the
great shareholders of the human race.
willing to put in your hands any evil
dence against myself that you might re-
quire for my destruction rather than
forego the purpose l have in view"
"What is your purpose?"
"The poets say that love is lord of all,
you know. / have had my doubts of
that, and / want you to settle them.
You think you love Olympia Raven
How much would You be willing to sac
rifice to save her life!"
"That is hypothetical question.
could answer it only after l was made
certain that her life WAS in danger"
"Whether she lives or dies depends
upon the result of this interview. She
Is in my power-as the people in melo-
drama say. What becomes of her de-
pends on my WILL"
The count, who had been sitting with
his elbows on his knees and his eyes low
cred, looked up, and his glance and Sal
lies met. What she saw in his mind
sent quick flush to her face For mo-
nent she held her breath. No soldier in
battle was ever nearer death than Sallie
then. But she had resolute heart. and
when she drew her breath again it was
with smile.
'Do you always carry a revolver" she
said. 1--WE are alone in the house, ex-
cept my maid. | could have protected
myself, but | am sufficiently protecte =
by circumstances. 1t has been arranged
that if anything happens to me Olympia
will not long survive me-"
"Have we not had enough of this:"
asked he. "Do you really expect me to
accept your statements as facts!'
II might leave you to suffer the conse-
quence of not accepting them. But !
wish to spare you the pain Of uncertainty
If can. Let me see. What can ] do?
Would you like to see something of hers?
Did you not give her an engagement
ring? And did she not wear it on the
evening when you last saw her!'
He shrugged his shoulders. 81 have
given her many things-no doubt ring,
among others She might have lost it,
and it might have been picked up;
can't say"
''At any rate. I will restore it to you,H
said Sallie. at is not mine. and since
she no longer wears it you should have
the charge of it"
So saying, she drew the box toward
her. opened it and took ont a ring. 1t
was black diamond in an antique set
ting. 1t was one of the jewels that had
been contained in Napoleon's treasure
casket, and the count had given it to
Olympia as the pledge of their betrothal.
Such another ring did not exist in the
world. He knew that Olympia would
never willingly let it leave her finger.
The proof that the worst was true was
complete. He slipped the ring on his
own finger. and said, "Wellg'
"Well, then, return to my question:
said Saliie, leaning back and stirring her
tea. "What would you be willing to
sacrifice to save her life?"
al see no reason why should discuss
the question with you," said the count
81 prefer to deal with those who have
the immediate charge of her. under.
stand your plot. and that am to blame
for the success of it. ] allowed Gnrcia
toobtain hypnotic control over her. you
won the poor creature toyour service, by