The morning call., 1891-05-03

this was the result of duel between her
father and the young stranger, she was not
told the secret of the affair until long after
ward.
Strange TO say, although the Judge was
much the older man and was wounded much
nearer the heart, he recovered and was
walking about in his house before Coleman
had even taken a turn for the better. The
first thing he did was to order his daughter
to cease her nursing of tie young man.
ut is not proper" he said. ''for a young
girl to be the nurse of a man who IS a
stranger"
Mile. Olympic blushed scarlet and was so
much confused that she could not find a
word to say. 1t had been a great pleasure
to her to wait upon Coleman, who, though
for the greater part OF the time quite Insen-
sible OF her presence seemed to respond
better to he'll care than to the treatment of
the doctors. She had been having her
sweet dream, vas in love with him indeed,
and the command Of her father struck her
like blow.
Judge Favart de Caumartin suspected the
truth about his daughter, and was not slow
in making up his mind in the matter. He
gave strict orders that the hall between Cole
mans rooms and the rest of the mansion
should be kept at all times locked and
barred.
Love laughs at such precautions. Hep
worth Coleman during his convalescance lay
on his back and thought of nobody but Mile.
Olympic, and when at last he was able to get
up he sent for her. 1t so CHANGED that the
Judge, having got well in a measure, was
gone up to NatcheZ on business.
Mile. Olympic did not go to see the young
man; but she wrote him an note explaining
her fathers wishes.
''But be has never forbidden you to come
to see me when you are able to walk so far
as to the library" she added, very frankly,
oh CT
away"
When the Judge returned 1t was too late
to interfere, as he soon discovered, and he
had to bow to the inevitable.
The mystery of the adventure with the
masked men in that secret sale has never
been further explained. Judge CaVart de
CaumartiD would not consent to his daugh-
ter'S marriage until he had eXacted a prom
Use from Coleman that he would never di-
yulge what he knew.
The truth was that Coleman knew very
little He tried to discover the blind alley
into which the Judge had led him on that
eyentful evening, but there was no such
alley to discover. The whereabouts of the
mysterious hall cannot be pointed out to-
day, although from that memorable Tuesday
in the spring of 1920 up 10 the Mardi GraS of
1861, every anniversary Of the Mystic Krewe
has been duly celebrated by a fantastic
band that at certain hour of the night
parades the streets of New Orleans. L do
not refer to the regular carnival societies
these are but playful limitations of mystery.
The genuine Krewe, as weirdly strange aud
mysterious as ever, may be seen only on
Royal street, a small band headed by tall,
slender, dark man who wears an invisible
mask and quaint black velvet cap. Where
they come from nobody has ever been able
to discover; who they are is not known even
to the great Rex, the King of the Carnival.
Hepworth Coleman and Mile. Olympic de
Caumartin were married In due time and
lived on Royal street ali their lives. Every
year on the evening of Mardi Gras they
were called upon to give dinner to the MyS-
tic Krewe, thirteen in number, who ate in
silence with their masks on. The last of
these dinners was in 1860 That year saw
the twain, who for forty years had been
happy together, laid in their tomb side by
side.
Strangely enough there is no record what
ever of Judge Fayart de Caumartins death;
indeed, there is a tradition to the effect that
be it is who still leads the Mystic Krewe.