Mexico weekly ledger., 1891-09-10

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REssHssecbTDKlssf
had undertaken a duty-as important a
one as bad ever been intrusted to q sol
dier-and he was about to fail In it The
emperor, newer hearing from him, would
suppose that he had been mfaithful and
had yieAted to q hnse temptation. It va
moro than probable that the whole fut-
uDof France might be compromised by
his fixture. He wrfthed In helpless ago
ny at the reflection. And every hour
every mtnute-he grew worse and knew
| that fate would be too much for him.
Dupont meanwhile faithfully tended
him; the hnk. red haired adTenturer dis
played al the tact and cleverness of .
woman. he always spoke cheerfully to
the sick man, and his genius for telling
amusing stories seemed to grow with the
demands upon 1t. Nevertheless, Dupont
knew that the chances of bis friends re-
oo1ery were tnfmttesfmal, and he per-
cived that he had something on his
mind. Dupont had previously made up
his mind that he would find out what
Solangss mystery was, and he awaited
Developments
One evening. after a long silence, So
lange spoke:
"How far are we from Panama, Fran
cois?' !.
"St1l two days at least, If the wind is
fair, mon brave"
'Sacre!-I shall never last 1t out"
sEever lose heartl You viii be all
right In a day or two,"
81 shall be at the bottom Of the ocean.
All, ! know It! I have tried my best,
but it is no use. The emperor will curse
mo for a scoundrelr
''The EMPEROR repeated Dupont, look
ing up.
"Dtd I say the emperor! Bah! my
mind wanders."
Listen to me, Maurice" said Dupont,
bending over. "Your mind is not wan,
dering, but there Is a weight upon it. ]
have seen 1t all along, it has retarded
your recovery. Come! am your friend,
am I not? If l were as you are / would
confde IN you. Idon't know what wor
ries you; but, If I did, I might be able te
help you. And if I can you don't doubt
that l will-e2 Come, free your soul
my lad, and your body will be all the
better for it"
IF I were sure that Unjust die"-mut
tered Solange, hesitating.
HYou are a sick nan but I have tolG
you the only chance for recovery" sale
Dupont, Struggling his shoulders "Ons
believes In Providence, I suppose? Well
Is it not Providence that has sent YOU
best friend to your side at such a mo
meut?"
The dying man fixed his eyes upon tn
speaker. Francois" he said, ''if I tel
you this secret will you swear to b
faithful to the trust2 VIII you carry i
out as If you were myself? This is n,
childis play, be sure Of that! You are
good fellow-you are my friend; but i
you were my brother O. my father
would not be too much"
make yourself easy on that score
mon cher" returned the adventurer, lay
ing his hand on the others shoulder. 60
don't want to drag out of you anythin!
You prefer to keep to yourself, and it j
only in your own interest that l speak
But al to trusting me-what shall I say
I have lived as / CAM don't deny il
but after all, I am an honest man, and
would as soon think Of betraying you a
of scuttfing this ship and swimming
ashore. Voilal"
eff you keep your word, Francois, yo'
viii be fortunate the rest Of your life,
said Solange; '@but," he added, hal
raising himself on one elbow, ''if 20
do betray me, may you die as I am dy
ing, and with no n to love you; an
until you die my ghost shall haunt 20
day and night and make your life a no,
ror!'
"Bah! bah! there is no need of this,
said Dupont, with a laugh. II hav
said that you may trust me, and I ca
say no more Now, do al best please
yon."
Bend over here" faltered the othe
huskfy, "and let me whisper in You
ear"
Solange died Just after midnight. DIT
pont, after securing all the papers tina
he could find in the stateroom, prepare
the body for burial, and with the assist
ance of the captain heaved it overheard
"May your sleep be peaceful, old CON
rade," he muttered, as he leaned owe
the bulwarks and marked the phosphe
resent glimmer a. the corpse sank int
the depths of the "a. "Truly you ha
a heavy load to carry on this earth. Yo
were not equal to it; and Providence
who favors the strong, transferred it t
me. Well, I shall know what to d
with it, ghost or no ghost! Farewell.
The Santa Lucia reached her port tw
days later. A tall, red haired man, VIII
announced himself to the authorities
n Solange, a peddler Of wax fruit.
came ashore, and with a carpet ba
and a small box Immediately left fe
AspinwaIl.
fro BE Continued