The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1893-08-03
ROBERT MACAIRE.
CHAPTER w.
THE oENpARMFs

tage that night. The whole party. ex-
cept Mime. Beaumont. were each trying
to outwake the other. Robert wanted
an opportunity to dig up the hidden
money. so also Beaumont. and each with
an entirely different motive. while poor
Marie. with increasing dread. wanted to
be rid Of the money at any cost. for she
feared that Robert might at any mo-
ment find It in her pocket, from which
she had not dared to remove it lest he
should discover her in the act. Added
to all this pain was the anguish Of COM
ing motherhood and the fear that the
very strain which she was now undergo
ing might imperil the life of her unborn
child.
Seeing that she was not sleeping. Rob.
ert in his impatience flung himself moi
silly about. and by the sound he thus
made in his impatient anger deferred the
old man from venturing forthto seek the
safety Of his money.
When the little household assembled
for breakfast. Mime. Beaumont could not
understand why the two men were so
cross and tired or why Marie. with
flushed cheeks and eyes dim with wake
fulness. was yet of such exceeding gayety.
The poor girl was trying. as many poor
woman has done before her time. TO con
ceal the anguish of her heart under u
mask Of cheerfulness. At such time the
eyes OF men and women are often hap
PLY blind. and the POOR hunted soul had
little rest under the shelter Of their IL.
uorance. Only the eyes Of God and his
angels never fail to look through the
mask and see the fluttering soul beneath.
All that day the same state of things
continued. Not one of those interested
would relax from their endeayor. To
ward the evening the farmer. getting
desperate. took his spade and casually
announced his intention of doing little
work in the field stretching up the hill.
side. This was beyond the copse whcre
the money had been hidden. SO Robert
jumping to- his feet with alacrity. pro
posed In u hearty tone TO aid him in the
work.
Again poor Nine. Beaumont was mys-
titled at the sudden wrath displayed by
her husband as he told his son-in-law
that he wanted no assistance. She mild.
ly lnterfered and said:
..But. my dear. would it not 10 web
to let Robert assist you in the work?
You have had hard week of ii. and you
are not SO young as you were"
To which he made reply: "a bard
week of it. and hard year Of It too
Robert ID not too ready to aid in tx
work. and am not younger than eva
was. Robert can stay where he is or 10
to the wine shop as usual. That seenls
to be more his home now than my house
is"
But IL the old man thought to down
face Robert Mscaire when his mind was
bent on thing he was much mistaken
Que Of the lessons which man learns q,
tie galleys is to be callous. and especial
ly when he has q purpose to serve. s.
Robert. in tho most genial way. tried t.
turn the whole matter into Joke ant
said:
well, daddy. IL you viii not let III,
help you. suppose you must let ms
look on, and Marie will come with mr.
and sit by u.s. He said this. knowing
that II Marie were present he would no,
NttCiApt " dAStuAO TIT uiOutN WHICH
would thus remain in peace until hi
own turn came to deal with 1t. By thi
time he knew perfectly well that tn,
old man intended to change the hiding
place.
So poor Marie had to so with the tive
men. for neither ventured to forbid her
lest their own motive should be sus
pected. and to pass by the very spo
where the grief Of the discovery ha,
come to her.
As iuight be expected, the time wa,
unpleasant for them all. Beaumont WA
sullen and would only answer in mono
syllables when spoken 10. Marie wa
miserable beyond expression, and it was
only by a continuous effort that she kept
from bursting into tears. for now one
more pain was added to her load Rob
ert. as If to revenge what he considered
her unconscious thwarting of his pur
pose. treated her in manner which h.
knew would give her pain. He would
make unkind remarks and ask unpleas
ant questions. and when she would try
to hide her pain with smile he would
catch hold of her roughly and with a
boisterous yehemence of speech. Indeed
he actually once or twice caused her
much pain. a thing that one like her
should not have had to bear and more
especially at such hands.
The sun was setting when the two men
as If by tacit consent. gave up their
purpose for the time. and they all weni
back to the house silently and with sui
len looks on their faces, while poor
Marie. with the prospect of such another
night Of agony before her. would have
gladly sunk on the earth to have risen no
more.
All that might she lay awake and heard
the clock mark off the weary hours that
crept by at such a snail's pace. Again
Robert wan exasperated by her wakeful-
ness. and hy his noisy movements kept
old Beaumont from his plan of changing
the hiding place Of his money.
In the morning she was almost in a
fever, for she felt that her strength was
failing. and she feared that she would
not be able to hold out long enough to
save the exposure which she dreaded.
She knew that If something strange did
4s0t hePke7a ooutc III tiOuDtc
come upon them all before nightfaE.
and that such might come to them at any
moment whether anything unexpected
happened or not.
A strange thing did happen. but it did
not bring any relief TO the poor womans
stricken heart.
Scarcely was breakfast over when one
Of the neighbors ran in quite breathless
and called out:
'.Qnicki Go down to the shop. There
issuch- news. Nothing like it has ever
been known I'M
ssWhat is it?" cried out Beaumont.
while Robert Macaire said not word.
hat sat still with white face. Marie's
heart seemed TO cease beating Every.
thing seemed to upset her now.
pierre Lamar did not go for a soldier
after all Tho gendarmes were coming