The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-05-06

clouds from the horizon. The heat was
intense, and that strange hush rested
over nature which Is q certain precura
sor Of a tempest: s.:
A few large drops fell-then q flash of
lightning a crash of thunder, and tho
storm burst, a true Norman downpour.
The largest trees afforded no shelter.
and not n house vas in sight. To our
right was a woody d%eclivity, to our left
an ocean of green.
Alice walked blithely along, laughing
In the face Of the storm. Lame &C.
cepted her drenching with silent
patience. The squall, however, grew
more and more violent, and such tor
of water beat against us that I
felt really uneasy.
Suddenly, at q turning in The road. 7
saw smoke rising above the trees. We
hurried u steps, and soon reached a
hedge beyond which were some old
apple-trees shedding the rain from their
leaves on the roof of a house. LET us
go In. They cannot refuse us hospi-
tality," said Lame.
L cannot describe the aspect of the
court through which we passed. All I
can remember are the old apple-trees
shedding their warm tears, the fresh
green OF the grass in which were many
small pools of water where q number of
ducks dabbled and swan and quacked,
at the height of duck felicity. A broad
path covered with pebbles led directly
10 the mousse, which was large and
built Of bricks. The ground floor raised
three or four steps above the yard, the
long, dlamond-paned windows, the
steep tiled roof and tall chimney.
| nrnVnd ifC 00rcfrurn{{on n41L1 -
reign OF Henri ~. The door being
only half closed, 1 pushed it open and
we entered the large square hall.
There was no one there except O large
black spaniel, who bounded from his
rug to greet us with most inhospitable
banks.
But scarcely had he approached nv
companions before he hushed his bark
Ing, fawning upon them and waving
his long tail In a friendly fashion. ut
Is Monsieur Barbejean's dog!' said
Lame.
Can this be his house?' asked Alice.
Il hardly think So" returned her
sister, "for everything here speaks of
excellent housekeeping, and we know
Monsieur Barbejean is a bachelor"
And In truth the hall was beautifully
clean. Not a grain of dust furnished
the carefully waxed floor nor the old
oak furniture, which. shone as if that
day polished; not a spot defled the
yellow walls, or the white curtains, or
the bright panes, while the copper
~casseroles which hung upon the walls
and the brass bars and bolts sparklad
as in the most immaculate Flemish
kitchen.
While the Mesdemoiselle Theyenot
caressed the dog I went to the doc: to
announce u presence. From q dis
tant room a bizarre figure of a woman
came toward lie. I simply told her we
had sought shelter from the storm, and
desired to remain till it was over
Il will go and tell Mademoiselle."
The servant soon returned. saying,
"Mademoiselle it. coming"
The person thus announced looked to
be, at first sight, a young peasant, in
her short skirt, wooden shoes and white
cap. But OF closer observation we per-
ceived the cap to be of finest linen, the
sabots contained tiny feet. Add to this
fine eyes, a coquettish %retrousee nose,
teeth as brilliant in whiteness as those
Of a young dog, freshly tinted and deli
cate skin, and an expression Of gay
gOod-humor as pleasant to the sight as
flowers in May. So must Arlette, the
pretty washerwoman of Falaise, have
looked when she charmed away the
CTO be COntinued.)