Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-07-13

would thus remain in peace until his
own turn came TO deal with it. BY this
time he knew perfectly well that the
old man intended to change the hiding |
place.
So poor Marie had TO go with the two |
men, for neither venturcd to forbid her, |
lest their own motive should be sus.
pected, and 10 pass by the very spot
where the grief of the discovery had
come to her.
AS might be expected, the time was
unpleasant for them all. Beaumont was
sullen and would only answer in mono.
syllables when spoken to. Marie was
miserable beyond expression, and it was
only by o continuous effort tAat 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 he
knew would give her pain. He would
make unkiad remarks and ask unpleas-
ant questions, and when she would try
to hide her pain with a smile he would
catch hold of her roughly and with
boisterous vehemence of speech. Indeed
he actually once or twice caused her
much pain, thing that one like hei
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 went
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 night she lay awake and heard
the clock mark off the weary hours that
crept by at such snaifs pace. Again
Robert was eXasperated by her walteful
ness, and by 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
not happen some dreadful trouble might
come upon them all before nightfall,
and that such might come to thema any
moment whether anything unexpected
happened or not.
a strange thing did happen, but it did
not bring any relief to the poor woman's
stricken heart.
Scarcely was breakfast over when one
of the ncighbors ran in quite breathless
and called ont:
"Quick! Go down to the shop. There
is such news Nothing Ike it has ever
been known in''--
What is IT." cried ont Beaumont
while Robert Macaire said not Il word,
but 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. The gendarmes We're coming
over the mountain path, and they saw
something queer lying in the ravine I'M
der the precipice. SO they went down
the side of the mountain farther on and
went back no the ravine until they found
it. There was the skeleton Of poor Pierre.
They knew il by his passport, which was
viscd to go over the frontier. The mule
was there, too, or rather its skeleton,
for the crows had been down, and by
/ him was the wreck of wine barrel.
/ They say it may have been "A murder"
"A murder" cried all the party ex-
cept one. Marie's overweight nature
had given way at last, and she had
tainted.
The last thing which she remembered
was the sudden recollection of the hur-
ried beating of her husbands heart that
night, and then red cloud passed before
| her eyes, and she remembered no more.
Oblivion is at times the most merciful
of the things that be and yet are not.
/ The waters of Lethe are the only medi-
cine at times for mind diseased.
Leaving Marie to her mothers care,
! the men fastened to the shop whittier
the genQarmes had conveyed the CHASTITY
remains from the foot Of the precipice.
In his excitement Beaumont quite forgot
his anxiety about the buried money. AS
| for Robert, he was afraid to be very far
away from the scene of the excitement.
He was in truth drawn to the murdered
/ DotAN Win strange ~ lIttliOl, WHICH Is
"A part of the murderers doom. For the
present he had to give up all idea of bet
tering his resources at the expense and
without the knowledge of his Katherine
law.
The sergeant of the gendarmcs was
very grave us he held a rough court OF
inquiry over the bones Of tho murdered
man. In common with French police
officials he took the worst possible view
Of the circumstances and was ready tc
down face any one who might venture
to suggest that the death might have been
accidental. In this he was supported in
public opinion by the wild grief of Nine
Lamar, who had come rushing into the
midst Of the little throng at the first It'd
ings Of the discovery brought to her. She
was naturally in pitable condition,
All the winter she had been hoping
against hope that her son had really gone
a-soldiering, and that she would some
time get word of him. Now, al the enc