The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-08-08


"Good evening, was All ne saIa to ner.
= She glanced sideways shyly at him, but
did not anwser, and the young man walk
ed on beside her.
You come this way every night" he
said. II have been watching you Are
you offended"
No." she said almost in whisper.
"Then may / walk with you to your
homer" he asked.
You may walk with me as far as the
corner of the Rue de Lille she replied.
THANK you, - said the young fellow,
and together they walked the short dis
tance, and there he babe her good night
after asking permission to meet her at the
corner of the Rue St Honore, and walked
home with her the next night.
You must not come to the shop, (" she
said
II understand, - he replied, nodding his
head in assent to her wishes. He told her
his name was Jean Duret and by the bye
she called him Jean, and he called her
Lurine. He never haunted the pharlnacie
now, but waited for her at the corner and
one Sunday he took her for a little excur-
sion on the river, which she enjoyed ex-
ceedingly. Thus time went on, and Luz
rine was very happy. The statue smiled
its enigmatical smile, though, when the
sky was overcast, there seemed to her
subtle warning in the smile.
Perhaps it was because they had quar-
relied the night before. Jean had seemed
to her harsh and unforgiving. He had
asked her if she could not bring him some
things from the pharnacie and gave her
a list of three chemicals, the names of
which he had written on a paper.
\ You can easily get them, he had said.
They are in every pharmacie and will
never be missed
But" said the girl in horror, "that
would be stealing"
The young man laughed.
How much do they pay you >therep"
he asked And when she told him he
Laughed again and said:
why, bless you, if 7 got SO little as
shat | would take something from the
shelves every day and sell it,
4 The girl looked at him in amazement,
and he, angry at her, turned upon his heel
and left her. She leaned her arms upon
the parapet of the bridge and looked down
into the dark water. The river always
fascinated her at night, and she often
paused to look at it when crossing the
fridge, shuddering as she did so.
She cried a little as she Thought of his
abrupt departure and wondered if she had
been too harsh with him. After all, it
was not very much he had asked her to do,
and they did pay her SO little at the phar-
macis And then perhaps her lover was
poor and needed the articles he had asked
her to gsS Perhaps he was ill and had
said nothing There was touch on her
shoulder. She looked around. Jean Was
beside her, but the frown had not yet dis
appeared from his brow
Give me that paper, y hesaid abruptly.
She Enclosed her hand and he picked
the paper from it and was turning away.
"Stopp' she said. II will get you what
you want, but will myself put the mon
ey in the till for what they cost. .
He stood there looking at her for a mo-
ment and then said:
sLurine, think you are little fool
They owe you ever SO much more than
that. However, I must have the things"
and he gave her back the paper with the
caution:
Be sure you let no one see that and be
very certain that you get the right
things" He walked with her as far as
the corner of the Rue de Lille "You are
not angry with me?' he asked her before
they parted.
Il would do anything for you,'' she
whispered, and then he kissed her good
night.
She got the chemicals when the pro-
prietor was out and tied them up neatly,
as was her habit, afterward concealing
them in the little basket in which she car
ried her lunch. The proprietor was a sharp
eyed old lynx, who looked we'll after his
shop and his pretty little assistant
WHO has been getting SO much chlorats
OF potash?" he asked, taking down the jar
and looking sharply at her.
The girl trembled.
1t is all right she said "Here is the
money in the till''
'sOf course he said. 81 did not expect
you to give it away for nothing. Who
bought it?'
AN old man." replied the girl, trem-
bling still, but the proprietor did not no.
tlce that-he was counting the money and
found it right
II was wondering what he wanted with
so much of it. If he comes again, look
sharply at him and be able to describe him
to me. 1t seems suspicious" Why it
seemed suspicious Lurine did not know,
but she passed an anxious time until she
took her basket in her hand and went to
meet her lover at the corner of the Rue DIES
Pyramides. His first question was:
Have you brought me the things?"
Yes, she answered. "Will you take