The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-08-04

lowed. merely declaring thai IN ChlN
vale of tears there is no more happy
lot than that of such an unhappy lover
as | was. Clarissc hadthe most ad0r-
able way OF annihilatiTg NE with Il
look from her blue eyes-eycs that
We're intended for quite another pur-
pose than annihilating-whenever She
saw that | was going to fall on my
knees before her. and ! must confess
she saw it AT least ten times during
every visit | made her. still in despite
of her express prohibition. And when
! so far forgot myself as to tell her,
If the intent we're As good as the Iced.
the late lamented ought to have a
heavy grudge against his best friend.
seeing that | had loved his wife madly
from the very first.
Not another word" she would say,
severely: you blasphcme against
friendship. Poor Charles"
| And her white. %dimplcd hand would
! pitilessly stop my mouth. 50 that. if |
had followed my inclination, | would
night ike the worst traitor to friend
ship in the world.
The day she left off Grape, | protited
by the occasion-naturally enough, it
seems to mc-to propose myself i'll set
terms as 4 candidate to succeed poor
Charles. That evening-it was a June
evening. and the acaciaS made the
most of the power which certain vege-
tables possess of Intoxicating one
| with fhair p.rf,,r,n-tha nranynr har
hand did moi stop my mouth at all, it
reached for the bell. ClarisSe did not
threaten. this time: she acted saw
that ! was on the point of being put
out by her servants-who consisted of
an old woman who had been her
nurse and whom | could have bowled
over with a breath. However. it was
no time for airy persitiage. Without
waiting for Nancy to seize me by the
collar. | took my hat and fled.
When day broke. | had not closed
my eyes: not that the situation seemed
desperate, for | had learned to read
Clarisse's eyes. But. all night long. |
had repeated over and over again to
myself:
Heaven grant that the little hotel
in the Avenue EriedIand is still for
sale. We would be SO comfortable
there"
In spite of this. | was no further ad-
vanced when September came. the last
month of my lease. | was no longer
shown the door when | suggested my
candidacy. but Clarisse assumed a
bored air and calmly talked of some
thing else. Between ourselves, would
rather She rang the bell. for | OWNED
that she was thinking:
My dear friend. you do not dis
please me; quite the contrary. But
you must confess that. in the solitude
of Chantilly lave scarcely had oppOr-
tunity to enjoy my widowhood. Let
me see if it is really worthy of its rep
utation. IN a year or two we can talk
of your affair"
In a wear or two. Pretty and charm
ing as she was. Clarisse would have a
score of adorers around her, and ador-
ers around the woman one wants to
marry are like flies in milk-they may
do no great harm. but they certainly
do not improve the milk.
Early in September Nine. de None
leg informed me one day that she was
going to Paris on the morrow to have
a look at her apartment.
Il sincerely hope" she added. in a
severe tone, that you do not think of
accompanying me-"
How a you suggest such a thing??'
said l, with apparent submission.
You leave at"
AT eight in the evening. as | do not
wish to be seen. | shall send Nancy in
the afternoon to prepare my room. All,
poor Paris"
She no longer said Poor Charlesr' l
admit that this Poor Paris" made me
much more uneasy.
The next evening, at eight o'clock,
the doors of the express train, which
stops hardly a minute, We're already
close. Clarisse had not appeared. She
reached the station just as the bell
rang.
Quick, hurry up, madame cried
the railroad official.
Hurry" | repeated, opening a COM
partment at random and helping
her in.
But. instead of getting in, she fell
back, almost fainting, in my arms.
Here is what she had seen, and what /,
too. had seen over her shoulder: The
seats of the compartment were unOccu-
pied, and three men. perched like
monkeys on the backs of the seats,
held to their shoulders three guns,
whereof the barrels shone in the lamp
light like One of them, as
we opened the door. had shouted in a
terrible voice: Don't come in. for
| had closed the door SO quickly that
we had not heard the end of the sen
tence. Then ClariSse and / bundled
ourselves into the next compartment
without quite knowing what we were
doing. The train was already under
way. We were alone. Nine. de Moncley
seemed half dead with fear, and | must
confess l was violently shaken.
Did you see them?" she cried.
"What can be happening in that com
partment? They are going to fight
to kill each other. What terrible trag'
edy is to be enacted right beside us?!'
Il don't understand it at all" l re-
piled. only one explanation seems
possible to me. They are hunters who
have suddenly gone crazy. Other
- A. a.,