The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1894-10-13

and a peacefulman. Going down this
hill he met Person and Wainwright
Either that man is q genius or he is &
dangerous lunatic," said he. Just e
up and look At his green" And h,
continued his way, his co]untenancC
frightened by . pleasant anticipation
Of a cheerful ARRAY round an easel il
the cleaning, and the shedding OF
much green paint.
But to Person and Wainwright Mr..
Watkins was less aggressive, and ex'
planned that the green was intended
TO be the first coating of his picture.
II was, he admitted in response to a
remark, an absolutely new method, in,
vented by himself. But subsequently
he became more ~reticent; he explained
he was not going to tell every passer.
by the secret OF his own particular
style, and added some scathing re-
marks upon the of people
hanging about" TO pick up such
tricks of the masters as they could,
which Immediately relieved him of
their company.
Twilight deepened, first one then
another star appeared. The rocks
amid the tall trees to the left of the
house had long since lasped into slum-
berous silence, the house itself lost all
the details of it's architecture and be-
came a dark gray outline, and then
the windows OF the salon shone out
brilliantly, the conservatory was
lighted up, and here and there a bed
room window burnt yellow. Had any
approached the easel in the park
it would have been found deserted.
One brief uncivil word in brilliant
green sullied the purity Of it's canvas
Mr.. Watkins was busy in the shrub
berry with his assistant, who had dis
creetly joined him from the carriage
drive.
Mr., Watkins was inclined TO be self
congratulatory upon the ingenious
device by which he had carried all his
apparatus boldly, and in the sight of
all men, right up to the scene of opera
tions. That's the dressing-room,' he
said to his assistant, ''and. as soon as
the maid takes the candle away and
goes down to supper, well call in.
My! how nice the house do look, to be
sure, against the starlight, and with
all its windows aud lights. Swopme.
Jim, | almost wish / nds a painter
chap. Have you fixed that there wire
across the path from the laundry"
He cautiously approached the house
until he stood below the dressing
window, and began to put 20
his folding ladder. lie was
much too experienced a practitioner to
feel any unusual excitement. Jim was
r~econnoitering the smoking-room.
Suddenly, close beside Mr.. Watkins in
the bushes, there was a violent crash
and a stifed curse. Some one had
tumbled over the wire which his as
sistant had just arranged. He heard
feet running OF the gravel pathway
beyond. Mr., Watkins, like all true
artists, was a singularly shy man, ald
he incontinently dropped his folding
ladder and began running circum-
specify through the shrubbery. lie
indistinctly aware of two people
hot upon his heels, and he fancied that
he distinguished the outline Of his as
sistant in front of him. In another
moment he had vaulted the low stone
wall bounding the shrubbery. and was
in the open park. Two thuds ON the
turf followed his own leap.
1t was a close chase in the darkness
through the trees. Mr.. Watkins v a
a loosely-built man and in good train
and he gained hand-oyer-hand
upon the hoarsely painting figure in
front. Neither spoke, but, as MIR. Wat
kins pulled up alongside, a qualm of
doubt came over him. The |
other man turned his head at the same
moment and gave an exclamation Of
surprise. ITS not Jim" thought Mr..
Watkins, and simultaneously the
stranger flung himself, as it were, at
W atkins knees, and they were forth
with graphing on the ground to-
Lend a hand, Bill cried
stranger, as the third man came |
mp. And Bill did-two hands, in fact,
md some accentuHted feet The fourth |
man, presumably Jim. had apparently
turned aside and made off in q differ
direction. At any rate, he did not
Join the trio.
Mr., Watkins memory of the Incl
Of the next two minutes is ex-
tremely vague. He has a dim recollec-
ton Of having his thumb in the cor
her of the mouth OF the Hrst man. and
anxious about its safety. and
'or some seconds at least he held the
head of the gentleman answering to
name of Bill to the ground by the
hair. He was also kicked in a great
number of different places apparently
a vast multitude Of people. Then
he gentleman who was not Bill got
ais knee below Mr.. Watkins diaph-
and tried to curl him up upon it.
When his sensations became less en-
angled he was sitting upon the turf,
md eight or ten men-the night was
lark, and he was rather too confused
o cOunt-standing round him, appar-