Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1894-08-10


/ 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 l 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 have scarcely had oppor
tunity to enjoy my widowhood. Let
me see II it is really worthy of It's rep
utation. In a year or two we can talk
of your affair"
In n year or two! Pretty and charm
ing as she was, Clsrisse would have
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 Mono
ley informed me one day that she was
| going to Paris on the morrow to have
| a look at her apartment.
II sincerely hope" she added, In a
severe tone, that you do not think of
accompanying me"
"How can you suggest such thing?"
said L, with apparent submission.
"You leave at"
"At eight in the evening, as do not
wish to be seen. l shall send Nancy In
the afternoon to prepare my room. All,
poor Parisl"
She no longer said Poor Charles" 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, were already
close. Clarisse had not appeared. She
reached the station just "a tho bell
rang.
Quick. hurry up, madame" oried
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 unoocu-
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 cannons. One Of them. Is
we opened the door, had shouted In o
terrible voice: Don't come in, for"
had closed the door SO quickly that
we had not heard the end Of the sem
tence. Then ClaFtsse 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 was violently shaken.
'Did you see them7" she cried.
What can be happening in that COM
partment? They are going to fight
TO kill each otherl What terrible trag.
edy is to be enacted right beside us?"
II don't understand 1t at ALL" 1 re-
piled. "Only one explanation seems
possible to me. They are hunters who
have suddenly gone crazy. Other
wise, why should they climb upon the
seats? If they simply wanted to kill
each other, they coJ1d do itwithout all
that gymnastics"
mo" suggested Clarisse, ut is some
dreadful American kind of duel. In
such case, it seems, they climb up on
anything they can find. But why
didn't they stop them at Chantilly?"
1.-THE train itself scarcely stopped
there"
= Ii
Don't come inr? The wretches, they
don't want to be disturbed while they
are killing themselves. Goodnessl
Just Hstenr'
The fusillade had commenced right
beside us. Several gun-shots had
sounded, dominated by shrill pierre
ing cry, which still rings In my ears
Then q deathly silence ensued: they
were all dead, however bad shots they
might have been.
Though we were making about fifty
miles an hour at the time, l made
ready to gsrout upon the step and find
out what was going on in our neigh
bors' compartment AS l lowered the
window two arms seized me and voice
broken with anguish - but which
sounded very sweet, just the same
gasped behind me:
Phillip, if you love me, do not go!
They will kill your
1t was precisely like the fourth act
of THE Huguenots," except that my
name is not Raoul.
saw the advantage of my situation,
and resolved to profit by it. profted
by it so well that, after a dialogue too
intimate to be repeated here, was in
position to sing-if had had a voice,
which | haven't: "Thou-ou ha-ast said
It."
For she had said it. Poor Charles
was distanced now. She had said the
sweet words: II love you"
A prey to emotions bordering on the
hysterical, CIarisse sobbed and clung
to me with all her strength, though
had not the faintest desire to intrude
on the massacre next door. They
could kill themselves at their ease.
Let every man tend to his own affairs.
As for me, was very much occupied
just then.
That is why, early the next morning,
hurried to my lawyer to speak to him
about the little hotel in the Avenue
Friedland, which was still for sale,
but, thank fortune, is now no longer
In the market. Decorators and fur
nishers are at work in il, and when
January comes, you will see it occu-
pied by certain young couple that
know Of
But let us not anticipate. When the
train pslled into the city, my compan-
ion and | had quite forgotten our
neigh bors, or what was left of them;
but now the authorities must be in
formed and the bodies removed. had
jumped out, and was looking about for
a sergeant de cilte, when | beheld the
door of the famous compartment open
and the three hunters calmly descend
from it, carrying, rolled up in rug,
an inert mass which looked as IL IL
might he the body of young child.
without an instant's hesitation, l
seized one of the assassins by the col.
lar.
"Scoundrelw cried. What have
you got in that rug?'
Don't make such u row." he replied,
"or well have hundred people at our
backs. 1t is only my poor dog"
Dog" l repeated, indignant at the
mans GOODNESS. Come, come, you
cannot deceive me, saw it all"
My captive, whom I still held by the
collar, opened corner of the rug and
showed me a settlers muzzle, with
Qo.lx. - foam, on it darr1a1 nth