Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-09-14
on that subject. You have mistaken the

vasour rose abruptly from his chair.
might ask yot, to come with mo to the
terrace, ladies. Pray be calm, Lady Hunt
or. have no wish to make Eccne.
There is no need to do So"
The Pcarsons, surprised and expectant
after all, something YVES about to result
from John Vavasour's appearance on the
scenc-and Lady Hunter, vaguely alarm
cd, followed Vavasour to the terrace. The
party had It almost to themselves, owing
to the late hour.
Navasour. going in advance, paused I'M
der the electric lamp to survey tho ter
race. Were not two figures apparent in
the distance? He waved his hand toward
them. They arc coming" no exclaimed
in n moment. They have seen mo-
cannot sec them just now. They are hid
den in the shadow of the buildings
What was going to happen' Lady Hunt
CT felt distinctly uneasy. The Pcarsons
thrilled with expectancy. The situation
was sensational. The time, the place. the
waiting with all eyes turned in the same
direction, gave it an indefiUablc air Of
mystery.
AtlGst figure slowly emerged from the
darkness-onc only. No others followed!
Rosie alone appeared in the light walking
toward them.
The scene which cnsucd was dramatic
enough to satisfy the most highly pitched
expectancy. John Navasour made his ex
PLANTATION. He knew the man well, his
striking appearance making Identification
easy and sure. De Boisvillc was an as
sumcd name. Tho supposed vicomto was
no Frcnchman, but IN Eng!ishman.
Here Lady Hunter and Mrs. Pearson
broke in, appealing 20 each other stimuli
tancously.
But surely YOU can contradict this:
You know all about the man.
Then tho worst camo to Zig hi, the appall-
ing discovery of their mutual and mis-
placed trust in each others knowledge.
Panic seized on the ladies, and they rushed
forthwith to tho most desperate conc!u
sions. Tho man was q E2gman, n valet.
q burglar or worse. The case was too
dreadful for tho Pcarsons to czult at hav-
ing their rivals supposed triumph turned
into such crushing disaster. For them,
too, tho affair was horrible. All the days
and hours passed in tho wretch's society
We're awful to think of. Rosic's faltcring
account OF what had occurred on tho ter
race Eavo the finishing stroke to the situa-
ton. Tho man, she now l:now, had dis
appeared mt once on recognizing Vavasour
on tho veranda.
''lIo had tho irnpcrtinence to say au re-
voir as ho Left" Ecsie wound up, with a
catch in her breath and shuddcr.
Il dom think he will trouble you again.
You may make your mind easy on that
point, Miss Hunter. The man will not
reappccr,' sH;I Navasour decisiveIy.
Who is hc2 What is the mystery? Is
it something dreadful? For heavens sake
.yp1nip oh bn Ladies'
Navasour was human. lie had been
ruthicssly thrown over foT this hotel &C
quainta!cc, this supposed French noble
man. 1ie may h.vo been actuated by "a
desire to p;;rlsh the Hunters in some way
By not being explicit, or did he wish to
srEro them tho horror of some CHASTITY reve-
iatio:;? At any rate, he would give no fur
thCr information. Entrc3tiCs pcrsuasions,
even tears on Eosio's part, were Ia vain.
The n!a.l was not what he Lad represent
ed himself To be. But no harm had been
done. Tho Ladies would probably never
SEQ him again.
NcEt morning tho ncws Of the DE Bois-
villc affair ran like wildflrc through tho
hotel and naturally lost nothing in the
telling.
As Navasour had predicted. the sup
posed vico.ntc did not rcappear, but van
ishcd with his supposed servant, an &C
complete. no Gouat-cither late at night
or early in tho morning, gossip could not
discover Shich-f-om the hotel The au-
thoritics Of the hotel management main
tanned rcticc-co and expressed absolute
ignorance OF any imposition in tho affair
The visitors, especially the women, werc
absolutely certain that ono of the greatest
criminals of the age had been secretly In
their midst and shuGdcrcd to think OF the
various escapes from murder, robbery and
personal violence they must havo had. The
Hunters were made tho victims of an in
tense sympathy. At the same time both
they and the pcarsons were blamed Sc
vcrcly Tor having been the chief means of
giving tho man prominent position in
the hote! society. They should, with their
fuller opportunities, have known better,
especially as it row appeared that every
one else had all through suspected the i'm
poster.
All kinds of theories regarding Dc Bots
willie floatcd about, none being TOO wild or
improbable for acceptance. Navasour was
the great center of interest, though the
part he played in the matter was only
known very inGistinctly to the gossips.
Neither wcrd nor hint could, however, be
extracted from him toward any further So
luton of the mystery.
In the painful awkwardncss of the stu
alton tic Hunters took tho most natural
course open to thcm-rct-cat
John NavaSour was seated in the vcran-
dn. enjoying coffee and Il solitary CT .arctto,
when the carriage to bear away the Hunt
crs drew up at the hotel door. His face
was deeply thoughtful; his hands absently
| folded and rcfolded letter he had been
rCa,ling-rofcadin for he had received ii
| on awaking in tho morning
Il shall be half over the .Joch pass be-
| fore you get this. BY all my gods, old
chap, swurc TO save you from the pretty
| little cnnIpaigncr and her mother. VOLTA,
mon ami, it is done. If the process of open.
| ing your eyes was painful, believe me you
| will get over il. The cn;i justiiios the
| means, and, by Jovc, the Jckyil and Hyde
| business was sport. Ny dual nationality
came in gloriously. Pity you did no. meet
| Dc BoiSSiile. Such capital fellow;
| worth two or three Of Woodtown any day.
| The flaw in the affair is that l could rot
| SEQ the announcement. For which am
| most generally takcn-anarchist, thief OF
bagman: Poor Mother Hunter, Poor lit
tie Rosie! But one docs not pity the spider