The Dickinson press., 1895-02-02

follow out his own humor. He went
to seek the rascal and led him in by
the ear. I was seated upon a straw
' chair, with the grave face of a Judge.
Marius had grown and seemed uglicr
to NE than ever. with his shy, sullen
manner. His great hands seemed
monstrous. His uncle pushed him be.
fore me, with his military air.
"Ask pardon of the landlord"
The boy would not utter a word.
Then the old gendarme seized him I'M
der the arm, and, throwing him to the
earth. began to fog him SO violently
that 1 arose to interfere. The child
howled: pardon! pardon! pardoni I
promise!"
Cavalier raised him from the ground
and, forcing him to his knees before
me. said: ASK pardon" The rascal
murmurcd, with lowered eyes:
II ask pardon"
Then his uncle dealt him a. parting
slap that sent him flying. He ran out
and I saw him no more that evening.
Cavalier came back trembling.
Gle has Il bad nature," he said,
and during dinner he repeated:
"Oh, I n so sorry, sir; you don't
KNOW HOW SOfFy 1 1m.' B.
I tried to console him but in vain.
l went to bed early that I might start
hunting In time. My dog was sleeping
on the floor at the foot of my bed when
extinguished my candle. l was
awakened in the middle of the night
by Books furious barking, and I saw
instantly that my room was full Of
smoke. l. sprung from my bed, light
! aA INV oonI1o MN - k1~ .lo~~ ~~1
opened 1t. a Whirlwind Of flames en-
tered. The house was on fire! I closed
the heavy oak door quickly, and, put.
ting on my coat, let my dog out Of the
window. by "a of q rope frmed by
my bedclothcs. Then throwing my
garments, out, followed by my game
bag and gun, I escaped in the same
manner. I cried at the top of my
voice: 49,
Cavalier! Cavalier! Cavalier!" but
the keeper did not awake. He slept
Through the windows l saw the lower
the heavy sleep of NJ old gendarme.
part Of the house was a fiery furnace,
and I saw that it had been filled with
straw to favor the flames. Who
to call furiously:
NuNsiASIs 1ASI lLc IllOuSlL OSCuls
red to me that he was %suffocated with
the smoke.
I had an inspiration, and, slipping
n cartridge in my gun, I fired a volley
through his window. The six panes Of
glass fell inside in fragments. This
time the old man heard, and he appear
cd in his shirt. daZed by the light that
blaZed before his house. I cried: Your
fC,rcn Sc M fNrg nm 1,,4 30 khn ~~,&~
dow! Quick!" The flames burst out of
the Goor and window and threatened
to swallow him. He sprung out and
lit on his feet like a cat, and Just in
time. The matched roof broke in the
middle and the stairway made a draft
for the fire that roared below. An i'm
mense red sheaf of fire rose in the
air. 1t spread out like a column of
water and scattered a shower of
sparks all around the cottage and in
a few moments there was nothing but
Il mass of flames. Cavalier asked in
alright:
"How did it happen?"
I replied: "They set fire in the kitch-
en-"
"Who could have done it,"
And l cried out instinctively.
"Marius!" the old man understood.
He faltered: ooh, mother of God, was
it for that he did mo- come in?"
Then q horrible thought struck me.
I cried:
Celeste, Celeste!' He said nothing,
but the house lay crumblins before us,
nothing nov but n fiery furnace. bril-
liant, dazzling, bloody, a formidable
funeral pile, where the poor woman
now lay, nothing but a r%ed-charred
mass, a mass of human flesh.
The fire reached the neighboring
shed. l thought of my horse and Cav
alier ran to let him out. He had hard
ly opened the stable door before a rap
id nimble body rushed out. passing be-
tween his legs and knocking him In
the face. 1t was Marius. fleeing with
all his strength. The old man was up
In q minute. He wanted to run and
catch the miserable wretch, but, know
Ing he could not, he was seized with
irresistible fury, and yielding to one
Of those sudden. irrational impulses
that no n a foresee or hinder, he
took my gun that lay near him,
shouldered it and before I could pre-
vent lie fired. without knowing whetll-
err or not it was loaded. One barrel
was not discharged when l fired
through the. window, and the charge
struck the flying boy in the back.
and he fell on his face covered with
blood. He paved the earth with his
hands and knees like a wounded ami
NAL that seeks to escape. l raised him
up. He was already dying. He OK
PRED without saying a word. Cavalier
still in his shirt. his limbs bare, stood
near us. Supplied, motionless. When
the people came from the village they
carried my keeper away like a mad
man.
I appeared as witness at the trial
and l related the facts, concealing
nothing. Cavalier was acquitted. But
he disappeared the next day abandon
ing the country. I never saw him
again. ~ - 1
This, gentlemen. is my hunting story.
Translated from the French Of Guy
dc Maupassant. - "a;