The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-07

on an errand at the time OF my ar
rival, presently returned, and were
doubtless surprised to find a second
company in possession. They tried my
attendants with number of ques-
lions, but without success; while I,
by listening while 1 had my supper,
learned more of their masters habits
and intentions than they supposed.
They suspected nothing, and at day
break we left them; and, the water
having duly fallen in the night, we
crossed the river without mishap, and
for a league pursued our proper road.
Then halted, and dispatching the
two grooms to Houdan with a letter
for my wife, 1 took, myself, the road
to LIE Mesnil which lies about three
leagues to the west.
AT a little inn, league short of LIE
Mesnil, stopped, and inStructing my
two attendants in the parts they were
to play, prepared, with the help of the
seals, which never left Maignan's GUS
tody, the papers necessary to enable
me to enact the role of Gringuet's dep
/ uty. Though 1 had been two or three
times at Villebon, 1 had never been
within two leagues of LIE MeSnil, and
had no reason to suppose that 1 should
be recognized; but to lessen the pos
/ sibility of this, / put on a plain suit
] belonging to Maignan, with a black
hilted sword and no ornaments. l fur
thermore waited to enter the town I'M
/ til evening, so that my presence, be-
! ing reported, might be taken for
granted before I was seen.
In a large place my scheme must
have miscarried, but in this little town
on the hill, looking over the plain of
vineyards and cornfields, with inn,
market-house and church in the open
! square, and on the fourth side the
/ open battlements, whence the towers
! Of could SpQO on a clear
/ day, 1 looked to have TO do only with
small men, and saw no reason why II
7 should fail.
| Accordingly, riding up to the inn
] about sunset, l called, with an air, for
/ the landlord. There were half a dozen
! loungers seated on a low bench before
! the door, and one of these went in to
fetch him. When the host came out,
with his apron twisted round his
waist, [ asked him if he had a room.
Yes he said, shading his eyes to
look at me, 81 have
Very well,' answered, pompously,
considering that L had just such an
audience as [ desired-by which [
mean one that, without being too criti-
cal, would spread the news. Il am NJ.
Gringuet's deputy, and L am here
with authority to collect and remit,
receive and give receipts for his maj
esty's taxes, tolls and dues, now, or TO
be, due and owing. Therefore, my
friend, I will trouble you to show me
to my room"
1 thought that this announcement
would impress him as much as 1 de-
sired, but to my surprise he only stared
at me. ''Ehr' he exclaimed at last, in
a faltering voice, IN. Gringuets dep
uty?"
Yes I said, dismounting somewhat
impatienty; "he is i'll with the govt
and cannot come"
"'And you-are his deputy?"
81 have said So
Still he did not move to do my bid
ding, but continued to rub his bald
head and stare at me as if it fascinated
him. We'll 1 AMI meant think
we are full" he stammered at last,
with his eyes like saucers.
I replied, with some Impotence,
that he had just said that he had a
room; adding that if I was not in it
and comfortably settled before five
minutes were up 1 would know the
reason. [ thought that this would
settle the matter, whatever maggot
! had got into the mans head; and, in
a way, it did so, for he begged my
pardon hastily, and made way for me
to enter, calling, at the same time, to
a lad who was standing by, to attend
| to the horses. But when we were
! inside the door, instead of show
| ing me through the kitchen to
my room, he muttered something, and
! hurried away, leaving me to wonder
what was amiss with him ana why
! the loungers outside, who had listened
| with all their ears to our conversation,
had come in after us as far as they
dared and were regarding us with an
odd mixture of suspicion and amuse-
ment.
The landlord remained long away,
and seemed, from sounds that came 70
nv ears. to be talking with someone IN
a distant room. At length, however,
he returned bearing a candle and 1ol-
lowed by a serving man. asked him
roughly why he had been 80 long, and
began to rate him; but he took the
words out of my mouth by his humll-
ity. and going before me through the
kitchen-where his wife and two or
three maids who were about the fire
stopped to look at us, with the bastlng
spoons in their hands he onened a
door which led again into the outer
air.
ut is across the yard" he said tlpol-
ogetically, as he went before, and
opening a second door, stood aside for
and, if Won please a fire ehaU he
lighted The shutters are closed he
continued as We
and La Trape carrying my baggage,
but they shall be opened. Halo!
Pierre! Pierre, there! Open these
shut
On the word his voice rose-and
broke; and in a moment the door,
through which we had I'll passed I'M
suspecting, fell to with q crash behind
US. Before we could move we heard
the bars drop across it. a little be-
fore, La Trape had taken a candle
from someone's hand to light me the
better; and therefore we were not in
darkness. But the light this gave only
served to impress on US what the fall
ling bars and the rising sound of
voices outside had already told us
that we were outwitted! We We're |
prisoners.
The room in which we stood, looking |
fooishly at one another, was a great |
barn-like chamber, with small win
dows high in the upholstered walls. |
A long board set on tresties. and two !
or three stools placed round ton the
occasion, perhaps, Of some recent fes-
tivity-had for a moment deceived US.
and played the landlords game.
In the first shock OF the discovery.
hearing the bars drop home, we stood
gaping and wondering what it
meant. Then Maignan, with an oath,
sprang to the door and tried it
fruitlessly.
[ Joined him more at my leisure.
and raising my voice. asked angriIy
what this folly meant. open the
door there! Do you hear, landlord?"
1 cried.
No ono pOved +bo,,ob .Eo;oro.