Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-07-12
THE STROKE OF RUIN

overhung thesidewalk and smoked slow
", with half closed eyes. He was await
ing and expecting the arrival of his
young friend, Francois Rapin, who had
| lately interested him TO a singular de-
gree.
Even at the moment, mp the uncarpet-
ec stairway. came the active creole's
feet, two steps at time, along with
| lively tune sung almost breathlessly
through n curving black mustache.
"Well, and what is it!" demanded
| the New Yorker. "What have you found
out?"
Maybe she went TO the French opera.
| Go with me l have q box. Come. "
"But haven't you yet seen her!"
"Seen her. How should / know? nj.
Harding forgets the conditions. He
laughed in his atrociously frivolous
French way.
Il beg pardon. said Harding quick
| ". II had indeed forgotten that / did
not know her name, her place Of resi-
| dence, nor yet even the color of her eyes
| Yes, will go with you to the opera
Everybody goes, eh2''
He had come south q fortnight past
with letters Of introduction TO infiuen,
tial people, but he was not seeking So
ciety. A quiet sojourn in New Orleans
with his eyes and ears open suited him
| better.
What was perhaps just the thing he
would have most desired came to him
unexpectedly one day. He suddenly met
beautiful young woman face TO face at
the door of Garcia's old book store.
Harding was electrified and impulsively
lifted his hat. She passed him with a
half smile, leaving breath of violets
and the rustic of gown quietly elegant
in the air round about.
A lover is a great fool, but he is the
only man who knows what song it was
that the stars sang, and to him you
must go if you would learn the secret Of
| heavenly happiness and the value of
| dreams as nutriment for the imagina
| ton. A lovers soul will treble its
stature by feeding one moment on a
smile
In fact, Boyle Harding had felt this
sudden growth within. 1t had quicken
| ed, broadened and sweetened his spirit
ual vision. while affording fine and
richly mysterious increment to his en-
| joyment of his new surroundings.
This was midway in the fifties, when
( New Orleans had reached the splendid
zenith of her wealth, and when the pc
culiar color Of her social life was most
dazzling and romantic.
AS they went along Rapin was pratt
] Ting on the subject of fencing, always
a great vogue with the jeunesse doree
of New Orleans.
"But you must be interested in sword
play-in fencing. 1t is the noblest of all
exercises for gentlemen, and your phys
ique is precisely made up for it. You
must be a master, or you could be.
II have had good masters" Harding
replied, in an evasive tone, "but am
losing interest in it. "
''Your masters were in New York;
"No; Paris. / had M. Duval for
three years.
sAh, what fortunel He, and he only,
( teaches tho stroke of ruin, the pass
which pierces across from shoulder to
! shoulder, disabling the victim for life,
| yet never killing himl
| "And you learned his stroIel Oh, but
am overjoyed, and you will teach me
! to do it. All, monsieur, shall be your
| lifelong debtor. have dreamed of that
incompatible thrust. have made two
! Journeys to Paris to learn it; but, you
! must know, M. Duval is an ancient en-
envy of my fathers. could not go to
| him.
A great curve of splendor, flash OF
faces, throats, bosoms, jewels, laces,
| eyes, fans-a bewildering horizon of
corsages, coiffures, necklaces, bracelets,
rings; a foam of airy gowns sinking
| and swelling gently, like surf froth
/ against a beach of fairyland. Harding
| gazed in half blinded stupidity, so he
| felt, and could see no details, could make
( out no individual face distinctly.
"We will begin the lessons tomor-
row, murmured Rapin. "Ishall be an
| apt scholar, monsieur.
| EYES," said Harding absently. He
was gazing along the great sweep OF
beauty and light.
'tBut excuse me moment or two,
the creole added after awhile. when the
curtain was down. II am going to call
| at the box of friend.
Harding continued his survey, which
now that his eyes had somewhat accns-
toned themselves to the glamour, became
| more real and Accordingly interesting.
Presently he saw Rapin in box. a
magnificent one, near the center, talk
ing with tall young woman. and 1t
was she. There could be no doubt for a
i moment.
Harding's eyes were fixed. The trance
| of that old time love which men used
to acknowledge was upon him. And at
the very central moment she turned
from Rapin and looked straight at him.
The prosy fact was that Rapin in his
enthusiastic way had been telling Nile.
| Marie de Montlnartin - that was her
name-about has good fortune in finding
q master to teach him the stroke OF
ruin and be had directed her attention
to the young man in his box
But for Mile Marie de Mcntlnartin,
we may as well say that she glanced
mechanically. then looked again
Rapin presently returned TO the box,
y4~So.se~so..se~so.,o o~,o..so~sos.Sos+Q
Gan -