The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-16

he used il because the hood was such an
excellent disguise. He was always fond,
whether in the camp or in Paris, OF walk
ing around at night and overhearing the
talk of the cabarets or round the fires.
His figure. however, and his way of car
rying his head was so we'll known that he
was always recognized, and then the talk
ers would just say whatever they thought
would please him best
+ | was afraid that he would be angry
with me for having kept him waiting, but
as | approached him we heard the big
church clock of Fontainebleau clang out
the hour of 10. II was evident, therefore,
that ii was he who was too soon. and not
I too late. remembered his Injunction
that / should make no remark, so l con-
tented myself with hating within four
PAGES of him, clicking my spurs together,
grounding my saber and salutiTg. lie
glanced at me, and then without a word
he turned and walked slowly through the
forest, | keeping always about the same
distance behind him. Once or twice ne
seemed to me to look apprehensiveiy 10
right and TO left, as II he feared that
some one was observing us. | looked also.
but. although l have the keenest sight, II
was quite impossible to see anything eX-
cept the ragged patches of moonshine be-
tween the great black shadows of the
trees Ny ears are as quick as my eyes,
and once or twice I thought | heard
twig crack, but you know how many
sounds there are in the forest at night.
and how diAcult II is TO even say what
direction they come from.
We walked for rather more than mile.
and knew exactly what our destination
was long before we got there. In the GEN.
ter of one of the glades there is the sca~
tered stump of what must at some time
have been a most gigantic tree II is call
ed the Abbots beech. and there are so
many ghostly stories about IL that | know
many a brave soldier who would not care
about mounting sentinel over it, However.
I cared as little for such folly as the en-
neror did. so we crossed the glade ana
made straight for the old broken trunk.
AS we approached. l saw that two men
were waiting for US beneath II.
When I first caught sight of them they
we're standing rather behind IL, as If they
were not anxious to be seen, but as we
came nearer they emerged from IT'S
shadow and walked forth 10 meet us The
emperor glanced at me, and slackened his
nare little so that l came within arms
length of him. You may think that l had
NV hiIt well to the front, and that had
a very good look at these two people who
were approaching us. The one was TALL
remarkably so, and of very spare frame,
while the other was rather below the usual
height and had brisk. determined way
of walking. They each wore black cloaks'
which were slung right across their iS-
ures and hung down upon one side Ike
the nantes of Murat's Dragons. They
had fiat black caps, Ike those which |
have since seen in Spain, which threw
their faces into darkness. though could
see the CLEAN of their eyes from beneath
them. With the moon behind them ana
their long, black shadows walking IN
front. they were such figures as one might
expect TO meet at pight near the Abbots
bearb can remember that they had
stealthy way OF moving, and that as they
anproached the moonshine formed Two
white diamonds between their legs ana
the legs of their shadows.