Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1896-07-09
PROLOGUE,

married inY'
"Perfectly-there is no possibility Of my
being mistaken. He was married on New
Years Day, 50; ! was born in May, SO"
Two men, both about the same age,
twenty-five, were seated in a private room
at an inn, known as the Hotel Bellevue,
ut LIE Vocq, a dreary fishing town with q
good though small harbor, a dozen miles
west of Havre.
Down below the cliff on which the inn
stood, the port was visible, and in the
port was to be seen al English cutter, the
Electra, in which the friends had run for
LIE Vocq when the storm, that had now
been raging for twenty-four hours, broke
upon them.
The FIRST night in the inn, to which they
had come up after seeing the yacht made
snug and comfortable in the harbor below,
and the sailors left in charge of her also
provided for, passed easily enough.
They had stood all the morning looking
out Of the window disconsolately, had
smoked pipes and cigarettes innumerable,
and had yawned a good deal.
What are we to do to prevent our
selves from dying Of ennui, Philip" the
one asked the other.
Jerry" the other answered solemnly,
II know no more than you do. There is
nothing left to read, and soon-very soon,
alas!-there will be nothing left to
smoke"
The one called Philip began looking
about the salon that was at their dis
posal, whistling pIaintively, and peering
into the cupboards, of which there were
two.
"Hullor' he suddenly exclaimed, 'here
Is a great mental treat for us-a lot Of old
books; and precious big ones, too! / won
der what they are? All! old registers Of
bygone years."
Nevertheless, let us see them" the
other answered.; 'at any rate we shall
learn what kind Of company the house
has kept"
So, obeying his behest, Philip brought
them out, and they sat down ITO begin at
the beginning" as they said laughingly;
each took a volume and commenced
to peruge It.
Every now and then they told one an
other OF some name they had come across,
the owner Of which was known to them
by hearsay. and they agreed that the
"Hotel Bellevue had, in its day, had
some very good people for its guests.
They found several titles-English-in-
scribed in the pages Of the register, and
also many prominent names belonging to
the same nationality.
Probably half these people have occu-
pied this very sitting room at some time
or other" Philip said to Gervase. II
only wish some Of them were here now,
and that"
He stopped at a sudden exclamation of
his friend, who was gazing fxedly at the
page before him.
"What kind of a find is it now, Jerry?''
he asked. ANY one very wonderfuly'
ut must be a mistake" the other said
in a low voice. "And yet how could such
a mistake happen? Look at this!' and he
pointed with his finger to a line in the
book.
"Why!" the other exclaimed, as he read,
"Aout II, 1854, L'Hon. Gervase Occleve
and wife" Then he said, Your father,
Of course, before he inherited his it'll? Z"
"Of course! There never was any
other Gervase Occleve in existence, ex-
cept myself, while he was alive. But
what can it mean:'
at means that your father knew this
place many years ago, and came here;
that is all. l should say. 1t is q coinci-
dence, but after all it is no more strange
that he should know lie VocQ than that
you should"
but you don't see the curious part Of
It, Philip! My father had no wife in
1854! He never had a wife until he mar
ried my mother, and then he was Lord
Penlyn and no longer known as Gervase
Occleve."-
And then followed the conversation
with which this story opens.
1T is a strange thing" Philip said, "but
It must be q mistake"
After a few moments spent in thought,
Geryase turned to his friend and said,
"The landlord, the man who stared 10
hard at me yesterday when we came in,
was an elderly person. He may have had
the hotel in "a, might even remember this
mysterious namesake of mine. think I
will ask him to come up"
In q few minutes the landlord tapped
at the door. When he had received an
invitation to enter, he came into the room
and bowed respectfully, but, NJ he did 30,
Lord Penlyn again noticed that his eyes
were fixed upon him with q wondering
stare: 4 stare exactly the same ~ be had
received on the previous day when they
entered the hotel.
1--WE found these registers In your cup
board, and, for want Of anything else to
read, we took them down and have been
amusing ourselves with them. I hope
we did not take a liberty" began Ger
vase. "In going through this book-the
one Of 1851 have come upon q name 30
familiar to me, the name Of Gervase Oc-
cleve, that"
But before he could finish his sentence
the landlord jumped up from his chair,
and was speaking rapidly while he ges-
ticulated In 4 thorough French fashion.
''Occleve-of course" he cried. THAT
d the face. Sir, Milor! / salute you!
When you entered my house yesterday.
said to myself, But where have / seen
him3 Or 10 it but the spirit Of some dead
one looking at me out Of his eyes?' And
now that you mention to me the name OF
Occleve, then IN 4 moment he comes back
70 me and ] zee him ono again. All!
Milor! but when ! regard you, then IN
verify he returns to me, and ] recall him
- he used to sit in this very room-in
that very chair In which you now sit"
L & NrI~ -~--. - hmI 1n<A 1891 - IT.