Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-05-06
OLD NATCH|TOCHES.
Continued from Second Page.

Continued from Second Page.
"Hezs, read all the nice things man.
ma has ia say of you and the love mes
sages she sends to you" He accepted the
several closely written sheets from her
and began to look over them.
"Ah, Ia bonnie tante," he laughed
when he came to the tender passages
that referred to himself. He had pushed
aside the glass of wine that he had only
partly filed at the beginning of break
fast and that he had scarcely touched.
Maman Chavan again replenished her
own. She also lighted q cigarette. So
did Suzanne, who was learning to smoke.
Hector did not smoke; he did not use
tobacco in any form. he always said to
those who offered him cigars.
Suzanne rested her elbows on the ia
bic. adjusted the ruffles about her wrists,
pulled awkwardly at her cigarette that
kept going out and hummed the "Kyrie
Eleison" that she had heard so beauti-
fully rendered an hour before at the
cathedral, while she gazed off into the
green depths of the garden. Maman
Chavan slipped little silver medal to-
ward her, accompanying the action with
pantomime that Suzanne readily un-
derstood. She in turn secretly and adroit-
ly transferred the medal to Hector's
coat pocket. He noticed the action plain
~ enough, but pretended not to.
"Natchitoches hasn't changed" he
commented. 1.-THE everlasting cancans
When will they have done with them
This isn't little Athenaise Micte getting
married! Sapristi, but it makes one old !!
And old Papa Jean Pierre only dead
now? 1 thought he was out of purgatory
five years ago. And who is this Labal-
liere? One of the Laballieres of St.
james,"
"St. James, mon cher. NJ. Alphonse
Laballiere. an aristocrat from the 'gol-
den coast But it is history, if you
will believe me. Figurez vous, Maman
Chavan-pensez done, mon ami" And
with much dramatic fire, during which
the cigarette went irrevocably out, she
proceeded to narrate her experiences
with Laballiere.
Impossible !" exclaimed Hector when
the climax was reached, but his indig-
nation was not SO patent as she would
have liked it to be.
"And to think of an affront like that
going UNPUBLISHED - was Maman Cha
vans more sympathetic comment.
"Oh. the scholars were only too ready
to offer violence to poor little Andre,
but that, you can understand, I would
not permit. And now, here is mamma
gone completely over to him; entrap-
ped. God only knows howr'
EYES," said Hector, II see he has
been sending her tamales and boudin
blanc"
"Boudin blanc, my friend! If it were
only that But have stack of letters,
SO high-I could show them to you
to drive one distracted. He visits her
constantly. He is man Of attachments,
she says, man Of courage, a man Of
heart, and the best of company. He has
sent her bunch of fat robins as big as
q tub
''There is something iii that-a good
deal in that, mignonne. piped Maman
Chavan approvingly.
"And now, boudin blanc, and she
tells me it is the duty of Christian to
forgive. All, no; it's no use. Mammals
ways are past finding out
Suzanne was never in Hector's com.
pany elsewhere than at Maman Cha
vans. Besides the Sunday visit he looked
in upon them sometimes at dusk, to chat
for moment or two. He often treated
them to theater tickets and even to the
opera when business was brisk. Bust
ness meant a little notebook that he
carried in his pocket, in which he some
times dotted down orders from the coun-
try people for wine that he sold on COM
mission. The women always went TO-
gether. rnaccOmpanied by any male es-
cort, trotting along arm in arm and
trimming with enjoyment.
That same Sunday afternoon Hector
walked with them short distance when
they were on their way to vespers. The
three, walking abreast, almost occupied
the narrow width of the banquette A
gentleman who had just stepped out of
the Hotel Royal stood aside to better en-
able them to pass. He lifted his hat to
Suzanne and cast quick glance that pic
tured stupefaction and wrath upon Eec-
tor.
Its he" exclaimed the girl melo-
dramatically. seiziug Maman Chavan' s
arm.
"Who-he?"
"Laballiere"
"Nor'
"Yesr'
"a handsome fellow. all the same, -
nodded the little lady approvingly. Hec-
tor thought so too. The conversation
again turned upon Laballiere and so con-
tinued till they reached the side door of
/ the cathedral. where the younr man left