Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-05-06

braids. 1.-THE message, II you please,
n. Laballiere.
Ito be sure. pulling himself togeth-
er from the momentary abstraction he
had Fallen into in contemplating her.
"Well, it's Just this: Your mother, Won
must know, has been good enough to sell
me fine be Of land-a deep strip along
| the bayou
Impossible! Mails wat sorcery did
you use to obtain such thing of NV
| mother, NJ. Laballiere? Lam that has
been in the st. Denys Godolph family
since time untoler'
"No sorcery whatever. mademoiselle,
only an appeal to your mothers intelli-
gence and common sense, and she is we'll
supplied with both. She wishes me to
say. further, that she desires your pres
ence very urgently and your immediate
| return home"
my mother is unduly impatient
surely" replied Suzanne. with chilling
politeness.
May ask, mademoiselle, he said,
with an abruptness that was startling,
1.-THE name of the man with whom Won
She looked at him with unaffected as.
tonishment and told him: 81 hardly IN.
derstan' 80 question. That gentleman is
Mr.. Hector Santien, Of one of the frs
families Of Natchitoches, warm ole
frien' an far distant relative of NINE
"Oh. that's his name. is it-Hector
Santien? Well, please don't walk on the
New Orleans streets again with Mr..
Hector Santien.'
"Yo' remarks would be insulting if
they We're not SO highly amusing, Mr..
Laballiere.
Il beg your pardon if am insulting,
and l have no desire to be amusing. 1"
And then Laballiere lost his head. lyon
are at liberty to walk the streets with
whom you please, Of course" he said,
with i'll suppressed passion, "but if en-
counter Mr.. Hector Santien in your COM
pany again in public shall wiring his
neck, then and there, as I would O
chicken. I shall break every bone in his
body Suzanne had arisen.
"YOu have said enough, sir. even
desire no explanation of yo' words ~
II didn't intend to explain them." he
told her, stung by the insinuation.
"You will excuse me further" she re.
quested icily, motioning to retire.
"Not till-oh, not till you have for
given me-" he cried impulsively, bar
ring her exit, for repentance had come
swiftly this time.
But she did not forgive him. 81 can
wait, " she said. Then he stepped aside
| and she passed by him without second
glance.
She sent word to Hector the following
day to come to her. And when he was
there i'll the late afternoon they walked
together to the end of the gallery-the
part that was vine sheltered and where
the perfume was thickest
Hector" she said after awhile,
"some one has told me I should not be
seen upon the streets of New Orleans
with you.
He was trimming long rose stem
with his sharp penknife. He did not stop
what he was doing, nor start. nor look
embarrassed nor anything of the sort
''Indeed!' ne said.
'But you know" she went on, eft
the saints came down from heaven to
j
couldn't believe them
"You wouldn't believe them, ma ne
tite Suzanne?" He was getting all the
thorns off nicely and stripping away the
heavy lower leaves.
Il want You to look ne in the face,
Hector, and tell me il there is any rea-
son."
He snapped the knife blade and re-
placed the knife in his pocket; then lie
looked in her eyes so unflinchingly that
She hoped and believed it presaged q
confession Of innocence that she would
gladly have accepted. But he said indif-
| ferently, eyes, there are reasons"
| "Then I say there are not" she ex-
claimed excitedly. "You are amusing
yourself-laughing at me. as you always
do. There are no reasons that I will
| hear or believe. You will walk the
streets with me, will you not. Hector?"
she entreated, land go to church with
me on Sunday, and-ard-oh. it's non
sense. nonsense for you to say things
like that!''
He held the rose by it's long, hardy
stem and swept it lightly and caressing-
~ across her forehead, along her cheek
and over her pretty mouth and chin. as
a lover might have done with his lips
He noticed how the red rose left Grim
son stain behind it.
| She had been standing, but now she
sank upon the bench that was there and
buried her face in her palms. A sligh.
convulsive movement of the muscles
that followed indicated suppressed sob
| All, Suzanne, Suzanne. you are not
going to make yourself unhappy about a
bon rien like me- Come, look at me
Tell me that you are not. - He drew her
g = : NxNzH