Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1896-03-12

i bTARTED, AND UP.
which was the whelp's name, was 10
not?-nor 'B' for Beauvnis; nor 'C'
for Condo; but with an NJ"
"For Mazarin!" the other answered,
sharply. YES, if he find the dog. Blu
Beau,ais is in possession"
"Rocroy shook him"
"Still he is in possession"
$50 is my shoe in possession Of IT,.
foot. And see--I take it off. Beauvais
is lettering, 1 tell you. 1t wants but
u"
l heard no more, for they moved away
from the window; but they left me
different man. Urged, less by the hope
of reward than by the desire for VEN
geance, my clerks wits awose once
more, while the very desperation of my
affairs gave me the courage l sone-
times lacked. 1 recognized that I had
to do. not with king, but dog; and
that none the less that way lay re.
,enge. And l rose up and skunk agaic
into St. Antoine, and through the
crowd and up the Rue de ST. Martin and
by St. Merri, dirty, ragged, barefoot
rascal from whom people drew their
skirts-yes, all that, and the light of
the sun on it-all that, and yet VEN
geance itself, the hand that should yet
drag my thankless, cruel masters
fauteuil from under him.
Once 1 halted, weighing the risks and
whether 1 should not take my knowl-
edge to the cardinal. But knew moth
ing definite, and hardening my heart
l went on, until 1 reached the alley
between the blind walls. 1t was noon;
the alley was empty, the neighboring
lane empty. looked this way and that,
and then went slowly down to the door
at which the man had halted, bst to
which as soon as he knew that the
game was not lost, he had been heed
full not to return.
There, seeing all SO quiet, with the
green of tree showing here and there
above the wall, l began TO blench and
wonder how l was to take the n, vt
step; and for half an hour, dare say,
/ sneaked to and fro, now in sight of the
door and now with my back to it,
afraid to advance and ashamed to re-
alley, and seeing how quiet and re.
spectacle it lay with the upper part Of
the house visible at intervals above the
wall, took, at last, heart of grace and
tried the door.
1t stood so firm that despaired, and,
after listening, and looking to assure
myself that the attempt had not been
observed, l was about to move away,
when l espied the edge of the ring Of
key projecting from under the door.
still all was quiet; a steaithy look
round, and had the key out. To draw
back now was to write myself craven
I'll my life, and with q shaking hand /
thrust the wards into the lock, turned
them, and in another moment stood
ON the other side of the door IN neat
garden, speckled with sunshine and
shade, and all sileut.
remained a full minute, fattened
against the door; staring fearfully atthe
high-fronted mansion that beyond the
garden looked down on me with twelve
great eyes. But all remained silent,
ind observing presently that the win
dows were shattered, | took courage
to move, and slid aside under tree and
breathed again.
Still l looked and listened, fearful
ly, for the silence seemed to watch me;
but nothing happened and everything
saw tended to prove the house empty.
grew holder and sneaking from bush
TO bush, reached the door at last, and
with backward. glance between cour-
age and desperation tried it.
1t was locked, hut that / hardly
noticed; for, as my hand left tho latch,
from some remote part of the house
came the long-drawn whine of a dogl
stood, listening and turning hot
and cold in the sunshine; and dared
not touch the latch again lest others
should hear the noise. Instead l stole
out OF the doorway, and crcpt round
the house and round the house again,
hunting for q back entrance. found
none; but Mt last, goaded by the re-
fection that fortune would never be
SO nearly within my graGp, | marked
Il window on the first floor, and In the
side of the house, by which i, seeIned
to mo might enter. A mulberry tree
stood by it and it lacked n shutter,
and other trees yelled the spot. To be
Lrief, in two minutes l had my knee
on the sill, and sweating with terror
forced the easement in, and dropped
u the lloor.7
Then l stood nm instant. listening;
in bare room, the door of which stood
ejar. Somewhere in the bowels of the
house the deg whmed again. otherwise
all was still-deadly still. At length,
cmboldened by the silence l crept out