The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-02-16
~ PART IT.


and had gone out-"for the day."
madame believed.
Rayburn stroiled about the town in
the vague hope of running across them
somewhere; but they were not at the
cathedral nor at the Church OF Notre
Dlme-du-Port, nor at any OF the other
points of interest where it was their
duty to be.
AS for himself. he could hardly have
imagined his being entirely unim-
pressed by the building wherein Pope
Urban held the council that proclaimed
the first crusade. yet such was the pain
dul fact; and his following days were
spent in excursions TO Royat, TO the
ruined towers of Mont-Rognon and TO
the great plateau of Gergovia, where
!Caesar received his famous defeat at
the hands of Vercingetorix; excursions
tkatrwere signalized by an entirely uni
form bad fortune as to company, and
by ansentirely uniform lack of interest
or Impressions. At one point he got
scraps Of intelligence to the effect that
two foreign young ladies had been at
the spot rhe day before; at others, hav-
ing flounaered out of his depths in
French, he was, as a consequence, sent
on wild-goe,se chases across the country
perhaps 40 find nothing, perhaps TO
find the ch;ase materialized into brace
of unsavory peasantesses. In the hotel
1T was the same or worse. His ex-
listencc was absolutely ignored, pre-
lciscly aswas that OF the French guests.
At first Rayburn had been supremely
disappointed and upset by his lack OF
progress, but, later, he began to drift
back into a normal condition. If two
young women chose TO be so confound-
'ecIly distant under circumstances where
the most conventional might be ex-
,pccted to relax just a trifie toward one
whom they must know TO be fellow
ic0untryman and gentleman, it meant
one of three things. Either they didn't
like his looks, or they hadn't sense
:eisorigh to know when they could afford
to be cordial, or they were too indie.
pcndent and new" to be of any earthly
use to rational man. He did not like
to come to the,first of these conclusions,
and what he had seen and heard hardly
warranted either of the others, but it
was quite evident that hewas at q social
,standstill, and some theory was neces-
,sary to restore-his mental equilibrium.
q, Il hey evidently didn't want to know
b nm. Well, they needn't and that set
tiled it.
Luckily for Raybrn. he was blessed
"a <x,Ic tvo
up to philosophy once determined
"a pom. His desertion of law for leisure
showed as much, and, therefore, when
he arose the following morning, it was
with hardly a thought Of the unap-
prpachable Miss Lowell or the inde-
pendent Miss Hodges, and with very
lively interest in walk he,had planned
for that day and the next-a visit to
the summit of the Puy de Dome and
The ruins of the temple ofMercury, that
surmount it.
His expectations were not unre-
olized. for, by the time the summit was
reached, the sharp cold of the atmos-
phere, the magnificent panorama, and
the Joy of rummaging amid the ruins
of building whereof Caesar wrote,
all united TO Danish dreams of unap-
g,reciatye fcmininity, and, when he re-
tired 10 rest that night in .the guest
chamber of the observatory, he heartily
congratulated himself that he was once
more free man.
1t was noon of the following day. He
had hesitated for awhile as to whether
10 descend by the roundabout path
he had climbed, or whether 10
strike straigh down by steep but
practicable way that would cut Off
about three miles and meet the Cler-
mont-Fcrrand road well TO the west
ward A decision had scarcely been
made in favor OF the longer route. ard
90 made. be II said. in measure be-
rause It was the ionger, when he be-
came aware that he was not alone on
the plateau A little above and among
rhe ruins he deserted two familiar fig
nres clad in tramping gowns of dark
gray clcsh. Evidently they had driven
over that morning-in fact, now that
ne recalled il, he had noticed carriage
stop at the little hostelry at the foot of
the path that wound up the eastern
slope.
For n moment he feared that he was
about TO experience a relapse, and had
bliss Lowell so much as vouchsafed him
u glance, his fear might have been
realized. But no. Although he was
quite positive that she must have seen
and recognized him, yet now as ever.
she and Miss Hodges were absorbed in
each others conversation, tempered
only by the ruins and the view. The
perilous moment had passed and, with
a mildly profane .growl, Rayburn be-
gan the descent.
Somewhat 70 his surprise, there was
mo carriage waiting at the hcstelr7
when he reached IL and stopped 20
lunch. but a single question. which lie
,considered en- entirely innocuous dis-
play OF interest. disclosed the fact that
7resdarneolselles had sent their convey
'nncc back with the announcement thnt
they intended 90 walk home by a shorter
kroute-Ahf what walkers YOU Enrlush