Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-05-20
Il. THE House y
Ns OF THE WOLF.
ED ilJ8s = = =
SSsED BY STANLEY J. WEYMAR.
BY STANLEY J. WEYMAR.
CHAPTER XI.-CoNT1NUED.


told Croisette, but warily, my sus-
PIGEONS of his purpose. He heard me.
less astounded to all appearance than
had expected. Presently 1 learned
the reason He had his own view.
do you not think it possible, Anne,''
he suggested, ti1nidly we were, of
course, alone at the time-''that he
thinks to make Louis resign made
moiselle?'
Resign her!" exclaimed, obtusely
''How?''
"By giving him choice--you under
stand?"
l did underestimate saw it in a mo-
Jnent. L had been dull not to see it
before. Beers might put it in this
way: Let NJ. de Pavannes resign his
mistress and live, or die and lose her.
II see." 1 answered. ''But Louis
would not give her up. Not to him!"
He would lose her either way" Crois-
cite answered, in a low tone. ''That is
not, however. the worst of it. Louis
is in his power. Suppose he thinks to
make Kit the arpiter, Anne, and puts
LOUIS up to random, setting Kit for the
price? And gives her the option of ac-
ccpting himself, and saving Louis life;
VI IS1uSfIiS. dIltl lcSIN1uS LOUIS W OIo
''St. CroiX!' l exclaimed, fiercely.
'He would not be so basel" And yet
was not even this better than the blind
vengeance I had myself attributed to
HIM?
Perhaps not" Croisette answered,
while he gazed EDWARDS through the
twilight. We were at the time the fore
most of the party. save the vidame;
- I.
view of his gigantic figure as he
moved on alone before us with bowed
shoulders, perhaps not" Croisette
repeated, thoughtfully. Sometimes
] think we do not understand him, and
that after all there may be worse peo-
pie in the world than Beers
L looked hard at the lad, for that was
not what l had meant. ''Worse?''
said. Il do not think so. Hardly!''
Yes, worse" he replied, shaking his
head. do you remember lying under
the curtain in the box-bed at Mire-
poix's?''
''Of course 1 Go! Do you think 1
shall ever forget it?''
And Mime. do coming in?''
with the coadjutor?" said with
shudder. Yes
NO, the second time,'' he answered,
''when she came back alone. Tt was
pretty dark, you remember, and Mime.
de Pavannes was at the window, and her
sister did not see her?"
We'll, well, 1 remember" said i'm
patiently. knew from the tone of his
voice that ne had something to tell me
about Nine. do, and was not anxious
to hear it. l shranl, as wounded man
shrinlls from The cautery, from hearing
anything about that woman; herself SO
beautiful, yet moving in an atmosphere
of suspicion and horror. Was it shame.
or fear, or some chivalrous feeling hav-
ing it's origin in that moment when
had fancied myself her knight? Lam
not sure, for had not made up my mind
even now whether 1 ought to pity or
detest her; whether she had made n
tool of me, or had been false to her.
''She came up to the bed, you remem-
Der, Anne?" Croisette went on. You
were next to her. She saw you indis-
tinctly. and took you for her sister.
And then sprang from the bed"
~ know you didi' exclaimed sharp
". All this time had forgotten that
grievance. You nearly frightened
her out of her wits, ST. Croix. cannot
think what possessed you-why you did
it?"
ITO save your life. Anne he an
swered solemnly. land her from a
crime-an unutterable and unnatural
crime. She had come back to- can
hardly tell it you-to murder her sister.
You start You do not believe me. L
sounds too horrible. But i could see
better than you could. She was ex-
actly between you and the light. I
saw the knife raised. saw her wicked
faceis If had not startled her as did,
she would have stabbed you. She
dropped the knife on the floor. and /
picked it up and have it. See."
] looked furtively, and turned away
again, shivering. why" 1 muttered,
.swhy did she do it?'
..She had failed, you know, to get her
sister back to Pavannes' house, where
she would have fallen an easy victim.
Beers, who knew Mime. do, prevented
that. Then that fiend slipped back
with her knife: thinking that in the
common butchery the crime would be
overlooked, and never investigated. and
that .Mirepoix would be silenti''
said nothing. i was stunned. Yet
believed the story. When went over
the facts in my mind 1 found that a
dozen things, overlooked at the time,
and almost forgotten in the hurry of