The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-10-10

How long 1 slept ! know not; but L
woke singing with rain, and found IN s
was due to my being bound as l was,
and in little the agony, became almost
inSupportabie; and l was on the verge
of going into a delirium, only rightlnS
my failing senses by mighty effort OF
will.
l had lost all count Of the time, but
guessed it was advanced in the day by
this; and my eyes had become so ac-
cuStOrred to the darkness that L could
manage to see the faint outlines of the
cell in which | was imprisoned. L tried
to make out its extent with an idle and
useless curiosity, and then giving 1t
up, and utterly hopeless, leaned my
head on my appraised knees, and sat
thus waiting for the end.
| longed for death to come noW-lt
would be a happy release from my
pain.
Suddenly there came q grating noise
as the bolts outside were moved. Then
the door of the cell swung open with a
grooming. and there was binding
flash Of light that, for the time being,
deprived me of the powers of sight,
though, with natural instinct, l shut
my eyes to the flash as it came.
Then l heard De Gomeron's voice
saying, Remove the gag-I have
something to ask monsieur"
AS | felt two cold, hard hands fun
bling with the knots of the gag, man.
aged to open my eyes, though the light
still panied me, and saw the tall figure
of the free lance, his drawn sword in
his hand, standing in the open door
way, and kneeling beside me was
Babette The bag caught the loathlng
in my glance, and laughed to herself
as she wrenched at the knots, and De
| Gcmeron. who was evidently in no
mood to delay, hurried her efforts with
a sharp Quick
1T is done" she answered. and rose
to her feet, swinging the silken bands
of the gag she held in her hand
"Then have the goodness to step back
whilst M. d'Auriac and / discuss the
| position"
! tering something, ard De Gomeron, adj
vancing a pace, addressed me:
Monsieur, 1 have come to make you
an offer. and I will not waste words.
| am playing to win a desperate game,
! and | shall not hesitate to play any card
| to win. My offer is tins. i ask you to
! sign a formal document, which l shall
| bring to you, holding me guiltless of
/ anv design against either you or Nine.
J de la Bidache. In return l will set you
| free in ten days after you sign this
paper During that time you must
/ consider yourself my prisoner; but you
will be better lodged than now. Should
! you refuse to accept this offer there
is nothing left for me but to leave You
! here to die
He spoke in slow, measured accents,
/ and the vault of the roof above me
| gave back the mans words in a solemn
echo. The light of the lantern stretched
| in a long, yellow shaft up the spiral
stairway beyond the door, and half in
this light and half in shadow stood
the witchlike figure of Babette, leaning
q little forward, as if striving to catch
each word that was spoken
In the silence that followed the free
| lance's speech, [ could almost hear the
| blood throbbing in my temples; and for
the moment I was deprived of all pow
er of words. It was not from fear, nor
from any idea of accepting the offer,
! but a thought had come to my mind. I
would oppose craft with craft, and
! meet the fox in the skin of a fox
Give me tWenty-four hours to de-
eide" l answered, and free me from
these cords. cannot think for the
pain Of them"
"Pardieu" He laughed. 1.-THE knots
have been well tied; but twenty-four
| hours is a long time"
"Yet you are willing to accommodate
me for ten days, better lodged. Ven