Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-04-29
The old woman tried to detain us but

The old woman tried to detain u.s. but
in vain. Nay, pitying us, and fearing,
| I think, that we were rushing on our
deaths, she cast aside her caution and
called after us aloud. We took no heed,
running after Croisette, who had not
| waited for our answer, as fast as young
limbs could carry US down the street
| The exhaustion we had felt moment
before when all seemed lost-be it re-
membered that we had not been to bed
or tasted food for many hours-fell
from us on the instant, and was clean
gone and forgotten in the JOY of this
respite. Louis was living and for the
moment had escaped.
Escaped! But for how longo We
| soon had our answer. The moment we
| turned the corner by the riverside the
murmur of multitude, not loud, but
| continuous, struck our ears, even as
| the breeze off the water swept our
| cheeks. Across the river lay the thou
| sand roofs of the lie de la Cite. all
| sparkling in the sunshine. But we
swept to the right. thinking little of
that sight, and checked our speed on
| finding ourselves on the skirts of the
crowd. Before US was a bridge-the
| Pont au Change, ] think-and al. its
head on our side of the water stood the
| Chatelet, with its hoary turrets and
battlements. Between us and the lat
| ter, and backed only by the river, w as
great open space ha1f-filled with peo-
/ pie, mostly silent and watchful, come
together as to a show, and betraying.
| at present at least, no desire to take an
active part in what was going on.
We hurriedly plunged into the
| throng, and soon caught the cue to the
| quietness and the lack of movement
which seemed to prevail, and which at
first sight had puzzled us. For mo-
| ment the absence of the dreadful svmp-
| toms we had come to know so we'll
the flying and pursuing, the random
blows, the shrieks and curses and bat
tering on doors, the tipsy yells, had re-
| assured us. But the relief was short
lived. The people before us were I'M
der control. A tighter grip seemed to
close upon our hearts as we disccrncd
this, for we knew that the wild fury of
the populace, like the rush of bull.
| might have given some chance CT es-
cape-in this case as in others. But
this cold-blooded ordered search left
none.
Every face about us was turned in
the same direction; away from the
river and toward a block of old houses
which stood opposite to it. The space
Immediately in front of these was
empty, the people being kept back by a
score or SO of archers of the guard set
at intervals, and by as many horse
men, who kept riding up and down.
belaboring the holder spirits with the
fiat of their swords, and so preserving
line At each extremity of this
more noticeably on our left where the
line curved round the angle of the
buildings-stooda handful of riders,
seven in group, perhaps. And alone
in the middle of the space so kept clear,
walking his horse up and down and
gazing at the houses, rode a man of
great stature, booted and armed, the
feather nodding in his bonnet. [
could not see his face, but [ had no need
to see it. I knew him, and groaned
aloud. 1t was Beers:
I understood the scene better now.
The horsemen, stern, bearded Swi+zers
for the most part, who eyed the rabble
about them with grim disdain, and
were by no means chary of their blows.
were all in colors and armed to the
teeth. The order and discipline were
of his making; the revenge of Ills
seeking. grasp as of steel had set
tied upon our friend, and felt that his
last chance was gone. Louis de
Pavannes might as well be lying on his
threshold with his dead servant by his
side, as be in hiding within that ring
of ordered swords.
1t was with despairing eyes we looked
ut the old wooden houses. They seemed
to be bowling themselves towards US.
their upper stories projected SO far.
they were so decrepit. Their roofs
were a wilderness of cutters and
crooked gables, of tottering chimneys
and wooden pinnacles and rottiny
beams. Amongst these L judged Kits
lover was hiding. Well, it was a good
place for hide and seek-with any other
player than Death. In the ground
floors of the houses there were no win
dows and no doors; by reason, I learned
afterwards, of the frequent flooding of
the river But long wooden gallery
raised on struts ran along the front.
rather more than the height of man
from the ground, and access to this was
gained by wooden staircase at each
end Above this first gallery was a sec
ond. and above that line of windows
set between the gables. The block
it may have run for 20 or so yards along
the shore-contained four houses, each
with a door opening on to the lower
gallery. I saw indeed that but for the
vidame's precautions Louis might well
have escaped. Had the mob once poured
he1ter-skelter into that labyrinth of
rooms and passages he might with
luck have mingled with them, UNDECIDED
and. unrecogniZed, and effected his es-
cape when they retreated.
But now there were Sentries on each
gallery and more on the roof.Whenever
one of the latter moved Or seemed to be