The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-15

must keep in the shadow, monsieur.
Stay-this Is the tree; you cannot mis-
take 1t, and now come on. Be careful
not to trip or stumble, and above all,
do not cough"
No worse warning than the latter
could have been given me, and 1 all
but choked myself in my efforts to re-
strain an almost uncomfortable desire
either to sneeze or cough. Luckily I
managed to hold myself in. Inch by
inch we crept onward, keeping well
IN the shadow, and edging our way
round the frills of the forest. I could
hear Nicholas breathing hard, and from
Tune to time he stopped to rest; but I
was a glad man to find I was not wind
ed, and that therefore I must be truly
as strong again as ever I was. At last
by d1nt of creeping, crawling and Wrig-
cling along we worked our way to with
In twenty PAGES Of the terrace, above
which the stained glass of the oriel
window glowed with light. Here we
came to a stop and watched. Some
times we saw shadow moving back
ward and forward in the light of the
window, then the shadow was joined
py another, and both stopped, as If
the two men to whom they belonged
were In earnest converse. The merri-
ment from the courtyard was unceas-
ing, and whatever may have been the
there was nothing but the can and the
catch.
we must get to the window"
WHISPERED, with an inquring look.
i BY the terrace" said Nicholas, in
answer, and as he spoke there came to
US the faint but distant sound of a
norm, apparently from the very depths
OF the forest, and the notes reused a
brace Of hounds in the courtyard, who
bayed into the night. Nicholas gripped
my arm, and I turned to him in sur
prise. His face was pale, he was shak-
ing all over like an aspen, and his black
eyes were dilated with fear.
Did you hear that, monsieur he
said, thickly.
'Diable! What? I hear three differ
ent things-dogs, men, and some one
blowing a horn"
Then you did hear 1.-THE horn?"
Yes. What of it? No doubt post
on its way to Anet.''
mo post ever rang that blast, mon
sieur. That is the Wild Huntsman, and
the blast means DEATH"
AS he spoke it came again, wild and
shrill with an eerie flourish, the like Of
which [ had never heard before The
dogs seemed to go mad with the sound
there was hubbub in the court yard
and some one in the chamber above the
terrace threw open the sash and peered
out into the night. 1 thought at first it
was de Gomeron; but the voice was not
his, for, after looking for a moment. he
gave a quick order to the men below,
and stepped in again. AS for Nicholas,
he seemed beside himself, and I had to
hold him by main force by my side, or
he would have broken and fled
''Diable!' I said. "Sit still, fool-see,
there are couple of horsemen gone
in search of your wild huntsman, who
has been so nearly spelling our soup.
They will occupy him, at any rate Sit
STILL
The men rode by us slowly, one of
them carrying a torch, and, taking a
turn to the right, trotted off into the
forest, cursing the orders they had re-
ceived to go forth after the horn
winder. AS they passed, I began to
breath more freely, for had they gone
to the left it was an even chance that
they would have discovered our horses,
owing to one of the beasts neighing, a
danger always to be guarded against
in an ambuscade. In minute or so
Nicholas, too, began to get more COM
posed, and, seeing this, determined
to prick him into anger, for then he
would fear nothing.
Pull up, man." I said, your ears
lie beyond that pane Of glass-do you
not want them back?"
He put his hand up to the side of his
head with a muttered curse, to which
de Gomeron's name was linked, and 1
saw that he was better.