The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1897-10-30

so good, indeed, as to drink the contents
of the bottle by the glassful at inter-
! walls, they will find no more NAL de
mer."
Maybe it's poison" Mrs. Wallis
~groaned, but l had reached the desper-
ate stage when poison wa preferable to
seasickness, and she followed me in
taking a glassful of the colorless stuff.
| don't know what it was. wish l did,
but the second glassful certainly put us
tpon our feet.
l impressed upon Mrs. Wallis my
sense of the kindness of an entire
stranger. and that she must give him
our most cordial thanks.
We found our steamer chairs again
in place just where the evening sun
would strike past them, but leave u
faces i'll shadow, and Longing near
them was Mr.. Henri Valois."
THAT is a very interesting and aris-
tocratic name" Mrs. Wallis had said,
holding the card in one hand and her
lorgnette III the other. As she critically
examined it, Observation-Disclosures
there a king or something with a name
like that?"
l suggested that this might be a
branch of the family with the bar sinis-
ter, and then Mrs. Wallis said positive
ly: "Then that settles it. He is a duke,
or a due, at the very least. Those kings
always gave titles and estates right and
left to that sort of connections. I'll
find out!"
To do her justice, she made valiant
efforts to keep her word.
As we took possession of our chairs it
was the most natural thing i'll the
world that Mrs. Wallis should smile
sweetly and bow invitingly to a gentle
man who had Leen of such service to
US.
Mr.. Valois 1--WE longed to say mon
sieur, but were conscious that the pro-
n~unciation Of French by westerners
would hardly sound Partisan to native
ears) responded with open delight.
And then began a most delightful
friendship. He was not only extremely
distinguished looking, SO that it was
with a calm joy and hearts free from
carking jealousy that we looked upon
the other parties in the ship as we
three sat or walked or dined together,
but Mr.. Valois had been everywhere,
knew everything that came up in the
world, spoke several languages, and
could tell al adventure equal to Rider
Haggard. l remember II night-it
was the evening before we reached Cork
harbor-we sat on the deck until the
moon came up out Of the dark sea. Mr..
Valois was telling us of an adventure
that q party of gentlemen had encoun
tered in southern Italy. They were go.
ing by private carriage from II point
to another when they were set upon by
brigands. From the minute description
that he gave of everything he must
have been there, but he did not speak
Of himself once. There was a certain
Marquis de st. Lippe who had put his
pistol to the chief bandits head and
vowed he would shoot him dead if any
Of the bard lifted finger and had made
the villain order off his men, who fig
ured as the hero. l can see him now al
be sat on the camp stool, leaning ex'
citedly forward, the words clipping
after each other on his tongue, the
white moonlight and the excitement Of
his story making his eyes all aglitterD
After we went into our stateroom Mrs.
Wallis turned to me with suppressed
excitement:
Don't you see it? He is the Marquis
de st. Lippe himself. No man ever tool
that much interest in his friends ad
ventures"
After that Mrs. Wallis tried with al
Il u l. -~1.t,~-a Va,lo.
to bring out some detail of Mr.. Valois
private history, but that was the only
subject upon which he was silent. ON
day when she had been unusually press
ing he turned suddenly, and, smiling
in her face, said in his peculiar, rathe.
short sentences: SIS it my profession
!, you would know, madame? France il
| not like America. All men do not cas-
accounts nor keC shop. 1t is differ
ent. l am q traN from one beautiful
city to another.
After that madame retired from he
researches, abashed, but ever since tn
night of the story Of the bandit adven
ture Mrs. Wallis had addressed me a
1.-THE marquise."
1t did no good for me to try to laugl
her fancies away and tell her that MI
Valois had never limited a word of love
making to me. She always said, Jus
as though, Jean Medlicott, l had no
lived in this world long enough t
know the difference between Irritation
: attentions and that deferential servic
a man gives to a woman he mean t
win!"
: Notwithstanding my disclaimers
8 felt rather like a marquise already.
+ fully realized that to marry a Frenc
t nobleman was decidedly different fror
the brilliant destiny attained by som
S of u American women in margin
u English dukes and lords, but even
n French count, if he is genuine, is nc
r to be despised in a land where the onl
! man with any sort of title that 20
t have any chance of marrying is a
= army lieutenant. have hardly enougI
money to buy a title in the regula
y market, but a bargain sometimes fall
in my way. Mrs. Wallis and 1 both fel
r that this encounter was an unusual piec
o of luck.
For the last year or two people VIII
were interested in my affairs had begu
to make illusions to that typical mai
who went through and through tn
4 thicket and picked up a crooked site
a at last and to suggest that a crooke