The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-01-30
Girls LAPIN.

was wandering, gun In MANU. III TIE
forest when 1 saw stone cross had
been so long away from the country that
this Cross was new to me. The gossip OF
the little hamlet on the skirt of the woods
was Taupet, who had once kept the village
cafe and was the barber of the country,
but he was too old now To exercise either
calling. knew Taupet could tell me all
about that cross. Meeting him next day,
ne gave me with much detail the story OF
Girls Lapin:
They called the man Girls Lapin because
of his beard, which was thick and gray,
and he had prominent teeth-and did mon.
sieur notice the prominent teeth Of M. dc
Blenville, the master of the hounds? He
was not Of this country, this Girls Lapin,
but from Brittany, and was once valet de
chiens to the Comte de Blenville--with his
hounds and his other distinctions The
count had to sell his estate and he went
in hiding, nobody knew where As for
Girls Lapin, he would not take another
place He loved his freedom and to live
after his own pleasure, and he set up as a
woodcutter, a business at which he was
very expert-too expert perhaps, for the
forest keepers, who suspected him Of fell
ing more wood than he paid for, but for
long time they could prove nothing against
him.
He would often come to my little cafe
and we became great friends. He told me
he had wife in Brittany and "A son there
named Eustase, and that In the neighbor
hood lived Mile. Agnes, the Count de
Blenville's daughter, who was being cared
for by her aunt. Sometimes Girls Iapin
would quit the forest and go to Brittany.
Tf uyao Gric Tanip xpbo f,oncht m, tl..
news of all this, and soon we heard how
the chateau was to be newly furnished and
furbished UP and the counts old debts
paid of, and presently we heard OF nothing
but M. dc Blenville and Nine. Ia Com
tesse And the new housckeepcr at tn,
chateau was no other than the wife of Girls
Lapin, and their son, the little Eustasc,
was running about the place, n flne play.
fellow for Mile Agnes, who had now comt
back To her fathers house. The count had
married n rich wife, hut it turned out
that the new countess had no love for her
stepdaughter. All the lady thought of wa.
TO get rid of Mile. Agnes--by marrying
her off to some rich man. Eustase--that
was Girls Lap.n' boy-was going to school,
and was to be brought up TO be a priest
He studied Latin and all that kind of
thing. Girls Lapin did not like the idea OF
the boy becoming priest. MAKE him a
soldier" said he. But Girls Ilapin's wife
and her mistress insisted that Eustass
showed n disposition to be cure, and II
was arranged so that he was shipped tt
the seminary. The fact is that Girls Lapib
absorbed a great deal of brandy and wa.
not exactly reputable sort of father.
Now, as i'll luck would have It, when
Eustase came home from his vacation.
madame had gone to her own estate in
Brittany, and the count had taken the op
portunity to bring home his daughter from
the convent to give her pleasure, and oui
young monsieur must needs become cnam
ored of this Mile Agnes. You see, Eustast
had taken no vows, and SO, when it was
found out that the boy and the girl cared
for one another, there was precious row
and mademoisclle was packed off to con
vent and the lad tn che seminary
Then the war with the Piussians took
place, and NJ. le Comte went into service
and after awhile the Germans were her,
in force, and "a Prussian general had hi.
headquarters at the chateau.
What was Girls Lapin doing? Cutting
wood for the Prussians and earning a
good bit of money. Tho fact is my owl
little place of entertainment was doing a
Lapin: "Takc care, the count may hole
you responsible some day for all rhe wooo
you are cutting. Watch out the coun,
may have somebody looking to his inter
ests
Well, ono day man came into my place
there were ever SO many Prussian sol
diers there-and he was dressed like n peas
ant, with his bill hook hanging at his gir
die, an honest woodman, as II would SEEM.
Some of the soldiers laughed and made
faces at him and called him Herr Crapaud.
But he did not seem to mind. A quiet
middle aged man, his resemblance to Girls
LApin struck me at once, only he was
younger In the faee, though his hair looked
ghyish Then suddenly he said, M
Taupet, Will YOU cut my hairs" walk
into my back room" said l. You see
thcsc Prussians dreaded spies and werx
very suspicious. No sooner was he seated
In my BARRIERS chair than 1 noticed that
his hair was powdered. so as 10 give hin,
an older look. Says nc at once: 81 am
Enstase. Find me some way of gcttino
into the chateau. / cannot ask my fothe,
to help me. He must not know am here,
saw him as l came here. Ny father WA.
drunk and was fratcrnizing with our enc
mics /"
Then 4 was sure the Germans wert
watching us. Now, n sudden inspiration
seized me- and | said aloud eyes. they
buy chickens at the chateau. and II you
had any pigeons you could sell them ANY
kind of poultry Is In demand - Then !
noticed that Eustasc started. "Pcrc Tau.
pet" said hc in "A low voice, THAT guess
about pigeons was u dangerously good one
Look" And opening the bosom of hi.
blouse, he showed me n white carrier pig
con there, one of the true Antwerp breed
but tell me about the chateau and
Mile. AgneSf'' he asked
gave him the last news. They ars
all well, said. Then he told me that h,
was no longer n scminarist. hut had taken
up arms i'm defense of France; that h,
had been promised his cpaulcts II he would
undertake q dangerous service. and II was
70 find out the exact force of Priissians in
this province. That he had three pigeons
and that two Of them had bcp loosed, and
the third, with the final news-the most