Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-08-04

before, and saw all 700 plainly how
much his bodily strength was begin
ming TO fail; he remembered the days
Of ceaseless toll he had borne during
the siege. and thought how a walk of
two or three miles would exhaust
him now, and loathed the thought.
Then he srew angry with himself for
not haveing remembered the expenses
Of the voyage during his interview
with Mr.. Seymour, and wondered
with a vague misery if his senses
were deserving him, as we'll as his
strength, turning sick at the thought
Of this failing of his powers. What
would the end be if he waited much
| longer? There could be only one
answer to that question, and Gaspard
could not repress a shudder. He was
! so young, and chung to life with such
ardori moreover, he was so acustom-
| ed to think of death as swift and
sudden. and sweetened by patriotism
like that of his father. that the idea
of this slow, dreary starvation seemed
all the more terrible.
SHSXi. = "a d TO biiAirsS tFua,a S
He was in the very depths of
misery, when his solitude was sudden
| ~ invaded. There was brisk knock
at his door, and before his detected
| response could have been heard,
Claude Magnay entered.
May come in?'' he asked. "Your
| landlady told me you were at home
but there were so many customers
beloy that she allowed Bismarck to
show me up
Gaspard frightened a little at the
sight of his visitor, for he had a great
liking for Claude, and during the
winter had seen a good deal OF him,
the only check to their intercourse
being that Claude was a little too
pressing in his Inequalities, and
Gaspard too anxious to elude civilities
which he could not return They
were quite intimate enough to discuss
Gaspard's present difficulties, and.
indeed, Claude's very first remark
led to the topic.
$50 I hear you are going out to
/ Ceylon next month";
Yes no-at least l was going, but
1 believe l have changed my mind"
Indeed! I am sorry for that.
thought everything was settled; Sir
Henry Worthington certainly led me
to think So
Sir Henry Worthington! he has
had nothing to do with it. 1t was
through Dean Collinson 1 got the
situation
The Worthingtons might have
heard of it through your sister, per-
haps; certainly Sir Henry mentioned
it to me this very day. But you have
changed your mind, you say?"
Yes; / must wait till something
trying to stifie a sigh of despair.
But, my dear fellow, if l may say
so, surely it is madness to give up
such a chance as this. Coffee-plant-
ing is the best thing going now; you
will not hear Of such an opening
every day. Besides, have you not
spent this whole year in Mr.. Micaw-
ber's fashion-waiting for something
to turn up?"
Gaspard smiled a little.
Yes, it is true. But there must be
work, you know; l never will believe
| that l shall not find it in time. If the
worst came to the worst, l would
swallow my pride and turn into a
! French waiter!''
''Ah, yes: l can picture you at Cat
| it's, for instance, with napkin tucked
under your arm. scoldingg the cook
down the lift" and Claude laughed
grave, But, seriously, De Mabillon,
this is all very absurd; you must not
give up Ceylon.''
'Of course 1 should not, if it could be
helped, but it can not be- said he
| decisively; so help me by consider
ing my other capabilities"
We'll, first, I hope and think you
are capable of confding to me the
reason of this sudden change" said
! Claude, gu city.
Gaspard, a little surprised, hest
tated a moment, then answered,
well, as you can probably guess, the
expenses are too great. and l, like a
fool, did not think of that at first"
Claude, who had suspected this,
gave an exclamation of relief,
There! now we have come to the
! bottom of the matter. Why on earth
! did you not tell me at once? It shall
! be arranged as easily as possible. By
good luck, too, I have it with met
! will be quite coup de theatre" and
| taking a blue envelope from his
! pocTet he handed it to Gaspard
''There. De Mabillon, you will do
me great favor by taking that. No
don't open it now. | want to talk to
you"
To be Continued.