Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-08-24

with a sympathetic blush. Ask her,
madame, ask her if I may abduot her.
/ desire no more"
"Well, so be it, monsieur. l have
only the interest of my child at heart.
Six days from today, then, return for
your answer"
"Six days from today, madame"
Raoul bowed and departed.
Raoul, Comte de Malplaquet, had
really been, up to this hour-so Maitre
Pitou, IS Rue Bonjard, said, whose in
come was large from his care of the
comte's estate, and larger still from his
care of his morals, according; that is,
to the report he gave of them-a young
man of the steadiest habits, wholly ig-
norant of the taste Of absinth-in his
bitters, at least-his fortune a reality;
briefly, a rara avis in the matrimonial
market.
1t was only this crazy abduction
| scheme OF his that worried good Mime.
Champonnet, with her old fashioned
way of regarding things. Still, after
all, it was merely a pretense, the fool
ish notion of a romantic lover, a mock
abduction, in truth, since she, fore
warned Of it, was an acoomplice i'll it.
Then the title of comtesse and 20, 900
francs a year falling to the lot of a de-
scendant of the hardware trade certain
ly merited some little>coneession in the
way of maternal scruples.
She decided to lay the whole matter
before Georgette.
"Abduct me-" cried she, "like a real
Lochinvar! Why, mother, how charm
ingI"
land you are sure, you are sure,
Georgette, " the mother continued, de-
termined to do her whole duty to her
child, THAT you have observed this
gentleman sufficiently to be certain that
he will be agreeable to you"
observed him sufficiently when he
has followed me like my shadow every
day for a month past!'
Naturally, therefore, when Raoul ar
rived promptly to the moment at the
appointed hour there remained only
the preliminaries to settle for the affair.
(Which will take place, madame, :"
Raoul concluded, "on Friday next at
the midnight hour
"The hour of crime!'
"For me the hour Of happiness. On
Friday, then, / say, at II 80 p. M, I
stop under your window. The sound of
a mandolin played by me will be the
signal. The dead latch will be up, and
you will be sleeping-like the dead,
madame. Georgette will descend; we
spring to the carriage; I'll have it in
waiting; gallop to the station, jump
aboard the rapide, and next day find
ourselves the leading article in the
morning papers. You, by noon, will be
interviewed by all the reporters of the
city, visited and condoled with by all
your enemies, and a day or two later
will receive from US a letter detailing
our happiness. Now, as I have still
many things to do before my departure,
| bid you au reyoir."
without seeing Georgette?"
"To see a girl I am going to abduct
would be improper, madame
And Raoul, the case won, withdrew.
On Friday, then, at midnight, the
abduction, as arranged, came off, Nine.
Champonnet, even by a happy fore
thought and an eager desire to increase
the comfort Of the affair, having dis
patched, secretly, of course, to Raoul's
address a trunk containing Georgette's
handsomest and thinnest clothing. 1t
was always so hot in Spain!
Spain? Picture, then, her oonsterna-
ton, her maternal despair, to receive
from-Norway, a whole month, too,
after the abduction had taken place, the
following telegram.
"Did not go to Spain at all. Too hot.
Here we are freezing. You ought to
have sent a bearskin in the trunk. Not
married yet. The religion here is Prot
estant. Tomorrow we start for Asia
to warm ourselves. We do not know
the religion there. From the French.