Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-06-25
MINiqan, Wukin ( Co.
We have several good Sec.
ond- Hand Pianos which we
OTTER you at your own price.


her horse nearer him; she asked
few questions about their probable
hating places; then WAS the Counts
accident bad one?" she asked.
Gildas stiff1y turned his head and
gazed at her up and down The sur
vey seemed to satisfy him; he looked
pleasantly at her as he answered:
Aye, it was bad indeed, he was full
of pain when we left Laval, and no
wonder-the accident has cost the
poor gentleman his right leg, and"
He checked himself, and locked be-
hind him.
Gillonne contented herself for the
present with some chance remark;
she pointed to a solitary maybe on
the dreary waste they were crossing
That sign bodies woe for some among
us-a cold hearth and desolate
home She looked keenly at her
companion.
There was doubt in his eyes, as he
returned her glance, but his rugged
brown face softened when he marked
the earnestness of her gaze.
You have been a long while with
your LADY," he asked.
Gillonne was accustomed to be treat
| ed with considerable Difference by the
| castle servants and the villagers of
Longuedec; the troopers abrupt ques-
ticn startled her, as much as the tone
| OF equality the man assumed towards
| her.
Il was with my lady, but now taken
l to her rest, long before she gave birth
to the Countess of Laval" she answer
| ed composedly.
| Good" He lowered his voice. sYou
are, then, ready to follow her fortunes"
he nodded towards the litter-"come
what may"
What can Gomez" she answered sig
4 nificantly. You said in my hearing
| that we shall tomorrow reach Laval;
my mistress will therefore be safe in
| her husbands keeping
May the good God so will it," He
stopped and crossed himself devoutly
! Monsieur de Retz has turned back
from the front, and was riding toward
them; he raised his jeweled hat as he
passed the litter, and then came slowly
on to Gildas.
Before the leader reached them. the
man said, without glance towards his
companion:
In your place tbs well to keep the
eyes and ears open; there is oft a slip
'twixt cup and lip"
| De Retz refined in his horse.
Take Yves with you, Gildas," he
| said, and ride on to Laval to announce
our coming, so that all may be ready
TO receive Madame la Comtesse."
Gillonne looked keenly at the young
leader; she saw that he was far more
attractive than he had looked when he
had assisted at the marriage in the
chapel at Longuedec 1t seemed to her
that he was more richly dressed; he
| now wore spray Of rich jewels under
the fiat Of his velvet toquet; there was,
too, handsome escarelle at his grdle,
from which three golden ornaments
dangled beside the hip. She remarked
that the pommel of his long dagger
was so covered with jewels that they
seemed ablaze in the setting sunlight
The sagacious tirewoman asked her
self what would happen if the Count of
Laval did not recover, and this gorge
| ous-looking cavalier succeeded as next
heir. She lay awake all night harrass-
ed with doubts and fears, and next
morning, when they set forth on the
last stage of their journey, she resumed
her place in the litter with her mis-
tress.
She had determined to give her lady
some inkling of what might lie before
her, and she presently told Jeanne that
she feared the counts Illness was Of a
very serious nature
Jeanne felt greatly disturbed.
Il pray that it may not be so: but |
/ hclipNa - a.
She hardly spoke again until the ca
vallcade began to mount the hill on
which stood the dark fortress-castle of
Laval. Jeanne looked forth from the
! litter, eager to get a glimpse Of her flu
ture home. She saw that it was built
on the steep hillside, and was partly
surrounded by tall gabled dwellings,
which bordered the twisting street of
the town. The river Mayenne had to
! be crossed before they could approach
the castle gates. and Jeanne noted with
surprise that the bridge was guarded
! at either end.
The blast of trumpet gave notice of
their approach. and the litter was soon
going at quick pace over the castle
| drawbridge.
De Retz had preceded her. and he was
/ TSdut 10 iieIp uoi dllSui WHEN the l1CIer
stopped before the fr0wning portal OF
! Laval
Behind De Retz stood two grew
| bearded men, in one of whom Jeanne
recognized the chamberlain who had ac-
companied her husband to Longuedec;
the other was evidently the seneschal.
for the castle keys hung at his girdle.
They both made her reverential obeis-
/ ances; bit as the countess looked from
one old face to the other their sad ex-
| preston chilled her heart and filled her
with anxiety.
How fares my lord the Count of La
val?' she asked the seneschal
| De Retz took upon himself to answer.
| will Madame Ia Comtesse be pleased
to enter?" he said. Her question can
then be more fittingly answered"
! The chamberlain turned to lead the
way. and De Retz walked beside
Jeanne. She was Cypress I'd by the
! gloom Of her reception; the strange
scene of unreality which had beset her
at the time of her marriage seized her.
She noted. as they followed the cham
berlain. that the castle was larger and
more gloomy than her own home; 1t
! was quite long way before she was