Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1898-06-27
THE WEREWOLF.

winch i received at court ana Wear1oQ
by the constant round of gayety which
constituted my life in Paris, it was my
habit to seek as a retreat the old manor
house of Kerzigolet, an estate lost in
the depths of Brittany, and which had
belonged for centuries to my husband
family Bounded as it was upon one
side by the sea and upon the other by
the forest, my seclusion was complete.
Still, in order to lose for short space
my identity, indeed my very personal
ity and sex, 1 adopted male attire and
so arrayed in a hunting suit [ spent
few weeks securing the woods, hunting,
fishing and riding with old GTuigny
(my husbands overseer) as sole compan-
ion and attendant \ Maids, fripperies
and furbelows were for the time left be-
hind in the gay metropolis
Here 1 was as free as air Even in
the village, five miles westward, l was
known only as I'M. lie Marquis, and
when I staggered jauntily up the aisle
of the little village church on Sunday
morning, with my spurs jangling and
my sword clanking behind me, who
could have dreamed that 1 was the IA
nous toast and beauty Of the court
the celebrated ''Marquise de B. p
The forest abounded in game. Cru
igny and I rarely failed to return from
our expeditions with game bags over
laden with feathery and furry spoils.
Many were the legends and stories
told in the outlying villages of that al
most impenetrable forest, and it had
been my ambition for years to explore
it even to its very depth, but had ever
been held in check by old Gruigny, who
told me, crossing himself the while, the
most blood curdling tales relating to
certain werewolf which was said by
peasants to haunt the heart of the
grand, mysterious woods.
''It is not that Nine. la Marquise
would fear a wolf, were or not We're, -
the old man would grumble in his thick
mustache, ''but it is always preferable
to meet q foe, canny or uncanny, in q
spot where a gun can be leveled straight
at him, and i'll that tangled under
growth, as Nine La Marquise knows,
there would be no use in aiming at all. :"
One evening, about an hour before
sunset, as l was sauntering slowly
homeward on horseback along the edge
of the forest, the reins hanging loose
on my mares neck, I noticed with sur
prise that the four dogs who accompa-
MED me had disappeared. [ whistled
and called for q time in vain, and final
~ concluded that they had lost me run
ming after game and would find their
way back to the manor house before
me, for | was still q good three miles
from home. Before the thought had
fairly formed itself in my mind, how
ever, q chorus Of frantic, furious Earks
broke upon my ear, rising and falling
in widest excitement
fWhat have they unearthed?" Won
dered 1T can surely be no ordinary
game, and as the sound grew nearer
and seemed to be scarcely leo yards dis
tant l rose in my stirrups and tried to
peer through the dense foliage. It was
just then that my mare took fright and
started on q dead run, not down the
road but half rearing she sWerved as
though terrified and turned into q mar
row forest glade. l snatched at the reins
helplessly, for with the bit between her
teeth | was pOwerless, and she tore
blindly on as though maddened by fear.
Scarcely had [ time indeed to bend my
head upon the creatures name and by
SO doing avoid being stunned, if not
killed, by the low branches Of the trees
which crisscrossed thickly above my
head.
In this position and clinging tightly
to both name and pOmmel I could see
behind me. The hounds continued their
thunderous baying when. suddenly
bursting through the dense thiclzet, 1
wolf o1ncoIxr
followed by the furious dogs. Straight
on it came after me. Gould it be giving
me chase? 1.-The werewolf" murnur-
ed and closed my eyes in an agony Of
terror.
How long that mad ride lasted new
-er knew When awOle as from long
sleep. which was in reality a deep
swoon, found myself in the midst Of
clearing in an unknown part Of the for
est, while the moon poured its rays full
into my face, lighting up the space
around me with brilliancy. Horse, dogs
and wolf had disappeared was alone.
Slowly regaining my senses found,
to my surprise, that l was absolutely
uninjured, and as l started to my feet
in beWilderInent, wondering which way
to turn, | felt gentle touch upon my
shoulder. Turning, with a suppressed
shrek, saw an old man, a beggar he
seemed to be by the poverty of his
clothing, standing tall and straight in
the moonlight before me. | saw him
plainly l see him plainly today in
memory. In one hand he held q gourd,
and fastened to his shoulders was a
knapsack- SPECIFICS with terror, I
started to run. do not fee, sweet an
gel of Franco, - he said in the gentlest
Of tones, speaking the familiar patois