The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-08-18

oon..a,, buI suddenly he
controlled himself. and was cool and
in :oT and smiling again.
nou terrify mech. YOU terrifv
me! the actress exclaimed. putting
ner hands to her eyes as if to shut ont
the lrlshtful vision his words had CON
jured up. -'D eon-
Fardon, madame, but l only wish to
SNOW you your danger. and to impress
upon you the necessity to be watchful
however, | think you need have little
Oh no rear. The Chambre has it's hands
upon your enemies, | believe. at this
very moment"
she gave little cry of delight.
of course" he went on, the safest
course to adopt would be to stop the
play at once. Will you do that?"
NO; | will not do that" she replied
slowly. 1T is too great success
Gould you then, identify the man
who gave you the letter."
fes-oh, yes; | can see his face
his horrible face, now!"
well. then, you must help us in this
way. After the play tonight 60 to
the Place de Greve. You will be met
there by one of our agents. who will
conduct you to one of our secret
houses in the Rue de Sainte-Croix.
There we have several men under ar
rest, and you must see them. Had the
man scar under the left eye?"
Yes, yes-a deep scar. l remember
that distinctly"
Many men have such scars. but still
this may be the right one. You will
come, them"
II will. I shall see you there. mon
sieur?"
Yes. And, by the way, has any 9TH
er agent of the Chambre called? You
see we work secretly and hardly know
each others plans and movements"
NO; no one else has been"
"Ah, then au revoir, madame. To-
night, after the play, in the Rue de
Sainte-Croix"
And he made obeisance and went out
III.
Mile. Moliere was depressed and ner-
Vous that evening, despite her inherent
inability to take most things seriously.
She thought of the words of NJ. Dupin,
and feared to eat, feared to 20 out.
feared to stay at home, feared almost
to look around, and yet kept contin-
ually glancing rapidly and timidly over
her shoulder. The customary hour.
however, found her, as usual, on her
way to the theatre. thickly yelled and
cloaked. She took quite a circuitous
route, avoiding all the quiet streets and
mixing as much as she could among
the crowd.
AT the corner of the Rue Mazarine.
in her haste, she ran into a drunken
man who would have turned upon her
and struck her but for the gallant in
PREVENTION of passing gentleman. A
crowd collected all in moment, as
crowds will collect, and for one brief
instant she caught sight, amid the
throng, OF face that chilled her with
fear. 1t was the SCARED. reptile face
OF the deliverer of the threatening let
ter. She would have swooned burt for
the excitement buoying her up
So the Chambre Ardente could not
have the right man under arrest. after
all. That was her first thought. Was
he not uncaptured, and walking
abroad? What should she do? Per-
haps, though. she argued as she sped
along, she was mistaken in the face.
There were plenty of SCARED risages
in Paris, as NJ Dupin had said. She
determined in the end, as women will
Recommendations a vast amount of
consideration-to keep her appoint
ment in the Place de Greve, but mean
while, arrived at the theatre, she has
tily scrubbed note and dispatched it
to the Chambre. 1t ran thus:
Have just seen in the Rue Mazarine
the man who gave me the threatening
letter-at least, | believe 1t was the
man. | will, however, come tonight
to the house in the Rue de Sante-C roix
as l promised your agent, NJ. Dupin,
this afternoon"
".
The play was over, and the audience
had dispersed. The streets, softly IL
lumined by newly risen moon, were
still and deserted. Me Moliere. yelled
and hooded again. walked swiftly in the
direction of the Place de Greve. AS
she entered the square, recently so wild
and lurid with tongues of hungry flame
hungry for human flesh-but now so
peaceful and beautiful in the deli
cate light, she esp.ed figure approach
ing her.
Mile. Moliere?" he queried in deep,
low voice when he came near.
She nodded her head.
Follow me-" he added.
They traversed labyrinth of streets,
and no further word was spoken until,
quarter of an hour afterward, the
man raped gently at house door in
queer little street.
This is the Rue de Sainte-Croix, !"
he murmured.
The door was instantly opened. EN-
NN,. h. 1nt,a ~
with her attendant at her heels.
The passage was pitch dark. She
stood still affrighted.
Where am II" she cried.
'Yhis way-this way. 'Tis all right"
said a voice.
"Oh. is that you, NJ. Dupin?"
"Yes, It's l, madame"
Thank Heaven! l began to fear I
had been entrapped."
A hand took hers in the darkness,
and conducted her several yards. Then
a door was opened and they entered a
dimly lighted room, half laboratory,
half library.
pray be seated, madame said Du-
pin genially. 81 think I've settled this
affair. The Chambre Ardente knows
what it Is about Ha, ha. ha! l should
think so! Have some wine, first, ma
dame, before you look on the SCARED,
ugly faces of the rogues have man.
aclel here. Besides, you must be ex-
hausted after your walk, and possibly
frighteneu, eh?"
He laughed pleasantly as he poured
her cut some wine. It struck her what
a court'y, affable man he was.
Drink" he said.
She emntied the goblet at drauRht