Connecticut western news., 1899-02-16
dreo thousand francs q year i

Mme. Champonnet began to soften.
 But wait. but wait; you go too fast. monsieur, said she. "You spring up in my way like Jack in the boxi Your
 credentials, your references, please for you"
 "Credentialsf Certainly, madame; a
 perfectly proper preoaution. My notary, Maitre Pitou, 18 Rue Bonjard. will put
 you au oourant of my entire history" "And Georgette--she does not know you, monsieur.
 Wrong again, madame. saw her
 nt the vaudeville some days ago, and
 she responded to the ardor of my gazs
 with a sympathetic blush. Ask her.
 madame, ask her if may abduot her.
 desire no more"
 Well, so be it, monsieur. 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, rera avis in the matrimonial | market.
 It 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 Q pretense, the fool
 ish notion of a romantic lover. a mock abduction, in truth, since she. fore
 warned of 1t. was an acoomplice in it. | Then the title of oomtesse and 90, 900 francs year falling to the lot of de- scendant of the hardware trade certain l ly merited some little concession in the way of maternal scruples. She decided to lay the whole matter
 before Georgette.
 "Abduct me-" cried she, "like a real
 Lochinvarl Why, mother, how charm | ingi"
 "And you are sure, you are sure, Georgetts, 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 be has followed me like my shadow every day for 8 month pastp'
 Nak rived promptly to the moment at the appointed hour there remained only l the preliminaries to settle for the affair. (Which will take place. madame, |" Raoul concluded, Ion Friday next at the midnight hour''-
 "The hour of crimep' ''For me the hour of happiness. On Friday, then, say, at II :S0 p. m., I stop under your Window. The sound of
 mandolin played by me will be the signal. The dead latoh 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 oondoled with by all your enemies, and a day or two later will receive from us letter detailing our happiness. Now, as l have still
 many things to do before my departure,
 1 bid you au revoir.
 Without seeing Georgettep'
 "To see a girl am going to abduct | would be improper. madame" ! And Raoul, the case won, withdrew. On Friday, then, at midnight, the 1 abduction, as arranged, came of, Mime. 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 8 | address trunk containing Georgette's . handsomest and thinnest clothing. It l was always 90 hot in Spain Spain? Picture, then, her oonsterna-
 tion. 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 bot.
 Here we are freezing. You ought to
 have sent 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.