The Saint Paul globe., 1900-12-24

then. At last, with q sigh so profound
| that it appeared to be heayed from his
kerchief and wiped his eyes.
| Madem0lse-le will excuse me- he said,
j apologetically; but the fact is / am so
| agitated / hardly know what I am doing
Mademoiseile would not believe the scene
! l have just had with Msieu lie baron
/ Would she ever imagine that he could
/ think of turning me out?''
turning You out!ss ~ said Molly m sur
'Ah. I knew mademciselle would find
/ it difficult to believer! pursued Isioore,
knows his own worth. but it is true
all the same. My good Isidore, said
Ms.eu le baron to me this morning, L
keep you And why, M'sieu lie baron?
said 1, all trembling. as mademoiselle
will suppose Il can no longer afford your
wages said be, Well said 1, M sieu le
''Ah, you, should not have said that"
interrupted Molly, eagerly:
Wait bit, mademoisele, I have not
finished" :" returned ISidore, holding up
his hand to insure silence. He was as
startled as you, the poor gentleman. I
am not ungrateful, my friend, said he;
1t grieVeS me to the heart to part with
YOU Pardon, NJ 'sieu Raoul, said l.,
t you are ungrateful. Have 1 not served
the family for nearly sixty years-scul-
lion in the late baron your grandfathers s
time; footmap when M'sieu your father
was alive, and now that there are no
longer any servants worth mentioning in
the chateau, am [ not maitre d'hotel,
Valet-dc-chambre footman, and page all
in one? Yet Msieu lie baron proposes to
turn me out. My poor Isidore, what can
do? l tell you have not the money to
pay your wages. Well, M seu le baron,
me out of my comfortable home, and re-
fuse me the few bits of food that 1 eat,
and send me into the wide world away
from the only friends l have, at my age,
too? My good friend M Sieu lie baron
does not treat me as a friend. If M'sieu
le baron thought / was worth keeping,
and was pleased with my poor services,
he would not send me away on the first
| opportunity; but evidently Msieu is not
satisfied with me- 'Isidore, you know
it is not that Then NJ sieu will show
me a little consideration, and allow me
to remain where | am. AS to the wages
Pouf! M sieu can owe them to me, and
pay them to me later on capital and in
| tereSt if he. likes when sbis affairs are in
a better condition. There, do YOU see
madcm0iselIe? that is how manage him.
II | had made protestations of my SYM
pathy and fidelity he would not have
listened to me; but when l take him like
that he ends by giving, in.
Here 1SidOre, who had been enacting
the scene between himself and his mas
ter in so llfelike manner that Molly
could almost believe she saw it, paused
breathless, and grinned triumphantly,
while two nbigf tearsr'rolled down his
cheeks.
That poor Ms: "a lie baron; you
should have seen HIM, he was quite
touched. He stretched out his hands
without saying word, ana then he got
up and left the room, The fact is he is
rather glad not to lose me. l ask you,
! what would ne do without me? Not only
do l work like niger for him, but
l distract his thoughts, l talk to him, [
enliven him-as Mademoiselle may see
When M'sieu come down with his black
look on, 1 begin to bring out my alb
surdites, and by -dir1t OF talking non
n / hIy olyi11 I
laugh. Poor gentleman! wha would be-
come Of him in the midst of his worries,
# L We're nc. longer here? 1 verify believe
he would die
In spite of Isidore's naiveIy comic faith
| i'll his own merits, Molly was deeply
touched by this recital, and, moreover,
revealed. Were. M. de Sauvigny's affairs
really in so bad state as to cause him
to think of parting with the little facto-
! tum who was not only useful servant,
| but faithful friend? Must not her pres
! ence then entail an additional expense,
F.! and would her services be dispensed with
next? All, true! they were required by
Mime. de IleiIles, to wnom. as i; us tine had
SAID, her brother denied nothing. NJ lly
| might, therefore, consider herself secure,
a .clrcumstance which, oddly enough, af-
| forded her a certain satisfaction. TIy-
| ing as Mime Ia comtesse'' frequently
was, and dull as her life at the Chateau
! must be deemed, she was conscious of a
distinct unWillingneSs to leaVes She Iilled
| try people, and the small domestic staff
! ana, ever since that day in the gard n
| She llked the baron. He was invariably
! Kind to her now, his many-sided charac-
ter interested her, and she was sorry for
hlm- Her pity was So great indeed, that
Sometmes 1t was quite a burden to her
| Nothlng was more painful to her than to
! witness trouble which she did not u9der1
stand and which she could not alleviate
and when She saw RaouPs worried face
after a long day spent in poring over ma
! ha fa1t fIo+
would nave given worlds to help fhn
! She could see plainly enough that his diff
ncuItles We're increasing, and the tEoug ht
! or MS poverty Weighed, on her TO such a.
! degree that she almost grudged hers ELF
her daily allowance of food, and dreaded
the moment when her quar- ter:s saIa v
would become due.
Punctual to the very day, however. NJ
dc SauYlgny handed her the equivalent
! of her services 1--WE gold spfeces--which h.
from a motive of delicacy, he had en-
closed in an envelope. He felt some
| aWkWarGneSS in the proceeding and was
consequently rather more stiff and con-
| ~ imagined that he looked troubled. and
| 1elt an extraordinary repulsion to tn 6
money, offered her, doubtless, at the c5st
OF much Inconvenience, and privation.
| On, wish you would take it backv'
/ sue cried impuISlyely, rendering the en-
velope to him again 2''i.'1'F'a
IT was the same generous, unrefecting
Molly, who had in7former days braved q
Wettlng for. the sake of two street bows
and who was, as her aunt had told her
,,a aIWaays a1 doing Quixotic things When
| her neart was touched, her pity thor
oughIy aroused, she was carried away
into all sorts of kindly, compassionatss t.
ZONES, obIvious Of the consequences.
Raoui drew back, his eyes flashing with
| anger, his face crimson, his whole at
| tltude and expression denotfng shame and
| Indignation. ''-io'
Molly saw her mistake at a glance; she
! had insulted him.
II beg your pardon she faItered: sI
dld not mean to offend you. I-Iwas taken
by surprise. only intended to say that
know what to do with it at present. and
fhougnt 1la a,1t you would perhaps keep it till
81 see,' said Sauvigny Molly stealing
another look at him, and meeting his ewes
| felt that he did see-rig'ht through Ter
little story, and that her real motives
were perfectly plain to him. His face
was quite pale again now, and no longcr
| angry, only very sad and with n1Itoil-
| lated expression which she could no+
bear to see His arms hung down straight
which had been half unconsciousIy Green
ing forward again with the money She
PAUSED a moment, leaning against the
but his steady glance warned her that
she must not renew herr offer Then
she looked down at the envelope in her
but to accept it, and withdraw. Sorrow.
| lmpauence, and load of unexpressed
compassion combined were too much for
Molly; two great. tears of 'vexation lean
ed out, on her flushed cheeks, and She
crushed up the packet in her hand.
| Hateful money!! she cried petulaatIv.
her foot coming dowa in its favorife
| tap on the floor, and, with whisk of her
skirts, a bang of the door, she was gone.
Raoul looked after her in some sur
a very tender smile-and he drew a steu
nearer the table. There she had stood,
close beside it-iust there; and here was
the spot where her hand had rested. He