The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-10

ID depart, and Mr.. Burke was invited
to tea with her and her aunt on her last
evening at home.
Mrs. Mackenzie was equally fussy and
depressed, and Nelly herself found it harl
to keep up her spirits, though she tried to
conceal the fact by brave affectation
of mirth; Mr.. Burke encouraged her to
the best of his ability by various ponder
Gus jokes.
Whatever you do, Molly, come back
to us heart-whole,' he observed. Id
not bestow your affections Oh any con-
ceited musseW!!"
Perhaps there are ONE young bar MS, .
put in Mrs. Mackenzie, aghast at the
idea. Il hope you will be careful, chId
the French are so insinuating.'
Don't be afraid" laughed Molly, "thcy
are too finiclIy for me. could not stand
an admirer with a fringe and a waist
Sensible girl commented Mr.. Burke,
who was particularly struck with the
wisdom of this remark. 1 think we may
consider her safe, Mrs. Mackenzie
Molly Travelled straight to her dcsd-
national long journey, as it appaace1 to
her, though in less than TO days She
reached the Chateau de la Pepiniere. The
drive from Vauxmoncour took rather
more than an hour, through a Lovely
wooded country that grew wilder and
more lonely the farther they advanced.
AT last the jingling, rafting open vehicle,
with its solitary occupant and her couple
of trunks passed through tumble-dowI,
hamlet perched on the side of a steep
pine-groWn hill, assembled a rocky path
for about a quarter Of mile, and finally
stopped before a huge, rusty iron gate,
set in high stone wall.
In answer to the drivers deafening
shouts, very old woman appeared from
lodge m Gil
bunch of keys; the great gate creaked
open, and the carriage proceeded at a
slow pace up a narrow avenue, much
overgrown with grass and weeds, and
deeply indented with ruts. The grass of
the wide expanse of park grew too lux
uriantly, the branches of the overhang-
ing trees swept Molly's face; here a
fallen trunk lay across the path; there
a broken-doWn paling chung round an ILL
thinned plantation. An ancient horse
and meager cow or two were the only
living things about the place. and when
they came in sight of the chateau itself
the general air of desola ton appeared to
be intensified. The frontal was discoI-
ored with damp, the thick coating Of ivy
wholly untrimmed, and even in some
places detached from the stone wall:
the woodwork Of the door and windows
was almost guiltless of paint and much
decayed, and the panes of many of the
latter were broken. All along the upper
story the dilapidated blinds were drawn
and even here and there on the ground
floor the shutters were closed a fact
which gave an ineXpressibly gloomy lok
to the mansion Yet seen thus in the
full glare of the afternoon sunshine, I'M
Ger the wonderful Normandy sky, the
old chateau, with its grey turfeted walls.
and dark background of pine-grown hill
side, was not without a certain pic
[nresque beauty of its own.
molly got out, trembling a little, and
looked for bell or knocker whereby to
announce her arrival, but none were Wis
IDLE; a little hole, indeed, with circular
mark around it, to the right of the
door, testified to the fact that bell had
once been there, but was of no avail
under present circumstances. The driver
hammered vigorously with his whip and
shouted with his stentorian voice. arous-
ing the echoes far and near, but appar-
entity nothing else. Then he took down
Molly's boxes, asked for his fare. and
climbed UP quite contentedly on his seat.
Faut croire qu'on n entend pas!' he
observed, and advising Molly to make
the tour of the house, in search of an
other entrance, he admonished his horse
with prodigious "Hu,'' turned the an
1maIs head; and logged off down the ap-
proach, the forlorn little traveller. hlanlllv
staring after him.
After pause of dismay she thought
she could not do better than follow his
ADVICE, and entered timidly on her round
u inspection, Following a pathway which
wound to the east end of the chateau.
A wide sunny lawn, bounded by di
apldated wire fence, stretched before her
on this side, the grass growing high and
rank and tangle of weeds almost chok-
ing the few flowers that fingered in +he
old-fashioned borders. High-growing
1uXurlant rose trees climbed up the Old
grey walls, covered with a profusion of
creamy blossoms. SWeet-WilIiam and
groundsel throve equally well in the Dor
der beneath, while the air was heavy
with the scent of the cabbage roses which
huhg across the pathway, and the tall
mIllte INES growing apparently wherever
they listed, and lying, MANY of them.
prone on the ground
molly found there was even less chance
OF erecting an entrance on this side of
me mouse than on the other, though
tne walls were lined with long narrow
WllooWs' thefe was no yestige of door.
She was d1sconSolately retracing her
steps, still anXiously scanning the build
ing, when she suddenly discovered that
she was herself the object Of close and
severe scrutiny
man was leaning out Of one of the
upper windows, with his folded arms
resting on the sill; his dark face with
IT'S Keen. lnquiring eyes, being turned
towards Molly with an expression of dis
pleased, almost fierce surprise.
Il beg your pardon said the girl
pausing and gazing up deprecatingly al
this apparition, II have just arrived
and l could not get in. There is ne
ball. and L don't think anyone heard nv
knock
''Ah, Miss Mackenzie, 1 suppose?" re.
turned the man in English, the frowr
vanishing from his heavy brows, but
the face remaining serious as ever. 81
beg your pardon; I did not expect YOU
till tomorrow. The servants are proba-
bly, Quit is our apple-harvest today
but if you will kindly return to the hall
door, 1 will open it for you"
He disappeared from the window leav.
ing Molly amazed, startled and con.
| fused. Was this the Baron de Sauvignvf
This solemn, moody looking man with his
stiff manner, and his faultless English
not half so pleasing a parsonage as the
white-haired, courtly old patriarch whom
she and her aunt had pictured to them
selves. Patriarch, indeed! this mar
looked barely forty, If even so old.
Now that 1 think of it, 1 don't know
why we should have imagined he was
oiu' sdiu Moiiy' TO herSelt, except thai
he said his sister was elderly. Heigh-ho
my vision was nicer than the reality al
the same! How he did glare at me!
suppose he took me for a trespasser.
When she reached the door, she found
! it already open, and NJ. de Sauyigny
standing on the threshold awaiting her
/ and appearing more alarming than ever
seen thus at close quarters. A form
! tall and of almost herculean mould. E
| swarthy, clean shaver face, shaded by
thick, dark hair, features as regulal
and almost as impressive as those OF {
| statue, the prevailing expression gloomy
not to say morose; decidedly NJ. lie baron
! though handsome enough, was not an at