Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-12-12

1870! What was the good Of it, pray,
with Mont Valerien just opposite?"
ut was idiotic," returned the deco
rated gentleman. "At that time / was
on the staff Of Admiral La Ronciere
LIE Noury. You have no conception,
sir, of all the mistakes that were COM
mitted during the siege Of Paris. Just
fancy
Here the big man obligingly changed
over into the corner seat, to be nearer
me, leaving the pretty bruno opposite
the fair man, and he went on with his
course in tactics with broad gestures,
pointing out to me the magnificent
horizon, the Seine like a silver ribbon
at the foot Of the green slopes Of Cour-
bevoie, and, far in the background,
Paris, with it's houses and its monu-
ments, among which stood out the gi-
gantic silhouette of the Arc de Tri-
omphe, dishonored by scaffoldings, and
the gilded dome of the Invalides.
Remember" continued the decorat-
ed gentleman, "that we were occupy
ing the region near Clichy."
But l hardly heard him, for l saw
with terror that, profiting by my ma
neuver, our two lovers had begun to
whisper in smothered tones. The brief
was still spread out on the young mans
knees, for the looks of the thing but 1t
was easy to see that he no longer even
cast glance at it. And the train sped
along, and the soldier, absorbed by his
memories, went OH with his discourse
on military history that l feigned to
listen to most devoutly, so as to draw
his attention to the left side Of the
line.
We reach st. Cloud; we enter the
tunnel, and in the pitch darkness, on
my word, / would swear that l heard
the sound of a kiss. When we rush
out again into the light, cast glance
at the fair haired man, who Is once
more deeply absorbed in his case.
What do l make out on his left nostril
but funny little black spot! Sapris.
ii! 1t Is the patch, the killing patch,
that in a thoughtless contact has loos.
ened and passed from the lips of the
dark beauty to the nose Of her admirer.
foresaw a horrible tragedy, for my
tactician turned questioning and sus-
picious look upon the lady, as If he had
ance, he hardly knew what. l would
have given worlds to have been able to
whisper to the good looking young
man, For heavens sake, remove that
compromising patch at once, or you
are betrayed" Unfortunately it was
quite out Of the question. seated as
was at distance. So it seemed wiser
to recall the officers thoughts to the
war of 1870 and the heights Of Viro-
fay. But he no longer paid any heed
to me. He chuckled in a sinister way
behind his fierce mustache, gazing at
the bepatched nose of the fair young
man.
AS for the woman, crimson, over
come with terror, she began to fan
herself violently, a most distressing
sight. What was going to happeni
| What terrible sentence was the i'm
placable judge going to pronounce or
the guilty wretches covering beneath
his gaze? Was / going to be obliged
to look on in this narrow railway car.
riage at challenge, boxing match
perhaps butchery, massacre?
Suddenly, to my intense relief,
caught sight of the three little yew
trees, trimmed into sugar loaf shape
that guard the entrance into the grand
monarch's town. A guard called out
Versailles! Versailles" The train
stopped. got out, determined to sticE
to the officer to see what would hap
pen. Judge of my stupor on seeing the
lady take the fair mans arm and triI
along at his side, while the decorated
| gentleman said to me as he saw them
disappear:
"They are charming. I know them
They live quite near me in the Rue
! Duplessis. The husband is a lawyer
They are half way through the honey
moon, as you might infer, sir. What
hug he gave her in the tunnel al
Vile dAvray, to be sure!'-Translat
ed From the French For Argonaut.