The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-27
CHAPTER XVII.
A LOVE TOKEN

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Presently the housemaid entered with
q great bundle of letters on salver.
OIolly's movements had been too uncer-
tain during the past few weeks to admit
of their being sent on.
This registered parcel came fortnight
ago. Miss said the woman, laying
small packet on the table.
Molly glanced at it, and started It
bore the VauXmoncour postmark, and
was addressed in the countess's cramped
writing. And stay! There were only
two letters from her too. What could
she have written about? Molly had de-
spatched a note to her on first arriv-
ing at Castle ONeill, but she had taken
no notice of it and the girl inferred she
d;d not want to keep up a correspondence
with her.
AS soon as the maid had left the room.
Molly with trembling fingers, broke open
one of the letters which was written on
thin, cracking paper and sealed with
an immense coronet.
1t proved to be an appeal Nine. de
Treilles required a certain sum Of money
at once and knew not to whom to apply.
For certain reasons she did not wish
her brother to know of her nece ssity, and.
therefore, had no choice but to sacrifice
her jewelry. She was, therefore, send
ing by that post the few ornaments which
rerlained to her, begging her dear Miss
Mackenzie either to purchase them her
self or to dispose of them as soon as pos
sible and to remit her the equivalent.
There was, in particular a certain medal
lion, a miniature curiously set, by which
the writer set great store, it having or
. fginally belonged to her great-srand-
mother, demoiselle de Rohan, who had
married a foreigner. This heirloom had
belonged to the eldest daughter Of the
house for four successive generations,
and its present owner was navree de
douleur at the thought Of its passing into
the hands of strangers. Perhaps Miss
Mackenzie touched by her grief, would
be good enough to become at least the
temporary purchaser of it, and if at any
future time the countess found herself in
a position to do so she would hasten to
reimburse her.
Poor thing thought Molly sorrowful-
ly. Her son has evidently been at his
old work How much trouble he has
brought on them all! She does rot men
ton Raoul, and suppose I mustn't either.
OF course her writing to me is to be
kept a profound secret from him; he
would never forgive her if he knew-and
yet I am so glad to help her"
Signing, she opened the other letter,
which bore a more recent date, and
which was conceived in a very different
strain. Nine. de Treilles was surprised
at not hearing from Molly sooner, her
anxiety at the time of her last letter de-
handing a more speedy response-but it
imported little. All her maternal solicit
tude was at an end, her son was about to
make a splendid alliance, and would now
be provided for without her aid. She
would conflde to her dear friend, that 1t
was on his account she had been anxious
to obtain a little money. Now there was
no longer the same urgent necessity;
a = %J,o
gentillesSe to become the temporary pur-
chaser of the jewels already sent to her,
the sum advanced would be very useful
for current expenses. After her son S
marriage Nine, la comtesse " ould be able
to repay her. She would not conceal
from her dear sympathetic young friend
that she was Eau comble de sa joie." It
was such marriage as she had scarcely
dared to hope for. Everything was per-
feet; fortune, rank relations. She had
made enquiries about the young lady,
and had ascertained that her health was
good, that she was of an amiable dispo-
sition, and was in appearance quite pre-
sentable. CASTOR was aux anges, net as
he had written to his mother, on account
of his fancee's colossal fortune. but be-
cause on that account his union with
her became possible. Had she been poor.
as he said, his own poverty would have
forbidden him to address her, hut, thanks
to her dot, he was enabled to do SO; he
only valued it on that account. He had
loved her long, and love, as he said,
equalized all things; "a true mans heart
was worth all the money in the world"
Here Molly suddenly lad down the let
ter and laughed till she almost cried.
CASTOR was incapable. Certainly he
knew how to make his stock phrases
serve him on every occasion. There was
much more to the same effect; a post
script, begging Molly to be so good as
to return the medallion mentioned in a
former letter. as the writer did not sh
1T to be included in the trinkets which
were 10 pass for the time being out of
her hands.
Molly was unfeignedly glad at this
piece of news, and was delighted for the
countess's sake, to transact a little anna
teur pawnbroking, for to tbs the latter s
request that she should become the ITEM
porary purchaser" of her trinkets Virtu-
ally amounted. However. tie little form
ula saved Nine. de Treilles self-respect
which would have shrunk from openly
asking for q loan, and the girl was only
too glad to keep it UP.
She drew the parcel towards her. and
opened it tenderly and compassionately
it must have been hard for poor Nine
Ia Comtesse to part with her little treas.
in a scandal wood box; few rings
a bracelet or two, and an old-fashionec
pair Of diamond ear-rings-not very mueI
to represent a fine lady's jewellery
posed of. At the bottom. in little cas-,
of its own, was the much talked O
pendant A really beautiful miniature
set in sort Of scroll. very finely work,
and diamonds. The painting represent