The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-27
JAIL RIcHTsR
m00NQ'S Fortunes,
E. . Country Village etc.


of the last century The expression OK
his face. indeed the whole thing, was
strangely familiar TO Molly. Where had
S STr1 seen e d 1t before? Had her friend ever
Never-of that she was sure; it was
Nine. de Treilles' custom to eschew
ornaments of every kind Where then.
could she have seen it,
She turned it over suriouslW On the
back was a quantity designed monogram,
surmounted by fanciful designed. under
~ small characters. What a strange
business 1t was; somehow Molly seemed
to recognize the monogram, and to ex-
! pee the arabasques to be there.
she carried the locket to the light,
and slowly deciphered the tiny words:
IA S: de r. Gage damour."
ed of the letters r. o. N, perhaps, r.
ON. Was that little flourish meant
for an apostrophe, or was it merely an
appendage to, the central letter? R. ON!
Molly's hand shook so much that she
well nigh dropped the precious trinklet.
She rushed. across the room. and TAX
began hurriedly to search among its
contents. sudden idea had struck her
a mad and ridiculous idea, of course
that she might have seen such an orna-
ment with Miss O'Neill. Was that brace
let, for instance. which she used to wear
sometimes, set with similar medallions?
Now that she thought of it. was not
one Of the miniatures missing, and had
not Miss O'NeilI said once that If it were
ever found in the possession of anyone
calling himself O'NeiH. she would deem
fly And this had originally been the
property of de Rohan, who had mar
RED i, foreigner,perhaps an Irishman.
an O'Neill r. O'N.!-whoy those initials
might stand for Roderick O'NeiI! Most
Of the male ONeills of the younger were
Hughs. And in that case Nine de Treil-
les would be descended from the ONeills,
and Raoul would be-"Oh, am a goose
to dream of it! 1t is absurd, impossible!
Stlll may as well convince myself that
The jewel case contained poor Miss
ONe1lIs favorite ornaments, which Molly
had put away carefully after her death,
ana which had not been touched since
She unlocked it TREMENDOUSLY, and took out
its contents one by one Here was the
bracelet. Her fingers. bungled curiousIy
open at last, and Molly could place Nine.
de Treilles' miniature between the other
| two. A beautiful rosy color overspread
her hitherto pale face. The central me-
GALLON represented a young man, and
the others contained gfrish heads, but in
other respects the three were precisely
alike. The paintings; were evidently by
! the same hand, the style being Identical;
moreover, there was a strong family like
ness III the three young faces, and the
selt-same shipper sat on all the painted
lips. the setting was similar in every
particular, and the fanciful monogram
Of eaeh-J; ON, M. ON, R. ON:
herself; let me think-What can it mean?''
This was the missing miniature, of that
there could be no doubt; it had been in
the possession of the Sauvignys for four
generations, having been originally
brought into the family by MademoiseHe
Sophie de Rohan, who had married a
O'Neill had left his country about the
end OF the last century, had joined one
of the Irish brigadeS in Francois Miss
O'NelH said so many Of her family had
6OnR-.4n6 HhannaA fn "a
cal foreigner? What more likely than
that he should present his fiance with his
c.wn portrait yielded up for the purpose
lit might be unwllingly) by his mother
or some of his feminine belongings? If
this were the case, why, Raoul could
prove his descent from the O'Neills, of
doubtless the daughter Of Roderick OF
that illl. Raoul could have the right to
claim everything at present in Molly's
possession, the right to claim Molly her
self, if he were so minded--for Raoul was
the heir!
Suddenly she fell on her knees, Sob
ing, and covering the little maniature
with kisses; a slender link indeed on
which to hang so great a chain Of evil
| Gage damcur! Oh, blessed words! Did
they say half as much to that pretty,
| prime young demoisselle long ago, as
they, did to this, Irish nineteenth century
maiden? Did she ever weep such tears
| over them, or repeat them with such
rartuous joy? Gage damour--a love
token indeed guarantee that the bar
rier which had so long separated her
| and Raoul must now perforce be done
away with, that the silence which both
deemed themselves bound to observe must
/ be broken at last
Dear, clever, good Miss O'Neill! how
inspired she had been to make such a
will! how wonderfully wise to word it in
honor. would have been almost bound to
! give Molly the option of refusing him,
! even had he never hitherto seen her; but
under present circums tances-"Oh thank
God, thank Cod she sobbed over and
over again; and presently Mrs. Mackenzie
! was surprised out of something very like
| nap, by a rushing figure bursting into
her room, and an ecstatic cry:
''Oh, auntie, am SO happy! I haven't
penny in the world that can call my
| own"
Mr.. Burke, hastily summoned on the
following day, heard Mollys story With
anX anything but rapture. and advised her,
testify enough, to put her ridiculous
theories out Of her head.
Let your count or baron, or whatever
he is, hunt up his Inheritance for him
self If he wants it. 1 never heard any
ly not going to allow you to be disturbed
on the evidence of a trumpery bauble
that may have changed a dozen times
after it left possession of the o. NeiIls."
Yes, but it hasn't, dear Mr. Burke, =
urged Molly eagerly; lit has been in NJ
de sauy,i i family for genera tons;
| AhOW 4lS Son prove his rights.
oh, do so want him to be the heir. . she
cried, claspiing her hands:
DO you, indeed?" said Mr.. Burke, soft
ening a little, but still much put ont
Yes, and 1 want you 10 prove If for
him." pleaded Molly very gently.
Upon my word, I'll do no such III mr. ~
declared the lawyer, reddening with In
dignation. "One would think / had moth
ing else to do but hunt no peop- as
grandmothers. First there are YOURS
| no. | believe yours was a grandfather.
which makes it a little more respeetable
then two, no less, for Hugh, one spu len !
and one real; and now TIL Frenchman's.
/ tell you what it is, Molly, | draw tha
line here; French grandmother is a t
tie too strong-the last straw breaks iha
canePs back, you know"
"Oh. please, dear Mr.. Burke petitior-
ed Molly, half laughing and half CRYING
| Just this one more. 1.ou shall never.
never be asked to look for another"
| And who do you suppose / shall find
| to send TO France" ne grumbled -''It IS
not everyone who would be equal to this
| job"
81 want you to go Yourself. sa.d the
| girl simply. Don't think me Very exact
| ing, but really would trust 10 one but
| you. 1t is a very delicate matter. and
must rbe carefully dealt with. | want
you to spare no rains, to leave no stone
| unturned-oh, cred Molly, In a voice
| trembling with earnestness "I can't lie /
| YOU how much have this business at
well, we'll" sighed Mr.. Burke, a sud
den moisture diHlming for moment his