The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-07-04
The House of The Wolf,,,,s
BY STANLEY j. WEYMAN

~o~~~~~No~~~~-~~~-~
mingled some childishness with their
cruelty in those days--days when the
| religious wars had aroused our worst
passions. It was not enough to kill an
enemy. 1t pleased people to make-I
| speak literally-a football of his head,
| to throw his heart to the dogs. And no
| doubt 1t had fallen in with the vidame's
grim humor that the bearer of Pa
vannes' first love letter should enter
| his mistress presence, bleeding and
plastered with mud. And that the riff
rar about our own gates should have
part In the insult
Beers wrath would be little abated
by the issue of the affair, or the justice
l had done on one of his men, So we
looked we'll to bolts and bars and win
doWs, although the castle IS we'll nigh
1mpregnable, the smooth rock falling
twenty feet at least on every side from
the base Of the walls. The gatehcuse
PaVannes had shown us. might be
blown up with gunpowder indeed. but
| we prepared to close the iron grating
which barred the way half way up the
ramp. This done, even if the enemy
| should succeed in forcing an entrance
he would only find himself caught in
a trap-in steep narrow way ex-
| posed to a fire from the top of the
! thanking walls, as well as from the
| front. We had couple Of culverines,
which the vicomte had got, twenty
years before, at the time of the battle
OF St. Quentin. We fixed one of these
| at the head of the ramp, and placed
the other on the terrace, where by NOV
ing it a few PAGES forward we could
/ train it on Beers house, which thus
lay at our mercy
Not that we really expected an at
tack. But we did not know what to
| expect or what to fear. We had not ten
servants. the vicomte having taken a
score of the sturdiest lackeys and
keepers to attend him at Bayonne And
we felt Immensely responsible Our
main hope was that the vidame would
at once go to Paris and postpone his
| vengeance. SO again and again we cast
longing glances at the House of the
Wolf. hoping that each symptom OF
hustle heralded his departure.
/ Consequently it was a shock to me,
and a great downfall of hopes, when
Gil. With a grave face, came to me on
the terrace and announced that NJ lie
| Vldame was at the gate, asking to see
/ mademoiselle.
1T is out of the question that he
should see her. the old servant added,
scratching his head in grave perplex-
ity.
|
stead 1 answered, stoutly. do you
leave Francis and another at the gaze,
! Gil. Marie, keep within sight, lad
And let Croisette stay with me-
i These preparations made-and they
took up scarcely moment-I met the
v1dame at the head OF the ramp. Mile.
de Caylus.' I said, bowling, lis, I regret
to say, indisposed today, vidame.''
She will not see me?" he asked, eye
Ing me very unpleasantly
Her indisposition deprives her Of the
pleasure" l answered with an effort.
He was certainly a wonderful man, for
at sight Of him three-fourths Of my
courage, and all my Importance, oozed
out at the heels of my boots.
"She will not see me. Very WE'LL he
replied. as if ! had not spoken And
the simple words sounded like a sen
tence of DEATH Then, NJ Anne, ]
have a crow to pick with you. What
compensation do you propose to make
for the death of my servant? A decent
quiet fellow, whom you killed yester-
day, poor man, because his enthusiasm
for the true faith carried him away a
little.'
Whom I killed because he drew a
dagger on M. ST. CroiN de Caylus at the
vicomte's gate l answered, steadily
l had thought about this, of course
NJ. de Beers 1 continued, that the
vicomte has jurisdiction extending te
life and death over all persons within
the valley?"
my household excepted" he re.
joined, quietly.
Precisely; while they are within the
curtilage of your house., l retorted
However as the punishment was sum
mary, and the man had no time to con-
h colF ,.il1i
.'Well?'
. "To pay Father Pierre to say ter
: masses for his SOUL
The way the vidame received this sur.
prised me. He broke into boisterous
laughter. by our lady, my friend,
he cried with rough merriment, but
you are a joker! You are, indeed
, tant"
!, And that startled me more than any.
! thing which had gone before; more, in.
deed, than can explain. For it seemed
to prove that this man, laughing his
unholy laugh, was not like other men
He did not pick and choose his ser.
wants for their religion. He was sure
that the Huguenot would stone his fel.
low at his bidding; the Catholic cry;
"Vive Coligny!" I was SO completely
taken aback that 1 found no words K
answer him, and it was Croisette who
said, smartly: Then how about hi.
enthusiasm for the true faith, M. Il
Vidame?"
THE true faith he answered-"fol
my servants is my faith" Then 6
thought seemed to strike him. "Wha
Is more he continued, slowly, that II
Is the true and only faith for all, thou
sands viii learn before the world is ter
days older. Bear my words in mind
boy! They will come back to you. Ant
now hear me- he went on in his usua
tone, Il am anxious to accommodate
neighbor. It goes without saying tha
/ would not think of putting you, M
!. Anne. to any trouble for the sake O.
4 that rascal of mine. But my people
will expect something. Let the playa.
[ fellow who caused all this disturbance
be given up to me, that I may hang
him, and let us cry quits
That is impossible I answered
] coolly. had no need to ask what he
meant. Give up Pavannes' messenger
1 indeed. Never!''
He regarded n1e-unnoved by my re
u fusal-with a smile under which
{ chafed. while / was impotent to resen