The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-08-22
The House of The Wolf,,,,,,$
BY STANLEY j. WEYMAN
By STANLEY j. WEYMAN
Observation-Disclosures


is one thing 1 have not got. And that
| is a sword!''
She followed the direction of my eyes,
started. and laughed-a little oddly.
But she fetched the weapon. Take it.
and do not" she urged. do not lose
time. Do not mention me to Pavannes.
Do not let the white badges be seen as
| you return That is really all. And
now good luck" She gave me her hand
to kiss. Good luck, my knight-errant,
good luck-and come back to me soon!'
| She smiled divinely, as it seemed to
me, as she said these last words, and
the same smile followed me downstairs;
for she leaned over the stairhead with
one of the lamps in her hand, and d.
rected me how to draw the bolts. l took
sne backward glance as 1 did so at the
fair stooping figure above me, the shin
ing eyes. and tiny out-stretched hand
and then darling into the gloom 1 hur-
ried on my way.
L was in a strange mood. A few min
utes before l had been at Pavanncs'
door, at the end of our journey: on the
verge of success. l had been within an
ace, as ! supposed at least, of execut-
ing my errand. l had held the cup of
success in my hand. And it had slipped
Now the conflict had to be fought over
again; the danger to be faced. 1t would
nave been no more than natural if
had felt the disappointment keenly; if
had almost despaired.
But it was otherwise--far otherwise
Never had my heart beat higher or
more proudly than as / now hurried
through the streets, avoiding such
groups as We're abroad in them, and
intent only on observing the proper
| turnlngs. Never in any moment of
triumph in after days. in love or war;
did anything like the eNhilaration the
energy, the spirit, OF those minutes
come back to me. | had a woman
badge in my cap-for the first time
the music of her voice in my ears.
mad magic ring on my finger: a tails
man on my arm. My sword WAS at my
side again. All round me lay q misty
city of adventure, Of danger and ro-
nance, full of the richest and most
beautiful possibilities; a city of real
Witchery, such as l had read of in
stories, through which those fairy gifts
and my right hand should guide me
safely. / did not even regret my broth
ers, or our separation. l was the eld-
est. 1T was fitting that the cream Of
me, Anne de Caylus. And to what
might it not lead? 1 fancy 1 saw my
self already duke and a peer OF
France-already I held the baton.
Yet while l eXulted boyishly, i did
not forget what l was about. l kept
the number OF people passing to and
fro in the dark streets had much in
creased within the last half hour. TIE
silence in which, in groups or singly
these figures stole by me was very
striking. l heard no brawling, fighting
or singing, yet if it were not too late
for these things, why were SO many
people up and about? began to count
presently, and found that at least half
of those I met wore badges in their
hats and on their arms, similar to mine
and that they all moved with a BUSH
nesslike air, as if bound for some rem
devious.
was not fool. though I was young
and in some matters less quick than
Croisette. The hints which had been
dropped by SO many had not been lost
on me. '"Ehere is more afoot tonight
than you know Of" Nine. do had
said. And having eyes as we'll as ears
1 fully believed it. Something was
afoot. Something was going to happen
in Paris before morning. But what,
wondered. Could it be that a rebellion
was about to break out? If SO l was
in the kings service, and all was we'll.
l might even be going-and only 1S-
to make history Or was it only a
braWl on great scale between two
things happening in Paris. Then-well
l did not see how l could act in that
case. I must be guided by events.
did not imagine anything else which
it could be. That is the truth, though
; 1t may need explanation. I was accus-
toned only to the milder religious diff
ferences, the more evenly balanced
parties Of Quercy, where the peace be-
tween the Catholics and the Huguenots
had been welcome to all save a very
few. l could not gauge therefore, the
fanaticism of the Partisan popuace,
and lost count Of the factor, which
made possible that which was going to
happen-was going to happen in Paris
, before daylight as surely as the sun
| was going to rise! 1 knew that the
Hugeunot mobiles were present in the
| city in great numbers, but it did not
occur to me that they could as a body
be in danger. They We're many and
t powerful, and as was said, in favor
, with the king. They We're under the
) protection of the king Of Navarro
Frances brother-in-law Of a week, and
! the prince Of Condo; and though these
princes were young, Coligny, the sa-
gac1ous admiral was old, and not much
Z the worse had learned for his wound.
5 He at least was high in royal favor, a
trusted counselor. Had not the king
/ visited him on his sick bed and sat by
| him for an hour together?
: Surely, 1 thought if there were dam
: ger, these men would know of 1t. And
tllell the huSeunOIS main enemy, Henri
t lie Balafre, the splendid duke of Guise
/ "our great man., and Lorraine" as
4 the crowd called him-he, it was ru-
I mored, was in disgrace at court In a
word, these things, to say nothing OF
. the peaceful and joyous occasion which
: had brought the Hugeunots to Paris
S and which seemed to put treachery out
, of the question, were more than enough
n to prevent me forecasting the event
Y If for a moment. indeed, as 1 hur-
e ried along towards the river, anything
t like the truth occurred to me, l put
r 1t from me. I say with pride 1 put il
from me as a thing impossible Fol
i God forbid-one may speak out the
: truth these forty years back-God for.
bid, say l, that all Frenchmen should
bear the blood-guiltiness which came Of
e other than French brains, though
: French were the hands that did the
t work
n l was not greatly troubled by my
s forebodings therefore; and the state
t. of exaltation to which Nine. DOS con.
t fidence had raised my spirits lasted un
: