The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-09-05


my wits together, and my earliest i'm
pulse was to tear into two parts white
handkerchief l had in my pouch. and
fasten one to his sleeve. the other in
his hat. in rough imitation Of the
badges l Wore myself.
1t will appear from this that I no
longer trusted Nine. do l was not
convinced it IS true, of her conscious
guilt, still l did not trust her entirely.
do not wear them on your return
she had said and that was odd; all
though l could not yet believe that she
was such a siren as Father Pierre had
warned us of. telling tales from old
poets. Her companionship with that
vile priest, the strange eagerness to
secure PavanneS' return, her myster-
1ous directions to me, her anxiety to
take her sister Monochrome. where she
would be exposed to danger as being
in a known Huguenot's housewives
things pointed to but one conclusion:
still that one was SO horrible that
would not, even while l doubted and
distrusted her. would not, could not
accept it, I put it from me, and re-
fused to believe It, although during the
rest of that night it kept coming to me
and knocking for admission at my
brain.
All this flashed through my mind
while l was fixing on Pavannes'
badges. Not that I lost time about It,
for from the moment l grasped the po-
sition as he conceived it, every minute
we had wasted on explanation seemed
to me an hour. I reproached myself
for having forgotten even for an in
slant that which had brought US to
town-the rescue of Kits lover We
had small chance now of reaching him
In time n1jSlaH q h 1,>yt &c,
miserable mistake in identity. If my
companions fears We're we'll founded,
Louis would fail in the general mas
sacre of the Huguenots, probably be-
fore we could reach him. If ill-founded,
still we had small reason to hope
Beers Vengence would not wait.
knew him too we'll to think it. A Guise
might spare his foe, but the Vidame-
the Vidame never! He had warned
Nine. de Pavannes, it was true; but
that abnormal exercise of benevolence
could only, I cynically thought. have
the more eXaSperated the devil within
him, which now would be ravening like
dog disappointed Of it's victuals.
I glanced up at the line of sky visible
between the tall houses, and 10! the
dawn was coming. It wanted scarcely
half an hour of daylight, though down
In the dark streets about us the night
still reigned. Yes, the morning was
coming, bright and hopeful, and the
city was quiet. There We're no signs,
no sounds of riot or disorder. Surely,
l thought, surely Pavannes must be
mistaken Either the plot had never
existed, that was most likely, or it had
been abandoned, or perhaps-CraclS!
"A pistol shot! Short, sharp, omin-
Gus, 1T rang out on the instant, soil
tory sound in the night! 1t was some
where near us, and l stopped. I had
been speaking to my companion at the
moment. Where was it?" cried,
looking behind me.
CLOSE to us. Near the Louvre" he
answered, listening intently. See!
See! All, heavens." he continued in a
voice of despair, ut was a signal"
1t was. One, two, three! Before 1
could count SO far, lights sprang into
brightness in the windows Of nine out
of ten houses in the short street where
we stood, as If lighted by single hand.
Before. too, l could count as many more
or ask him what this meant be-
fore, indeed, we could speak or stir
from the spot, or think what we should
do, with hurried clang and clash, as
If brought into motion by furious fren-
zied hands, great bell just above ou,
heads began to boom and whirr! 1t
hurled its notes into space. 1t suddenly
nlied all the silence. 1t dashed it's harsh
sounds down upon the trembling cit,-,
till the air heaved and the houses about
us rocked. 1t made in an instant a
pandemonium of the quiet night.
We turned and hurried instinctively
from the place, crouching and amazed,
looking upwards with bent shoulders
and scared faces. What is it? What
Is it?" cried, half in resentment, half
in terror. 1t deafened me.
The bell of ST. German rAuxer-
rois!' he shouted in answer The
church of the Louvre. 1t is as I said
We are doomed!''
Doomed? MOI" I replied fiercely, for
my courage seemed to rise again on the
wave of sound and excitement as il
reboundlng from the momentary Shock
Never! We wear the devils livery,
and he will look after his own. Draw,
man. and let him that stops us look to
himself. You know the way. Lead on
l cried, savagely
he caught the infection and drew his
sword. So we started boldly, and the
result justified my confidence. We
looked, no doubt, as like murderers as
any who were abroad that night. Nov
ing IN this desperate guise we FASTENED
up that street and into another-still
pursued by the din and clangor of the
bell-and then a short distance along
third. We We're not stopped or ad-
~~N>S~ ),
increasing each moment as door after
door opened, and we drew nearer to the
heart Of the commotion, We're hurrying
in the same direction, side by side with
us; and though in front, where now
and again lights cleaned on a mass of
weapons, or on white, eager faces. fill
ing some alley from wall to wall. we
heard the roar of voices rising and fall
ing like the murnlur OF an angry sea.
All was burr hurry, confusion tu-
multi. Yet l remember, as we pressed
EDWARDS with the stream and part Of
1t, certain sharp outlines. l caught
here and there q, glimpse of a paic
scared face at window, a half clad
form at a door, of the big, wondering
eyes of child held up to see US pass,
OF a Christ at a corner rudy in the
smoky glare of q link, of a woman
armed, and in mans clothes, who
walked some distance side by side with
us, and led off ribald song. ! retain
memory of these things; of brief
bursts of light and long intervals OF
darkness, and always, as we tramped
forwards, my hand on Pavannes'
sleeve, of an ever-growing tumult in
front-an ever-rising flood of noise
At last we came to standstill where
side street ran out of ours. Into this
tho hIlrrUiTer tr;a 10