The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-20
[AHeEfHst00 Pt|1VINGEVNES'
81 r1AuRcE s. 49,. THOMSON Q

Beverley set out in search of the
French commanders house, impressed
with no particular respect for him or
his office. Somehow, Americans of An
glO-Saxon blood were slow to recognize
any good qualities whatever in the
Latin creoles of the west and south.
1t seemed to them that the French
man and the Spaniard were much too
apt TO equalize themselves socially and
matrimonially with Indians and ne
groes. The very fact that for a cen
fury, while AnglO-Americans had been
IN constant bloody warfare with saw
ages. Frenchmen had managed TO keep
ON easy and highly profitable trading
terms with them, tended to confirm the
worst implication. Eat frogs and
save your scalp" was a bit of con-
temptuOus frontier hGmOr indicative OF
what sober Judgment held in reserve
on the subject.
Intent upon his formal mission, Lieu
tenant Beverley stalked boldly into the
Enclosure at Roussillon place and was
met on the gallery by Madame Rous-
siIlOn In one of her worst moods she
glared at him with her hands on her
hips. her mouth set irritably aslant
upward, her eyebrows gathered into
dark knot over her nose 1t would De
hard to imagine a more forbidding
effect out popped hunchback Jean 10
stand behind her, with his big head
lying back in the hollow OF his shout
ders and his long chin elevated, while
he gawped intently up into Beverley S
face.
Bon Jour- madame" said the lieu
tenant, lifting his hat and speaking
with a pleasant accent Would 1t be
agreeable to Captain Roussillon Tor me
TO see him a momenty
Despite Beverleys cleverness in
using the French language, he had
decided brusqueness of manner and
curt turn of voice not in the least
Gallo. True. the soft Virsinian In
donation marked every word, and his
obeisance was as low as if Madame
Roussillon had been queen; but the
light French grace was wholly lack
ing. -
What do you want of my husband?
Madame RoussiIlon demanded.
Nothing unpleasant, l assure you,
madame" said Beverley.
We'll, he's not at home, Mo'sieu;
he's up the river for few days.
She relaxed her stare. united her eye
brows. and even let fan her hands from
her shelf-like hips.
Thank you, madame" said Beverley,
bowling again, Il am sorry not to have
seen him.
AS he was turning TO go a simmer of
brown hair streaked with gold struck
upon his vision from just within the
door He paused. as if in response to
a military command, while a pair OF
gray eyes met his. with flash. The
cabin room was III lighted; but the
crepuscular dimness did not seem 70
hinder his sight. Beyond the girls f1g-
ure. a pair of slender swords hung
he
low door.
Beverley had seen, in the old world
galleries, pictures in which the shad-
owy and somewhat uncertain back
ground thus forced into stror gest pro-
lection the main figure, yet without
clearly defining IL, The rough frame OF
the doorway gave just the rustic set
ting suited to Alices costume, the most
striking part of " hE:h was a grayish
gown ending just above her fringed
buckskin moccasiBs. Around her head
she had bound blue kerchief, wide
corner of which lay over her crown like
a loose cap. Her bright hair hung fires
upon her shoulders in tumbled hall
curls. AS a picture. the figure and its
encourage might have been artistically
effective; but as Beverley saw 1t in act
ual life the first impression was rather
embarrassing. Somehow he felt almost
had never been much given TO risibil-
ity. The blending, or rather the juxta-
position Of extremes--a face, a form
Immediately witching. and a costume
odd to grotesquery had made an as
sault upon his comprehension at once
so sudden and so direct that his dig.
nifty came near being disastrously
broken up A splendidly beautiful child
comically clad would have made much
the same half delightful half jispleas
ing impression.
Beverley could not stare a: the girl
and no sooner had he turned his bach
upon her than the picture in his minC
changed like scene in a Kaleidoscope
He now saw tall, finely developed fig
ure and a face deiicately oval, with
low wide forehad. arched hrows, :
straight, slightly up-tilted nose.
mouth sweet and fur 3impIed cheeks
and strong chin set above a fauItles.
throat. His Imagination. in casting of
its INST impr sssion. was inclined 10 sx
aSSerate AHce's beauty and to dwell
upon its picturesqueness. He smiled a!
he walked back TO the fort, ard eyeI
found himself wbistling gaylS a snatch
from rollicking fiddie-tune that h
had heard when boy.