The Lamar register., 1902-10-15

every second the game was slipping
further from his hands.
Il am one who suspects. who never
takes things for granted. To-day a
letter came from friend in Paris, a
gentleman high in the councils of the
government. One little item in it at
tracted my attention-it was that he
had Just been attending a state coun-
Gil at the home of the president, who
was not well enough to drive out. |
looked at the date-it was yesterday.
Monsieur, | was surprised. Either my
friend. the minister, had made mis-
take or else we were blind, for at the
hour he declared he talked with
Frances chief executive in his own
Paris home, behold. you and ! were
watching the president here at Monte
Carlo"
The soldier staggered as though he
had been actually struck-indeed, he
received blow that was of far great
er moment than a physical one would
have been, since the foundation of his
faith was knocked away.
He began to realize that perhaps
the secret police were more capable
of making discoveries than he had
been willing to admit, and that the
same style of tactics could not be en-
ployed against these shrewd adver-
sarics that he had used SO success
fully when coping with swarms of
ferocious blacks.
One CLEAN of hope fickered still,
and caused a sickly smile to flash
over his dark face.
"Perhaps-the minister was mis-
taken in the day. He may have in
tended to say Monday, when we
know monsieur was still in Paris.
Yes, that is the explanation of the
problem"
The enchantress smiled. and when
he saw the expression of her face he
knew she was about to knock away
even this feeble prop which he had
seized upon so eagerly as means of
keeping up hope
81 have just received n message"
"From Paris?"
"Ycs"
She placed printed form in his
eager hand and his hungry eyes pc
ruscd its brief message with an agil-
ity that speedily put him in posses
sion of the facts.
The wording was very precise and
to the point:
"The president is in Paris to-day.
Wednesday. | have Just conversed
WITH his excellency."
| No wonder, after reading this, that
the counts hand dropped as though
| palsed to his side-no wonder his
amazed eyes turned on the quarter
where the man who played the role
of president stood chatting and
laughing with his aides-no wonder
his breath came thick and fast from
| between his set teeth. For where
victory had seemed ready to perch
he now saw miserable defeat staring
him in the face with all its terrible
penalties attached.
do you believe. now?" demanded
the modern Delilah, exulting in the
thought that it was her finesse that
had accomplished this thing, and not
mis- proud master mind.
He bowed his head.
What else can | say? We have
been deceived. All the while they,
those wolves of Paris, knew what we
intended doing They have sent n
dummy to represent the president
travelling incog. 1t is so very simple,
so easy-why, sometimes men actual
ly assist in deluding themselves, poor
fools"
Then the game is rung off, the
curtain falls on tabeau with virtue
triumphant and vice probably pun
shed, as usual
Her sneer went home, for it caused
him to glance once more toward the
young couple, SO absorbed in one an
other they had no thought, no care
outside the horizon of their happi-
ness.
This recalled him to the conscious
ness that there were other branches
embraced in the longitude and lati-
tude of the chart he had drawn for
his guidance.
If fame in a French empire were
denied him, how about fortune and
love?
bread.
Besides, there was revenge-that
word always has a sympathetic ring
to the ear of a Frenchman.
Jones he hated like mad-Jones
was hand in glove with Merrick-
ergo, If he could kidnap the latter and
throw him into the hands of the saw
age Bedouin tribes he knew along the
Barbary coast, and at the same time
steal his sweetheart, would it not be
glorious retaliation upon Monsieur
Jones for spelling the dream of an
empire?
Rallying from his dazed condition,
he cheered himself with the thought
that all was not lost while chance
- L hi.il q