Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-06

in moment. ''They have seen me. !
cannot sec them just now. They are hid
den in the shadow Of the buildings"
What was going to happens Lady Hunt
or felt distinctly uneasy. The Pearsons
thrilled with expectancy. The situation
wns sensational. The time, the place. the
waiting, with all eyes turned in the same
direction, gave 1T an indefnable air OF
mystery.
Atlast figure slowly emerged from TIE
darkness-one only. No others followed
Rosie alono appeared In the light waikiki
toward them.
The scene which ensued was dramati
enough to satisfy ths Ilost highly pitche
expectancy. John Vayasour made his g:
| PLANTATION. He knew the man we'll, hi
striking appearance making Identification
easy and sure. De Boisville was an as.
sumed name. The supposed vicomte was
no Frenchman, but ON Englishman.
Here Lady Hunter and Mrs. Pearson
broke In, appealing to each other stimuli
taneously.
"But surely you can contradict thisi
You know all about the man.
Then the worst came to light, the appall-
! ing discovery Of their mutual and mis-
placed trust in each others knowledge.
Panic seized on the ladies, and they rushed
| forthwith to the most desperate conclu-
sions The man was bagman, q valet,
| burglar or worse. The case was too
| dreadful for the Pearsons to exult at hav-
| ing their rivals supposed triumph turned
into euch crushing disaster. For them,
! too, the affair was horrible. All the days
and hours passed in the wretch's society
were awful to think of. Rosie's faltering
account OF what had occurred on the ter
race gave the finishing stroke to the situa-
| ton. The man, she now knew, Ind dis
appeared at once on recognizing Vavasour
on the veranda
He had the impertinence to cay al re-
voir as he left" Rosie wound up, with .
catch in her breath and a shudder.
II don t think he will troubleyou again.
You may make your mind easy on that
point, Miss Hunter. The man win not
reappear," said Vavasour decisively
who is he? What is the mysterye II
it something dreadful? For heaven g sake,
explain, - chorused the ladies. (
| Vavasour wes human. He had been
ruthlessly thrown over for this hotel ac-
| quatntance, this supposed French NOBLE
man. He may have been actunted by q;
desire to punish the Hunters in some way
by not being explicit, or did he wish to
spare them the horror Of some CHASTITY reve-
lationY AT any rate, he would give no fur
ther information. Entreaties persuasiona
even tears on Rosie's part, were In vain.
The man was not what he had represent
ed himself to be. But no harm had been,
done. The ladies would probably never
see him again.
Next morning the news Of the De Bois-
vilio affair ran like wildfre through thes
hotel and naturally lost nothing In thaS
telling.
AS Vavasour had predicted, the sup
posed vicomte did not reappear, but van-ss
ished with his supposed servant, an ac-s
complete, no doubt-either late at nightS
or early in the morning, gossip could mott
discover which-from the hotel. The aug
thoritics of the hotel management main-s
tanned reticence and expressed absoluteg
ignorance Of any imposition In the affair.
The visitors, especially the women, were
absolutely certain that one Of the greatest
criminals of the age had been secretly In
their midst and shuddered to think OF thet
various escapes from murder, robbery andE
personal violence they must have had. The
Hunters were made the victims Of an in-k
tense sympathy. At the same time both
they and the Pearsons were blamed sef
verely for having been the chief means of
giving the man prominent position In
the hotel society. They should, with their
fuller opportunities, have known better,
especially as it now appeared that every
one else had all through suspected the Inn
postor.
All kinds Of theories regarding De Bois-
ville foated about none being too wild or
improbable for acceptance. Vavasour was
the great center Of interest, though the
pnrt he played in the matter was only
Neither word nor hint could, however, be
extracted from him toward any further so-
lutiop of the mystery.
In the painful awkwardness Of the situ-
alton the Hunters took the most natural
course open to them-retreat.
John Vavasour was seated In the vefAn-
da. enjoying coffee and q solitary cigarette,
when the carriage to bear away the Hunt
ers drew up at the hotel door. His face
was deeply thoughtfnl; his hands absentiy i
folded and refolded letter he had been
reading-rereading, for he had received Il !
on awaking in the morning.
II shall be half over the Joch pass be-
fore you get this. By all my gods, old
chap, swore to save you from the pretty
little campaigner and her mother. VOLTA,
mon ami, 1t is done. II the process Of open
ing your eyes was painful, believe me, you
will get over it. The end justif1es the
means, and, by Jove, the Jekyll and Hyde
business was sport My dual nationality
came in gloriously. Pity you did not meet
De Boisville. Such capital fellow;
worth two or three Of Woodtown any day.
The Jaw In the affair is that could not
see the denouement. For which am
most generally taken-anarchist, thief or
bagmanp Poor Mother Hunterl Poor lit
tie Rosie! But one does not pity the spider
who fails to catch the dear old-saviug
your presence-stupid fly. Ileaye myself
entirely in your hands. Tell all or MOTH
ing, at your own discretion. Adieu. An
reyoir at Grindelwald
Would he or would he not tell? Vava-
sour pondered the subject carefully. His
eyes had been opened. The operation had
not been wanting in pain. He nov Nv
the Hunters in their real characters and
fully understood the deceit and baseness
in their treatment of him. He was not
vindictive. They deserved some punish
ment, but it would be too much to lleave
them under the terrible impression of hav.
Ing been the victims Of an impostor who
will Of III