The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-07-15
CHAPTER VI.

ASA ut Il Ialf pace, as the rOau was
n "a good and we were well able
to see our way by the moon
light, but after crossing the Taurion
by frail wooden bridge, which creak-
ed and groaned ominously as we pass
ed over it, Lalande took turn to the
right and followed a narrow track
whereon we had to ride nose to tail.
Womanlike, l began to think he was
taking the wrong road and asked him
whittier he was leading us.
'St Priest-Taurion lies on the main
road, madame, and it would be well to
avoid it. Let not madame have any
fear. l could make my way to Mey-
mac blindfold."
"And want to show off by picking
the most horrible paths!' shrilled out
Mousette, whose temper, never of the
best, had gone to ribbons, and little
wonder, too, poor thing!
at would be we'll if we speak in
lower tones--better still not to speak
at ALL" said the equerry, and, silenc-
ing Mousstte with a reprimand, l ask
ed Lalande to lead on.
w HllG lnS IuOtIOl was last II WAS
not possible to think, but now that we
were going at something like snail's
pace unconsciously gave myself over
to my reflections, though | had by this
time reached a state of mind when it
seemed impossible for me to distin
guish between right and wrong or to
think coherently. The proof of the
re 10
centuated the bitterness in my heart
against my husband, and this was not
lesSened when | remembered the in
fanny of the enterprise which he had
undertaken and of which was the
price. | had it once or twice in my
mind to try to prevent the crime he
contemplated by attempting to warn
the Bearnnois, but it was impossible
to do SO from here, and ] should have
to make the attempt from Meymac.
Then that thought gave place to De
Clermont and with the memory of him
regrets that ! he'd not taken his offer
and by one desperate stroke freed my
self forever from De Lorgnac, even at
the cost of that good opinion of the
world we pretend to despise and yet
value so much, even against what |
felt to be the teachings of my con-
science. After all, l was merely hold
ing to vows that | had never really
| made. The priests benediction surely
could not bind me forever to a hateful
life.
had my dreams, as all young women
cf hot
| could share with one whom | could
trust and honor and love; one whose
| joys would be my joys, whose sorrows
| would be my sorrows, whose ambitions
| and hopes would be my ambitions and
| hopes, and so to pass hand in hand
with him until one or both of us were
called away to fulfill the mystery of life
by death. And De Clermont? Could
he have been the one to have so trav-
eled with me? Did | love him? For
| the life of me l could not tell at that
moment. At one time | seemed drag
| ged toward him, at another there was
| a positive repulsion, and through it all
| there was an ever warning voice with
in me, like the tolling of bell hung
of danger, telling me: Beware! Be
ware!' | felt in my heart that he did
not ring true metal. Why, l could not
tell, nor can l tell now, but l suppose
that God, who has limited the capacity
! of us women to reason as compared
with man, has given to us this faculty
of intuition by which we can know.
| I'm Pol nf
ten; would that it's warnings were ever
needed! Such were the thoughts that
chased each other through my brain as
the long hours passed, and then they
seemed to Irvine themselves together
| into q network that left me powerless
to follow them and unravel the tangle.
Oh, 1t was a weary ride! Overhead
hung the moon, now light, then dark
ened by fitting clouds, with a few stars
showing here and there in the sky. On
all sides OF us hoated a dim silvery
haze that made it appear as If we were
going through dreamland; dark shad-
ows of trees, fantastic rocks that might
have been thrown here and there by
| giants at play and a road that turned
and twisted like serpent's track, full
of. stones and powders, on which our
horses continually stumbled, but mer-
| cifully did not come down and bring us
! with them. There was one advantage
we derived from these powders. They
kept the horses and ourselves from
sleeping, for after stumble and a jerk
both beast and rider began to see the
folly of nodding and bravely strove to
keep awake.
At last we came to something that
looked like level ground, and Lalande
suggested that we should increase our
pace to canter, adding, truly enough,
that it would rouse us all up. We fol
lowed his advice, nothing loath, and
kept at this pace with occasional halts
to rest the horses for the best part of
the night At last, however, neither
Mousette nor myself could endure go
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