, 1903-03-20

50 T that time l was engaged land
/\ very pleased to be) to a most
e@ enigmatical young person. She
spoke rarely and in a way always a
little mysteriously, making voluntary
secrets of a hundred little actions of
Iife. and loving solitude in. an alarm
Tug name
All this was offset by eyes so beau
tiftl, by a. coloring SO marvellous, by
an expression so divine, that | had not
the courage to reflect on the singular
Ety Of her character. l loved her, and
| often passed hours of the night sit
ling before her doorstep, simply dream
ing that she lived here" and medi-
tating IN her presence as does the be-
lever on the transsubstantiation.
| did not know, In the first place,
whether she loved me or not; she al
ways refused to answer that question,
referring to the wishes of her parents
and'hef'conidence In their wisdom. If
insisted. she generally ended by say
Ing that she knew nothing about it,
but that she felt no antipathy toward
me, and that, according to her Ideas,
was 'enough'to decide d young girl on
marriageW In vain l duplicated, In
vain'E tried to animate this ~enigmatica1
being; she remained as distant as the
manner lin which she loved, as UNI
known as. she was dominating.
One evening us l was dreaming a
littleisadly of these things a commo-
ton was heard in the house. / re-
turned to the salon. where everything
was in disorder. my hosts were dis
tressed, their friends embarrassed and
troubled, and old Nine. Laroche hor-
ribly pale and trembling. ~
What in1the world, has happened 2"
] asR IThey. exIIalned mcoherenfIy
that Nine. Laroche's diamonds were
stolen-old family diamonds of great
value. All the servants had been
summoned into an adjoining roomZin
Short a formal search was to be insti-
tuted. An old gentleman, NJ. Cope,
had been unanimously selected to di-
rect this investigation just as l was
entering, and his first proposition was
that everyone should submit, or, rathl
er, offer himself to be searched. AL
though the thing was rather offensive,
no ONE protested, and 1t was decided
that, .after the servants. each person
present should be examined. :
To tell the truth. all this seemed OF
small .imRoFtapce. beside my personal
eares;8 andst with several Others, l
awaited thet end of the adventure,
while M. Cope, his two witnesses and
our host. began the inspection of the
domesties.
Very soon / fell again into my medl-
tation, my eyes fixed ON the fireplace
as though there were a fire. when sud
denly. a, fen a light touch on my elbow.
l raised my head with a start, to see
my fianee looking at me most beeseeeh-
ingly.9We were alone near the Preside
and could talk in low tones without
being overheard. She murmured very
low:
IF you love. me, arrange that they
search you first; then try to be near
ne and. without being seen, try to con
ceal the. object that l shall pass you
from behind.".
My blood ran cold. This annoying
incident . became terrible, filling me
with the most passionate trouble. |
looked at the girl in agony, but forced
myself to smile. and whispered:
ut shall be as you wishI''
My knees trembled. my mouth was
hot and dry. The feeling hat over
whelmed me was inexpressible. 1t
was a strange mingling of bitterness
and pleasure, that my loved one should
be weak to such a degree. l forced
myself to have a sort of "disdainful
pity, and In reality love beat ardent,
strong, stern in my breast. 1 under
STOOD in a flash, how beauty could
become divine above baseness of soul,
and how one could respect 1t even In
dishonor-and a hundred other things
in which were confused fervent love,
devotion without limit, a desire noble
and peryerse.
Jeanne had thanked me with hardly
%perceptible movement of the lips; she
stood by the wall with an air of indif-
ference and pride!
They are very long about It," she
said sternly. M. Cope is a nan of
method" someone replied. And = 81
lenee followed which told more and
more on ones nerves, for even the wait
ing In a peaceful frame Of mind fin
ished by disturbing and emptying the
brain, like a pump. However, the mo-
ment arrived when the searching of
the servants ended, the door opened,
disclosing our host, the two witnesses,
and the old gentleman.
Haal
49,