The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-02-06
I shall wake presently ,na

4 shall wake presently ana ~
shaooy. But In the m%osntIn,a aetlilsh
etSain liquors make good drinklnrn
ne was about to fIl hIno.oif nns
Up waen q shadow fell Mt his feet 49,
snaoow OF Olivier lie Dain s]tnndinG sne
lore MIN with his air of emphasiysa "
spece. which was beginning to nail ,,non
the transflgured poet. Ap"''
dignity will forgive ne h,,+ -
20 .ne Kings wish you should r,ssa in6e.
, 1I.,i o. certain prisoners"
Vii!on stared at him.
II? And here?"
What prisoners"
Seltain rosues and ~vagabonds. man
hlnd and womankind, taken hr. WING
~ the f1rcone tavern last night.
Viilon stroked his chin ~houyb+f,r
An ioea seemed to take Of HI.
confused mind. Here was 81 chance -
learn something Of the reality that Ia
al n core of all this mystery of roses
ana VINE and fine rainment. He Jesne5
To- ward curiously and almost WHISPER
ed to the attendant barber.
Tel me, Is Master Francois vil,on
MASTER or arts. rhymer at his best
sagaoon at his worst, ne'er-do-well at
80 SSoSo1lS, ana In all
MOODS, among them?"
olivier smiled c~omplacently as thosa
~ oillce are accustomed to smile at the
humor Of great men.
Your dignity is pleased to lea. Shall,
l send you the p%risoners?" "
V1llon caught at the offer sharn1v
Can do with them as 1 wish?"
absolutely as you wish. Such is the
kings will"
vinon leaned back in resigned sur
Tencer to an astonishing situation. He
mao dreamed strange dreams In his
Gays and nights, but never a dream
lux this dream.
set a thief to try a thief" he philoso-
phized. We'll. bring them in"
Olivier bowed and disappeared silent
ly along the rose alley by which he had
come. h he was alone again Viii
ION siapped his forehead resoundingly,
as II ne hoped to scare his senses back
into sanity by violent assault.
Oh, my poor head" he moaned. Am
broglio!"
A sense of dislike to his respectful at
tendant surged up through his perplex-
ity. That damned fellow in black is
contoundedly obsequious," he mutter-
ed. Il wonder if l could order him to
be hanged; he has a hanging face"
Even as this kind reflection came into
his head, his meditations We're disturb
ed by the tramp of many feet and the
rattle and clank of land a
small company Of soldiers came wheel
ing round into the rose garden from
the side of the palace, guarding a num-
Der or men and women, in whom Villon
instantly recognized his familiar friends
of the Fircone tavern. At the head Of
r ha SnlGInfc ~ - ~
man, courtier-soldier or so~ldier-courtier,
a thing Of silk and steel, half dandy,
half man-at-arms, eXquisitely attired
and f~agrantly aware of his own attrac-
tons. He, too, was familiar to the
poet, for he was no other han the pink
and white gentleman whom he a seen
acting as escort to katherine on the
day when he first beheld her, and whose
name, as he had learned on the pre-
vious evening from Katherine's own
lips. was Noel lie Jolys.
THE puppet who bangles after my
lady," he grumbled to himself. "He
jars the dream"
Villon felt profoundly sorry for his
imprisoned playfellows, and profoundly
hostile to the pink n white gentle
man His friends looked SO wretched,
So Woebegone, so b~edraggled, while
their captor looked so point-device and
self-satisfied that Villon felt a fierce
indignation burn within him over the
injustices OF the world.
How hang-dog my poor devils look
and how dirty" he thought to himself,
as the soldiers ranged their prisoners
in a line before him at the base of the
terrace, and their prinked and fragrant
captain came trippingly forward and
saluted Villon, presenting to him at the
same time a piece of paper, covered
with writing. :
"My lord" he said. dapperly, there
are the names OF these night birds"
Villon took the paper and looked
straightly into the young mans eyes.
Have we ever met before?" he
asked.
Noel lie Jolys made a d~epracatory
gesture.
Alas! no." he said. your loraship
has swept into court like an unheralded
comet. You shall tell us tales of Prov
ence to please our ladies'"
Still Sravely looking at hin. villon
questioned him again.
"Messire Noel, if you and l had a
mind to pluck the same rose from this
garden, which of us would VIM"
The affable fribble's intelligence ap-
peared to be bafled.
81 do not understand you,' he pro-
tested.
Villon shrugged his shoulders. "Nev-
er mind" he said, seating himself again
on the marble seat n looking at the
familiar names on the piece of paper.
Send me hither Rene de Montigay."
He was fairly convinced by this
time that he was not wandering in the
labyrinth of a dream, hat he really
was awake, but hat for some reason
which he was unable to fathom he had
been thus strangely transmitted into
the semblance of s%plendor and au-
thority.
The popinjay fails to recognize me"
he said to himself; 80 may my bull
lies" and as he thought, Rene de Mon
tigny was pushed forward by a couple
Of soldiers and stood sullenly defiant
before him.
Villon leaned forward, oddly inter
ested In the grotesque turn Of things
which put him in this position with his
old companion and fellow-scanp.
you are" he questioned.
Montigny answered angrily, Rene
de MoEtigny, of gentle blood, fallen on
ungenhe days"
Through no fault of YOU own. Of
course?"
$40 ,yo,,r orr, 20 e,1rpoSSeS through no