The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-16


fully, too!and both had to stand
against odds in many a sour argument.
for they were not only abOlitionists,
but opposed the attitude of their coun-
try in its difficulty with Mexico; and.
in common with other men of the time
who took their stands, they had to
grow accustomed to being called dis
loyal traitors, foreign toadies, malig-
nants and tIAducers of the flag. Tom
had long been used to epithets of this
sort, suffering their sting in quiet, and
was glad when he could keep Crailey
out of worse employment than stand
ing firm for an unpopular belief.
There was one place to which Van
revel, seeking his friend and partner,
when the latter did not come home at
night. could not go; this was the
tower chamber, and it was in that
mysterious apartment of the Carewe
cupola that Crailey was apt to be
deeply occupied when he remained
away until daylight Strange as it APP
pears, Mr.. Gray maintained peculiar
relations of intimacy with Robert Car
eve, in spite of the feud between
Cawere and his own best friend. This
intimacy which did not necessarily
imply any mutual fondness Ghough
Crailey seemed to dislike nobody. was
betokened by a furtive understanding,
of a sort, between them. They held
street, or in corners when they met at
other peoAre's houses, always speaking
in voices too low to be overheard; and
they exercised mysterious symbolism,
somewhat in the manner of fellow
members of a secret society; they had
been observed to communicate across
crowded rooms, by lifted eyebrow, nod
of head, or surreptitious turn of the
wrist; so that those who observed
know a hppn
asked and answered.
1t was noticed, also, that there were
five other initiates to this masonry;
Eugene Madrillon, the elder Cheno-
weth, Gen. Trumble, Tappingham
Marsh and Jefferson Bareaud. Thus,
on the afternoon following Miss Betty's
| introduction to Rouen's favorite sons
and daughters, Mr.. Carewe, driving
down Main street, held up one fore
finger to Madrillon as he saw the
young man turning in at the club. Eu-
gene nodded gravely and, as he went
in, discovering Marsh, the General and
others, listening to Mr.. Gray's expla-
nation of his return from the river
with no fish, stealthily held up one
| finger in his turn. Trumble replied
with a wink. Tappingham nodded, but
| Crailey slightly shook his head. Marsh
and the General started with surprise,
| and stared incredulously. That Crailey
should shake his head! If the signal
had been for a church meeting they
might have understood.
Mr.. Gray's conduct was surprising
two other people at about the same
| time; Tom Vanrevel and Fanchon Ba-
reaud; the former by his sudden devo-
| ton to the law; the latter by his sud
den devotion to herself. In a breath,
he became almost a domestic charac-
ter. No more did he spend his after
Moons between the club and the Rouen
House bar, nor was his bay mare so
often seen stamping down the ground
| about Mrs. McDougars hitching post
while McDougal was out on the prairie
with his engineering squad. The idle
| apprentice was at his desk, and in the
daytime he displayed an aversion for
the streets, which was more than his
| partner did, for the industrious Tom,
| undergoing quite as remarkable an al
! teration of habit, became, all at once,
| little better than a corner loafer. His
favorite longing place was a small
drug store where Carewe street de-
| bouched upon Main; nevertheless, so
| adhesive is a reputation once fasten-
ed. his air of being there upon BUSH
ness deceived every one except Mr..
| Gray.
Miss Bareaud was even happier than
she was astonished (and she was
|
trothed developing a taste for her So
ciety alone. Formerly, she had count
! ed upon the gayeties of her home to
keep Crailey near her; now, however,
he told her tenderly he wished to have
her all to himself. This was not like
him, but Fanchon did not question; and
it was very sweet to her that he began
to make it his custom to come in by a
side gate and meet her under an apple
tree in the dusk. where they would sit
quietly together through the evening.
listening to the noise and laughter
from the lighted house.
That house was the most hospitable
in Rouen. Always cheerfully fully of
company" as they said, it was the sort
of house where carpet dance could
be arranged in half an hour; a house
with a Sideboad like the widows
! cruise; the young men always found
more. Mrs. Bareaud, a Southerner, love-
! ing to persuade the visitor that her
home was his, not hers, living only for
her art, which was that of the table.
| Evil cooks taking service with her. be-
came virtuous, dealt with nectar and
| ambrosia, and grew fit to pander to
| Olympus, learning of their mistress Sc
cretS to make the ill-disposed as genial
| gods ere they departed. Mr. Bareaud at
so had lived so well that he gave up
walking. which did not trouble him;
| Dul dl Ou lie gave up udlclQE, which
did trouble him. His only hope, he
declared, was in Crailey Gray's prom
Use to invent for him concave part
ner.
There was a thin, quizzing shank of a
son, jefferson, who lived upon quinine,
ague and deviltry, and there were two
daughters. Fanchon and Virginia. The
latter was three years older than
Fanchon, as dark as Fanchon was fair.
though not nearly so pretty; a small.
good-natured romping sprite of a girl.
who had handed down the heart and
| hand of Crailey' Gray to her sister with
the best grace in the world. For she
had been the heroine of one of Mr..
! Gray's half dozen or so most serious
affairs and. after a furious rivalry
with Mr.. Carewe, the victory was gem
orally conceded to Crailey His trl-
umph had been of about a fortnight's
duration when Fanchon returned from
st. Mary's, and, with the advent of the
younger sister. the elder, who had de-
| cided that Crailey was the incompar-
| able she had dreamed of since infancy,
was generously allowed to discover
that he was not that vison-that she
had fallen in love with her own idea
of him; whereas Fanchon cared only
that he be Crailey Gray, whatever kind
OF vision that was. And Fanchon dis
covered that II was a great many
| kinds.
The transfer was made comfortably.