New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-07-15
AN ARTFUL RUSE.
ny ANNIE b. ARMSTRONG;

1t is Dut a lew years since that couple Of
brothers, named Henri and Alive Laporte.
lived in the neighborhood of Paris, close
by the Bots de Boulogne. These brothers
were rich, and of misery disposition, and
seemed to live only for the pleasure of ac-
cumulating gold, a work in which both had
been engaged for many years.
The brothers were bachelors, and had
young maid-of-all-work, Marie de la Font,
sweet and pretty girl, modest, economical
and industrious. She made all the pur-
chases for the house, and in her modest way,
Marie was fully trusted by the brothers
Laporte.s She was almost too pretty to fill
such a situation, it was said, living all alone
with the brothers, but then they We're old
enough to be her father, either of them.
Such pretty faces as Marie's do not have
to wait long for partner. By and by Henri
Duco, thrifty young baker in the neigh
borhood, was seen to pay frequent visits
to the house of the brothers Laporte, and it
| was pretty well understood that he did not
| come to see either of the old fellows up
| stairs. The inference was very natural and
very correct, that he was paying his adj
| dresses to the pretty maid, Marie. There
| was one little drawback as to the consumma-
| ton of such a love by the marriage cere-
|
| They were too poor.
Still these young people, each respec-
| lively 81 years of age, resolved to enter the
bonds of Hymen and trust to fortune.
| So Marie informed her two masters that
| She must leave them at the end of the next
month, as she was about to be married. In
vain did the brothers expostulate with her,
and try to dissuade Marie from giving up
! good and comfortable home to run the
chance of poverty and misery. She told
! them that she had given her word to her
dear Henri, and she must keep it and be
married. ...
! So it was finally arranged that she should
quit the service of the brothers at the close
of the next succeeding month.
! In the meantime the brothers sold large
and valuable piece of real estate one day, and
received the payment therefor in cash, Of
Bank of France paper, some 900 francs.
| 1t was received after bank hours too late to
| deposit, and so the brothers brought it
home, and felt very nervous about having
SO much money in the House overnight. The
neighborhood was rather a dangerous one;
burglaries were often committed there.
| The house was somewhat isolated, and
stood not far from the banks of the Seine.
| About l o'clock they were startled by a
loud and reiterated knock at their door,
| Neither of the brothers Laporte was brave,
but on this occasion, with so large sum of
money on hand, and having thought and
talked so much about it up to the last mo-.
ment of retiring, they were now aroused
by the abrupt noise to state of absolute
| fright and downright terror.
"Who is there?" they exclaimed.
| cit is I, Marie" IL.
| "What do you want?'
| ooh. masters. masters!" a..4
| "Mon Dieu! Marie" exclaimed Alive, the
elder, as he tremblingly opened the door,
"what's the matter? Can't you speak,"
| "Robbers-robbers are in the house."
"Mon Dieu!' said the elder brot;er. ri
was sure of it. What's to be DOR -
"You have gum"
| eyes"
| coolly.
| At that moment came a crash from the
apartment below, and both brothers crept
tremblingly under the bed out of sight, shiv
ering, and moaning that they were about
to be killed.
care we to be found murdered in the
morning and without resistance?" asked the
girl. scornfuly.
ooh! OH" groaned the brothers, from un-
| der the bed, in chorus.
"Peste!" she exclaimed, "give me the
gun"
Marie seized the double-barrel gun and
disappeared downstairs alone. The brothers
listened while they trembled Presently,
bang! went one barrel. {
| con! oh!'' screamed again the two misers,
drawing in their heads like turtles, under
the bed.
A moment later, bang! went the second
barrel, and screech of pain followed, which
rang from the top to the bottom of the
house, supplemented by the groans from
under the bed.
ooh! OH" -
They were very nearly frightened to
death, and could not articulate word.
After a brief pause Marie rushed into the
room and asked for cartridges to reload the
gun. While she was engaged in this pro-
cess the outer gate was heard to swing open,
| and the robbers seemed to be ystreatine
from the house.
s'They are gone.,' said Marie. .- T..
care you sure?" asked the brothers.
"Sure"
The misers crept out from under the bed
one from each side, only half clothed, and
covered with dust. There was no sleep fol
] them that night, but at early dawn, OF
going downstairs, pool of blood on the
hall floor showed that one robber at least
must have got his quietus. ~"
More than this, it was plain by the bloody
tracks upon the ground that the victim had
been dragged to the river. Gore marked thu
whole distance, and the police were active
in dragging the river and in efforts tina
might lead to the detection of the burglars
But it was all in vain-no further light wa:
thrown upon the bloody affair.
> The grateful bachelors could not be thank
= full enough to Marie. They acknowledged
that she had saved their money, and prob
; ably their lives, and for once opened theil
hearts and their pursestrings, at the same