Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-22

spoke.
YES" she continued, smiling upon him
with intent, did I not understand you TO
oner me such help as a man who means II
may honestly give a woman who needs it,"
Indeed, ! said so. and l meant it," he
reiterated. thrustlng his hand out with
quick spontaneous action.
But Flower-o'-the-Corn withheld hers as
II she had not seen.
ut is gracious Of you" she said, stifiy,
and with a cold feeling about her face, but
that which l did for you l would have done
for your carter lad. And, indeed, | see not
what you can ever do for me, unless-(a
spice Of malice. perhaps transmitted from
Yvette Foy. shot athwart her SPECIFY unless
percbance l should happen to have some
goods to transport betwixt the towns Of
Roche-s-Bayard and Hool"
Maurice stood cold stricken. faint, not
knowing what to make OF the girls knowl-
edge. Was it information or a guess?
Clearly, at least. she did not believe that
he was the wagner he had given himself
out to be.
Madame" he replied, nevertheless, for
he had sufficient professional readiness not
to be taken wholly at a short, "if It should
ever be my good fortune to return to my
native land, be assured that / shall be hon
ored to do your behests, not only between
Roche-a-Baysrd and Hoo, but also between
Hoo and Roche-a-Bayard-and to the worlds
end!"
He lifted his hat loftily. with a carriage
and air that of a certainty we're never those
OF Pierre Dubois. He would have gone out
straightway, but something In the girls
manner held hin back.
"stayi" she said, and hesitated for a
word, II do not wish to let you go, bellev-
ing that a man like you Is a traitor and a
scoundrel. Are you, or are you not the
man you SEEM"
The color went wholly out OF the young
mans face. The girl was right. lie was
not the thing he seemed. Yet he had no
reason for admitting her to his confidence
(which was now also Jean Cavaliers con-
fdence). The time had not arrived, and as
things stood the delay might be fatal TO
him.
Decentralization waited while one
might have counted a score for him to
speak; then she heaved the least little sigh.
inaudible save to the recorder Of such like
crisis and cataclysms.
at is enough" she said. same from
your own silence. I would not have believed
1t. Now l know! Let me pass!" =
And without a smile or the least glance
OF farewell Frances Wildwood passed up the
tavern stone stairs. with some of the grim
determination of her c~ovenanting father on
her face.
Then there came a sudden resolution into
the breast of Maurice Raith. He had been
enough tossed hither and thither, enough
fouted and held at naught by this girl and
that. He was sick of it. The memory ol
1t bit like the gnawing gangrene Of an old
wound, restlessly, sleeplessly at his heart.
He would not longer submit to it. He
would follow the girl and clear himself in
her eyes. He turned at the word and went
up the stairs of the tower chamber three at
a time.
But he had waited over long In thought.
The quick light footsteps fed higher and
higher. A heavy door changed, almost in
his face. He bit his lip and in his turn
raped loudly on the door. Maurice Raith
had little enough idea what he would ask
for when the door opened. He was only
acutely conscious that no longer would he,
the sometime aide and confidential messen-
ger OF my Lord Marlborough, be made a
clown and a laughingstock Of by this girl
and that.
The door swung back on mighty hinges.
Maurice found himself fronted by the tall,
majestic presence of the late chaplain Of
Ardmillan's regiment, who held out his hand
and greeted him affectionately.
"Ah!" he exclaimed, before the young
man had time to speak, you have COM to
consult me. II you have brought to these
poor folk Of the Cevennes sharp swords and
the armament OF war 1t may chance that
we will give you in return bread to eat
yea, bread that the world wotteth not Of.
Come thy ways in, lad"
And Maurice went in very gladly. For he
thought within him that he would see
Frances. But that wise maid, much alive
| 20 HE Infant onIy Itsto.oa ,t.ko,t A. -
to his converse with her father, which, to
do Patrick Wildwood justice, was of the
gravest sort, and continued with increasing
unwillingness on Maurice Raith's part.
Think 1t no, sir" said the old man, and
she could see the movement Of his fore
finger, that by the best deeds in the world
you can win one atom Of favor in the next
world"-
Right happy should l be-" said the young
man, soberly smiling In his hosts face, 'if
my good deeds could win me one or two
things that l desire in this under world"
"Ah, yes" said the old pastor, shaking
his white locks not intolerently, "the favor
Of some maiden or the like far in the
north. Have / also not been young? And
do not l know the hearts of the young?"
There was a clang without, the patter Of
little feet, a hush, and then a rustic.
1T is Cavalier" said the old man, with
a keen pleasure on his face, Jean Cavalier,
who is to me as the son of mine old age!"
Then rage and modification took hold Of
Maurice Raith. Had he not heard and in
terpreted-that is, mislnterpreted, as those
too keen on circumstantial evidence usually
do. II was not the patter Of Flower-o'the-
Corn's little feet to the outer door to which
he had listened. 1t was not the whispered
c~olloquy Of lovers, standing a moment be-
hind Il, intent upon each other after II had
been closed with care, that made the little
waiting hush.
What Maurice Raith actually heard in
the little tower over the western gate in
the village OF La Cavalerie was the hurried
rush OF a certain young woman, not alto
gether superior to the weaknesses OF her
sex, to the door of the turTet chamber
which held her bed room, her pause for
breath in the safe darkness Of the stairway,
and then the further waiting, finger on lip
for the entrance CT the visitor.
A day or two before Jean Cavalier might
also have had his illusions. But now his
mind was busy with other things. He en-
tered briskly, according to his custom.
humming a cheerful psalm. The old man
took his hand and led him within, where, on
the great oak settee he took his seat with
the aplomb and assurance of a favorite son
OF the house.
lavrIos DaFtb oonId acarcaIv contagp him