The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-11

'.Ah!" said I. inwardly. .now we're
getting to the matter!''
Why yes, possibly later, monsieur would
go up and have a look at the roobs, but
he would be glad to know first what they
were like.
Bien, they were a studio, carre, quite
large, with sidelight, sleeping room and
petite cuisine. There was also another
sleeping room, beyind the studio, If one
wished it. though 1t did not properly be-
long to the suite. ..s
That's it," I cried again, inWhrdly.f
That's the one! vacated, eh? So they've
made Off" Il
But surely such suite should not lack
occupants! Was 1t possible that it must
go begging?
The protesting hands again appealed to
heaven.
What would you? AS one had said be-
fore, there seemed to be no more stu
| dents In Paris. Oh, to be sure, there
had been occupants Of the suite, but only
for quinze jours, and voyez nous-this
with lowered voice and confidentially
| nodd1ng head-voyez nous, strange occu-
pants, If one should ASK Allemands by
| their look. four messieurs and one wo-
man, une grande dame, like a queen! One
had said she was the sister of the mon
sieur with the eye-glass, but-a shrug
here, and droop of the eyelid-that was
| as one liked to Call 1t. Aye, strange
company! What would monsieur say for
example, OF a quarrel among the four
Alemands one night, over the lady, sans
doute, quarrel 81 feroce, that it left
| blood stains on the floor. Yes, to be sure,
they had tried to scrub them out, but one
knew blood stains for all that!-si feroce
! that every one Of the messieurs was in
oandages the next morning, and one, mon
d1eu, one so near the point Of death that
he was carried down to a fiacre like
dead man, save for his cursing in some
| fNrniC ION voy,
hospital probably! I -.
l think nearly cried out at this. Won
steinbrucke wasn't dead after, ALL then!
! Dangerous lodgers, indeed, one would
say, fastened to assure her with the
proper amount Of horror. And the house
we'll rid of them. 1t would seem to be
a case for the police. But the lady? Did
she leave with the others?
| Another tnimitably French shrug. ~
| All! Monsieur arrived at the point!
What would monsieur think Of the lady's
complete disappearance the night of the
quarrel? but complete, voyez vous! She
had never been seen since, nor the young
woman who was her maid. 81. one saw
strange things from time to time when
one was a. concierge but none so strange
as this. No more Alemands for 1S bis
impasse du Maine! Mon dieu! they might
be anarchists. One might be blown out
of ones bed some fine night! No. no
more Allemands! Would monsieur care
to go up and look at the rooms?
| I had found out all wanted to know
but to oblige the old woman went up to
the bare and dlsmantled rooms and rs
tened to much unnecessary information as
to their desirab1Iity. It gave me- upon my
word, something of a. thrill to stand again
on the spot where had fought my long
battle with that villain Steinbrucke. to go
4 through the little passage where Won Alt
dorf had so nearly come to grief; but I
was glad, at last, to get away from the
place-it smelled of tragedy-and out once
more into the warm spring sunshine, leav-
ing the old concierge smiling and delighted
with gold louis. S.i
J. AS I have said, we saw in these days
little OF the Princess Eleanor, for she kept
much by herself, solitary and queenly,
brooding over her grief and injury, her
wrecked love. and, as she believed, her
lbltghted life. She passed her. time read
ing or idle In her own apartments, s or
walked through the great garden 1r
tragic isolation that no one dared brave.
4 1 was glad to perceive, however that
as the days and weeks went by,she showed
I an increasing desire for the company OF
her cousin, Miss Mannering, and that the
coldness between them seemed; in q. fair
way to disappear altogether. Toward Sir
Gavin, Won Altdorf and myself, she was
ever courteous and considerate but never
familiar. She maintained always Ger
tain barrier of formality, all evidence con
stantly in view that she found herself
: unable to forgive the injury We had done
i her. 4. ...@- %+7
And now that I may look back upon
it all dispassionately, With the Impair
tial clearness that time gives to the eye,
cannot feel any of the resentment, any
of the anger that filled me in those days
at her seeming blindness to the fact that
what we had done had been done for her
own good, to save her life indeed, and
greatly to our discomfort =
| I can seen ow,. as in those days I would
, not see, that woman may hold the saw
ing Of her life cheaply beside the wreckinG
of that life's happiness in the cruelest
fashion possible. ..,-,,z4s-r * -. .-. .yg.ssz
i I can: See now, as in those days. 7 would
what unspeakable agonies Of shame and
despair and hopelessness she must have
endured at having the promise of a very
heaven upon earth, q passion of love too
4 great for words, held to her lips only to be
dashed away when she was about to drink.
I Aye, I can see now, that few women have
; suffered so, and I wonder little at her
resentment toward those who had brought
grief and shame upon her.
i STILL for some reason-indeed, I know
not what-toWard me, among the three OF
us, she seemed to cherish least Ill Will.
It seemed to afford her certain pleasure
to talk with me when we met by chance
| In the garden, as SOneClIueS OCCuIISu, 1OT
I walked there now and then In the cool
shade. .ss - S,%%s.s ..EEs.t
. remember that 1t was at our first meet
ing in the garden she learned from me of
! Denis departure with the Prince for
Novodnia. %.I. z Z. 1 -
I had been walking up and down one of
the gravel paths under the acacias, putting
at my pipe and wondering what was for
ward at the seat Of war-we had that
morning received the dispatch from Mo-
vodnia telling US that the prince and Denis
were safely arrived was wondering
what would be the first steps taken to
check Georgias and his horde in their ad-
vance upon the capital, when saw the
Princess Eleanor coming down from the
house with a book under her arm. I could
not have retreated unseen, and so wait
ed. bowling, hat in hand, and apologized
for my trespass upon the ground where
had no right to be.
But the princess gave me a little faint
smile and begged me to walk there when
ever might choose.
Indeed" said she seating herself in the
long steamer chair that had been set for
her, Indeed, was bit lonely, bit at q
loss for something to do, some one to talk
with. Jessica is in the house with-with
Colonel Won Altdorf,' and she paused tc
smile amusedly, a bit wistfully. More
over" she went on, II have long wanted
to ask you about-those ruffians in the
impasse du Maine. What has become OF
them? What happened after latter we
| 3 Vr,yy f1e1,f