Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1903-07-23
CHAPTER XII.
A Loosensd Tire.

how fraught with meanilngl
II was a grand gala day In Paris.
The president of the republic was
about to review the rank and file of
the army on the open plain in front OF
the grandly beautiful old palace of st.
Cloud, the former royal residence of
the kings and queens of sunny France.
All Paris was In movement. Down
the Champs Elysees, past the superb
memorial erected by the first Napo-
leon in honor of his own glory-the
Arc de Triomphe-out drought the
gates on the wonderfully beautiful
Avenue de lIperatrice, the crowd
moved on.
The pageant was a magnificent one.
More than a thousand liveried equip
ages vie n with the other in the
beauty Of the horses, with their splen-
did trappings, and of the costly vehi-
Giles of every imaginable description
which carried the old nobility and the
more wealthy OF the bourgeoisie Of the
city to the rare and superb spectacle
which vas to crown the day.
In the midst of this glittering multi
tude a girl. mounted on a coal black
steed and accompanied by two gentle
men, attracted the most ~f1attering at
tention.
, Her habit became well the tall, sIen-
der figure, while the ~azure-tinted eyes
swept the faces OF those she passed,
on a rapid, swinging trot, as though
enjoying the admiration her beauty
and her Workmanship had won her.
Her horse curveted and pranced as
though conscious of that firm yet gem
tie touch upon his rein, the form yield
ing SO gracefully to his every move
ment.
In a moment all was changed. Near
ing the Bots de Eoulogne, the tire of a
wheel directly in font OF them
loosened from it's contact with the
wheel itself, flew back and touched in
its fall the slender fore legs of big
black Jupiter. Another instant, and at
lightning speed he flew past the line of
now pale and terror-stricken faces.
What had happened no one knew.
Mad terror had taken possession OF
him, as with long strides he bafiied all
pursuit.
1t was impossible In that dense
crowd for any n to follow. Indeed,
the accident for a moment barred the
way; and at such a time q moment
lost equals an eternity. On and on the
horse and rider few, the girl still hold
ing her sea firmly in the saddle,
though not doubling but that she was
riding to her death.
The lovely cheeks had lost their
color, the laughing joyousness had
died out OF the violet eyes. But no
sound escaped the half-parted lips, save
a faint gasp now and then, as if for
breath.
But suddenly In her very pathway
uprose a pile of stone. She had left
the gay, ~glittering mass of people far
behind. The road her horse had taken
was new to her, but deadly and imnii-
nent peril was the result of his choice.
The stones blockaded the way. In
stinctively she closed her eyes to shut
out the horrid sight.
Only this morning she had smiled az
her face In the mirror, and, remem-
bering that the fete this evening was
to be given In honor of her eighteenth
birthday, rejoiced that II was fair,
with the secret hope that some one
who was coming that evening would
find II SO.
How would It be when they picked
her up, mangled and lifeless? She
shuddered. A prayer rose to her lips;
then came a sudden shock, as her
horse upreared on his launches, then
stood still, quivering and motionless.
What miracle had saved her?
Opening her eyes she discovered a
horse and rider by her side, the mans
strong arm still grasping Jupiter's
rein.
"You ride bravely, mademoiselle,"
said the stranger. ~courteously raising
lis hat; "but I feared that l would not
be In time. I saw that pursuit would
only ~aggravate the evil, and SO chose
the crossroads, hoping I might avert
the danger that threatened you"
"You have saved my life," the girl
answered simply. e."
But the words trembled on her lips,
a dull mist swan before her; all grew
dark; the slight, graceful form feeled.
In another instant the stranger had
caught her in his arms and the young,
lovely face lay helpless and uncon-
scious upon his breast.
Long and earnestly he looked down
upon 1t, making no effort to restore
her consciousness. The long. dark
lashes swept the now lily-tinted
cheeks. yelling the lustrous eyes; the
sunny curls clustered about the mar
BILE temples, beneath the coQuettish
hat resting upon the dainty head; no
breath escaped from between the part
ed lips.
/. One moment he stopped low his
head. as though he would snatch a
kiss from their Inconsistencies; but