Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-05-23

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 100000 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
neighborheod 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 ] o'clock they were startled by =
loud and reiterated knock al 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 a state Of absolute
fright and downright terror
"NNho is there?" they exclaimed.
Tit is I, Marie"
What do you want?'
I'm. masters. masters!
''Mon Dieul Marie" exclaimed Awe. the
elder as he tremblinely opened the door,
whats the matter2 Can't you speak?'
'Rohbers-rohbers are in the house."
Mon Dieu" said the elder brother. 81
was sure Of It. What's to be done?'
"You have gun?'
Eyes"
"Go down and shoot them" said Marie,
coolly,
At that moment came 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
Are we to be found murdered in the
morning and without resistance?" asked the
girl. scornfully.
ooh! obi" rroaned the brothers, from un.
der the he'd in chorus.
"Pestel' she exclaimed, ''give me the
gun"
Marie seized the doublebarrel gun and
disappeared downstairs alone. The brothers
listened while they trembled. Presently,
bangl went one barrel.
"Oh! OH" screamed again the two mieers,
drawing in their heads like turtles, under
the bed,
A moment later, bang went the second
barrel, and sereech 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 retreatins
from the house.
"They are gone" said Marie.
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 for
them that night, but at early dawn, on
going downstairs a 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 the
whole distance, and the police were active
in dragging the river and in efforts tina,
might lead to the detection of the burglars
But il was all in vain-no further light was
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 then
hearts and their pursestrings, at the same
time giving the little maidof-all~work q
| rrnI Itrrx A. 80 mn frapcci
Must you leave us, Marie?" they asked
"Ah," she replied, affectionstely, chow
can I leave you? You might again be at
tackled by robbers"
''True, true, Marie" they said, thought
| fully. "Why viii you not marry Henri
Duco and come and keep our house to
| gether?"
Excellent" she replied. "Since yor
! have been so generous TO me that canno
leave you"
Henri Dueo married the pretty and brav,
Marie, and they took the lower part of tn,
house to keep for the brothers Laporte.
Years passed The two old men died ant
left an additional 10000 francs for Mari
and her husband. The brave girl did no
refuse il! She was the happy mother Of
large family Of bright children, now, anS
Henri was portly and well-to-do citizen.
Now comes the sequel.
Somehow it has just got out, and tn
| French papers are talking about it editor
tally.
1t appears that Henri Duco acted the par
of the burglar that night; the blood wa
from lamb killed for the purpose, and th
whole affair was ruse of the two lover
to open the hearts and purses of those tw,
old misers, the brothers Laporte.-N. Y