The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-27

81 might march north, colonel, as If
to Join Gen. Goeben. Then 1 could
turn down this road which see upon
your map and get to Chateau Noir be-
fore they could hear of us. In that
case, with twenty men"
Every good, captain. / hope to see
you with your prisoner tomorrow
morning"
1t was a cold December night when
Capt Baumgarten marched out of Les
Andelys with his twenty Poseners and
took the main road to the northwest.
Two miles out he turned suddenly down
a narrow, deeply rutted track, and
made swiftly for his man. A thin, cold
rain was falling, swishing among the
tall poplar trees and rustling in the
fields on either side. The captain
walked first with Moser, a veteran SER
geant, beside him. The sergeant's
French peasant, and it had been whis
pered in his ear that in case of an
ambush the first bullet fired would be
through his head. Behind them the
twenty infantrymen plodded along
through the darkness, with their faces
sunk to the rain, and their boots
squeaking in the soft, wet clay.
1t was nearly s when they left Los
Andelys. AT 80 their guide stopped
at a place where two high pillars,
crowned with some heraldic stone
work, fanked huge iron gate. The
black chateau lay in front of them.
The moon had shone out between
two rain clouds, and threw the old
house into silver and shadow. 1t was
shaped like an L with low arehed
door in front, and lines Of small win
dows like the open ports of a man-of-
war. Above was a dark roof breaking
TITO
hanging turrets, the whole lying silent
in the moonshine, with a drift of rag
ged clouds blackening the heavens be-
hind it. A single light cleaned in one
of the lower windows.
The captain whispered his orders to
his men. Some were to creep to the
front door, some to the back. Some
were to watch the east and some the
west. He and the sergeant stole tip
toe to the lighted window.
1t was a small room into which they
looked, very meanly furnished. An
elderly man in the dress of a mental
was reading a tattered paper by the
light of a guttering candle. He leaned
! back in his wooden chair with his feet
upon a box, while a bottle of white
wine stood with a half-f1lled tumbler
upon the stool beside him. The SER
geant thrust his needle gun through
feet with Shrek.
"Silence, for your life. The house is
surrounded and you cannot escape
Come around and open the door or we
will show you no mercy when we
come in"
For Gods sake, don't shoot. I will
open it! l will open i'll" He rushed
from the room with his paper still
crumpled up in his hand. An instant
later, with groaning of old locks and
a rasping of bars, the low door swung
open, and the Prussians poured into the
| the stone-f1agged passage.
Where is Count Eustace de Chateau
Noir?"
my master! He is out, sir"
"Out at this time of night? Your
life for a lie!"
1T is true, sir. He is out"
Where ?p
"I do not know"
"Doing what?"
II cannot tell. No, it is no use your
cooking your pistol, sir. You may kill
me, but you cannot make me tell you
that which do not know"
rs he often out at this hour"
Frequently"
''And when does he. come home ~
Before daybreak."
Capt. Baumgarten rasped out Ger
man oath. He had had his journey for
nothing, then. The mans answers were
only too likely to be true. 1t was what