Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-20

Jack Winston to Lord Lane (con-
tinued).
| Narbonne, December II.
The car was stopped. the tea. basket got
| out, and who SO indispensable as the late
| despised Brown? Brown it was who went
| to cottage hard by and procured drinking
water. since, not expecting to stop, we
| had come out unprovided. Brown 1t was who
| saved the methylated spirit from upsetting.
! Brown was rewarded presently with an
| excellent cup of tea, into which Miss Ran
| dolph had dropped two Jumps of sugar
! with her own blessed little pink tipped
| fingers. AS a matter of fact, in ordinary
] circumstances sugar in tea is medicinal to
my taste; but when that angel sat with a
lump between her fingers asking how
many l would have, though she had just
| let Jimmy Sherlock put in his own, l would
| have said half dozen, if that would have
! left any over for her. And if the taste
| was medicinal, why. it had a curative eff
| feet on my injured feelings.
Refreshed. invigorated by more than tea
| / felt ready for anything Darkness was
| falling, but l didn't light the lamps. The
road was empty. torch of dusky red
| blazing along the west. We started, going
| cautiously; our tongues silent, eyes
alert. By-and-by, from afar off. We caught
| the twinkle of low-set, yellow lights. We
/ were coming to the neighborhOod of the
| octro Luckily it was cold; the door and
| windows of the house would certainly be
shut. unless the men were engaged in
| transacting business in the road. / now
hurriedly explained to Miss Randolph the
| exact method l meant to adopt, and the
word was passed round to be mum y
While the tea-thngs were being packed
away, a short time ago, l had well oiled
| the wheels and chains; the car moved as
| silently as a bat. except for the chutf.
Chuffi of the motor. About a hundred
yards from the lights l put on speed. and
| when had begun to scud along like
| ship with all sails set. l took out the. clutch
| and let the motor run free. By this time
we We're within thirty yards of building
| which 1 felt certain was the octro
| The car, which had been going extremely
! fast. dashed on, coasting past the little
| lighted house by its own impetus. Not a
| sound, not a creak of a wheel, not the
grating of a chain.
On we sped for full forty yards past the
octroi before We lost speed, and 1 had to
slip in the clutch
"Oh, Brownr' breathed my Goddess
ecstatically. Just that, and no more. But
| if had been Jack Winston and asked her
to marry me at this moment, l believe she
would have said yes in sheer exuber-
ance of grateful bliss.
So far, so good but We're not yet out
of the wood. We drove quietly on into the
town. expecting every moment to be chal-
lenged for not lighting our lamps. though
we were within our rights. really, dark as
1t was, for it was not yet hour after
sunset. But nothing happened; not even
dog parked. We crossed the high bridge
we had come to see. doomed black against
the dusky sky. No one molested us; no
fiery gendarme leaped from the shadows
| commanding us to stop. My small trumps
were taking all the tricks, but I had q big
one still in my hand We were now-hav-
ing crossed the bridge and left the new
town behind us-in IA comparatively de-
serted region.
MY idea" l said quietly to Miss RAN
dolph. lis to drive the car into some dark
back street far from the ken of the gem
darme. 1t Is 6 o'clock. People sitting
down to dinner. That is in our favor 1
shall, If possible, find a place where
the car may stand for several
hours without being remarked.
now, Is the very place" l broke short my
dlsqulsltion to remark: for as | elaborated
my plan. driving very slowly, we had ar
rived before dinsy news with a wagon
standing shafts down. on the cobbIes l
turned In and stopped both car and motor
ihls shelter might have been made for
us, L said. beginning to find a good deal
of pleasure in the situation The only
difficulty is tout with my big trump THAT
of course some one must stay with the car.
1t is my place, miss to do So But. I'M
fortunately, it is after hours for showing
the ramparts. the interior of the towers,
the dungeons and so on. which are really
the attractions of the wonderful old re-
stored medieval city. l have been here be-
1ore. l know the garden, and might. if
were IN the party, induce him to make an
exception in your favor. Still, as it is, the
best l can do will be to write note and
ask him to take you through"
Jimmy laughed, or | should say chortled
Il should think a banknote would appeal
to the gardens intelligence better than any
other kind said he, ''and 1 will see that
he gets it"
marked quietly. The garden here isn't
| that sort of man at all. He would be NOR
tally offended if you tried to bride him.
and would certainly refuse to do anything
for YOU
I'm sure letter would be of very lit
tie use," said Miss Randolph Il think we
must manage to have you with US some
look after the carr
Il shouldn't like to take the risk" said
ing ''''s'' We are III i'iu-
Il don't want to see the old thing" pro-
tested Aunt Mary. I've gone through so
much today L feel a thousand years old
I'm not going to climb any hills or see any
sights. l want my dinner"
Il think we'd better get on" advised
Sherlock. Not much fun poking about in
a lot of old ruins in the dark
iheyr re not ruins, and it isn't dark"
said Miss Randolph Look at the sky
The moons coming up this minute If you
don't want to see the cite, Jimmy, you
might just as we'll sit here in the car while
the rest of us CO."
Il shall sit with him. announced Amt
Mary. And if you must go on this wild
goose chase, do for PHYS sake hurry back
or we shall be frozen"
l began to fear that the scheme would
fall through. with so much against it. but
Miss Randolph kept to her resolution
despite the moving picture of her relatives
suffering.
"Oh. yes, We will hurry back We shan't
be long, she said cheerfuliy, I'VE" mean
ing herself and her courier mecanicien
You can't be cold in your furs; it's very
early yet; you had a good tea and Brown
and will whisk you off to some dear little
village In time for s o'clock dinner
l knew We should do nothing of the kind
but mine not to reason why, mine but to
do or die-with her.
l daresay, my dear Monte, that even to
you Carcassonne" expresses nothing in
particular. To those who have been
there the name must I think, always
bring with it imperishable reco,lec-
ton. Carcassonne is one of the UNIQUE
places OF the world. Years ago-as
faf back as the Romans, probably much
further-there was fortress on this HILL
which commanded one of the chief roads
into Spain Afterward it was used by the
Visigoths, and in the middle ages it reached
its highest Importance under ST Louis
Then gradually 1t sank again into insignif-
canoe, and early last century there was a
propose! that the ruins should be DESTROYED
BY this time hardly any one lived in the
old city on the hill a new and flourishng
modern town Qaid out in parallelegrams)