The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-02-12

RdSSpOItS u lAVOE ~ Iudu uIo RdllduL
deeds and honest service. The king
] grows old. and tits feared his end is
near. OF this. men scarcely whisper.
His death, as you know, would leave
all France to a frail little duke of An-
jou. Looking to this. the court here IL
already divided In interest between the
rivals for h regency. Philip OF Or
leans party is the stronger. though the
duke stands accused In the vulgar mind
OF poisoning all who may come between
himself and the throne, save this An
jou child. who will probably die of
sneer weakness. The king has recently
had his de Montespan children legiti-
mated and rendered capable Of Inherit
hts action Is bitterly contested by the
Orleanists. He has also, 1t is said,
Neft q will In favor of the
duke Of Maine. giving him all
real power. while nominally making
ORLEANS the regent. And strange as
e may seem. it Is said this will was
made at the persistent request OF de
Maintenon, so viciously hated by the
proud de Montespan. But you know
h was the teacher OF this little duke,
n they are very much attached to
each other. Were the duke Of Maine
. more vigorous a there would be
no doubt of his success. II that little
oCGdAA sd6 N1duaIN0 OTlGAI1H
calls the wife OF the duke of Maine,
were the man of the family, she would
surely be the regent. She's a wonder
Sul woman. Madame du Maine hates
fienvtile ecause she cannot use him
n her dealings with Spain. She has
duped the Bretons by the promise OF an
independent provincial government, but
Btenvilie stands true to. his king. So
they seek by every means to discredit
him. You may surmise from this how
unfortunately our affairs here are COM
pltcated In the affairs of great per-
sonages. where lesser men lose their
at h first breath of Suspicion
After q little I had ample opportun-
tty to observe the man more closely,
for he kept his seat to examine at
leisure h dispatches i had brought.
He was evidently not entirely pleased
with this inspection, giving vent at
times to low expressions OF annoy
ance.
Always the same trouble. la Sale
and De la Vente, spies In Biloxi-Ah,
here is the fine hand of Madame du
Maine. currying favor with the Span
lard In aid of her cripple husband. II
we could only make this plain to Louis:
this stirring up Of strife. Fancy a son
OF de Montespan on the throne OF
France. Yes. yes, yes. here is the
awkward work of our old friend Gro
go sAo SAduSoAildils WHO WOulQ pur-
chase an empire OF the king. See how
clumsily he throws out his golden bait"
I could but listen and observe. Now,
more than ever. inSthe sternness and
decision of his countenance he resem-
blsd his famous brothers, Iberville.
ssal.yolie and Bienville-and yet be-
SoRd them all he possessed the facul-
Ties Of a courtier.
Captain. are you acquainted with
tho nature Of these ~dispatches?" he
as,,eed directly.
No, sire. only in general, and from
my knowledge Of affairs at Biloxi"
Ny brother tells me I may trust
YOU Ny face flushed holly with the
5lcoaS of anger.
On, my dear captain, I meant no
ofense; I speak plainly, and there are
few men about this court whom Won
can trust. This IL an adventure OF
grave Importance upon which I wish TO
employ you. POUR being unknown In
Paris may assist us greatly
! signified my attention.
It Is supposed we are on the eve
OF war with Spain, and Il 10 my belief
the colonies will be the first objects Of
attack. Some person, and one who II
In our confidence, IN now CARVING on
9 secret correspondence with the Span.
tsh agent at Paris. Cellamare, the
spanish ambassador. Is concerned Ia
the intrigue. h much we know from
letters which have fallen into nv
hands. and I have permitted them to Be
delivered rather than interrupt =
correspondents which will n
ally lead to a discovery Of the
traitor. We have now good rea-
sonsto believe Mat dispatches Of q very
serious nature are expected daily b.
Yvard-Yvard Is the Spanish spy-;.
Ward. Ward" 1 mentally repeated.
where had / heard that manor
These papers are to give our exact
strength at Biloxi. the plans OF oar forti.
1cations. and q hart Of all the navigable
waters of Louisiana. We cannot AFFORD
to let the Spaniards have this Information.
even IL thereby we should capture their
agent"
! maintained q strict silence.
You understand lie Dauphin II the last
vessel over, and no other Is expected for
months. SO we think all this information
came over with you"
When he began ] ~instinctively thought
Just behind me. AZ he proceeded, the
name Ward" again liked my attention.
The very name I had heard mentioned by
one of the men the morning I left Biloxi.
Serigny was right In his surmise, but /
let him go on without interruption.
IT I am correct, these plans will be per-
fected in Paris before lie Dauphin sails
gp6alA. nc spy AAOCNS1 Ac may Oc, WAil
perhaps want to return In her. Now you
can see what l want. You can understand
what a help o MAJ be in this mat
ter. You doubtless know every person
who came over in 10 Dauphln, yet you
must avoid notice yourself. for they would
suspect you instantly"
still said nothing to him of the con-
versation i had overheard, or of my own
suspicious, childishly thinking / would
gain the greater credit by unearthing the
whole affair and divulging It at one time.
wv have some reliable fellows in Paris,
and I will send such letters as will put
you In possession Of all the Information
they have. You ena they, I trust. can do
the work satisfactory, but in no event
y ohall my name. or that of Bienville, be
connected with the enterprise. II tho mat
ter should come to the king, we would
lose what little hold we now ave upon
him. II Is not IN cas- or an agreeable
TASK. The Spanish spy bears the name. OF
sCarne Yvsrd, a man of good birth, but a
gambler Ind %profigate. He is known
throughout Paris as a reckless gamester,
but mo man dare question him. because
OF his marvellous skill with the sword. He
spends much of his time at Bertrand'a
wine and card rooms, though he has the
.entree at some Of the most fashionable
houses in the city, wen at Madame du
Names exclusive villa Of Sceaux. But