The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1904-01-29
ODE Black gsz<@
VOLTS Breed;
c..,nsN. ns., as ByH~ss'- Dickson
"What is this? Look"

VIVA is this! LOOK"
1 glanced at it and started, looking
inquiringly into my old friends face.
He avoided my eye.
| saw now upon the plate the same
arms, the same quarterings, but over
all there ran d~iagonally across the
scutcheon a flaming bar of red which
blazored evilly upon th= silver ground.
I understood.
VIVA is it?" he demanded impa-
tiently. 1 still could find no word to
answer.
Speak out boy. what is it?"
1.-THE same, but here, over all, is the
bendlet sinister" 1 scarcely dared to
look into his face.
Aye" he replied, his countenance
livid with shame. 1T is the bar sin
lister, the badge of dishonor. So do
those proud arms appear in the sight of
God. and so shall they be seen of men.
And for generations each Lord of Car
tillon has added to that crimson stripe
the indelible stain or cowardice."
The master, his features working
convulsively with humbled pride, his
eyes never leaving the floor, continued
rasolutely:
THE story is short. Over a hundred
years ago the Count d'Artin was muir
dered in his castle by the son of a peas
ant woman, his half brother, who as
sumed the title and seized the estates.
This was easy in those times, for the
murdered man was a Huguenot, his
slayer a Catholic in the service Of
Guise, and it was the day after st.
Bartholomew's. The count had sent his
infant son for safety to an old friend,
the abbott of a neighboring monastery.
This child was brought up in the Cath
Ollie faith, and in him and his descend
ants resided the true right of the
Counts d'Artin. OF this they ave al
wa VIC hpan jpn0rnn 4 Tha nS1rnar on
his deathbed repented, n calling his
own son to him, told him the whole
story, eXacting q solemn oath that he
would find the disinherited one and re-
store to him his own. This oath was
kept in part. His son, Raoul d'OrteZ,
found the child, then an officer in the
army, but lacked the ourage to de-
clare his own shame, and %relinquish the
price Of his fathers crime. By that
Raoul d'Ortez this locket was made
and the same vow and the same tradi-
ton were handed down to me. I nave
no child. God knows / would give W
the accused heritage if l could.
During all these years a careful
record has been kept Of the true
lineage, which was only broken in my
fathers time. Here in this packet arr
the papers which prove it; | confidt
them to you upon my death. After
am gone l want you to find the las
dArtin.
He was silent now a long time, thel
continued in q lower tone: My mothe
| was of the reformed religion and l EN-
braced her faith. 1t seems k a judg
| ment of God hat 1, a Huguenot, SHOULD
7 lose under King Louis what my Catho
lie ancestor gained under King Challes
Now go, lad"
I could say nothing, but touching hi
: hand in mute sympathy turned w
without a word.
: | had almost reached the door Whe
he sprang after n again detained me
: His glance searched apprehensivel
into, the shadowy corners of the room
his voice wavered, the look of a hunte
e animal crept into his eyes.
Ills said" he whispered, the rest
n less spirits of my fathers yet haur
our castle in Normandy-oh, mercift
God, 40 YOU believe it? Oh. no, NJ
after all these troubled years l fai
q would find a dreamless lumber in m
/ grave"
: l soothed him as L would a frightene
e child, and left him standing at tt
door.