Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-09-08

LET us go to the chateau; we will
sign it."
Presently the two reappeared on the
| terrace.
"say to the English that the people
| are starving, and ask them in the name
! Of the women and children to send us
something to eat at once," said the
governor.
Joannes saluted, turned away, and
was gone. The people watched him
disappear in silence.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE PLAY, THE STAKE. AND THE
PLAYERS.
IA Of EANWHTLE, what of the
Nn Countess Anne and Capt.
ly Grafton? They had passed
through week of such
mingled emotions, such alterations of
Joy and sorrow, OF love and jealousy,
| of remembrances and anticipation, as
could scarcely be described.
When the woman he loved left him
alone the night he recognized her, after
that rapturous exchange Of kisses,
Grafton felt himself transported to
Heaven. He forgot, in the happiness
consequent upon his discovery of her
identity, the racial antagonism which
should lie between than; he forgot
the great gulf of war which held them
asunder; ne even forgot the engage
ment Of Anne to lie Wire, But the
next morning, when the first glow of
his passion had left him, he was
enabled to view things in q clearer
light.
He carefully took account of the diff
ferent obstacles which separated. or
might tend to separate, him from the
woman he loved. Ee intended to win
her, come what might, and as the
campaign was like to prove q diff
cult one, in which the odds were
mainly against him, It behooved him
to take stock of all opposition and
carefully look over the field He must
think, he must plan, ne must leave
no stone unturned, lose no point in the
game
First Of all he was an American,
and that was different from an Eng
lishman. Anne, although she showed
little Of it to a casual inspection, was
an American as we'll That was a
point gained. The war. he believed,
would presently be over. That was
another point in his favor. If she
loved him-if she loved MIN! Who
could doubt it after last hight? But
did she love him enough TO brave the
anger and defy the opposition of her
grandfather? Did she love him enough
to marry him III despite Of country,
nationality, public opinion? He
thought so.
She had great pride OF race, and
from the French point of view she
would be condescending ineffably in
marrying a mere commoner. For the
matter of that, he thought, in his low
ing humility, that no man was fit to
possess this priceless jewel of woman
hood. He placed her upon level so
high that she would have been COM
PEELED to condescend to marry even
king, much less a simple American
6NiNASAAolt. Ahdllld5S Will lllIu lIlGduI
for her the remuneration of title, rank,
station, possessions, country, family,
friends, traditions-he piled up the
catalogue of sacrifices involved, in
gloomy, ever-deepening humility.
Still, other women had done such
things; these were not insuperable
obstacles.
The last difficulty was the greatest.
There was de Vitre--a Stumbling
block, indeed. No mar could have
done more for another than he had
done for the young Frenchman. He
had twice saved his life, he had es-
tablished his honor, and, by a singu-
! larry ironic trick of fate, he feared he
had been the means OF bestowing upon
him the hand of the woman they both
loved.
His own sense of the obligation he
had conferred upon that young
Frenchman lay heavily upon his soul.
He could not demand from him freely
or even take from him by force what
he would have wrested cheerfully from
another. A benefit conferred, however
1t may be considered by the recipient
as benefit forgot, Invariably estab-
fishes sense of obligation on him
who confers 1t. Therefore, de Wire
was an obstacle of the most serious
moment to the future progress of his
happiness. How to contend with him
he knew not. Certainly he could not
make the REIMBURSEMENT OF the
Frenchman's desire for Anne the price,
or the reward, Of his own past serv-
Ices A genuine man, he could not
even bear to have these services men
toned; and that they SO persistently
remained in his thoughts gave him
honorable uneasiness. very exalted
and chivalric nature had Philip Graf
ton. He was particularly nice on the
point of honor
That was not all either, for con-
nected with de Wire was the honor of
the de Rohans. Anne, in the most
public manner and Of her own free