Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-19
.htning
.OnducfOr
By
c.N.& A.M:WuLlAMSON

claimed. 'What are we to do? Aunt Mary
and l have other hats and Jackets and
things In our car luggage. Couldn't we
change so as to look quite different. and
buy lot of-of Asphalt, or something in
the next village before they've had time to
give the alarm, and paint the poor car
bright scarlet? Then we should get
through and no one would know"
l couldn't help laughing, though really
her suggestion wasn't so fantastic as 1t
may sound, for l know a man who did
that very trick in somewhat similar circum-
stances; but her earnestness combined with
the ch1ldlike guile on her face was comic.
1T would be too long job to paint the
car before We could be spotted" said. II
think We must just hope for the best, and
show bold face. l shouldn't be surprised
II we'd get through all right somehow.
Perhaps, II there was much money In your
aunts purse. miss. the peasants would pre-
fer Keeping their mouths shut and sticking
10 that than mixing themselves up with
the police and perhaps losing what they
might have had. like the dog with his
meat In the fable"
There were about hundred francs in
my purse" announced Aunt Mary
III they do catch us, what them" the
girl asked
/ explained the state OF the case as had
argued 1t our to myself.
"Oh. we'll sighed Miss Randolph Il sup
pose we can't do better than take your adj
vice. but this isn't nice adventure. / do
hate feeling guilty-like escaping crimi-
nal, with every hand against me. And L
loathe suspense: / always want to know the
worst. When shall We be sure what the
peasants have made up their minds to do?"
Well l said, in less than an hour, IL
all goes well. we ought t0~be at the octroi
station outside Carca ssonne and IL We are
wanted by the police We shall know it
fast enough, because they will-er-try to
stop us there"
Then 1 hope all won't go we'll" moaned
Miss Randolph. She who had been so brave
when forty DpaSaDtS Threatened with
words. stones and even knives, was crushed
under the vague menace of the law. IF
only We could arrive after dark we might
flash through before the octroi people
knew. Let's arrive after dark" she ex-
claimed, eagerly. IT'S getting on toward
now. Let's stop-since we've been per-
fectly certain for ages that no one was at
tempting to follow us-and-and deliberately
have tea by the roadside. If We do that
we can easily pass the time. not to
arrive at the octroi until half-past five,
when 1t will be dark. It's moonlight. but
the moon doesn't rise now till six or after.
I'VE could do that certainly l said, land
we might get through without being
nabbed. If we succeed. we might rush on
through Carcassonne, instead of stopping
there tonight. for the farther away we get
and the more towns We can say We've pass
ed through without being detained the bet
ter for our chances of ultimate escape
But don't want to miss Carcassonne.
she objected. You've told me much
about the place that I've been looking for
ward to it more than almost anything else.
So had l. If the truth were known, but L
had looked forward to visiting CarcasSonne
with her before 1 had drunk and seen the
spider" In other words, before Mr.. Payne
had Joined our party. However, / couldn't
bear to have her disappointed. for his fault,
too: besides, I'm vain enough to like hear
ing from her lips the fiattering words.
Brown, you are so resourceful!' There
fore 1 stirred up my brains in the effort to
be resourceful now.
1--WE might hide the car In Carcassonne IL
we could once get in mysteriously sug-
gested: then you could steal up on foot to
the cite by moonlight and when you'd had
your fIl of sight seeing steal back to the
car again and make a rush for it,
Splendid" cried Miss Randolph. clapping
her hands. Behold. had made hit!
(To be continued tomorrow