Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1904-02-13

Jpeaking bitterly. I'VE never dare
Jpeak our thought, for blindness, ST.
ence, hattery end fawning seem surer
passports to favor than are gallant
leeds and honest service. The king
grows old, and it is feared his end Is
rear. or this, men scarcely whisper.
His death, as you know, YOU leave
Ill France to a frail little duke of An
lou. Looking to this, the court here Is
lIready divided III interest between the
.ivals for the regency, Philip or Or"
cans, and the duke Of Maine. The Or
cans party is the stronger, though the
luke stands accused in the vulgar mind
IF poisoning ali who may come between
himself and the throne, save this An
gu child, who will probably die OF
sheer weakness. The king has recently
lad his de Montespan children legiti-
mated and rendered capable of inherit
ng the crown, though the legality OF
his action is bitterly contested by the
~Orleanists. He has Also, it is said,
eft a will in favo o the
luke Of Msine, giving him all
ZEAL power, while nominally making
Orleans the regent. And strange as
[ may seem.-it Is said this will was
made at the persistent request or de
Maintenon, so viciously hated by the
proud de Montespan. But you know
she was the teacher of this little duke,
and they are very much attached to
each other. Were the duke of Maine
4 more vigorous nan there would be
no doubt of his success. If that little
wasp OF Sceaux,' as Madame Orleans
calls the wife of the duke of Maine,
were the nan of the family, she would
surely be the regent. She's a wonder
,ul woman Madame du Maine hates
Bienville because she cannot use him
N her dealings with Spain. She has
$500 NAa Dnataan hxy Nhn prnYNnfon Of a "
Independent provincial government, but
Bienville stands true to his king. So
they seek by every means to discredit
him. You may urmise from this how
unfortunately our affairs here are COM
plicated in the affairs of great per-
sonages where lesser men lose their
lives at the first breath of suspicion"
After a little 1 had ample %opportun-
lty to observe the nan more closely,
for he kept his seat to examine at
leisure the dispatches l had brought.
He was evidently not entirely pleased
with this inspection, giving vent at
lines to low expressions of annoy
lnce.
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
ard in aid of her cripple husband. II
we could only make this plain to Louis;
his 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
Eat the tradesman, who would pur-
chase an empire Of the king. See how
clumsily he throws out his golden bait"
/ could but listen and observe. Now,
more than ever, in the and
decision OF his cou~ntenance he resem-
bled his famous brothers, Iberville,
Sauvolle inc Bienville-and yet be-
yond them all he possessed the facul-
ties of q courtier.
Captain, are you acquainted with
the nature of these dispatches" he
asked directly.
mo. sire, only in general, and from
my knowledge OF affairs at Biloxi"
my brother tells me l may trust
YOU" My face flushed holly with the
blood of anger.
"Oh, my dear captain, I meant no
~offense; l speak plainly, and there are
few men about this court whom you
can trust. This Is an adventure of
grave Importance upon which l wish to
employ you. Your being unknown in
Paris may assist us greatly"
l signified my attention.
1T is supposed we are on the eve
of war with Spain, and it is my belief
the colonies will be the first objects of
attack. Some person, and one who is
in our confidence, is now carrying on
a secret correspondence with the Span
Sh agent at Paris. Cellamare, the
Spanish ambassador, Is concerned in
the intrigue. This much we know from
letters which have fallen into my
hands, and / have permitted them to be
delivered rather than interrupt a
correspondence which will eventu-
ally lead to a discovery of the
traitor. We have now good rea-
son to believe that dispatches of a very
serious nature are expected daily by
Yvard-Yvard Is the Spanish spy"
"Yvard, Ward" I mentally repeated,
where had heard that name?
These papers are to give our exact
strength at Biloxi, the plans of our forti-
locations, and a chart of all the navtgable
waters of Louisiana. We cannot afford
to let the Spaniards have this information,
even If thereby we should capture their
agent"
/ maintained a strict silence.
You understand lie Dauphin is the last
vessel over, and no other is expected for
months, SO we think all this information
came over with you"
When he began 1 in~stinctfvely thought
Of Levert, who set out alone for Paris
just ehind me. As he proceeded, the
name "Yvard" again fixed my attention.
The very name / had heard mentioned by
one of the men the morning L left Biloxi,
Serigny was right in his surmise, but ]
! let him go on without interruption.
IF 1 am correct, these plans will be per-
fected In Paris before lie Dauphin sails
again. The spy, whoever he may be, will
perhaps want to return in her. Now you
can see what 1 want. You can understand
what q help you may De in this mat
ter. You doubtless know every person
who came over in lie Dauphin, yet you
must avoid notice yourself, for they would
suspect you instantly"
1 still said nothing to him of the con,
versation l had overheard, or Of my owr
suspicious, childishly thinking 1 would
gain the greater credit by unearthing the
whole affair and divulging 1t at one time
1--WE have some reliable fellows in Paris
and 1 will send such letters as will put
you in possession Of all the information
they have. You ana they, / trust, can dc
the work satisfactory, but in no event
shall my name, or that OF Bienville, be
connected with the enterprise. II the mat.
ter should come 10 the king, we would
lose what little hold we now ave upor
him. It Is not an cas- or an agreeable
task. The Spanish spy bears the name OF
Carne Ward, a man of good birth, but a
gambler and a profigate. He is known
throughout Paris as q reckless gamester,
but no man dare question him, because
of his marvellous skill with the sword. He
spends much Of his time at Bertrand's
wine and card rooms. though he has the
entree at some of the most fashionable
houses in the city. even at Madame du
Names exclusive Villa OF Sceaux. But
thereby hangs his employment; we do not
know how far madame is involved In TINS
intrigue with Spain and the Bretons.'
Verify I felt encouraged as Serigny un'
folded his charming plans for my enter
tainment. In a strange city to hunt VI
and ~dispossess a man like this OF papers
which would hang him. A delightful un'
dertaking forsooth!
But we plan in advance, my dear cap
tain. We must wait the pleasure OF the
king concerning you. We will renew this
subject tomorrow"
Tina night / lodged will Serigny.