The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-04-29
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compromise Celeste. Let US take from
them anything which duplicates he
/, In this miserable intrigue, and deiive
the rest. That is easy. l can open ant
close them again SO it cannot be told.
MY orders are not to open them"
BY God. You will" he burst on
with volcanic fury, no. no; L am to,
hot. We can lose them; tell Serign,
thew were never found: tell Serign,
carried them off; tell him he never hat
them. We can fix a tale
1T would be a long story. and a lial
must needs have a good memory"
1 was playing for time, time to think
time to get away
But l will go with you S%erigny." he
insisted, tell the lie and make him
to believe. 'Pshaw, man, you know no,
the ways of the world, at least not a,
the Court of France"
Think. Jerome, of the war, of ou1
people in the colonies. of our honore"
II care not for it all" the wild pas
SION IN his voice made me almost feai
MN. a that is as nothing to me
where Celeste is concerned. oh, Pla-
eide, think of it. / love her, love her,
love her-do you comprehend what that
means to such & ma as L? l, who have
ioVed her almost from her birth. have
seen her taken from me and sold-yes.
sold by her money-loving father. sold,
SOLD. l, who have borne all her hus-
bands leers when, flushed With the in
science of rank and wine. his shriveled
bridegroom bore her as a piece of or
na1nent to his house in Paris. Can 1
bear to lose her now?"
But, Jerome. you would not be such
a coward as to permit our brethren
IN the colonies to be slaughtered. while
you tell your pitiful lie to shield a
woman? 1t cannot be done. What a
1ool you are come to be. Man, man.
where is your ~courage?"
Il care not. Love for such a woman
would make of Truth a liar, and of
love a fool. Think. Placide. think of
her, celeste, in the Bastille, the irons
cutting into her delicate hands. those
hands which 1 AVE SO fondly held
wlthin my own-the cold stones for her
bed. Or, worse: The block, the heads
mar and the jeering rabble Have yo,,
no feeling, man? Suppose there was
some woman whom you loved-a guilty
rove, l grant-but so strong. so deep,
SO oVerpoWerirg, o could not master
1t: Suppose she were threatened,
would you not protect her even If YOU
lost your life; yea, bartered away your
honor?"
A pale little fearful face thrust IT.
self before me as he spoke, and 1 knew
my w weak heart. / confess his
pleading staggered me-, and 1 hesitate
ed. He came closer; all the love and
fear of a strong and desperate mar
Wove itself into his words.
could you only nav seen her two
hours 6 when you left her chamber;
heard her sobs, felt the tremble
OF her heart when she threw herself.
1ust as when a child She used to do,
into my arms pleading for protection!
Those dispatches will ruin her. She
SO calm. so proud, so brave to all the
world, wept like a terrified baby upon
breast. Placide, I'd die and go to
hell to save her. She SO cold and pure.
her very name is q reproach to this
flock OF butterfly women This woman
loves me, loves me even though that
Q be what men call dishonor. Bah!
1 hate the word. Her father never
sold her heart. No. that was mine,
forever mine. Had I but foreseen this
I'd have left o rottlng in Bertrand's
dungeon. No, nc. Placide, I meant
it not; I'm not myself: forgive me,
comrade; pity her and pity me-"
l vaguely wondered what there could
In the packet to cause him SO sin
cere an apprehension. But I must
denied him once for all. He sprang at
me with the fury Of a demon. Being
cooler and stronger, 1 threw him
off easily and cached the door as he
came again with his sword. 1t was a
delicate predicament. l could easily
kill him. Wild with a lovers fear. he
left his front open to my blade. but I'd
had enough of death. He paused to
shove a table from his path, which
gave me time to open and slip throueh
the door.
In a moment he rushed out behind
me, pale and painting. The corridor,
deserted, echoed to our flying steps. 1
ran on ahead making my way toward
horses. Meeting people outside. we
had to slacken our gait, smile, and con- M
ceal the realities Of the situation, the
necessity for which he apprehended as
quickly as I.
-Four horses stood ready. and choos-
Ing the one I thought best fitted for n
hard chase-it was evident we could
not afford to fight 1t out at Sceaux-
to fight seemed now his purpose
{ vaulted lightly into the saddle, and
before Jerome could hinder. had
the low wall and taken the d.
rect road to Paris.
Practiced horseman as Jerome was,
It took him no time to follow, n his
Joined in the chase.
On, on, we sped. Trees, fences, walls
and people all melted into one motley
1Ilu stream. In the |
road we strung out, according to
The speed of u mounts. one of the
dropping farther and farther
n the rear. The distance between
n myself, despite his frantic
of his brave steed, grew
steadily greater.
Just before we passed a crooked lane
of to the left, leading whittier l knew
lot, Jerome turned In his saddle and
called to the two grooms now we'll to
rear.
That way quick: to the Versailles
Dad. Cut him off,"
The fellows obeyed, refining their
lorses into a swinging lope, as, less
hurried, they took the lane indicated.
Jerome thence rod on after me alone.
The situation was now becoming awk-
ward. ] had acted without cool con-
'ideration heretofore, taking the Paris
Dad because it was the only one l
and trusting thereafter largely
o fortune. Now, as / caught occasional
slimpses of the city spires, the towers
# Notre Dame. l u perforce re-
member | had no hopes from them.
The crazed mar behind knew the city
veil, While to me 1t was a labyrinth Of
difficulty. I had no friends, while he
many. I must act, and thai
Ha 1 but known enough to
urn down that ane into the Versailles
a l could nave cached the palace
molestation. thanks to my good
uck in picking the best horse of the
OF. Thinking of the lana brouobt n , I