Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-27
TINS government-rne Lanovl1cnes

THIS government-rhe Lanovl1cnes, i'll
Thors."
"Ah!'
"You know them?"
Vassili raised his shoulders and
made q little gesture with his ciga.
rette as much as to say. why ask?"
De Chauxville looked ut his compan
ion keenly. He was wondering wheth-
er this man knew that he Claude de
Chauxville) loved Eta Howard Alexis
and consequently hated her husband.
He was wondering how much or how
little this impenetrable individual
knew and suspected.
Il have always said" observed Vas
Sill suddenly, that for unmitigated i'm
p%ertinence give me a diplomatist."
"Ah! And what would you desire
that l should for the same commodity
give you now?"
"a woman"
There was a short silence in the
room while these two birds Of a feath-
er reflected.
Suddenly Vassili tapped himself on
LIE CueS WITH MS
ut was l." he said, who crushed
that very dangerous movement-the
Charity league. Now, my dear baron,
listen to me-" The genial Vassili lean
ed forward and tapped with one finger
on the knee of De Chauxville as if
knocking at the door of his attention.
II am all ears, mon bon monsieur"
replied the Frenchman rather coldly.
BE had just been rejecting that, after
all, he did not want any favor from
Vassili for the moment, and the man.
ner of the latter was verging on the
familiar.
1.-The woman - who - sold me-the
Charity league papers dined at my
house in Paris-a fortnight ago." said
Vassili, with q staccato tap on his
companions knee by way Of emphasis
to each word.
"Then, my friend, l cannot-congrat-
ulate-you-on the society-in-which
mimfcking his manner
bah! She was a princess!"
"a princess"
"Yes. of your acquaintance, NJ. lie
Baron. And she came to my house
with her eh u husband the Prince
Paul Howard Alexis"
This was news indeed. De Chaux-
vile leaned back and passed his slim
white hand across his brow with Il
slow pressure as If wiping some writ
ing from a slate-as if his forehead
bore the writing of his thoughts and
he was wiping it away. And the
thoughts he thus concealed-who can
count them? The first thought was
that If he had known this three months
earlier he could have made Eta mar
ry him. With Eta for his wife he
might have been a different man.
But the news coming, thus too late,
only served al evil purpose, for in that
fash of thought Claude de Chauxville
saw Paul's secrets given to him, Paul's
wealth melted out to him, Paul in exile.
Paul dead in Siberia, where death
comes easily; Paups widow Claude de
C~hauxville's wife.
You said 'her-eh-husband,'" he
observed. why? Why did you add
that little 'eh,' my friend?"
Rather more than a year ago." said
Vassili. II received an offer of the pa
pers connected with a great scheme in
this country. After certain inquiries
had been made 1 accepted the offer. I
paid a fabulous price for the papers.
They were brought to me by a lady
wearing a thick veil-a lady l had
never seen before. l asked no ques-
tons and paid her the money. 1t sub
s%equently transpired that the papers
had been stolen, as you perhaps know.
from the house of Count Stepan Lano-
vitch-the house to which you happen
to be going-at Thors. Well, that is
all ancient history. 1t is to be up
posed that the papers We're stolen by
Sydney Marlborough, who brought
them he~re-probably to this hotel.
where his wife was ~stayinC He hand