The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-05-06

.Margariton. replied the girl. shyly
as she nodded her head in consent.
The next day Margariton was prompt
at the meeting. She had not said any
| thing to Yves of her chance encounter
with the stranger, nor Of her promise,
Not that she felt that she had done
/ wrong, but from q quick instinct Of pru-
denee. as if it were a presentfment Of the
pain she might cause her brother. 1t
was the first secret there had ever been
! between them
4 week passed, and still another week,
and If the portrait had not advanced it
4 was different with the friendship be-
tween the artist and his model. Friend
! ship? Nay. Jean Vermeuil knew well
enough it was no mere feeling Of friend
| ship that made his heart beat SO hard at
! the sight Of the beautiful girl
! He loved her with all the strength of
! his being. and resolved that, could he
win her love, he would marry her. But
what Of the brother Yves, to whom Mar
carlton owed such a debt Of gratitude?
What would he say?
7 The villagers, who had known from
/ the first Of the meetings at the spring,
took care that Yves should not be left
/ in Ignorance. What terrible vengeance
| would the hated Yves, they asked one
another, take upon the painter They
did not know. but they awaited the out
| burst of his wrath with cruel anxiety.
But there was no So on his face,
whatever he may have felt Only that
night after he had kissed Margariton
good night the young girl heard him
toss uneasily upon his rough couch
before she went happily TO sleep.
The next day his mind was made
up. In the afternoon, when the
young girl went singing to the tryst-
ing place. Yves, hidden among the
rocks, was present at the meeting.
Not detail of the pretty courtship
escaped his jealous eye-the warm
hand clasps and the tender glances
which, better than words, betrayed
their passion.
And no one heard the bitter sigh
when Margariton, radiant in the won
derful happiness Of being loved by the
man who made earth a paradise to
her, cried:
Il must tell my brother Yves that
You want to marry me; me. a poor
girl, penniless and without education.
He will be glad, too, but not as love
you, Jean. my beloved!'
Yves had changed greatly during
the last weeks. He no longer ate or
slept, and his eyes burned strangely
in his pale face. Margariton in her
happiness did not see the change, nor
did she notice, when she took her
brothers hand in hers and told him
her secret, that he braced himself
against the wall to keep himself from
falling
You love him and you ask my con
sent, Margariton? g. Yves asked, hoarse-
". You are free, little one, to do as
you will, but I am gratifed that you
did rot forget me utterly. You are
the one being on earth that I love;
you know it we'll, and your happiness
is all seek. Marry the man you love,
little one; be happy always
Yves placed a bag Of gold in her
hand
This is for your wedding dress, |
he said u have had it ready for you
a long time,
Then, with a long kiss on the girls
forehead. Yves went out. but this time |
he did not turn at her signals of fare
we'll.
Sitting proudly erect in his boat,
balancing easily with the rise and fall |
of the waves, single fisherman was
darizlF outlined against the sunset coll /
ored waters of the bay Alone upon
the beach. Jean Vermauil watched
him in admiration.
What a splendid fellow" he cried.
e must ask him to pose for me some
day,
He watched the boat glide easily
upon the surface of the water, car
ried by the current out toward the
open SEA and to the heart of the gold
en- sun. Soon the man was but
black dot on the horizon Then he dis
appeared forever-From the French.
in Detroit Free Press.