The Washington herald., 1906-11-08

"Wen?"
Il am tired Of the life lead. and am
just as anxious to be free as yourself.
There Is wey."
What Is itg"
Rather. there are two ways The first
is to kill father-knlfe or poison him,
don't care whieh-then cable for his
yacht, and get away in it with his gold;
he has plenty Of money hidden somewhere
on the island, old fox that he Is.
Francine eyed her in horror. You can't
mean It," she gasped.
why not? ! am weary OF the constant
restraint he exercises over me. No mat
ter where / may be, here or In st. Peters
burg, he governs me as though l were a
child. / hate being governed; I've stood it
too long.
but to poison your own father"
Bah. he'd think less of getting rid of
me II il suited him
What is your other plan?'
ITO go OF with Jibalon. You will be
taken in any case, for father has deter
mined to sell you to him. II we act to-
getheT, we could Kill him on the voyage
quite easily, and get the captain TO land
US where we please. The fellow is an old
flame of mine, and will do whatever I bid
him, SO long as l use him properly What
do you say?"
y think-you are a devilr' gasped Miss
Elliott
"Pshaw! that is no answer"
Il shall tell the count everything you
have said to me; that is my answer"
Madame laughed moehingly. You fool!
DO you think that such a course would
help you? Father would probably believe
you, he might shoot me on suspicion, but
that wouldn't alter vo11~ q te %
1T will give me my revenge though
You murdered my father-hend that you
are. Thank you for giving me such a
chance"
Madame rippled with laughter and
| opened the door. Go to him al once, my
dear; do not wait. You will see how he
will receive you"
What do you mean2'
"Ah, bah, / have been amusing my
! self; that is ALL And madame departed,
| laughing so heartily that Miss Elliott
was entirely deceived into thinking her
words true. As a fact. madame had been
| quite serious, and in a reckless mood
would have tried 10 accomplish one or
/ other Of her proposals If Francine. had
! agreed 20 help her. Indeed. as Il was she
/ did not abandon her schemes completely.
but she had felt the need Of some cOmpan-
/ ionship IN her designs, and was so bitterly
angry with the girl that she there and
| then determined TO destroy her
/ Within ten minutes a plate Of fruit and
/ a tray containing tea and fresh made cof-
| fee were taken 10 Francines room. Miss
| Elliott. however. was suspicious of such
unwonted attentions. and touched moth
/ ing; she was wise, for the provisions had
| all been subtly poisoned by madame
! That night and the next day passed
without incident, but on the afternoon OF
/ July 81 there entered the harbor Of Attala
la yacht flying the Turkish ensign. Miss
/ Elliott observed its arrival from the look
out, and watched for some hours con-
/ stant stream Of boats ply between 81 and
/ the shore. each evidently heavily laden. on
one trip at least. for although she could
not see their cargo. they rode the water
deeply. sunk almost 10 the gunwales She
/ kept her position until she saw Desire
/ emerge from the bOathOuse. and then,
/ with q feeling Of keen trepidation. de-
/ scended 10 meet the girl. Desire
was engaged in earnest converse with
some sailors when Francine reached the
beach, but Miss Elliott. although a good
/ iinguist. failed even TO recognize the
| tongue they spoke in. But the girl turned
4 to her at last, and as they climbed the
I steps muttered: 4 fear IL is all up with
US Lord Francis must have been
I drowned. for his yacht which ne spoke OF
/ the Sea Hawk-was sighted late last
4 evening going southwest toward Gibral-
/ tar. perhaps on its way 90 England"
! Franclne felt her heart turn cold. and
something OF the bitterness Of death came
90 her then.
/ But presently Desire spoke again. "Ot
course, we can't absolutely tell from that
/ He may have taken such a route in ordeJ
to put grandfather quite at ease. He IS
such q clever man. Lord Francis-isn'
| he2"
But Francine was very little comforted
She entered the dining room half dazed
/ like a person who walks IN her sleep
/ prepared 10 meet her fate and almost
I anxious for the moment TO arrive wher
she might at last ind rest in death. foI
she was determined upon suicide and she
/ carried with her in her bosom a sharp
/ pointed table knife which she had stolen
/ and sccTeted the evening that the count
/ had made known his mind regarding her
/ She found, however, an unlOoked-foI
/ respite. The count was engaged in his
/ own room with JibaiOft and madame. and
so she ate her dinner with Desire. and
I afterward was suffered 20 retire 10 her
! chamber Undisturbed. Desire. who feared
| her father more than anything on earth
( more even than the count. slept with heI
| that evening for protection. and the two
I girls wept together until far into the
/ night, for each was now deSDairiTE.