Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-04-04

II should be surprised If he did not, =
I answered, with bow, Being, as he
Is, SO close. and having such an in
ducement to return, Madam"
She drew a long, shivering sigh-at
the thought of his peril, fancied, and
| sat back against the wall. Nor did
she say any more, though I heard her
sigh again. In a moment she rose.
"The afternoons are growing chilly
she said; II will 60 in and see how
mademoiselle is. Sometimes she does
not come to supper. If she cannot
descend this evening, am afraid you
must excuse me too, Monsieur"
said what was right, and watched
her go in; and, as I did so, loathed
my errand, and the mean contempt
ible curiosity which it had planted
in my mind, more than at any former
| time. These women-I could find
it in my heart to hate them for their
frankness, for their foolish confidence,
and the silly trustfulness that made
them so easy prey!
Nom de Dieu! What did the woman
mean by telling me this? To meet
| me in such way, to disarm one by
such methods, was to take an unfair
advantage. It put yile-ay, the viii
est-aspect, on the work l had to do.
Yet it was very odd! What could
M. de Cocheforet mean by returning so
soon, if NJ. de Cocheforet was here?
And, on the other hand, If it was not
his unexpected presence that had so
upset the house, what was the secret?
Whom had Clon been tracking? And
ty? In few minutes I had began to
grow curious again; and, as the ladies
did not appear at supper, had leisure
to give my brain full license and in
the course of an hour thought OF Il
hundred keys to the mystery. But
none exactly fitted the lock or laid
open the secret.
a false alarm that evening helped
to puzzle me still more. was sitting,
about an hour after supper, on the
same scat in the garden-I had my
cloak and was smoking-when madam
came out like a ghost, and, without
seeing me. fitted away through the
darkness toward the stables. For a
moment I ~hesitated, then I followed
her. She went down the path and
round the stables, and so far I under
stood; but when she had in this way
gained the rear of the west wing, she
took track through the thicket to
the east Of the house again, so came
back to the garden. This gained, sho
came up the path and went in through
the parlor door and disappeared-aft-
or making clear circuit of the house,
and not once pausing or looking to
right or left: I confess I was fairly
bafHed. sank back on the seat I
had left, and said to myself that this
was the lamest of all conclusions. I
was sure that she had exchanged no
word with any one. I was equally
sure that she had not detected my
presence behind her. Why, then, had
alone, unprotected, an hour after night
fall? No dog had bayed, no one had
moved, she had not once paused, or
listened, like a person expecting a
rencontre. I could not make it out.
And came no nearer to solving it,
though lay awake an hour beyond my
usual time.
In the morning neither of the ladies
descended to dinner, and I heard
that mademoisel1e was not so we'll.
After lonely meal, therefore,
missed them more than I should have
supposed-1 retired to my favorite
SEPT and fell to meditating.
The day was fine and the garden
pleasant. Sitting there with my eyes
on the old-fashioned herb-beds, with
the old-fashioned scents in the air,
and the dark belt of trees bounding the
view on either side, I could believe
that I had been out of Paris not three
weeks, but three months. The quiet
Tapped me round. I could fancy that
had never loved anything else. The
wooddoves cooed in the Stiffness, occa-
sionally the harsh cry OF a Jay Jared
the silence. It was an hour after noon,
and hot. think I nodded.
On sudden, as If in a dream, saw
Clon's face peering at me round the an
gle OF the parlor door. He looked, and
in moment withdrew, and I heard
whispering. The door was gently
closed. Then all was still again.
But I was wide awake now and
thinking hard. Clearly the people of
the house wished to assure themselves
that l was asleep and safely out of
the way. AS clearly, it was to my
interest to know what was passing.
Giving way to the temptation rose
quietly, and, STOPPING below the level
OF the windows, slipped round the east
end of the house, passing between it
and the great yew hedge. Here found
all still, and no stirring. So, keeping
wary eye about me, went on round
the house-reversing the route which
madam had taken the night before
until | gained the rear of the stables.
Here had scarcely paused second to
scan the ground before two persons
came out of the stable-court. They
were madam and the porter.
They stood brief while outside and
looked up and down. TEE madam
said something to the man and he
nodded. Leaving him standing where
ne was, she crossed the grass with a
quick, light step and vanished among
the trees.
In moment my mind was made up
to follow; and. as Clon turned at oxna