Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-02-27
III
e UNDER THE :
? RED ROBE
h By STANLEY j. WEYMAN
WEYMAN
tcopyright, 1884. by Stanley ]. wcyman.l

all now familiar, all seen for the last
time Up the brook a party of soldiers
were dragging for the captains body.
A furlong farther on, a cottage, burned
by some carelessness in the night, lay
a heap of black ashes. Louis ran be-
side us, weeping; the last brown leaves
fluttered down in showers. And be-
tween my eyes and all, the slow, steady
rain fell and fell and fell. And SO
left Cocheforet.
Louis went with us to point mile
beyond the village, and there stood
and saw us go, cursing me furiously
as I passed Looking back when we
had ridden on, still saw him stand
ing; and after moments hesitation I
rode back to him. Listen, fool"
said, cutting him short in the midst
Of his moving and snarling, "and give
this message to your mistress. Tell
her from me that 1t will be with her
husband as it was with M. de Regnier,
when he fell into the hands of his en-
emy-no better and no worse"
'You want to kill her, too, I sup
pose?" he answered, glowering at me.
NO fool! 1 want to save her!" I
retorted wrathfully. "Tell her that,
Just that and no more, and you will
see the result"
ri shall not" he said sullenly. II
shall not tell her. A message from
you, indeed!" And he spat on the
ground.
"Then on your head be I'll" an
swered solemnly. And turned my
horses head and galloped fast after the
others. For, in spite of his REFUSAL
I felt sure that he would report what
I had said-if 1t were only of curiosity;
and it would be strange If madam did
not understand the reference.
And so we began our journey; sadly,
under dripping trees and a leaden sky.
The country we had to traverse was
the same I had trodden on the last
day of my march southwards, but the
passage of month had changed the
face Of everything. Green dells, where
springs yelling out Of the chalk had
made Of the leafy bottom a FAIRIES
home, strewn with delicate ferns and
hung with mosses-these were, now
swamps into which our horses sank to
the fetlock Sunny brows, whence
had viewed the champaign and traced
my forward path, had become bare.
windswept ridges. The beech woods,
which had glowed with ruddy light,
were naked now; mere black trunks
and rigid arms pointing to heaven. An
earthly smell filled the air; hundred
PAGES away a wall Of mist closed the
view. We plodded on sadly, up hill
and down hill; now fording brooks al
ready stained with flood-water, now
crossing barren heaths.
But up hill or down hill, whatever
the outlook, was never permitted to
forget that was the jailer, the ogre.
my loneliness, was the blight on all,
the deathspot. True, was behind the
others; escaped their eyes. But there
was not line of mademoiselle's droop-
Ing figure that did not speak scorn to
me, not turn Of her head that did
not seem to say, ooh God, that such
q thing should breathe!"
had only speech with her once dur
ing the day and that was on the last
'idge before we went down into the val
ley to climb up again to Auch. Therain
had ceased; the sun, near its setting,
shown family; and for q few moments
we stood on the brow and looked
southwark while we breathed the
horses. The mist lay like pail on
all the country we had traversed; but
beyond it and above it, cleaning pearl
like in the level rays, the line of the
mountains stood UP like land of en-
chantment, soft, radiant, wonderful,
or like one of those castles on the
Hill of Glass of which the old ro-
mances tell us. forgot, for an in
slant, how we were placed, and cried
to my neighbor that it was the fairest
pageant had ever seen.
She-it was madenoiselle, and she
| had taken off her mask-cast one look
at me; only one, but it conveyed dis
gust and loathing so unspeakable that
scorn beside them would have been
q gift. refined in my horse as If
she had struck me and felt myself
go first hot and then cold under her
eyes. Then she looked another way.
did not forget the lesson; after
that I avoided her more sedulously
! than before. We lay that night at
Auch and 1 gave M. de Cocheforet the
utmost liberty; even permitting him
to go out and return at his will. In
the morning, believing that on the
farther side Of Auch we ran less risk
Of attack, dismissed the two dra-
goons and an hour after sunrise we
set out again. The day was dry and
and cold, the weather more promising.
planned to go by the way of Lee
toure, crossing the Garonne at Agen;
and thought with roads continually
Improving as we moved northwards
we should be able to make good pro
gress before night. My two men rode
first: came last by myself.
Our way lay for some hours dowr