Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-06
CHAPTER XII.
AT THE FINGER POST.

CHAPTER XII.
AT THE FINGER POST.
Through all, 1t will have been no.
ticed, mademoiselle had not spoken to
me, nor said one word, good or bad.
She had played her part grimly; had
taken her defeat in silence, If with
tears; had tried neither prayer, nor
defence, nor apology. And the fact
that the fight was now over, the
scene left behind, made no difference
in her conduct-to my surprise and
discontinue. She kept her face avert
ed from me; she rode as before; she
affected to ignore my presence. l.
caught my horse feeding by the road
side, a furlong forward, and mounted
and fell into place behind the two. as
in the morning. And just as we had
plodded on then In silence, we plodded
on now, while wondered at the UNI
fathomable ways Of women, and
knowing that had bore myself we'll,
marveled that she could take part in
such an incident and remain I'M
changed.
Yet 1t had made a change in her.
Though her mask screened her well,
1t could not entirely hide her emotions,
and hy-and-bye marked that her head
dropped, that she rode sadly and list
lessly, that the lines Of her figure were
altered. 1 noticed that she had flung
away, or furtively dropped, her rid
ing-whip, and understood that to the
old hatred of me were now added
shame and vexation; shame that she
had so lowered herself, even to save
her brother, vexation that defeat had
been her only reward.
81 tbs saw a sign Lectoure,
10 e.., NO. the inn had but one common
room, and we must all dine in COM
rany secured for them a table by
The fire and leaving them standing by
1T, retired myself to smaller one,
near the door. There were no other
guests and this made the separation
between us more marked. M. de Co.
cheforet seemed to feel this. He
shrugged his shoulders and looked at
me with smile half sad, half comfcal.
But mademoiselle was implacable.
She had taken off her mask and her
face was like stone. Once, only once
during the meal saw change come
over her. She colored. suppose at her
thoughts, until her face famed from
brow to chin. ! watched the blush
spread and spread, and then she slow
ly and proudly turned her shoulder
to me and looked through the window
at the shabby street.
suppose that she and her brother
had both built on this attempt, which
must have been arranged at Auch.
For when we went on in the after
noon saw more marked change.
They rode now like people resigned to
the worst The gray realities of the
brothers position, the dreary, hopeless
future, began to hang like mist be-
fore their eyes; began to tinge the
landscape with sadness; robbed even
the sunset of its colors. With each
hour their spirits tagged and their
speech became less frequent, until
presently, when the light was nearly
gone and the dusk was round us, the
brother and sister rode hand in hand,
silent, gloomy, one at least of them
weeping. The cold shadow of the
cardinal. Of Paris, of the scaffold,
was beginning to make itself felt; was
beginning to chill them. AS the noun
tains which they had known all their
lives sank and faded behind us and we
entered on the WIDE low valley of the
Garonne. their hopes sank and faded
also-sank to the dead-leyel of despair.
Surrounded by guards, mark for
curious glances, with pride for COM
panion, M. de Cocheforet could doubt
less have borne himself bravely;
doubtless he would bear himself bra a.
ly still when the end came. But almost
alone moving forward through the
gray evening to prison, with SO many
measured days before him, and moth
ing to exhilarate or anger-in this
felt, and betrayed that he felt the
blood run slow in his veins; if he
thought more of the weeping wife and
ruined home, which he left behind him,
t',rn of The cause in which he had
spnnt himself
Brt Cod knows they had no monop-
oily Of gloom. | felt almost as sad
myself. Long before sunset the flush
of triumph. the heat of the battle,
which had warmed my heart at noon
were gone; giving place to chill dis
stisfaction, nausea, dependency,
such as have known follow a long
night at the tables. Hitherto there
had been difficulties to be overcome,
risks to be run, doubts about the end.
Now the end was certain and very
near; SO near that 1t filed all the