Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-12-11

I8iEI for your kindness OF last
S night" said Tremaine as
lAs9sSj he entered. at was in
deed 4 great favor"
1T was nothing" | protested, wav-
ing him to chair. II was glad to do
it. l had very pleasant time my
self"
AS he sat down he laid handful OF
cigarettes on the table beside him.
"You see, I've come for II chat" he
said, with his inimitaDle smile. II hope
you will help yourself
THANK you." and suited the action
to the word. Tremaine's cigarettes
would have tempted any one.
81 have been curious to see," he said.
"how Cecily would affect New Workers.
She Is certainly well stared at"
"And no wonderw I said. "She
would make st. Anthony turn his
head"
"Ah. you think SOP" and he shot me
a quick glance. "You admire her.
then?'
Admiration is hardly the word" !
said slowly. 1T Is too weak, too thin
Evidently he misunderstood me, for
he did not wait for me to finish, to ex-
plain myself.
THAT makes 1t easier for me-" he in
| terrupted. You have perhaps sus-
pected that the union between us Is not
a-ah--a legal one?"
"Yes," said, II had suspected that"
"Such unions are the rule In Mar
Unique" he continued calmly. "and
| have been from time immemorial.
They are part of the life there. They
are a matter Of course, and frequently
| they are as permanent and happy as
any regular one could be. Ceclly Is
what Is known as a file de couleur-
physically. believe. the most beauti.
full women in the world"
"Then she Is not IN eXceptiOn?"
"Oh. no-she's type-physically, at
least. Mentally, l believe she does
differ somewhat from the typical Ca
presse. For instance, never knew
another attempt to tame a fer-de-
lance"
at seemed to me-" observed, "that
she had us many possibilities as the
snake"
lie laughed lightly.
"L'or evil, you mean? That's merely
the effect Of the first view. Really, the
capresse girls have an excellent repu-
tation for dOcility and all the rest. Not
that 1t would matter much In Marti-
nique-the people there are used to
living over Il volcano and don't mind.
| OF course" he added in another tone,
q" shall before long have to break
1t off. Society here Is differently Or
ganized-dlirerent climates. different
morals, you know; feel that I must
| conform to it. Indeed, even wish to
10 so. 1t Is time that / settled down,
ranged myself, became man OF
family. have been wanderer long
enough. Cecily can't endure this cli-
mate anyway. I'll send her back to
st. Pierre"
"What will she say to thatT asked,
with vivid memory Of the adorlng
way her eyes always dwelt upon him.
"You think it sounds little brutal?"
and he smiled gayly. 1T isn't. In the
least. You've put Cecily Oh too high
pedestal. They have an axiom down
there. Nee dc ramOur, la file de cou-
leur nit d'amOur, de rires, ct d'Oublis'-
her life is thing Of love, laughter
and forgettings. think it's essentially
true. At the same time," he added
more seriously, II don't wish to be
needlessly cruel. That's the reason Pin
telling you all this. It's sort Of intro
duction."
"Ah," said, and looked Mt him.
"I'll blurt 1t out In word. I'll be
out of town next week-all week-my
business demands it-and It's absurd
for me to thiuk of taking Cecily with
me it's absolutely impossible 1T
would ruin tae whole affair. What I
want to ask you Is this-look In on
her occasionally, cheer her up. take
her to the theater. II you'll be so good.
She knows 10 one here, and she has
ridiculous need of companionshlp. Of
chattering to some one. Of having some
one to admire her. It's born In the
blood, l suppose; It's an inheritance
from two centuries Of ancestors. Left
to herself, she'll soon NOPE herself sick.
Will you do this for me. my friend?"
There was compelling wizardry In
his eyes us lie looked at Inc. yet l had
self control enough to pause and reflect.
Still, l saw no reason why l should re-
fuse, even had my own inclination not
greatly urged me forward. Here
would be an opportunity to unvell such
secrets Of his as Cecily might know
especially as to where they had been
on the evening Of the murder. Per
lhoo. oha avon knav the victim: could