The daily Alaskan., 1906-01-05
A Wife s Revenge
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l |lth NtuNtt4g .ANS ENNAAs9 AAANA' "N'N- | tnusmauIins and AIphonse COterct both wing in DUon, France, were bosom 'riouls. Cateret proposed marriage to Ia young g'rl, Louise Plancon, but his suit was rejected. Louise secretly
 owed his friend Desmoulins, and III the course of time Desmoulins married her. F.2 was So devoted to Cateret that Lou lse thought it best not to tell him that AIphonse had once sought her hand, and since Alphonse never told him he was n ignorance of the fact.
 Ten years passed. Cateret had gone to Paris to live soon after his friends marriage the Desmoulinses following later. Both men became. leaders in the ,. revolution which was sweeping over France like a cyclone. One evening Desmoulins came across the Seine by the bridge directly opposite the corps lcgislatif and walked toward the Place de la Concorde, or Place de la Reyolu- | tion. as 1t was then called. At the 1 same time Cateret turned Into the place from the opposite direction. The 1 two men met at that point where the | guillotine was set up and where it had done great work that very day. Night was falling, and the Place was desert ed except for the friends. They stop ped directly under the instrument of death and began to talk.
 "Alphonse," said Jean, this revolu- ton Is like a tongue of flame which at one moment sweeps in one direction, the next In another The favOrlte of today Is the condemned of tomorrow
 You are right, Jean. Do you know that if either of us has an enemy that enemy can send the man he hates to the guillotine."
 T don't like It." replied Jean. "If l were single like you, would not mind the danger so much, but I consider my family"
 Cateret stood for awhile lost in thought. then said: "I have an idea. Suppose we make an agreement. If you are the victim, will pay your wife 5O.OOO francs; If am the victim. you pay my mother the same amount
 After some discussion Desmoulins consented. and the friends went to Cateret's house, where the contract was drawn up in duplicate, duly exc cuted, and each party to it took a copy.
 Ten days after this agreement Des. mOulius was arrested under an accuSa- ton of having corresponded with the royaliSts across the border. He had received a letter from a fugitive, but no one knew of 1t except his friend Cateret. to whom he had shown it. But there was nothing In this, for the letter, bearing a foreign mark, must have been opened in the postottice.
 Louise Desmoulins was frantic at the danger that threatened her husband. AS soon as she became Quieted she set her wits to work to discover who the secret enemy could be. At a confer ence she had with her husband in jail he told her that Cateret knew of the letter he had received from abroad. Louise, remembering that Cateret had once sought her hand in marriage, was seized with a suspicion which she final ly confessed to her husband.
 "Nonsenser' said Jean. 'There can be nothing in that, since at my death Alphonse must pay you 5O,OOo francs" And be told her of their agreement. Sine was but half convinced
 Jean Desmoulins died on the scahfold beside which the agreement had been made. His wife shut herself up. After a few weeks she received one visitor, her husbands old friend, AlphOnse Cateret. Him she saw constantly and but a few months after her husbands execution promised him that she would be his wife. Meanwhile she frequented the courts and places wherein she might learn the name of her husbands accuser. After awhile she became known as the widow who was hunting for one to send to the guillotlne. One day she received a visit from one of the leaders of the revolution, who said to her:
 q know who informed on your hus- band. He is in my way, and l wish to get rid of him. I will tell you who he Is on condition that you trump up an accusation against him, leaving me out of the matter. You will not believe me without proof. That proof will fur nish."
 Tt is proof alone that wish. know the man."
 How do you know himY
 By the instinct of woman"
 "He ts'-
 "Alphonse Cateret."
 You are right"
 The visitor the next day met the widow in a building where records were kept and, being in authority, took her to a room where no other man in France except the keeper could go. He took down a volume which contained a record of more villainy than any vol mne in the world and, consulting an index, turned to the name of Jean Des- moulins. There was the charge and the name of the accuser, AlphOnse Ca- teret. Louise looked at it apparently ,,-f4t,.,,E. ,,,,otf,D. ba-. o-1,{dn olnsnd fhn