The Virginia enterprise., 1908-08-21

der. Captain Hugh Ratcliffe, u. S.
A., was we'll on the sunny side of 80
and his bright, steady eyes and firmly
knit mouth bespoke the man of ac-
ton, accustomed to command and
lead in hazardous enterprises. The
pseudo M. Debrosses was favorably
impressed with the appearance of the
young military officer, whom he right
ly judged to be one of the men who
had taken part in the great civil war,
which had recently terminated in the
country of the far west.
He rose at an early hour on the fol-
lowing day and, true to his promise
to M. MARITIME, wandered abroad in the
dewey fragrance of the morning. A
stroll through the woods presently,
brought him within view of the cha
teau which his host had referred to on
the preceding night. 1t stood in the
midst of spacious grounds surround
ed by low stone wall, and despite
its apparently great age was toler-
ably we'll preserved. Except for
thin black line Of smoke curling lazily
there was no sign of life about the
building, and NJ. Claude, after survey
ing it with an air of languid interest,
turned to retrace his steps.
The uneventful round of rustic life
at the Golden Grape partook of the ma
ture of placid monotonous dream
that NJ. Claude at first found not al
together unpleasing. But on the
fourth day he began to chafe inwardly
over his enforced idleness. The peace
full atmosphere of the countryside lay
heavily upon his spirit, and he longed
with a fierce intensity for the feverish
haste and turmoil of Paris. Indeed.
had it not been for an utterly unex-
pected communication made to him
by Captain Hugh Ratcliffe, it is prob
able that he would have cast discre-
tion to the winds and returned to the
city he longed for.
He had reached the conclusion that
love affair with one of the chateau
inmates was responsible for the Amer
leans sojourn in Deseil On several
occasions when strolling through the
| woods he had observed Ratcliffe eth.
er going toward or returning from
the residence Of the Raymonds, and
also noted that the young soldier sell
| dom made his appearance at the inn
after supper until ten or eleven
| O'Clock, when he at once sought his
bedroom. Plainly, then, the chief ar
gued, he was spending much of his
time in the society of the chateau
ladies. 1t was strange, however, if
Ratcliffe was so intimate with the
members of the family that they did
not invite him to make the mansion
his headquarters during his stay at
Deseil But at this point M. Claude
| always stopped short, mindful of his
promise to abstain from meddling
! with perplexing problema.
That night Captain Ratcliffe, instead
of starting of on his nocturnal pill
grimage as usual, fingered In the sup
per room smoking and conversing with
M. Claude. The latter noted that his
companion wore An distracted air and
Ratcliffe's forced attempts at joviality
did not hide his anxiety from the ex-
perienced eye of the veteran police
officer. The chief was therefore not
greatly surprised when the young fel-
low suddenly leaned forward and said
in earnest tones:
m. Debrosses, am weary of wear.
| ing a mask and chatting idly of triv-
ialities while my brain is besieged by
hideous fancies. l don't know what
! makes me feel like conf1ding in you,
perhaps the ease with which you
speak my language has got something
to do with it., for I see clearly that
you are man of good birth and
acute perception"
"You flatter me-" rejoined the chief,
smiling good-humoredly.
mot at ALL" responded Ratcliffe.
"Flattery, NJ. Debrosses, is an art
brought to far higher state of perfec.
tion by the members of your race
than mine. l am blunt and outspoken
arA whom resolvs - 10 a thinS 70