The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-07-17

the darkness-one only. No others fol-
loved! Rosie alone appeared in the
light walking toward them.
The scene which ensued was dramatic
enough to satisfy the most highly
plsched expectancy. John Navasour
man Well, his striking ~ppearanoe made
his identification easy and sure. The
supposed Vicomte was no Frenchman,
but an Englishman.
Here Lady Hunter and Mrs. Pearson
broke in. appealing to each other stimuli
taneously.
But surely YOU can contradict this?
You know all about the man."
Then the worst came to light. the APP
palling discovery of their mutual and
misplaced trust in each others knowl-
edge. Panic seized on the ladies, and
they rushed forwith to the most des-
perate conclusions. The man was Il
bagman. a valet. n burglar or worse.
The case was too dreadful for the Pear
sons to exult at having their rivals
supposed triumph turned into such
crushing disaster. For them. too, the
affair was horrible. All the days and
We're awfu to think of. Rosie's falter-
ing account of what had occurred on
the terrace gave the finishing stroke to
the situation. The man. she now knew,
iaIi disappeared at once on recognizing
N%aNasour on the Neranda.
He had the impertinence to say au
reNoir as he left Rosie wound up,
with a catch in her breath and a shud-
der.
II don't think he will trouble Won
again. You may make YOU mind easy
ON that point. Miss Hunter The man
Will not reappear," said Vavasour de-
cisiNely.
Who is he? What is the mystery?
lie II m a jp,t r II n r.Jc Jo H..
sake, explain" chorused the ladies'.
NaNasour was human. He had been
ruthlessly thrown over for this hotel
acquaintance, this supposed French
nobleman. He ma have been actuated
by n desire to punish the Hunters in
some Way by not being explicit, or did
he wish to spare them the horror Of
some CHASTITY revelation? AT any rate,
ne would give no further Information.
Entreaties, persuasions, even tears on
fos1e's part, We're in vain. The man
was not what he had represented him
self to be. But no harm had been done.
me ladies would probably never see
him again.
l3oisNille affair ran like wildfire trough
the hotel and naturally lost nothing in
the telling.
AS Navasour had predicted, the sup
posed vlcomte did not reappear. but
vanished with his supposed servant. an
acconplice, nc doubt-either late at
night or early in the morning, gossip
could not discover ~which-from the ho-
lel. The authorities of the hotel man
agenlcnt maintained reticence and ey-
pressed absolute ignorance of any i'm
position In the affair. The visitors.
especially the onlen We're absolutely
certain that one of the greatest crimin-
aus or the age had been secretly i'm their
mldst and shuddered to think of the
various escapes from murder. robbery
ana personal violence they must have
mad. The Hunters were made the vice
tlms or an intense sympathy. AT the
same llme both they n the Pearsons
We're blamed severely for having been
the chief means of giving the man a
prominent position in the hotel society.
lhey should with their fuller oppor-
tunlt1es, nave known better, especially
as 1T now appeared that every one else
had all through suspected the impostor
All kinds of theories regarding De
Bo1sNille t1oated about, none being too
wild or improbable for acceptance. Va
vasour was the great center of interest
though the part he played in the matter
was only known very indistinctly to the
gossips. Neither word nor hint could
however. be extracted from him toward
any further solution of the mystery.
IN the painful awkwardness OF the
situation the Hunters took the most
natural course open to them-retreat.
John NaVasour was seated in the
~v,eranda, enjoying coffe and a solitary
elgaret; When the carriage to bear
away the Hunters drew up at the hotel
door. His face was deeply thoughtful;
ms hands absently folded and refolded
a leiler he had been Notwithstanding,
for he had received it on awakening in
the morning.
Il shall be half over the Joch pass
before You get this. BY all my gods,
OLD chap. | swore to save you from the
pretty little c%ampaisner and her moth
er. Volta, mon ami, it is done. If the
process or opening your eyes was pain
1ul, believe me, o will get over it.
Inc end justifies the means. and, by
3oNe. the Jekyll and Hyde business was
sport. My dual nationality came in
giorlously. Pity you did not meet De
Boisville. Such a capital fellow; worth
two or three OF Woodtown any day.
me flaw in the affair is that L could
not see the %denouement. For which am
! most generally taken-anarchist, thief
Pr Poor gdfala pd Poor Mother Hunter!
pity me spider who fails to catch the
GEAR old-saVing you presence-stupid
ny. leave myself entirely in your
hands. Tell all or nothing at your own
a1sGie,lon. Adleu. Au revoir at Grim
Would he or would he not tell? vava-
sour pondered the subject carefully.
His eyes had been opened. The opera
.ion a not been wanting in pain. He
now saw the Hunters in their real char
hcters and fully understood the deceit
and baseness in their treatment of him.
ne was not vindictive. They deserved
some punishment. but 1t would be too
much to leave them under the terrible
impression of having been the victims
OF an fn1postor who was a deem dyed
villain Of some kind or other. To know
the real truth would be enough.
me ladies' had taken their places in
the carriage when he jumped up from
h Hnn nfa. AND 'aol came II quickly forward. Lady
was quite pale and detected.
- did not tell you all that 1 knew
last night, Vavasour addressed Lady
Hunter quickly, the horses being about
to start. The man was not NJ. de
Bo'sville. not a French vicomte. He is
an English viscount. Lord Forests
SON Woodtown-an incorrigible prac-
tlcal Joker. l dare say you have heard
of him." s"tu
The plunging. impatient horses
would be no longer restrained. The ex-
preston on the ladies' faces as thew
were whtrled away long remained viz.
IDLY impressed on V~avasour's memory.
A Forest of Ston~ in Au+E