The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-16
The Spanish Necklace
BY BER7HA M. CROKER
Copyright. Iecs by B. M croker. An Rights Rsssrvedo uHumnmnMuuuuuMuHu uu umuHuEumununmMuMn

made a purchase, and passed on to- ward the Plage. Hester rose as the pair disappeared, and, hurrying to the woman who had still a selection of cards in her hand pointed. and gasped out:
 Pour moi!"
 The seller nodded. and slowly be- gan to count them over; and then the strange lady. indicating with her hn- ger the last customer. muttered tand her face was scarleD:
 'srhe name of ce monsieur?'
 Mon Dieu, oui." she assented; "all the world knows the Marquis de Sara zin-Paul de Sarazin. Il est tres Joli garcon. n'ist-ce-pas?"
 Does he live here?' continued Hes ter. and her voice was unsteady. turn ing over some toys as she spoke. and guiltily avoiding the woman's eye--it was an impudent eye.
 Yes. for the season. with his moth- CT, Madame le Duchesse. (Then he was unmarriedp
 And the lady?" she faltered
 "Oh. grace Dieu. je ne sais pasl He knows so many ladies, ce brigand"
 For information thankfully received. Hester pulled out big five-franc piece. and hurried away without either toys or cards, in spite Of the vendors shrill approximations. Oh, well. were they mad, these English? or was that one only mad about Paul. poor wretchi At any rate, she was five francs the bet ter for this madness and she laugh ed aloud as she pocketed her fee. Hester was horribly ashamed of her self; her inborn shyness and her Puri- tan blood cried out upon her: You are disgraced for life; you are bold. bad, immoral woman" but the other, a new. wild self, was singing: T am my own mistress; intend to please | myself. to live as a human being, not | as a mummy. I know his name, and | 1t is a beautiful name! If 1t is true | that what a woman wills the gods will. \ 1 shall call him by it yet. and speak to | him face to face."
 Precisely as sh c came to this con- clusion. she arrived at the end of the | wooden bridge which connects the Vir- l gins Rock with the land, and here she | encountered one of the great wander ing waves. which swept up suddenly | yards into the air. and deluged her and a dozen others. amid the shrieks | Of delight from the spectators. Not ill-natured Jeering. but pure. light hearted joy; half of them had suffered | likewise. A tall, dark lady, who stood near Hester. openly sympathized. and said:
 "oh. dear me- you are wet" and | while Hester emptied the pool from | the Tlm or her nat, SHe SuOok out Act boa: you have had enough of the waves for one day. have you not and showed her faultless teeth. | Yes" said Hester. T think I had better go home, and she beckcned to one of the waiting victorias. | T. too, will also depart" said the stranger, and Hester. who had now broken the ice. said impulsivsiy;
 Then. may give you a lift to the town2"
 NO. thank you very much. I live a long way off in A villa. and. besides believe my carriage Is somewhere about
 | Hester became suddenly conscious of a paralyzing sense of her own insigni- ficance. although the lady's manner was perfectly civil; she was evidently foreigner and a grande dame. who spoke English fiuently. with a pretty accent. The stranger had a pair oi piercing black eyes, which seemed tt look one through and through; hat she seen or heard her making inqui ries from the postcard woman7 cloud of sudden misgiving descended l upon Hester, and a siclxening sense o shame. She felt as if she should crumble to pieces with horror and abasement. Murmuring a faint good bye she proceeded to crawl Into hei victoria. from which she presently emerged on the steps of her hotel 1T the condition of that truly humblins spectacle-a drowned rat.