The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1908-11-19

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present. He was careful not to move:
The was afraid of frightening Mon
sieur Rigaud into some kind of At
But the sight soon became grotesque.
| almost CHASTITY. The old mans face
came into the light. The thin, hooked
nose, the sharply defined black shad-
ows cast on the ground, the old, claw
like movement OF the hands, seemed
to Arthur as IL he were watching q
creature half-vulture, half-human.
Then came the sound OF his voice,
the low whisper of man counting
zone, two, three, FOUR" and so on.
| Arthur could not see what he was
counting; that was within the black
case; butt was something the old
man loved, for his fingers fondled it,
his face leered and gloated over it.
| It seemed interminable, for the count
| ing went on up to hundreds, even
further, when suddenly the close
struck 8, and Monsieur Rigaud start
ed so sharply that something in the
black box jingled and ratified. He
| hastily thrust in mass of cotton
wool that he gathered up from the
darkness beside him, thrust it in,
made all tight, replaced the box, took
away the key with him, and departed
| with the same extraordinary silence
with which he had come.
Arthur heaved a sigh Of relief as
the door closed noiselessly behind
him, "I can't stand this another
night" he said to himself. IF the
old heather cannot sleep without
| counting his treasures, he must
! change rooms with me; he shan't
/ come into mine to do it. :"
The next morning at breakfast
Monsieur Rigaud asked Arthur if
anything had disturbed him in the
night. He answered "Yes; shat he
had been greatly disturbed, but
would explain later" Monsieur Ri
| gaud's face turned more yellow than
| ever, but he changed the subject with
| all the grace of Frenchman apollo
giving for having made mal-apro-
! pos remark. When they were alone
Arthur told him that his own sensa-
tions had troubled him; that he had
an inward conviction that the casket
left in his charge was of greater
value than he had thought. He was
| afraid of the responsibility, and he
| proposed an exchange of apartments.
| Monsieur Rigaud accepted with alae-
| rity, and from thenceforth to the end
| of the week, when he departed, the
/, Denstones saw little of him. He
1 spent the whole day in his room,
locking it up with the greatest care
when he was obliged to leave it, and
manifesting so strong dislike to any
inroad of housemaids that they re-
marked to each other that he was
only going to stay a week, for his
! room would be unfit for any respecta-
bic dog TO live in, let alone a Chris
| tian!
Arthur, meanwhile, had been gain
ing in the graces of his new-found
| relations, and he would have been
quite happy in the pleasant conscious
ness that he was both giving pleasure
| to them and also beginning to help
the severe necessities at home, but
| for a letter from lola which drew
him back into the region Of worries
for the time. lola did not often
| write; she had really more on her
| hands than she could get through
properly; but for her, the little ones
would have grown up untaught and
neglected.; but for her, the mother
would never have been able to sit
down for five minutes. She had had
little disappointment lately, not a
very great one, but still one that
weighed on her a little. The first
fruits .of Arthur's ten pounds had
been the long-coveted cashmere
| gowns for the girls, and one for the
dear mother, too; but, like a true
| man, he had followed the advice of
the linen Diapers man and had
bought dress-lengths. Ten yards
would have amply suficed for Tola
and for her mother; but ten yards
for Janet! that was impossible. Tola
was the first to see it, and the first to
suggest remedy. Janet should have
five off hers; and the remaining five
would make a frock for Lefty. Janet
would not have accepted it, but the
stuff was all cut out by Tola's deft
little fingers before she knew or could
demonstrate.
One person observed it, but that
was because of the extraordinary per-
spicacity of his gaze whenever lola
was concerned. This was the vicar, a
! grave, tall gentleman of nearly forty,
John Irvine by name, who lived with
his mother in St. Johns vicarage,
and was beloved by the poor, and
rather feared than liked by the rich.
He seemed to know instinctiyely how
things stood. He would talk to Janet,
and give her directions as to her
school teaching and her district visit
ing; but he never gave directions to
lola, and once, when he saw her
large, brilliant eyes looking at him
wistfully when he spokeNof some sick
person Janet was to visit, he turned
to her and said, with the rare, sweet
smile that used to tighten up his
, grave features: "Grand old George
,, Herbert would appreciate your life,
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