The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-07-29
sse, she loved him, Barrett. She
: nm with all her heart.

Ye n inutes, and then she would re-
urn home. Surely it was slight sac
rifice to make for the man who was
going to lose her-perhaps forever"
Where does the washerwoman ele-
ment come in?" asked Van Loo, who
began to feel bored.
I'm coming to that. Now, as Du-
val sat waiting for her, in came lot
of men he knew to wish him good
lack on his voyage-just as you chaps
came here tonight. Among them,
Barret, was a man she knew. His
name was Eelfortaine He was an
old friend Of hers, and a constant WIS.,
itor at the countess house. He knew
nothing, of course, of Eugenie's en-
gagement to Duval."
"Well?" asked Barret in the same
stif1ed voice.
Well resumed Denton, lighting
another cigar, the men were loafing
around Duvals room, talking, when
suddenly in came Eugene. She had
left her maid in the hall and had
come in alone-to confront roomful
OF men. She just stood still a second,
painting with terror. Sne saw Belfon-
taine and knew he recognized her. If
he once let out the secret of her pres
ence there she was disgraced forever.
| The visit was innocence itself; but
| the whole world would condemn her
unheard."
How did she get out of it? What
did Ra1-Wha c ic-
Before Belfontaine could say a
word, Duval used almost the same
| words l did to that washerwoman's
girl tonight. He asked if she had
come for the wash, or some such ques-
tion, and sent her away, leaving the
other men to believe she was really
some working-girl."
And Belfontaine?" asked Van Loo.
Denton laughed.
Why" he said, that's the very
point of the whole story; and that's
just where this miserable memory of
mine fails me. l don't remember
what Belfontaine did. You see, Eu-
genie's safety, her whole future, hung
on Belfontaine. All the other men
present were strangers to her. But
Belfontaine was a different PROPOSE
ton. Why, Barret, the poor girls life
lay in the hollow of his hand"
Denton's voice had lost it's habitual
carelessness and there was a ring of
genuine appeal in it.
I'll tell you what Belfontaine did"
suddenly announced Barret.
What! Do YOU"
"Yes. l remember the story per-
fectly now. l must have read it in
the same magazine that Denton did
| suppose, Denton, the magazine may
have been lying about your rooms
somewhere and l picked it up
mo doubt, no doubt" assented his
host eagerly. And T.
What did the man do?" broke in
Van Loo.
Barret sat silent a moment before
continuing. His face was very white,
and there were in 1t lines that had
not shown earlier in the evening. He
was looking out of the high window,
across the city.
Aou ioi SoI OuC pOluL III Lu0 zeal
of Silence Denton" he began at last,
his eyes wandering over the distant
river-lights as he spoke. ''Or perhaps
you never grasped the point at all;
Belfontaine loved Eugenie."
Denton started, then tried to cover
his confusion with a laugh, |
He loved her." went on Barret.
They had been friends all their lives,
and from childhood he had worshiped |
her. She knew nothing of his love. He |
had tried to succeed in life with the
wild hope Of winning her. Then came |
that horrible evening when he met
her face to face in Duvals rooms He !
knew nothing, at first, of her motive
for coming there. All he knew was
that his idol and his life-hopes lay
crushed in the dust. Then Duval
found a means of telling him the
whole truth, and he"
And he-"echoed Denton.
Say" broke in Carter, this is a
fake story from first to last. I've read
Balzacs works from beginning to end,
and he never wrote a story on such
lines. The plot, the style, the han
ding, are utterly unlike Balzac. be-
lieve it's story Denton made up, and
that he told it to us by way of try
ing it on the dog before sending it to
magazine. And l believe Barrett |
knows it's fake, too, and is just try
ing to help Denton out"
Pardon me-" remarked Barret,
but l happen to know it is not a
fake as you call it,"
We'll, then," said Carter trium-
phantly as the men rose to 90, how
do you reconcile your knowledge of
the story with what you said half
an hour ago about never having read
anything of BaIzac's?"
Laughing to think how easily he
had detected the fraud and routed his
foe, Carter shook hands with Denton
and left the room without waiting for
Barret's reply. The others trooped out
after him, Barret going last of all
Barret turned as he reached. fba
doorway. For moment he ma Den.
ton stood face to face.
"Duval was cad saiserab,e con-
temptible cad, De- .1tea," he said slow