The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-21

wife and child-and I lost all through my own fault"
 Louveau said: My dear Maugen- drer to give the wood dealer a chance to swallow sob.
 T was stfngy. I am yet. The ides came into my head to send my wife tt Paris to take a nurses place that wal offered to her. She did not wish to. go She begged me to be content with wha we had. T insisted. They died there Now cannot bear this loneliness any more. Give Victor to me. will pay you all you have laid out for him and will make a gentleman of him.
 That night Francis sat in the cabin and laid the matter before the wife with the headpiece. Mother Louveau listened, began to cry and said:
 God help us. Francis, we will keer him."
 Mother Louveau. who had always been forced to do unheard-of things to make ends meet" now did things that even she would have deemed impos- sible. Francis Louveau and the Crew did equally wonderful thinks to keer La Belle Nivernaise together. Always on the verge of disintegration. she still held. The people of the river inns did not even raise their heads when they saw her approach, for she had quite lost her remarkable habit of turning | in shore.
 Thus Victor became nearly Is years old and La Belle was still under him and his benefactors. He was a great I fellow now. with broad shoulders and a quiet carriage. Like the able barge man that he had become, he wore a red waistband and could steer the Belle as well as the best of them. One spring the Seine. swollen by great rains. tore away weirs and dams and hurried the barges toward Paris as they never had moved before. Ii was wild work running down, and still entering Paris and tying up above the bridges through which the brown flood was racing with sucking eddies.
 Father and Mother Louveau were or shore chaffering with a buyer, when sudden a great barge tore from its fastenings. whirled against a stone quay and split from stem to stem. The next moment the tossing wreck struck La Belle Nivernaise and snapped her shore lines. Broadside on she swept into the flood and was dragged toward the threatening bridge.
 My babies!" shrieked Mother Lou veau They were all aboard the barge They had to hold her and Father Lou veau to prevent them from leaping into the wild stream.
 The barge swept toward the stone arch. Mother Louveau shut her eyes When she opened them again she saw Victor standing tall and still at the huge rudder. she saw La Belle straighten out. she saw the boat dart into the roaring darkness of the arch and in another Instant wild cheer told her that her dear ones were safe
 You know, 1t was like this" Franci; said excitedly for weeks afterwards stopping all who would listen "Yol see. the boat was doomed. She wa: adrift! Then he, Victor-ah, what { cfiap-that is!"
 l At home in the cabin the good fel low would smile from ear to ear ant say every few minutes: Hal Shall 1 take him back to the Magistrates? 9 reach across the table and press eacl others hands.
 Soon afterward Louveau received orders to appear before the COmmls sary of Police. He returned gloom! and sullen and refused to say what they had wanted from him. From that da! he was a changed man. He quarrelct with the Crew. He could not eat. H. slept poorly. He even answered bacl to his wife.
 When the barge reached Corbigny or that trip. Victor and Clara said tha they would call on Mauge ndre. At tha Louveau flew into a great passion an, declared that he wished to have noth ing to do with the man and desired never to hear his name again. Maugendre! Maugendre was no worth considering! He doubted 1 Maugendre treated him fairly in bar gains. At any rate. he would not dea l with him any more. And he stuck t 1t. despite the commands of Mothe Louveau.
 When Maugendre learned that Lou | Ln l r.Hk l.A.- T,z ed much older and was gray. H walked slowly. with a stick. After short talk. during sAwhich Louveau re } sponded sullenly, said Yes, I am rich. have money plenty of money. What is the good 0 r it? I cannot buy back the happlnes have lost"