The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1910-08-05

it out to post, and then made his way
to the hospital and asked for Arthur
Denstone.
He was shown into the visitors
room, where he found already groups
of people waiting about in large
bare apartment resembling the wait
ing room of a railway station. Be,
fore he had been there five minutes,
the door opened and Arthur Denstone.
came in. He came forward with the;
stiff, uncertain look upon his face of
a man who does not know whom to
expect, but at the sight of Mr.. Irvine
his whole face changed, he sprang
forward with both hands out
stretched, and with an emotion which
for the moment rendered him speech
less.
"My dear fellow" cried Mr.. Irvine,
"what a terrible time you have been
through"
sit is over now, than God!" said
Arthur. "But oh, what on earth
brings you here? 1t is like breath
of fresh air from home. How is
Tola? How are they all?"
81 came in search Of you, Arthur" )"
said Mr.. Irvine, gravely. "Tola was
breaking her heart about you"
81 have hardly had time to Won
der why she did not write" said
Arthur, passing his hand over his
brow, until the last few days"
"How could she write, not knowing
where you were? There are several
of your letters now at the Poste
Restante at Goucy."
"But | wrote to her twice, both to
her and my uncle in Liverpool. My
letters to Tola told her everything, l
do not understand it,"
What can have become of them?
Poor Tola has not had one line from
you The suspense has been very
great"
And you came in search of me in
consequence? How good you are,
Irvine. I will make close inquiries
about the letters. 1t is most extra
ordinary"
"Now, tell me first, Arthur, what
is your position here?"
"We have been battling for life
and DEATH" said Arthur The strug-
gle has been terrible, and we have
had a terror of worse than death"
He shuddered slightly. But it is
over now"
THANK Cod" said Irvine, earnest
ly. Have you been allowed to he
with herr"
Eyes. She is not in the hospital,
but in private apartments, and un-
der the charge, not only Of the nurs-
ing sisters, but of DR.. Simon's wife,
a good, kind woman, who has been
like a mother to us both. Now she
sits up; she is very weak, but is get
there frequently"
Mr.. Irvine, looking more closely
at his friend, saw in his face traces
of long-continued fatigue. He had
grown very thin, and looked white
and tired.
"You have had a dreadful time of
it," he repeated, and Arthur nodded.
"She will be too tired to see you
just now," he said presently; but
tomorrow you must come. Mean
while, we may as we'll go back to the
hotel and make inquiries about the
letters"
They made the closest investiga-
ton, and after time the truth came
out. Arthur had employed a boy
from the hotel to post his letters who
had long been suspected of petty dis
honesty. He had regularly cut off
the stamps, and posted the letters
down a grating, where he thought
they would never be discovered, and
as no inquiries were made, and no
trouble came of 1t, he went on doing
SO with impunity.
Il can scarcely regret it," said
"since the result has been
such a proof of friendship as your
coming out in search of me-"
The next day he took his friend to
visit AntCinette. They found her Iy-
ing on a sofa in the apartment of
the hospital that belonged to DR..
Simon's wife, and Mr.. Irvine, when
his eyes rested first upon her, thought
that he had never seen a creature SO
fragile and SO fair. Her face was
still white, and so delicate that the
pink color rose and died away at
every movement. Her little hands
seemed almost transparent, but the
great, glorious, ;;rey eyes, which fol-
lowed Arthurs every movement with
loving, clinging pride, showed him
that love and life were strong within
her.
The good, fat doctors wife took
him aside and said to him, with tears
in her honest eyes: "Ah, Monsieur,
it is only his love that has kept her
alive; he has nursed her like a
and tries to fulfil every wish
she has. May only my Victor turn
out as good q young man as he is,,
and in all ways resemble him"
As Victor was small youth, with
d large shaven black head, and loose
ly hanging limbs. Mr.. Irvine could not
help thinking that the wish was de
cidedly sanguine.
That evening Arthur told his
friend the substance Oi Paul L2duc 5
confession. His name was, Of course,
like all else, part OF his imposturc,
He was a we'll known Paris sharper,
on whose track the police of both
London and Paris had long been. He
had long had his eye On Monsieur
whose transactions had ra-
sembled those OF the ostrich, when
hiding her head in bush she i'm
agines herself to be hidden from her
enemies. With view to watching
his proceedings he had Travelled with
him and Arthur Denst0ne from Lon
don to Southampton, disguised in a
grey wig and beard, and, but for
Arthur'e presence, he might even
then have succeeded in his purpose;
but an accidental turn Of the con-,