Putnam patriot., 1911-11-17
CHATTER XVI.
MElEEsE.

stood waiting as if life had l<Sj left him. The note huttered SA4sy from his fingers. and he drew his watch from his pocket and iplaccd il on the table. It was a quar- ter after 2. There still remained for ty-tive minutes.
 l'hrer,qaarttrs of an hour and then -tleath There was no daIht in his mind this tune. Through enc ot the black hui.-S III the wall ne was te De shot down, with no chance to detend himself tu prove himself innaeent. And Meieest.- did she. t,o, believe him guilty ot that crime;
 He gruancd aloud and picked np the note again Softly he repeated her Inst words to him. If God fails to answer my prayers | will still do aS | have promised and follow you" Those words seemed to cry aloud his doom. Even AelptSe h;td given up hope AHd yet was there not deeper significance in her .wordSt He started as il some one had struck him his eyes agieam.
 "1 wiH follow you.
 He almost Subhed the words this time. His hands tremhled. and he dropped thc paper again un the table and turned hiS eyes in staring horror toward the. door What did she mean? Would Melptse kill herself fl he was murdered by her brothers? He could see no other meaning in her last mes sage t0 hIn and for time after the chilling significance ef her words struck his heart he scarce restrained himself from calling aloud for Jean If he could huI send u word back to her. tell her once more Of his great tove-'that the winning of that love was ample reward for all that he had lost and was about to lose. and that 1t gave him such happiness as he had never l1nown even in this last hour of his'torture:
 Twice he shouted for Croisset. but there csme no response save the hol- low echnings of his own voice in the suhtenranean chambers After that he began 10 think more sanely. If Me leese wa~ prisoner in her room 1t was probable thnt Croisset. who was now fully recognized as . traitor at the post. could no longer gain access to her Tn some secret way Meeese had contrfy~d so give hin, the note.
 In iHowland,s breast there grew slowly n feeling of sympsthy for the TFrenchman Much that he had not understood was clear to him now: He understood why Meieese had not re vealed the names uf his assaiiants at Prince Albert and Wekuske He un- derstood why she had fed from him after his abduction and why Jean had 70 faithfully kept secrecy for her sake, She had fought to save him from her own flesh and blood. and Jean had fought to save him. And be cause he had fought for him and Me leese the Frenehman's fate was to be almost as terrible as his own. 1t was he who would fire the fatal shot at 6 n'clock Not the brothers. but Jean ,-oiSset. would be his executioner and | rderer
 Napoieon's Talisman.
 Louis Napoleon. who believed him self, even amid exile and poverty. des- tined to that throne which the prestige of his name and his cunning coup 1'etat enabled him to reach. was not without superstitions. In his will he says. With regard to my son. let him xeep as a talisman the seal used to wear attached to my watch"
 This talisman had no power to turn aside the fatal spears of the Zulus- and the young Napoleon met sadder fate than his fathers worst fears could have imagined for him.