The Washington herald., 1911-02-06
A SPLENDID HAZARD
By HAROLD MacGRATH
sN Mer1nC
By HAROLD MacGRATH
CHAPTER I.
A MemOfa BILE Date.
tcour,eht. ,slo. The Boboe-Merrin Company

A Memorable Date.
A blurring rain fell upon Paris that
day: q rain so fine and cold that 1t pene-
trated the soles Of mems shoes and their
hearts alike. a dispirfting drizzle through
which the pale, acrid smoke OF innu-
merabIe wood fires faltered upward from
the clustering chimney pots, only to be
rent into fragments and beaten down
upon the glistening tiles of the mansard
roofs The wide asphalts reflected the
horses and carriages and trains and Pc
6estrians in forms grotesque. zigZasging.
fitting. amusing. like shadow play upon
q wrinkled. wind blown curtain. The
18th of June. To Fitzgerald there was
something electric in the date, tingie
of that ecstasy which frequently comes
into the blood of a man to whom the
romance of a great hattie Is more than
its history OF its effect upon the des-
tinies of human beings. Many years be-
fore. this date had marked the end TO
a certain hundred days. the eclipse OF q
sun more dazzling than Rome. in the
heyday of her august Caesars. had ever
known: Waterloo 4 little corporal OF
artillery: from a cooked hat to crown.
from Corsica to St. Helena: Napoleon
Fitzgerald as he pressed his way alons
the Boulevard des Inva!i6es. his umbrella
swaying and swapping in the wind much
like the sail of a derelict, could see IN
fancy that celebrated field whereon this
eclipse had been supernally prearranged.
He could hear the boon, of cannon. the
thunder of cavalry, the patter of musket-
ry, now thick. now scattered. and again
ho rat n
the bulging silk careeninG before him
He held the handle of the umbrella I'm
der his arm. for the wind had a temper
mawling and destructive, and veered
into the Place Vauban. Another man.
coming with equal haste from the op-
posite direction. from the entrance OF
the tomb itself, was also two parts hid
den behind an umbrella. The two car'e
together with a jolt as sounding as that
OF two old crusaders IN friendly joust-
Instantly they retreated, lowering their
shields.
Il beg your pardon said Fitzgerald.
in French.
1T is ot no consequence" replied the
stranger. laughing. This Is always a
devil of a corner on a windy day HIS
French had slight German twist to II.
Briefly they inspected each other as
strangers will, carelessly. with annoy
ance and amusement interplay ing in their
eyes and on their lips. all in trihins
moment Then each raised his hat and
proceeded, as TRANQUILITY and unconcerI-
ctlly as though destiny had no ulterior
motive in bringing them thus really to-
scther And yet when they lad passed
and disappeared from each others view.
boIh were struck with the fact that
somewhere they had met before.
F'i:zgerald went into the tomb, his
head barred. The marble underfoot bore
th,, imprint Of many shoes and rubhers
and hobnails, OF all sizes and-uiayhap-
of all nations. He recollected. with
raw and eager youth. some twelve years
since: he had forgotten to take off his
hat. Never would he forget the EN-
barrassment OF that moment when the
attendant peremptorily bade him remove
il He. to have forgotten! He. who
held Ne poleon above all heroes! The
shame OF it.,
To-day many old soldiers were gathered
meditatively round the heavy circular
railing. They were always drawn hither
on memorable anniversaries. Their sireS
ana nau SONlc VI lnOSe
tattered flags had Won them. The tides
Of time might ebb and flow but down
there, in his block Of Siberian porphyry.
slept the hero. There were some few
tourists about this afternoon, InutterinS
over their guide books. when nothing is
needed on this spot but the ina agination;
and that solemn quiet OF which the tomb
is ever jealous dressed down sadly upon
the living. Through the yellow panes
h. h,1 .[ hn i-to a1r
glow suggesting sunshine. battling the
drab of the sky outside: and down in
the crypt itself the misty blue was as
effective mOonShine.
Napoleon had always been Fftzgerah'S
ideal hero; but he did not worship him
blindly: no. He knew him to have been
a brutal, donlincering man, INSCRIPTIONS
temporary toy or a stepping stone. not
overparticular whether she was a dairy
maid or an Austrian princess; in fact
a. rascal. but great, Inventive, splendid,
courageous one. the kind which nature
calls forth every score Of years to purge
her breast of the petty rascals. to the
benefit of mankind in general Notwith-
standing that he vas rascal there was
an ineXtinguishable glamour about the
man against which the bolts of truth. |
history, letters. bicg-aphers broke in |
efectually. On. but he had shaken up |
all Europe; he had made precious kings
rattle in their shoes: he had redrawr
a hundred maps: and men had laughed |
as they died for him. 1t is something
for a rascal to have evolved the Code |
Napoleon. What a queer satisfaction it
must be. even at this late day, nearly
a hundred years removed, to any Eng
lishman. standing above this crypt. to |
recollect that upon English soil the
Great Shadow had never set his iron !,
heeli
Near to Fitzgerald stood an elderly
man and girl. The old fellow was a |
fine type of manhood; perhaps In the |
sixties. white-haired. and the ruddy
enamel on his cheeks spoke eloouentIy OF
sea changes and many angles of the
sun. There was a button In the lapel of |
hfs coat, and from this Fitzgerald as
sumed that he was a naval officer. prob
ably retired.
The girl rested upon the railing, her
hands folded. and dreamily her gaze wan
dered from trophy to trophy; from the
sarcophagus to the encircling faces, from |
one window to another. and again to
the porphyry beneath. And Fitzgerald's /
gaze wandered. to. For the girls
face was Of that mold which invariably |
draws first the eye Of q man, then hts 1
intellect. then his heart, and sometimes |
all three at once. The face Has as |
lovely as a rose OF Taormina-S Dark
brown were her eyes, dark brown was
her hair. She was tall and Ntha. too.
with the subtle hint Of the woman. There |
were good taste and sense In her gar