The Washington herald., 1911-03-06

was tired: he needed sleep. On the NOR
row. then; and in a week the first blow
| OF the new terror. They all bowed re-
| specially as he passed out.
The secret agent followed him till he
reached the Place des Painters. He put
! hand on BreItmanns arm. The latter.
| highly keyed. swung quickly. And seeing
who it was Cthe man he believed to be
at that moment a prisoner in the middle
countryD, he made a. sinister move to-
ward his hip. NJ. Fertaud was in peril,
and he realized it,
Wait moment, Monsieur: there is no
need of that. 1 repeat l wish you well,
and this night l will prove it. What?
Do you not know that l could have put
my hand on you at any moment? Attend.
Return with me to the little house in
Rue St. Charles"
Breitmanns hand again stole toward
his hip.
You were listening?'
Yes. Be careful. My death would not
change anything. I wish to disillusiOn
you; / wish to prove to you how deeply
you are the dupe of those men. All your
plans nave been remarkable, but not one
of them has remained unknown to me.
You clasp the hand of this duke who
plays the sailor under the name of Pic
ard, who halls you as a future emperor,
and stabs you behind your back? How?
Doubleface that he is. have l not proof
that he has written detail after detail Of
this conspiracy to the Quai d'Orsay, and
that he has chung to you only to gain
his share of what is yours? Tut! Come
back with me and let your own ears
testify. The fact that I am not in the
mountains should convince you how
strong ! am"
Breitmann hesitated. wondering wheth-
er he had best shoot this meddler then
and there and cut for it. or follow him
Il will go with you. But l give you
this warning: If what hear is not what
you expect me to hear. I promise to put
bullet into your meddIing head
Il agree to that" replied the other
He did not underestimate his danger:
neither did he undervalue his intimate
knowledge of human nature.
With what emotions Breitmann re-
turned to the scene of his triumph. his
self-appOinted companion could only sur
mise. He had determined to save this
young fool in spite of his Madness and
never had he failed TO bring his enter
prises to their fore-arranged end. And
there was sentiment between all this,
sentiment he would not have been
ashamed to avOw. Upon chance then,
tickle, inconstant chance. depended the
success of the seven years labor. If by
this time the wine had not loosened their
tongues, or if they had disappeared.
But fortune favOrs the persistent no less
than the brave. The prOfligates were still
at the table, and there were fresh bottles
of wine. They were laughing and talking.
In all. not more than fifteen minutes had
elapsed since Breitmanns departure. NJ.
Fer-aud stationed him by the window
and kept a hand lightly upon his arm as
one might place finger on a pulse.
OF what were they talking? Ostend.
The ballet dancers. The races in May
The shooting at Monte Carlo. Gaming
tables, empty purses. And again ballet
dancers.
ITO divide two Millions cried one.
That will clear my debts, with a little
for Dieppe',
Two hundred and fifty thousand
francs. Princely."
And then the voice of the master-spirit,
pitiless, ironical PiCard's. Was there
ever such a dupe? And not to laugh in
his face is penanCe for my sins a
Bavaria, the land of sausage, beer, and
daschunds; and this shall be written Ma
pollen ". Ye gods, what farce, comedy
vaudeville! But. there was always that
hope: if he found tho money he would
divide it. So, kowtow, kowtow. Opera
bouffe!'
Breitmann shuddered NJ. Ferraud.
feeling that Shudder under his hand, re-
Taxed his shoulders. He had won.
IAN empire. Will you believe it?''
81 suggest the eagle rampant on a
sausage!"
NO, no; the lily on the beer-potP'
The scene went on The butt OF It
heard jest and ridicule. They were pill