The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1911-03-07
A SPLENDID HAZARD
By HAROLD MacGRATH
Copyright Tn eIerluCon

be buried there. There is more to the
| story, more than you know. My name is
| Herman Stuler if live. There is
| not Il drop of French blood in nv veins.
Breitmann died on the field in the Sudan
and l took his papers, His eyes burned
| into Ferraud's
Perhaps that would be the best way"
replied NJ. F'erraud pensively.
What shall do with the money? 1t
is under the bed
Keep it. No one will contest your
right to it. Herman Stuler; and besides.
your French, fluent as it is, stin pos
sesses the TeutOnic burr. Yes, Herman
Stuler; very good indeed"
Hildegarde eyed them in wonder, Were
they both mad?
will you be sure always to remern-
oer?" said NJ Ferraud to the bewiIdered
woman. Herman Stuler; Karl Brett
mann. who was the great-grandson or
Napoleon. died of a gunshot in Africa
If you will always remember that why
even Paris will be possible some day"
Hldegarde was beginning to under
stand. She was coming to bless this lit
tie man.
4 do not believe that the money under
the bed is safe there. I shall. if you
wish, make arrangements with the local
agents of the Credit Legonnais to take
over the sum, without question. and to
issue you two drafts, one on London anu
the other on New York, or in two letters
of credit. Two millions: it is a big sum
to let repose UnUer ones bed, Anywhere,
let alone Corsica, where the amount
might purchase half the island
Il am, then, a rich man; no more cru
sadeS, no more stale bread and cheap to-
bacco, no more turning my cuffs and COL
lars and clipping the frayed edges of my
trousers. l am fortunate There is a
joke, too. Picard and his friend advanced
me five thousand francs for the enter
prise
Il marvel where they got it,
Il am sorry that 1 was rough with
you"
4 bear you not the slightest iT-will I
never have Herman Stuler; I must re-
member to have them make out the
drafts in that name"
Breitmann appeared to be sleeping
again After waiting a moment or two,
his guardian angel tiptoed out
An hour went by.
'Hildegarde. have you any money!"
Enough for my needs.''
Will you take half of it?'
karl
viii you?''
NOT
He accepted this as final. And fmnrv-
diately his gaze became fixed on the bay
A sleek white ship was putting out to
sea.
They are leaving, Karl" she said, and
the courage in her eyes beat down the
pain in her heart
In my coat, inside; bring them to me-
AS he could move only his right arm, and
that but painfully, he babe her open each
paper and hold it so that he could read
plainly. The scrawI of the Great Cap
tain; deed and title; some dust drop
nj frDT no
strained his eyes upon them. He could
not help the swift intake of air. and the
stab which pierced his shoulder made
him faint. She began 20 refold them.
No." he whispered. Tear them up,
tear them up
Why, Karl"
Tear them up, now, at once. I shall
never look at them again. Do it. What
dies it matter? 1 am only Herman Stu
Ter, now
With shaking fingers she ripped the
tattered sheets. and the tears ran over
and down her cheeks 1t would not have
hurt her more had she torn the mans
heart in twain. He watched her with fe-
vcred eyes till the last scrap flOated into
her lap.
Now, toss them into the crate and
light a match"
And when he saw the reflected glare on
the opposite wall he sank deeper into the
pillow. The woman was openly sobbng
She came back to his side, knelt. and laid
her lips upon his hand. There was now
only a dim white speck on the horizon.
and with that strange sea magic the hull
suddenly dipped down. and naught but a
trail of smoke remained. Then this, too,
vanished Breitmann withdrew his hand.
but he laid it upon her head
Il am a broken man, Hildegarde, and
in my madness l have been something OF
a rascal But for all that, 1 had big
dreams, but thus they go, the one in
flames and the other out to sea-" He
stroked her hair. VIII you take what is
left? Will you share with me the outlaw.
be the wife Of a disappointed outcast?
Will your
Would I not follow you to any land?
Would I not share with you any miser-
les? Have you ever doubted the strength
Of my love-"
knowing that there was another?'
knowing even that
1T is I who am little and you who are
great Hildegarde, we'll have our friend
Ferraud seek a priest this afternoon and
square accounts"
Her head dropped to the coverlet
After that there was no sound except
the crisp metallic rattle OF the palms in
the freshening breeze.
THE ENDO