El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-05-31
Only a Little Smoke
BY Edmond Jaloux

Under the starilt sky in gar
den surrounded by high walls, a
throng of women dressed in white
| with little black masks hiding their
features were promenading arm in arm
with young men in evening dress We
netian lanterns everywhere shed their
soft diffused light on the scene. 1t
was a carnival in the "Cercle de Arts"
| in avenue Marceau. Standing little
aside from the rest, Claude Celere
looked at the crowd fitting back and
forth
Somebody lightly touched his arm.
| voice with a slight foreign accent
said to him ''Will monsieur Celere,
| the famous painter, honor a stranger
with a few moments OF his company"
The strange lady wes tall, unusu-
| ally tall Her satin robe left bare a
pair Of dazzlingly white perfectly mold
ed shoulders. She wore costly dia-
rnond tiara on her dark hair, and
through the openings in her mask,
you saw a pair of brilliant large and
magnetic blue eyes of indescriba BILE
| charm.
Claude and his unknown admirer
walked to an artificial shrubbery Of
orange trees which hid them from
view.
at was to meet you that I came
here tonight" said the young woman.
IT wanted to see you, If only once"
why only once, madameg
Because we must not meet again"
/ The night was warm and fragrant.
The presence of this mysterious lady
sistibIe charm upon Claude. He grew
eloquent. witty, brilliant in his con-
versation as he tried to persuade her
/ to meet him once more, but she only
shook her head. At last she arose.
Il must go now she said. MY
| friend who brought me here has given
me the signal that her car is wait
ing"
Celere took her hand
at cannot part with you like this.
I want to meet you again I must see
you once more"
Suddenly the unknown seemed to
| change her mind.
Are you discreet? VIII you prom
Use me never to try to find out who
1 am, or where 1 live?"
Claude was ready to promise any
thing.
well. Be at Porte Dauphin to-
morrow at 10. An auto will call for
you Two men will blindfold you and
take you to my house"
The next night Calude was at the
| appointed pldc0 III IllIQlco dhCoO VI
! time A big car drove UP noiselessly
| and a bearded giant, evidently a Rus
| sian, jumped out. He asked the paint
/ er to enter the limousine, tied a hand
| kerchief around his eyes and sat down
next to him. Another man of equal
stature was seated opposite. The car
| sped along for half an hour at a rapid
| pace Celere could feel that he was
breathing the fresh air of the country.
| Then he was led up a wooden stairway.
At last the bandage was removed
! from his eyes and he found himself
! in beautiful salon hung with costly
| gobelins and illumina fed by scores of
| candles. The air was fragrant with
incense and the aroma Of the Rus
sian cigarets.
The unknown entered without any
mask now and her beautiful face was
| at the same time gay and sad. She
looked even more statuesque than at
| the carnival.
You see," she said to Claude, Il
| have confidence in you You prob
| ably think it strange l should resort
! to such tricks, but 1 am married to a
| husband whom I love with all my
heart, who is so insanely jealous that
| he watches me continually and will
not allow me to see anybody or make
| friendships, though he must under
stand that a woman with my interests
| in literature. and art cannot be Gagged