Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1911-01-28
CHAPTER XIV.
The Other Woman.

ne Other woman.
The world is the book of women
Rosseau.
] needed not to be advised that pres
entity there would be a meeting of
some of the leading men of the Hud-
son Bay Company at the little gray
stone, dormer-windowed building on
Notre Dame street For myself, it
YVES out of the question to gain admit
lance.
In those days all Montreal was iron
suffered after nightfall, resembling
a series of jails; and tonight it
seemed doubly screened and guarded.
None the less, late in the evening, 1
allowed seeming accident to lead me
in a certain direction Passing as oft
en- as | might up and down Notre
Dame street without attracting at
tention, 1 saw more than one figure
in the semi-darkness enter the low
chateau door. Occasionally a tiny
CLEAN showed at the edge of shut
ter or at the top of some little win
dow not full screened AS to what
went on within 1 could only guess.
l passed the chateau, up and down,
at different times from nine o'clock
until midnight. The streets of Mon
treal at that time made brave pre-
tense of lighting by virtue of the new
gas works; at certain intervals flick
ering and wholly incompetent lights
served to make the gloom more Wis
ibie. None the less, as 1 passed for
the last time, l plainly saw a shaft of
light fall upon the half darkness from
little side door, There emerged
upon the street the figure of a woman
L do not know what led me to cast a
second glance for certainly my bust
ness was not with ladies, any more
than l would have supposed ladies
had business there; but, victim of
some impulse of curiosity, 1 walked a
step or two in the same direction as
that taken by the cloaked figure
| Careless as / endeavored to make
| my movements, the yelled lady seemed
to take suspicion or fright She quick
| ened her steps. Accident favored me.
Even as she fed, she caught her skirt
| on some object which lay hidden in
the shadows and fell almost at full
| length This I conceived to be oppor-
tunity warranting my approach. 1
raised my hat and assured her that
her flight was needless.
She made no direct reply to me. but
as she rose gave utterance to an ex-
] preston of annoyance. Mon Dieu!"
l heard her say.
/ stood for a moment trying to re
call where 1 had heard this same
voice, She turned her face in such
IA way that the light illuminated it.
Then indeed surprise smote me.
Madam Baroness said laughing,
| 1T is wholly impossible for you to be
here. yet you are here, Never again
will / say there is no such thing as
| chance, no such thing as fate, no such
| thing as miracle,"
| She looked at me one brief mo-
ment; then her courage returned
Ah. then. my idiot" she said,
"since it is to be our fortune always
| to meet of dark nights and in impos-
| sible ways, give me your arm
I laughed. I'VE may as well make
| treaty. If you run again, 1 shall only
follow you"
Then 1 am again your prisoner
Madam, I again am yours"
AT least, you improved" said she.
Then come"
Shall 1 not call caleche?-the
night is dark"
No. MOI" hurriedly.
We began midnight course that
took us quite across the old French
quarter of Montreal At last she
turned into a small, dark street OF
mo Jest one-story residences, iron-shut.