Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-03-14
CHAPTER XVII.
THE REGENT SHOWS HIS HAND.

The place was more brilliant than
l had yer seen 1t. The room was
crowded from end to end by a throng
OF richly dressed people. from whom
every instant came bursts Of laughter.
following some witty sally-only to me,
ical, the laughter sounded forced and
unnatural, sometimes almost hysterical.
Mile. de Launay appeared to be every
where at once. and left smiles behind
her wherever h went. Truly. a Won
derful woman, but to me her activity
seemed feverish. The duchess, as
usual, held her court at the farther end
Of the room. and the crowd about her
was so dense that 1 despaired of get
ting to her, III paused to look about
me. ] saw that all Of her political sat
elites were present. Polignac was de-
claiming his latest satire to another.
Malesieu was explaining the meaning
OF a Greek phrase to a third. There
were many persons present whom
had never seen before, notably a num-
Der of gentlemen elegantly dressed but
not In the latest Paris mode, whom 1
Immediately set down as provincial.
The duchess and her maid withdrew
before I could get a word with either
of them, and I Joined the group about
Chancel But l found his satire little
to my liking, for 1t was merely a brutal
TRADE against the regent, and con-
tanned accusations which I felt certain
even Charicel himself knew to be I'M
true.
AS the moments passed I noticed that
the provincial gentlemen. as we'll al
the other important ~personages pres
taken one by one to the room into
which Madame du Maine had retired.
and that when they came out again
there was fire in their eyes and a new
intelligence in their faces. Only once
was there any break in this stream of
persons entering and leaving the cabi-
net. The page appeared to be seeking
some one whom he could not find.
Have you seen the Able Brigaut
this evening. monsieur?" heard him
inquire of a gentleman al my elbow,
n n latter replied in the negative.
He took this answer back to the duch-
ess. and a moment later reappeared to
conduct others Of those present to that
mysterious door. I wa racking my
brain to n an explanation Of this
proceeding, when the page approached
me.
Madame du Maine wishes to speak
to you a moment. NJ. de Brancas." he
said. and without waiting for a reply,
he led the way to the door through
which I had already seen so many en-
ter. I followed him, and in a moment
the door closed behind me. The duch-
ess and Mile. de Launay were sitting at
a large table Uttered with papers.
"Ah. n. de Brancas." cried the for
mer a. I entered. and I saw that her
eyes were bright and her face flushed
with excitement, ut 10, as you see. 3
gathering OF the clans. Tonight we are
all assembled. each to learn his part IN
the drama we are about to play. You
have perhaps noticed that there are
many strangers present."
y have indeed noticed Il, madame
] answered.
And you have been wondering who
they re-. have you not? Well. I viii
tell you. y. de Brancas. They are rep-
resentatives Of half the noble houses
LOT Brittany who have come to give me
personal assurance Of their support
Tonight monsieur. the threads are ri
II my hands and IN ave days PhiIlp
|d'Olleans will no longer b regent 81
The lines q care had faded from hes
hes and LETT hes - years younger. Hes
companion hAd caught her enthusiasm,
ana her oyeD Wseo sparkling II oympa-
thy With. th0ss u the duchess.
= rejoice to Learn that everything
~ mnW 2 GAh aaAI felt me- heors