The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-03-07
CHAPTER XVII.
THE REGENT SHOWS HIS HAND.

The place was more brilliant than
I he'd ever seen it. The room was
crowded from end to end by q throng
Of richly a6ressed people, from whom
every instant came bursts of laughter,
following some witty s~ally--only to me.
whose ears were perhaps unduly crit
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 she 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 l despaired OF get
ting to her, and 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 l
had never seen before, notably a mum
Der of gentlemen elegantly dressed but
not in~the latest Paris mode, whom l
Immediately set down as provincial.
The duchess and her maid withdrew
before / could get a word with either
Of them, and l Joined the group about
Chancel. But / found mis- satire little
to m liking, for 1t was merely a brutal
TRADE against the regent, and con-
tained accusations which I felt certain
ever Chancel himself knew to be un-
true.
AS the moments passed I noticed that
the provincial gentlemen, as well as
the other important personages pres
ent, were approached by a page and
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" I heard him
inquire Of q gentleman at my elbow,
and the latter replied in the negative.
He tool this answer back to the duch-
ess, and a moment later reappeared to
conduct Others Of those present to that
mysterious door,. I was racking my
proceeding. when the page approached
me.
Madame du Maine wishes to speak
to you a moment, M. de B~rancas," he
said, and without waiting for a reply,
he led the way TO the door through
which l had already seen so many en-
ter. I followed him, and in a moment
the door closed behind me. The OUCH
ess and Mile. de Launay were sitting at
a large table Uttered with papers.
"Ah, M. de Brancas," cried the for
mer as l entered, and l saw that her
eyes were bright and her face flushed
with excitement, ut Is, as you see, q
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 present."
II have indeed noticed 1T. madame"
/ answered.
And you have been wondering who
they are, have you not? Well, / will
tell you, NJ. de Brancas. They are rep
resentatives Of half the noble houses
Of Brittany, who have come to give me
personal assurance Of their support.
| Tonight, monsieur. the threads are all
in my hands and in five days Philip
d'Orleans will no longer be regent Of
France"
The lines Of care had faded from her
face and left her 10 years younger. Her
| companion had caught her enthusiasm,
and her yes were sparkling in sympa-
thy with those Of the duchess.
IT rejoice to learn that everything
goes so WELL" I said, and I felt my heart
warming for these two women who
had accomplished so much. Has mad
anne any commands for me? / should
be most happy to take a part In the
drama, ever though 1t be a small one"
"'Tis not a command. but a request"
she answered, quickly. You can be of
great service to me II o will, M. de
Brancas. The arrest Of Richelieu takes
a cog out Of the wheel, and in order
that the machine may move with per-
feet certainty n smoothness I wish
you to replace that cog. In a word,
monsieur. what / desire Is a personal
representative at Bayonne, a man
whom l can trust and in whose courage
I have faith. You are that man, NJ. de
Brancas"-I bowed at the compliment
land / ask o to represent me at
Bayonne."
II will go with the greatest pleasure,
madame" I answered.; "only will the
good people of Bayonne have In me in
the same faith which you have?"
you will lake papers with you which
will inspire them with fear. monsieur
she answered. a I believe that after
they have known you a few days ever
the papers will be unnecessary. They
will be handed to you presently, for /
wish you to set out tonight. At 10
o'clock a horse will be waiting for you
just without the little gate at the bach
Of the Tuileries, which you already
know, as you passed through II the
other day with Mile. de Launay. Here