The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1912-04-18

~ "a NoaloNy I'll " ll1C
gale which had delayed the mail boat.
Louisa, Straining her eyes, watched the
excited crowd pouring out of the sta
tlon In the wake of porters and of piles
or luggage. jabbering, shouting and
iusslng like an army Of irresponsible
plglnies; men In b%louses. and men in
immaculate bowler hats, women
wrapped in furs, clinging to gigantic
that threatened to leave the
safe refuge OF an elaborate c~oiffure or
OF well hXed gargantuan hat pins, mid
inettes in fashionable skirts and high
heeled shoes, country women in wool
shaWls that tapped round their bulky
forms like the wings of an overfed bat,
all hurrying n jostling one another
In a mad ~endaayor to avoid the on
rush OF the innumerable taXi-autos
which In uncountable numbers wound
In and out of the slower moving traffic
IKE the erratic thread of some living,
tangled skein.
Just the everyday prosy life Of a
sHaIl put ambitious capital struggling
IN the midst OF an almost overpowering
sense OF responsibility toward the whole
or Europe in view of its recent great
colonial expansion.
Louisa gave an impatient sigh.
Even the strong ones Of the earth
get wearied Of the daily round. the
common task at times. She and aunt
were due to dine at the British en-
bassy at 8 o'clock; It was only half
past 6 now and obviously impossible
to sit another two hours in this unre-
sponslVe hotel room in the of
red velvet chairs and the bronze Psyche.
Aunt. in conjunction with her maid,
annette. was busy laying the founda-
lions or an elaborate toilet. Louisa
was Tree to do as she pleased. She got
u SerVlceable ulster and a diminutiye
hat and sailed forth into the streets.
she did not want to think or to dream.
nor perhaps did she altogether wish
10 work off that unusual feeling Of ex-
cltement which had SO unaccountably
transformed her ever since Luke's letter
had ONE.
All she wanted was to be alone and
70 come out Of herself for awhile. She
had been alone all the afternoon. save
Tor mat brief half hour when aunt dis
cussed the obvious over a badly brewed
cup or tea; 1t was not that kind OF
'alone-ness' which Louisa wanted now,
but rather the solitude which a crowd
ed street has above all the power to
give.
There is a kind Of %sociability in any
room, be 1t ever so uncompromising in
the matter or discomfort, a cr0Wded
street can be unutterly lonely. either
cruelty so or kindly as the case may be.
TO Louisa Harris, the commonplace
society girl, accustomed to tea fights,
to dances and to dinner parties. the
loneliness Of this crowded little CITY was
eminently welcome. With her dark
ulster closely buttoned to the throat.
the small hat tied under her chin. with
everything on her weather proof and
questionable, she attracted no notice
from n passersby.
Not n head was turned as, with
a ong breath Of delight, she sailed
forth from under he portico of the
motel out into the muddy, busy street;
not one glance Of curiosity or interest
so freely bestowed in the streets of
Foreign capitals on a solitary female
hgure. II 1T be young and comedy, fol
lowed this very ordinary looking Eng
lish miss.
To the crowd she was Indifferent
These men and women hurrying along,
cushing Jostling and scurrying knew
nothlng or Luke, nor that she, Louisa
Harris, was the ~happiest woman on
She turned back toward the Boule-
ward. meaning to take a brisk walk all
along the avenue Of trees which makes
a circuit round the inner part OF the
town and which ultimately would lead
her back to the Care du Nord and the
Palace hotel. 1t was a walk she had
often done before; save for one or two
busy corners on the way. it would be
idlly sanitary ana pedc61ul.
Louisa stepped out with an honest
British tread, hands buried in the pock-
cts or her serviceable ulster, head bent
against the sudden gusts of wind. She
did not mind the darkness of the Ill
lighted, wide boulevard, and had every
intention Of covering the two miles in
a little more than half an hour.
How he time sped! 1t seemed as II
she had only just left the hotel, and
already surely not a quarter Of a mile
away she could see glimmering the lights
OF the Place Namur, the half way point
Of her walk.
She vas in the Boulevard Waterloo,
where private louise with closed porte
cocheres d nothing to the municipal
lighting Of the thoroughfare.
Trans a been rushing past her I'm
endless succession; but now there was
a lull. Close by her a taxi-auto whizzed
quickly past and came to a standstill
some 100 yards away, near the pave |
ment and not far from an electric light
standard.
Louisa, with vacant eyes attached on |
that cab, but with her mind fixed on a |
particular room in a particular house |
in Grosvenor square were lived a man |
Of the name of Luke de Mountford, |
continued her walk. Those same va |
cant eyes OF hers presently saw the
chauffeur Of the taxi-auto get down
from his box and open the door Of the |
cab, and hen her absent mind was |
suddenly brought back from Grosvenor
square,, London. to the Boulevard Wat |
erloo in Brussels, by a terrible cry of
horror which had broken from that |
same chauffeur's lips. Instinctively |
Louisa hurried on. but. even as she did
so, a small crowd which indeed seemed |
to have sprung from nowhere had al |
ready gathered round the vehicle.
Murmurs of "Wha 1t It? What is
it? ?" mingled with smothered roans of |
terror. as curiosity caused one or two |
of the more bold to peer into the |
gloomy depths Of the cab. Shrill calls
brought a couple of gardens to the
spot. In q moment Louisa found her.
self a unit In an eager. anxious crowd, |
asking questions. c~onjecturing, won-
dering, horror struck as soon as a |
plausible N graphic explanation came
from those who were in the forefront
and were privileged to see.
"A man-murdered-"
But how"
The chauffeur got down from his
box : and looked in
all, mon Dieu!"
What did he see?"
"A man = 4" he is quite young |
. only about 20 years Of age"
stabbed through the neck
stabbed? Bah?"
Right through the neck, / tell YOU !
" just below the ear. l can sec |
the wound, quite small as If done with
a skewer."
"AIlons! voyons, voyons!" came
the gruff accents from the two portly |
gardens who worked vigorously with |
elbows and even feet to keep the crowd
.D,. of hnU Il