Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-03-30

news as InaL with such stupe1y1ng
calmness. He tried to sound her, but
the old lady obviously knew nothing.
Christine returned on the following
day. She returned in triumph. She
renewed her extraordinary success OF
the gala performance. Since the ad-
venture of the toad" Carlotta had
not been able to appear on the stage.
The terror of a fresh 'co-ack" filled
her heart and deprived her of all her
power of singing; and the theater
that had witnessed her Incompetent
sible disgrace had become odious to
her. She contrived to cancel her con-
tract. Daae was offered the vacant
place for the time. She received thtn.
ders Of applause in the Juive.
The viscount, who, Of course, was
present, was the only one to suffer
on hearing the thousand echoes OF
this fresh triumph; for Christine still
wore her plain gold ring. A distant
voice whispered in the young mans
ear:
she is wearing the ring again to-
night; and you did not give 1t to her.
She gave her soul again tonight and
did not give it to you. II she
will not tell you what she has been
doing the past two days you
must go and ask Erik"
He ran behind the scenes and
placed himself in her way. She saw
him for her eyes were looking for him.
She said:
Quick! Quick! Comet"
And she dragged him to her dress
tng-Aom.
Raoul at once threw himself on his
knees before her. He swore to her
that he would go and he entreated
her never again to withhold a single
hour of the ideal happiness which she
had promised him. She let her tears
! flow. They kissed like a despairine
brother and sister who have been
smitten with a common loss and who
meet to mourn a dead parent.
/ Suddenly, she snatebed herself from
! the young mans soft and timid en-
/ brace, seemed to listen to something,
and, with quick gesture, pointed to
the door. When he was on the
threshold, she said, in so low voice
that the visoount guessed rather than
heard her words:
Tomorrow, my dear betrothedl
And be happy. Raoul; 1 sang for you
tonight"
! He returned the next day. But
those two days of absence had broker
the charm of their delightful make
believe. They looked at each other
in the dressing-room, with their sac
eyes, without exchanging word
Reoul had to restrain himself not u
cry out:
81 am jealous! I am jealous!
am jealous!"
But she heard him all the same
Then she said:
Come for a walk, dear. The al
will do you good"
RaouI thought that she would Pre-
pose a stroll in the country, far from
that building which he detested as
prison whose iailer he could fee
walking within the walls tn
jailer Erik. But she took hin
to the stage and made him sit on tn
wooden curb of a well, in the doubt
full peace and GOODNESS of a first seen
!, set for the evenings performance.
On another day, she wandered wit
him. hand in hand, along the desert
ed paths of garden whose creeper
!, had been cut out by decorator
skillful hands. 1t was as though tn
real sky, the real flowers, the res
earth were forbidden her for all tim
and she condemned to breathe n
other air than that of the theatel
=. An occasional fireman passed, watch
ing over their melancholy idyll froI
afar. And she would drag him u
above the clouds, in the magnificen
disorder of the grid, where she love
to make him giddy by running
4 front of him along the frail bridges
among the thousands of ropes fas
ened to the pulleys, the windlasse
the rollers, in the midst of reguls
forest of yards and masts. II b
hesitated, she said, with an adorabl
pout of her lips:
you, a sailori"
And then they returned to tern
firma, that is to say, to some passae
that led them to the little girls dan
ing-school, where brats between 81
and ten were practicing their steps,
d the hope of becoming great dance
one day, covered with diamonds
Meanwhile, Christine gave the
sweets instead
She took him to the wardrobe al
property-rooms, took him all over b
empire, which was artificial, but IL
mense, covering seventeen stori
from the ground-fioor to the roof al
: inhabited by an army Of subjects. 81
moved among them like a popul
queen, encouraging them In the
lhbors, sitting down in the workshop
giving words Of advice to the wor
g ~ whose hands hesitated to cut