Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-04-23


ately.
II know 1t. But In my heart some
thing speaks that he will need me. and
when be does shall 60 to him."
,, CHAPTER XIX.
THE pUPE.
"HE next morning Fitzgerald
found Cathewe's note under
his plate. He opened II with
sense of disaster.
My Dear Old Jack-rm of. Found a
pony and shall jog to Ajaccio by the route
we came. Please take my luggage back
to the Grand hotel. and I'll pick It up
And have my trunk sent ashore too. /
shan't so back to America with the ad.
mirai. bless his kindly old hearti I'm on
to Mombasa. Always keep shooting kit
there for emergencies I suppose you'u
understand Be kind to her and help her
In any way you can. ! hope ] shan't run
into Breitmann. ] should kill him out Of
hand. Happiness to you. my boy. And
maybe I'll ship you trophy for the we'd
ding. Explain my departure In any way
The reader folded the note and stow
ed 1t away. Somehow the bloom was
gone from things. He was very fond
Of Cathewe. kindly. gentle. brave and
chivalrous. What was the matter with
the woman anyhow? How to explain
The simplest way would be to state
that Cathewe had gone back to Ajac-
clio. Fitzgerald was gloomy till that
moment when Laura Joined him. To
her, of course, he explained the situa.
ton.
Neither she nor Hildegarde cared to
go up to the forest. They would find
nothing but hole. And, indeed. when
the men returned from the pines,
weary, dusty and dissatisfied, they de-
clared that they had gone not with the
expectation of finding anything, but
to certify fact.
N. Ferraud was now in great bur
~. Forty miles to Corte. Night or
not they must make the town. There
was no dissension; the spell Of the Lit
tie man was upon them all.
Racing his horses all through the
night, securing for fresh ones at
dawn and finding them. and away
again. climbing. turning. climbing
round this pass. over that bridge.
through this cut, thus few Breitmann.
the passion of haste upon him By
this tremendous pace he succeeded In
arriving at Evisa before the admiral
had covered half the distance to Car
ghese.
How clear and keen his mind was
as on he rolledl A thousand places
wove themselves to the parent stem.
he even laughed aloud, sending
shiver up the spine Of the driver. who
was certain his old master was mad
The face of Laura drifted past him
as in q dream and then again that OF
the other woman. No, no. he re
GREETED nothing. absolutely nothing
But he had been a fool there. BE had
wasted time and lent himself to a
lespicable intrigue. For all that be
outcried It There was q touch OF
shame on his cheeks when he remem
bered that had be asked she would
have given him that scrap of paper the
drst hour of their meeting. Some
where In Hildegarde von Mitter lay
dormant the spirit OF heroes. He had
made q mistake.
Two millions of shining money. gold
silver and English notes And be
laughed again as he recalled NJ. Fer
rand. caught In trap. He was clev
er, but not clever enough. What a
stroke-to make prisoners of the par
~ on their return. to carry the girl
away into the mountains! Would any
Of them think Of treasures. OF con-
Rpiracies. With her as q hostage2 He
thought not IN the hue and cry foi
her these elements In the game would
full to q minor place. Well be knew
NJ. Ferraud. He would call to heaV'
en- for the safety Of Laura Love herl
Yes. She was the one woman. But
men did not make captives Of women
and obtain their love. he knew the
futility of such coercion. he had COM
mitted two or three scoundrelly acts.
hut never would he or could be sink
to such q level. No. BE meant no
harm at all. Frighten her, perhaps.
and terrorize the others. and mahap
take kiss as he left her to the com
ing of her frienda Nothing more seri
Gus than that
Two millions In gold and silver and
English notesl he would have bis re-
venge for all these years OF struggle
and failure. for the cold and callous
policies OF slate which had driven him
| to this piece of roguery. On their heads
be It. Two thousand In Marsellles,
ready at bis beck and call. thousand
more In Avignon. In Lyons. In Dijon.
and so on up to Paris, the Paris he
had cursed one night from under bis
mansard. In week he would have
them shaking in their boots The IN
employed. the idlers, thieves. bis to
q man. II be saw his own death at
the end little be cared he would
have one great moment pay on the
score. France as well as Germany. he
would at ieast live to see them mar
rying each others throat To de-
clare to France that he was only Ger
manys tool, put forward for the sole
purpose of destroying peace In the
midst Of a great military crisis BE
had other papers. and the prytng 1T
tie Frenchman had never seen those
clever forgeries. bearing the signature
of certain great German personages
These should they 6nd at the selected
moment Let them rip one .anothers
throats, the dogsl Two million Of
francs-enough to purchase 10000
men.
"Ah. nv Rreat-srandsire Il spirit