The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1913-05-01

not already arrested simply because
they are giving me a little freedom so
that they may watch my movements.
Now walk close to me and with your
left hand take the packet I spoke OF
first and slip 1t into your pocket"
De Lussac did SO. +. a 81 &y#...
5 Now, take the keys" y "
De Lussac did so. ~
Bury the packet somewhere safely
and so as to be doubly sure, semi
note to Monsieur Blanc, No. 3, RuG
Petit Versailles, stating that you haTR
buried a packet Of the utmost imports
ance to us In such and such @ place,
SO that, in b event of your arrest or
death, he may recover it. You have q
servant. you can trustg =
Yes" . ~ = !! ..| .-.,.- f."
They had passed through many
streets. The stranger had let De Lus-
sac lead the way, so ~engrossed was ne
with the conversation, n De Lussac
had walked wherever chance might
lead him; chance, or instinct, perhaps,
had led him by a maze OF streets into
the street where he lived, the Rue de
Valois.
At this period, the Rue de Valois
was perhaps the most fashionable street
In paris. Here Madame du Barry had
her town house where the Nicomte
Jean du Barry lived when he chose to
favor Paris with his presence the
Comte d'Harlancourt, whose residence
was situated almost opposite to the
Hotel de Lussac. 5 Nra. n,t
THAT is ALL" said De Lussac's' COM
panion. Il will leave you here ana
pass on, while you enter your house.
Remember that our fates are all In your
hands and the fate OF France, for; II
you fail to get De Sartines in your
power. he will stop a. nothing, no even
torture, to extract confessions from the
men he has imprisoned. Some one OF
them win be sure to confess, giving full
details-and then goodby forever to the
hopes OF the people, .. .
He raised his hat and passed on.
Had anyone been watching, he might
have fancied that two casual acquatn-
tances had parted, never two conspira-
tors who between them held the future
and the fate of France. g..
De Lussac, when the door opened to
him. passed into glassed-in court
yard and between two rows OF orange
trees set In green painted tubs to the
doorway of the house.
AT this period, it was necessary for
a nobleman who wished to keep close
to affairs, to follow his king and to
possess a mansion within easy distance
of the kings residence. AS his majesty
was constantly changing his residence
from Paris to. Versailles, from Yer
sailles to Marty, and so forth, II Is Easy
to imagine the drain this custom Inn
posed on the Of the mobility.
De Lussac, who was indifferent TO Gus
tom, contented himself with a single
residence in Paris and the Chateau de
Lussac, the family house in Auvergne;
utterly regardless Of the sneers or the
titled larvae, the brOcaded parasites
of the court who dubbed him the
Auvergnat." So he managed to live the
| life he chose to live, to avoid Cypress
ing his tenantry and to give largely 10
the poor-a most admirable figure in {
society cold, glittering. n as indtf-
ferent to man as the Jungfrau--with-
out the Jungfrau's purity.
De Lussac had left the house Of TIE
baroness filed with this kindlier phil
osophy and outlook on life and lol half
way down the Rue PeyBette the reyo.
luton had tapped him on the shoulder,
Now, as he stood in his library, hav-
ing closed the door, he faced his posi-
ton.
Philosophy or no philosophy, his
plain course of duty lay straight be-
fore him. These men were In prison
and his oath compelled him to lberate
them at all costs. De Sartines must be
bound in his own tolls and to do so he,
the Comte de Lussac, must enter the
house OF his kinsman n play the part
OF a petty thief. g.
He no longer belonged to the Society
of the Midi in heart, he was about to
divorce himself from 1t and the oath
he had taken did not prevent him from
leaving ii at will, put 1t very explicitly
4 bound him to the course OF action winch
the head center had just laid down for
him.
As he stood before the writing table
contemplating his position, the sweat
moistened the palms of his hands. He
would have to ransack De RicheIeus
bureau k a common robber, open
ing the drawers with duplicate keys;
he would have to lie, and deceive, and
act deception under the garb OF friend
liness and kinsmanship.
For a moment, despair at the trap
he found himself in filed his heart
Then came the thought, You are doing
this for whom? Not yourself. The
more repugnant 10 you the greater the
sacrifice. Be firm"
He sat down to the writing table and
taking a sheet of writing paper from a
Spanish cedar WOO box, he dipped 9
pen in ink and wrote with a firm hand:
To-day / am burrying in the eartt
of the first orange tree tub on the right
as you enter my courtyard, a packet
Of vital importance to the S. de M
Should / be arrested or should l die
show this letter to Jasmin, Ery valet
He is entirely to be trusted. unearth
the packet and make use of it as your
wisdom sees fit.
! (Signed) Armand de Lussac."
~on+Nnvad Mav% UaaE