Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1913-12-24

TlckSIerS would leave me, their last
desperate throw defeated But to my
establishment the fellow said, coolly:
There is an Englishmen with whom
am acquainted in the front part of
the train. I will send him to mon
sieur'
And, with a ceremonious bow, the
nan reIreated, mis- wife following him
willingly and ostentatiously, as though
ner part in the play action had been &C
,omplished. Ten minutes later pleas
ant-looking Englishman came climbing
along the footboard and introduced
himself.
81 hear you have assaulted an &C
quaintance of mine, Monsieur Rava-
chol,'' he said.
was a put-up job to entrap me into a
duel before I had fulfilled a certain
mission"
'That may be so.' the Englishman
answered. But in this country you
cannot even strike a spy without hav-
ing to answer for it with pistol or
sword. When is your errand to be &C
complished"
Tomorrow at noon," I answered.
why, then, you can, no doubt, be
able to meet M. Ravachol in the Bots
at four?" he answered.
And there was no answer to be
made. Spy or no spy, the fellow was
entitled to his revenge. Well, once I
had handed the treaty to the king of
Spain l should be ready to be killed or
to kill. One thing l stipulated for.
The duel should be real-no mock en-
counters.
From the reputation that Monsieur
Ravachol bears as the best slot and
swordsman in Paris" answered the
Englishman, you need have no fear on
that score. Will you meet me at four
outside Crews, at the entrance to the
Bots? You are familiar with PARISH
It was settled that should meet him
there the following afternoon. We were
to fight with rapiers. the bouts to con-
tinue until one of us was killed or
completely disabled. Then, with an
Interchange of cards, the Englishman
left me and I was alone again. And
outside it was dawn. and the outskirts
Of Paris appeared like ghosts through
the mists. And in my coat lining was
the treaty, and my mission was all but
accomplished.
It was fulfilled the same morning
when I entered the Spanish embassy
and formally handed it to a certain
Seror Hermosillo y Ramos, who was
awaiting me there. He was tall,
lank. Gager-lookiDg youth of about
at. He had played long enough. The
memory of that blow had stirred him
up to frenzy of wrath. l saw the
curving rapied slide through my guard
and halt, miraculously, within an inch
of my breast Once it did that, and
then
felt the least prick upon the skin OF
my chest-not painful. l saw the spec
tators leap forward, saw Ravachol
draw back, waving a sword that drip
ped ominously. Was I wounded?
started forward, but my knees gave
under me and 1 fell, gasping, to the
green earth. Everything was swimming
before my eyes in a mad whirl
"Pauvre garcon," said voice above
me. And I heard the word "morte'
(death) pronounced. In my last mo
ment Of conscious agony I felt HAND
inserted softly into my shirt, to where
the letter lay. 1t was withdrawn. AND
then, before all external sounds were
shut out from my ears, heard a voice
that seemed, very vaguely and indis
tinctly, to come from my world Of Lon
don.
Ten days later I opened my eyes II
the bedroom Of Paris hotel Talbo
was seated beside me. It did not sur
prise me. / had passed through tn
multuous delirium of nightmares, IL
which l encountered Ravachol under
thousand guises, in which Talbot alon
could and did save me. And that h.
should be here at my side SCENE,
natural enough.
When l grew stronger he told m
how, mistrusting my mission, he ha
followed me on the next train, ct
stand by you, sir, among them frog
EATERS How he had roamed tn
streets Of Paris all that morning seek
ing for me, and at last, by some mira
Gle, had learned from fellow English
man that duels were fought in the Bots
and had gone there, assured that tn
French had formed a scheme to assas
sinate me. And, once there, he ha
come in time to staunch the flow G
blood. the rest having turned tail an
run when / was struck down, and t
procure the services of surgeon.
Talbot" 1 said, when I was we
enough to travel, my service with tn
king is ended. 1t makes no differenc