The Washington herald., 1913-01-12

| At the house in the Rue Cog Hero
the carriage stopped Placide descend
ed and helped his mistress to alighi
i As he did so, his hand, brushing he
dress, felt something in her pocket
the folded parchment of the docu
ment could be distinctly felt througl
the brocade. His hounds instinct toll,
him that here lay the secret of tn
i journey to De Richelieu
He followed her into the house
where she babe him good night an,
went to her room
! Having locked her door. she tool
! the precious document from her poe
ket and read it carefully from tn
] first word TO the last. Yes, this wa
the infamous contract, in very truth
weapon against De Sartines NOR,
formidable than a dagger. She wen
| TO the little bureau in the corner o
the room and. taking sheet of pape,
and pen, sat down and began t.
make fair copy of the document
! word for word When this was &C
cOmplished, she locked the two paper!
away and went to bed.
She awoke an hour after dawn
! dressed without calling Rosine, anc
taking from the bureau the origina
document. folded it in sheet of pa.
per, making little parcel of it which
she sealed. Then placing the parce
in her pocket, she left the house
She had put on her plainest dress
and a veil which almost hid her feat.
ures. so that she might pass unnoticed
through the carly morning streets
Her plan of campaign was now quite
clearly mapped out before her, and
though she had no friend in Paris in
whom she could implicitly place her
trust, her genius had discovered a
man the soul of honor. man whom
she could trust, and. moreover. a man
who walked fearless OF the King and
De Sartines.
She had left now the broader streets
and, inquiring her way as she went,
found at last the Rue Plastriere, a
street rather gone to decay. Some OF
the houses in the street were of great
antiquity, gabled and weather-cocked,
sunken in their foundations by age
remnants OF that Paris which once
showed its fantasy of roofs, vanes,
spires and towers TO the sun; the Par
is of Louis N, half university, half
city; the Paris of Nillon and Rabe-
lais, through which in the winter
Dame and the gibbets of Montfau-
con.
At one of these old houses Madame
Linden paused, verified the number,
and then. going up the two steps that
led TO the doorway, rang the queasy
bell.
Scarcely had she released the handle
when the door opened and man ap-
pesrcd He was gray-bearded. shabby
sRd-fusty,, attirrd-ir-a snuff-colored
coat the worse for wear and a broad
brimmed hat; he carried a book under
his arm, and it was quite evident that
he had not opened the door in reply
to the summons, for, when he saw
the yelled figure OF the woman, he
started back.
What do you want" said he.
holding the door in such a way that
he could clap it to at a moments
notice
Monsieur" replied the baroness.
who. despite the desperate seriousness
of her mission. could scarcely restrain
her mirth at the appearance of the
book-worm and his evident alarm, Il
want an interview with you on a mat
ter of the utmost Importance to one
of your friends i
You know me them"
oh. Monsieur, all Europe knows
you. and though | have never seen
you before, yet l recognize you at
once
The book-worm. allured BY the voice !
of the charmer. came forward and,
closing the door behind him, stood |
OIL the step.
He had a mirthless face. a facet
wherein lurked suspicion and distrust
an extraordinary face. so much OF |
greatness and OF littleness did it con-
ain: the face of a practical man and
/ dreamer-he had even forgotten to
wash it that morning. just as he had
forgotten to brush his coat, which he
leld tightly clasped about him with
one thin hand. as il to fend off the
approaches of the world.
Thus in the early morning brightness
TODD Monsieur Rousseau of Geneva, a
most difficult subject to deal with, as
hdudHlC LhuSh PSlNSNSu' uSSpitS HSI
reil. Soft words were of no use as
first approach to this cvasivc and
nature
well. Monsieur she went on. 81
an compliment you on many things,
ut there is one thing on which l canl
lot felicitate you. and that is your
ense of hospitality"
Madame" said Rousseau, taken back,
| am bound on an carly morning visit
o my friend Monsieur dc Rennes Be-