The Washington herald., 1913-01-26
THE MINISTER OF POLICE s.55.
By HENRY MOUNTJOY

i for an interview, and having folded
the sheet he fastened it with a wafer
and directed it Then he sat down
again on the side of his bed. 1t was
at this moment, perhaps, that he first
felt the terrible sensation, almost im-
possible 10 put in words, the feeling
that time has stopped-that the hour
is no longer a boat taking US to airy
destination
When the jailer appeared at two,
bearing the prisoners dinner, he found
i De Lussac seated on the side OF his
| bed. staring vacantly before him
He refused the food lie did not
even refer to the letter which was ~
ing OH the table; he seemed like a
man dazed by a blow. Philosophy,
that toy of the mind destroyed at once
by grief or pain, was no longer with
this unfortunate gentleman. La Bas-
i tile, that had at last got him firmly III
her grip. La Bastile, that living pain
made from dead stone. that despair
embodied in masonry, had taken his
mind prisoner as well as his body.
The jailer Withdrew, grumbling 10
himself. He knew the symptoms and
he expected trouble. At three O'Clock
when he brought the prisoner change
of linen. De Lussac was no longer
seated on the bed he was pacing the
cell feverishly His face was white.
and he turned such a ferocious glance
on his visitor that the man hastily
withdrew
Never mind" said he: "a little
starvation will bring him to his senses.
We shall see what he has to say at
supper-time."
For half an hour after the jailer
left him De Lussac continued pacing
1 the floor. Then, suddenly, he broke
door with his fists, furious like a
i and struggling something; he was
struggling with La Bastile.
/ The viewIess one, whose integu-
ments we're the walls and the doors,
whose jewelry was the locks. the
>! chains and the bars, was at last at
grips with him He had said to him
self, Courage | will disregard her.
will escape from her If | cannot
leave her in the body, will kill my
self and free my soul"
She had replied. 1T is your soul |
want. Only men of spirit kill them
i selves; | will take your spirit away.
| Men do not kill themselves here; |
i kill their spirits They make friends
of rats. They are brave. they threat
en- me with suicide, but they live 10
forget all that, and they die laughing
and singing like that merry gentleman
down the corridor"
Then he struck her and she struck
him, using only his own force in re-
turning the blow. He shouted at her,
1 and she shouted back in echoes OF his
own voice He wreStled with her, and
she flung him on the bed.
;! Spent, foaming at the mouth, haS-
gard and dulled. he lay while she stood
over him-towers and battlements-
armed. silent and victorious. She had
reduced him without killing him. That
! was her victory 1t would go on like
this, the struggle of the soul against
hcr and her struggle against the soul
breaking the spirit. debasing the man
till he began to play with rats or sing
| songs to her like the merry gentle
man down the corridor.
His fury had expended itself and he
was now calm: his mind cleared, and
deep shame overcame him for the mo-
ment. He recognized with horror that
he had been acting like a wild beast
drunk with captivity.
| He sat up OIL the bed. and scarcely
had he done so when noise came
from the corridor outside the cell; the
bolts shot back. the door opened, and
the jailer appeared.
The man looked at De Lussac for a
moment.
You are better, | see That is well,
for there is visitor for you.
De Lussac sprang to his feet as a
man, wearing a dark cloak and a
broad-brimmed hat. entered the cell,
| The mans face was invisible, for he
held a fold of the cloak over it;
nothing but the eyes, bright and pierre
| ing, could be seen beneath the shadow
of the hat-brim-
For a moment De Lussac, as he
glanced at this sinister figure, fancied
| that this was some emissary of the
king or De Sartines come to dispatch
him: only for a moment. The un-
1 knONn. WITHOUT lONSlHlS bNS NiOnh,
said. speaking to the jailer; Leave
US and close the door without locking
it. Take your post at the end OF the
corridor and wait for me there.
| The jailer went out and closed the
door; the cloak fell from the face OF
| the unknown, and De Lussac found
himself fronting his kinsman. the Due
de Richelieu.
We'll. Monsieur" said the due, taxi
ing off his hat and finging it on the
table while he let the cloak slip from
| his shoulders. this is a nice position
in which you have placed yourself~
De Lussac could not speak for a
moment. He stood with his hand
grasping the back of the chair, while
the due. placing the cloak on the table
beside the hat, continued: "A con-
spirator against the state. De Lussac,
a cousin OF mine, and robber. Cor
dieu, Monsieur, | dread to inquire fur
ther into your doings for fear OF what
| may find"
The sight Of the due and these words
were like wine to De Lussac. His in
tellect. made clear by his past fury
was now like the atmosphere purged
by a storm Fortunately for himself,
he had eaten nothing that day but a
morsel of bread: in second thoughts
passed through his mind that in ordi-