The Red Cloud chief., 1913-01-23


my medical adviser and
friend, fearing l might not
a. obey his injunctions, took
the trouble to escort me to
a. a small watering.place in
|" the Dauphine, whence. he
assured me, l should
emerge perfectly cured.
did not at all relish the Idea Of be.
coming--even for short time-a
fashionable idler. But afterward I
had reason to be thankful, for the
adventure met with added curious
chapter to my experiences.
I went to that little place few
weeks after the execution of Eyraud.
the murderer OF the luckless Gouffe,
a most sensational crime, which for
several months kept the whole Euro
pean press at fever heat. And. in Or
der to escape interviewers and ko-
dak flends, l decided to travel incog.
nito, ent1ring myself In the hotel
books as M. Guilbert; q wise precau.
ton, as l soon discovered.
The most important guests in our
fine-looking man Of about sixty.nve.
and his wife. pretty woman quite
forty years his junior. The countess.
q restless young creature. was con-
stantly organizing excursions in the
mountains, leaving her husband at
home to amuse himself.
Two days after my arrival I noticed
n NJ toh Ash1tn
Eugene Arco. an attractive young
woman with dark eyes and jet-black
hair. Her hands were small and aris.
tocratic. and her appearance would
have been In every way refined but
for her ears. These were too large
and stood rather far from her head.
The girl fascinated. yet at the same
time repelled, me.
1t had been raining all the morn.
Ing. and l was in the reading.room
glancing at an illustrated paper, when
q voice near said.
Pardon me. monsieur. see you are
a Russian
1t was Mile. Arco. NO" l replied.
II am not"
Il thought you were." she contin.
ued. because l saw you reading q
Russian periodical"
II was not reading It," I retorted
II was only looking at the pictures"
"Oh. I see!" she explained. But the
look she gave me said she did not be-
lieve me.
I did not care to continue the con.
versation, and she soon left the room
From that moment, however, no
ticed she never ceased to observe me-
and many q time when pretended to
be asleep in one Of the armchairs In
the hall her large black eyes were
fastened on me as II they were trying
to pierce my thoughts.
With the officials In the hotel Mile
Arco was persona grata, for. unlike
most women, who In money matters
are inclined to be niggardly, she
tipped the walters and chaInbermaids
most literally. The manager OF the
hotel and his wife had also taken q
great fancy to her, and she was al.
ways warmly welcomed by them In
their sanctum, where she would sit
and smoke cigarette after cigarette.
! Feeling myself closely watched by
her. I returned the compliment, and
noticed that she would repair to the
office at those hours when the post
came in, and look over the clerks
shoulder at the letters he sorted. And
then 1t struck me that no missive ever
came addressed to her. although one
afternoon, happening to pass her room
at the moment the maid opened her
door, ] saw her deeply engaged in cor
respondepce, with several letters In
front of her.
The next morning. when Mile. Arco
left the hotel went out at the back
made quickly for the post office by an
other road, and hid myself behind the
hedge OF an empty cottage opposite
] saw her enter the post Office and
leave 1t few minutes later. She
looked up and down the road. and
nobody being in sight, she took q let
ter out OF her pocket, opened 1t. and
read 1t eagerly.
''Bah," said to myself, you are
not clever. my girl. A child could
have seen through your game. Nov
We shall have some fun"
That same evening after dinner rain
fell in torrents. and most of the guests
were In the drawing-room. A few were
indulging In harmless game o
cards; two girls were at the plano
singing sentimental songs. and Mile
Arco reclined In a rocking-chair, &
book In her lap. The count. a very re
served man. with whom ! had thu.
far exchanged only a few words. was
talking to retired naval oH;ssr who
had spent some years In Russia.
"Yes," heard the count say. eve
want thorough change. 1t is a dis
graceful state Of things. These grant
dukes"