El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-11

that I should share with others
The woman interrupted eagerly.
''Ah. you are jealousr" she crioed.
I rs that why you are so cruel2 But
/ when I tell you I love you, and only
you. can you not feel it is the truthl'
The young man frowned unhappily.
MY duty, mademoiselie" he STAN
mered.
With an exclamation OF anger Marie
/ left him. AS the door slammed behind
! her the young man drew deep breath
/ On his face was the expression OF inef-
( fable relief.
companion. Bertha, now her aunt Mad
/ anne Benet-
Il heard you quarreiing." Bertha
( protested. TT is most indiscreet It
/ is not the part of the countess d'Auril-
| lac that she make love to her chauf-
Marie laughed noiselessly and drew
/ her farther down the hall He is i'm
I becile,' she exclaimed. He viii Kill
me with his solemn face and his con-
ceit. I make love to him-yes-that
he may work the more Willingly But
I he will have none of it. He is Jealous
! Of the others"
Madame Benet frowned.
He resents the others she cor
rected. 7 do not blame him. He is "A
gentleman
And the others" demanded Marie;
were they not of the most noble fam
. lilies of Rome?'
"T am old and ugly said Bertha.
but TO me Anfossi is always as con-
siderate as he is to you who are so
beautiful"
IAN italian gentleman" returned
Marie,' does not serve in the Belgian
Congo unless it is the choice of that
or the marble quarries."
7 do not know what his past may
be-" sighed Madame Benet. nor do
ask. He is only number. as you and
I are only numbers. And ! beg you 10
let US work in harmony At such a
time your love affairs threaten our
safety. You must wait"
Marie laughed insolently. With the
Du Barry" she protested. I can boast
that I wait for no man."
NO" replied the older woman; you
pursue HIM"
Marie would have answered sharply,
but on the instant her interest was d.
verted. For one week, by day and
night. she had lived in a world peopled
only by German soldiers. Beside her
in the railroad carriage. on the station
platforms, at the windows Of the trains
that passed the one in which she rode,
at the grade crossings. on the bridges
in the roads that paraueled the tracks
choking the streets Of the villages ana
spread over the fields OF grain, she
had seen only the green-gray uniforms
Even her professional eye no longer
distinguished regiment dragon from
grenadier. uhlan from hrssar or land
sturm Stripes, insignia. numerals,
badges of rank had lost their meaning.
Those who wore them no longer were
individuals They were not even hu-
man. During the three last days the
automobile. like a motorboat fighting
the tide had crept through q gray
green river OF men. stained, as tl. o3Ss,Il
from the banks by mud and yellow
clay. And Tor hours while the car
was blocked. and in fury the engine
raced and purred, the green gray river
had rolled past her, slowly but as IN
evitably as lava down the slope OF a
volcano, bearing on its surface faces
with staring eyes. thousands and thou
sands of eyes some fierce and blood
shot, others filled with WEAKNESS.
inconsistencies. pain. At night she sun
sweat and dust. the eyes dumb, mar
ticulate. asking the answer she had
been suffocated by German soldiers, by
the mass Of them engulfed and smoth-
cred; she had stifled in land inhao-
tied only by gTay-green ghosts
And suddenly. as though a miracle
had been wrought. she saw upon the
lawn. riding toward her. man IN
scarlet. blue and silver One man rid
ing alone.
alert: his reins fallen, his hands nur-
sing his carbine, his eyes searched the
shadows OF the trees, the empty win
dows. even the sun-swept sky. His
was the new face at the door. the new
step on the floor. And the spy knew
had she beheld an army corps il would
have been no more significant, no more
menacing than the solitary chasseur /
q cheval scouting in advance of the /
enemy.
I'VE are saved.- exclaimed Marie. |
with irony. go quickly" she COM |
manded. ito the bedroom on the sec J
ond floor that opens upon the stair |
case, so that you can see all who pass
You are too i'll to travel They must !
find you in bed
And your said Bertha.
Il" cried Marie rapturously, hasten /
to welcome our preserveri"
The preserver was a peasant lad. I
Under the white dust his cheeks were !
burned a brown-red, his eyes, honest /
and blue. through much staring at the |
skies and at horizon lines. were puck /
cred and encircied with tiny wrinkles
Responsibility had made him older 1
than his years. and in speech brief /
With q beautiful lady who with tears !
Of joy ran to greet him. and who in !
an ecstacy of happiness pressed her I
cheek against the nose of his horse. he /
was unimpressed- He returned TO her J
her paper and Eravely echoed her an
swers to his questions. This cha
teau." he REPEATED. was occupied by /
their general staff: they have left no
wounded here: you saw the last of /
them pass half an hour since He .
gathered up his reins.
Marie shrieked in alarm. You Will /
not leave us2"- she cried
For the first time the young man
permitted himself TO smile. Others
arrive soon," he said.
He touched his shake. wheeled his
horse in the direction from which he
had come, and a minute later Marie
heard the hoofs echoing through the
empty village
When they came. the others were
more sympathetic. Even in times Of
war q beautiful woman is still beau
tful woman And the staff officers
who moved into the quarters so lately (
by the enemy found in the
presence OF the countess dAurillac
nothing to distress them In the alb
sence of her dear friend. Madame Iver-
ney. the chatelaine of the chateau. she
acted as their hostess. Her chauffeur
showed the company cooks the way
TO the kitchen. the larder and the coal
box. She herself. in the hands of gen
sral Andre placed the keys of the IA
nous wine cellar. and to the surgeon,
that the wounded might be freshly
1andaged. intrusted those Of the linen
closet. After the indignities she had