Mountain advocate., 1916-03-10
CHAPTER I.
T-cycr's.


Jungle of de streets, we'll withdrawn
wards of st. Cermlin and st. Michel,
and in It's day was restaurant IA
nous with fame jealousy guarded
by select circle OF patrons. It's
cooking was the h..t in rSris, It's eel
lar second to mono, its rates ridicu-
lously reasonable yet Baedeker knew
IL not. And in the wisdom of those
who did know this was well: II were
q pity to loose upon so excellent an
establishment those swarms of tour
lists that profane every temple of gas
,tronomy on the right bank of the
Seine.
Tho building was of three stories,
painted a dingy drab, and trimmed
with dull-green shutters. The restau-
rant occupied almost all of the street
front of the ground floor; blank. non
commital double doorway at one ex-
treme Of the plate.glass windows was
seldom open and even more seldom
noticed.
A medieval maze Of corridors, long
and short, complicated by many unex-
pected steps and staircascs and enig-
matte doors, running every which
way, and as a rule landing one in the
wrong room, linked together some
twoscorc bcdchambers. There were
no salons or reception rooms, there
was never bathroom there wasn't
tn
hallway taps, one to each story.
With such accommodations the
guests of Troycn's we're well content.
One did much as one pleased there,
providing ones bill was paid with to-
cradle regularity and the hand kept
supple that operated the Gordon in the
small hours of the night. Papa Troyon
came from a tribe OF innkeepers and
was liberal-minded; while rs for
madame, his wife, she cared for moth
ing but pieces Of gold.
To Troyon's on wet winter night
In the year 1898 came the child who,
as O man. was to call himself Michael
lanyard. He must have been four or
Ave years old at that time; an age at
which consciousness is just begin
ming to recognize it's individuality and
memory registers with capricious ir-
regularity. He arrived at the hotel
In a state of excitement involving an
almost abnormal sensitiveness to inn
pressions; but that was soon drowned
deep in dreamless slumber OF healthy
exhaustion; and when he came to
look back through a haze of days, OF
which each had made its separate and
imperative demand upon his budding
emotions, he found his store of mem
cries strangely dulled and disarticu-
late. And the child soon gave over
his instructive, but rather incOnsecu
tive, efforts to retrace his history
life at Troyon's furnished him with
compelling and celebrating interests.
Madame saw to that.
II was madame who took charge of
the child when the STRANGE man
dragged him crying from the cab
through a cold. damp place gloom
with shadows and upstairs to warm,
bright bedroom; o formidable BODY,
this madame, with cold eyes and
many hairy moles, who made odd
noises in her throat while she un.
dressed the little boy with the man
standing by. noises meant to sound
compassionate and maternal, but, to
The child at least, hopelessly other
wise.
Then drowsiness stealing upon one
over a pillow wet with tears-ob-
iivion.
And madame II was who ruled with
from hand the strange new world TO
which the boy awakened.
The man was gone by morning, and
the child never saw him again; but
inasmuch as those about him under
stood no English and he no French,
IL was some time before he compro-
hended the false assurances OF
madame that his father had gone ION
journey. but would presently return.
'ythe child knew positively that the
man was not his father, but when he
was able TO make this correction the
matter had faded into lnsignihcance--
life had become too painful to leave
time or inclination for the adjustment
Of such minor and incidental ques-
tons as that Of ones parentage.
The little boy soon learned to know
himself as Marcel, which wasn't HIS
name. and before long was unaware
hs had ever worn another. As he
rev older he became known as Mar
eel Troyon; but by then he had for
Guttsn how to speak English.
It IVES few days after his arrival
(hAs the warm. bright bedchamber
vas exchanged for a cold. dark closet
Woning on madame's boudoir. cup
nWsd furnished with rickety cot
"A Q broken chair, lacking any pro.
vlBon for heat or light and ventilated
pasly by Q trsnsom over the door; and
6nsmuch as madame shared the
onsA horror OF drafts and 90 kept
- hnnlstr harustieally scaled nias
- q ~ ysH, ~ kseasp aiaas