Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-11-28

other a little lower down, hol-
lowed out sideways in the wall
and leading to one OF the rooms
to the keep.
AT Tancarvillc this second
opening is nowadays closed with
a grating. Here it was walled
up with a layer of small stones
and plaster. And it was just the
recollection of Tancarville that
made mo stay, all the more as
there was no hurry, since You had
had the kindness to inform me
that Florence would not join me
in the next world until four
o'clock. ! therefore inspected my
refuge and soon realized that, as
| had already felt by intuition,
it was the foundation of a luild-
ing which had the garden laid out
Oh it's ruins.
We'll, | went on, cropping my
way and following the direction
which, above ground, would have
taken me to the grotto. My pre-
sentiments We're not deceived. a
CLEAN of daylight made its way at
the top of a staircase of which |
had struck the bottom step. I
went up it and heard the sound of
your voice."
Don Luis turned the cripple
over and over and was pretty
rough about it. Then he resumed:
81 wish to impress upon you,
my dear sir, that the upshot
would have been exactly similar
if | had attacked you directly
and from the start in the open air.
But, having said this, l confess
that chance favored me to some
purpose. 1t has often failed me,
in the course of our struggle, but
this time | had no cause to COM
plain.
81 felt myself in such luck that
[ never doubted for a second that,
having found the entrance to the
subterranean passage, | should
also find the way cut. AS a mat
ter of fact, l had only to pull
gently at the slight obstacle of a
few stacked bricks which hid the
opening in order to make my
exit amid the remains of the
castle keep.
"Guided by the sound of vour
voice, l slipped through the
stones and thus reached the back
of the grotto in which Florence
lay. Amusing, wasn't it?
"You can imagine what fun
it was to hear you make your
little speeches: Answer me, yes
or no Florence. A movement of
your head will decide your fate.
If it's yes, l shall release you. If
it's no, you shall die. Answer
me, Florence! A sign of your
head: is the answer yes or nor
And the end, above all, was delic-
ious, when you scrambled to the
top Of the grotto and started
roaring from up there: Its you
who have asked to die, Flor
cnce. You asked for it and
you've got it!'
"Just think what a joke it was:
at that moment there was no one
in the grotto! Not a soul! With
one effort, / had drawn Florence
toward me and put her under
shelter. And all that you we're
able to crush with your avalanche
of rocks was one or two spiders,
perhaps, and a few flies doing
on the flagstones.
"The trick was done and the
farce was nearly finished. Act
first: Arsene Lupin saved. Act
second: Florence Levasseur
saved. Act third and last: the
monster vanquished alb
solutely and with a vengeance!"
Don Luis stood up and con-
tcmplated his work with q sat
isfied eye.
"You look like a sausage, my
Ison!" he cried, yielding at last to
his sarcastic nature and his habit
of treating his enemies familiarly.
"a regular sausage! A bit on
the thin side, perhaps: a saveloy
for poor people! But there, you
don't much care what you look