Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-08-22

drivfnE a truck in his own fathers fac
They continue to live happily for sew
eral months.
Then one day when driving his motor
truck down Fifth avenu Anthony again
meets Mrs. Masterson.
+, CHAPTER NJ.
THE GLOWING HEARTH.
Christened Noel. in honor of the
and grew toward young doghood in a
household atmosphere Of serene con-
tent. From Christmas to Easter the
days flowed by in an untroubled cur
rent of time. Day after day, Anthony
and Elsie Adriance grew into closer
and fuller companionship. The win
ter was a hard and long one but
never dull to them.
They found so much to do. In re-
turn for his reading to her, Elsie
sometimes put out the lamp and in
the Pickering freight told him quaint,
grotesque legends of Creole and negro
lore. Her soft accents fell naturally
into patois; she was a born mimic,
and interspersed fragments of plain
tive songs, old as the tragedy of
slavery OF the romance of a pre- Ma
poleonic France. Her voice could be
drowsy rs sunshine on a still lagoon.
or instinct with life as the ring of a
marching regiments tread. .
She taught him to play chess. too.
with a wonderful set of jade-and-ivory
men produced from among her few
belongings.
DC o know these must be
mighty valuahle?" Adriance exclain-
ed. the first time he saw them.
II know they are mighty old" she
Knocked his seriousness. And l
wouldn't sell them. 50 the rest doesn't
matter"
Tell me about them
There is nothing very definite to
from the corner of a laughing eye
Can you bear the shock of hearing
that one of your wife's ancestors was
suspected of having secret relations
with the notorious LaFitte?
Who was he?"
"LaFitte was a pirate and freeboot-
er. sir, who had a stronghold below
New Orleans. where the mouth of the
Mississippi widens into the Gulf.
Many a ship paid toll to him, many
curious prizes fell into his greedy
hands; and it was whispered that
some Of these strange. foreign things
mysteriously appeared in the house Of
Martin GalveZ. Negroes were heard
to tell with breath hushed and eyes
rolling. of a swNt-saiiingN sloop, black
of hull and rugged in black canvas,
lines. and all. 1t slipped up the river
at midnight and down again before
dawn. past all defences. they said
and its point of landing, was Colonel
Galvez's wharf, ten miles above the
city. No n ever knew more than a
rumcr that ran untraced like : the
black sloop. But it was said the
ivory-and-jade .chessmen had travelled
by that craft. as had g~reat-great-
grandmother's string OF pink pearls
which are painted around her neck in
her portrait. Loud and often her hus-
ban laughed at the tales, inviting all
who chose to watch his wharf be-
tween sunset and sunrise. any night.
The chessmen. he declared were pre-
scented to him by a prince Of Cairo.
whose enemies had betrayed him in
to the hands of a slave-trader. The
Egyptian mobiles dark skin and ignor-
ance of Western speech had made
him a helpless victim: he, faced the
final degradation of the lash when
Colonel Galvez saw and rescued him.
His gratitude sent h pretty play
things. AS for the pink pearls, they
came from Vienna, by lawful pur-
chase. At least, so the worthy
Colonel was fond of relating, with a
convincing detail. " his incom-
parable French wines and Havana
cigars
But. what was truth? Which. I
mean?" he questioned.
She shut her eyes in droll disclaim-
How should I know? The pink
pearls disappeared before Josephine
Galvez married Fairfax Murray. sixty
years Ago.. The chessmen are dumb.
But l know OF many an old toy from
overseas. around u house still.
Nothing Of great value! We are as
poor as ecclesia stical mice; the family
wealth long ago fled down the wind
on the black sails OF il-luck. Yes. the
Murrays usually held poo hands at
cards. Will you move first, or shall
II"
l., You" he invited. He looked at
her with curiosity. why didn't you
tell me before that you were a prin-
cess in disguise? / new knew you
a an ancestor on record, and here
you have a procession Of them.
You're a funny girl"
J If you don't like me,
Why do you why do you
Why do you stay around?
She sang the very modern verse to
him with q ,mockery altogether tan
talizing; and he upset all the chess
board in answering her properly.
Little by little he learned a great
deal about her home; which, he dis
covered, had once been the vertiable
home Of the punctilious Matt Raoul
Galvez Of surprising memory. He
made acquaintance with her parents
and her sisters, as Elsie brought be-
fore him a living simulacra Of each
one with her magician like arts Of de-
scription and mimicry. There were
five sisters. it appeared: Lee, Rob-
erta, yirsiniR, Clotilda and Nicolette.