The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1921-02-18
the sick, and fighting the demon drink
which frequently assailed him.

! frightened horse from death. The man
proved to be John Brown, now become
a quack doctor and advertising his
nostrums by singing comic songs.
Charley, hiding behind some trees,
heard him telling the story of his old
friend Champagne Charley" All day
he had been fighting fierce battle
with raging thirst and questioning
himself about Rosalie. Could he mar
ry while his wife was still living?
Should he tell her all and let the law
separate him from Kathleen? But
Rosalie was Catholic and the
Church opposed divorce.
| Just then bottle of whisky fell
from the pocket of /, a drunken "habi-
tant" at his very feet. With an I'M
comfortable impulse he seized it and
drained it. 10 Portugais followed him
as he staggered home and Charley in
| his delfrium recognized him as the
murderer he had pleaded for. He
took 10 by the throat, then fell to
the floor. For five days 10 struggled
to save his life and then carried him
back to Vadrome Mountain. Rosalie
came to warn him that he was sus-
pected of stealing the gold vessels from
the Cathedral in Quebec and trying to
blow up Government House. She had
hardly finished speaking when the
cure, the seigneur and the Able Ros-
| signol entered with two constables.
The able charged Charley with the
theft, which he stoutly denied. 10
called the able aside and confessed
his crime in order to save his friend,
promising to give himself up at the
end of year. Meantime Charley took
a vial of laudanum from his pocket,
but as he was about to uncork it, Rosa
| lie sprang from behind a curtain cry
ing, eff You go, go also" Footsteps
were heard and he promised not to
take the poison. The able came to
announce that he believed Charley's
denial. His great temptation still re-
manned but he found help in Rosalie's
eyes. 1t was the first time he had
yielded to power outside himself.
The cure was planning to give the
Passion Play at the Indian Reserva-
ton of Four Mountains at Easter and
asked Charley to translate the Ger
man text and to make some drawings
for the costumes. He did so. About
this time Resale took her crippled
father to the hospital at Montreal and
was gone some months, which were
months of misery for Charley. What
could he do? He felt that itshad been
dastardly of him to win her love, when
he could give her only the empty hand,
the hopeless } hour, the secret sorrow
in return. He fought his old enemy
with desperate resolve.
The week before Easter he went to
Montreal with JOS dogs and sled. In
the dead of night he entered the white
hsAse on the hill where Kathleen was
living, made his way to secret cup
board and removed two packets; one
contained his mothers pearls worth
ten thousand dollars and the other a
thousand dollars in notes. As he turned
| after restoring the panel Kathleen
stood before him in her nightgown.
She was asleep. Charley followed her
as she walked out olthe house, across
the lawn towards the river where the
gate was open. Her life was in his
hands. For a moment he hesitated;
then noiselessly stole between her and
the gate, closed ard locked it. Her
husband, not fifty feet away, called to
him.
"Hushi She's asleep" Charley whis-
pered and disappeared, unrecognized.
Rosalie's father died soon after this
and she was i'll for weeks. The Pas
sion Play brought unweIcome crowds
to Chaudiere; the last three days
strangers were prohibited. At the
final performance Resale chose to
take the part of Marie Magdalen. Ut
was an act of expiration. After the
play ended she received absolution.)
Far away under the trees sat man
in misery Unreasonable. 1t was
Charley. That night he wrote for
long time; then put the paper with
the pearls and the money in the safe
That same night John Brown lay
drunk in the church. He lighted a
match and threw 1t on surplice. Soon
cries of Sire" were heard. Charley
and 10 saved the sacred treasures.
Rosalie went back for the little cross
and Charley dashed in and rescued
her.
By his eloquence the people were In
duced to give one fortieth of their
possessions for a new edifice. The
money collected was placed In his
charge and locked in his safe under
the parish seal. While he and 10
were keeping guard over 1t, Billy
Vantage, John Brown and three other
rogues, having learned where the
money was, entered the tailor's house
to steal 1t. Billy shot Charley, 10
killed Johr Brown, two of the other
men fired at 10 and killed him. The
sool NOS eor,rd into Oh RaraIia Lal.,oa