Evening star., 1921-04-17

I hC 10 Oil d6ChS VI ooA'S
| philanthropical society in
Paris"
Show him in." said Is. Blestat, fold
! ing up his newspaper.
| The servant ushered in tall. thin
| parsonage, unkempt and seedy look
ing.
Monsieur. I am honored," began the
visitor. taking a seat to which NJ
Blesat beckoned him. s'1t Is a charm
! ing house you have here-one Of the
| best in the city"
will you kindly let me know the
object Of your call?" M. Blestat in
Il shall do 50 with pleasure. You
are n. Theodor Blestate. merchant,
| widower. ffty-fve years Of age. faith
er Of a young man of twenty-eight.
M. Philippe. Don't be impatient. You
i shall dismiss the philanthropic socie-
ty. That was only q means of getting
| in to see you. 1 came for another pur-
pose. Your son. my dear monsieur.
The engagement dinner has already
! taken place A good alliance very
a fortune. influential relatives and
high social standing. M. Verralive is
a man of the old school. upright, con-
conservative. His life is as clear as
a crystal"
NJ. Blestat was a little bored.
II know NJ. Veralive's good qualities
as well as anybody"
would he think of your brother Au-
guste?"
M BLEsTAT almost jumped from
A'A' his seat. His face grew livid.
My dear monsieur. merely to see
you at this moment would end all
doubts" observed the visitor, with
infinite satisfaction.
The proposition which I am max
ing here" he resumed, 'is somewhat
your interest the circulation Of an
noying gossip. You will note, also.
that I am only an Intermediary. The
people who send me don't live here.
They live in Paris. Well. they have
known your brother. They know
escapades at Nantes and in Paris
and. then. the grand climax at Bor-
| deaux-his trial and his conviction.
That's long ago-twenty years. at
least. And he died down there. poor
| Auguste. before his prison term was
up. Yes. one might think that 1t
had all been forgotten. But there
are people who remember it. and
! they chose this moment to send me
here to say to you: Monster Bles-
! your brother was in Jail? Have you
! told him So?
That is the first point. Now. if
| NJ Verralive did know. would he
| allow his daughter to marry your
son? That is the second point. My
| very embarrassing for you. You
are honesty itself. You have lived
a blameless life. Your son is an
| exceptional young man. There is no
question about that. But we are
business bust snans, men dis, discussing ss busi-
| coming to. don't you? Now. don't
take the trouble to argue about it.
! The truth is written in your face.
Any one looking at you now could
tion is: How much will you offer us
! to suppress this scandal?' Quote
your figure and I will quote mine"
! There was long silence.
who are you?" asked M. Blestat.
II was a witness at poor Augustes
! spoken of you several times. Rightly
or wrongly. he thought that you had
| left him in the lurch. and he held that
| against you. 1t is self-understood
tation. he doesn't want to compromise
it.. But a brother is . brother. In
spite Of everything! Yes, I know that
you had a son and wanted to keep
+, all this hidden from him. And poor
Auguste had so little self-control.
| He was a flighty person. like myself
, You are perfectly normal. monsieur
| SO much the better for you. In
/ short, having been recently In strait
| ened circumstances. thought OF you.
| BY accident I learned that you were
/ a prominent merchant here. Some
| friends gave me their advice. We
! formed a little association, as. 1t
were. to exploit my idea They fur
J nished me the money to come here.
| So / came and made inquiries. II
| was lucky / arrived just before your
| sons marriage. That made things
| easier.
stI SEE. however. that you don't
| wish to name your own price.
| will tAll you ours-a hundred thou
sand flames. It's good figure. but