Catoctin clarion., 1921-10-06
Pierre Rideau's
"Treachery"
10, 1921. Western Newspaper UniOh.)
BY CELIA ROSE


convent, straining her ears for the
sound of the owls hoot without. She,
had packed her few possessions in
bag; everything was ready for her
secret departure from the only home
that she had known during the past
eight years of her life.
Bereft of her mother at the age OF
twelve, her father, a wealthy manu-
facturer of Montreal, had placed her
in the care of the nuns of st. Anne.
True, twice year he had paid her
flying visit. 81,
SO the years had rolled by happily,
and then, ten months before, her fa-
ther had appeared some weeks before
he was due.
Helene" he said to her, you are
woman now and ready to take your
place in society. l have arranged a
wealthy marriage, for you"
Then he went on to tell her that
she was to marry Pierre Rideau, the
only son of his great business rival,
within year. His firm had been
forced into tight position, he con-
fessed, old Rideau held the trump
cards; nevertheless, Rideau was will
ing to make an alliance between the
two houses and thus convert enmity
into friendship. So it was all ar
ranged.
Then Helene burst into tears,
begged to be allowed to spend her life
in the convent that was so dear to
her, and finally Indignantly refused to
be bartered thus. Her father went
away in a fury.
That was three weeks before, and
now the last week of her stay at the
convent was drawing near. And mean-
while Il wonderful thing had happened,
so wonderful Helene could hardly con-
vince herself that it was true. She
was in love and she was loved.
1t had come about in the strangest
way. Helene had been gathering win
tergreen In the great forests, and sud
denly she had come upon young
man, bent on the same errand, In the
same path. And. seeing her, he ap-
preached respectfully and asked her to
direct him to theHPoint St Charles,
since he was lost. 1t turned out that
he was an artist from Quebec, and was
spending the late fall there, to re-
cover his health. Helene showed him,
| and when she had done so he must
needs walk back with her again.
SO they met again and again, Helene
reckless now, with her departure at
hand and he evidently falling more
and more deeply in love with her.
| And then one day he had been unable
| to restrain his emotions, and, falling
upon his knees, pressed her hands to
| his lips and covered them with kisses,
| and begged for permission to tell he,
| of the sentiments in his heart.
When she had timidly hidden him
arise and he, growing more bold, had
| taken her in his arms and kissed her,
| Helene, fateringly, told him her
| story.
"Why, that is easy he cried. Come
| with me and | will take thee on my
| sedge to Montreal. and there we will
| be married.
Then he made the proposition which
| bound her? he asked. Was not their
| love the mos precious thing in the
| world?
And suddenly, as she recalled this,
avn waited, half hoping half dreading,
| she heard the call Then she fastened
| the cord to the bed, as he had told
her, and, taking her little bag, she
Il II, ,nft
moment later desperately daring,
| Helene found herself swinging out into
| space and down to two arms up
| stretched to her.
Then, lying in his arms, all the past
became a blank to her.
At the bend of the road his sleigh
was waiting. Her lover placed her in
the sleigh and leaped in beside her, and
soon they were travelling merrily over
the frozen ground.
The forest ended; now they trav-
eled more swiftly. A delicious drowsi-
| ness overcame Helene.
She awoke with a start to find that
they were entering the suburbs of
large city. She had not even asked
where he was taking her until the
sleigh stopped at the door of a man.
sion, brilliantly lighted, set in a large
garden Then her lover leaped from
his seat and the bell pealed: the door
flew open and on the threshold her fa-
ther stood.
She sprang to the ground, terrified,
overcome with anguish at this treach-
cry. But, returning, her lover took her
! gently in his arms once more and
kissed her.
II am Pierre Rideau," he said.