Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-08-18
By
HBedfordJOneS
illustrations by
Irwin Myers

/
II don't care to have you offer any
reflections on my actions Maillard.
said Gramont evenly. "My course IL
this matter is perfectly open and aboV'
board. which is more than you can say
for your doings."
-What?" Maillard clenched nr
stick and took a forward step, anger
working in his face. "What the devil
d'you meant"
Exactly what 1 say-and perhaps l
can prove it. Remember the oil con-
Germ to which you persuaded your
precious father to sell some of Miss
Ledanois Bayou land? Remember the
real estate company to which you per-
suaded him to sell her st. Landry par
ish property? You had interests in
both concerns; l don't imagine you'd
care to have your share in those trans
actions exposed. Further, l entirely
understand your Indignation over my
getting rid Of this stock before the
crash, and 1t i'll becomes you to assume
any such attitude"
Maillard glared at him for long
moment, a red tide of rage flooding
and ebbing from his heavy counte-
nance. Then, mastering himself he
turned away without further speech.
Leaving Hammond to take the car
home. Gramont headed for Canal
street to mingle with the carnival
crowd and revel in his new-found
sense of freedom. Now that he was
his own master, he felt like a new
man. With a boyish abandon he
tramped the streets merrily, exchang-
ing jests and confetti, shoves and
bladder-blowS laughs and kisses. Mad
ness and reckless gayety were in the
very air, and Gramont drank deep Of
these youthful tonics. When at last
he wandered home to his pension, he
was footsOre, weary, disarranged and
tousled-and very happy. The wine
of human comradeshtp is good wine.
That evening the Comus ball, the
most exclusive revel of the most eX-
elusive aristocracy of the southland,
crowded the edifice in which it was
held to capacity. Here evening dress
was prescribed for all the guests The
Krewe of Comus alone were masked
and costumed, in grotesqEe and mag
nifcent costumes which had been In
the making for months The Krewe
is to the South what the Bohemian
club is to the western coast, with the
added enhancement of mystery.
Despite the revels of the Krewe,
however-despite the glittering jewels,
the barbaric costumes, the music, the
excitement-an indefnable air of re-
gret, almost of sadness, pervaded the
entire gathering. This feeling was
something to be Sensed, rather than
observed definitely. Some said, after
ward, that it was a premonition of
the terrible event that was to happen
this night Wrong! 1t was because,
for the first time In many generations,
the Comus ball was held in one of the
newer public buildings instead of in
its accustomed place. Everyone was
speaking of it Even Maillard the
banker, that cold man of dollars. spoke
uneasily of it when Gramont encoun-
tered him In the smoking room.
TT doesn't seem like Comus," said
Maillard, with a vexed frown. "And
to think that we had just finished re-
decorating the opera house when 1t
was burned down Comus will never
be the same again."
II didn't know you could feel such
emotion for a ruined building, Mail
lard" said Gramont, lightly. The
banker shrugged a trifie.
Emotion? No. Regret! None of
US, who has been brought up in the
traditions of the city, but regarded
the French Opera house as the center
of all our storied life. You can't IN
derstand it, Gramont; no outsider
can. By the way, you haven't seen
Bob? He's in costume, but he might
have spoken to you"
Gramont answered in the negative,
with slight surprise at the question.
1t was not long before he came to
comprehend more fully just what the
loss Of the old French Opera house
meant to the assembly. He heard COM
parsons made on every hand, regret
full illusions, sighs for the days that
were no more.
This present building. to be sure,
was one of the city's finest, up to date
in every way, with an abundance of
room-and yet everyone said that Co
mus would never be the same. About
the opera house had clung the romance
of many generations. About it, too,
had clung the affections Of the people
with fierceness beyond reason. More
famous buildings had been allowed to
go to ruin, like the Hotel Royale, but
the opera house had been kept in re-
pair for Mardi Gras. 1t was Itself
a landmark. Nothing else would ever
be like it.
From his seat in the Lavergne box
Gramont contented himself during tie
early evening with the common role
of all the ''blackcoats"-th of look
ing ON idly. More than once he saw
Lucie Ledanois called out, among 9TH