Woman's enterprise., 1922-10-27

inoFroT-s'rIcheH lace; unlike tne ia
zling, defiant Cleopatra, Of an no,
ago, clinging to her husbands arr
whose pale lips hurled at her, low, d
nunciatory terms in his own lal
cuage. Jean Dalcourt stunned, ar
kaggard, stood looking after tt
Mexican and his wife, as they turne
and went up the walk, the woma
weeping violently. l tell you, Pau
my friend, had not the courage
look at Adele's face, lest l shoul
read the dawning Of the truth in he
eyes,"
| had drawn close beside tn
speaker, who spoke hurriedly, as tn
memory Of that evening came upo
him, and as he pasued, stirred b
strong emotion, I whispered, "Wha
|then?"
Il left her there with him, an
only Heaven knows what passed be
tween them. Two days later we bur
|ried Jean Dalcourt in the old St. Loui
Cemetery. The Mexican's bullet kt
a hole above his left temple"
He arose and paced up and dow
the room; I felt a sense of suffoca
ton, and leaned out of the window
My hand accidentally touched that 0
"Cassius"; his skeleton fingers wer
not colder than mine, and l started a
the contact, as if I had been his mur
derer.
After my guest had departed, an,
/ had recovered from the shock &C
casioned by this unexpected identi
cation Of the skeleton hanging by m.
study window. sat for hours, evolv
ing plans for restoring the skeleton
Ct Jean Dalcourt to its rightful rest
ing place.
l dared not confide my secret t.
any one, not even to my old friend
Frank Chretien. l lacked the mora
courage to say "Here is the morta
remains Of Jean Dalcourt of whom
you were speaking, see the bullet hole
in the skull" 1t was all too horrible
Why had l been selected to undergo
such an unusual experience? Poo,
What sad commentary
upon human ambition and human
love. He seemed a living presence
that night. "What Of Adele, where
IS she now" I asked in a whisper
as if the lifeless frome could hear
and understand. The perfume OF
lowers came through the open win.
low; a breeze sprang up from the
East-it was nearing dawn-and
rushed in with q sudden gust.
The bony arms Of Cassius ratified
against the easement, as if in answer
o my query: what Of Adele?"
I regretted that I had not asked
frank Chretien concerning her fate,
md intended to inquire when I next
'aw him, but the summer with its
days and oppressive
lights had settled heavy upon New
Orleans, and the people were leaving
]aily for sooler climes, and my friend
lad gone with these birds Of passage,
md would not return till the Autumn
The heat made inaction almost com.
pulsory for several weeks, and the
matter Of returning the skeleton, was
in abeyance. had almost determin.
ed to leave the City and go abroad
hoping that change Of scene would
relieve the nervous tension-the feel.
ing Of morbid oppression that pos.
sessed me, but I had among my few
patients, case which detained me
Each day passed with nothing to marl
it, excepting the time spent at my
study window, overlooking the Con-
vent garden. During this sultry
weather, the nuns of Saint Esprit
spent the long twilight Of each day
in the garden. I could hear the;,
voices sometimes reciting the Litany
or at other times joining in hymns
and I had learned to single out th<
slim, graceful figrue Of Sister 1g
natius among the black robed host
I did not know how much her pres
ence meant to me, until one breath
less night in August. Not q lea
quivered, and everything in nature
seemed exhausted. Now and then
the skies famed with "sheet light
ming, looking as If the golden gate
had been held ajar a moment to ad
nit a soul. The dragon flies, in thei
trappings Of silver and black, wer
the only things astir, and they seem
ed less voracious than usual, as
kept watch with "Cassius", and Sis
ter Ignatius failed to come to te
her rosary among the flowers. I gre,
impatient, and experienced tremo
Of anxiety and fear, as questione
IF she would never come again !?
o~1 rpror, o~~r,, ,,,;41 ~.,,eo1> hono,,c