South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-09-11

razors; and though this was not his
first thought. a fair disguise 1t
proved.
Rain at length interned the trav-
eler for three days IN a little place
called Meyrueis, long leagues re-
mote from railroads and the world
they stitch together.
Here (said Duchemin) nothing
can disturb me; and il is high time
for me to be considering what I am
10 make of the remainder Of my
days. Too many of them have been
wasted, too great a portion Of my
span has been sacrirced TO vanities.
Yet a little while and one must
bid adieu to that Youth which one
has so needlessly squandered. last
adieu 10 Youth with its days Of high
adventure. its carefree heart, its sus-
ceptibnity TO the infinite seductions
of Romance.
And for all this mood Of prema-
ture resignation TO the bourgeois
virtues Duchemin was glad enough
when his fourth day in Meyrueis
dawned fair, and by eight was up
and away. purposing a days tramp
10 Montpellier-le -Vieux concerning
which one heard curious tales.)
Long afternoon, sheer fools luck
led him 10 a hamlet whose mean
auberge served him bread and
cheese with a wine singularily thin
and acid.
The one able bodied man in evil
dence. a hulking, surly animal. on
learning that Duchemin wished 10
visit Montpellier-l e-Vieux. refused
with a growl 10 have anything to do
with him. Several times during the
course OF luncheon he caught the
fellow cycling him strangely. he
thought. from a window OF the au-
berge. In the end the peasant girl
who waited on him grudgingly con-
sented TO put him on his way.
He followed her directions. con-
tinued his long tramp and in the
silver and purple mystery Of per-
feet moonlight night found himself
looking down from hill top upon
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
Rumor had prepared him to
know the place when he saw IT,
nothing for its stupendous lunacy.
Heaven knows what CONFUSION or
measured process Of Nature accom-
plished this thing. For his part
Duchemin was unable 10 accept any
possible scientific explanation. and
will go to his grave believing that
some half-witted cyclops created
-Vieux in an hour Of
idleness, building him a play city
OF titanic monoliths. then wandered
away and forgot il altogether.
To his mind there was something
sinister IN the portentious immobili-
~ Of the place; In its silence, its
want of excuse for being, a sense of
age-old evil like an inarticulte men
ace
When abruptly a man moved from
behind a rock some 80 or 40 PAGES
ahead. Duchemin stopped short,
with tangled nerves and barely
smothered exclamation. Possibly a
shape OF spectral terror would have
been less startling; IN that weird
place and hour humanity seemed
more homogeneous than the super
natural
II was at once apparent that the
man had neither knowledge Of nor
concern with the stranger. For an
instant he stood with his back 10 the
latter. a stout body filling out too
well the uniform Of private soldier
IN the American Expeditionary
Fo-ces-that most ungainly. inutile
urbecCming costume that ever
Sraced the form OF man.
Then he half turned. beckoned
hastily 10 one invisible 20 the OBJ
server. and furtively moved on. AS
furtively his signal was answered
by a fellow who wore the monde
script garments OF a peasant And
as suddenly as they had come into
sight. the two slipped round
rocky shoulder. and the street OF
monoliths was empty