The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-04-19

ME- l lGi lin 81, d4O 81 AuiShs
say to him, va vitel'" Clarisse told it
IN vim Of pride, but Constance took
up the story with a sighting glance.
ME" she said, 81 tell him I t'ink
he's crazee. / say to him, 'Tu parles
CONNIE un homme insease.,"
The other girls drew breaths of adj
miration-all save Esperance. who
raised her pretty head with disdain
and said:
Huh! / talk him sharp. me. I say,
wa vite. | know you c~razee."
At this the girls who had previously
spoken turned in a hurry o. Mathilde,
the gentle little scapegoat of the
school.
"Et tot, what are you going to say.
Mathilde, when das crazee Michel
come to see your"
"Ch," MathiIde cried, scared at the
thought Of it, Il don't reckon he's go
ing come see me. maybe"
But yes, he's going come see you,s
Constance declared, and Clarisse put
In ~pitilessly:
"Ha, you think das crazee Michel
amt going come in middle OF night
and sit in fower-bed under your yin
dow an cry and ask you make him
coffee so he won't have headache to-
morrow. Amt he start at head of
bayou and go down? First he com to
my house, den to Constance, den to
Esperance.
"Next time he get drunk he's going
to FeIicie Saunterre. And den, you
sea. Next time he win come to you.
Ha, Mathilde, If you t'fnk he amt ever
going come cry in YOU garden you're
crazee as Michel is.*
Clarisee was so Indignant that her
mates thought 1t best to soothe her
and so cried in a chorus.
"He,s crazee."
1Mais, oui! He's crazee Ali de
bayou say das."
And, indeed, this was the verdict
that the kindly folk on Bayou Bien-
vieu had at last been forced to render.
When Michel Lireau first came
among them with a nice bunch Of cat
tie and a slick team the bayou folk
had pronounced him . fine straight
chap and joyously offered him the
glad hand. All the messieurs found
his farming thrifty. all the mesdames
found his manner perfect. and all the
girls bought new ribbons to wear be-
cause of his handsome face. No boys
horse was more admired; no boys
laugh was better liked than Michel
Lireaa's until that first dance sent
him sobbing at midnight to sit in the
fower-bed under Clarisse's window
and beg for coffee.
Even then the bayou. knowing well
the effect Of anisette, excused his con
Glct saying:
"He was drunk maybe?"
But when the next dance sent
Michel to sob under Constance's win
dow nothing could be said. And when
the end Of the third dance found him
sobbing and pleading with Els. GRANGE
the verdict fell-had to fall.
If he had gone to the same flower
bed every time the bayou could have
understood 1t. But to go to a different
one each time-not even being drunk
would excuse a mar for doing that.
There were moments when Mathilde
in her praying had dreams Of hope.
When she saw Michel so straight in
the saddle cantering across the coun-
try to drive up his steers, or going,
whistling blithely, with his loaded
team to the mill, at such times she
wondered If 1t could be true what the
girls said--if any man SO glad and
good to look upon could really do
such crazy things.
Maybe dose girls tell II worse dan
tits. / hope, das, me-"
But her hope was destined to go the
way of all fond d%elusions. For one
fair moonlight night Mathilde was
awakened by the sound OF o heavy
sob, and her heart went wild at the
sound of 1t. The crazy Michel had
come. He was out there among the
faaf o'clocks under her window. Ma
thilde knew 1t because the broken
blossoms were pouring out their per-
fume.
Another SOB. and another, heavy
hea~rtDroken- But no, the girls ndu NOV
told It worse than 1t was.
A choked voice began to plead:
make me some coffee. sill yous
plait. Dere amt nobody in my house
to make me some and tomorrow | will
have NAL de tete. Make me some
coffee. sill vous plat"
Mathilde caught her breath and
held it. The crazy Michel pleaded on.
MAKE me some coffee. mol va yoire
NAL de tete. Make me some coffee.
Dere amt nobody in my house to
make me some Ale pitie de mol"
and then the sobbing. broken and pitt
full. began again.
Mathilde's hands shut out the pain
Oh. but no. The girls had not told at
all how bad It was. 1t was terrible TO
hear the big strong man sobbing like
that all By himself. And 1t was true
what he said. There was nobody In
his house TO make coffee for him
s9'A vous plait," pleaded the voice
from among the four c'clocks; "su
vana rlafkS