The Washington times., 1937-12-07

~ ACA 44A4AA T" OWN NSNAs
So Liselotte, eager to please and
to furnish her mind, went into
service near Lausanne, at river
side inn. 1t was there I met her
and had occasion to wonder at
her aniable stolidity and COM
plete lack of brain cells.
The move proved Intellectual,
for the innkeeper himself was a
German Swiss and liked to be sur
rounded by his own nationals.
Charles shook his head moodily
remarked to me that Liselotte was
"Une brave file. Madame, mais
bete :" and asked my help and
advice.
NEW JOB
Liselotte, thanks to my timely
intervention, was soon established
as a chambermaid at the Hotel du
Palais, in Ouchy, and settle down
to making the most of her oppor-
tunities.
Now it happened that Rose and
Kurt Won Attersbach lived at the
Hotel du Palais and that Rose her
self was French. It was one of
those tragic mixed marriages,
which put the respective partners
into such dramatic dilemnas dur
ing the war.
Kurt-a gentleman if ever there
was one-had been in business in
France for years, and, at the out
break of hoStilities, had delayed
just too long in the country which
he considered as his second
Fatherland.
He had been interned, and
later, released on parole, with the
stipulation that he would make
his home, for "the duration" in
French Switzerland.
He took his position seriously
and refrained from having any
dealings at all with his own ma
tionalS.
Not so Rose, however: The fact
that, though a Frenchwoman,
she had been treated as an enemy
alien, ranked, and she never let
an occasion pass when she could
voice her hostility toward her
own country.
Liselotte had, in a sense, at
tache herself to Rose an the lat
ter, amused by her efforts to
learn French, wasted a good deal
of time in teaching her absurdi-
ties, just for a joke.
Meanwhile, once more, there
were important leakages from the
French front and the service was
working overtime, trying to trace
them.
It was on one of my periodical
jauntS to Lausanne that I gave
Liselotte her hearts desire and
took her to tea to the famous
Nyffennegger patisserie on the
Rue st. Francois.
COURAGEOUS ACT
This took, to say the least,
some courage on my part, for
Liselotte did not quite fit the sur
roundings.
I piloted my charge into a cor
ner, provided her with all the
cakes she wanted and began a
laboriouS conversation.
It had to do with her French
studies, Of course, but, while at
first I had listened absent-mind-
edly, letting her run on in her
pidgin English, interspersed with
long periods in Schwiezer Deutsch,
which I understood imperfectly,
I suddenly began to. take notice.
What do you mean, Liselotte,"
I asked, you have stolen letters
from the Frau Grafin's writing
desk? Whatever prompted you to
do So?"
How was I to know, gnadige
Frau?" she answered Sullenly.
"The Frau Grafin receives many
letters and when I once asked her,
she told me they were love letters.
"Well, I wish to learn French and
I also wish to write love letters in
French to Charles, to surprise
him. thought-if studied those
letterS-I might copy some beauti-
full sentences . . And they are not
love letters at all-nothing I
can understand-figures and such
things" she added petulantly,
"and the Frau Grafin has locked
her desk and carries the key on a
chain around her neck and 1 can.
not put them back-and I do not
know what to do-and I am fright
ened-Herrgott, how frightened
I ami"
STRANGE BEING
shivered with apprehension.
Good God, what was Rose up to?
She was such a strange being,
bitter, vindictive, in spite of her
seductiveness; so moody lately, too
... Was it possible -?
Listen, LiSelotte. you give me
those letters. shall make it all
right for you. Remember, you are
never to breathe a word of the
whole affair. You know nothing
you have done nothing. Forget
all about it.
Come now, I shall buy you a
book Of French letters and you
may concoct a letter for Charles
out of that. I'll help you"
With surprising cunning, she
extracted a bundle of papers out
of her bag and passed them on
to me under the table. I crammed
the pages into my own bag and
called for the bill.
Later, having disposed of Lise
lotte, I sought the seclusion OF