The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-04-07
CHAPTER XvII-Continued

''Then," La Perouse continued in
Spanish, sit was surprise to find
such luxury in your palais de adobe.
1t was a surprise to find such wine
and such brandy as this, and" rails
ing his glass to La Gobernadora,
-'it was surprise and great pleas
ure to find the palais, or perhaps
should say the hotel de vile with
such a chatelaine! Such grace, and
If I may be pardoned for speaking
so frankly, such beauty, such ele-
gance could scarcely be found in
the court of Louis XVI himself, or
of your own sovereign, Charles of
Spain! But to find it here! Madame!
But of course you know how fortu-
nate you are, Monsieur lie Gouver-
neur, to have how do you call
her, La Gobernadora? here in
the wilderness with you! l envy you,
parbleu, I do. You are like the
first man and the first woman, Adj
am and Eve, in this Paradise; your
life here must be perpetual honey
moon!"
Eulalia smiled, with sidelong
glances at the two Frenchmen. She
studied them carefully. Such f.
nesse! Such fine clothes! And from
those curled perukes she was sure
there came a faint perfume, very
faint to be sure, and very mascu-
line, but unmistakable. Those neat
breeches, and buckled shoes.
She studied her husband. Why had
she not trimmed his beard that day?
And why had she not insisted that
he come and change his clothes
before the distinguished Frenchmen
came ashore? That leather jacket,
and those stained leather breeches
dusty boots. She shuddered.
Ugh, and that faint odor of horses
that chung around him always. She
sighed deeply.
'Yes," La Perouse was saying to
the Governor, ''we have with us on
this expedition astronomers, philoso-
pliers, meteorologiSts, watchmakers,
photographers, every sort of scien-
fist you can imagine. With your
permission we will make a camp
near here, and set up laboratory.
There are many things here we
wish to study, as well as the In
dams, their habits, physical charac-
teristics, and religions.
Eulalia saw her husband lean for
ward eagerly, with the expression
on his face that told her he would
soon launch into a lengthy, and to
her, uninteresting discourse on his
favorite subject, California. She
looked at young Dagelet, brooding
before the fire, untouched by the
spate of unfamiliar Spanish that
flowed around him. She moved
closer.
''You are very quiet, Monsieur. I"
Dagelet started.
81 am at a disadvantage, Ma
dame, because of my ignorance of
your language. But you speak mine
so beautifully it would be a charity
on your part to talk with me-"
''What can I say? have nothing
to tell. There is nothing to talk
about in this God-forsaken and lone
~ country. And I have been here so
long that I can hardly remember
what the world my world {.
is like. Tell mel" she demanded
eagerly.
At the emotion in her voice Dage-
let leaned toward her and spoke
softly.
81 can hardly imagine, Madame,
that you are out of touch with the
world. One would not believe it to
look at you. But what shall I tell
you? Of politics? Wars and rumors
of wars? The theater? Opera? Cos
sip? Scandal?"
The lady's eyes sparkled, and her
lips curved in an enchanted smile.
"Gossip!" she demanded. "Scan-
dali"
So while Pedro FACES and the
Comte de La Perouse talked of stars
and tides, flora and fauna, horses
and ships and men, La Gobernadora
and young Dagelet talked of modes
and manners, the gayest whim OF
the Queen of France, the newest
actress to set Paris by the ears,
the brightest songbird to be the toast
Of the jeunesse dore.
az am sorry I can tell you nothing
of your own city, Barcelona, Ma
dame, but hope Paris interests
you"
"Ah, Paris! I have been therel ]
love the place :"
Every woman does. Every wit.
ty, charming lovely woman any.
where in the world" dared Dagelet
$50 you have enjoyed my gossip
my news? Remember, it is not real
Iy news, for we have been nearly g
year on this cruise since we sailed
from France"
Eulalia raised melancholy eyes to
him. "But you are going back to
your country, your beloved Paris,
some time. But /, I never shall re.
turn to my home. / shall die here
some day, and be buried in the mis-
sion graveyard, and forgotten, with
out ever really having lived" Tears
were IN her voice, and very near
her eyes. Dagelet stirred toward
her as though to touch the hand
that lay so close to him, with palm
upturned appealingly.
"Ah, no, Madame! Do not speak
sol There must be some hope that
you will. 1t would be wicked for you
to waste your life in rough out
post like this, place fit only fol
men, and strong men, used to dan
ger! Why do you stay?"
Eulalia was about to speak, bu
noticed the young mans eyes stray
ING from her suddenly IndiZuels