Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1915 — Page 2

CHAPTER Xl—Continued. I scooped over Mm and pressed my lips to his forehead. I felt no longer any revulsion from this pitiful human being whose span was nearly run. I could see by the ashen pallor that spread over his face that the end was almost come. "I forgive you freely," X answered. He smiled weakly, and, closing his eyes, lay hack, his hand still bolding In a minute more he had sunk Into unconsciousness. I sat there long; I lost all sense of time; I did not even realise that the anchor was weighed and that we were setting out to sea, nor did I hear the ominous splashes in the sea that marked the burial of the dead. I sat there till the grasp suddenly relaxed and the eyes opened. Then I left the cabin forever and went up on the deck. I looked around me at the waste of | waters over which we were speeding. I saw the silent man at the wheel. I heard the wind creak through the cordage ; and in a sudden outburst of tears I found relief. Dawn was breaking in the east, and down in my soul. Too long I had been perplexed and harassed by this nightmare of circumstance; new my thoughts turned from the dead to the living, from Leopold to my lover. All the next day we raced northward across the Mediterranean until, late in the afternoon, land upheaved itself across our bows, and I saw the wooded promontory of Bon Martin, with the white houses of the village nestling beneath the cliff. But the helmsman twisted Ms wheel and we veered away, running parallel with a white beach until we cast anchor not fifty yards from a low and desolate shore. They had not spoken a word to me. these silent men. Whoever they were, of whence they came, I was never to learn. Now one of them let down the short rope ladder, and, standing on the bottom step indicated that I should follow him. At first his actions alarmed me. Was it his purpose to cast me into the blue water? But a moment later I was reassured by an unmistakable sign; he wished me to mount upon his shoulders so that he could wade ashore with

Stooped Over Him and Pressed My Lips to His Forehead.

dm. And in proof of his intention, he sprang into the sea, which did not reach higher than his armpits. Clearly this was the edge of a ehoal; and, doubtless, the yacht had put In here to avoid notice. With some misgivings, I obeyed, and. clasping me tightly, the sailor waded ashore until he had deposited me high and dry above the sweep of the waves. Then, with a sweep of his cap, he was gone, and 1 stood upon the beach watching him. He waded back and clambered aboard again. A moment later 1 heard the creak of the windlass, saw the anchor rise heavily out of the sea. There was a column of black smoke at the top of the funnel, the yacht began to back, swung around, and put out to sea once more. I watched her till she was no more than a speck upon the hoiicon. Then, as if in a dream, I started along the beach in the direction of Bon Martin. As I trod the soil of Prance again my heart leaped in my veins with ecstasy. For in my dress, secure, I held* my bonds and Leopold’s confession. And in my hand, I held the money that he had left me. I felt no shame in taking it; it would play its part in releasing Charles and it was all the reparation that Leopold could make. And this Was Wednesday evening! I should arrive days and days ahead of necessity. For J could reach Paris by Friday morning, which left me three whole days before the trial began. After half a mile of tramping over the clogging sands 1 began to pass fishermen’s cottages; then the white houses of the residents appeared, strung out under the qliff, and the sand yielded to a firm road. Not far ahead of me I saw a little railway station. thMßrtrehoy scampered along toward *|i M MMra T itODned him and DUTAw IvV j MUSAr-Wc# W* «*=_ A "T” JwJßrT'r*. , • AT, J chased one, bidding him keep the tXjLyu..- v-

ANNE IVES:MASCOT

H.M. EGBERT

* ILLUSTRATIONS BY O.IRWIN MYERS

(cOPYRtGM T ISIS W.G CHAP MAN)

change of the franc I handed him. Feverishly I opened 1L A moment later 1 was staggering like a drunken woman. For, in the large, black headlines before my eyes I read the fate of Charles, and the uselessness of‘my Journey. The trial was to take place on Friday morning. The government had hastened it by three days, to appease the outcries of the press and save the ministry. For, if I had left public feeling against Charles at red-hot heat, it was now white-heat and incandescent. "By FTiday evening the traitor must be on his way to perpetual exile on the Devil's Island, or the government falls," was the terse telegraphic summary of the Paris correspondent What would I not have given now for the aeroplane that lay, a wreck of metal and wood, in Scouto market place! "As for the female spy, who was released on bail,” the message continued, "it is now believed that the woman who flew through France and evaded the authorities in so sensational a manner upon the Monaco frontier and at other places, was not she, but merely a notoriety seeker. It is said, on trustworthy report, that the spy has fled to Belgium, to Join her lover, an ex-officer of the German army, and has already placed herself outside the reach of the law.” I smiled weakly at this wildest of all rumors. Then I set off hot-footed. Five minutes later, breathless, with tumbling hair, I was interviewing the station master, at Bon Martin. “A special train to Paris, madame!” he ejaculated, when he had recovered from his astonishment. "It is impossible. It would cost you six thousand francs. It would disorganize the traffic over the entire system. Beside®, no special train could reach the capital by Thursday morning. If you should take the night local to Marseilles and make the Thursday morning express, it would land you there by eight a. m. on Friday. "But Friday will be too late," I cried, thrusting down the money upon the table of his office. "Here are seven thousand francs. Take them —only give me a (rain. You do not comprehend, monsieur; it is a matter of life or death.” t He rose, perplexed, and scratched his head. * "I don't see how it can be done," he faltered. "Under-.ordinary circumstances I could give you a special to Marseilles, where you could make your own arrangements, but unfortunately —why, the ex-Empress Eugenie comes from Nice tonight, and traffic mußt wait for her.”

I glanced at him in dumb despair. Then my gaze wandered to. a great map of the southern railroads of France, suspended from the wall, and an Idea occurred to me. 1 walked over and placed my finger on It. “But why not go through Lyon?” I aßked ' He came over Uo me and followed the tracing of my finger. “Why, yee, mademoiselle, I could give you a clear road to Lyon,” he answered. “But there you would have to wait for the express from Geneva, which has precedence of all traffic, for his excellency the president of the Swißß republic makes a ceremonial visit to Paris and —' * “And traffic must wait for him,” I ejaculated bitterly. “Exactly, madame," he answered, beaming. “Your perspicacity Is like that of a man. lam sorry, but—” “Give me a special train to Lyon,” I interrupted brusquely. “But it will do you no good, madame," faltered the station master Then his glance fell upon the money; he shrugged his shoulders, looked at me whimsically as though it were Useless to interpose further objections to my foolish whim, and became all at once the man of action. “It shall be ready in fifteen minutes,” he answered. “But, madame, the authorities will certainly not permit any special to follow his excellency, the president, for several hours.” I made no answer but paced the station platform while the lumbering engine reversed itself upon the turntable and at last came clattering up to its car and was coupled on. In less than half an hour all was in readiness. I stepped into my car, and, an instant later, we were off, really off, on the long road to Paris —or at least Lyon. All through the night we raced over the vast plains, now sweeping by the Rhone, a breath of dismal, wind-swept water, now- winding among oak forests and fields of grain the scent of- which came to me through the velvety blackness. I had not eaten since the preceding evening, and should not eat again till I reached Paris. 1 felt dtxxy and weak —but the intensity of my resolution spurred me to fresh efforts; nor did 1 dose my eyes until, soon after six. we rolled into the large station at Lyon. Upon the platform, opposite a train was standing, the engine,puffing frantically, as though anxious to be off. L sprang bins the carriage and raced

thf RVR\IXO R£PITRLIOAN. RENSSELAER. IND.

toward it. ▲ functionary barred my way. f ' "You cannot pass,” he said sternly. "His excellency the president of the Swiss republic—" "But I must see him,” I cried wildly. "I must see the president Instantly. I—" Then I became aware that a stout good-natured, fatherly-looking old gentleman, who had been pacing the platform, stretching his -Jogs, had halted nearby and was watching me intently. Though It was early morning he wore a full dress suit, across which a broad eash of many colors was draped. Instinct leaped to my aid. I cried to him: "Monsieur le President!" He hesitated and then came swiftly toward me. "At your service, madame," he answered. "Take me to Paris In your train," I pleaded. "It is a matter of life or death. They will not let me hire a train. I must go, 1 must be there by evening—” He bowed and offered his arm. "You shall be my guest, madame," he answered, and escorted me to his carriage, as though I were a princess, leaving a line of gaping functionaries behind him. That age-long Journey is only the faintest memory to me now, for, once the train started, my pent-up feelings found vent in a hysterical outburst which sorely repaid the good president for his courtesy. 1 remember how he and his suite crowded me as I lay in the sleeping car which he had perforce relinquished to me; how someone discovered that I was starving and fed me with milk and wbißky; how, overcome by the potency of the liquor, I babbled something of my story—at least enough to reveal my identity. Then the romance of it gripped them and they constituted themselves my servitors. Towns rushed past us. and were swallowed up in the plains, night followed day, and at last, after an eternity of torment, we rolled into the terminal at eight o'clock on the morning of Friday. Next I remember a wild ride in a cab, with the secretary of the Swiss legation seated beside me, trying to calm me as I brandished a bundle of papers; a halt at the fortress gates; a sudden message that sent orderlies scurrying in all directions; finally there comes to mind the picture of a courtroom, of the grave Judgeß, of Charles, erect in his uniform, regarding me at first stonily, then with a cry of amazed Joy. I recall, most faintly of all, thrusting down my documents before the presiding officer. Then blackness encompassed me and, as my senses failed. I felt Charles’ arms encircle me, and fell into that haven as a shipwrecked sailor casts himself on the sustaining breast of the land.

CHAPTER XII. . Mr. Spratt to the Rescue. (In which I discover that the Code Napoleon is by no means a negligible quantity.) a My dramatic appearanqp before the military tribunal had been none top soon. In accordance with the usual procedure the court had convened at six o’clock in the morning. ' In fact, at the moment of my appearance with the proof of Charles’ innocence the judges were already preparing to retire for the consideration of their verdict; and that verdict could have been of one nature alone. My proofs threw an entirely new complexion upon the affair. While insufficient.to secure Charles’ immediate acquittal, they were of a nature so startling—implicating, as they did, three powers of Europe and unveiling an international conspiracy—that an adjournment was immediately obtained. A week later, when the tribunal reconvened, Charles was acquitted with the merest formalities, his sword restored to him, and, a little subsequently, he received the coveted legion of honor from the president’s hand. He told me afterward that he had never doubted the ultimate verdict of the court; what had driven him almost to frenzy was his inability to learn anything concerning me. Of my wild Sight to Corsica he had been kept in complete ignorance. Of this, and the ensuing death of the chief conspirators, they say I told the presiding judge in detail. But of all that 1 have not the least remembrance. A violent attack of meningitis, the result of the physical and mental dis* tress which I had undergone, confined me to my bed for weeks, during most of which period I wae raving in delirium. I lived over again and again those awful scenes in Corsica and aboard the yacht; and ever I seemed hurrying to catch a special train which just eluded me at every station on each railroad line of France. When I opened my eyee at last to consciousness they fell first upon Charles’ mother. ~A was back, in my room In Clichy, and she was seated beside me. watching me with that anxious and yet serene gaze which I had o know during those arduous days af*r my first arrival there. When she saw recognition in my eyes she began to weep quietly. She bent down and pressed her lips to my forehead. “Charles ?” was my first word* “Hush!” she said, smiling, and tiptoed softly out of the room. A moment later she reappeared, Charles at her side. He knelt beside my bed and raised my fingers to his lips. He was attired in his complete uniform; I understood the meaning of that. Thare was no need to ask the judges’ verdict We were supremely happy during those early days of my convalescence, when I could sit in my invalid chair under the pergola Wthe gardens,-in-haling strength with every breath of the soft September air*. In thosedsys we tour, Charles and I, his mother ana

oar grandfather, the old com to, forged a link that has made our llrea inseparable. We shall never part, any of us, so long as we lire; and In spite of his four and eighty years I hope that there will be many more years of activity for the Comte d'Yves. One day, when I was almost well, I suddenly thought of the bonds which I had brought back from Corsica; those famous bonds without which this history would never have been written, aor Charles and I ever have met. I asked for them, and Charles’ mother, who had been anticipating such a request, rose and brought them to me from the drawer of her eecrltiore. "Is It not strange," I said, "that Magniff has not inquired for them? Or has her Charles looked at his mother inquiringly, and she nodded her head. "Tell her, Charles," she said. "Magniff will be here tomorrow,** he answered. "Then he will yequire them.” "But what is he coming for besides r I asked. And then the dreadful knowledge flashed over me. "For Clichy?” I demanded. Charles nodded. "The interest fell due yesterday,” he answered. "There is no hope of meeting it, Anna Clichy must pass out of our hands; we have grown, in a way, reconciled to the loss and .have already planned our future. We have packed everything and start tomorrow evening for Paris.” "Has not the tragic death of his son softened him?" I asked. Charles laughed. "It has embittered him," he answered. "The fact is, Anne, he has aged greatly during the past month; he seems to be approaching a mental and phyßieal breakdown; but with the death of Leopold be has concentrated all his thoughts upon the fulfilment of his long-cherished revenge for the affronts which he claims my grandfather put upon him so many years ago. I have pleaded with him to make some arrangement which would leave Clichy to us. Some of our foreign Investments have turned out unexpectedly profitable and would permit us to take a new mortgage and keep up the estate. But MagnifTs sole thought is his revenge—and so, tomorrow, Clichy surrenders to the enemy for the first time in her history.” "I could not restrain my tears. "If only I had not sold him the bonds,” I said. "Charles, grandfather, can such a bargain seeing that I did not knpw the incalculable value that they were to him? Why, I could have obtained millions. You told me that he must have the bonds to deliver to the American government; that they are alreadg-sold. Why, I could have bankrupted him.” “The word of the d’Yves has never been withdrawn, Anne.” answered my grandfather. “What the law is, matters nothing. You sold the bonds; unless the Bale Itself were invalid in law, it were better to lose Clichy than to try to reclaim them upon the grounds you mention.” * “But,” I said angrily, “he owes me 50,000 francs for the bonds —the price at which I sold them. Can he not be made to pay this before we lose Clichy, so that we can meet the interest upon the mortgage?" v Charles shook his head sadly. "Under the law," he said, “he need not pay for the bonds until the formalities connected with their transfer have been completed. That is the reason why he has not asked for them before. He does not mean to pay for them before Clichy is his. You appealed to him upon this subject once before in vain. And we—well, I asked him again fruitlessly." We said no more. I wished to leave before Magniff’s arrival, but the others vetoed this proposition emphatically. “We must stay and surrender in person. Anne,” they told me. "We'll haul down our flag.” And so, the following afternoon, we sat in the reception room awaiting the old banker’s arrival. Bfe came at two o’clock. It was the first time that he had set foot in Clichy in some five and twenty years, and he did not conceal his sense of triumph. Shocked as I was at the change in him —for he presented the aspect of extreme old age—l could not but feel disgust at the insolence of his bearing, at the scarcely veiled contempt with which he treated us. His first word was as to the bonds; and when I had handed them to him, he scrutinized them for long, reading each letter carefully, as though to assure himself that I had not tricked him with a forgery. At last, satisfied, he handed me his receipt. “If you will send me your future address, mademoiselle," he said blandly, “a check for fifty thousand francs will be sent to you within a week upon the conclusion of the legal formalities.” And he sat back and gloated and rubbed his thin hands together, chuckling over our discomfiture. My Indignation overcame my powers of repression. I could not hold back the words that poured forth from my lips. “So you have achieved your life purpose, your long-sought revenge.” I cried. “You turn an old man from his home, the home of his ancestors during eight hundred years—and for some fancied Blight in the long past. Well, make the most of your triumph during the few years of life remaining for you But when he meets you before the Judgment seat of the Almighty, how will you Justify yourself? Hasn’t life taught you anything? It’s hard enough for all, but unless it teaches forgiveness and justice, compassion and humility, of what use is it? Has not your son’s death shown you the futility of revenge, has it not taught anything to you?** “Anne!” said Charles’ mother im- — •at-rrju?"; The old banker smiled, as though

the situation amused him. "1 only claim my own," he answered, rubbing his hands again. “I am a business men, mademoiselle. Business knows none of the abstract qualities you have enumerated.” Then the grotesque came treading upon tragedy’s heels. Our ancient servitor flung open the door. "Lea Cooks, madams!” he announced impassively. "The what?” cried Charles, startled. Ther ancient man explained. A char-a-banc, containing some Cook’s tourists—foreigners, he expounded, apologetically—had come from Paris and begged permission to see the famous castle of which they had heard so much. , “Show them in," said Charles’ mother. “Have tea made. Pray remain, Monsieur Magniff. This is your wop erty now.” “It will be at six o’clock this evening," said the banker, implacably. "Lea Cooks!” announced the serving man from the doorway, and upon the word a party of three entered- —a man and two women. My eyes opened with amazement Was I dreaming? Or were these really Mary Jenner, my one-time room-mate . . . and little Mr. Spratt . . . and Estelle Christie, whom I had left In London? "Anne!” screamed Estelle, flinging her arms around my neck. "O, my dearest Anne, who would have thought of seeing you here? We read all about you in the newspapers, and when Mary Jenner came to London to ask

“Take Me to Paris in Your Train,” I Pleaded.

me where you were I told her that we must positively go to Clichy, even though you weren’t there.” “Not here?” I stammered. "Why, Anne, the newspapers said that you had gone to Copenhagen to instruct the crown prince in the art of aviation." “A little device of mine,” said Charles, smiling. “Just to avoid newspaper reporters." Estelle opened her eyes. “Well,” she gasped at last. “If I don’t make Cedar Plank, la., sit up and hum when I get back, I’ll send my resignation to the Ladies’ club.” And I believe she meant it. Then Mary and I kissed each other, and next I introduced the whole party to one another, not exclusive of Magniff, who, retiring into a corner immediately afterward, absorbed himself in reading something that looked like title deeds which he drew from hie coat pocket. It was evident that he resented this comic interlude in the development of his own personal, private melodrama. "So Mr. Spratt and you really took the trip," I said to Mary. “Not alone, not alone,” said Mr. Spratt hastily. "We’re with a party in Paris —a large party of Winnipeg teachers: Just came out to Clichy for the day to see the place where we thought you weren’t, you know. Miss Anne.” “I condole with you on the disappointment of learning that it was the place where I was,” I answered. Somehow the memory of the innumerable enubbings that I had administered to Mr. Spratt compelled me to continue them. But to my amazement Mr. Spratt refused to be snubbed again. Instead of blushing and retiring behind the person nearest him he looked at me quizzically, until I had to lower my eyes. And then I knew that something had happened! It was another Mr. Spratt that faced me. He seemed to have emerged from his shyness like a butterfly from its cocoon. He was cot embarrassed in the least degree. I glanced from him to Mary and saw that her face was rosy. “Mary!” I gasped. "When —when is it to be?" “In —in June,” she murmured, looking like a fresh beet. I recollected a certain letter in my possession in which she had alluded to her fiance as “an odious little persecutor,” and for a moment mean thoughts assailed me. For, though I had never in the least reciprocated Mr. Spratt’s undoubted passion for me, I did not like having Mary, my best friend, commandeer him from me. Then my good angel came to my assistance. "I congratulate you both,” I said, “and wish you the greatest happiness in the wprld.” Then we had tea. while Magniff brooded In the corner. I noticed that he had glanced repeatedly toward the mantel, and. after cogitating upon the cause of his manifest uneasiness, suddenly the truth flashed upon me. He meant to take possession at six o’clock! And it was now a quarter after flve. I resolved to give him the worst .three-quarters of an hour that he had life. Our erasmot maeom the party. I

reed hate and hostility in his; what he saw in my own I do not know, but after a while he ceased to watch me and again began reading bis title deeds. I was thinking so busily that I hardly heard the conversation that was taking place until suddenly Mary sprang out of her chair and came over to me, her eyes beaming. "Anne.” she cried,, “why didn’t you tell me?" “Tell you—?” i muttered absently. "That you were engaged,” said Mary, Rooking hurt and reproachful. "O, I’m so glad and proud of you, Anne! And will you both promise faithfully to come to Canada when the next school year ends?” Then, like a worm that turns, Mr. Spratt turned himself about In his chair. "Speaking of the school year.” ho said, "are you aware, Miss Anne, that under law you fdrfeit your contributions to the teachers’ pension fund?” "Dear me, how dreadful!” I answered sarcastically. "It is such a serious matter.” “It is serious,” answered Mr. Spratt, hugging himself, “not by reason of the amount involved, but because it strikes at a principle deeply rooted in the laws and'customs of the Anglo-Saxon race—it penalizes marriage. Now in France they manage things differently. The admirable Code Napoleon, as you have doubtless read in the copy of my work which I presented to you—” "Dear me, Mr. Spratt, will you be very offended if I mention that I didn’t quite finish it?” I inquired. "That admirable compilation, the Code Napoleon,” he resumed, "distinctly lays down the principle that the betrothal of a minor annuls all pecuniary contracts that have not been actually put into execution. Consequently under the code your pension fund would be returnable.” “But I am not a minor," I interrupted. “The age of majority, under the Code Napoleon, is not necessarily twenty-one, Mies Anne," said Mr. Sprktt in grave rebuke. “For certain purposes, as this, it is twenty-five. In other cases —” I saw the banker drop his title deeds and grasp at the seat of his chair. His face was drawn and tense. Next moment I amazed Mr. Spratt by springing to his side and clasping both-his hands in mine. , “Say that again; I didn’t catch it,” I panted. “Under the Code Napoleon I am a minor for financial purposes and the —the betrothal —” “The betrothal of a minor annuls all contracts of a pecuniary nature, that have not actually been carried into effect,” reiterated Mr. Spratt. “Therefore—”. “My dearest Anne, what are you driving at?” asked Charles. I walked over to Mr. Magniff. "My bonds,” T said, and flung down hid receipt before him. He rose up, tottering, and grasped the edge of the table. “It has been carried into effect,” he almost Bcreamed. “You can have the money at once —before six o’clock. I don’t mind renewing the mortgage —t was—meant to all along. I —I —I —” “My bonds, please,” I repeated quietly. "Pll give you a hundred thousand for them, then,” he cried. "You wouldn’t rob me, bankrupt me, by a legal trick like that? You’re people of honor. That’s all very well for tricky tradesmen, but not for the d'Yves. You can't afford to play a trick like that on me.” “My bonds, Mr. Magniff,” I reiterated implacably. Charles came up and placed his arm round me. He understood. "No, let him keep the bonds, Anne,” he said. "He’s right. We don’t do things like that.” “Then,” I said decisively, “you must keep Clichy. That is the price of them. Do you agree?” I continued turning to Magniff. He groaned as though my words had been a thrust'of a sword. I pushed some paper toward him and, dipping a quill into the Ink, placed it In his hands. “Write,” I said, dictating. “For value received, namely bonds (I enumerated them), now in my possession, I hereby agree to relinquish to Anne Ives all rights that I possess to the castle and estate of CUchy, together with the mortgage upon the same, which I now hold, and all the accumulated interest’ Is that legal?” I asked, turning to the astounded Mr. Spratt. “Irregular, but unassailable under the Code,” answered the little man, rising heroically to the occasion. Magniff signed his name and Estelle and Charles affixed their signatures as witnesses. “Now go, Mr. Magniff,” I said, pointing to the door. “And, if you can profit by it, take with you that forgiveness which you yourself denied.” Mary and Mr. Spratt have promised to spend their honeymoon with Charles and me at Clichy next July. “And all that I regret,” wrote Mary In her last letter, “Is that you have had nearly a year’s start of us in matrimony. But you haven’t had any start of us in sheer and undiluted happiness.** "Well take them riding In our new aeroplane,” said Charles, when he had read Mary’s letter. Then we went oat to look at her In the pew hangar. Charles says that when aviation becomes safer he’ll let me ride again. But after my flight to Corsica I’m nqt sure that I shall ever want to. Charles pointed to the name upon her frame, and smiled. “That will puzxle your friends,” be said. “They don’t know all that we know, do they, Anne?” ■ . The name Is “La Mascotte.” ... THE END.

Caution.

Be slow 6f tongue and QBlckof eye.