Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 328, 27 December 1906 — Page 7

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Hie Kichmond Palladium, Thursday, December 27, 1906 Page Seven.

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By A. CONAN DOYLE. Author of "The Retura of Sherlock Kolxnes"

COPYRIGHT. IZDZ. BY A norsenian was naing cm up oa either side, but there was glass in yfrunt of the carriage, and through this he could gain idM ns to hir. where abouts. Tlie elouds had clenred now, fiuil tlse moon was Khining brightly, Jathlng the wirdo wide landscipe in its nhinnnering light. To the lifcht lay the open country, broad plains with flumps of v.oixlland and the towera of atles pricking out from above the grave. On the left, but far away. lay. hlhe glimmer of Pari. They were leav3n It rapidly behind. 'Whatever h;.s wlestination. it was neither the capit..! ibior Versailles. Then he Iegau to co?:t t the chaDces of escape. His sword hail iioeen removed, and his pistols were still In the holsters beside his unfortunate aiorse. He was unarmed, then, even If inie could free himself, and his captors evere at least a dozen in numbr. There Kvere three on ahead, riding abreast yilong the white moonlit road. Then f here was one on each side, and he -jjhculd Judge by the clatter of hoofs nhat there could not be fewer titan half ai dozen behind. That wuld make extetJy twelve, including the coachman jjOo many, surely, for an unarmed man ao hope to bade. At the thought of the ejoachman he had glanced through the I lass front at the broad back of the an, and he had HnUdeidy In the glim- . uer of the carriage lamp observed I something which struck him with lior- : yor. The man was evidently desperately ' rounded. It was strange Indeed that ie could still sit there and nick his "rhip with so terrible an injury. In r(he back of his great red coat. Just unrer the left shoulder blade, was a gash 1 ti the cloth where some weapon had P'assed, and all round was a wide patch 1 f dark scarlet which told its own tale. il At.!-. 11 A I I 1 m-i.-ur wan iuj mi. ah ue raised uis fhp the moonlight shone upon bis iand, and De Catinat saw, with a ajhudder, that It also was splashed and fogged with blood. The guardsman faneu nis neck to eaten a glimpse or ij.e man's face, but his broad brimmed .1 at was drawn low, and the high colir of his driving coat was raised, so iat his features were in the shadow. ei And now they had come to a spot here the main road ran onward, but al t oujniici iiuc 14 uv mi v nnujr uiiytu r8ie steep slope of a hill, and so in the Erection of the Seine. , The advance fuart! had kept to the main road and ie two horsemen on either side were jotting In too same direction when, to I - 'u final's amazemenf, the carriage I . ... . . . i a. . . .7 f j M i enrrru'u u out; mm ill l . ;:r.Jt phinrcd Iovrn the fteep Ini i . the tvo r.tr.ut horses galloping i t'xlr topmost f:: ecd, the coachman je".ucing ui and lashing furiously at Uem and the clumsy old vehicle bound.'mS along in a way which threw him ickward and forward from one seat the other. Behind him he could hear stout of consternation from the ca rt, and then the rush of galloping po'r. Fast as the coacn went, us Lrsucrs went faster still. The rattle their hoofs was at the very back. id suddenly at one of tho windows fj ere came into view the red, distend4 nostrils cf a hcrse. Slowly it drew I rwi-rd, the murr.le, the eye, the ears, 'JJe rr.auo, coming into sight as the Ber til" gained, and then above them e Cerce face of Despard and the tjram or a brus3 pistol. 'At t?ie hor5e. Despard; at the horse!" i"ed an authoritative voice from bej Die pistol flashed, and the coach I rched over as one of the horses gave convulsive spring. But the driver ill shrieked and lashed with his whip, lilo the carriage bounded onward. But now the road turned a sudden rve, aud there, right in front of t the horac, Dctixird; at the hortc!" m. not a hundred paces away, was i Seine, running cold and still in the onshlne. The bank on either side the highway ran straight down with- : any break to the water's edge. ?re was no sign of a bridge, and a ck shadow in the center of the jam showed where the ferryboat s returning after conveying some ntcd travelers across. The driver cr hesitated, but. gathering up the is, he urged the frightened creaes into the river. They hesitated, vever. when they first felt the cold ter about their hocks, and even as y did so one of them, with a low an. fell over upon her side. Desd's bullet had found its mark. Like 91. ii' iaSU IUC CUHCUUittU UU1ICU UtlUbtm. V aa the box and plunged into the

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re ail rounu mm ueiore mis, aim I1 f a dozen bands had seized him ere. could reach deep water aud bail j. gged him to the bank. His broad, Whad been struck off in the struggle. i ! J

BROTREIS ? B(i tj caanat sw on lace in the moonshine. Great hearenal It vas Amos Green. CHAPTER XII. T HE desperadoes were as much astonished as was De Catinat when they found that they had recaptured iu this extraordi nary manner tho messenger whom they had given up for lost. "A thotisand thunders!" cried one. "And this is tho man whom that devil's brat Latour would make out to be dead!" "And how came he here?" "And where is Etienne Arnaud?" "He has stabbed Etienne, and taken his coat and hat." "What! While we were all within stone'3 cast?" "Aye, there is no other way out of it." "Hy my soul," cried old Despard, "I had never much love for old Etienne, but I have emptied a cup of wine with him before now, and I shall see that he has justice. Let us cast these reins round the fellow's neck and hang him upon this tree." Several pairs of hands were already unbuckling the harness of the dead horse when De Vivonne pushed his way into the little group. "It is as much as your lives are worth to touch him," said he. "But he has slain Etienne Arnaud." "That score may be settled afterward. Tonight he is the king's messenger. Is the other all safe?" "Yes, he is here." ! "Tie this man and put him In beside I him. Unbuckle the traces of the dead , horse. So! Now, De Carnac, put your J own Into the harness. You can mount the box and drive, for we have not very far to go." , The changes were rapidly made. Amos Green was thrust in beside De Catinat, and the carriage was soon tolling up the steep incline which it had come down so precipitately. The American had aald not a word since his capture and had remained absolutely stolid, with his hands crossed over his chest while his fate was under discussion. Now that he was alone once more with his comrade, however, he frowned and muttered. "Those infernal horses!" he grumbled. "Why, an American horse would have taken to the water like a duck. Once over the river, we should have had ti clear lead to Paris." "My dear friend," cried De Catinat, I laying his manacled bands upon those of h;s comrade, "how nobly you have stood ly mc! But bow came you there? Never in my life have I been so astonished as when I saw your face." Amos Green chuckled to himself. "I thought that maybe it would be a surprise to you If you knew who was driving you," said he. "When I was thrown from my horse, I lay quiet, partly because it seemed to me to be more healthy to lie than to stand with all those swords clinking in my ears. Then ttey all got round you, and I j rolled into the ditch, crept along it, got on the crossroad in the shadow of the j trees and was besice the carriage be-1 fore ever they knew that I was gone. I I saw in a fl&su that there was only one wflv hv which T ernlrl ho of ns to vnn. I The coachman was leaning round, with his head turned, to see what was going on behind him. I out with my knife, sprang up on the front wheel and btopped his tongue." "And then?" , "I pulled him down into the ditch, and I got into his coat and his hat. I bad hardly got the reins before they were all back and bandied you into the coach. I was not afraid of their seeing me, but I was scared lest I shculd not know which road to take, and so set them on the trail. But they made it easy to me by sending some of their riders in front, so I did well until I saw that by-track and made a run for it." f The guardsman again pressed his comrade's hands. "You have been as true to me as hilt to blade," said he. "It was a bold thought and a bold deed." "And what now?" asked the American. 'I do not know who these men are, and I do not know whither they are taking us. I fancy that they are taking us to some place where they can shut us up until this business blows over." "Well, they'll need to be smart about it." ( "Why?" "EIte maybe they won't find us when they want us." "What do you mean?" For answer the American, with a twist and a wriggle, drew his two bands apart and held them in front of his comrade's face. "Bless you, it's the first thing they teach the papooses in on Indian wigwam! Put your hands out." With a few( dexterous twists he loosened De Catinat's bonds until he also was able to slip his bands free. "Now for your feet, if you'll put them tip. They'll find that we are easier to catch than to bold." But at that moment the carriage begat to slow down, and the clank of the hoofs of the riders in front of them

HARPSE

died suddenly away. Peeping through from your horse has shaken you more the windows, the prisoners saw a huge. ! Qaa 3"0'J think. Lie down upon this dark building stretching in out of straw r.v.d see if a little sleep may them, so high aud so broad that the j oofnight shrouded it In upon every side, j '4I tel1 ovi that thv bishop is there!" A great archway bung above them. I cried Green. and the lamis shone on the rude wood- "ri ho is " id D Catinat sooth-

en r-itrt ti-:,iwi ! and nails. In the upper part of the ! door was a small square iron grating. and through this they could catch a glimpse of the gleam of & lantern and ;of a bearded face which looked out at them. De Vivonne. standing in bis stirrups, craned his head i:p toward the grating, so that the two men most interested could hear little of the con-

versation which followed. They saw

i uoRemaa neia n goia ring up lu the air' and that the face i. . .;,. i ,. ...... . - . ami irowtung was cow nod jui" and smiling. An 'instant later the "head disappeared the door swun open up - on screaming binges, aud the carriage drove n info the ,-ourtvard Iwvond. leaving the escort, with the exception of De VJVOM.O. outride. As the horses pulled up, a knot of rough fellows clustered round, nnd the two prisoners were dragged roughly out. In the light of the torches which fiared around them they could Fee that they were hemmed in by high turreted walls upon every side. A bulky man with a bearded face, the same whom they had seen at the grating, was standing in the center of the group of armed men issuing his orders. "To the upper dungeon. Simon!" he cried. "Ami see that they have two bundles of straw and a loaf of bread until we learn our master's will." "I know not who your master may Ie," said De Catinat, "but I would ask you by whet warrant he dares to stop two messengers of the king while traveling in his service?" "Uy St. Denis. If my master play the king a trick, it will be but tie and tie," the stout man answered, with a grin. "But no more talk! Away with them, Simon, and you answer to mc for their safe keeping." It was in vain that De Catinat raved and threatened, invoking the most terrible menaces upon all who were concerned in detrj'ng him. Two stout knaves thrusting him from behind and one dragging in front forced him through a narrow gate and along a stone flagged passage. They made their way down three successive corridors and through three doors, each of which was locked and barred behind them. Then they ascended a winding stone stair, and finally they were thrust into a small square dungeon, and two trusses of straw were thrown In after them. An instant later a heavy key turned In the lock, and t!i.y were left to their own meditations. , Very grim and dark those medit.t-' tlons were in the case of De Catinat. A stroke of good luck had made him at court, and now this other of 111 fortune had destroyed him. There were his people in Paris, too his sweet j Adele, his old uncle, who had been as j good as a father to him. What pro- j tector would they have In their j troubles now that he had lost the Iwer that eight have shielded them? But his energetic comrade had yielded to no feeling of despondency. The instant that the clang of the prison door had assured him that he was safe from . interruption be had felt all round the walls and flooring to see what manner of place this might be. Ills search had ended in the discovery of a small fireplace at one comer and of two great clumsy billets of wood, which seemed to have been left there to serve as pillows for the prisoners. Having satis tied himself that the chimney was so small that it was utterly impossible to pass even his head up it, he drew the two blocks of wood over to the window and was able by placing one above the other and standing on j tiptoe on the highest to reach the bars which guarded it. Drawing himself up and fixing one toe in an inequality of the wall, he managed to look out on to the courtyard which they had just quitted. The carriage and De Vivonne were passing out through the gate as he looked, and he heard a moment later the slam of the heavy door and the clatter of hoofs from the troop of horsemen outside. The seneschal and his retainers bad disappeared; the torches, too, were gone, and, save for the measured tread of a pair of sentinels in the yard twenty feet beneath him, all was silent throughout the great castle. The window was large enough to ! nnss his brwlv throuirh If It were not for those bars. He shook them and hung his weight upon them, but they were as thick as his thumb and firmly ; u-alrlori- than rottinir BOTTIA STrorifr hrtlrf 1 welded: then, setting some strong hold for his other foot, he supported himself by one band, while he picked with his knife at the setting of the iron. It was cement, as smooth as glass and as hard as marble.. His knife turned when he tried to loosen it. But there was still the stone. It was sandstone, not so very hard. If be could cut grooves in it he might be able to draw out bars, cement and all. He sprang down to the floor again and was thinking how he should best set to work when a groan drew bis attention to hl3 companion. "Something on your miud?" said Amos Green, sitting down upon his billets of wood. "WTiat was it. then?" The guardsman here made a movement of impatience. "What was it? How can you ask me when jou know as well as I do the wretched failure of my mission? It was the king's wish that the archbishop should marry them. The archbishop should have been at the palace by now. Ah, I can 6ee the king's cabinet. I can see him waiting, I can t e? madame waiting, I can hear them speal: of the unhappy De Catinat" "I see all that." said the American stoliciy, "api 1 see something more." "What tLm:" "I see the archbishop tying them up together. " "He could not be at tho palace." "On the contixry, Lc reached theralaee about half en hour ago." De Catinat sprang to his feet. At the palace!" he screamed. "Then who gave him the message?" "I did," said Amos Green. If the- Anici ican had expected to sur prise o? d?Mtt ir.s companion by this curt annourt-enicni he was woefully disapp'..;i:-w for De Catinat approached him -.vhli n face which was full of sympaihy nnd tro;lle. "My dear friend," said be, "I have been selfish and thoughtless. That fall iagly. "He is most certainly there. I tr!t that you hare no pa,n f The American raved In the air with Lis knotted fists. "You think that Tm cra2ed." he cviad, "and, by tlie eternal, yon are enough to raake me so! When I say that I ss.'at the bishop I mean that I saw to the job. You remember wbeu I stepped back to your friend the major?" It was the .saldiex'a tors to. grow ex-

j rrica 25":r- "Well ?" he cried, gripping

- . I when we send a scout into the ( woods, if the instfer la It w- ' tn i o fun...,,i . - .t. i.,. ' unc cuwui-r uum, so onG or otl)fr comes back Mith his 1 halr on" That the Iroquois fashion. j an,a Z00 fi,shlon ' Mf '' 1 lH"7 tuat -vt,u have M2. m" . ! T ' V e D,.ajof aU1 .-mv'-u jinu iiL'ii iu x .ins i pass by the archbishop's d?or. I showed h!m this lump of chalk. 4If we've been there,' said I. 'you'll see a great cross on the left side rf he doorpost. If there's no cross, then pull the latch iuu aK. tne njsnap it n- lj come up to he palace as quick as Jiis horses can br'.ng him.' The major started an hour alter us. lie would be in Paris by half past 10; the bishop would be in his carriace by 11, and he would reach Versailles half an hour ago that is to say, about half past 1. By the Lord, I think I've driven him off his head!" De Catinat .spun round the cell now, waving his arms ind his legs, with his iiuu. dpe.in? up .ue wan i.eumu him, all distorted in the moonlight. Oh. if I could but do something for you!" he exclaimed. "You can. then. Lie down on that straw and go to sleep." By persuasions and a little pushing he got his delighted companion on to his couch again and heaped the straw over him to serve as a blanket. So weary was the young guardsman that It was long past noon and the sun was shining out of a cloudless b!u sky before he awoke. For a moment, enveloped as he was in straw, and with the rude arch of the dungeon meeting In four rough he-n groinings above his head, he stared about him in bewilderment. Then in an Instant the doings of the day before, his mission, the ambuscade, his imprisonment. nil flashed back to him, and he sprang to his feet. His . comrade, who had been dozing in the corner, jumped up also at the first movement, with bis hand on bis knife and a sinister glance directed toward the door. "Oh, it's you. is it?" said he. "I thought it was the man. They brought those two loaves and a jug of water just about dawn, when I was settling down for a re3t." "And did he say anything?" "No; It was the little black one." "Simon, they called him." "The same. He laid the things down and wa3 gone. I thought that maybe if he came again we might get him to stop. Maybe if we got these stirrup leathers round his ankles be would tell us where we are and what is to be done with us." "Pshaw! What does it matter since our mission is dene?" "It may. not matter to you there's no accounting for tastes but it matters a good deal to me. I'm not used to sitting in a hole, like a bear in a trap, waiting for what other folks ! choose to do with me." "There's no help but patience, my friend." "I don't know that. I'd get more help out of a bar and a few pegs." He opened his coat and took out a short piece of rusted iron and three small, thick pieces of wood, sharpened at one end. "Where did you get those, then?" "These are my night's work. The bar is the top one of the grate. I had a job to loosen it, but there it is. The pegs I whittled out of that log. You see, peg number one goes in here. where I have picked a hole between the stones. Then I've made this other log into a mallet, and with two cracks there it is Arm fixed so that you can put your weight on It. Now these two go in the same way into the boles above here. So! Now, you see, you can stand up there and look out of that window without asking too much of your toe joint. Try it De Catinat sprang up and looked eagerly out between the bars "I do not know the place," said he. shaking his head. "It may be any one of thi casUes wh,ch ,ie . . - - .... south side of Paris and within six or seven leagues of it. He was dropping back to the floor and put his weight upon the bar. To his amazement it came away in bis hand. "Look, Amos; look!" he cried. , "Ah, you've found it out! Well, did that during the night. I could make no way with my knife, but when I got the bar out of the grate I man aged faster. I'll put this one back now, or some of those folk down below may notice that we have got it loose.' "Are they all loose?" "Only the one at present, but we'll get the other two out during the night. j You can take that bar out and work ! with it while I use my own picker at : the other. You see, the stone is soft. and by grinding it you soon make a groove along which you can slip the bar. It will be mighty queer if we can't clear a road for ourselves before morning. "Well, but even if we could get out into the courtyard where could we turn to then?" "One thing at a time, friend. Any way, there is more air In the yard than in here, and when the window is clear we shall soon plan out the rest." The two comrades did not dare to do any work during the day for fear they should be surprised by the jailer or observed from without. The instant that night fell they were both up upon the pegs, grinding away at the bard stone and tugging at the bars. It was a rainy night, and there was a sharp thunderstorm, but they could see very well, while the shadow of the arched window prevented their being seen. Before midnight they bad loosened one bar, and the other was just beginning to give when some slight noise made them turn their heads, and there was their jailer standing, open mouthed, in the middle of the cell, staring up at them. It was De Catinat who observed him first, and he sprang down at him in an instant with his bar, but at his movement the man rushed for the door and drew it after him just as the American's tool whizzed past his ear and down the passage. "It is scarce worth while to go on," said De Catinat. "We may as well be doing that as anything else. If my picker bad been an Inch lower I'd hare bad bid. WIJ, maybe he'll get a'strokV of break his neck down those stairs. I've nothing to work with now, but a few rubs with tonr.barw.ill finish the Job. h, dear.

I you are right, and we are rainy trees:-

...... eu , ! chaicau, aud there was a loud buzz of voice ami a flatter of t.wt mum hi t itaom. ., a j civta. ii - . muuum, j and there was the sound of turning ! keys, l ire luinutes passed, however, I auJ -VPt a'ker fiv minutes, without j any one appearing. 5 "Well. I'll have that bar out, after ' ,51 lhe Arjerl, at last. risiag iiC'l SIP t tins over to ttl windrtw -Anyhow we'll see what all this cater- J wauling is about." He clim!ed un on f ' Lis pegs as he spake and peeped out. "Come up." he cried excitedly to his j comrade. "They've got some other I game going ou here, and thcr are alt a deal tou busy to bother their heads about us." De Catinat clambered up beide him, and the two stood staring down into the c6urtyard. A brazier had been lit at each corner, and the place was thronged with men. many of whom carried torches. The main gate was open, and a carriage, which had appar ent lv hist driven in. trns t:intiii? at ja smaH dorr immediatelv in front of ' 1hpir win,in,v. A w,liirinsr ! j plumed hat and enveloped in a riding coat stepped from the carriage and then, turning round, dragged a second person out after him. There was n scuffle, a cry. a push, and the two figures vanished through tho door. As it closed the carriage drove away, the torches and braziers were extinguished, the main gate was closed once more, and all was as quiet as before this sudden interruption. "Well!" gasped De Catinat. "Is this another king's messenger they've got?" "There will be lodgings for two more here in a short time," said Amos Green. "Give me your bar again. This thing is giving. It won't take us long to have it out." He set to work furiously, trying to deepen the groove in the stone, through which he hoped to drag the staple. Suddenly he ceased and strained his ears. "By thunder!" said he. "There's some one working on the other side!" They both stood listening. There were the thud of hammers, the rasping of a saw and the clatter of wood from the other side of the wall. "What can they be doing? Can you see them?" "They are too near the wall." "I think I can manage," said De Catinat. "I am slighter than you." Ho pushed his head and neck and half of one shoulder through the gap between the bars, and there he remained until his friend thought that perhaps he had stuck and pulled his legs to extricate him. He writhed back, however, without any difficulty. "They are building something," he whispered. "Building!" "Yes. There are four of them, with a lantern." "What can they be building, then?" "It's a shed, I think. I can see foui sockets in the ground, and they are fixing four uprights into them." "Well, we can't get away as long as there are four men just under our window." "Impossible!" "But we may as well finish our work for all that." The gentle scrapings of his iron were drowned amid the noise which swelled ever louder from without. The bar loosened at the end, and he drew it in. The steady hammering and sawing went forward It was early morning, and the first cold light was beginning to steal over the courtyard before the work was at last finished and the workmen had left. Then at last the prisoners dared to climb up and to see what it was which had been constructed during the night. It gave them a catch of the breath as they looked at it. It was a scaffold. It was buttressed up against their wall, and in the center stood a. headsman's block. "I think it is time that we left," said Amos Green. "The window Is clear. Let us make a rush for it." "It is useless. I can see a line of armed men along the farther side of He fprang doum at him in an instant frith hl$ bar. ue jam. Ana nere come more. cee, at the center gate!" As he spoke the door which faced them opened, and a singular procession filed out. First came two dozen foot men, walking in pairs, all carrying halberds and clad In the same maroon colored liveries. After them a huge bearded man, with bis tunic off and the sleeves of his coarse shirt rolled up over his elbows, strode along with a great ax over his left shoulder. Be hind him, a priest with an open missal rattered forth prayers, and la his shadow was a woman, clad in black, ber neck bared, and a black shawl cast over her head and drooping iu front of her bowed face. Within grip of her walked a tall, thin, fierce faced man. with harsh red features and a great jutting nose. Fie .wore a flat velvet cap with a single eagle feather fastened Into it by a diamond clasp. which gleamed in the morning light. But bright & tfaa his gem bis dark eyes were brighter still and sparkled from tinder his busby brows with, a mad brilliancy which bore with it something of menace and of terror. The woman had faltered at the foot

ef the scaffold, irut the, an thrust her

on. ana two or rae followers caught

; either TrrUt an.l drtrced her ?fI,L araggea n i l:,rwara. j on. Maurice. Maurice, sue "Oh. Maurice! Mauricer j screamed. "I am not tit to die! Oh. j forgive me, Manrtce, as yon hope for j forgiveness yourself! Maurice! Manrice!" She strove to get toward him, I to c!ntch at his wrlt. at his sleeve, ! hn t-A fArt.l wltli Virii1 ,m tita word. gazing at her with a faeewbich was all wreathed and coutorted wltu merriment. She turned flWilV and which had threw back the mantle "Ah. sire!" she cried. 4 Sire! If yea could see rae now!" And at the cry and at the sight cf that fair pale face De Catinat, looking down from the window, was stricken as though by a dagger, for there, standing beside the headsman's blx-k, was she who had been the most powerful, as well as the wittiest nnd the fairest, of the women of France none other than Franeolse de Montespan, so lately the favorite of the king. CHAPTER XIII. OX the night strange cha his messeng upon which such mees turn ieraiien ;ers the king sat In his cabinet attended only by Louvois. his minister. There was a tap at the door, and Bontems peeped in. "The archbishop has arrived, sire." "Very well, Bontems. Ask madame to be so gaod as to step this way. Aud order the witnesses to assemble in the: anteroom." As the valet hastened away I.ouis turned to his' minister. "I wish you to be one of the witnesses, Louvois." "To what, sire?" "To my marriage." The minister started. What, sire! Already?" "Now, Louvois; within five minutes." "Very good, sire." There bad meanwhile been busy goings on in the small room where the red lamp burned in front of the Virgin. Franeolse de Maintenon stood iu the center, a little flush of excitement on her cheeks and an unwonted light la her placid gray eyes. She was clad in a dress of shining white brocade, trimmed and slashed with silver serge and fringed at the throat and arms with costly point lace. There came a discreet tap at the door. "It is Bontems, madame," said Mile. Nanon. "He says that the king is ready." "Then we shall not keep him waiting. Come, mademoiselle, and may God shed his blessing upon what we are about to do!" The little party assembled in tlie king's anteroom and started from there to the private chapel. In front walked the portly bishop, clad in a green vestment, puffed out with the importance of the function, bis missal in bis hand and his fingers between the pages at the service de matrimoniis. The king and Mme. de Maintenon walked side by side, she quiet and composed, with gentle bearing and downcast eyes, he with a flush on his dark cheeks and a nervous, furtive look In his eyes, like a man who knows that he is in the midst of one of the great crises of his life. Behind them in solemn silence followed a little group of chosen witnesses, the lean, client Pere la Chaise, Louvois scowling heavily at the bride, the Marquis de Charmarante, Bontems and Mile. Nanon. The torches shed a strong yellow light upon this small band as they advanced slowly through the corridors nnd salons which led to the chapel. A minute later they were before the altar, and the words were being read which should bind them forever together. As they turned away again, her new ring blazing upon her finger, there was a buzz of congratulation around her. The king only said nothing, but he looked at her, and she had no wish that he should say more. She was still calm and pale, but the blood throbbed in her temples. But a sudden shadow bad fallen across her, and a low voice was in i her car. "Remember your promise to the church," it whispered. She start ed and turned to see the pale, eager face of the Jesuit beside her. "Your band has turned cold, Fran' colse," said Louis. "Let us go, dear est. We have been too long in this dismal church." Mme. de Montespan had retired to rest, easy in ber mind, after receiving the message from her brother. She knew Louis as few others knew him, and she was well aware of that ob stinacy in trifles which was one of his characteristics. If be bad said-that he would be married by the archbish op, then the archbishop it must be. Tonight at least there should be no marriage. She dressed herself with care in th morning. No news had come to ber of the great event of the previous night although the court already rang with it, for her haughtiness and her bitter tongue had left her without a friend or Intimate. She rose, therefore, in the best of spirits. She was still in ber boudoir putting the last touches to her toilet when ber page announced to her that the king j was waiting in her salon. Mme. de -Montespan could hardly believe in such good fortune. She bad racked ber brain all morning as to bow she should win her way to bim, and here he was waiting for ber. He bad come with every Intention of beginning the interview by telling ber bluntly of bis marriage, but now, as be looked upon bsr beauty and ber love, he felt that It would bare been less brutal to strike her down at bis feet. Let some one else tell her, then. She would know soon enough. All this ran swiftly through his mind, and she as swiftly read it off in his brown eyes. "You have something you came to say, and now you have not the heart to say it. God bless the kindlr heart which checks the cruel tongue "No. no, madame," said Louis. "I would not be cruel. I cannot forget that my life has been brightened and my court made brilliant during all these years by your wit and your beauty. But times change, madame. and for every reason I think that it Is best that we should arrange In the tray which we discussed the other day and that you should withdraw yourself from the court." "Withdraw, tire! For how !on$r "It must b a permanent withdrawal, madame. I need not say that I hall make your retirement a happy

ae as far as la me lies. Your allowance shall be fixed by yourself. A palace shall be erected for you in whatever part of Prance you rosy prefer, provided that it is twenty miles from Paris. Au estate also" Oh, sire, how can you think that such thing a these would compensate tne for the loss of your love?" Her heart had turned t lead within her

I breast. llf;l he spoken hotly aud an- ".' "v'i . c-t.. Ii.'il ilAna (mam v ivi t. , iuib p i t,e an J"et finu hearing was new to him. and she felt that all her arts were vain against it. "Madame." said he, WI have thought ? well over this matter, and it must be as I say. There is no other way at all. I have ordered your brother to have bis carriage at the postern at 9 o'clock, for I thought that iverbaps you would wish to retire after nightfall." "To hide my shame from a laughing court! It was thoughtful of you, sire. And yet lerhaps this, too, was a duty, since we hear ss much of duties nowadays, for who was it but you" "I know, madame, I know. I confess it. I have wronged you deeply. ' Believe me that every atonement wiiich Is In my power shall be made. Nay, do not look so angrily at me. 1 tn-g. Let our last sight of each other lx one which may leave a pleasant memory behind it." "A pleasant memory!" All the gentleness aud humility had fallen from her now, and her voie had the bard ring of contempt and of anger. "A pleasant memory! It mav well le pleasant to you. who are released from j the woman whom you ruined, who can turn now to another without any pale face to be seen within the salons of your court to remiud yon of your perfidy. But to me. pining In some lonely country house, spumed by my busband, despUed by my family, the scorn ! and jest of France, far from all which gave n charm to life, far from the man for whose love I have sacrificed everything this will be a very pleasant memory to me, you may be sure." The king's eyes bad caught the angry gleam which shot from hers, and yet he strove bard to set a curb upon his temper. He felt that it was for him to do so, and yet it did not come kindly to his imperious nature. , "There is nothing to be gained, madame." said be. "by using words which are neither seemly for your tongue nor for my ears. You will do me the Justice to confess that where I might com-. mand I am now entreating." - un, you snow too rancn consideration, sire!- Our relations of twenty years or so can scarce suffice to explain such rlerance from you." "Your, words are bitter, roads me. Francolse.be reasonable, I implore you. We have both le."t our youth behind." "The allusion to my years comes gracefully from your Hps." "Ah. you distort my words. Then I shall say no more. You may not see roe again, madame. Is' there no question which you" would wish to ask me before I go?" "Good God," she cried, "is this a man? Has It a heart? Are these the lips which have told me so often that he loved me? Are these the eyes which have looked so fondly into mine? Can you then thrust away a woman whose life has been yours as you put away the St. Germain palace when a more showy one was ready for you? And this is the end of all those vows, those sweet whispers, those persuasions, thoso promises this!" "Nay, madame, this Is painful to both of us." "Pain! Where is the pain In your face? I see anger lu It because I have dared to speak truth. I see Joy in It because you feel that your vile task Is done." "My patience can bear no more!" cried the king furiously. T leave you, madame, and forever!" But her fury had swept all fear and discretion from her mind. She stepped between the door and him, her face flushed, ber eyes blazing, her face thrust a little forward, one small white satin slipper tapping upon the carpet. "You are Iu baste, sire? She is wait ing ror you uountiess. nut it was a j disappointment last night, was it not. my poor sire? AU, and for the governess, what a blow! Great heaven, what a blow! No archbishop, no marriage, . all the pretty plan gone wrong! Was It not cruel?" Louis gazed at the beautiful, furious face in lewilderment, and it flashed across bis mind that perhaps ber grief bad turned her brain. What else could be the meaning of this wild talk of the archbishop and the disappointment? It would be unworthy of him to speak harshly to one who was so afflicted. He must soothe her, and, above all, he must get away from ber. "You have had the keeping of n good many of my family Jewels," said he. "I beg that you will still retain them as a small sign of my regard." Ue had hoped to plesse her and to ' calm ber. but in an instant she was over at her treasure cupboard burling double bandfuls of precious stones down at his feet They clinked and rattled, the little peHets of red and yellow and green, rolling, glinting over the floor and rapping up against the oak panels at the base of the walls. "They will do for the governess if the archbishop comes at last! she (To Be Continued.) After a heavy meal, take a couple of Doan'a Reguleta. ana give y stcmacb. liver and bowels the ytielp they will need. Regulets hrinjf easy. regular passages cf the howjffs. Vee artificial gas tor Unt and beat. VERSATILE AND yCMQLE In Exclusive Ortg lltty 1 th RECEPTION T.1UOIC Funmhetl by Lawrence W. Dcukcr's Tet-raaq Concert Quartet V .-T-V t AMI x . mi CnnM M1 Uk tat M4h Pm Utm

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