Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1906 — Madame Midas [ARTICLE]

Madame Midas

By Fergis Hame

- CHAMBER TO(ToniTmicd.’i : “Drop it,” said Slivers severely. in liN "HECspiug: trrrtp voire;.:- Billy protended net ; to unde.cvuhig-JSliyi.’.rs-l for a moment or *wo. resumed his jrmr , ney. Slivers sfrotelnsl out his hand fur the ruler. wUorvtipoir Billy tor-omtttg e+rv»* to his danger. dropped thfcriHflghl andflew off »totable with a 'discordant shriek. Slivers leaned twck in his chair drumming in an aiw-n; --r; v.f way-with his lean fingers On the table. lli> cork arm hung down dimply, an JTiis oue _cj c was ffjced on a' loiter Tying in front oTTiTfff. - This was-a-eoianHmr<»fH-iotv from the man—ager of the Pactolus mine requesting Slivers to get him more hands, and Slivers' ers in a musing sort of tone, “and she's got a good thing in that claim if six' only •trikes the load. What a fool 1 was not to hare collared that ground before she did; hut Hcfhtosh never would tell me where she place was. Never mind TTI be even with him yet." _His expression of face was not pleasant as he said this, and he grasped the Tetter fipfront of hrm in sT vioh-nT IvftTv as if be were wishing his long fingers were round the writer's throat. - Tapping with his wooden log on .he floor, be was soon about to recommence his inusing>. when he heard a step in the passage, and the door of his office being pushed violently open, a man entered without fur liietr^raiK^ T :TOa:tlnng:toms<-if d«v n in a chair near the window. “Well, Mr. Randolph Yillicrs." croaked Slivers, after contemplating his visitor tor a few moments, “how’s business? “Bad." retorted Mr. Villiers. "I've lost twenty pounds bn those Moscow shares. “More fool you,” replied Slivers, "I rould have told you the mine was no good; but you will go on your own bad judgment.'’ “It’s like getting blood out of a stone to get tips from you,” growled Villiers. with a sulky air. “Conte now, old toy, in a cajoling manner, “tell us something good—l’m nearly stone broke, and Tmust live.” “I don't see the necessity,” malignantly returned Slivers, “but if yon do want to get into a good thing ” , “Yes! yes'” said the other, 'eagerly bending forward. “Get an interest in the Paeiolns. ami the agreeable old gentleman leaned--back -and- -laughod—loudly at his -v-iskot’-s discomfilnre. . ; V'?: “You knbwi-as, well as 1 do that my ajfe won't look at me." "Why don't you ruin your wife, you fool?" said Slivers, turning .vindictively -on Villiers. "You ain't going to let her have all the money while you tire starving, are you?” "How the deuce am I to do That asked Villiers. “y : " "■ . "Get the whip hand of her. ’ snarled Slivers viciously; "find out if she's in love, and threaten to divorce her if she doesn't go halves." “There's no chance-of her having any lovers,” retorted Villiers; "sire's a piece of ice.” “Ice melts," replied Slivers quickly. “Wart till ‘Mr. Right’ comes along, and then she’ll want to get married again.” "Well “You’ll have the game in your own hands." hissed the wicked old man, rubbing his hands. "Oh!" he cried, spin-, ning round on his wooden leg. "its a lovely idea. Wait till we meet ’Mr. Right.' just whit.” and he dropped into his chair quite overcome by the sTate of excitement he had worked'himself into,; , "If you've quite done with those gymnastics. my f H endsaid asof t voice near she dtor. “pertiapa I may enter.” * __ Both the inmates of the office looked ap at standing at the half-open door —one. an extremely handsome young man of about thirty, dressed in a iteat suit of blue serge. and wearing a large white wide-awake hat, with ft Birdseye handkerchief twisted round Ir. His conrpatiitm was a-short and heavily built, dressed somewhat the samt, but with his black bat pulled down over his eye*. “Gome in." growled -Slivers, angrily. “What do you want “Work,” said the young man, advancing to the table. "We are new arrivals in the* country, and were told to come to you to get work." “I don’t keep a factory.” snarled Slivers. “I don’t tyink * would eamc; to you if you did,” retorted the stranger coolly. “You won Id not to a pleasant master either to look at or to speak to.!’ Villiers laughed at this, and Slivers stared dtimfouhded at being spoken to in such a manner. Slivers was just going to snap out a dismissal, when he caught sight of McIntosh’s letter on the table. Here .was n young man handsome enough to make any woman fall in love with him. and who. moreover, had a clever tongue in his head. All Slivers’ animosity revived against Madame Midas as he thought of the Devil’s Lead, and he determined to use this young man as a tool, With these thoughts in his mind, be drew a sheet of paper toward him. and dipped the rusty pen fflthc tbi<-k ink. “Names?” he nsk<kl. “Mine,” said the stranger, bowing. ”is Gaston Vandeloup; my friends Pierre Lcmaire—both French.” Slivers scrawled this down in the series of black scratches which did duty with him for writing. “Where do you come from?” was his „»est auestiop,..;.-, ~ —, “The story,” said Mr. Vandeloup, with suavity, “is too long to repeat at present; but we came to-day from Melbourne.” 1 *mst kind of work can you do?" asked Slivers sharply. “Anything that turns up." retorted the “I was addressing your companion, sir; not you,” snarled Slivers, turning viciousAr ab Mi,

r.j- baVe To” answer for both," replied the, young man coolly, slipping one baud h;« pocket and lenii ig ■fljElS'pi hie Hit - ill a niM-T.icv-.nl uttiUule . "niy. friend is d,Hid>. -But his leg>s arms and eyes •grr'e~~ all - there.” - Slivers glared ftl ibis fresh niece of im- ; 'rtincnce. but said nothing. -Tie wrote a letter to Mclntosh', recommending him to take oil tlte two meti, and handed it to •-Vkwdidoapv received i r urfrtP-a how. : “The price of yotp- services. Monsieur?" he asked. ’' “Five tob,“ growled SI i versjTroWttjjg; out : his one -hand. •---.—Tor-a—I.ZAL— •• • Vandeloup pulled mil two half-crowns and put them in tin' thin, daw-like lingers. ttbteb-Instantly - closed• .them. . go***#-.-IoV, «aid Sliviyts. poeketiiig the money.; "the -Paptolyc clgTgr.- There'*- A-yt-ecty-wotaatfe there.” . . | Vamfcioup put on his hat and went to the door, out of which Pierre had already preceded Him. _l_... ('HATTKB IV. ■ Jtajiftj tie Midas.--was slajiilijag onthe "veranda o-pfrer cottage; staring far away into the distance, where she could see •he tall chimney and huge mound of white earth which marked the whereabouts of the Pactolus claim. She was a tall woman of t!e‘ .Ttmoesqtie type, with tir.m white TianiTs-and w, jl-fuhued feet, . Seatii-red this j*ast,u a 1 looking ■Mini r\ were lmge moiiml- of v it+fr* earth, looking hike heaps of carded wool, and at the end of cax>h of these invariably stood i; tall, ugly skeleton o.f„vi--Qto-dniese-niar.k-. id. the positions of the :niues : --the tovy-' trs contained the winding gear, while the. white earth was the day called mulloclu brought from several hundred feet below •JtlC. surface; Near these mounds were rough looking shcds with tall rctl cbimneys, which made a pleasant spot of color agaiiisl the white of the clay. On one of these mounds, rather isolated from the ethers, and standing by itself in the midst -of- -ft- wide green paddock, Mrs. Villiers' eyes were fixed, and she soon saw the dark figure of a man coming slowly down the .white mound, along the green field and advancing slowly up the hill. She called out to some one inside. " “Archie is coming, Selina --you had better hurry up the lea, for lie will be hungry after such a long day.” The person inside made no answer save .iw-ttm.oytva.-V-hrttt>g-of snme domrstit ntetisi's.—Madam, walked slowly -down the garden path, and leaned lightly over the gate, waiting for tbo new corner, who was indeed none other than Archibald Melntoah, the manager of the Pactolus. He was a man of about medium height, rather thin than othefwigei with a leirg. narrow looking head and boldly cut features. His eyes were gray and shrewd looking,' his lips were firmly compressed - iu fact, the whole appearance of his fate was obstinate—lho face of a man who would stick Id. his opinions whatever anyone else might say to the contrary. - “D'ye know what this may be?” he said, a smile relaxing his grim features-as h» v held up h rather large nugget i “ 'tis the third this week !” Madame Midas took the nugget from him and balanced it carefully in her hand; with a thoughtful look in her face, as if she was making a mental calculation. “About twenty to twenty-five ounces, 1 should sav," she observed in her soft, low voice; "the last \ve had was fifteen, and the one before twenty - looks promising, doesn't it?" “Well. I'll not say but it might mean a deal more," replied Mclntosh, with characteristic Bcotrh- - earn t ion,--ashefob towed Madame into the house; "it's not a very bad sign ; 1 will not say but what -we-mieht -to-noar ilie .Devil's Lead.”, p "And if we arc?" said Madame, turning with a smile. "AYeel, mem. ye'll have more siller nor ye'll know what to do with." Selina Jane Sprotts, who now acted as servant to Mrs. Vlibers, was rather aq oddit-y iu w ay. She had been Mad--tune’s nurse and had. followed her up to Ballarat, with the "determination of never leaving her. Selina was a spinster. She moved noiselessly abotK the small room, in a wonderfully dextrous mauuer, and, after laying the table, placed the teapot on the hob. - <fBjf and by Archie, who had been making a great splashing in the back premises, came in looking clean and fresh, with a more obstinate look about his face than ever. Madame went To The tea table and sat down. Archie asked blessing. “You have written to Slivers?” said ! Madame, raising her eyes. “That wooden legged body," jetdPfed Mclntosh. "Deed and I have, but the old tyke has not done anything to getting me what I want. Weel, weel,” in a resigned sort of a manner, “we might be than we are, an’ who knows bilt PradfTeuee will send us men by and by?” Madame rose to her feet and walked to the window. Her thoughts were sot pleasant. She had hoped to cut heraelf off from all the bitterness and sorrow of her past life, but this husband of hers, like an unquiet spirit, came to trouble her and remind her of a time she would willingly have forgotten. "If'T'TOUld only get riffi <rf-Trrnr, 1J sheThought, toying wifb a flower, "hut it is impossible. I can’t do that without money, and money 1 never will have till 1 find that lead. 1 must bribe him. I suppose. Oh, why can’t he leave me alone now? Surely he has ruined my life sufficiently in the past to let me hate a few getfulness." And with a petulant gesture she hurled the rose out of the wiudow, where it struck Archie a soft apd fragrant blow on the cheek. “Yes,” said Madame to herself, as she pulled down the window, “I must get rid of him.” CHAPTER V. Miss Sprotts was much in favor of a

constint fire, because of the dampness of the house, and Madame Midas did not by any means-object,- as. she was a perfect salamander for heat. Hence, when the outward door was dosed. The .faded'red curtains of the window drawn, and the newly replenished fire., blazed brightly in the Wide free place, the room was one a -syfumte—wottW * have delight. Madame Jlidrtswas scaled now at the small..table itt"The ,-cn’ter of the room, Hand the.sMft.gjow oT tto lamp romTierjUter smooth, lmlr aiid wliffit dross with a sub-' dued light. Archie sat by the fire, half asleep,-and there wa s hdead -a i 1 i-nbe in the room, only broken by the rapid scratching of Madanie's pen qr ih" dick of Selina’s needles. .. . -j-r-- nJotn ,, Tlli ;l knock came to -the ,fi;out door; wlii'-h caused Selina to drop her wrnrk~wT? h : siTffilcji start, and'rise to -her seer. _ _■ - ■ " r . " ' ■■'“Nt>fr-yo«. S'-iimt." ssid-Madame; in a quiet voice; *Tot Arbhiy got it may be wait ttaittp," - T —“)i ed no,' mein." re;ditfd Ardiie, ob- _ stiu. itely. ns im arose from his seat; “’tis very likely a man from the work* i -sawing: fey h vvliiTts. io' got There's "more talk nor sense aboot them. I’m thinkin’ — the -dlatteririg parrots T--Selrnu resnmeri her knirtirrg in a most -phlegmat !«• wa mii*r. Itti-f' .Mradamc listenedintently. for she was always haunted by, a secret dread of her husliand -breaking in on her. She heard a inilrtinn - 0P • VOICBJR and then A rchie j.-e turned - with Tsai fiM;.; who entered the room and stood before , Madame in- the light, of the, lamp, T is two-merr fronrstb.yT ged said ~ “One o’ then? has a wee bit letter for ye” turning to. receive the same from the foremost man. T’he man. however, did 1 not take notice of Archie’s gesture, but walking .forsvard . ~T7i XtaiTame, laid the letTer down before her. As he did so. she caught sight of the delicacy of his hands, and looked up suddenly with a piercing gaze. He bore the scrutiny coolly, and took a chair in -silence, his companion doing the same, while Madame opened the Tetter and read Slivers’ btnt-writing with-a-Aextertty-'OSrty" . Having finished her perusal, she.looked t'd 1 slowly. “A . brokiMt.-(ji>wii gentleman,” she said to herself, as she smV the easy bearing and handsome face of the young man; then looking at his companion, sfie sawby his lumpish aspect and coarse.hands that he occupied a much lower rank of life than liis friend. Monsieur VaHdeioun for ii was he—- ■ -.iiigh-t—tor-eye as she was scrutinizing them, and his face broke into a smile —a most charming smile, ns Madame observed mentally. though she allowed nothing of her thoughts to appear on her face. “Y'ou want work,” she said, slowly folding up the letter; “do you understand anything about gold mining?" “Unfortunately, no. Madame," said Vandeloup, coolly ; “but we are w illing to lean!'” —j —__ r gArchie grunted iu a dissatisfied manner, for tie waspiy no means'in favor of teaching people their business, and, be- • sides, he thought VambTintp too much of “You look hardly strong enough for such hard labor. said Mrs. T fibers, doubtfully eying The slender figure of the voting man. “Y’our companion, 1 think, will do, but you -—” “I, Madmne, am like the lilies-of the field that neither toil nor spin,” replied Vandeloup gayiy; ir bnt, unfortunately, I ntii now jbbinpelled by necessity to work, nud though 1 should prefer Lp earn my bread in an easier maimer, beggars cannot be choosers." "You are French?" she asked quickly, in that language. . , Maibnne.” lie r-plled hi the same tongue, “both mv friend and myself are from Paris, but we have not been long out here.” "Humph!” Madame leaned her head on her hand and thought, while \ andeioup looked at her keenly, and remembered what Slivers had said; "She is, indeed, a handsome woman,” he observed, mentally. Mrs. Villiers rather liked the looks of this young man; There was a certain fascination about him which few women could resist. Ilis companion, however, she did not care about -he bad a sullen Tttrd —lowering eoturteimuce, and looked rather dangerous. “What is your name?" she asked the young man. "Gaston Vandeloup." "You are a gentleman.” lie bowed, but said nothing. "And you?" asked. Madame. sharply Turning to the other. He looked up and tottehed lfis meurh. (To to continued.»