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Show i flLj THE MAIDS OF" m!$m PARADISE ? , SPmB Robert W.Chambers JiAaPESlH oif' Author of "Cardifjan,,,nie Conspirdors" BBii(I:JIwI i(ls 'at Arms'etc. VRyi c nv v7f .O.irw Mycra CotxnflhtlfcdbyPFCoHier&Son (Continued from Last Week.) A shnpo slunk near mo through tho dusk, furtive, uncertain. "Lizard," I eald, Indifferently. Ho carao up, my gun on his ragged shoulder. "You go with jour class?" I asked. "No, I go to tho forest," ho said, hoarsely. "You shall hear from mo." I nodded. "Aro you content 7" ltq demanded, lingering. Tho creaturo wanted sympathy, though ho did not know It. I gavo him my hand nnd told him ho was a bravo man; and ho wont away, noiselessly, leaving mo musing by tho rlvor wall. After a long while or it may only have been a few minutes tho squaro began to fill again with tho llrst groups of women, children, and old men who had escorted the departing conscripts a little way on their march lo Lorlent. Long tables wero Improvised In tho squaro, plied up with bread, sardines, puddings, hams and cakes. Casks of elder, propped on sklda, dotted tho outskirts out-skirts of tho bowling-green. I turned away across tho bridge out Into tho dark road. Long before I camo to the smoky, silent camp I heard tho monotonous roaring of my Hone, pacing their shadowy dens. CHAPTEn XVII. The Circus. A llttlo after ounrlso on the day sot for our first performance, Speed Bauntered Into my dre&slng-room In oxcollent humor, saying that tho country was unmistakably aroused to tho lmportnnco or lho Antl-Prusslan Itcpubllcan circus and tho Flying Mer. maid or Kcr-Ys. I had had an unpleaaant hour's work with tho lions, during which Marghduz, a bea3t hitherto lazy and docile, bad attempted to creep behind be-hind mo. Again I had betrayed lr- At llIHlH 7T. fc7 cr s ' f'ji.-v - Jr -" 'ijgsa The Man Wao John Buckhurtt. ritatlon; again the llono saw It, understood un-derstood It, and remembered. Poor devils! Who but I know that thoy wenj right nnd I Mas wrong! Who but I understood what lack or rreo-dom rreo-dom meant to tho strong-meant to caged creatures, unrighteously do-prlved do-prlved of liberty! I mentioned Homethlng of this to Speed as I vas nuttlnp ... .... apceu at. vaH putting on my coat lo go out, but he only Bcowled at me Baying "Your utefulueen as a iloS tamer Is ended, . friend; you ro a fool to enter that cago again and I'm going to tell nyinm." ' "Don't Bpoll tho governor's plensuru now,' I said. Irritably. 'Tni S 0 Rlvo It up soon. anywny-oV now-not now-not whllo the governor 1ms a chanco o mako a llttlo money; but soon-very soon-very noon. You nro light; 1 cn,... .'. trol anything now-not oven mysTf' When?" sold Speed. "Soon I don't know. p,n tirn, really tired. I want to go hoU ' i.i.m you,re,nlIy lnB homo. Scar-loU?" Scar-loU?" ho asked. curlouBly. have 'j"?"0 n0M,,nf! t0 k0,p ,no l,ur"' dowLn"'088 y" rh008'J t0 soltlo "own nnd . . . niarry," .After a moment's thought I said- Am I ,, B, Smi,,,,? 0 "No; not an nw," 1 Bald. UtB Plain fc,,.nklnB ln3tcai, o "I do want It." , 01 0-u aro ,n 'VQ with Madan.o do Vassart nnd have been for months." :You nro wrong," I said, steadily. "No, Scarlett; I am right." "You aro wrong," I repeated. "Don't say thnt again," ho retorted. "If you do not know It, you ought to. Don't be unfair; don't be cowardly. Face It, innni" "What aro you saying, Spood?" I asked, roiiBlng from my lethargy to shake his hand rrom my shoulder. "The truth. In all those years of Intimacy, ramlllarlty has never bred contempt In me. I hnvo watched you as a younger brother watches, lovingly, lov-ingly, Jealous yet proud of you, alert for a falling or. n weakness which I never found-or, ir I thought I round a flaw In you, knowing that it was but part of a character too strong, too generous for mo to criticise. Listen to me, Scarlett. I tell you that a man shipwrecked on tho world's outer rocks If ho docs not perish mukofl tho better pilot after-wardo." after-wardo." "Hut ... I perished, Speed." "It Is not true," he snld, violently:' "but you will ir you don't Btoer a truer courso than you have. Scarlett, an-Bwer an-Bwer me! Aro you In love?" "Yes," I said. Ho waited, looked up, at me, then dropped his hands In his pocketa and turned away toward tho Interior or tho tent where Jacqueline, having descended trom tho rigging, stood, drawing her nllm flngerH across the surtneo or the wator In tho tank. I walked fast across tho moors, as though I had a deBtlnatlon. And I had; yet when I understood It I sheered off. only to turn again and stare rasclnatcd In tho direction of the object that frightened mo. Then, looking seaward, for. tho first time i noticed that the black cruUer wbb gono. For a while I ' stood listening, eearching tho sea, until a voice hailed mo, nnd I turned to find Kelly Eyre almost at my elbow. "Thero Is a man In tho village haranguing ha-ranguing tho people." Speed tblntt this man Is nuckhurst." "Whntl" I cried. "Thoro's something else, too," ho said, soberly, and drew a telegram from his pocket. I solzed It; and studied tho flutter Ing sheet: , i"iT!!0 ?.Tcr,,or of '''"'''nt. on com-p com-p alnt or the muyor or Paradise, forbids for-bids tho American exhibition, and orders or-ders tho Individual Uyram to travel Immediately to Lorlent with his so-called so-called circus, whero a British steam-sulp steam-sulp will transport tho personnel, baggage, bag-gage, and anlnmla to UritlBh territory. The mayor or Parndlso will bob that thin order or expulsion Is promptly executed. , ' "(Signed) DRBTEUIL. "Chlpr or Police." llffTtl. Where Ib that rool or a mayor? Como on. Kelly I stay closo beside rao. And I Bot ofr nt a swinging pace, down tho hollow, out across the oft bank of the llttlo river, ntralght to tho brldgo, which wo reached al-most al-most on n run. "Look therel" cried my compan-Ion, compan-Ion, ns wo came In sight of the square. The equnro was packed with Breton Bre-ton peasants; near the fountain two cider barrela had been placed, a plank thrown across them, and on this plank Btood a man holding a red Hag. Tho man was John nuckhurst. When I camo nearer I could see that 10 wore a red scarr across his breast; a little nearer nnd I could hoar his paHelnnlees volco eotntdlnir nearer still, 1 could dlBtlnguIsh every clear-cut word: r i-!:V0a f V10 Bon' mon or nt an-clent an-clent Armorlca which, for a thousand jonrs, Ihih B(tproi Borrdom, I come to you hearing no Bword. You need none; you nre Tree under this red flng I ralao above you." tho'rel1Ks:h ,Jann0 8haWnK Ut "Peace, Love, Equality! All this Is yours fr the ,,,. The commun l" b Proclaimed iiirn,..,... France- 1.. r" ,'1 ,nroR"Out 'T'n! lB ",'0UF0,, L,onH ! waits!" X WatC,,e'8' ""sellles A low murmur roso trom thoneoDlo o,,ieBk:i"e,)aeB8WCPt 'bn ,,lf""B & o"Where'a tho mayor?" whlnpored "Li his hoiiEo; fired h tMtl, him " "Come on, ll,en, I said, ps J 1 way around tho outskirts , Z crowd to tho mayor'n Iioiiro. Clnw(l Tho mayor was lying In hln m chnlr, frlghtene,!, Vu,ky obstlna' O-hol" I snid. Hharply, ''B0 you si- 1 I "Dame, they tied jt'ovcr my waistcoat," waist-coat," he said, "and thj Vo aro no gendarmes gen-darmes to help mo arrest them" "Never mind thai Jus'tuAoW," I Interrupted; In-terrupted; "what I want to know In why you wrote tho governor of Lorlent Lorl-ent to expel our clrcun." "That's my own afraIr,"'ho snapped; "besides, who said I wrote?" "Idiot," I said "somebody paid you to do It Who was It?" Tho mayor looked slyly -iat me out ot the corner of his mottled eyes, but ho remained mute. 'Very well," said I; "when tho troops from Lorlent hear ot this revolution rev-olution ln'Paradtee, they'll come sad, chase these communards Into the aeej And after that they'll stand you ujj against a convenient wall and give yon thirty seconda for absolution j "Stop I " burst out the mayor, strogi gllng to his feet "What am I to dot This gentleman, Monslenr Baekhuratj will slay me If I disobey Elm I Besides" Be-sides" he began to bluster. "I'm mayor of Paradise, and I wont ba bullied! Ton get out of here with your olrosa and your foolish elei phantat I haven't any gendarme. Jut now to drive yon oat, bat rod had bettor start, all the aaae befere night" "Oh." I said, "before night? Why before nlghtr "Walt and see then," be wittered. "Anyway, get oat of my hoaee d'ye, hear?" "We are going to give that perform, anee at two o'clock this aftemoea, I said. "After that, another tomorrow at the same honr, and on every dejj at the same hour, aa long aalt pa?a, Do you understand T" ' TerfecUy," sneered the mayor. Then I asked him what he would da If the cruiser began dropping skeDq into Paradise; he deliberately winked at me and thrust his tongue Into M4 cheek. "So you know that the cruiser la gone?" I asked. He grinned. "Do you Bupposo Buckhurst'a men hold tho semaphore? If they do, they sent that cruiser on a fool'e errand," whispered Speed. Here was a nice plotl I stepped to the window. Outside In the square Buckhurat was ranging a dozen peasants peas-ants in line. The peasants were not Paradise men; thqy .wore the costumes cos-tumes of the Interior, and somebody, had already armed them with scythes, rusty boardlngplkos, stable-forks, and one or two flintlock muskots. An evil-looking evil-looking crew, If ever I saw one. They wore the scum of Morblhan. "Weill" muttered Speed In amase-ment amase-ment After a long silence, Kelly Byre looked at his watch. "It's time we were In the tent" ho observed, dryly; and we turned awayswlthout a word. At the brldgo we stopped and looked back. The red flag was Hying from tho mayor's house. (Contlued next week ) |