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Show m I i A Woman r. Core. Hft i I (Continued.) jHl 8 The first rays of dawn wore breaking and wo . VHfv ) 1 believed ourselves near the ena of our danger. H 9 But what was this? Suddenly we heard the gal- Hl I h loping of horses, drawing nearer and nearer, H F B they stopped there was the noise of voices .H j f j P truly, the whole world was coming to our door ; H J v I $ that night. hI r li m As before there was a rap at the door, and as Hf ill 8 before it was I who went to open it. H Ij 8 A man stood before me, surrounded by a body lHl fit B ot ussars wno nn dismountea. jBf 1 1 B "Are they here, citizenness, quick now?" asked Hf "' H tllQ lca(cr He was no soldier, that man, but Hl i! Ira some government commissary, doubtless. He was iRji li m very fat and seemed overwhelmed with his own , flK it H 8 importance. H I jl I trembled, but soon inquired cooly: iB U j I "Here who?" ,K!!t IB "Come now, you know perfectly well. These ''ii i H Girondin wretches!" B ! r ' i 8 "There are no men here but the soldiers who jB'p i a came yesterday, as you know." H I ' I B "We'll see about that, miss' and he signed 8fi ill! If to one of tne soldlers to uold uis horse, as he H ' F 8 m descended painfully with a grunt of satisfaction at B i fp if once more touching terra firma. It was evident Bl I j if that he was not accustomed to such exercise. His BMI i ! : K wand, wnite face, seemed kind at the flrst glance, L f t ; ffi but the look in his little eyes was false and cruel. VI ' t I 8 He entered, followed by two of the hussars, 'P' i II M and went straJSht to the chapel. Immediately Bb 'i i 8 there was a great uproar and everyone scram- Rf !j; l! m bled to their feet in the wildest confusion. The Hf 4 j ! m captain came forward and saluted and we under- ilj , ij ' li stood that this new comer was a very Important rii 8 personage. ffi Hi 8 There was a short, whispered colloquy between K ffli H them and though we listened with all our might null 8 we coult not make out a word. We could only flB F mS m guess, from the gestures, that the commissary was B8T 'r'lli mi interrogating the captain, who replied in the neg- I ' I Hl I ative. We were frightened to see them raise their fl8f ' h 111 m beads and look toward the half open door of the 8Ki '' li 8 storage room, there above them, in the gray wall. Lk H Jt seemed to me that it was enormous, this little Brl j M door and attracted all eyes, all attention, to Itself. K : ji j 8 Presently the commissary, turning from the Kt - ' I m captain, came to me and looking at me with an Bii li' M H! air tnat oded n0 sood, said: Jf ,,j j Ik "Are you sure, citizenness, that there is no BbkII ; Jr 1 IB one nere ut: these men?" 8mP 'ill 81 looked at him and answered: BWll I No one!" H- ill I He put the same (luestion t0 ftrde- Badouillet, Br ' W 8 S Wl10 made tue same reply, then to Mde. Marichal. 81! 8 I thought that she would tell, would betray us li K and I looked at her with all the will power I pos- BBU l! ml sessed. nt Ij MR Slle hesitated a moment, then said: BHL;j B "I do not know I was asleep I have heard 98r'! ' 81 nothing nor seen anything." B8BbHs'$! 1 81 "H'm! I know better than all the rest of B" J I vou, appai-ently. The peasants told me that the k11 H Girondines entered here and that they spent the B8a88f'i m uight, that they are here still. Is it truer BHt 81 We were silent. kkII 81 "Consider well citizenness. You know what ni'H 81 happens to traitors, to people who hide enemies B888ftf li 81 of tllQ cause!" 88fl8W8 '-81 r felt Uiat Ide- Marichal was weakening, that 88881' ! ' 81 a11 Avas os Her 'DS moved she was about to 88881 si IP speak, but before she could utter the words, I 88888 al Bi cried audaciously: HBR'.ji B "Since you doubt us, citizen commissary, B Kj search the place. I will conduct where you wish Hhh to g0" 8888818 ' H He hesitated before my air of assurance and I B888818 'K tliought for a moment he would give up all idea HgB892 of pursuit, when a voice said from behind: HfBBK'H "It's my opinion that if there is anyone hid- 8BnHBn8l 81 (len they would be up there' and a nana pointed HKWilKl to the cornice and the door. My knees shook The cgmmissary, after interrpgatmg the soldier, sol-dier, turned to me again. "Very well, citizenness, since you propose it, guide us to that door up there, a store room, doubtless?'' I nodded my head for yes. I could not speak. "Come, a few men to go with mel" That was the most terrible moment of all. I exerted all my powers not to faint and led the way up the steps, the commissary and his men followed me. Nothing but a miracle could save those men now I thought. I soon stepped out upon the cornice. The commissary com-missary followed me painfully on account of his corpulency. "Oh, oh! how narrow it is!" he murmured. He hesitated before venturing further. The soldiers watched him, laughing. Meanwhile I was prancing, always advancing, expecting every moment to see the door shut, closed by the poor men as a sort of frail and useless use-less obstacle to a certain capture. We had reached the middle of the passage when the commissary suddenly stopped and turning turn-ing to his followers, said: "See that spider web!" And he pointed with his hand to the entrance of the storage room. By a providential chance, a big spider web brushed away when I had opened the door, had remained partly clinging to the door-case, and during the night, the insect had repaired its in. jured house. The new threads covered the whole space left by the partly open door and how could anyone have gone through the door without destroying de-stroying this web, yes, my child, a spider, a simple spider had done it all, yet you cannot persuade me that the good God did not bring tne spider there. "It's useless to go any further," added the com. missary. And between ourselves, I do not think he was sorry to go back, that big fat man, for he was terribly afraid of falling off and only his pride had made him go out there at all. There isn't any more to tell you, my child. The Girondins were saved and so was I. The commissary commis-sary departed, followed by his soldiers, and in a little while all the rest went too. The End. |