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Show i 1 CAPTASN SAZARAC By CHARLES TENNEY JACKSON B Copyright by The Bobbs-Morrlll Company at her moorings before the Place d'Annes I" "Certainly the venture cannot be delayed de-layed a moment beyond Hint " "Well and good 1 But It ls the night of the banquet to celebrate the plot Napoleon. I, myself, am to make a modest speech of acceptance for my aunt, Baroness Pontnlba, as I take over her Interests In outfitting the Sernphlne 1" j "I should say It ls very well. Putting Put-ting back to the city at once, with your blacks, and appearing at the affair, af-fair, you are shielded from all connivance con-nivance with what the Infamous Sazarac Saza-rac may do." "Ah, but I" exclaimed De Almonaster. Almonas-ter. "There ls to be a bull at the Theatre d'Orleans. The youth and chivalry of the city are to dance there, and then away to the Seraphlne herself her-self to revel and drink to the plot upon her decks." "At what hour, Monsieur? I admit this Is disconcerting." "At twelve o'clock. The ship will be ablaze with lanterns and hung with ribbons 1 Nom de Dieu ! It Is too late to change tho affair! I could bite my fingers that I did not think of the banquet. Commander Bosslere will preside. De Marlgny, Barre, Pierre des Trehan, young De la Vergne the officers of the garrison and the municipality mu-nicipality the affair will be an uproar up-roar until sunrise 1" "Midnight," commented the other. "Well, then by Bonaparte, himself Monsieur Sazarac shall attend. He will stand at the banquet table In the emperor's suite and tonst the absent guests. He will be the ghost out of the dark, and fleeting on to the dark- "I OFFER A SHIP"" SYNOPSIS. Under the name of "Captain Surnrac," and disguised, Jean Lantte, former freebooter of Paratarla. proscribed, returns to the city of New Orleans. He is recognised by two oft his- old companions. Alderman Dominique and Heluche. At the gaming tables Sazarac has won- much-money much-money from Colonel Carr. British Brit-ish officer. John Jarvis, the city's first bohemlan of the arts- and1 letters, an oldtlme friend of Lantte. La-ntte. tells of a woman's face and1 smile. As his last wager; Garr puts up a woman, presumably a slave. Custom compels Sazarac to accept the stake. He wins. His old associates and Count RaottI de Almonaster accost him as Lantte. A project of' the-youthful the-youthful adventurers of New Orleans Or-leans Is the rescue of Napoleon Bonaparte from St. Helena, and' a ship, the Seraphlne. has been made ready. From De Almonaster Almonas-ter Sazarac learns that the girl he '"won" at the card" table- Is. white, of high estate, and that the matter has been made a byword by-word In the city's resorts. Sazarac Saz-arac finds Mademoiselle Lestron, a fellow passenger en a, river steamer a few days before, and with whom he had fallen In love, ls the girl and In chivalry foregoes fore-goes his revenge against Carr. fw Jarvis admires Mademoiselle Les- tron. He is a witness of the- meeting and picks up a camellia which the girl had thrown, unnoticed, un-noticed, to Saaarac-. Jarvis ls dangerous; he talks too much In his cups. His old associates- of the Barataria days urge Lafitte k to take command of the Sera phlne. ostensibly to rescue Napoleon Napo-leon but really to fly the black flag and cruise the seas. He hesitates. Jarvis is a- witness of the kidnaping of Mademoiselle Lestron. but his story la not given credence. De Almonaster entertains Sazarac. now admittedly admitted-ly Jean Lantte. at his country house. ' Lafitte. accused of the abduction of Mademoiselle Lestron. Les-tron. is warned of the approach of a military party seeking to arrest him. He escapes to the swamps of Barataria. Lantte learns that Mademoiselle Lestron has been placed on the ship Genaron. for the West Indies. Influenced In-fluenced by his followers of the freebooting days, and by De Almonaster. Al-monaster. chief owner of the Seraphlne. Ser-aphlne. Lantte agrees to seize the ship and sail to the rescue of Mademoiselle Lestron. CHAPTER VII Continued. 10 He took his snuff debonairly. And suddenly, with a shout of Joy, the hairy giant, Johanness, seized tlie count's slender hand. "There once more ! I told you, Jean, that this young aristocrat aristo-crat was the truest adventurer of ns nil ! Now, he proposes a ship ! A ship for Sazarac !" The Captain Sazarac in turn grasped De Almonaster's hand: "Well, then, Bohon, get word to- the Temple! Choose your fellows well, and have them come by the water trails secretly to Monsieur Berthoud's plantation across from the upper city. And not a field-hand or house-sliive must so much as have sight of a shirt-tail of you all. No liquor, there 1 No brawling, brawl-ing, until we have descended by the old smuggler's road1 and taken the Napoleon Na-poleon ship !" The score of figures crowded on the lugger's deck, or wading waist-deep about her bow, holding the flambeaus and striving to listen to the confer ence, raised a hearse cry- Crackley, the leader of the deserters, strove for dominance over the younger men. "Eh, bullies! I told you there would be blood-letting, once we had the man to lead ns! A ship, and then over the line at the king o' Spain's traffic, says I!" At a word from Bohon there was a scattering of the Islanders from the smuggler's rail. A whispered conference confer-ence here and there; secret orders given ; gesticulations of surprise and ' -exultation, as the lieutenants explained ex-plained what must be arranged. At the lugger's bow there now stood but two figures. The gamester, Sazarac, Saza-rac, had placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. before the ballroom vestibule amldat the flush of carriage wheels, sleek-coated sleek-coated animals turning among the bright-coated gentlemen and shouting hostlers, there came one brown-skinned brown-skinned fellow tugging to hold back a. spirited steed. Unsteadily, aa by chance he was Jerked on by the horse, the groom finally held up at the banquette ban-quette of broad stones on which stood the idle candle seller. To him the groom muttered : "Monsieur Almonaster Is here. lis thought It best. They gibe him roundly round-ly about the affair Lafitte, but he protests pro-tests he has given half his plantation force to the military and the city guard who are beating out the woods for the stolen lady. He ha denounced de-nounced as deeply as any against the outrage and he thought It best to come Join the gallants. How goes It, Gorglo?" "With the few of us In town well. And, be assured, across the river tho Captain Jean will hare his fellow ready 1 Be on, now I Tou must not talk to me overlong. Only, Teton, we Idle here, armed and watchful and a word from your master " "Monsieur de Almonaster Is to send word by me I am to hang about drinking with the servants at our side entrance watching." "Word must come In time before the party leaves for the ship we must know that an hour before." "My master will be assured. The fun grows furious already It will be drawn ere they think of supper on the Seraphlne." "Be gone! Here comes one of the police guard !" The quarter-blood groom led on De Almonaster's horse. And again the candle seller raised his monotonous cry down the me Royale. And from the river end of Antoine's alley wandered wan-dered another figure; at the deep entry en-try to the Padre's house, midway in the tree-shaded obscurity, the old An-dalusian An-dalusian beggar sank on the stones with a sigh and adjusted the pair of pistols at his belt to more ease. When Gorglo wandered this way again, the vagrant seemed asleep. Then came his mutter: "Perhaps, on the rue de la Levee by the first market mar-ket stall, there might await a customer. cus-tomer. Thou art too noisy at the best for the Padre's street, eh Frere Dlabler "Custom Is bad at least," retorted Gorglo, "but you the police will harry you on as well." "Not with Padre Antolne, my good friend, above at his book," growled the other. "Do as I bid I was sent." And on idled the candle man, with his owl-cry to the galleried homes. Under the thick arches of the ancient market he bantered hoarsely about the cabbage and fowl stalls. At this hour the market was little visited and few kept open. A few lazy Indian women and mulattoes grumbled back at Gor-gio's Gor-gio's Jests ; an early cart or two backed In to unload for the morrow's business, and It was to one of these, on which a trio of trucksters smoked Idly, that the old man came. They shot down dark, inscrutable glances. "Pierre," muttered Gorglo, "you are In charge of these?" "In all, sixteen of us, sleeping about the stalls," came In the patois. "The police guards note nothing. But of the fellows who must cross by the river, there ls delay. What wai the hour?" "It cannot be set to a moment. At midnight the ball must have taken every Idler from the plaza to crowd about and gape at the gentry. Save for the cursed lights about the ship Itself, all would be clear. It must bo touch and board quickly;" "Two of Johanness' men are already enlisted In the crew. They report all well, save that old Bosslere fusses about the tables on the deck the lights and wine and cuisine keep the servants all astir." "He will go to the ball later. As commander of the Napoleon expedition, expedi-tion, and the affair In honor of the Seraphine's departure on a next week's tide, the young bravos will have him In the whirl." "Monsieur de Almonaster's groom la to fetch the first word to me I to Peter, Pe-ter, the beggar, who plays the sot on the steps of the Padre's house. He to you In the market then you to the lantern signal under the rue Toulouse landing. Then the . six boats shoot with all speed from the other shore. At the first commotion as they swing aboard, your fellows rush openly from the market, cast off the mooring lines and Join. It Is overboard with any who oppose." "Ah, to play the part of Sazarac Saz-arac one hour!" (TO BE CONTINUED.) "Belles Chandelles, M'sleu! Madame! Belles Chandelles!" ness that awaits him. He will be brief in his role, this Sazarac grasping at a flicker of moonlight ; and for his answer an-swer silence." CHAPTER VIII The Revelen of the Plaoe d'Armes. In the dusky radiance of the chain oil-lamps suspended from corner to corner, the vagrant csndle seller held his handful of green wax myrtle tapers high, peering up at the Iron gallery to the possible customer. "Belles chandelles! Petlts belles chandelles Madame!" The magnificent lady Ignored htm with disdain, and the shabby old figure fig-ure shambled on with Its cry : "Belles chandelles, M'sleu! Madame belles chandelles 1" . At the corner of the rue Royale and Orleans Just behind the cathedral the peddler stopped and hitched his cloak higher over his basket. The rue d'Orleans was a blaze of light showing show-ing forth the low facade of the famous ballroom. From carriages, dusky, be-Jeweled be-Jeweled women were alighting: and "You peril your life and your fortune, for-tune, Monsieur. There is but one stake for which I would accept such a mad offer from a friend. One night, upon the staircase at the hotel, I said bluntly, merely as a vagabond may speak his thought, with nothing to lose or gain that I loved the lady of my wager at Maspero's. I went my way, asking no answer. The moonlight was on the palms and myrtle ... I could not well see, but I thought something some-thing fell and vanished from my sight. It might have been her answer." "Very likely It was the lady's answer," an-swer," smiled De Almonaster. "Eh, well! Out of the shadows It came Into the shadows It vanished. It appears to be like my life. It seems to hae the prophecy of my love. Ah, curious thing ! a flicker In the moonlight and silence!" "I offer, Monsieur, a ship, my friendship, friend-ship, my fortune to compel the lady -f to answer!" The bronzed adventurer laughed slightly. "Thank you, Monsieur!" But suddenly his companion started with an amazed gasp. "Sazarac, I have forgotten something! some-thing! Perdition! It just came to my dullard mind ! The plot ls to seize the Seraphlne tomorrow night as she lies across the cobbles grooms led horses from which gentlemen had just dismounted dis-mounted to wander by groups to the barroom or to the crowded vestibule of the Quadroon ball. Laughing, jesting jest-ing gallants, some of more youthful appearance glancing rather timorously up the street, for this was a frolic not countenanced openly and yet the gentlemen of the town and the plantations plan-tations would be there. Favorites and mistresses the famed beauties of the demi-monde and perhaps a few better bet-ter recognized were lured to the Ball d'Orleans to wonder curiously how brothers, fathers and lovers might comport themselves at the revel. The old candle seller, In the shadow of the trees In the cathedral garden across the rue Royale, watched unceasingly. un-ceasingly. Behind him lay the narrow-paved narrow-paved Alley St. Antolne between the church and the gloomy, high-galleried buildings jutting over it. The other end opened on the Place d'Armes ; and beyond that, the levee where there was a group of lanterns forming an arch over a carpeted gangway that led to the deck of the gayly lighted Seraphlne. Sera-phlne. The candle peddler looked each way casdally. At length, from the crowd |
