Show m Q JC J C r I co 0 A At I m r c v o I Ii J II liEF i l r 1 I t N 1 IJ J 1 t J c ce I t r z a I e S J Jc I r c t tt r BOld t J j r le leI I I rr N I r r Il l s c I Ia Ole r t r a lf t Jill tb D t hi S lOld plc A p ti r m t I IJ It fJ W 0 J by t ij bare h 2 e o I 0 A I CouL I I t a ROM the low window framed in 1 dl 1 came light enough to light to bed so sleepy FROlI a traveller as I so I troubled not at nt all to toe toge ge e of t find the candle Sitting idly on the edge of ofIn la In tb tbs the couch ouch I pondered on the effort it would nth t I require to pull off my boots A soldier and hardened to all shifts I might indeed have slept as I was but the bed was the best in in the inn inna Both a and I cared eared not to vex ex my tidy soul by any I such ouch roughness rou ss of the camp C Even as I thought of it h ence en c t e however my tired brain bram was flowing away into intoe Sn e dreams Ii Presently a head appeared appe rt d close to the glass and andara a ara my nl fingers finger released the pistol The head was a wom worn womans n sip I ans a young girls it seemed seem d in the white whitecap cap wherein these girls of Acadia are arc wont to en enL L tb shadow their bright faces lr tr I 1 Jacques she murmured in u a voice which my cars for 1 u at once approved is is it really you u ul Theres There s a mistake e here an interesting mistake ml take takeI aa l 1 I aid said my heart to inc me But I let no such utterance 1 rise to my lips No indeed But my m name is Jack Jacki CE at n i I and no one could be supposed to think of spelling t at such a moment cut My Iy conscience made no protest mod y as IS I answered Surely Surel dear clear one its Jack Who Vho else could it be beI bd hId I spoke in a 1 discreet whisper for or all voices in it aund a 1 Dhe bey whisper wh pcr sound o und alike and I blessed my stars that I 1 had perfected my French since my m arrival in Halifax I put out o t my hand but failed to find a 1 small one to occupy it Il Plan Of OE course I 1 knew it was you Jacques the be beI bewitching uc i witching voice responded or you OU dont suppose I s should have come knocking at your window this way waye e is 11 do you ou ouI Tte I r No I should think not chine n I assented heartily c ces is solicitous to cherish the maids mistake and md prolong lb the interview to the utmost patience of Fate But it I was kind of oC you to come so 50 soon This seemed safe afe and noncommittal but I trembled tb that t after r I said it lest some unknown revelation should t be lurking in the words I tl c I I had to Jacques because I was afraid you ou might J a IlaL 9 I come to see sec me nu tonight Is 5 la In I was coming I 1 interrupted boldly boldy y r mendacious but I 1 was on the road all night last night ni ht a and thought ha had better lie down own for Cor a 1 soldiers forty lort ort v winks be before ber r a r f fore forc I called ca tied She laughed under tinder her breath provocatively cly How llo your French has improved in in these two years she remarked with approbation I used to I Its think you would never learn In et cf vil village vile Tim Thus was the first time I had seen 3 e It 1 lage but hut I felt safe in my reply at ac I 1 was stupid of oC course won neon but hut alter after i iwas was gone Rone I remembered your sweet instructions This was dangerous ground I hastened to shift it it iL itI iLI I But Bat tell me I went on what can you OU mean by and sec S ee you Surely you arc are arcs aloof j saying I am not to come s 5 ie not going to be so cruel when Ive been away so soNo long lons longa i No Jacques she said with a decisive e shake slake of a U to Father is very her pretty head you cannot come p bitter blUer against you ou and there would be a scene cene Iq t I began to feel that I had rights which were being r ij f r trampled upon 1 But what chat do you suppose I came to a for od I pleaded kt Not merely to sec me that I r know Jacques came camet Je t the decided answer You could never get leave of l I cat 1 I absence just for that You English could is 6 U k 1 1 never make a n womans wishes so important roar f r we indeed I protested In my eager forward rd into the glimmer seeking closer 3 nc s I leaned dust duit proximity to the fair face that seemed t t lo to waver off oCT alluringly just beyond beon my reach r ch Then s a j J in a panic lest I had hd revealed myself eH and displayed to 1 her the thc error which I was finding so agreeable Idrew Idrew I Idrew drew myself back ek hastily into the thc gloom To cover my alarm I reproached plaintively I Why Wh do you keep so far away sweet one Surely you Ou arc glad to see sec me again She laughed softly deliciously under her hood I seen you yet et really you know Jacques Perhaps you jou have changed and I might not like you ou so well Men do change especially Englishmen and soldiers they say S 1 But tell me why have you comei come cometo cometo i to what reason beside to sec me meThe md meThe The business which gained me the privilege of coming where I might be once more blessed by the light of your sweet eyes provoking one was the need conceived in the thc heart of oC our good Governor of put putting putting ting Ling a l stop to certain transactions with the French at Louisbourg which as lS you doubtless know very well have hae laid bid all this coast under grave x t suspicion Your people I dare wager arc are too loo wise wise wiser r to be mixed up in such perilous enterprises No o sooner had I spoken than I realized that for once Truth had tricked me I 1 had better have trusted to invention Thank you Jacques That is is just what I wanted anted I to know You arc so kind Goodnight The errand which had brought me from Halifax to with six soldiers to support me was one of oC some moment and here was I already in in dan danger danger danger ger of distraction thinking th of oC a girls voice voice of half seen mocking eyes rather ther than of my undertaking I got up shook myself angrily then sat down again to lay I a my plans for the morrow The old Seigneur Sei neur of Monsieur Raoul r St Michel le Ie Fenc had heartily accepted the Eng English lish high rule and md dwelt in high favor with the powers at atHali atI I Halifax Hali I I But he had died d ed a 1 year back leaving his estates to his nephew young joung St Michel It had come cometo cometo cometo to the cars of the he t Government that this youth a aL I L headstrong partisan of France F nce was taking advantage of oC his position as Seigneur to prosecute very success successfully tb fully ull the forbidden traffic with Louisbourg Great and merited was the official It was resolved re resolved 4 solved that the estates should be confiscated at once t f 4 and nd young Monsieur St Michel le Ie Fevre captured t i if possible Thereupon the estates were conferred fir upon myself to whom the Governor was somewhat r rr 1 s deep deeply indebted It was passing comfortable comfort to him fA to pay a debt out of oC a pocket other than his own e i j I was to to gather in in Mon Moo Monsieur cr f le lc Fevre I e for the Governor and the le Ie es estates esk k tates tales for or myself They were fair air estates I had heard heardt t i and I vowed owed that I would presently teach them to tot serve sene well the cause of king t 1 My M first thought in in the thc morning when the level sun sunt streaming through the brought me on the he heft ft sudden wide awake as a soldier should wake slipping cleanly and completely out of his 1115 j tJ rny my y first Gish thought I say was as of a shadowed face f ce vanen van vanishing an ani i E i j into the nl and something en cn enI 4 I e mysterious to be sought for in this remote tr y Acadian village Then remembering my m business and andI JM hoping that my indiscretion had not muddled it I Ire I resolutely re put the folly from rom me and sprang up upI l oat I I 1 needed none to point out the house of the le lc 15 t F 1 It Il shall not be changed by so much as IS one goose gooseberry I r berry bush said soul I to myself highly highl pleased with the theo o i prospect Then rounding a lilac thicket r I arrived at atthe aty n y the open gate gale And then face ace to face I met a girl jorL l 2 I The meeting eding was ryas so sudden and so o closely did dial I Ir r confront her that I felt elt my m coming comin a 1 most uncivil in intrusion intrusion Moreover she was most disconcerting to look upon Stammering apologies and snatching my hat from my m head I 1 Hushed flushed and dropped my before her which was not in accordance with my custom I dropped my eyes ees as I say but even then I saw S lW her as clearly within my brain as if my eyes were boldly resting upon her face The lady l of the manor evidently I had heard there was teas a sister to the recalcitrant young Seigneur one Mademoiselle Irene Ir nc over oer whose beauty and ca en caprices caprices prices had more than one duel dud been fought among the gallants of Quebec Presently I heard the sound of my stammering n cease and a soft voice voice troubling me with a familiar note said sid courteously You are arc very welcome to Monsieur My brother is is away from home unhappily but in in his absence you must allow me the honor of taking his place as your host in in my poor way I looked up tip and met her eyes fairly fairl my confusion lost loit in in surprise and on the instant my m heart signalled to me It is is none nOlle other than the maid of the thc window win window window dow I 1 Take card care I Yes I saw it iL plain Yet I should never have known it but for a 1 perception somehow more subtle than that of of car ear and eye for she had disguised her voice the night before and her dress had been that of a peas peasant peasant ant maid and nd the bright riddle of her face fact had been in shadow sh I perceived top too that she site felt herself safe from discovery discover and that thal it was for me to save her blushes by leaving her security In all this sudden I turmoil of my wits however I fear that I Iwas Iwas Iwas was near forgetting my manners But Mademoiselle I demanded bluntly blunt how do you know who I am amIt amIt amIt It is the part of oC the conquered to know their con conquers conquers conquers quers Monsieur she answered in a manner that eluded the bitterness of the thc words But indeed the place of an English officer on duty out that is doubtless official is here at nt the thc and not at al the village vil village lage Ige inn inn We Ve cannot let you OU put a J slight upon our hospitality But I was stubborn That deed in my pocket weighed tons Yet my m inclination must have shown in my eyes plainly enough for one olle less than Mademoiselle Irene Ire lle ae le Ie Fevre to decipher it A little air of con confidence confidence confidence flitted over her face Nevertheless I shook my m head headMost headMost headMost Most gracious lady I protested you ou honor me too much It will delight me to learn that your brother has been maligned and in this faith I spoke true forgetting the contingent peril to my pocket but were he never so innocent it would be my duty to take him to Halifax for the Governor himself to weigh the evidence The irony ir ny of life has sent me here as your foe not as your guest Then Monsieur come as a foe who but observes the courtesies Come with your hands free Cree to arrest my brother at any moment on his own hearthstone he is far away from it now praise Mary or to arrest your hostess either if your duty should de demand demand demand mand that unkindness Her strong little eloquent hands were clasped in in appeal and who was I to deny her But I looked into her eyes i and I saw in their childlike deeps d eps un underneath underneath underneath the mocking and the feigning a clear spirit which I could not bear to delude I understood now very plainly her mad game me of the night before She was unmasking a danger for her brother I justified her in my m heart but for my own part in the folly I felt a I creeping shame How lightly she must hold me mc This thought and a l sense that I was about to hurt her brought the hot flush to my face bce and I looked away as I spoke But Mademoiselle forgive me that I bear such tidings estates of Monsieur Raoul le Ie Seig Seigneur Seigneur Seigneur neur of Chet camp are confiscated confiscate to the Crown Mademoiselle I cried more passionately perhaps than was fitting titting do not misunderstand The con confiscation confiscation confiscation does docs not apply at once of course and you OU OUre are re still stilt absolute mistress here If your our brother be proved innocent the decree of confiscation may be revoked So it will wilt now no be held in in suspension You will I am sure permit me to go through tho the form of oC visiting your house to convince me as the Gov Governors Governors Governors emissary that Monsieur le Ie Fevre is not there Then I will return to the village and see sec to it that my m men shall cause you no annoyance or embarrass embarrassment ment menu I dare not ask you to pity me for the duty that has been put upon me You are arc a generous enemy en em a 1 chivalrous enemy enem Monsieur she murmured in a low earnest slightly strained voice Then she recovered her lightness I am almost your our prisoner in a sense am I 1 not notA notA notA A suspect certainly If I accept your leniency leni ncy and profit profiL by your permission to stay here under my con confiscated confiscated confiscated roof do not make me mc die under this weight of oC favor Be my guest and let I t me feel that I am amnot amnot amnot not the only one in debt Was Vas this the same woman this half mocking all irresistible creature she whom I 1 had seen with hopeless trouble not three minutes before Said SaidI I to myself If I pit my wits or my heart against hers hers it is all up with me mc Blank truth is my m only hope Aloud I said sand I r will wilt be he your guest Mademoiselle though the debt in which I so overwhelm myself is js isone is isone one from which I can never again get free For this acquiescence my reward was just a look took o oa of ofa a brilliancy that made me catch my breath with pleas pleasure pleasure ure With a gesture that bade me to her side she turned and moved slowly up the path pall between the shining sinning copiousness of roses I will send a servant senant with your orderly order to the inn Monsieur she said to fetch your our things Our old walls walk will be glad to shelter again a soldiers uniform even een if iC the color of it be something strange to them Almost you tempt me to wish that I had been born to the white uniform I answered in a daze with the nearness of oC her the witchery of her the nameless charm of her movement the subtle intoxication of her voice Almost you OU tempt me to regret she retorted with gracious raillery that the men of your cold and stub stubborn stubborn stubborn born north cannot be moved to change by a womans arguments ar It is lo to we vc are arc moved by a wo woman woman woman man Mademoiselle I spoke with w th an exaggerated lightness to avoid a atoo atoo atoo too significant seriousness Is there ever I wonder a risk of such steadfastness growing tiresome mused Mademoiselle turning turn ng con contemplatIve contemplative The swift change discomfited me I T turned my words to platitudes on the th beauty of the house the gar garden garden garden den the landscape And presently I found myself es established established an honored yet confessedly hostile guest in inthe inthe inthe the of But the situation seemingly so quiet and easy that it might aspire to last forever was in fact act a l bubble of oC rainbow tissue blown to its extreme of tension and ready to shatter at a breath When hen the breath came me it was a 1 light one truly trul yet Jet how the face of the world changed under it iL I awoke one morning in the thc first of dawn d wn with a kind of foreboding I went to the window There in the misty bay at a discreet distance from the wharves was a small |