OCR Text |
Show AL ft stir iL C THE 10 BLADE of PDCAKW By FRED MCLAUGHLIN COPYRIGHT fy The BOBBS-MERRILL CO. - W.N.U. SERVICE SYNOPSIS CHAPTER 1 Capt. Francois de Vigor, Vig-or, serving with Maximilian's army 01 occupation In Mexico, tells the story A roystering group of officers Is discussing dis-cussing La Anita, beautiful high-born Mexican girl, who, rumor says, haf ilured French officers to death or desertion. deser-tion. Summoned by Maximilian to make explanation. De Vigny undertakes U-deliver U-deliver the message to La Anita. Hc meets the girl, her beauty Impressing him. and she invites him to her bouse "Lopez!" I gasped. What in the name of treachery had Lopez to do In this menage, what was his business in this house of mystery and of murder? mur-der? I felt instinctively that the other man was her "worthy cousin." Colonel Lopez was the trusted aide of big majesty, Maximilian, almost his chief of staff; he was behind half the moves that the emperor made. Not onJy that Colonel Lopez had fostered fos-tered the investigation that led finally to the trial and execution of La Anita's An-ita's father. True, he had kept himself him-self in the background. 1 had never trusted Colonel Lopez, nor liked him, and this thing only added fuel to the flames of my resentment. resent-ment. Red rage possessed me; if Colonel Lopez I moved toward the door, for indirection indi-rection of action has never been a fault of mine; but even with hand extended I stopped, for I heard the sound of a footstep. I turned, and came face to face with La Anita. There was a smile, of welcome on her face. She was dressed in a black lacy gown cut very low. I think I must have gasped at the sheer beauty of her, for a light of triumph flamed for an instant in her eyes. Her clear musical voice was pitched unnatuial-'J unnatuial-'J high: "Captain Vigny, it is good of you" "My poor ears," I cried ; "surely senorlta, you cannot think that I am deaf." Her laugh was even of greater vol lime. "Your pardon, senor," she said ; "thai stupid coclnera of mine can "either cook nor hear. After I have talked with her I speak unconsciously !ouder for a space. Is it not droll?" I listened. The murmur of voices had ceased. I stood aghnst, realizing "n'y loo well that this situation called, not for a deft blade, but for a brain I Infinitely more agile than mine. La Anita laughed softly; but her '"ugh had nothing in it of pleasure. She, too, seemed to be listening. 'Had I known you were here," said she at last, "I should have wasted no "me on the coclnera. I had no de-she, de-she, senor, to keep you waiting." "The little time accorded me. senorita, permitted me to note your excellent library, and to enjoy some f these wondrous paintings of yours." She smiled at this. "Besides," I continued, con-tinued, driving straight ahead as a soldier should "in strange places one hears, If one's ears are properly attuned, at-tuned, mysterious and interesting sounds." "Ah; 'tis but the chatter of idle men, who, lacking brains to amuse themselves, them-selves, drink to pass the time away. j 1 have an Idea that Colonel Lopez and , my worthy cousin, who cannot wail i' In patience, have been Into my wines again." She turned to the doorway, wherein stood the dark-faced, silent mow: "You may tell Colonel Lopez and Senor 'Madrella that they will find me here." Following the mozo they came In. each with a half-filled glass in his hand. Lopez, sighting me, stared an awkward instant, then he put back his massive head and went off into an uncontrollable spasm of laughter. "Another sailor," he cried, "on life's uncertain ocean, pining for the music of the Lorelei ; another moth bound for the flame of beauty!" His tone nettled me. "I am not a beauty-bound moth, senor; neither do I pine. I am here on his majesty's business." Wherein I lied, for the flame of La Anita's beauty had burned me deeply, and visions of her lovely face had filled my thoughts. In my urgent desire to see her again, to listen to the music of her voice, to thrill in the glory of the very air that surrounded her, I had almost forgotten forgot-ten that the real purpose of my errand er-rand was to meet that murderous cousin of hers. She spoke to the mozo again : "Get Captain Vigny some wine. . . . Monsieur le Comte, I would present my cousin, Senor Pablo Madrella y Gutierrez." Senor Madrella bent his fine body in the middle and bowed halfway to the floor. He was all of six feet, with a comfortable breadth of shoulder and a lithe grace in his muscular body that suggested the latent power of a panther. His eyes were a deep blue-gray and they had the steadfast look of a man of courage; his hair was straight and nearly black, and a black mustache and Vandyke failed to hide a resolute mouth and chin. A vague idea came to me that I had seen him before; even his voice seemed faintly familiar. "There is a question In your eyes, senor," said Madrella. "I was just wondering," I answered, Intent on approaching the crisis with directness, "if Senor Madrella and Colonel Lopez-just now were drinking drink-ing his majesty's health." "Ah " cried Lopez, "the French are ever a Jesting people. Must the love ly La Anita be saved only for lieutenants lieuten-ants and captains; may not a colonel hark to the lure of beauty? And you have just denied, captain" Thus challenged I drew the summons sum-mons from my pocket, and La Anita, white of face and swaying slightly, read it She proffered it to her cousin cous-in who considered it with grave eyes. "Just what may my cousin expect on the morrow, captain?" he asked. I turned to Lopez and found a distinct dis-tinct threat In his dark eyes. I knew that ho and Lestrange were behind this move, and I knew that Lopez had brought about the execution of La Anita's father; yet here was the Intriguing In-triguing colonel, a welcome guest in her home, and an avowed suitor tor her hand. , , . "Senorlta," he said, a proprietory confidence in his tone, "It is a trifle. I assure you. You may depend upon me to see that no awkward questions are asked." , "You are very kind," she murmured Now she turned to me: "How much may I depend upon le comte? I think she knew my standing with the emperor. "Just so much as , n,y servlce to his majesty will peimit. BaJdL Auger flamed In Mudrellu's eyes. "You make your service n convenient thing, senor, as well ns a faithful shield." At last! A wild exhilaration possessed pos-sessed me; I had drawn lilm out. "My service lias never been n shield, senor : I require none. If I must be direct and 1 prefer to he here It Is: Four olllcers of his majesty's service have come to tli is house; two have disappeared disap-peared completely, the third, an in different swordsman, today nurses a wounded shoulder, nnd the body of the fourth was taken from the canal One loss might have been passed over as an accident a coincident hut four would seem to take on the phase of deliberate planning. "May I tell you, captain, what happened hap-pened to them?" "Three only, senor; MIronsac wil. speak for himself. You may tell me If you so desire, but I retain the, right to believe or not, as I choose." "Senor !" he rasped. "You " Lopez broke In : "Slowly, I'nhlo. slowly; Captain Vigny is on a mission for Maximilian." "I am not," said I. "I have finished the business of the emperor." "Very well,' hot-head," the colonel placated, "liemain quiet while Senor Madrella tells us. Have you not the courtesy?" - "Plenty, my colonel," said 1, "where courtesy is required " Ln Anita gasped' and I turned to her, all humiliation. "Your pardon senorita : 1 forgot." "f!o on, Pablo." urged Lopez. "Duroc," said Madrella, "he whom you found In the canal, died in honorable honor-able combat." "With you, senor?" He nodded. "With me." "Perchance the sword of Duroc was not so skillful." "Not so bad," mused the cousin, in the tone of a connoisseur, "not so bad." "Duroc, as- I remember, was a Gascon, Gas-con, and faithful. Did you make certain cer-tain overtures, senor?" Madrella hesitated. "Yes," said La Anita, "my cousin offered him honorable service under the deposed President." "He refused," said Madrella. "And died," I finished. "Any soldier sol-dier of France would hav done the same." "But Leroux," smiled Madrella, "and the other one Besancon did not refuse, and did not die." "Do you mean to say ?" I gasped. "Of a surety, captain." The worthy cousin s face took on a look of great complacency. "They recognized the error of their ways, they foresaw the fall of Maximilian, or, possibly, it niny be that they did not relish the taste of cold steel, for believe me It has an evil flavor. At all events they serve now under the glorious banner of Benito Juarez!" "You lie, senor," I said; "no soldier of France would do that thing." I heard a sharp Intake of breath whistle through the teeth of Colonel Lopez; La Anita sighed, a deep sigh of anguish and of horror, and Madrella Madrel-la stood poised, expectnnt a cold smile on his face. The precious rascal ras-cal was enjoying himself; and I almost al-most loved him for It. A massive walnut library table stood between us. Madrella placed the outspread fingers of both hands upon it and studied me a long moment: mo-ment: "You will apologize is it not so?" "It is not so," said I. "Then, of course," smiled Pablo "you will fight." 'That, senor, has been the actual intent of my mission." Madrella raised his eyes to the mantel man-tel over which hung the two swords. Mironsac had called them rapiers, but he had been in error, for they were really small-swords, and most ideal for fencing. Colonel Lopez stood on a chair, and, taking down the weapons, laid them side by side upon the table. "If you two must fight," he said, "though I consider It stupid and entirely unnecessary, un-necessary, the least I can do will be to assist you." r "Are you not called," said Mudrel la, still with his blue-gray eyes upon me, "the Blade of Picardy? It affords me a fine delight, Captain Vigny to try the skill of one whose name and fame have gone so far." He indicated the weapons with a glance, and as I .made no move, continued: "Will you choose?" "But should I, the challenged party, be required to choose merely of swords, senor? Is It the custom ln Mexico?" "You will pardon me, captain," said Madrella; "it was a natural assumption assump-tion with me that one with such an aptitude for fencing" Now, at a sign from her cousin. Anita brought forward a long, narrow, nar-row, mahogany box, which, on being opened, disclosed a pair of silver-mounted silver-mounted dueling pistols. "Must there be any choice, senor," said Madrella, "further than pistols across this table or the swords?" Now I considered this thing. I had come to the home of La Anita for the one purpose of removing a deadly menace that lay in the path of Maximilian. Maxi-milian. In the service of his country and of his emperor a soldier should never consider his own life. That little gray-haired mother of mine in St. Simon would mourn the loss of an only son, but she would understand. under-stand. And on the morrow did I fall that failure would be difficult Indeed to explain to Cupido, and to Neville and even to the cynical Lestrange. The man who stood before me. waiting for me to choose, was an evl dent master with the sword. The blade, then, offered a possible failure, fail-ure, and failure was a thing not to he considered, whereas the pistols "The pistols seem more to my lilt ; Ing," said I. "Ah no!" cried La Anita. "You '. cannot, senor." She caught my arm j "We must," said Madrella, reach- I Ing for the remaining weapon. j "But the emperor," she objected ; ' "already lie has summoned me. Must j another?" j "Senorlta," said I gently, for 1 was torn by her unhappiness, "Colonel I Lopez, in whom his majesty places j great and abiding faith, will tell him j on the morrow that it was Captain i Vigny who sought this meeting, will assure him that it was through no plan of thine." "It's murder," said Lopez harshly. "Murder or uot it must be." "Unless the captain wishes to apologize," apol-ogize," suggested Madrella. "A thing as you very well know i that I have no intention of doing. Is the table, Senor Madrella, wide enough to suit yout" , Madrella, considering the six feet ! of smooth walnut, laughed. "In a fine ' display of courage, captain, yon have 1 surpassed the other four soldiers of France." ' Now I remembered the overtures made to the other men who had fol- j lowed the lure of beauty. "You do ' not offer me a commission in the Lib- j eral army a commission under . Benito Juarez?" j He bowed. "I must do you the ' honor to admit that such an offer would be useless; aye, worse than useless a foolhardy thing, senor." j La Anita touched my arm again. ' "'Monsieur," she said softly, "look at me." . , There lias never been a face since , time began as lovely as hers. Know- j ing my imminent death I drank to the ieos of her beauty. The clear amber j eyes were fathomless wells of sweet- I ness, the pointed chin trembled ever i so little, the slightly parted, red lips showed the tips of pearly teeth, and on the oval face lay an indefinable expression of pleading. "I am look-, ing, senorita, and with death before I me I take reckless courage in telling you that no woman in all the world has ever approached the perfection of beauty that you have attained." "Thank you," she faltered. "Monsieur "Mon-sieur is there no way?" Her eyes fell before my steadfast look. "Would you have me apologize to your worthy cousin?" "If I ' should ask you ?" A soft light came Into the amber eyes, a light that burned up my bravado and turned my bones to water. "Anything that you ask me to do," said I, a hopeless slave to a sudden, overwhelming love, "that will I do." She must have read that love in my eyes, for her hand trembled on my arm. Then she did the thing that only a woman of high resolve could have done. "It Is not for me, senor, to ask you." Whereupon she turned ;to her cousin, raised on tiptoe, and kissed him. "Goodhy," she whispered. Then she walked, unsteadily, across the room and stood beside Lopez. For that kiss I would have died In perfect happiness. Depositing the pistol on the table I took off the all-enveloping coat. Seyor Madrella shrugged out of the long brown coat that had tit tils tine body with such precision. So we stood, ieach in white shirt, pistols half .raised, facing each other across six ifeet of polished walnut 'Mi ff -MSI A So We Stood Each in White Shirt, Pistols Half Raised. "I am sorry, senor," said I, "that I cannot place you. Surely I have ' seen you before ; even your voice is vaguely familiar." The laugh of Colonel Lopez broke an awkward tension. "You have seen him in the mirror, Captain Francois; land his voice is very like your own." "Pablo mio," cried La Anita, "save for the beard and mustache he is your brother!" (Continued next week.) |