Cheraw chronicle. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1896-2005, April 23, 1914, Page Page Three, Image 3
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limousine was well known in Paris, j
and he was growing weary of these
endless inquiries.
"Are you in her employ directly, or ,
do you come from the garage?"
"I am from the garage, but I drive j
mademoiselle's car most of the time. I
especially at night. It is not madame
but mademoiselle, monsieur."
"My mistake." A slight pause. It
was rather a difficult moment for
Courtlandt. The chauffeur waited
wonderingly. "Would you like to make
five hundred francs?"
"How. monsieur?"
Courtlandt should have been warned
by the tone, which contained no unusual
interest or eagerness.
"Permit me to remain in mademoiselle's
car till she comee. I witfh to
ride with her to her apartment."
The chauffeur laughed. He stretched
bis legs. "Thanks, monsieur. It is
very dull waiting. Monsieur knows a
good joke."
And to Courtlandt's dismay, he realized
that his proposal had truly been
accepted as a jest.
1 am noi jOKiug. 1 am m earnest.
Five hundred francs. On the word of
a gentleman I mean mademoiselle no
harm. I am known to her. All she
has to do is to appeal to you, and you
can stop the car and summon the police."
The chauffeur drew in his legs and
leaned toward his tempter. "Monsieur,
If you are not jesting, then you are a
madman. Who are you? What do I
know about you? I never saw you berfore,
and for two seasons I have driven
mauembiseTTe in T'aTts: She wears
beautiful jewels tonight. How do I
know that you are not a gentlemanly
thief? Ride home with mademoiselle!
You are crazy. Make yourself scarce,
monsieur; in one minute 1 shall call
the police."
"Blockhead!"
English of this order the Frenchman
perfectly understood. "La, la!" he
cried, rising to execute his threat.
Courtlandt was furious, but his fury
was directed at himself as much as at
the trustworthy young man getting
down from the limousine. His eagerness
had led him to mistake stupidity
for cleverness. He had gone about the
affair with all the clumsiness of a boy
who was making his first appearance
at the stage entrance. It was mightily
disconcerting, too, to have found an
honest man when he was in despe rate
need of a dishonest one. He had faced
with fine courage all sorts of danger
ous wild animals; but at this moment
^ he hadn't the courage to face a policeman
and endeavor to explain, in a
i foreign tongue, a situation at once so
delicate and so singularly open to misconstruction.
So, for the second time
in his hfe he took to his heels. Of
the first time, more anon. He scrambled
back to his own car. slammed the 1
door, and told the driver to drop him !
at the Grand. However, he did not re- l
turn to the hotel. i
Mademoiselle da Toscana's chauf- f
feur scratched his chin in perplexity. 1
In frightening off his tempter he rec- f
ognized that now he would never be I
able to find out who he was. He should t
have played with him until mademoi- I
selle came out. She would have known <
instantly. That would have been the 1
time for the police. To hide in the <
car! What the devil! Only a mad- >
man would have offered such a propo- J
sition. The man had been either an 1
American or an Englishman, for ah i
liis accuracy in the tongue, nan: rer- ?
haps he had heard her sing that night, t
and had come away from the Opera, ?
moonstruck. It was not an isolated ?
case. The fools were always pester- >
ing him, but no one had ever offered
so uncommon a bribe; live hundred I
francs. Mademoiselle might not be- 1
lieve that psft t of the tale. Mademoi- s
selle was clever. There was a stand- (
ing agreement between them that she i
would always give him half of what- t
ever was offered him in the way of 1
bribes. It paid. It was easier to sell t
his loyalty to her for two hundred and i
fifty francs than to betray her for five i
hundred. She had yet to find him un- 1
truthful, and tonight he would be us t
frank as he had always been. <
But who was this fellow in the Bavarian
hat, who patrolled the side- i
a
torn"
walk? He had been watching him
when the madman approached. For
an hour or more he had walked up
and down, never going twenty feet beyond
the limousine. He couldn't see
the face. The long dark coat had a
military cut about the hips and shoulders.
From time to time he saw him
glance up at the lighted windows. Eh,
well; there were other women in the
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others.
He had to wait only half an hour for
her appearance. He opened the door
and saw to it that she was comfortably
seated; then he paused by the
window, touching his cap.
"What is it, Francois?"
"A gentleman offered me five hundred
francs, mademoiselle, if I would
permit him to hide in the car."
"Five hundred francs? To hide in
the car? Why didn't you call the police?"
"I started to, mademoiselle, but he
ran away."
"Oh! What was he like?" The
prima donna dropped the bunch of
roses on the seat beside her.
"Oh. he looked well enough. He had
the air of a gentleman. He was tall,
with light hair and mustache. But as
I had never seen him before, and as
mademoiselle wore some fine jewels,
I bade him be off."
"Would you know him again?"
"Surely mademoiselle."
"The next time anyone bothers you.
call the police. You have done well,
and I shall remember it. Home."
The man in the Bavarian hat hurried
back to the third car from the
limousine, and followed at a reasonably
safe distance.
She shut off the light and closed her
eyes. She reclined against the cushion
once more, striving not to think. Once,
her hands shut tightly. Never, never,
never! She pressed down the burning
thoughts by recalling the bright
scenes at the ambassador's, the real
?- ? ? ?* nnlAtiMA In or) fmllmnt-or)
gt'IltMUUd cipjiiauoc uiui uau iuituncu
her two songs. Ah, how that man
Paderewski played! They two had
cost the ambassador eight thousand
francs. Fame and fortune! Fortune
she could understand; but fame! What
was it? Upon a time she believed she
had known what fame was; but that
had been when she was striving for
it. A glowing article in a newspaper,
a portrait in a magazine, rows upon
rows of curious eyes and a patter of
'lands upon hands; that was all; and
for this she had given the best of her
life, and she was only twenty-five.
The limousine stopped at last. Tho
man in the Uave'Tan hat saw hei
aXght. His car turned and disappeared.
It had taken him a week to discover
wlfre fhe lived. His lodgings were
i' i. : other side of the Seine. After
t?;.i:h!r.< tin m he gave crisp orders to
!i-? driv? r. who set his mnehirc- off at
u.p speed. The man in the P.avarian
lat entered his room and lighted the
;as. The room was bare and cheaply
urnished. He took off his coat but
etained his hat, pulling it down still
arther over his eyes. His face was always
in shadow. A round chin, two
ull red lips, scantily covered by a
jlond mustache were all that could be
seen. He began to walk the floor imjatiently,
stopping and listening whenever
he heard a sound. He waited
ess than an hour for the return of the
'ar. It brougnt two men. i ney were
veil-dressed, smoothly-shaven, with
ieen eyes and intelligent ^ces. Their
lost, who had never seen either of his
juests before, carelessly waved his
land toward the table where there
vere two chairs. He himself took his
stand by the window and looked out
is he talked. In another hour the room
vas dark and the street deserted.
In the meantime the prima donna
?ave a sigh of relief. She was home.
It was nearly two o'clock. She would
deep till noon, and Saturday and Sunlay
would be hers. She went up the
itairs instead of taking the lift, and
:hough the hall was dark, she knew
ler way. She unlocked the door of
he apartment and entered, swinging
:he door behind her. As the act was
iiiechanical, her thoughts being othervise
engaged, she did not notice that
:he lock failed to click. The ferrule
if a cane had prevented that.
She Hung her wraps on the divan
and put the roses in an empty bowl.
SHOE I
The F. F. Dalley Co.. Ltd.. Buffalo
The door opened softly, without noise.
Next, she stopped before the mirror
over the mantel, touched her hair
lightly, detached the tiara of emeralds '
. . . and became as inanimate as 1
marble. She saw another face. She
never knew how long the interval of 1
silence was. She turneii slowly. I 1
"Yes, it is I!" said the man. | 1
Instantly she turned again to the j
mantel and picked up a magazine revolver.
She leveled it at him.
"Leave this room, or I will shoot"
Courtlandt advanced toward her
slowly. "Do so." he said. "I should
much prefer a bullet to that look."
"I am in earnest." She was very I
white, but her hand was steady.
He continued to advance. There
followed a crash. The smell of burning
powder filled the room. The Burmese
gong clanged shrilly and whirled :
wildly. Courtlandt felt his hair stir in j i
terror.
"You must hate me indeed," he said
quietly, as the sense of terror died
away. He folded his arms. "Try
"Make Yourself Scarce, Monsieur."
I
: again; there ougVt to "be half a dDzen
! bullets left. So? Then, good-by!"i
j lie left the apartment without another
j word or look, and as the door closed
! behind him there was a kind of finality
' '" /iH/al/innr r\ f tlio Infph
Ill kllG tuvnillft \JL V41V,
The revolver clattered to the floor.
I and the woman who had fired it leaned
1 heavily against the mantel, covering
her eyes.
"Nora, Nora!" cried a startled voice
from a bedroom adjoining. "What has
happened? Mon Dieu, what is It?" A
pretty, sleepy-eyed young woman, in
a night-dress, rushed into the room.
She Hung her arms about the singer.
"Nora, my dear, my dear!"
"He forced his way in. I thought
to frighten him. It went off accidentally.
Oh, Celeste, Celeste, I might
have killed him!"
The other drew her head down on
her shoulder, and listened. She/fcould
hear voices in the lower hall, a shout
of warning, a patter of steps; then the
hall door slammed. After that, silence,
save for the faint mellowing vibrations
of the Burmese gong.
To be continued.
Fickle.
"Popularity Is very fickle," exclaimed
the offhand orator.
"What's the trouble?"
"Every time 1 get a crowd interested
in my remarks an automobile tire
blows out and the audience rushes off
fo see what the matter is."-Washing
I ion Star.
i
Wonderful Mouse.
"Oh. Iii:imtn:i." exclaimed small
Willie, "I'm sure there is a groat big
mouse in my bedroom!"
"I?id you sco it. dear?" she asked.
"No, I didn't see the mouse," replied
Willie, "but 1 heard it wagging its
tail."?Chicago News.
i
I ml
POLISI
. N.Y. Hamilton, Ont.
I
Fellow Sufferers.
In London they tell of a certain distinguished
statesman who is an opti- '
mist on all points save marriage.
One afternoon this statesman was
proceeding along a country road when ,j
be saw a cottager eating his supper j
alone in the road before his dwelling. !
"Why. Henry," asked the Statesman, e
"why are you eating out here alone?" E
"Well, sir?er"?the man stammered. \
"the?er?chimney smokes."
"That's too bad," said the statesman, |
his philanthropic sentiments at once I
being aroused. I'll have it fixed for
you. Let's have a look at it." i
And before the cottager could stay
him the statesman proceeded to enter
the cottage. As soon as lie had en- 1
tered the door a broomstick fell upon j
his shoulders nnd a woman's voice |
shrieked:
"Back here again, are you. you old
rascal! Clear out with you or I'll"?
The statesman retired precipitately.
The cottager sat In the road shaking
his head in sorrow and embarrassment.
Tlie statesman bent over him
nnd laid his hand in kindly fashion on
. * i
his arm.
"Never mind. Ilenry,'" said he consolingly.
"my chimney smokes sometimes
too."?Harper's Magazine.
So Kind of Them.
He was walking along a city street
and he stopped in front of the Are engine
house and looked in.
"Have many fires in town?" he asked.
"Yes. we have them pretty often."
replied the fireman.
"Ever try to see how quick you can
hitch up?"
"Oh. yes."
At that moment an alarm came in.
At the first stroke of the gong the men
rushed to their posts, the doors of the
stalls opened and within a few seconds
men. horses and engine were
speeding down the street.
The young man watched the proceed- i
ings with admiration.
"Well!" he exclaimed when speech |
returned. "There ain't many places
where they'd go to all that trouble to
show a stranger what they can do."?
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
What, Can This Be True?
"Did yon see where a woman in Chi
cago lias a dog in the house that j
talks?"
"Well, there are plenty in more
towns than Chicago who have a man
In the house that growls all the time."
?Baltimore American.
A Would Have Been.
On one occasion a census clerk In i
scanning one of the forms to see that
it had been properly tilled up noticed ,
the ligures ll'o and 111! under the head- J
Ing, "Age of father if living" and "Age I
of mother if living." "But your par-1
ents were never so old. wefe they?" j
queried the astonished clerk. "No." j
was the reply, "but they would ha';
Lin if living."?Pittston Gazette.
Official
Seaboard Air L
Atlai
ATLAN1
Low ]
Imperial Counci
May 10-1
Travel via the i
Tickets on sale May 7th
until May 20th unless e\te
and payment of $1.00 win
to June 20th.
Low Side Trip Rate*
For full information, see
or write
C. W. 5
Popular 1
Polishes I
Black, Tan 9
and White 9
10c 1
HES|
The awatfeat and the squeeze play
Will shortly be forgot.
And the gridiron and the tackles
Will be Johnny on the spot
?Spokane Spokesman Review.
"This is a great age."
"What has struck you now?"
"The fact that so many doctors aiwi
luccessful without whiskers. It wasnt
10 thirty years ago."?Louisville Coorer-Journal.
r A Lost Sate.
The Florist?Wouldn't you like one of
these luxuriant umurvna i>iuiii>:
XIrs. Knozia?No; souie. one would
borrow it for a rainy day.?Cbiea^a
N*w"- , ...wjWj*
ATTENTION!
I
We beg to announce
to the Laundry Patrons of
Cheraw, S. C. and vicinity
that we have secured
Mr. Willis Gregory as our
local representative who
will take pleasure in serving
you.
Any laundry work intrusted
to him will have
our prompt and careful
attention.
Florence Steam Laundry
Florence, S. C.
Agency at Mr. T. S. Greg
ory's Stables.
Route
ine
itic Coast Line
rA, GA.
Kates
1 Mystic Shrine
[3, 1914
Official Route
to 12th, good returning
nded by depositing ticket
?n limit may he extended
J to Various Points
nearest Seaboard Agent,
iMALL, D. P. A ,
Savannah, Ga.
J- * ' V .