n L V fi -X I JJ r X a i in i AHTTO Captain Stanley who had returned 4o the ballroom wended his way amongU the dancers his progress im peded by some fair lady who greeted him graciously often eagerly and forced him to pause for an interchange t of vapid nothings He then visited all the apartments open to guests until he was convinced that the count had kept his daughter at home for better protection against further inter course with the handsome suitor he had rejected so sornfully that same afternoon But English love like other love laughs at the barriers a stubborn par ent may seek to interpose and Count de Cazeneaus decision was not calcu lated to discourage so strong willed a man as Captain Edward Stanley He had acceded to his sweethearts wishes by going in proper form to her father and the matter having culminated as the lovers had feared nothing was left hut an elopement for which in view of the counts probable refusal all the plans had been ar ranged It was shortly after midnight wlum a tall man enveloped in a long cloak and followed closely by a stalwart negro who bore a sizable bundle upon his shoulders looked toward the bril liantly lighted windows of- Count de Cazeneaus house whose inmates were evidently celebrating after the cus tomary fashion the New Years ad vent He paused a moment in front of the rambling low built dwelling and then passed on muttering words which were scarcely a benediction upon Its owner After a walk of some twenty min ute the man and his silent follower climbed the low wall that bounded the counts domain and with the night wind rustling the denuded cotton stalks about them struck off across the broad fields until they reached W by ImIary Bevereux WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 3V DOM C WILSON tfTy Pea by ltfe grotm ortGyrpaoy CHAPTER VIII officers service and this was of great er importance than the presence of Zeney herself A rustling made Captain Stanley turn quickly and a new light came to his face as his eyes fell upon a shroud ed girlish figure standing in the door way with a taller womans form be hind her Down upon the river hidden away under the overhanging bank amid the sedges and other water growth was a commodious boat that had been stored with all things needful for the flight The elopers and their servants were soon aboard and only the stars saw the craft pulled cautiously up stream by the strong arms of Tate the faithful slave with the maid Barbe on the seat behind -him while in its farthest end were the two who for loves sake had cast aside all for mer life and broken all tics For Roselle these were the ties of Stanley those of honor for he had filial love and duty and for Captain deserted his command and was flying to the wilderness farther north to for the time at least hide with his new found dream amongst the friend ly Choctaw Indians where he could count upon reasonable security trom pursuit And the woman trusting him im plicitly faced an unknown world faced it fearlessly and undoubtingly seeing naught but the dawn of a per fect and fulfilled love that yielded to this man its uttermost depths of pas sion As for him the loved one this was by no means his first experience or the sort but he was honest at least in believing himself to be in earnest And so he held her close as they sat side by side his cloak about them both and her head pillowed over his heart while the slaves oars pulled the boat swiftly their rhythmic dip or the occasional cry of a loon being He held her close as they sat side by side the edge of some woods that rose a dark boundary line at one side of the lonely plantation Here they paused and looked to where quite a distance away the flames of two huge bonfires showed many fantastic figures those of the slae3 who were like irresponsible children celebrating after the manner of their race the brief respite from labor accorded tnem by their exact ing master The baying of a hound from the slave quarters was heard faint but clear and the suggestive notes appear ed to bring disquiet to the mans dus ky follower for he began to niove rest lessly and glance about with manifest apprehension while he drew closer to his master who now wheeling about pushed on into the wood He went forward with a confidence showing that he was on not unfamiliar ground and a few steps brought the two to a small clearing where the semi darkness was made a little more cheerful by a flickering of red light coming through the chinks of the closed door as well as from the un curtained window of a small cabin A fire lit the interior which was deserted save for a small raggedly clad urchin of ten whose black arms and legs seemed to have outgrown their scanty clothing Where is Zeney inquired the of ficer after glancing about the cabin The boy stared with fright at his questioner looming so far above him in the firelight which struck gleam Ings from the breast of the uniform where a slight parting of the cloak folds revealed scarlet rnd gold Are you deaf you black monkey Where is Zeney I say Captain Stan ley repeated impatiently Granny Shes done gone t keep New Yars stammered the little negro rising cautiously to his naked feet and backing away from the of ficers stern eyes The later now understood how Ze ney having although reluctantly given through the late afternoon such aid as was in her power to the carry ing out of her young mistress plans for an elopement had then betaken herself to the bonfires where appear ing to join in the festivities of her fellow slaves she would bo less likely to fall under her masters suspicions when his daughters flight should be discoverpd Brt her chin was at the j the only sounds besides the rippling water to break the silence On New Years day Laro left New Orleans for France and when seven months later he sailed away from Toulon bound for the coast of Bar bary with him were Jean and Pierre Lafille The purposes of this story require but a general reference to Jean La fittes life during the fifteen years which ensued after he left the country of his birth and linked his fortunes into those of Laro He was then a lad of fifteen And until he arose above the consequences his heedless youth had imposed upon his better self his life was passed ashore and afloat as best served the immediate interests at stake at times taken up by the cares and re sponsibilities of ligitimate business at times passed amid scenes of wildest adventure and deadly peril He while growing to manhood alternated between the counting room and the quarter deck associating now with men of probity and position and again with desperadoes and cut throats During this period Laro known in New Orleans as Don Morales de Cas tro was in connection with Count de Cazeneau and other more or less prominent men engaged in various speculative schemes some of them be ing within the law and others outside of it The former included ventures in trading mining and timber cutting whlist among the latter were smug gling and slave trading These opera tions involved the ownership of many vessels together with the employment of many men and taken as a whole they were very successful Smuggling and slave trading had always been within the line of Laros occupations and they were matters to which he gave his personal atten tion making many voyages to and from the French and African coasts Then latterly in addition to his other nefarious pursuits and under cover of letters of marque issued by ons or another of the newly formed South American republics he preyed lawlessly upon whatever commerce came within lis reach His own brigaiitiue the Black Petrol was of remarkable heavily armed ostensibly for Its own protection and carried a cro7 con taining outcasts from all nationp but skilful sailors and bravo fighters If they captured a ship flyjng th3 flag of a hostile country the prize was ac cording to circumstances taken Into port for condemnation or desiroyedat once But whatever might be the nationality of a richly laden vessel en countered by the Black Petrel the colors It flew had but little effect In deciding its fate or that of its crew In all these various schemes Laflttc was an interested party and In ear lier years he had been an actual par ticipant in prosecuting some of them his ability and skill being such that while still under twenty he became Laros trusted lieutenant upon whom devolved all duties to which the for mer was unable or inadequate to glvo his personal attention The tall handsome lad of Langue doc Paris and Toulon had developed into a man possesing rare gifts of per son and mind together with a store of energy and resource which would have won success in any avenue of life Himself a stranger to personal fear he was quick to recognize brav ery in another and his chivalrous na ture was never unresponsive to ap peals from his less fortunate fellows Such was Jean Lafitte at thirty and such in brief had been his life during this period one so filled with events and adventures as to make his earlier years and the actors in them more or less dim according as they had fixed themselves upon the receptive element of his nature Even Laro the bluff and picturesque sailor who had exerted so strong an influence upon the lad when they met at Le Chien Heureux was hardly rec ognizable in the crafty and unscrupu lous adventurer with whom later years had made him so familiar and with whom he was now forced to be in such close contact As for Bonaparte he had become Napoleon the monarch to whom crowns were baubles and thrones were playthings who had recast the continent of Europe and opened a new chapter in the history of France Jean had received no word from him after the letter delivered by the hands of Pere Huot and grievous had been the boys disappointment as the months passed without bringing any sign of remembrance from the man who was the one greatest love of his life But his was a strong and healthful nature buoyant and vibrant and as the time went by the acute edge of his grief had been worn away to be succeeded by a feeling akin to apathy Ho had been forsaken by him whom he loved and accepting this as a fact he had relinquuished every hope of a future reunion All this had its natural effect and coupled as it was with a vague but unchanging determination to follow the career of adventure which had been his boyish purpose in life the personality of Bonaparte became less and les real until all that remained was a love which was in itself large ly an abstraction Margot was still a reality to him be cause of her representing so much of motherly care and by reason of her ever manifested love of which he had found much to remind him in the un obtrusive loyalty and devotion of Pierre The latter was now the only tangi ble tie connecting Jean Lafitte with his boyhood big hearted brave Pierre sluggish in thought but sound of judgment and clear of purpose strong of arm and mighty in action who now as ever stood at the sid of his foster brother He had some two years be fore abandoned his sea faring life and in partnership with Jean estab lished a large smithy at New Orleans where the firm of Lafitte Brothers had become well and favorably known through the work turned out by their skilled slaves To be continued FAULT OF THE DIALECT Colored Man Good Oarsman Though He Couldnt RoV While on a trip through the sparsely settled districts of Georgia a North erner hired a colored native to guide him across country to his destination Reaching the banks of a swift flowing unbridged stream the Northern man spotted a boat moored at the edge and asked the negro if he could row Ro boss No suh Ah kaint ro nohow Well how can I get across then There isnt any bridge Wy boss Ahll take yo acrost in no time in that ere punt answered the negro But I thought you said vou couldnt row No suh Ah kaint ro answered Sambo rolling his eyes in ludicrous astonishment but Ah kin git yo acrost de ribber all right suh The Northerner with some trepida tion and considerable curiosity stepped into the boat and the negro rowed him swiftly and surely over the turbulent stream to the other side proving himself an experienced oars man Why Sambo what did you mean by lying to me asked the perplexed traveler I thought you said you couldnt row a boat Sambo opened his mouth In a grin so wide that he appeared to whisper in his own ear as he replied Wy bons Ah suah thought you meant ro ro like a lion N T Tribune Tame Hen Good Layer One of the sights at the University of Maine these days is Prof Gowells pet hen The bird Is not admired be cause of her looks but because of her laying proclivities she being credited with the authorship of exactly 251 otjgs during the past twelve months The bird is of the Plymouth Rock family and Prof Gowell Is now busy tracing the Ins and outs of her blue ilooded ancestry Tiirr LFrrra w JQOXJISaAlVA BY MARY gEVEREUX WITH LUSTRATIONS BY DOM C WILSON C4M JPV fexnrxO CHAPTER IX It was late in a sultry almost breeze less evening In September 1811 that the ship Condor belonging to Laro and his associates dropped anchor In the harbor of Fort Royal Martinique She had but a single passenger if such he could bo termed for it was Jean Lafitte returned recently from a mission which will be referred to mora particularly later on and who had come from New Orleans for the purpose of meeting Laro whom he ex pected to find waiting at Fort Royal His search proved unavailing al though he ascertained that Laro had been seen in the town and after vis iting several of the places where he was liable to be found Lafitte went to an inn not far from the wharves and ordered supper Here he sat enjoying the coolness while he sipped and smoked when there came to his ears the sound of a voice whose mellow resonance thrilled him strangely sending his thoughts whirling into the past The air was yet vibrating with the hearty tones as the speaker came through the door and a lamp hanging from the ceiling of the balcony flashed its rays into the face of Gre lolre The recognition was not mutual for Greloire after a careless glance at the younger man crossed the bal cony and seated himself near the rail Lafitte was for the moment unde cided as to what to do whether to reveal his identity and risk hearing whatever comments Greloire might make upon a name and career which already had become known in two continents or to remain silent and thus forego this unlooked for oppor tunity for knowing something definite in regard to the man who was still dear to him he who was now Emper or of France by the enemies of France who thus rendered me unfit for hard service against them and I am now Monsieur Felix Greloire attache of the emper ors household s such I go upon various missions and my business hero relates to the settlement of some matters connected with certain prop erty belonging to her Majesty the empress who as you know Is a native of this fair island A fine place it is both as to climate and people but Louisiana is far more to my taste Lafitte appeared to observe the- ir relevancy of this last remark for with a keen look at Greloire he said Louisiana What do you know of Louisiana Much that is of New Orleans for I was there several months in the autumn of 180C I was then absent from Louis iana said the young man So I learned when I made inqui ries for you But I heard something of you and still more in regard to that Spanish rascal who took you away from Toulon not long before I went there to get you myself What mean you by that Lafitte demanded almost as if resenting an affront This mon ami was the slowly and distinctly uttered reply That when Gen Bonaparte late in October of 1795 sent me to Toulon in order to bring you to him at Paris I found that you and Pierre had already gone with Laro bound for Louisiana Who told you this inquired La fitte A dozen people Thiel amongst them I went first to Pere Huots house and there ascertained that the good priest was dead I then visited Le Chien Heureux and learned what I have told you Lafitte turned again from Greloire and settled down into his chair and the latter saw the quick rising and MmRmmmt Yow will deliver him a message frwn me But all his indecision was soon rout ed by the realization of what was rep resented by the face and form so close to him and come to life as it were from the dead The living pres ent seemed to animate the dead past the reality of Greloire gave actual life to the ideal Napoleon Pardon monsieur he said bowing slightly as Greloire looked up but I think I had the pleasure of meeting monsieur many years ago in France Ah said Greloire as he turned to the speaker May I ask when Long ago in Languedoc and Tou len replied Lafitte fixing his black eyes upon Greloires face We met at Le Chien Heureux in Toulon and the last time I saw you was at the Con vent of St Sulpice where you were recovering from wounds in the final assault upon the city Mon Dieu exclaimed Greloire What means all this monsieur Can it be possible that you are Jean La fitte Lafitte the pi The word was cut short by a flash from the young mans eyes as a sabe stroke might lop off the hand raised for a blow The first is the name by which I was known in Toulon and my friends still use it The second is a title given to me by my enemies and which I do not recognize as appropriate He spoke with stern composure and with a dignity well becoming his tall straight figure and refined face while Greloire stared at him in silent aston ishment Which of the two monsieur do you prefer to use Lafitte added now taking a step backward but not re moving his eyes from Greloire To call you Jean as I did years ago Greloire exclaimed impetuously extending both hands which were wel comed by the firm grip of the younger mans sinewy fingers Bien the latter said Let it be so And you what shall I call you marquis duke or marshal of France Tell me of yourself and ol Napo leon The first will takf but a hort time Greloire replied laughingly for I am not a nobleman nor yet an officer Indeed I left the army six years ago on account of sundry at tentions paid to my body nul limbs falling of the young mans breast as he folded his arms across it Presently Jean without lifting his eyes asked in a stubborn dogged tone as though expecting an answer he did not wish to hear Do you mean to have me understand that he Gen Bonaparte sent you to Toulon after me Most assuredly He as I have al ready told you sent me in the autumn of 95 He supposed you were still under the charge of Pere Huot being fitted for the career he our general had planned for you one that would keep you close to him and insure your future Lafitte had now recovered appar ently at least from the effect wrought upon him by Greloires surprising in telligence You will deliver him a message from me With pleasure Give him my homage for his own greatness and for the splendor he has brought upon France Convey to him all my hearts gratitude for his kindness and protection when I was a boy and for what he would have tried to make me as a man Tell him that I love him and will ever love him and that no sacrifice he may wish or accept will be too great for me to make in his behalf Can you remember this Every word and I will repeat It faithfully Adieu then old comrade said Jean grasping Greloires hand This may be our last meeting but It will not end our regard for each other Indeed no nor our thoughts of one another was the hearty response accompanied by a tighter clasp of Lafittes slender fingers and I trust it may not be the last by many of our meetings Adieu old comrade Adieu mon ami One final hand clasp and Lafitte turned away But after taking a few steps he faced about and went back to Greloire who stood as he had left him One thing more said Lafitte hes itatingly one more question winch you may answer or net as you choose I will answer whatever question you may ajk docfosefl Orfltolre anfi I will answer it upon my honor Lafitte appeared irresolute as If the question were of such grave Im port that he dreaded an unfavorable roply Then laying a hand on Gre loires shoulder ho asked What said he Bonaparte when you told him that I had departed from Toul it Nothing You have told me all I wished to konw and I thank you said Lafitte again holding out a hand which Gre loire clasped firmly Adieu and bon voyage Adieu and bonne fortune With this they parted and Lafitte returning directly to the wharf or dered the boat3 crew to row him back to the Condor k Jean had up to this moment con sidered himself deeply aggrieved by Bonapartes apparent neglect and looking at the matter from the stand point of youth his ardent impulsive nature and his unstinted love for the young officer his feelings were not without warrant But in the light of Greloires expla nation the man of thirty could well see how unreasonable and hasty had been the boy of fifteen how unthink ing and rash how utterly lacking in a proper appreciation of Bonapartes regard and of how the manifestations of this was subject to conditions and influences beyond the latters power to always control He thought of Margot and her words returned to him when upon that last evening of her life she had said that Bonaparte was his good an gel and Laro his evil one Truly had her words been proven for now he knew the former as he was and would have been while the passing year3 had either Increased or made more apparent Laros coarseness and cruelty It was only to the boy Jean that he had ever been otherwise but latterly something of a change had taken place in this respect toward the man especially after he had refused to ac quiesce in the adventurers cherished scheme that he Jean Lafitte should take as his wife Lazalie the formea niece But the young man had all Uirough his wild life held within tho inner most depths of his soul a sacred shrine kept closed and pure where never tho love for woman had en tered Over its altar faded and in distinct yet his life lingered the teachings of his foster mother and the remembrance of a sunny faced blue eyed girl who had promised the boy to pray that he might be that which he had so woefully failed to be or had even sought to attain The past rolled in upon him like a smothering flood until in a wild tumult of despair he left his cabin and went on deck Thero he heard one of the watch whistling to him self and presently the man broko softly into the words of the air Cest lamour lamour ramojr Qui fait la monde a la roundel The song brought to mind again the blue eyed girls face and also that of her daughter the little Island Rose vhom late the previous May he had piloted through the woods and down the rivers from her dead mothers home among the Choctaws The long rough journey had given him rare opportunities for sounding the depths of the childish soul so close to nature that it seemed to wor ship the mothers God through nature and nature through God He was known as Captain Jean a friend of her grandfather as Cap tain Jean whom she found such a charming companion and whom his escort of white men and Indians re spected and loved She trusted him fully and their Intercourse was free from restraint Recalling her now while he paced the deck with the troubled water of his soul casting ashore such woeful wreckage for his contemplation the thought of her white purity her sil very voice her childish confidence brought to him a blessed peace To be continued A DROP IN VALUES Changed Conditions Affected Worth of Love Letters Henry Clews the banker was tarr ing about a stock that had dropped in value Great was its fall he said It was pathetic It made me think of an incident that happened the other day in an express office To this oflice a burly kind looking young man came with package un der his arm I want to express this package he said The clerk as usual asked him What Is the nature of the con tents of the package It Is said the simple minded youth in a sad tone a bundle of let ters from a young lady I am return ing them to her Their value said the clerk The young man swallowed I dont know what their value is now he said huskily but a week ago I thought they were worth about half a million dollars Ex Governors Family Aided Andrew Carnegie has sent a check for 5000 to the committee controlling the fund which is to be used for th support of tho late cx Gov Robert K Pattisons widow This brings tL fund up to 13437 Ex Gov Pnttwn was the only man who ever rarrfe I Pennsylvania twice for the governor snip As he was a democrat ti fact is all the mop renirljv Wh i William Singeriy was wped m r finarcially Pattison whoce trlcnd bi was was wiped out also When io did he left his family nctLiig tiui mortgage on lis home