Evening Star Newspaper, September 3, 1898, Page 18

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 38, 1898-24 PAGES, N NOOO NOONE NED 1x koe) sek sek se hoe) Ve) CHAPTER XIII. The Flight. From the route between the Tullerles and the Gare de Lyon an obscure street leads northward a little way into the Rue Brevet. The Rue Brevet itself is an alley without trottoirs, and is not used for car- riages on account of its narrowness. Yet the balco! es that front it are large. ‘They are occupied by persons of the shady, ;, or student classes. and occupied three very poorly fur- j apartments on what was in reality ough calied the fourth. tart, having left the main road, 1 at beginning of the alley and 1. He was wrapped in a long wa- 1} had an umbrella. Jim Bates, eded him, had by that time almost the station. Vansittart told his coachman to wait, and started ind him was Marie, bent rain. She had stood beneath ing and watching for the the solitary figure, intending to the house, if need were. without much difficulty he discovered No. 6, , and was conducted by an old woman concierge to the stairway. He be- gan the | He was a few minutes late. At this time Folliet was just entering the wicket of the Carhaix family in the alle. Marie saw Vansittart within the 1 she hurried back to her nook of from the pouring rain and crouched waiting for him te reappear. As for Folliet, he got from Agnes the whole plot in all its details. Then he al- most hustled her out of the carriage. had so many things to do and many places to go to, al! at the same time, that he lost a full minute in agonized re- Then he called out, “The Tuil- r necessity was to discover art had received his tele- if so, whether or not he had y set out in spite of it. Here was racing at random of Paris and wasting hen moments were of gold. He seribbled a note on a leaf torn from book and gave it to a warder ions to hie on horseback to ture and deliver it to the officer ained an order to dispatch of armed gendarmes to He himself went tearing same point. The storm tied the streets, there was hardly page to his swift career. a few minutes he and Marie, for the ere face to face. He was rush into the gate of 6 Rue Bre- also rushing in, he met Marie, irection of the other t glanced at her face. and from the he had received of her sus- rou? he asked. haix.” is Mr. Vansittart?” ed violentl: t, monsieur? I can tell you “Ah, good girl m t lie But e prefect of polic Tell me quick ©, Tam a friend—t name is Fol- —do! I am Look in my face— Do I look ike on2—ah, tell iend—do!” ed; she had an instinct In fe2ling that he was probably jen she remembered her instruc- er a word must pass her face harden. minute before, passed y back to his carriage. As ad seen him emerge she had run with giad and eager feet a friend— n't you see? wing her husband poor girl, was her time of the beginning of Ss come. he had mac hat awaite nsittart was just at the street end nis point of arrival, re quickly reached from the Tui » by two short cuts, than the iace of Marie harden his almost frantic appeal. if I only knew, my child,” he crizd, and rushed m: yard, without more waste of time. Up th flights of mii crouched, panting, » Armand’s entry door. 2r quick tramping to and the room. It was Armand, vexed ‘ansittart and all things, throbbing impatience for the footstep of his on the stairs. burst into the room. Mr. Vansittart gone, then?” he cried. Armand stared coolly you, monsieur?* How long ago—” is I who have asked a question, mon- is a mad, mad business! Can't I re is no time— Without f, er talk he rushed success- fully t Armand, caught a candle, and could b: eyes through the three rooms. Not there, h He threw down the candle and dash- pm the rooms, down the stairs. Marie, coming up, stood and gaz2d after the flying man with wonder. liet stood a second looking street. He ran back to you?" |. nearly butting «e in the blinding examined it; Yes, certainly, this the millionaire’s equi- ll there was no answer. led,” said Folliet; “‘ah, then!” Vansittart’s driver near a carriage hand, and it fell S$ no other th But to his over on th stone Vansittart!” cried Folliet, lifting up “Mr. Vansittart!” no answe detachment of police which he had ordered to the spot had not yet arrived. Should he await them? But to what end? And ot, whither should he go? He did ttart, meanwhile, locked in one of little compartments of the prison van ired that day, was being driven serted streets. When he returned to his carriage he had found the van there, and his coachman al- Teady laid low. At the same time he was surrounded by men. They had the insolence to jest. One of the men, costumed to personate a police- man, said: “Mr. Vansittart, I find it my unpleasant @uty to arrest you.” Vansittart was well fitted to bear the in- evitable. When there was nothing to be Gone. he did not attempt to do anything. A twitch of despair pierced like a sword through his heart, but he said, quite biithely: “For how long, gentlemen?” Four days,” said on>. “Well, that is moderz.tion itself. But the night is foul—let us sce& shelter. Please do not touch my right svoulder.” They conducted him to a compartment in the van. The others took their places within. Phe outer door was locked, the policemen took their stations on, the steps and on the driver's seat. The Yan went lumbering off. En route, Vansittart did what his cap- tors had expected that he would do—he made a noise. He beat upon the thick woodwork of the van, shouting. calling his own name. And he was heard, as was af- SOW OO WOOO WOE MONOD THE LOST PROVINCES How Vansittart Came Back to Fiance. = WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING STAR BY LOUIS TRACY. (Copyright, 1898, by Louis Tracy.) adly from her into the court: | airs he flew, and | prevented ran with eager | Kok seXse) se Xsekse ice) (Se) 1 | COW AE VN MOAI Lekse) (se) terward stated, by several of the scurry- ing passers along the streets. But the prison van proved to be a good thought. He wes supposed to be some drunken pris- oner howling away the riotous mood of his inebriation. Between the hours of 9 o'clock, when the van been captured, and 10:30, when it Started from its hiding place to go to the Rue Brevet, the vehicle had lain concealed within the courtyard of a great building shut in by a high wall. It was a deposi- tory for grain, a corn warehouse, situated in that region of commerce behind the Rue du Faubourg Poissonniere. The distance from there to the Rue Brevet*was some five minutes by the prison yan, and the route lay mostly through dark and narrow streets. The warehouse was in the hands of a wealthy German merchant, and the key of the gate was in possession of the conspirators. When the van had been got inside the gate it was drawn up against the wall, the gate Was relocked and Vansittart’s cell was opened. They took the van lamp and pass- ed through the flag-paved courtyard to the building. It was a dingy-looking, common- ace pile, with small, rudely boarded win- dows. Within there was a smell of hay and corn and fine dust in the air, and worn- down wooden stairs and pulleys and tackle, ad piles upon piles of bags, bags empty and full, yellow and gray and brown and biack. Without, two or three cranes pro- jected from windows near the top. The men, with their prisoner, ascended four flights of stairs. It was evident that they did not know the place, for, all the while, detachments of them ran/ opening doors here and there, seeking for a suita- artment to which to conduct their ive. At last one of them, opening a door, cried aloud: “In here, then.” They entered. It was an extremely large apartment, heaped in various parts with bags of grain. In one corner, rafled off from the rest of the room by an iron rail- Was a small square sort of alcov ‘ar the center was an old deal table with pen and ink on it; and near this a worm- eaten bench. The men locked the door of their en- trance upon themselves, round the table. Vansittart shook the wet from his waterproof, and among them on the bench. The lamp they placed on the table; its dim gleam shone on their faces, but left the distances of the room in shad- ow almost absolute Among the men there began at once a guttural discussion in rapid German. It re- lated to w was now to be done with Vansittart. This, the simplest detail of all the plot, had, s clear, not been yet considered. But the simplest detail, as of- ten happens, calied forth by far the great- est wagging of tongues. Putting aside the fact that the warehouse was not exactly a hotel, there had never been any intention that the prisoner should occupy it for any length of time. It had been fixed upon merely as being tempo- rarily convenient, and a good hiding place for the van. During the daytime it was Trounded and occupied by swarms of ouvriers. The majority scouted the idea of making it the four days’ prison house; a minority thought that that would be pref- erable to the risk of another journey even in the stillest hour of the morning, and to ue nearest house that was proposed. But there was no agreement: for ten minutes the confusion of tongues lasted. Vansit- tart sat listening with his quiet smile. At length one of them got up and went whispering round among the others. His idea was that it was not decorous and ex- pedient that their prisoner should sit there listening to their various ideas, and hear- ing the addresses of the houses which on all sides were being mentioned. Until the point in dispute was agreed that Vansittart should be re- moved out of immediate hearing. They looked around the room. Yonder in a cor- ner, just visible, was the grating which ut off the alcove from the apartment. “Kindly come with us this way, Mr. Van- sald one. Vansittart bowed, rose and followed three of them. When they came to the grating they found that it was locked; but the padlock by which it was secured had in it the rusty key. It turned with a squeak, the grating swung back and Vansittart stepped into the alcove. As he did so he shivered and drew his waterproof high up round his chin. The night was cold, and his feet were wet. The men shut the grating upon him and returned to their parley Vansittart had not stood there thirty sec- ends when he felt a sudden hand clapped and gathered as settled it | cver his mouth and deep in his ear heard snakelike hiss of the words: ot a syllable! I am Folliet. The next moment he felt the flooring gently give way beneath him. In his aston- shment and dismay he caught for support at the receding railing. He was sinking— the railing was rising from him! His Jutching hand In passage through the air struck upon a rope. He only just succeeded in preventing him- self from bursting into loud laughter; he was in a lift. The lift was used for the raising and low. ering of grain between the upper and lower rooms in this part of the building. Past the third, the second, the first floors they slowly and noiselessly sank. Then only Folliet spoke. “Well, sir, I think there may now be a chance—" “M. Folliet, allo: on your ubiquit “There'll be a race, sir, no doubt. you climb a gate?” “I hope so. But they are engaged in a ussion which may last some time.” don’t fancy it will, sir. The stiliness of the alcove will attract them. They will look. We may not have a moment to th me to compliment you Can They were in deepest darkness. Folliet struck a match. They were near the level ef the ground floor. He touched a rope. They alighted, ran through a store room, down @ passage, came to an outer door, and, passing down the steps, were in the courtyard. “We can climb onto the van, sir, and so gain the wall. There is a good high drop on the other side.” They ran forward, flinching and cowering beneath the scourge of the pelting rain, like people toiling on under a burthen. When they came near the gate in order to climb the van, Folliet, to make sure, groped about the lock on the inside, and, to his surprise, found that the Germans, after turning the key, had left it there. ‘ “Here is luck, sir,” he said in a low voice. “We need not climb, after all. And now I can offer you a shelter from this rain.” At once he threw the gate wide, seized the languid head of one of the drenched horses and slowly and cautiously led the van from the yard. He conducted Vansittart to the steps at the end, reclosed the gate and locked it on the outside, mounted to the driver's seat and started. Inside the van, Vansittart was sitting in the very cell which he had occupied in his journey to the warehouse. When Folliet thought himself out of hear- ing of the conspirators he whipped the horses into a gallop. Once he was hailed by a policeman, who, faithful to his recent- ly received instructions, pursued the van a little way, blowing a’ whistle of alarm. Folliet. plying his whip continually, took no notice. He made straight for the Rue Brevet, and at one end of it jumped down. Drawn up along the street he found the detachment of gensd’armes whom he had ordered to be there. He gave the sergeant the key of the warehouse gate, and told him to pack his men into the cells of the van. They were to go to the warehouse, replace the van in its former Position, lock the gate on the inside and remain, all of them, hidden, until the conspirators ap- peared. There was to be no arrest inside the house, lest some of them might escape. One of the polic:men only he told off to drive’ Vansittart’s carriage back to the Tulleries. At the other end of the street wai Folliet's own carriage. He and veustieen ran toward if, entered and started for the station. Somewhere about the same time, one of the conspirators, the discussion at the table being ended, walked toward the alcove to fetch Vansittart. He noted as he came near that he did not see the millionaire, but without surprise, for the recess was in deep shadow, and its inner part in unquatified darkness., He walked to the grating, opened it and stepped inward, and, without a cry, perished. The drop from the fourth Mp the ground floor was one of some 90 eet. Then a second, after a minute or two, having seen him go and not return, saun- tered listlessly toward the recess, and, with- out a cry, perished. Then a third. But now these mysterious disappearances began t be noted. Cries of “Where are the: “What the devil—?” ‘What's the row? were heard. There was the snatching up of the lamp, the eager tramp, the hurried inspection, the wild discovery! The whole body stared at one another's gaping mouths; then, with a single impulse, start- ed in eager chase through the room, down the stairs, into the courtyard. There, lying dark and still, beneath the drench of rain, was the van, sinister and deadly as that wooden horse of Troy, whose entrails were treachery and armed men. “But tell me, M. Foiliet,” said Vansittart, lying back wearily and painfully in the carriage which bore him at last to the long- waiting train, “‘tell me, since you are man, and not omniscient, how came you there, in that warehouse, in that lift?” “There is nothing simpler, sir,” said Fol- liet. “Properly speaking, you owe your es- cape ot to me, but to the revenge of a woman.” “Indeed?” “A woman named Agnes Carhaix—the sis- ter of the Marie whom Mrs. Vansittart knows.” : Agnes, in the venom of her hatred, had braved rain and storm to witness the arrest of the Germans in the Rue Brevet. She ran thither immediately after her revelation to Folliet. For a little while she waited, lurking and spying. Bitter was her disap- pointment when she saw them accomplish their purpose and drive off uncaught. But she followed them; saw them enter the Warehouse, and returned breathless to the Rue Brevet in the hope of meeting Folliet. In the very moment of his acutest despair she touched him on the arm. “It so happens, sir,” said Folliet, having told the whole story of the sisters Carhaix, “that about five years ago an ouvrier em- ployed at that very warehouse murdered his sweetheart and hid himself for quite three weeks in the wilderness of the build- ing. I myself had the k of searching for and finding him; you will therefore under- stand how it is that I know every cranny of the place. From the: court yard just now, as soon as evar I climbed over the wall, I could see a glimmer of the light on the fourth floor, and at once knew quite well how I could get to it. So I went up the Hft and waited for events. You can guess my joy when I saw them bringing you straight to me. But, sir—may I ask?— are you satisfied with the invention you went to see? “M. Folliet,"" replied Vansittart, “the world will yet hear more of that invention, and of the wonderful man who made it.” The carricge drew up at the station and Arizona Jim sprang forward to meet Je- “I FIND IT MY UNPLEASANT DUTY TO ARREST YOU.” Tay Hy fury as he paced to the Hotel de Vilig at Je-Duc. “Sacre nom. defDieu!f he yelled, appeal- ing to Le Breton without expecting an answer. “Why does Vansittart tarry in Paris?” The French mander-in-chief. might have been sare: ic at{ such folly on the millionaire’s part had pot an interruption come from withotit. ‘ A well-known voice, in barbarous Anglo- Saxon, growled at-the sentry near the door. “Put down that skewer, red legs. Don't you know spouse ter quit when M. Van- sittart turns up? f “Ventre bleu! bisson. “Mille Tonneres! yelled Le Breton ‘ In the next instant they were gesticulat- ing around Vansittart. Respecting his prejudice no less thar!’his damaged arm, they embraced each other. The delight of these two enthusiasts was a good thing to see. While they were indulging in a second hug Jerome turned-to Bates. “Jim,” he said, “join the sentry and let no one interrupt us.” Jim swung round and closed the door be- hind him. He winked at the soldier, jerked his thumb toward the chamber, expressed in pantomime the intention to run any one through the liver who sought an entrance, and wound up by producing a small fiask which he handed to the other. “Have a nip,” he said. “It’s better stuff than vin ordinary." Plou-piou glanced cautiously into the street, to see that the officer of the guard was not about, and took a gocd mouthful, to spit the rye whisky eut again, with 2 frightful grimace that his native politeness could not corceal. Arizona Jim surveyed him with kindly pity, seized the flask and murmured, after a hearty gulp: “Them chaps makes me damp. Switch ’em off colic producer, an’ they cahn’t drirk worth a cent.” Yet, when the sentry got the taste of it he tried again, with less energy and more success. Vansittart and kis friends hastily ex- changed views. “Way did you not advise us of your de- parture?” cried Daubisson. The millionaire smiled as he recalled the fierce whirl of events during the preceding fortnight. “I was imprisoned in a bastile of hesita- tion,” he answered. “But I have escaped, and here I am, somewhat bruised, but whole. What is happening at the front?” “Affairs of outposts up to the’ present. The German division which managed to reach Montfaucon has been forced back. Our fortified camp at Verdun, invested at first, is now orly threatened from the east. Practically, the enemy occupies the right bank of the Meuse, while I control the left. But I have jest received some im- portant news. Tomorrow the kaiser will atlempt to ferce the passage of the Meuse.” And the general gave to Jerome a tele- graphic flimsy. The latter read: “Intelligence has reached the London Dally News that unusual com- ce ‘Tis Jeem!” shrieked Dau- And the emperor!” Hl Wa 4 fro in a room of | his amazement. Chalons was forty miles #in the rear—on the road to Paris. The eee army was apparently prepared for retreat across the Marne, rather than ! advance across the Meuse. “Well, two will suffice. If immediate orders be given, at what hour can they be thrown over the river?” Daubisson consulted his watch. “At 2:30 am.” “It Is late, but it must serve. Le Breton, where is your cavalry division?” “At Plerrefite. I can reach it by train in twenty minutes. A bugle call will see the regiments parade “Collect a strong force of horse artillery. Warn a brigade of infantry, march straight to the river and occupy the right bank of the Meuse the moment the bridges are practicable. Drive the German viiettes before you to the east. I understand the German center is at Troyon?” “Yes.” sald Daubisson. “Then the emperor in person will try to cross there or at St. Mihiel, where three roads coaverge on the river. See that both points are protected by at least one hun- dred guns and plenty of infantry, in- trenched, if possible. Telegraph simitar in- structions to your southern divisional com- mander at Commercy, Nancy and Lune- ville. ‘The northern German column Will, no doubt, march due west from Damvil- ers. Order the general at Verdun to make a sortie with the whole of his effect- ive troops, and to provide plenty of work for the Germans in that locality. In every case add that generals are to hold them- selves In readiness to cross the Meuse when they receive orders, probably about midday. Meanwhile, the pontoons stored at Chalons must be forwarded by train to the Troyon and St. Mihiel columns. personally see to affairs here.” Bar-le-Duc woke into instant life. Daubisson at least possessed the rare virtue of accuracy. At 2:30 precisely Le Breton led the first troop of the 18th Chasseurs across a_pon- toon that spanned th> Mvuse between Troy- on and St. Mihiel. The engineers were sub- jected to desultory firing by the German pickets, but they performed their work so smartly that befcr> a brigade could be marched to the place Le Breton wes strengthened by twelve guns and three bat- talions of infantry. In the dim light the French executed a very pretty maneuver. Knowing exactly what he wanted to accomplish, their leader sent off two regiments of cavalry on a de- tour, and the infantry, in skirmishing order, kept up a brisk fire at the rapidly gathering enemy. Meanwhile th2 guns got into position and engaged a German horse battery that had galloped to the scene of action. A regula- tion combat, on a small scale, was in proc- ess of development when the French cav- alry, coming up unperceived, took the Ger- man infantry and guns in flank. Half an hour later, when the dawn of a bright summer's day would render all ob- jects visible, this surpris2 must have been impossible. But now it was a complete suc- cess, Quite disconcerted and unable to | swing around in time, there was nothing for I will rome, saying: ‘Well, governor, this time I thought you were a goner.” Five minutes later Follict stood waving his handkercnief on the platform at the re- ceding train. “Well, at iast,’’ God—at last!” CHAPTER XIV. On the Banks of the Meuse. The Emperor William's soul-consuming impatience to cross the Meuse in force was at last to receive its reward. Superhuman efforts on the part of his en- gineers and commissariat repaired, in major part, the damage effected by Le Breton ani his 5,000. Stores, men and guns were at hand—naught was wanting save the final order to advance. Officers and men shared the burning de- sire of their master to meet the French, to crush them, to pulverize the human bar- rier that blocked the road to Paris. On the eve of the attack the katser sat in his headquarters, the chateau of a small village. Resolve was written on his stern features as he seized a pen wherewith to indite the fateful command. Yet, with un- expected caution, he hesitated. “Are you assured that no hitch can arise?” he said to his chief of the staff, Count von Waldersee. vxquite certain, your majesty. Reports froin the three army corps, from each di- vision, from every brigade, show that all is in readiness.” “Pontoons plentiful and in their allotted stations for rapid transfer to the points selected for crossing?” “Beyond doubt. My own staff have indi- vidually examined them.” “Then the word is forward. May the spirjt of my grandfather guide my hand.” He squared the writing pad on the desk, but added, as an afterthought, while bend- ing to his task, “Daubisson Will not ex- pect an assault tomorrow, and Vansittart, i know, is in Paris.” William wrote with rapid scrawl: “Com- rades, the hour Is at hand, the period of enforced inaction has passed. ‘Tomorrow at dawn three army corps cross the Meuse. To the 4th, 11th and 23d brigades {s given the honor of leading the van. By night we shall have taken a giant stride toward Paris. Let us, meanwhile, perform a giant's task. Wilhelm.” Von Walderses, taking the order from the emperor, remarked: , Your majesty’s resolve is taken at a fortunate moment.” With a quick and suspicious glance the kaiser cried: “How so?” “When the history of the war comes to be written it cannot fail to be noticed that your majesty formulated this command on the date of your majesty’s accession.” “Ha, a good omen, indeed! I had forgot- ten. Give me the paper.” - The pallid ghost of “Unser Fritz” vanish- ed while his wayward son wrote: “Given at the imperial headquarters of the 2d army corps on the right bank of the Meuse, June 15.” Forthwith the field telegraphs clicked the fateful summons north and south. By. 0 o'clock it was known to half a million of German soldiers, by 10 it was flashed to London, and long before midnight its pe- rusal caused Genera! Daubisson’s usually complacent face to wrinkle into wrathful he cried. “Weil, thank motion prevails in the German lines. believed that the long delayed advance has been definitely decided upon and that a few hours hence the first great battle of the Franco-German war ‘will take place.” The sender was the French war minister. He explained that the information for- warded to the English newspaper had been telephoned to nim by the French ambas- sador at St. James. Vansittart frowned. “If I had only reach- ed you twenty-four hours earlier!’ he ex- claimed. “Yet there is time. What have you done?” Daovbisson snatched up a map and showed the disposition of his forces, 400,000 picked troops, the vital essence of the French army. “And you propose?” went on Jerome. “To remain on the alert and vigorous!y dispute the crossing of the river at every threatened point.” “Good! Excellent! more.” The American paced the room with slow strides. Daubisson was too fine a charac- It is But we must do é AB is “ It Was a Complete Success. ter to snub openly! Ifthe French troops ¢id nothing before day broke the kaiser would sleep in Daubisson’s headquarters the same night. Vansittdrt halted. “General,” he said, “your preparations are Superb. Neverthe- less, we-must disconcert the enemy at the very moment when his divisions are ready to march. You have pontoons?” “Most certainly.” “Where are they?” Daubisson fivshed slightly as he bent to the table to find the engineer's statement. He had never thought of attacking; his Trost e aspirations dreamed of ef- fective resistance. He was clever enough to grasp.the situation and accept it -with- out cqgmment. After a brief scrutiny, he TEtwo complete utnges “areas ey “Two ete are here. I re- Bret to say tat the bulk of the apparatus Is at_Chalons.”” a “At Chalons!” Jerome could not restrain the scattered infantry to do but to bolt, which they did magnificently. The guns, of courss, unprotected by cavalry, were captured. < Le Breton ordered Montsaloy, who led this brilliant charge, to follow fast on the heels of the retreating infantry, but not to get himself into difficulties. The general rod> back to the pontoons to see how the supporting troops were crossing. He was astounded to meet so many regiments massed In battalions in the fields, and seemingly waiting for orders. It was simply impossible for nearly 15,000 men to have crossed th> river in the ordi- nary way during the past twenty-five min- utes. But Le Breton had his explanation ready. “That devil, Vansittart, has been up to some trick,” he growled, as he swept along. Sur? enough, when he reached the Meuse he found the millionaire near the pontoons, surrounded by a number of staff officers, to whom he was explaining the position to be occupied by each brigade in the forthcom- ing operations. And now the mystery of th? rapid move- ments of the troops was solved. it was hardly credible—neither Daubisson nor any of his lieutenants knew that the Meuse above Verdun was fordable in many places. Wh:n Vansittart and Arizona Jim rode up to the military bridges they found a first-rate block in full progress. Even with the utmost patience, in peaceful operations, it ls a long and tedious task to transport a jarge body of men over a narrow pontoon. Here ther? were but two for an army corps. A horrible dread seized Vansittart as he looked at the jumble of soldiers, guns and horses, with ammunition carts, ambulance and commissariat wagons momentarily ar- riving to congest the very approaches to the bridges. The firing on the other side Warned him that Le Breton was actively engaged. Even if the Germans were repulsed, it could only be for an hour, until their su ports: arrived in overwhelming strength. If the Frenchmen were caught in their present plight, they would suffer compicte and de- tmoralizing dis2ster. The millionaire felt bitterly the recd of the military training which must have fcreseen this error of judgment. He was. about to suspend the whole movement and recall Le Breton, when Jim Bates, who |} had been watching with amusement an al- tercation between an artillery major and a zouave colonel, turned to his master. “What's wrong with the crowd walking ross, guv’nor?” Where?” cried Je- ‘Walking across! rome. irritably. “Why, a’most arywhere,” said Jim. By way of example, he selected a point a lit- tle higher up stream, and rode over, the beg igen nee rend evra @ returned, the quick-witted French soldiers cheered him. “C'est un lapin!” shouted an admiring Corporal. Bates caught the phrase, and it Perplexed his slight knowledge of French. “Boss,” he said, when he rejoined Van- sittart, “what is a ‘lapin’?" At such a moment the question naturally eonfused the anxious millionaire. He re- plied, shortly, “‘a rabbit.” chap called mies rabbit ‘eeacne T sheged cal me a ral Isl him the ford." i es “Jim, I have something else to attend to Just now, without explaining French idioms to you. Ride fast to Bar-le-Duc, find Gen. Daubisson, and bring me any written mes. sage he may give you. Stay a moment. Hand him this.” Vansittart scribbled on a leaf from his otebook. ‘Meuse, two miles southwest from Troyon, 3:15 am. “All well here. Hope to engage enemy tn force at 6 am. “I want you to proceed to Verdun and see that sortle is successful, no metter what the ccst. “Leave trustworthy officer at Bar-le-Duc to control and direct rapid movement of all available troops to this point. Full direc- Uons = be given to brigadiers as they here. ‘Send explicit instructions to commander of troops opposite Troyon to cross ut all hazards at 6 a.m. and incline to the sout east, in order to jvin me about 6:30 a.m. “I will personally communicate with gen- eral at St. Mihiel when I want him. “Pontoons useful, but not imperatively necessary, as the river can be forded by cavalry and infantry. “JEROME K. VANSITTART.” Jim did not head straight to Bar-l2-Duc, but rode down the river bank. The crack- ing of whips, the cries of drivers, the fierce yelling of excited staff officers, told him that the road to headquarters was a raging torrent of maddened horsefiesh and cursing men. The ardor of an advance is surpassed only by the panic of a rout. Le Breton clattered up, tingling with in- dignation at the latest bungle of the intelli- gence department—in Franc>, too. What would have happened if the affair took pace in German territory? The military maps would doubtless mark a canal as “a good road, available for siege guns!” In his excitement h> checked his charger so impetuously that he shot onto the ani- mal's neck. “This js monstrous,” he cried, climbing back to fhe saddle. Jerome misunderstood him. “It is novel, not to say dangerous,” he said, with a laugh. Matters wer> going well now and he was confident again. “I mean,” exclaimed the impulsive cav- alry leader, “that the absence of pontoons might have caused needless dalay.”” “That error has been rectified millionaire, cheerily. “What done?” “Driven back the en2my and sent Mont- saloy in pursuit.” “A good commencement. Come with me and organize a general advance.” The two rode off to the front, after Jerome had given clear instructions for the disposition of the second division. The first, number- ing 40,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and 70 guns, was now on the German side of the Meuse. When they reached th> first bit of rising ground and were well away from the tur- moil of the crossing, the sound of heavy firing came from the direction of Verdun. The sortie was already in progress. . . . . . . Fat> willed it that at 2:30 a.m. the differ- ent sections of the vast German host began the movement that was to culminate in the jassage of the Meuse at 4 o'clock. Fifteen minutes later came th? first inti- mation of the unlooked-for French attack. ‘The emperor and his staff dismissed the alarm as a trivial matter. ‘A too zealous sentry firing at a stray cow,” commented Von Walders2e. “Who commands at that point?” said the kaiser. “Colonel Breitstein of the 18th Hano- verians, He wants an excuse to enable him to say that he led the first regiment over the Meuse.” id the you have “Possibly. What is it now?” An aid-de-camp had entered uncere- moniously, carrying a telegram. The emperor scanned it. “French attack serious. Have lodged strong force on right bank from Pierrefitte. Breitstein heavily engaged. Am hurrying up supports with two batteries. “VON HOFER, Major General.” “This is strange. What can it mean William II resented any interference with his plans. “Probably a reconnaissance. Paris is an- noyed at Daubisson’s inactivity. It is well. Von Hofer can easily hold them. Our at- tack will develop with the greater ease.” “I hope so. Yet I wish this coincidence were not so marked.” As they conversed the minutes passed. And each minute was worth an hour. for the German columns were moving with ma- chine-like exactitude in the wrong direc- tion. Like the hands of a clock, they could now go forward, but if called upon to re- verse what would be the result? Another aid burst into the royal presence, breathless, with a second message from Von Hofer. “Position desperate. Breitstein and 18th cut up. Twelve guns captured. French division crossing with extraordinary rap!d- ity. Am offering desperate resistance, but hopelessly outnumbere: And a third, from the chief of the Troy- on column: “Commander of the lith Bri- gade reports river held by artillery and infantry. Great difficulty and delay will be experienced in building pontoons. Two in- fantry regiments have forded the Meuse, but have been repulsed with much loss. Am about to attack in force.” From the northern army corps, stationed near Verdun: “Had berely commenced operations for crossing Meuse when de- layed by strong assault from Verdun. Com- pelled to suspend original movement in order to meet this development. Everything points to a serious battle forthwith. ‘ “Kn£UZNACH.” “Kreuznach is right, ‘von Waldersee. roared the emperor. “Quick! Recall every division. Suspend the advance. Quick! I tell you, for heaven’s sake! . Vansittart has left Paris.”” “Impossible, your majesty,” the chief of the staff knew something of the arrange-, ments made by his imperial master’s serv- ants in the French capital. “Nothing is impossible! This is his doing. Daubisson would never dare attempt it. Oh, hurry, hurry!” Those few moments had sufficed to change William II’s mood from dignified general- ship into half-hysterical frenzy. He railed at the fate which so cruelly blighted his best-conceived project. He cursed Vansit- tart and his own staff with admirable im- partiality, and finally rushed from the chateau into the cool morning air without. Above all else, he felt the need of motion, the sense of doing something. He had perforce to wait until a charger Was saddled. The whole eastern horizon Was now flushed with the delicate pink and &reen of advancing day. Nature, in sky, field and wood, wore the coloring cf sum mer. The weather promised to be bright and pleasant—ample sunshine tempered by a cool breeze from the Ardennes. But rude sounds jarred the ear and gave portent of other and less soothing scenes. Heavy firing at Verdun, in the north- west, betokered the preliminary stage of a serious and extensive battle in that direc- tion. From the whole line of the Meuse came the desultory boom of field ordnance and the crackle of rifie fire, while a grow- ing volume of sustained conflict southwest of Troyon showed that a strong blow was being struck at the very heart of the Ger- man position. Nearly a million of armed men were in motion. The lesser moiety of these, the French; were steadily pushing their way toward the German center, while their opponents, though numerically superior, and fighting hard at the points of contact, were. for the most part, wandering eim- lessly about the rouds in pursuance of a plan which must be wholly altered when Givisional and brigade commanders could be reashed by the flying messengers and telegrams now being dispatched tn hot haste by Count vun Waldersee, The two great personalities in the field, Vansittart and Wilhelm, were distant from each other barely five miles. The man of the nervous and excitable American temperament was quietly amok- ing a cigar and sipping a cup of hot coffee. And the Teuton, representative of a race noted for stolidity and sober deportment, was stamping furiously in and out of the chateau at Troyon, eager to mount and gallop his horse somewhere, but unable to decide in what direction to gallop. ‘i Such was the disposition of the forces, the attitude of the leaders, at the outbreak of the battle of Troyon. (To be continued.) ——_~--_____ Teo Much, From the Cleveland Leader. “Do you see that tall girl with the fluffy brown hair, over there?” “The one with the pink roses in her bedice?” “Ye8. She knows French, German, Latin, and Greek, besides English, and she took graduated a few ago.” “Pshaw, that can’t be right. There must be some mistake. Why, that girl is ac- tually beautiful!” —_—_+e+_____ Anybody Else Would Know. From Puck, * : Villager (with dignity)—“No, sir; this ts a prohibition town, and I don’t know where you could gt liquor.” ; Stranger—“Don't you? You must be a probibitic nist.” ee ART AND ARTISTS. Aside from brief trips north and to the Atlantic coast Mr. Uhl has been in W ington off and on for the greater part of the summer. The most considerable piece ef work which he has before him just now is an order for an important mura! paint- ing given by @ well-known business man of Cleveland, for which Mr, Uhi has al- ready practically finished the designs. This work is an extensive one, and its comple tion will provably occupy some three months, The portraits of Mr. and Mrs Halle which he completed lately for their son in New York city have been delivered, and are highly appreciated by their owner. Mr. Uni has not been able to do much on h2 likeness of Brigadier General Colby of Nebraska which he began some time ego, and will not a:tempt to go further with it until General Colby is in Washington again. * x * The friends of Miss Mathilde Mueden will be glad to hear that she expects to bs in this city again by about the last of Sep- tember, after an absence in Paris of three years. She will doubtless return with many interesting specimens of her work, which was always good, and must have im- proved greatly during her careful schooling under Benjamin Constant and some of the other great masters of the present day. She expect2d to be in this country again somewhat earlier, but delayed her return cn receiving a request to paint a portrait of Mrs. Chambers, which she did. Miss Mueden has left Paris now, however, and is stopping with relatives in Alsace. She will make several brief visits elsewhere in Germany before sailing for Ameriza. = ** Mr. George Gibbs has returned from Ocean City after a visit there of several weeks. While at the seashore he did prac- tically no outdoor sketching, the pur- pose of his stay there was rest and r2crea- tion rather than work. Mr. Gibbs is - haps, seldom seen to better advantage than in his drawings of sea life and naval sub- jects. * * * Mrs. Annie E, Heyle returned to the late this week, after spending the summer in King George's and Westmoreland coun- ties, Virginia. Mrs. Hoyle has been right on the Potomac shore most of the and has employed a large amount stay in sketching the many intere Jects to be found in that region. * time. ** Many Washington People will be 1 to hear of the recent success of Mr. H. F Waltman, a former pupil of Mr. S. Jerome Uhl. He went out to Cleveland last winter to do some portrait work for Mr Howell Hinds, an old-established business man of that city, and his work proved so sa‘isfac- tery that he did in all four portraits for the family, including likenesses of Mr. and Mrs. Hinds, their daughter and diinds’ mother. He also executed ¢ mirable portrait of Mrs. Rice, a promir Cleveland society woman. Shortly finishing his work in the west he few days in Washington, and ther 5 on to Atlantic City, and later to New York, where he is now visiting friends. He ex- pects to be in course of a wee portrait of the lete Col. Kim crest, Md. When that is fini he go to Europe for a prolonged stay. ex ing to sail some time in the latter part this month. Washington or so, as he is t aga att 1 of Oa a oS HOW MEN DIE IN BATTLE. The Mortally Wounded Await Death Calmly and Bravely. From the St. Loris Republic. “If you want to know how men die in bat- tle, ask some of those who have been at Wilson's Creek, on one side or the other,” said Judge David Murphy of the criminal court. “I was in Totten’s Battery, and I saw them, wounded and dying, falling thick and fast around me. You may say that I saw not one man fiunk in the face of death on that terrible day of fight and bloodshed. While I*was firing my gun from Bloody Hill, a vounster, not more than twenty years old, suddenly jerked his leg. He ut- tered a sharp, quick cry, then bent down and tore the trousers away from the place on his shin where a minie had struck him. He looked up with a smile, patted the wound with his hand, pulled the torn ¢rous- ers down and went on shooting. Five min- utes later he yelled again, and his hand went up to the fleshy part of his left arm. “Hit again!’ he said, sat down behind the battle ranks and sxamined bis arm. The wound was only skin deep and that seemed to please him hugely, for he tizd his hand- kerchief around it, and again went forward into the ranks with his musket. "You're fighting in bad luck today, Pete,’ said a comrade. The youngster turned his face to answer back, and by the saapping of his eyes it could be seen that his mind framed a saucy, defiant reply. Just then his jaw dropped. A ball ploughed its way through his mouth, leaving nothing but a bloody, tongueless cavity. With a hoarse gurgle the fellow threw his gun on the grcvnd and fled back of the lines. He was found in a hospital afterward, but never recovered. “On that same day I encountered three men under a tree. Their faces were asny gray, showing that. they were mortally wounded. I asked them why they were not attended to, and one of them said that it was all over with them; they wanted the suigeon to attend first to those who could be saved. One of the men was smoking a shcrt briarwood pipe. “What are you doing, my friend? I asked. “Taking my last smoke,’ he answered, his glassy eyes looking steadily at me. An- other was reading a letter. He held it up to Lis face, but I could see that he was not making any headway. His eyes were grow- ing dim and his week, trembling hands folded the missive and thrust it into his breast pocket. He was perfectly resigned to his fate, and had net a word to say. When I returned in the evening, after a lull, I found the three men dead. Thei faces were white and set in the shadow of the tree under which they lay. By the plecidity of the features I knew that they had met death without flunking. “That's all bosh about men raving about mother, home and heaven. All the men I have seen die, or near death, were quiet and perfectly rational. They made no fuss. These thet did were usually delirious, en- tirely out of their minds, The faces of these were frequently distorted, and gave every cvidence of the mental and physical agony they unconsciously had endured. “One thing struck me as peculiar. Near- ly all the regulars exhibited an instant de- sire to examine their wounds when they were hit, and the expression of their faces inéicated in a moment whether they were slightly or mortally wounded. They seem- ed to know with unfailing certainty. If the wound was slight and in a place where they could tie tt up cogveniently they did 80, and then went back into the fighting lines. If it was mortal, their grave, pale faces betrayed their knowledge. The vol- unteers were not so well posted, but they were brave 4s lions, and seldom gave up unless seriously hurt.” see The Main Point. (Copyright, 1898, Life Publishing Company.)