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About Independence enterprise. (Independence, Or.) 1908-1969 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1908)
THE CHAUFFEUR AND THE JEWELS , IW6, WJ B CIUITKH XIII. "Yetl fhall ht-mt f'"" rly la the iiu.rriltijc." the IikmIi I'rlnre del I'lno bad told Mr. Waring when In left ber at hr houa; and lbn, turn ing Ll motor In the direction of hi hotel, ho gave himself up la the bual- nras c f lit moment, mulling the moat of the brief lime left him. It w half paal ttn hmi he stood outside of house on 8 strwt and consulted hie watch. Ilalfpaat ten. Very late for a vial! and yet they were- awake In the house! I Tli ro lit It Ibe bowed shutters and open wlnduwa came lh aoinid of one of Chimin' waltses, played by a girl ' slightly amateur flng"r on a piano that wat not of the best. Hut on that nlKlit of witchery, In the silent Unfiled street, the air floated, out With a certain graceful atatellneaa Curbing hi Impatience, Barto watt ed until the lam note of the phrase wa (ilnyod, regardless; of the flight of II run, and then, mounting the steps rang the bell. Tb-re wa a sIIkIiI healtatlou b' fore a light tread came along the ball and the door opened. "I had a Ilium I given up Your High neaa," aald Annette Bancroft. Her vlitl tor atood, hat In band, looking up at her. "I am all apologies for the bite- neaa of tin) hour," ho began In a low vot''. "nut I have been dining at Cli"v Cnaht- and 'allied long er :un 1 thought t ! n'l only atuy a moment." The girl led the way without a peak ing. Into the drawing room, whore two randlea were burning, revealing the open piano heaped with mimic. Behind It the window atood open, let ting in the light from the at reel. - "Hoses!" ejuculated the mock prince. Ho daintily anlffed at a bowl ful standing on the center of the table. "I'apa Gontler," he murmur ed, lifting the heavy heads. "He lias good tame In flower the Englishman." Annette made a faint acqulesence. BY EDITH MOftCAN MUllXTT All pery, diverse nature, no other rourae unurrml. The matt who Iovd An nette Ilaturofl and waa loved In re turn could no longer mak btlilnd the j'rluce e lino. I'g the air from llial, bird Ilk atoma of sound threading the roar of the rlty. At lat Annette spoke. "What have you done with the diamond?" she asked vvry quietly. The man before her raught hi breath. "Ah, the diamonds! I had forgotten about them." for an Instant he stared at the girl blankly. All this time .udotc Ludovlo must come forth and bear Harto had been thinking of himself hi responsibilities. The law of aelf chauffeur, Hurely that was lo preservation, which he had only ac enough! Hut now, with a heavy. Ir- knowledge so far, bad given way to retrievable aense of doom, he saw In another, diviner. For the first time u,"r "J"' h"iice he had fallen and In bis lire the mercurial chauffeur now r twin the peeatal on bent hi head to the law of self sac-1 Wbl('n Plat ed the I'rlnce ddj rifle. I'lno. down to the thief the robber Turning suddenly, he looked at the of Wra- War'" diamond. What girl at the piano. descent! And In the fall lov, Annette wa leaning forward, fa- ,bt Drlt,K delicate thing, lay shat- dug him. a faint nervous smile on t'rt". broken into fragments. her lips, ber eye full of a dawning. filtrt0 suddenly face to face shy expectancy, "h a Judge, young, austere, Implac- Walcblng her, hi wonderfully keen UK whose clear tone there almost feminine perception dls- ou,u,,,1 no oul distant I'ur- sect lug the girl' soul. Barto saw. u "cslor; In whose glance be with shuddering, alckeulna- horror ,aw himself condemned. and aelfdlNgust, all that the girl In her Innocent romantic soul was Im agining, A fairy tale no less foob Inn enough! with a prince, for Its hero and for It heroine The man who loved her knew, with "The diamond," he repeated with an effort, "go to Mr. Waring to morrow, with a notu ,f of riplana Hon. I shall see t it the first Inmg In the morning. iu iAuiuiii ,t mm hmmI i an Inward recoil, that It fell to him P'"'ial air of a s rvant. his eyes on to shatter this pretty Ilttlo castle In tno ground, and for a moment An the air with It occupant. netto listened silently Standing before her ,he spoke for "What are you doing here then? many. "Mis Ilancroft, tell me. how r00 amideniy. "JJoiri you long have we known each other k,,ow tlial " Count Bouravleff gf. you and I?" l,"r yu. he may be here at any mo- Annette raised her tycs to his. and "''r vol,e ro" sharply a vivid color tinged her pale cheeks. "You will bo caught, Imprisoned!" Two weeks." she said, without the lm th9 chauffeur only amlled with faintest hint of coquetry or beslta- "IWalo In hi keen eye which had Hon. "It wa Jmit two week aco not Ul''n ,h,'re before. Blight as It tonight tha: wo met on board the Ma- I ,hat no,e ot anxiety bad not - estlc." caped blm. Though In fragmenu "No!" Barto hook hi head. "t111 tnere WM ,ovo or n'm In tbe You have known me longer than 'rI' heart. that. Ixiok at me!" " " "afe enough Indeed! He drew nearer, with audden do- 06 n'red confidently. "My motor termination. "Where have you seen u atandlng In front of a pharmacle me before? Think! Kemember!" ln F "'reet at this moment. For my But the girl only gazed at him with ' Mt ,he botel " hour aK0 aHtonlehed. half frightened eyes. nd ,ook my valise with Ita contents "Before?" she faltered: "I don"t lo "he hesitated "well, never mind understand." Sarto moved Impatiently. The sus pense was becoming unbearable. where. When one leads a double life. Miss Bancroft, one find It con ven lent sometime to live ln two She had seated herself on the piano i "Think!" he urged relentlessly. "Of Plott'8- And then I came on here. whom did you say I reminded you? le8 11 lulte gafe; but 11 ' ell Have you forgotten Sarto, the chauf-ltx&l yu remind me Chat I must go.' tool, a ghost-like little figure ln the half light. Turning away from tho table, Sar to moved toward the piano. "Ah, I had forgotten that!" he said, speaking aotto-voce. "M. Bulst remains after I am gone. He has the best of It!" "After you have gone!" echoed Annette. She stood motionless, staring with parted lips and widened eyes Into the face of the man who bent over the piano, hla dark, mobile features to near her. "Yes," he said, speaking In very iulet tones, to which hi curiously expressive voice lent a certain pa tho. "It Is to say good by I am come tonight. Before morning I will have left Washington. I shall never ee you again." The last words rang with an Irre pressible melancholy that sent a ahJjver through his listener. Turn lug, forgetful of all the revealing lights in the street below, she look ed up Into his face, her own white with the shock of hla words her eyes wide with the secret of her ieart. "Annette!" cried Ludovlc Sarto. tLove is a great mystery! It moves through the winding pas sages of our cold, dark hearts bo si lently that we never suspect its pres ence until suddenly one day we see It for the first time mirrored ln the light of another's eyes. At some time when the chaff eur could not tell some Midas touch had turned the gratitude the friendship he felt for this girl Into the gold of lis heart. And in thia Instant of miracles the man's whole being, his double na ture, even the dark side which had .achieved its sinister triumph one short hour ago, seemed touched by that same Divine alchemy the base metal in him transformed and puri iled. ' There are certain moments In this .dull life of ours when the froth is on the wine moments of dazzling, diamond-like brilliance moments as sweet as the first' taste of a nectar ine and as evanescent. Even as Ludovlc Sarto and An nette Bancroft gazed into each other's eyes, the moment passed by, never .to return. The next a terrible realization .came Into the man's heart. "Wait A moment!" he said hoarsely. "I I have something to tell you!" Turning sharply away, he took a few turns up and down the room, grappling with the ordeal that was 'suddenly upon him. For the girl must be told the truth now! It was inevitable! Alas! the discovery of her secret demanded the revealing of his. It was a strange pBychic fact that to Sarto now, in spite of his slip- "What will become of you?" ask ed the girl, almost ln a whisper. She still sat, her face turned away. taring fixedly at the opposite wall Sarto moved toward the door. What will become of me?" he echoed, with, his old fatalistic shrug feur?' "You Sarto?" Annette half whls pored the word. "Sarto and the Prince del Pino!" Her lrrdpresslble Imagination was at work again. With a half groan Sarto turned away. "No more fairy tales, child!" ot the shoulders. "Who knows?" he said roughly. "The book is clos- 1118 volce dropped. "I have sinned ed now! The man you have known and 1 "1U8t do penance, make expla- Is not the Prince del Pino." His tlon- There Is much ahead of me." voice vibrated. Only an Impostor He Pe"ed the door abruptly and a miserable Impostor. Listen!" He 8tod hesitating. "Will you not look hesitated, standing with his back to at me before I go, and pity, forgive, the window, a silhouette of a man, forget?" looking at the girl between her two f"or tne 'lrst t,me Annette met his candles as a lost soul might look at glance- Sne na1 Deel listening to an angel ln heaven. I lne leatner-coated chauffeur, shrink- Then he told his story, from the "' from tne thlef: now. raising her time that he looked into Mrs. War- uead- Bne Baw. standing in the door ing's trunk to the present. way a curiously attractive figure, Perhaps never In the course of his 'ooa'ng t her with wistful eyes. The checkered career had the chauffeur. man atter all.whoin she loved. pastmaster as he was in the science Ha,f unconsciously, she leaned to- of the tongue, acquitted himself so ward nIm w,tn a desolate little cry. ill. By a skillful suppression of a "plty- fo've, yes!" she repeat fact here, the strengthening of an ed- "YeB- But forget? Oh, I cannot episode there ln fact, a little Judl- and w111 not 8lv you up!' clous light and shade the tale might "is'ng to her feet, she stood, her have made a very creditable autobl- hald8 clasped tightly, her lips parted ography, ln which Ludovlc Sarto, the azlnK at him with the soul itself hero, would have shone forth in an shining in her eyes. But Sarto did adventurous, seductive possibly an not move. He stood looking at her heroic light. standing between her candles, the to a lover all things are possible, sculpted image of a saint carved ln permissible. But for the time being Sarto was not a lover. He stood as it were in his confes sional, speaking io a hidden ear, dis ectlng his conduct with the scrupu lous exactness of the penitent. And the pale girl sitting between the two candles was to him a distant vision n a dim church, silent, inspiring, up lilting! Only at the last, the man looked out through the sinner's eyes, with a faint satisfaction in his own sin, an irresistible pride in his own performance. "I must say I played the part well!" Sarto boasted. "My acting was successful as far as it went. I dare say there are a score here who would say a good word for me " A wail crept into his voice. "Ah, the irony of fate! While they are applauding the Prince del Pino out there in the audience, the poor moun tebank must crawl off to hide him self and his broken heart. But I for got" with a jarring laugh "chauf feurs people of a certain class are not permitted to have hearts!" He Btood, poor Sarto, very human and very much in love, his face work ing, his heart rebelling at the bitter ness of his cup, the injustice that de prived him of the fruits of his own triumphs the enjoyment of his own happiness. And there was silence in the little room, while from the street outside came the smooth roll of wheels and a man's tenor ln the distance sing- stone, and a very wistful look came into his face. "There is a lighted shrine ln my heart," he said, speaking to himself, "and the flame can never go out. The candle will be burning there always through the long, lonely pilgrimage and at the end " "I will be. waiting," said Annette very softly. For a long InBtant their eyes met. Hers were full of tears, but Into the man's there came a far-off, ineffable look as of one who sees visions and dreams dreams. "Some day the pilgrim will come back to you," he said. And, with love burning triumphant ly at the candles of his shrine, Sar to went out Into the night. At ten o'clock the next morning, while Mrs. Waring was sitting up in bed and sipping her chocolate, her maid brought her a flat, square, be wrappea parcel, just arrived by a messenger boy. Giving a glance at the address written in a delicate, foreign-looking hand, Gussue tore open the wrap pings with excited fingers, pulled out the orthodox cottonwool so sugges tive of a jeweler, and revealed a chamois glove case! Pinned to it was a card on which was engraved, "II Principe Roderigo del Pino," and underneath, in pencil. Better known as Ludovlc Sarto, Mrs. Waring's ex-chauffeur, begs to send (Continued on last page!) a HERE WE ARE AGAIN With another line of Holiday Goods. This time it's a beautiful line of Umbrellas fine gold filled, detachable handles, the very best of steel frames and fine silk covers. Some thing every possessor will be proud to own. A suitable present for old or young and some thing that has real value and comfort and will make the giver and receiver happy. An in dispensable article for this time of the year, especially with the ladies. Make your selec tion early and we will engrave them free of charge. O. A. KRAMER Jeweler and Optician SELLING OUT AT COST Entire stock consisting of Harness, Whips, Blankets, all kinds of strap work, all. goods used in harness and saddle making, and Leather Goods must be closed out. I am positively going out of business, and will sell the stock at actual cost. This is an opportunity for farmers to buy their horse goods at .actual cost. It will not be their privilege to again have such a chance, perhaps, in a lifetime. to buy at such low prices. This sale will last only until the first of December. My stock of goods must be sold by that time as the shop will be closed on that date. Other business demanding my at tention makes it impossible for me to contin ue the harness shop in Independence. George G Dunham The Harness Man 2j