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head that, official came "hurrying out
in dismay.- A
;"You!"-he ejaculated. "Yqu are liv
ing! But' what is it that has occurred?
Come in; tell, nle;." ,
He heard the lieutenant's story in
cold, silence.. Then he rang for thje
newsjaperartwelve of .them and
set them before his visitor. . In" the.
balck staring, headlines, Lieutenant
Savar'd 'learned that theArc&die was
a wreck, and.that he,.standing upon
the bridge, hatt "perished nobly, as be
came an officer opFrance. A monu
ment was to be erected in. his honor
in the"- Champs Elysees. The land
rang ;wlth his name.
"Well?" inquired Sayard, looking
,up with. a. smiles
"Well!".reiterated the head of the
admiralty. "Do you not .understand
that you are aidead man? , Mutiny on
a French warship! Jt.is Impossible,
Monsieur- For the honor of France
you. must be. dead forever.
"But what am I to do?" asked the
lieutenant, In astonishment.
"Accursed man! Disappear.! Go
to 'America,- to. Cincinnati, to Hong
Kong, to Kalamazoo, California, to
Oshkosh, Winnipeg!, France demands
Vour4eath!" r .
"But my friends-" ,
J" A dead man has.no friends. ..Evap
orate, accursed. ;one! Become desic
cated! Blow awayl Go anywhere,
but let. none know, that, you are' alive,
or the republic perishes!"
With Savard duty wasparamount.
He understood that he, who owed his
life to. the humanity of,thedead mu
tineers; "must .henceforth 'be dead, as
they.-. That night he. broke into his.
quarters, rehjoved the few valuables
that he possessed, together with a lit
tie money, and took up his residence
In a poor quarter .of the' town. After
the newspapers. had ceased, to publisn
accounts of his heroic death .he might
venture to'leave-France'.ull tnen ne
was to remain at home pending re-
ceipt of orders from the admiralty.
But Lieutenant Savard could not
remain inside his tiny room. The. J
thought of his. ruined life, of his
fiancee, irrevocably lost to' him, flUed -his
heart with terrible grief. He
foamed" the stfeets-in laborer's guise,
striving desperately by physical
weariness to forget, to induce sleep.
On one such, occasion, his steps un
consciously leading him in the direc
tion of the embassy, near which Miss
Smith and her brother resided, he
came face to face, with her.
' "His fifstimpulse was to rush to her
side; then, mastering himself with a
supreme effort,, he passed on as
though he had never metier, aIabbr
inghnan going.to.his work. Once, past
her he speedily lost himself in the
mazes of traffic. He' had noticed that
she was attired In mourning. "
But he could, not escape the editor -of
Jthe Clarion. Monsier Brouet was a
regular sleuth-hound wherever an
item, of newa was .concerned;. And
now he, had found, him. -
"Lieutenant, .you joke Tlih me, an
old friend.';.like me!" expostulated
Mbn8ieurBrouet, "Come, tell me. your
story. No; I. assure you that it wilT
.be held sacred."
TMvx- storv!'" said the . lieutenant
I glumly, imitating the Parisian argot,
I 1(1. At,-!. T 1 j 1 "
IB lUiiX .lUclVC iiUU tWU UlUUStlUU
bricks today, and desire not-tQ' have
my meditations interrupte'd!"
. "You .lie, ruman. ana toaa, replied
the.' editor pleasantly- '"Ha!" You
redden! You do not like those epi
thets r 'Confess, then,- tljat you are
a, gentleman and no bricklayer! Ah,
.my dear fellow, Miss. Smith is weep
ing heri pretty eyes. ,out because she
thinks ybii lying at the bottom of the
Mediterranean. Will you not trust
me, :my friend?"
Lieutenant' Savard buried his face
in his hands. The, editor, who had a
large experience of human nature,
waited for the fit to pass. Presently
the lieutenant looked up.
"Your word of honor, Brouet, that
you. will hold this sacred? "'he asked.
Then, when Brouet gave it to 'him,
he told him the entire story. How
he, who had been the victim of the
