Katharine Adams

“ Marie Josephine nodded emphatically.
“Jean and I will walk with him across the meadows at sunset, and he will have so many wonderful things to tell us about his adventures!”
Grigge looked at her wonderingly, at the fineness of her blue cape, the delicate contour of her face, her carefully brushed curls, her straight black velvet frock. He had never been close up to any one like her before. She was so unlike anything in his own life that she might have come from another world. When she told him that no news had come from Dian, his face fell. ”

“ Lisle had sat still on the chest for some time after Dian left him. He looked at the quiet dusk of the old place, at the flicker of light from the green lanthorn, at the weird figures on the tapestry. He was angry, for his pride had been hurt, his sorest point. Grandfather had told Marie Josephine about the cellar instead of him, had told a mere child who could know little or nothing of what it meant.
He would show them that he was no child to be kept in hiding! ”

“ Grigge nodded. Here was one point on which he thoroughly agreed with Neville.
“That’s true! He shouldn’t have wasted his time looking out for those that don’t deserve it. He’s worth all of them put together!” he said. Then he suddenly thought of the fight he had had with Jean, and of how the Little Mademoiselle had cried out, “What would Dian say!” As he stood there kicking his heels against the wooden gate, Grigge knew that he cared more about what Dian would say than about anything else in the world, for Dian had helped him to keep his hold on life, and to fight despair. ”

“ She would wait there for her naughty, darling Jean. The driver told her she was right. “Nothing can happen to you if you go to your cousins in the hovel,” he told her.
Mother Barbette wept bitterly as she saw them coming toward her through the clearing in the woods. They did not seem at all funny to her in their disguise, though at another time she would have had a hearty laugh at Bertran in his farmer boy’s smock, his hair flapping about his face, and at the dignified Hortense in faded grey homespun, her hair in stiff braids on each side of her ears. ”

“ The music of a minuet was being played as the two settled themselves in a corner of the balcony and looked down. The minuet music was very pretty, and the sight upon which they gazed was pretty, too.
“It is like maman’s picture of which she is so fond—the picture where all the people are dancing. It is by Monsieur Watteau. Grandfather told me so,” whispered Marie Josephine.
“There is no need at all for whispering,” Rosanne answered in natural tones. “No one could hear us if we were to shout ever so loud!” ”

“ Humphrey did not seem to realize his own danger, but Dian felt that it was there. Humphrey was an alien enemy of the Republic. His safety so far had lain largely in the fact of his being so typically a farmer.
Surveillance was growing daily more strict. At any time both Humphrey and Rosanne might be discovered. Dian was thinking of all this as he walked through the crowded, unruly city, amid the sound of hammers on anvils and the rumble of tumbrils carrying poor victims to the guillotine. ”

“ You will live to see that day. Be strong, Marie. There is not a young lamb at Pigeon Valley that you do not love. There is not a human being whom you could not love. You will see beyond the tinsel and the satin. You are the truest descendant of Lisle Saint Frère.”
She had protested, “Lisle is the truest, grandfather!”
He had answered: “Lisle is too proud. I have brought you to this secret cellar which has sheltered your ancestors in peril. No one has ever known of it except one of our family in every generation and one other who is outside the family. ”

“ Maman put her hand on the door, and Marie Josephine stepped back into the hall, keeping close to the wall. There was only silence, except for the voices from the halls below.
Marie Josephine never forgot the breathless flight through the familiar back halls of the great house. In spite of the tense excitement she thought how funny it was that she knew the halls so well, and maman knew them not at all! Roaming about houses had always been one of Marie Josephine’s chief delights!
She tried to remember what Dian had told her: “Do not let fear keep you from doing what is right. Fear has no power.” ”

“ Good night; and let us each one dream of the true loves we are going to have!” Denise laughed gaily and twirled around on her blue satin bedroom slippers, their crystal buckles sparkling in the firelight.
When she had gone, Marie Josephine sat down on the floor in front of the fire.
“You look so perfectly dear to-night with your hair caught up that way, Marie Josephine. I can shut my eyes and see you as you’ll be four years from now. The red shawl becomes you, too. Just wait, you’ll have your true loves, I’m sure of that!” Cécile said, leaning back against the dark brocaded velvet chair. ”

“ Then he turned to the market gardener. “I know a boy who will drive your cart to-morrow, if you like. He lives in a cellar, and is in dire straits. He will be only too glad of earning even a few coins, for he has a journey before him, and a mother and sisters dependent upon him. I’d like to do him the good turn.”
Now Dian was a prime favorite with the market gardener, who was constantly wrangling with the men he knew in the city, though he cared not a fig for any of them except the seed shopman. He admired Dian’s bulk and his free, fearless ways. “There’s a man for you,” he would say. ”

“ Marie Josephine sat back contentedly. Nothing could happen to Lisle, nothing in the world. They would all be together in the spring. She knew that the governess and the older girls talked together very seriously when she was not present. Even her beloved Cécile seemed grave and preoccupied, and she felt that she did not confide in her any more. Denise and Bertran still rode gaily through the demesne and danced in the great drawing-room at Les Vignes in the evening. She was more and more with Jean. ”

“ Dian shut his eyes and stood for a few moments with his head bowed over his clasped hands. He was giving thanks for the long, warm summer days, the comfort of the stars at night, and the confidence of his sheep as he led them home at sundown. The noise of the city was all about him. Wild voices were singing the “Ça Ira,” the song of the revolution, rough, ragged groups of men and women in scarlet caps jostled past him. There were sounds of pounding and hammering everywhere, and he could hear the clanging of anvils from near-by forges. ”

“ She was tanned like a veritable gypsy, and there was no need of any more disguise for her. She was the street gamin to perfection, and she had the gift of knowing how to play a part. She had confidence, too. The experience at the house of Great-aunt Hortense had given it to her. She was full of fire and courage and the love of adventure. ”

“ I am not afraid,” she answered stoutly. “Maman and Lisle are in Paris. Have you forgotten Dian’s story about the prince in the dungeon. He has gone to help them, and so must I.”
“What could you do for them?” Jean was so deeply interested that he spoke loudly, and Marie Josephine held up her hand warningly.
“You must be silent about all this; it is to be a great secret between us.” She shook her finger at Pince Nez, who had perched himself on the top of Mother Barbette’s four-poster bed. “You are not to tell either, you naughty creature. I do not trust you. I think you are a witch in disguise!” ”

“ The tri-color ribbons and the gay red caps of the half-starved crowds made splashes of brilliance through the greyness. The farm boy touched Dian’s arm.
“Listen,” he said and his voice sank almost to a whisper. “Listen! I hear the roar of the tumbrils. They are coming this way. They almost always do. I have seen them before.” He caught Dian’s arm as he spoke, and Dian could feel him trembling.
The shepherd laid his hand on the lad’s arm. “Let us come away from all this. I do not want to see them. I cannot help them by seeing them.” ”

“ He had always been accompanied by his tutor or a servant. Boys of noble birth did not go out unattended. It was the strangest day that he had ever known. A wild exhileration seized him and he began to run. He had felt this way before when he had ridden to the hounds, when he had run at top speed across the fields at Les Vignes, but to-day it was as though he had never really known emotion. The thunder of the cannonading at the Tuileries pounded through the great avenue. As he came nearer a black sea of people loomed before him. ”

“ A field rabbit popped out from a clump of hedges near them, twinkled his ears, and vanished into the underbrush. Jean smiled through his tears, and wiped his eyes with his jacket.
“I didn’t mean to be unkind. You can’t help being young, of course, only you don’t seem to wake up.” Marie Josephine leaned toward him eagerly as she spoke. “I can’t express what I mean. They all think I’m a baby, too, at Les Vignes—Le Pont and Hortense, all of them except Cécile—but I think more than they do and I know things that they don’t know, things about which grandfather thought and told me. ”

“ I’m sorry that I left the cellar when you trusted me to stay,” he said.
Dian held him at arm’s length, smiling the smile that seemed to transfigure him, bringing a radiance to his face.
“Yes, you did wrong. We all do. It is true that you are like the first Lisle. Listen, my child, there are great things for you to know. Awake to them! Think of the protection that has been with you and yours. You will see.” As he spoke, Dian went to the panel, and kneeling, opened it. ”

“ I’m sure of it, and I don’t worry half as much as you think I do, Madame. I know them both so well. They are so smart. I know my Jean will come back to me, and I think that Dian will bring him,” answered the simple soul bravely, though the tears ran down her cheeks.
“Dear Mother Barbette, this isn’t good-by. It’s just au revoir. We will not rest until we find Marie Josephine and Jean.” As she spoke, Cécile put her arms around Mother Barbette and kissed her. ”

“ Raoul looked back over his shoulder.
“My, she’s grand and solemn looking. She’s sitting by the window!” He moved away so that Dian could peer through. The shepherd hesitated. It was not to his liking, this looking in on a woman, but he wanted to see what the room was like and to pass his note to the comtesse. He put his eyes to the opening and saw the comtesse sitting, as Raoul had said, by the narrow window, dressed in her black frock, her hands folded in her lap.
Raoul had roamed on down the hall, peering in at doors and shuffling his feet along the velvet carpet as he went. ”

“ I know it is a revolution and that I may not go out on the street to walk or ride and that the servants have left us and dear maman has not sent me any word since she went to papa. Tell me, Lisle, is it all so dreadful?”
Rosanne came and stood looking up at Lisle, her brown eyes eagerly watching his blue ones as he answered her.
“It’s a bad time,” he said slowly. “It can’t last much longer. Yes, it is a revolution and there is danger for some people, but we are safe enough. There is no reason why we should fear.” Lisle was glad that Rosanne had spoken. ”

“ Why do you want fairy stories when real things are so wonderful!”
Jean looked so meek and contrite as he sat there on the moss bank like a little brown gnome, that Marie Josephine laughed out loud. Jean was her good comrade and dear friend, but she loved to tease him.
“Let us talk about Neville while we eat the croissants and jam. I can just picture him riding in through the gates. You and I will run to meet him, Jean. He will be covered with dust because he has ridden so fast. He will have a big packet of letters in his pocket for us all and he will bring news of maman and Lisle. ”

“ I told her that I had some young friends who would love them,” he said.
“Dian, they are like those at Pigeon Valley. Dian, think of it—Pigeon Valley. I was telling Vivi just now about the lilies on the south terrace at Les Vignes, clusters, crowds of them, white and gold. They’ll bloom in June, Dian!” Two tears rolled down Rosanne’s face, but she smiled through them. “I want to see Marie Josephine more than ever to-night. I——”
Dian put his hand gently on her shoulder.
“You are brave,” he said, and then turning toward Vivi he added: “Vivi is brave, too. She is helping us all the time.” ”

“ He never once lost faith in his belief that the right way would be shown him. He was grateful that he had met Raoul and his master, for being with them meant being with the people, mingling with them freely. He had never gone through the Saint Frère house again, as he did not wish to run the risk of meeting Henri. 186 Each night he slept in the hidden cellar and it was there that he thought everything out. As he paced up and down the rough, uneven floor, Dian thought that he would give up all that the future held for him of peace and quiet days to have Lisle walking beside him. ”

“ THE BAL MASQUÉ “You need not worry at all, Proté. No one will know. It will be quite easy. Gonfleur is waiting at the door. You have said yourself that Mademoiselle Marie Josephine should not miss the fun.”
A small figure in a white cloak was following the little maid up a stairway leading from a side garden door of the Saint Frère house as she spoke.
“Mademoiselle may not be asleep. She often lies awake these nights. It is indeed a shame that she should not have gone with the others. But you, Mademoiselle, will they miss you?”
They were outside the nursery door as Rosanne de Soigné answered. ”

“ Do you remember when Dian rescued him and brought him to the sheepfold? I can just see him now, lying on the shelf with his funny beak open.” Marie Josephine stroked the crow gently, and Pince Nez winked impudently.
Jean was sitting in the shadow, and as Marie Josephine went on speaking, his eyes grew rounder and rounder!
“We must always remember what friends we have been and be happy about it. You will grow to be a fine man, Jean. I am sure of that. You must always help Grigge. Dian would wish you to.” ”