Pittsville High School - Ho Ang Ho Yearbook (Pittsville, WI)

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I' rf' . . 6' t' fan 's 's't'c HMI' 'rl'-r iw' fn!- 'I'-E' +4 'lvl' Nr' 'Jr 4'8 -'I-'r' '-I f'r'r'! if-r-V y 'Y ii' xr if 'l' 2 if 2 Tl Zi- 5. 3. 1 1 1 3 1 a debt of several thousand pounds ln Eng llsh money He was very lenlent but after hls death the son who is a waster and a scoundrel declded that he needed the mon y He pressed hrs clalm It I cannot pay I shall lose thls estate whrch has been rn my fanllly for seyeral generatrons paused a moment then contrnued would be a breach of falth wlth my an cestors to let the estate pass lnto the hands of another' Last year the Lord Chester met Mercedes lll Parls he apparently fell ln love wlth her By heaven' If I had only known lt rn tlme she would never haye made that pledge If the estate must pass rnto other hands ll shall rather than marry her to that fool' He rose and pac ed Mlth bowed head to the end of the bal cony wl ere he stood looklng down lnto the garden Then he turned and came back to stop before Darnott Wlll Monsleur be ready for a Jour ney lll a day OI two he lnqulred sud denly Vlhy yes your Grace' I am ready to go now' The Marquls shook hrs head Not for two days he sald In the meantlme rest IS very necessary so as to be ready tor the journey Brddlng Dar nott a hurrled goodnlght he turned away From the meadows came the deep bay ot a hound Then numberless others took up the cry A trlumphant sound They had caught the quarry' Darnott slttrng rn the tadrng llght almost gave way to a plan whlch had been tormulatrng ln hls mllld He would wln Mercedes consent to thelr marriage alld a Spaln a Journey of three hundred mlles And then that was as much as he could vrsuallze clearly There must be a way But he realrzed the wlldness ot hls schemes and gave up to mlngled feelings ot chargln at hrs own weakness and despair The next day he rode wlth Marquls QIl9Il'll1 rn the hunt untll hls wourlded shoulder throbbed palntully and he was so weary that he was forced to turn hrs horses head toward home The Marquls courteous always dld llkewlse Mercedes had not been wlth them and though the tact caused Darnott troubled thoughts he made no allusron to ll and the MRTQIIIS Iatllllrll as usual had nothing to say The day was tar spent when they reached home The Marquls threw the IPIHS of hls horse to a walting hostler and stlocle away wlth neyer a word Darnott lett to hlmself wandered about the spat lous grounds At last he tllrned hls toot steps toward the garden The paths were srtt and mossy and the belldlllg lllacs blushed agalnst the cheek as he strolled along Suddenly he paused llstenlng rn tently Certalnly there had been a sound There ll was agaln He turned and step ped dellberately through a break rn the hedge and came suddenly out rnto the op enrng where the fountarn babbled pleas antly There was apparently no one rn Slghl Darnott paused yyonderlngly then stood transflxed There on the steps ot the fountarn her head burned ln her arms and the slantlng sun gleamrng on her dark harr the grrl he loyed more than any thlng else ln the world yes even hIS coun try lay Sflbblllg her heart out to the nod dlng rose buds and the lengthenlng shad ows Something held him back form step plng forth and taklng her ln hls arms H only stood there hls whole heart yearnrng tor her untll suddenly she ralsed her head and looked at hrm He cursed hlmself ln wardly as he saw the red flush steal up 1nto her slender throat and coy er her face She put her hands over ll wlth a shy re served gesture and rose to her feet The eyes that held hls were wet wlth tears whlch trembled on the verge of a sudden DFSCIDIIOIIS descent down her smooth cheeks Darnott started forward hls arms outstretched but the grrl stopped hlm wlth a gesture and he only took her hands ln stead She made no effort to free them but stood with averted face Mercedes my lite rs there h began pleadlngly but she shook her head vlolently Please please do not' she crred I cannot marry you never' But you do love me he entreated earnestly I I yes Ido love you Lance but what you are to ask rs lmposslble I can race Stlll averted Darnott experlenced a sudden slnklng of the heart tor he knew her determlnatlon Gently she freed her hands from hlS clasp and walked slowly away down the path D arnott stood for a while his world rn rurns about him untll the sun slld be hmd a dlstant hlll and darkness covered the land The tollowlllg clay he rode away to ward Bayonne Pau on the border of Italy In hls possessron was a letter tor another of Danton s secret agents lll that clty Lance D arnott ate hls lIl9dl rn the sunny llttle tayern of Bayonne Pau super yrsecl bv a huge portly Inn keeper He hacl seated hlmself lll a corner yyhlch was paltly slllelded bv a cloth screen from the new ot a group of mell sealed about a table apparelltly drlnklllg At tlmes Ih9ll chatter lntelruptecl hls thoughts alrd at one Page 50 gl . , Y ' v V y Y ' G .'. 1 1 L' - V ' , - g.g . 1 V n .1 , e .. - .V . - Vg. - . 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0 .Jn I 4-to 0' J ..'..,.. rrl' rl' 'fav f' 40 WI fn' 'H+ 'rf' Mr ! 'r-Z'-20' r' '! ' - 'r 'r'f-I- 'r4 'r'r r 4 'f f f-! ! 'r r ' 'r'r ' r f'. 'f 'r. e'r'. f'! .-'rf r'r'r r f r'r f f Z' me I will procure the letter He turned quickly and strode away Lance Darnott lay ltstenlng until h1s hosts recedxng footsteps had died away then he closed his eyes and slept again He dld not know how long he slept but the wamng lxght told hlm lt was late afternoon Hls first thought concerned the letter of which he had told the Mar quls He hoped his assailants had not found it sewed ln the lining of his pocket As he lay musing he heard approach lng footsteps and the soft openlng and clos ing of a door Perhaps his host was re turnlng to dlscuss affairs at Paris or I hope Monsieur IS teellng much lm proved' a soft voice exclaimed There at h1s side stood one of the most attractive women he had ever seen She was of medlum height and quite dark Her face was plquant ln its appeallng lov ellness wxth a frank smile whlch revealed gleaming rows of whlte even teeth Her halr was dark and gleamed when she mov ed her head like the gloss on a ravens wmg But her eyes' D arnott found him self completely incapable of saying a word Hls tongue clove to the roof of his mouth and he could only stare They were blue crystal pool and so deep that he felt h1s gaze entirely lost in thelr depths She carried herself wlth an alr of charmlng grace As she stood flushing under Dar notts scrutiny the sound of a horn from some dxstant part ot the estate reached thelr ears That means I must go father wamng I trust that Monsieur has found his tongue by the time that I return VS 1th a mlschlevlous flash of her eyes she turned away without giving the stricken one a chance to regain his numbed facll IIICS Darnott stared wonderingly at the spot where she had been hut a moment ago and a hot flush of embarrassment crept up into his fact He had gaped like a fool Perhaps she would not trouble to come again For a moment the thought caused him a little panic Then he won dered what had come over him The day seemed to have lost its gloomy hue Yes he could see the sunshxverlng the top of a dlstant tree He hardly heard a servants anxlous VOICE telllng hlm that a tray had been and lf Monsleur would eat Lance Darnott lay ln a half reclin mg position on a lounge wheeled out onto the broad balcony of Marquis Quentins mansion The gloom of the early evening was settling over the surrounding country Page 49 slde though the sky was stlll plnk wxth the glow of the setting sun Now and then the sleepy twltter of a blrd came to him nom the hedge below He dld not hear approaching footsteps until a deep volce sounded close to his slde And how IS Monsieur thls even1ng Darnott glanced up qulckly and dlS covered the Marquis standlng in the open door One of his cheeks was covered with blood from a long scratch extendlng from the corner of his mouth to the rlght ear Hls efforts at a smxle were ludicrous had apparently Just returned from a hunt hrace I should have been up and away Lance smiled depreciatingly Your and a long arduous one lt must have been long before this late hour I would have been well upon my way were ll not for for clrcumstances The Marquls keen glance could not have falled to notlce the flush that rose to Darnott s cheek I must caution Mercedes to leave you to your own devlces he rumbled How ever Lance thought he caught a note ot laughter ln his volce Lance looked away from the sllent ln h1s heart There was no use denying It He dxd love Mercedes Quentln It was only h1s Iron resolve to keep the secret from her lf posslble that had prevented him from betraymg lt long before H wondered what brought the Marquls to the balcony so soon after the strenuous chase Was lt to tell hlm that there was no DOSSlb1llly but of course he knew that Darnott you are ln love wlth Mer cedes The slmple low volced statement caused Lance to start sllghtly The tone held soxnethmg mdeflnable and Darnott teelmg unaccountably guilty knew the warm blood had rlsen into hls face The Marquis drew his rldlng gaunt lets through h1s fingers and rumbled a deep laugh llke distant thunder Your Crate there IS nothing that I can say except that I do love her turned Darnott slowly I had not ln tended Good' lnterrupted His brace ab ruptly Does she love you I do not know I thlnk Ah lt IS dangerous to think You must know' said the Marquls Mon sleur I wlll take thls opportunlty to tell you something I have long Intended low ered hls volce untxl D arnott could bar ely hear Mercedes IS bound by her word to a man she hates An Englishman she met ln Paris a year ago His name- he pau ed and Darnott could see his mouth set ln a grlm lme is Chester' She dld ll to saye me and this es tate I owed the Lord Chesters father I-'-I--!-'Z !-Z-'!'-!--!--Z--' 3+-I-'P . 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such lnterval he heard a loud ribald voice speak a familiar name which pierced his consciousness like a knife thrust The man had apparently drunk too much wine as was evidenced by his stammerlng was proposing a toast to the illustrious young general Napoleon Bonaparte when a hard cold voice broke in which caused D arnott s waning Interest to quicken Spare us thls is not a meeting of the Peers nor the Committee of Publlc Saf e y The words were spoken in English and instantly set the speaker aside as such They were crisp and sarcastic Apparent ly the voice carried authority for the would be toast master paused murmured a mom ent then there was the scrape of a chair For a time there was a strained silence from the group Darnott smiled apre ciatively A cool laugh and the man with the crisp voice spoke Monsieurs as our respected friend could not continue I will propose a toast to the one who is to become my betrothed within a fortnight' the blood pounding into D arnott s ear drums He gathered hls feet under him his muscles tensed This was the despised Lord Chester who was the stumbllng block ln his plans The man who was holding 'Vlercedes to such a promise A cold fury possessed hlm The passionless voice went on Darnott hardly heard him He saw only the pale face of Mercedes as she bade him good bye at the fountain He started A voice from the table interupted the Lord ln the midst of his tlrade you Chester you shall not slan der that woman s name m my presence' There was almost a note of hysterla ln the boylsh tones The cool volce of Lord Chester con tlnued wlth hardly a pause describing a certaln night at the Theatre Darnott did not know what force drew him to his feet and propelled him to the center of the low celinged room His mouth was set in a grim line and his breath came quick and hard The Lord was about to sit down amid ribald laughter when Lance Darnott s hand on his shoul der snapped him about upon his feet Darnott had one glimpse of the faces of the men about the table before his clench ed flst crashed into the dark startled one of the Englishman The older man taken unaware fell back upon the table tipping the wine de canter and splashing the snowy lace at his cuffs with the dark llquid He made a grotesque figure sprawled out among the remams of the repast The other members of the party sat for a moment lxke graven images incred ulous surprise stamped upon their faces 'lhe Engllshman struggled to a slttmg pos ture his face whlte wlth fury his dark eyes ghtterlng with a mad desire for re venge Darnott stood in the center of the room coldly smiling his hand upon the hllt of his sword The Lord Chester with a curse drew his steel but strong hands grlpped him and held him struggling back Several of the men glared angrily at D ar nott who evldenced no emotlon save that h1s face was a trlfle whlte Poltroon' hissed the furlous En gllshman My attendants will wait upon you tonight' Lance bowed gravely As you will he said and turning on his heel walked nonchalantly away One of the men loosing his hold upon the stlll angry Lord murmured aside to one of hls frlends A cool one Alphonse-I ts ish he had knocked the fools head in' Hrs friend did not trouble to mqulre as to which fool he had reference to Lance Darnott reflectlng bltterly that agaln he had played the fool stood staring somberly out of the open window of his txny garret room The shadows were slowly creeping over the meadows He could see ln the distance the figure of a peasant driving his ploddmg oxen The sunset was gorgeous with color Iong banners of crimson streaked the sky and each cloud was tmged with silver Far over that last distant hill was the glrl he loved The one truly glorious moment of hls lite had been for that brlef mstant when her hand had returned his farewell pressure and her eyes had filled w1th a mysterlous llght of unshed tears thrllled again under that glance Almost unconsciously his thoughts ran for a mom ent into the future After he had fimshed his task he would leave this crippled coun try for England-or even America he half hoped that he might persuade firm knock on the door aroused him from his meditation and as he opened the door with a flourish he was agaln Darnott the debonalr courtier The hall was quite dark as was the room and he could barely distinguish the features of the four men without One he recognized as the graceful white halred man who had sat so quietly during the ex Clement earlier ln the day He bowed slightly stepping back as he did so Ah I am lndeed deeply honored Will you enter' The little group flled ln silently and s ood ln various attltudes about the room as Darnott lighted a candle and bade his VlSlIOI'S be seated Page 51 'E' 't 4: t 't i lf l 3 2: Q Q l E 'R 3 5- 'L at W. it 's 'L t rl S. r if t W .2 'A '+'M'w a+ 'kv' .4-rn 'lm 4' s-H' M'-2' 'VMI'-.' -2+-5' Wt NM' 4- 40 'vi'-Sv' '21-ri . , . 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