Untroubled by the knowledge that his secret was discovered, Jaune
entered upon the last day of his martyrdom. It was the most agonizing
day of all. The benevolent persons, the reporters, the detectives, the
crowd surging about him, drove him almost to madness. He walked as one
dazed. And above and over all he was possessed by a frenzy of jealousy
that came of the offensively friendly smiles which Rose bestowed upon
him as she forced meetings upon him again and again. It was with
difficulty that he restrained himself from laying violent hands upon
this bogus Marquis who falsely and infamously had beguiled away from
him the love for which he gladly would have given his life. Only the
blood of his despicable rival, he felt, would satisfy him. He longed to
find himself with a sword in his hand on a bit of smooth turf, and the
villanous Marquis over against him, ready to be run through. The
thought was so delightful, so animating, that involuntarily he made a
lunge--and had to apologize confusedly to an elderly gentleman whom he
had poked in the back with his umbrella.
At last the three hours of torture, the last of his two weeks of
hateful servitude, came to an end. Pale beneath his false paleness,
haggard beyond his false haggardness of age, he entered the clothing
store and once more was himself. With a gladness unspeakable he washed
off his wrinkles and washed out the gray from his hair and beard; with
a sense of infinite satisfaction that, a fortnight earlier, he would
not have believed possible, he resumed his shabby old clothes. Had he
chosen to do so, he might have walked away in the new and magnificent
apparel which he now fairly had earned; but just at present his
loathing for these fine garments was beyond all words.
The tailor fain would have had the masquerade continue longer, for, as
he frankly stated, "The Marquis Suit" was having a tremendous sale. But
Jaune was deaf not only to the tailor's blandishments, but to his
offers of substantial cash. "Not for the millions would I be in this
part of the Marquis for one day yet more," he said firmly. And he
added, "I trust to you in honor, sare, that not never shall my name be
spoken in this affair."
"Couldn't speak it if I wanted to, my dear boy. It's a mystery to me
how you're able to say it yourself! Well, I'd like you to run the
'Marquis' for another week; but if you won't, you won't, I suppose, so
there's an end of it. I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed it. I have. It's
been as good a thing as I ever got hold of. Now give me your address
and I'll have your clothes sent to you. Don't you want some more? I
don't mind letting you have a regular outfit if you want it. One good
turn, you know--and you've done me a good turn, and that's a fact."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account