Cir"jz3
i i i i
WaFFm:
AvifKor of HEARTS AND iSKS
Xjho A1AN ON THE BOX v.
Illustrations jr .G.KErrresR-.
COPYRIGHT lgil y BOBB6, - MERRILL COMPAiSY "
"And Yet Thl Moment Ho Asked a Hundred for It."
t i
8YNOP3IS.
Ocorfro Pcrclvnl Algornon Jonca, vlco
prcaldonUof Jho Metropolitan Oriental Hur
company of Now York, thlratini; for ro
mance, la In Cairo on a bualneaa trip.
iTornco Uynnnn arrives it tliu hotel In
Cairo with a carufully Kunrtlctl bundle.
Xlynnno a'etla Joncn thn fainnua holy Yhl
brdeo rti& which ho admits havlnjr atolan
from a paaha at Uasdad.
CHAPTER IV. (Continued.)
Somo light stcpo, a rustic, and he
wheolcd In tlmo to bco a woman open
ci door, Btnnd for a mlnuto In tho full
light, and disappear. It was alio.
Gcorgo opened tho door of his own
room, throw tho rue. Inside, and tin-
toed along tho corridor, stopping for
tho briefest tlmo to ascertain tho
number of that room. Ho felt vastly
moro guilty In performing this harm
less act than In smothering his men
tor. Thoro was no ono in tho head-por'
tore bureau; thus, unobserved and un
embarrassed, ho .was frco to Inspect
tho gucsMlst. Fortune Chcdaoye. Ho
had novor seen a namo qulto llko that.
Its qualntnc.BB did not suggest to him,
as It" had dono to llyanno. tho pas
toral, tho bucollq. Rather It romtnd
cd him of tho old French courts, of
rnplers and buckles, of powdered wigs
nnd furbelows, masks, astroloirors.
Iove-intrlgue,B, of all thOBo colorful,
mutable scenes so charmingly do
ticribed by tho gonlol narrator of tho
exploits of D'Artngnan. And abruptly
vout of this ago of Lebrun, Wattoau
Molloro, reached an Ice-cold hand. If
that elderly codger wasn't her father,
,who wno ho and what?
Tho Major for. Gcorgo had looked
him up also wbb in oxcellont trim for
'IiIb ngo, something of n military dandy
besides; but, as tho husband of so
young andftixqulslto a creature! Out
'upon the thought! Ho might bo her
guardian, or, nt most, hor uncle, but
never her husband. Yet (O poisonous
doubt! ), nt tho tablo bIio had Ignored
the Major, both IiIh JostB and his at
tentions. Ho had Been raony wives,
Joyfully from n saro distance, act to
ward their huBbands in this funhlon.
Oh, rot! If his nnmo was Callahan
nnd hors Chcdsoyo, they could not
pogfilbly lo tied in any logal bonds. Ho
dismissed tko lco-cold hand and turned
again to tho comforting warmth of his
ardor.
He had never Bpokon to young wom
en without presentation, and on theso
rare occasions he had broachod tho
weather, suggested the possibilities of
tho weather, and concluded with an
npoRtropho on tho weather at large. It
wnn usually a valedictory. For ho was
Always posttlvo that ho had acted llko
a f6ol, and was afraid to speak to tho
filrl again. Jt'ovcr It failed, ton minutes
ufter tho girl was out of sight, tho
brightest and clevercBt things crowd
ed upon his tongue, to be but wasted
on tho dooort nlr. Ho was not particu
larly afraid of women older than
hlmuolf, moro'a tho pity. And yat, had
ho been as sky townrd them bb toward
tho girls, there would have been no
utolon Yhlordes, no sad-eyed maldon,
no such thing ah Tho United Ttomahco
and Adventuro Company, Ltd.; and ho
umilf1 linvvi ntnnneri thn nvnn Innnr nf
his way, unknown of grand paaslonu,
awlft adventure, life.
Gcorgo was determined to meet For
tune Chedsoyo, and this determination,
tho llrst of Its kind to take dollnlte
form In his mind, gavo him a novel
sensation. Ho would find somo way,
nnd ho vowed to beat his old enemy,
dlflldenco, It it wan tho last light ho
ever put up. Ho would maneuver to
get In tho way of tho Major. Hp never
found much troublo In talking to mon.
Onco ho exchanged a word or two
with tho undo or guardian, ho would
mako it a point to renew tho acquaint
ance when ho saw tho two together.
It appeared to him as a bright idea,
and ho was rather proud of It. Even
now ho was conscious of clonching his
teeth strongly. It's an old saying that
ho goes farthest who shuts his tooth
longest. Ho was going to test the pre
copt by Immediate practice.
. Ho had Btood botoro tho list fully
three mInuteB. Now ho turnod about
fnco, a singular elation tingling his
blood. Onco h) set his mind upon a
thing, ho went 'forward. Ho had lost
many pleasurablo things in Ufo be
cause he had. doubted and faltered,
not because he had reached out to
ward them and had then drawn back
Ho was going to meet Fortune died
soye; when or how wore but details.
And as ho discovered tho Major him
self idling before tho booth of tho Enut
Indian merchant, ho saw in fancy tho
portcullis rise and tho drawbrldgo fall
to tho castlo of enchantment. Ho
strolled oyer leisurely and pretended
to bo interested In tho caso containing
mediocre Jewels.
"This Is a genuine Hokhara era
broldory?" tho Major was inquiring.
"Oh, yes, sir,"
"How old?"
Tho merchant picked up tho tag
and aqulntod at It, "It la botweoii two
and throe hundred yoars old, BjrV'
To George's opinion tho gods them
selves could not have arranged a moro
propitious moment.
"You've made a mistake, ho Inter
posed qulotly. "That Is Hokhara, but
tho stitch is purely modbrn."
Tho dark oyts of tho, Indian flashed.
"Tho gentleman Is an authority?" sar
castically. "Upon that stylo of embroidery, ab
solutely." Goorgo smiled. And then,
without moro ado, ho went on to ex
plain tho difference between tho nn-
tlquo nnd tho modern. "You havo ono
good piece of old Bokhara, but It Isn't
rare. Twenty pounus wouia do a good
prlco for It."
Tho Major laughed heartily. "And
Just this moment ho naked a hundred
for It. I'm not much of a hand In
judging thoso things. I ndmlro them,
but havo no Intimate knowledge re
garding their worth. Nothing tonight,"
ho added to the blttor-eyod merchant.
"Tho Oriental la llko tho amateur Hah
orman; truth la not In him. You acorn
to bo a keen Judge," na they motcd
away from tho booth.
"I supposo It's bocnuso I'm Inor
dinately fond of tho things. I've really
a good collection of Bokhara em
broideries at homo in Now York."
"You live in New York?" with mild
Interest. The Major sat down and
graciously motioned for Gcorgo to do
tho samo. "I used to uvo tnoro; twon
ty-odd years ago. nui u.uropcun iruvoj
spoils Amorico; tho rush thoro, tho
hurry, tho clamor. Over here they
dine, thero they cat Thorc's as much
difference between those two perform
ances as thero 1b between Tho. Mikado
and Florodora. From Portland In
Maine to Portland In Oregon, the samo
dress, Bamo shops, same ungodly high
buildings. Hero It Is different, nt the
end of overy hundred miles."
Goorgo agreed conditionally. (The
Major wasn't very original In his
vIcwb.) Ho would have shed his last
drop of blood for his native land, but
ho was honest In acknowledging her
faults.
Conversation Idled In various chan
nels, and finally became anchored at
Jewels. Here the Major waa at home,
nnd he loved emeralds above nil oth
er stones. Ho proved to bo an engag
ing old fellow, had circled tho globo
three or four times, nnd had had nn
adventure or two worth recounting.
And when ho incidentally mentioned
his nlocc, George wanted- to shake his
hand.
Would Mr. Jones Join him with a
peg to sleep on? Mr. Jone3 certainly
would. And after n mutual health,
Georgo diplomatically excused hlmseU,
retired, buoyant and happy. How slm
pie Uio, affair had been! A fellow
could do nnything if only lie set his
jnind to It. Tomorrow ho would meet
Fortuno Chedaoye, and may Beelzebub
shrlvo him If ho could not manage to
control his recalcitrant tongue.
As ho passed out of sight, Major
Callahan smiled. It was thnt old fa
miliar smile which, charged with gen
tle mockery, we send after departing
fools. It waa plain thnt he needed
another peg to keep company with the
llrst, for ho roso nnd gracefully wend
ed hlB way down-stairs to tho bar. Two
men wcro already Ipanlng against tho
friendly, Inviting mahogany. There
waa a magnum of champagno stand
ing between their glasses. Tho Major
ordered a temperate whisky and soda,
uranK it, rrownod at tho magnum, paid
tho reckoning, nnd went back up-stalrs
again.
"Don't remember old friends, eh?"
said tho shorter of tho two men,
cnresslng his incarnadined proboscis.
"A smile wouldn't havo hurt him nny,
do you think?"
( "Shut up!" admonished nyanrio.
"You know tho orders; no recognition
on tho public floors."
"Why, i meant no harm," tho other
protested. Ho took a swallow of wine.
"But, dash It! hero I am, moro'n four
thousand miles from old Broadway,
and still wnlklng blind. When la tho
show to start?"
"Not so loud, old boy. You've got to
havo patience. You'vo had somo good
pickings for tho past thrco months,
In tho smoke-rooms. That ought to
soothe you."
"Well, It doesn't. Horo I como frorn
Now York, threo months ago, with a
wad of money for you and a ptvnt
gnmo in sight. It takes a week to find
you, anu wncn I do . . . Well, you
know. No Booncr nro you awake, than
what? Off you go to Bagdad, on tho
wildest goos-chaso a man over heard
of. And that leaves mo with nothing
to do and nobody to talk to. I could
havo cried yostordny when I got your
letter saying you'd bo In today."
"Well, I got It."
"Tho rug?"
"Yea. It was wild; but aftur what
I'd been through I needed something
wild to steady my nerves; some big
danger, whoro I'd simply have to get
together."
"And you got It?" There was frank
wondor nnd admiration In tho pursy
gontleman'R eyes. "All alone, and vou
got It? Honest?"
"Honest. They nearly had my hldo,
though."
"Whoro Ib It?"
"Sold."
"Who?"
"Pcrclvnl."
"Horaco, you're a wondor, If thoro
ever waB one. Sold It to Porclval!
You couldn't bont that In a thousand
years. You're a great man.'"
"Praise from Sir Hubert."
"Who's ho?"
"An authority on several matters."
"How much did ho glvo you for It?"
"Tut, tut! It was all my own llttlo
Jaunt, Wallace I should hate to Ho
to you about It."
"What about the stako I gavo you?"
Hynnuo mndo a slgu of dealing
cards.
"Threw It away on n lot of dubs,
after all 1'vo taught you I"
"Cards aren't my forte." '
"Thcro's a yellow streak In your
hldo, somewhere, Horace."
"Thoro Is. but It Is tho tlgor's stripe,
my trlond. What I did with my money
Is my own business."
"Will sho ullow for that?"
"Would It matter ouo way or tho
othdr?"
"No, I don't suppose It would. Somo
times I think you'ro with us ns a hugo
Joko. You don't tnko tho game seri
ous enough." Wallace emptied his
glasB and tipped tho bottlo carefully.
"You'ro out of your class, somohow."
"So?"
"Yes. You havo always struck mo
as a man who was hunting troublo for
ono end."
"And that?" llyanno seemed Inter
ested. Wallace drew his linger across his
throat. Ryanno looked him squarely
In the eye nnd nodded aillrmatlvely.
"I don't understand at all."
"You never will, Wallace, old chap.
I am tho prodigal son whoso brother
ate tho fatted calf before I returned
home. I had a lettor today. Sho
will be hero tomorrow sometime. You
may havo to go to Port Said, if my
plan doesn't mnture."
"Tho Ludwlg?"
"Yes."
"Say, what a Frau sho would have
made tha right man!"
Ityanno did not answer, but glow
ered at his glass.
"Tho United Romance nnd Adven
ture Company." ' Wallace 'twirled his
glass. "If you'ro a wonder, she's a
marvel. A 'Napoleon in petticoats! It
does make a fellow grin, when you
look it all over. But this is going to
bo her Austorlltz or her Waterloo.
And you really got the rug; and on top
of that, you havo sold it to Gcorgo P.
A. Jones! Here's "
"Many happy returns," Ironically.
They finished tho bottle without
further talk. There was no convivial
ity hero. Both wore fond of good wine,
but tho moro thoy drank, tho tighter
grew tholr lips. Men who havo been
in the habit of guarding dangerous
secrets become taciturn In their cups.
From tlmo to time, fllttlngly, there
appeared against one of the windows,
just above the half-curtain, a lean,
dark face, which, In profile, resembled
tho kite the hooked beak, tho watch
ful, preyful eyes. There were two
hungers written upon that Arab face,
food and revenge.
"Allah is good," he murmured.
Ho hnd but one oyo In use, the oth
er wbb. bandaged. In fact, tho faco ex
hibited general Indications of rough
warfare, the skin broken on tho bridge
of tho nose, a freshly healed cut un
der the seeing eye a long strip of
plaster extending from tho ear to the
mouth. There was nothing of the beg
gar In his mien. His lean throat was
erect, his chin protrusive, tho set of
his shoulders proud and defiant. Ordi
narily, tho fow lingering guides would
rudely havo told him to be off about
his business; but they were familiar
with all turbans, and In tho peculiar
twist of this one, soiled and ragged
though It was, they recognized some
prince from tho eastern deserts. Pres
ently ho .strode away, but with a stiff
ness which they know camo from long
Journeys upon racing-camels.
George dreamed that night of magic
carpets, of sad-eyed maidens, of flercq
Bedouins, of battles in the desert, of
genii swelling terrifically put of squat
bottlcB. And onco ho roso and turned
on the lights to assure himself that
tho old Yhlordes waB not a part of
theso vivid dreams.
Ho was up shortly after dawn, In
white rldlng-togs, for a final cantor to
Mona House and return. In two days
moro he would be leaving Egypt be
hind. Rather glad in ono sense, rath
er sorry in nnothor. Where to put the
rug was a problem. Ho might carry
it in his steamer-roll; it would bo
handler thoro thnn in the bottom of
his trunk, stored away In tho ship's
hold. Besides, his experience had
taught hljn that steamer-rolls wero
only Indifferently Inspected. You will
observe that tho luster of his high
Ideals was already dimming. Ho rea
soned that Inasmuch as ho was bound
to smugglo nnd He, It might bo well to
plan somothlng artistically. Ho wlahed
now that ho waB going to spend Christ
maa In Cairo; but It wbb too lato to
change his booking without serious
loss of tlmo and money.
Ho had a light breakfast on the
veranda of the Mena House, climbed
up to tho dosort, bnntored tho donkey
boys,, amused himself by watching tho
descent of somo German tourists who
had climbed tho big Pyramid beforo
dawn to witness the sun rise, and
threw, ponnlea to tho hordo of blind
beggars who Instantly swarmed about
him and demandod, In tho namo of AY
lah, a competence for tho rest of their
dnyB. Ho finally escaped them by
foqtlng It down tho Incline to tho ho
tol gardens, where his horse stood
waiting.
It was long after nlno when ho slid
from tho saddle at tho side entranco
of tho Semlramls. He waB on IiIb way
to tho bureau for his key, when an
exquisitely gloved hand lightly touched
hla arm.
"Don't you remember me, Mr.
Jonoa?" said a volco of vocal honey.
Georgo did. In hla confusion ho
dropped his pith-helmet, and in stoop
ing to pick It up, bumped Into tho por
ter who had rushed to his aid. Re
member hor! Would ho over forget
her? Ho novor thought of hor with
out dubbing himself an outrageous ass.
Ho straightened, his cheeks afire;
Lhbc iji w u
"This Is tho Gentleman I've
blushing was another of those uncon
trollable asininltles of his. It was
really she, como out of a past ho had
hoped to bo eternally inrcsuscltant;
the droll, tho witty woman, to whom
In ono mad moment of liberality and
Galahadlsm ho had loaned without se
curity ono hundred and fifty pounds at
the roulette tables In Monte Carlo;
she, for whom he had always blushed
when he recalled how easily sho had
mulcted him! And hero she was, se
rene, lovely as ever, unchanged.
"My denr,"sald the stranger (Georgo
couldn't recall by what namo ho had
known her) ; ' "my dear," to Fortuno
Chedsoye, who stood a little behind
hor, "this is tho gentleman I've often
told you about. You were at school
at tho time. I borrowed a hundred and
fifty pounds of him at Monto Carlo.
And what .do you think? When I went
to pay him back tho next day, he was
gone, without leaving tho slightest
cluo to his whereabouts. Isn't, that
droll? And to think that I should
meet him hero!"
That her namo had slipped his
memory, If Indeed he had ever known
It, was true; but ono thing lingered
Incandescently In his mind, and that
was, ho had written her, following
minutely her own specific directions
and Inclosing his banker's address In
Paris, Naples and Cairo; and for many J
passings of moons he had opened his
foreign mall eagerly and hopefully.
But hope must havo something to
feed upon, and after a struggle lasting
two years, sho rendered up tho ghost.
. . . It wasn't tho loss of money ,that
hurt; It was the finding of dross metal
where ho supposed thero was naught
but gold. Perhups his later shyness
was duo as much to this disillusion
ing incident as to his middle names.
"Isn't It droll, my dear?" the en
chantress ropeated; and Georgo grow
rodder and redder under tho beautiful,
grateful eyos. "I must glvo him a draft
this very morning."
"But . . . Why, my dear Ma
dame," stamraorod Qeorge. "You must
not ... I ... "
Fortune laughed. Somohow the qual
ity of thnt laughter pierced George's
confused brain as sometimes a shaft
of sunlight rips Into a fog, suddenly,
stllettoMlke. It was full of malice.
CHAPTER V.
The Girl Who Wasn't Wanted.
If any ono wronged George, defraud
ed him of money or credit, ho was al
ways ready to forglvo, agreeing thnt
perhaps half tho fault had been his.
This was not a sign of weakness, but
of a sense of Justlco too well lenvened
with mercy. Humanity errs in the ono
aa much as in tho other, doubtlesB
with some benign purpo80 In perspec
tive. Now, it might bo that this charm
ing woman had really never received
his letter; Biich things huvo been
known to go astray. In any caso he
could not say that ho had written.
That would havo cast a doubt upon
hor word, an uupardonablo rudeness.
So, for her vory beauty alone, ho gavo
her tho full benefit of the doubt.
"You mustn't let tho matter trouble
you In the least," ho said, his helmet,
now nicely adjusted under hla arm.
"It was so loug ago I had really for
gotten nil about It." Which was very
well said for Georgo.
"But I haven't. I havo often won-
dered what you must havo thought of
jfp"
Often Told You About."
me. Monte Carlo Is such a place! But
I must present my daughter. 1 am
Mrs. Chedsoye."
"I am glad to meet you, Mr. Jones;"
and in the sad eyes thero was a glim
mer of real friendliness. More, sho
extended her hand.
It was well worth while, that hun
dred and fifty pounds. It was well
worth the pinch here and tho pinch
there which had succeeded that loan.
For ho had determined to return to
America with a pound or two on his
letter of credit, and tho success of
this determination was based upon
many a sacrifice in comfort, sacrifices
ho had never confided to his parents.
It-was not In tho naturo of thlng3 to
confess that tho first woman he had
met in his wanderings should havo
been the last. As he took tho girl's
hand, with the ulterior Intent of hold
ing it till death do ub part, ho won
dered why sho had laughed like that.
Tho echo of it still rang in his earsi
And while ho could not have described
It, he know Instinctively that It had
been born of bitter thought.
They chatted for a quarter of an
hour or more, and managed famously.
It scorned to him that Fortuno Ched
soye. was tho first young woman ho
hod ever met who could pull .away
sudden barriers and open up pathways
for speech, who, when ho was about
to flounder Into somo cul-de-sac, guided
him adroitly into nn alley round it.
Not once was it necessary to drag
In tho weather, that perennial If
threadbaro topic. He was truly aston
ished at the ease with which he sus
tained his part in tho conversation,
nnd began to think pretty well of
himself. It did not occur to him that
when two clever and attractlvo women
set forth to make, a man talk (al
ways excepting ho Is dumb), they nev
er fall to succeed. To do this thoy
contrive to bring tho conversation
within the small circle of his work,
his travels, hla preferencea, his ambi
tions. To be sure, all UiIb Is not fully
extracted In fifteen minutes, but a
woman obtains in that tlmo a good
Idea of tho ground plan.
Two distinct purposes controlled tho
women in this Instance Ono desired
to interest him, while tho other sought
to learn whether ho waa stupid or only
shy.
At last, when ho loft them to change
his clothes and hurry down to Cook's,
to comploto tho bargain for the Yhlor
des, ho had advanced so nmazlngly
well that they had accepted his Invi
tation to tho polo-watch that after
noon. Ho felt that lnvlslblo Morcurl
al wings had sprouted from his heols,
for In running up tho stairs, ho was
awaro of no gravitatlvo resistance.
That this anomaly (an acqualntnnco
with two women about whom ho knew
nothing) might bo looked upon
askance by thoso who conformed to
the laws and by-laws of social usages,
worried him not In tho least. On tho
contrary, ho was thinking that ho
would bo tho envy of overy other man
out nt tho club that afternoon.
(TO IJE CONTINUED.)
Champagne Bottles.
Great skill Is required In manufac
turing champagno bottles, which must
bo almost mathematically oven In tho
thickness of the glass. Tho glass must
be perfectly smooth and tho necks ex
act In every particular to Insuro Bor
Lfoct corking.