ii i.
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17
SYNOPSIS.
OeorRO Pcrclval Algernon Jones, vice-
resident of (lio Metropolitan Orlontnl
lu company or New York, thirsting for
fmancc. In In Cnlm on n business trip
orace Hvnnne nirlii-H at tho liotel In
2alro with ft cnrcfully Kunrded bundle..
yanno sells Jones the famous lioly Yhi-
rdcs i lie which lio admits bavins stolen
from a pasha at HaKdad Jones meets
Major Cnllalinn nml later Is Introduced to
Bortunn Chediovo by u woman to whom
Jie had loamrd 1D0 poundH at Montn Carlo
eorno months prevloutly. and who turns
out to he Fortune') mother Jonos takcH
Mrs Chedsoye and Fortune to ft polo
Ramp Fortune lcturns to Jones the
rnonr-v borrowed b her mother Mr
Chedsoyo appears to cntjaKed In some
mysl'-i lous enterprise unknown to the
daughter nyanne Intciests Jones In the
United llomanro and Adventure, com
pany, a concern which for a price will
arrange any kind of nn adventure to or
der Mrs Chedsoye, her lirother, Major
Callahan Wallace Hiid nyanne, ns tho
Unltod Itomnnco Htid Adventure, company,
plan n risky etilcrprlre Involving Jones
Jtyanne makes known lo Mrs. Chedsoye
his Intention to marry Fortune Mrs.
Chedsove declares nhe will not permit It
Plan are laid to preont Jones nailing
for home Kvniine steals Jones' letters
And cable dispatches. lie wires nRent In
Nw York, In Jones' name, that he Is
petitlng house In New York to some
friend Mahomed, keeper of the holy
barpet, Is on nyannci's trail, nyanne
bromines Fortuno that he will see that
Jones comes to no harm as ft result of Ills
purchase of the rtijf Mahomod accosts
pyanno and demands tho Yhlordcs rug
tfty&nne lells htm Jones has the. rui? anil
UMrests the nbductlon of the New York
tnerclmnt as ft means of aecurltig Its re
turn The ruK disappears from Jones
room. Foilune tmrrelH with her mother
when the latter icfilses to oxplaln her
mysterious n-tlons. Fortune nets ft mes
lairo purporting to bo from Ilyanno ask
ing her to meet him In a secluded place
that ovenltiK. Jones receives a. message
niklnir him to meet ltvanno nt the Kngllsh
Bar the same cenln. Jones Is carr ed
off Into the desert l)V Mnhomed and his
Accomplices after a desperato flRht lie
discovers that ltynnno and Fortuno also
nre captives, the former Is badly battered
hnd unconscious nyanne recovers con
sciousness and tho slKht of Fortune In
raptlvlty leveals to him tho fact that
Mahomed Intends to git enneanco on
him thrniiKh thn Klrl Fortune acknowl
ntn that she stole tho rug from Jones
Eom Hhe offers to return it to Mahomed
he will free nil three of them. Ma
imed njcrees to liberate Fortune and one
pf the men In return for tho tub A cour
ier Is sent to Cairo for tho rug. but re
turns with the Information that Mrs
Chedsoye and her brothor Imvo sailed for
New York Fortune spurnH offered free
Clom which does not Include her two com-
iianlon Tho caraxnn continues thotoiir
ley toward naKdad. nyanne tolls Jones
hat Mrs. Chedsoye Is tho most adroit
iUBdler of the aw, nnd Is overheard bv
rtune. The threo captives are rescued
Henry Ackermann, who Is In charRo
a carpet caravan. Mahomed escapes.
CHAPTER XVII. (Continued.)
"We might riB well got Fortune)
thtngs out of tho wny, too, Celcsto."
"Yes, Madame."
"And bring my chocolate at half
flftor eight In tho morning. It 1b quite
possible that wo Bhall sail tomorrow
night from Poit Snld. If not from
thoro, from Alexandria. It nil depends
Upon tlio booking, which can not bo
very heavy going west this tlmo of
year."
"As madam knows," camo from tho
depth of tho cavornoua trunk. Coloatu
was no longer surprised; at least Bho
never evinced this emotion. For
twelve yenrs now Bho had gono from
one end of tho globo to tho other, upon
the Bhortest notice While surprise
Was lost to her or under audi con
trol ns to render It negligible oho Rtill
shivered with plensurable oxcltomont
at tho thought of entering a port
Madame was bo olovor, bo trnnacon-
dently cloverl If BhOj Celeste, lind
not boon loyal, sho might havo retired
long ago, and owned a shop of her
own In the busy Rue do Rlvoll. Hut
that would havo neant n humdrum ex
istence; and besides, sho would have
ferown fat, which, of tho Bovon hor
fore confronting woman, bo madamo
bald, was first In number.
"Do very careful how you handle
fhat bluo ball-gown."
I "Oh, Madame I " reproachfully.
"It Is thp allver braid. Do not
presB the rosetteB too harshly."
Cel98to looked up. Mrs. Chodfloye
answered her inquiring gaze with a
Ihlo Biulle.
"You are wonderful, Madamo l"
"And bo nre you, Celeste, In your
fway,"
At ten o'clock Mta. ChcdBoye was
ready for her pillow. Sho slept At-
Eully; nwoke at eleven and again at
welvo. After that sho know nothing
tnoro till the maid roused her with
tho cup of chocolate She sat up and
nipped alowly. Celosto waited at tho
nedsldo with tho tray. Her admira
tion for her jnlHtreBs never waned
Mrs. Ciieu'sbye wns just as beautiful
In dishabille iib In a ball-gown. She
drained tho cup, and hb sho turned
to replace It upon tho tray, dropped
t with a clatter, a startled cry coming
from her lips.
"Madame7"
"Fortune'B bed!"
It had not been slept in. The
ateamor-cloak lay ncroaa tho counter
pane oxactly where Celesto herself
pad laid It tho night boforo. Mrs.
Chedsoyo eprang out of her bod and
ran barefoot to tho other. Fortune
had not been In the room slnco dinner
time. "Celosto, dross mo as quickly as
possible. Hurry I Something has
Happened to Fortune."
Novor, In nil her years of Bervlco,
could Bho recollect such a toilet uh
madaxne inndo that morning. And
never before had sho shown such con
pern over her daughter, it was amaz
tnii "The little fool I The little fool!"
Mrs. Chedsoy repeatedly murmured
as the nlmblo Angora of tho maid !cw
over her. "Tho Billy llttlo fool; and
at a time llko tula!" Not that re
morse of any kind stirred Mra. died
soyo's conscience; sho was simply ex
tremely nnnoyod.
Sho hastened out Into the corridor
and knocked nt the door of hor broth
er's room. No answer. Sho flew
down-stairs, and there she saw him
coming In from the Btrcet. Ho greet
ed hor cheerily.
"It's all right, Kato; plenty of room
on tho I-udwlg. Wo shall take the aft
ernoon train for Port Said. Sho sails
at dawn to morrow instead of to
night. . . . What's up?" suddenly
noticing his sister's faco.
"Fortuno did not return to hor room
last night."
"What? Where do you suppose the
little Tool went, then?"
They both Beemed to look upon For
tuno as a llttlo fool.
"Yesterday Bho threatened to run
away."
"Run away? ICato, bo sensible.
How tho deuce could sho run away?
Sho hasn't a penny. It takes money
to go anywhoro ovpr here. Sho has
probably found some girl friend, and
has Bpent tho night with her. We'll
soon And out whoro Bho 1b." Tho Ma
jor wasn't worried.
"Have you seen Horace?" with dis
cernible anxiety.
"No. I didn't wait up for him. He's
sleeping oft a night of It. You know
hia falling."
"Find out If ho Is In bis room. Go
to the porter's bureau and Inquire for
both him and Jones."
The Major, perceiving that his sister
was genuinely alarmed, rushed over
to tho bureau. No, nolthor Mr. Ry
anno nor Mr. Jones had been in the
hotel Blnce yesterday. Would tho por
tor send some one up to tho rooms
of those gentlemen to mako sure? Cer
tainly. No; thero was no one In tho
roomB. Tlio Major was now himself
perturbed. Ho wont back to Mrs.
ChedBOe.
"Kate, neither has been In his room
since yoBtorday. If you want my
opinion, It 1b this: Hoddy has seques
tered Jones all right, and Is some
whoro In town, Bleeping off tho effects
of a night of It."
"Ho haa run away with Fortuno!"
sho cried. Her expression wbb tragic.
Sho couldn't have told whother It was
duo to her daughter's disappearance
or to Horace's defection. "Did ho not
threaten?"
"Sh! not bo loud, Kato."
"Tho llttlo simpleton defied me yea
torday, and declared alio would leavo
me"
bar? ifiWffifjSm VC
W Wllmlm
I Jju i W It 'Mm
"LI 1 1
"Fortuno Did Not Return
"Oho!" Tho Major Hngored hia lm
perlnl. "That puts a now faco to tho
subject. Rut Jones I He has not
turned up. Wo can not movo till
we And out what haB become of hlnv.
I know. I'll Jump Into a carriage and
see It ho got ns far as tho English
Rnr." Mrs. Chedsoyo did not go upstairs,
but paced the lounglng-room, lltho and
pantherlsh, Frequently sho patiBed,
as If examining tho patterns in tho
huge cnrpotB. Sho ontored tho reception-room,
camo back, wandored off
Into tho ball-joora, stopped to Inspect
tho announcement hanging upon tho
AutKor of HEARTS AND JkSKS,
UA AlAN ON THE BOX ..
Illvisfr-diiiorvs by -M.G.KETTrfc- . .
COPYRIGHT 1911 by DODDS - MERRILL COMPANY
bulletin-board, returned to tho win
dows and watched the feluccas Ball
past aa tho great bridge opened; and
during nil theso nlmloss occupations
but a single thought busied her mind:
what could a man llko Horace see in
a chit llko Fortune?
It wan nn hour and a halt before
tho Mnjor put in an appearance. Ho
wan out of breath and temper.
"Come up to tho room." Once thero,
ho sat down and bade her do likewise.
"Thoro's the devil to pay. You heard
Hoddy speak of the nigger who gunrd
cd tho Holy Yhlordcs, and thnt he
wanted to get out of Cairo beforo ho
turned up? Well, ho turned up. Ho
fooled Hoddy to tho top of his bent.
So far as I could learn, Fortune and
Hoddy and Jones aro all In tho same
boat, kidnapped by tho Mahomed, and
carried out Into tho desert, headed,
Cod knows where! Now, don't get ex
cited. Take It easy. Luck is with
us, for Hoully left all tho diagrams
with me. We need him, but not so
much that we can't go on without him.
You see, these Arabs nro llko the Hin
dus; touch anything that concerns
their religion, and they'll have your
hair off. How Fortune got into It I
can't imagine, unless Mnhomed saw
hor with Hoddy and jumped to the
conclusion that they were lovers. All
this Mahomed wants Is tho rug; and
ho 1b going to hold them till he gets
It. No uso notifying tho police. No
one would know where to find him.
Nono of them will come to actual
harm. Anyhow, the coast la clear.
Kate, there's a big thing In front. No
nerves. We've got to go to-dny. Tlmo
Is everything. Our butler nnd first
man cabled this morning that they
had Just started In, and that every
thing waB running llko clock-work.
We'll get Into New York In time for
tho coup. Remember, I was against
tho whole business nt the start, but
now I'm going to see it off."
Fovorishly Mrs. Chedsoyo prepared
for the Journey. Sho was irritnblo to
Celeste, sho was unbearablo to her
brother, who took a Beat In a forward
compartment to be rid of her. It was
only when they went aboard the
steamer that night that she became
reconciled to tho Inevitable. At nny
rate, tho presence of Jones would
counteract any Influonco Horace
might havo gained over Fortune. That
tho threo of them might suffer un-
hcard-of miseries never formed
to Hor Rooti Last Night."
thought In her mind. It appealed to
her In the sonso of n comedy which
annoyed rather than amused her.
Thoy wero greeted effusively by
Wallace, he of tho bulbous nose; and
hia llrBt inquiry was of Ryanno. Brief
ly tho Major told him wtmt had hap
pened and added his fears. Wallaco
was greatly cast down. Hoddy had
so set his heart upon tills venture thnt
It waB a shame to proceed without
him. Ho had warned him at the be
ginning about that infernal rug; but
Hoddy was always set In hia daro
dcnll schemes. So long as tho Major
hud tho plans, ho supposed that they
could turn tho trick without noddy's
assistance; only, It seemed rather
hard for him not to bo in tho sport.
"Ho told mo thnt nothing would givo
him gt eater pleasure than to stick his
flat in tho first bag of yellow-boys.
There was something mysterious In
tho way ho used to chuckle over tlio
thing when I first sprung It on him.
Ho saw a Joko somewhere. Let's go
Into tho smoke-room for a peg. It
won't hurt cither of ua. And that
poor llttlo girl! It's a hell of a world,
eh?"
The Major admitted that It was;
but he did not add that Fortune's wel
fare or Ill-fare was of little or no con
cern of his. The llttlo spitfire had
always openly despised him.
They wore drinking sllontly and mo
rosely, when Mrs. Chedsoye, pale and
anxious, appeared in the companion
way. Sho beckoned them to follow
her down to her cabin. Had Fortune
arrived? Had Ryanne? She did not
answer. Arriving at her cabin she
pushed tho two wondering men inside,
and pointed at the floor. A largo
steamer-roll lay unstrapped, spread
out.
"I only Just opened It," she said.
"I never thought of looking Into It
at Cairo. Here, It looked 80 bulky
that I was curious."
"Why. lt'B that damned Yhlordes!"
exclaimed the Major wrathfully,
"What the devil la It doing In For
tune's Bteamer-roll?"
"That Is what I should like to
know. If they havo been kidnaped In
order to recover tho rug, whatever
will become of them?" And Mrs.
Chedeoye touched tho rug with her
foot, absently. She was repeating In
her mind that childish appeal: "You
ft S I llllJI ill nl
AiWmfi III MNSx nil mi
t WrjwljJX U III I ftiK&drVs? 'III fllll Nn
"You See, Mr. Jones Intrusted a Fine
don't know how loyal I should havo
been!"
They took the first good sailing out
of Naples. Twelve dayB later they
landed nt tho foot of Fourteenth
Street. Thero was some trifling diffi
culty over tho rug. It had been de
clared; but aB Mrs. Chedsoyo and her
brother always declared foreign real
donee, there was n question as to
whether It was dutiablo or not. Being
a copy, It was not an original work
of art, therefore not exempt, nnd so
forth nnd so on. It was finally decid
ed that Mrs. Chedsoye must pay a
duty. Tho Major paid grumbllngly,
very cleverly assuming an Irritability
well known to tho Inspectors. Tho
way the United States government
mulcted her citizens for tho benefit of
tho few was a scandal of the nations.
A smooth-faced young man ap
proached them from out tho crowd.
"Is this Major Callahan?"
"Yes. ThlB must be Mr. Reynolds,
tho agent?"
"Yes. Everything Is ready for your
occupancy. Your butler and first man
havo everything ship-shape. I could
havo turned over to you Mr. Jones'."
"Not nt all. not at all," said the Ma
jor. "They would have beon strangers
to us and wo to them. Our own serv
ants aro best."
"You must bo vory good friends of
my client?"
"I havo known him for years," said
Mrs. Chedsoyo sweetly. "It was at
his own suggestion thnt wo tnk6 tho
houso over for tho month. Ho really
InslBtcd that wo should pay him noth
ing; but, of course, such nn arrange
ment could not bo thought of. Oh,
good-by, Mr. Wallace," tolerantly.
"Wo hopo to see you again Borne
dny."
Wnllnce, tnklng up his role onco
more, tipped his hat and rushed away
for one of his fnvorlto haunts.
'"Rounder !" growled tho Major.
"Well, well; a ship's deck is always
Liberty-Hall."
"You havo turned your belongings
over to an expressman?" asked the
agent. Theso were charming people;
and any doubts ho might havo enter
tained wero dlaslpflted. And why
should he havo any doubts? Jones
was an eccentric young chap, anyhow.
An explanatory letter (written by tho
Major in Jones' careless hand),
backed up by a cable, was enough
authority for any reasonablo man.
"Everything la out of the way," said
tho Major.
"Then, if you wish, I can tako you
right up to tho house In my car. Your
butler said that ho would havo lunch
ready when you arrived.'
"Very kind of you. How noisy Now
York Is! You can take our hand-luggage?"
Mrs. Chedsoyo would have
made St. Anthony uneasy of mind;
Reynolds, young, alive, metaphorically
fell at her feet.
"Plenty of room for It."
"I am glad of that. You see, Mr.
Jones intrusted n fine old rug to us
to bring home for him; and I shouldn't
want anything to hnppen to It."
The Major looked up at the roof of
the dingy shed. Ho did not care to
have Reynolds note the flicker of ad
miration In his eyes. The cleverest
woman of them all! The positive
And ho would not have thought of It
touch to the whole daredevil affair!
Rug to Us to Bring Home for Him."
had he lived to bo a thousand. "One
might ns well disembark in a stable,"
ho said aloud. "Ah! Wo aro ready to
go, then?"
They entered tho llmouslno nnd
went off buzzing and zigzagging
among tho lumbering trucks. The
ngent drove tho car himself.
"Where Is Jones now?" he nsked
tho Major, who snt at his left.
"Haven't had a lino from him for a
month "
"Just boforo we Bnlled," said Mrs.
ChedBoyo through tho window, over
tho Mnjor's shoulder, "ho went Into
tho desert for a fortnight or bo; with
a caravan. Ho had heard of some fab
ulous carpet."
Touch number two The Major
grinned. "Jones la one of tho best
Judges I hnve ever met. Ho was of
at a bound. I only hope ho will ge
back beforo we leave for California.1
The Major drew up his collar. It was
a cold, blustry day.
Tho agent wns delighted. What luck
a follow like Jones had! To wander
nil over creation and to meet charm
ing people! And when they Invited
him to remain for luncheon, tho vic
tory was complete.
Mrs. Chedsoye strolled In and out
of tho beautifully nppolntcd rooms.
Never had sho seen more excellent
taste. Not too much; everything per
fectly placed, one object nicely bal
anced against another. Heio was a
rare bit of Capo dl Monto, thoro a
pleco of Sovres or Cnnton. Some
houses, with their treasures, look llko
museums, but this 0110 did not. Tho
owner had not gono mad over ono
subject; hero wns a sane and prudent
collector. The great yellow Chinese
enrpot represented a fortuno; stio
knew enough nbout cnrpetB to realize
this fact. Ivories, jades, lapls-lazull,
tho precious woods, priceless French
and Japanese tapestries, somo lino
paintings and bronzes; tho rooms
were full of unspoken romance nnd
ndventuro; echoed with war and trag
edy, too. And Fortuno might havo
married a man llko this' one. A pos
sibility occurred to her, and tlio ghost
of a smllo moderated tho Interest In
her face. They might bo upon tho
desert for weeks. Who knew what
might not happen to two such roman
tic simpletons?
Tho butler and tho first man (who
waB also tho cook) were impeccable
types of servants; so thought Reyn
olds. Thoy moved silently and an
ticipated each want. Reynolds deter
mined that vory aftornoon to drop a
line to Jones and complimont him
upon his good tasto In the selection
of his friends. A subsequent press of
office work, however, drove the deter
mination out of his mind.
The Instant his car carried him out
of sight, a strange scene was enacted.
The butler and tho first man seized
tho Major by the arms, and tho threo
oxecuted a pas-seul. Mrs. Chedsoye
eed these manifestations of Joy ston
ily. "Now then, what's been done?"
asked the Major, pulling down his
cuffs and shaking tho wrinkles from
his sleeves.
"Half done!" cried tho butler.
"Where's that wall-safe?" tho Major
wanted to know.
"Behind that sketch by Dotallle."
And tho butler, strange to say, pro
nounced It Det-1.
"Can you open It?"
"Tried, but failed. Wallace Is the
man for that."
"He'll bo along In an hour or so."
"Where's Ryanne?"
"Don't know; don't care." The Ma
jor sketched tho predicament of their
fellow-eonsplrator.
The butler whistled, but callously.
One more or less didn't matter In such
an enterprise.
When Wallaco arrived ho applied
his talent and acquired science to tho
wall-safe, and Anally swung outward
the little steel door. Tho Major
pushid him aside and thrust a hand
fiT7to"he metaled cavity, drawing out
an exquisite Indian casket of rose
wood and mother-of-pearl. Ho opened
the lid and dipped a hand within. Emi
eralds, deep and light and shaded, cut
and uncut and engraved, flawed anil
almost perfect. He raised a handfuj
and let them tinkle back Into the
casket. Ono bundled In all, beauties,
every ono of them, and many famous.
And while he toyed with them,
pleased as a child would havo been
over a handful of marbles, Mrs. Ched
soye spread out tho ancient Yhlordcs
In tho library. Sho stood upon tho
central pattern, musing. Her mood
was not one which she had called Into
being; not often did she become ret
rospective; tho past to her was al
ways like a page in a book, once fin
ished, turned down. Her elbow In
ono palm, her chin In tho other, she
stared without seeing. It was thl3
house, this homo, It was each sign of
riches without luxury or ostentation,
where money expressed Itself by tasto
and simplicity; a homo such as she
had always wanted. And why, with-''
all her beauty and Intellect, why had
sho not como Into possession? She
knew. Love that gives had never
been hers; hers had been tho love
that receives, self-love, Sho had bar
tered her body onco for riches and
hnd been fooled, and alio never could
do It again. . . . And, tho child
waa overflowing with tho lovo that
glvee.
Tho flurry of snow outside In tho
court sho saw not. Her fancy re
formed the pretty garden at Montono,
Inclosed by plnk-wnBhed walla. Many
n morning from her wiudow Bho had
wntched Fortuno among tho flowors,
going fcrom one to tho other, llko n
bee or a butterAy. Sho had watched
her grow, too, with thnt same detach
ment a machinist feels as ho puts to
gether the Invention of another man.
Would sho evor seo her ngaln? Hor
shoulders moved over so little. Prob
ably not. Sho hod blundered wilfully.
Sho should have waited, thrown tho
two together, maneuvered. And sho
had permitted this adventure to ob
sess herl Sho might have stood with
in this houso by right of law, mother
hood, marriage Ryanno was In lovo
with Fortuno, and Jones by this time
might be. The desert was a terribly
lonely place.
Sho wished It might bo Jones. And
Immediately rotrospectlon died away
from hor gazo and actualities re
sumed their functions. Tho wish wob
not without a phaso of humor, formed
ns It was upon this magic carpet; but
It nowise disturbed the gravity of her
oxpreaslon.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)