I
CBAWTOED
AUTHOXOf
CQPYfUGHT &Y
SYNOPSIS.
Barnkn , a Tartar Blrl. became enamored
of a Rolden licardcd stranger who wns
prospcctliiK nnd studying herbs In the
vicinity of her homo In central Asia , and
revealed to him the locatloil of a mine
of rubles hoping that the stnuiKor would
love her In return for her disclosure.
They \vcro followed to the cave by the
girl's relatives , who blocked up the en
trance , nnd drew oft the water supply ,
leaving the couple to die. Uaraka's cousin
Saad , her betrothed , attempted to climb
down n cliff overlooking the mine ; hut
the traveler shot him. The stranger was
revived from a water gourd Sand car
ried , dug his way out of the tunnol. and
departed , deserting the girl and carrying
a bag of rubles. Uaruka gathered all the
gems aho rould carry , und started In pur
suit. Margaret Donno ( Margarita da
Cordova ) , n famous prlrna donna , became
engaged In London to Konstantln Lo-
Kothetl , a wealthy Greek financier. Her
Intimate friend was Countess Levcn ,
known as Lady Maud , whoso husband
lm < l been killed by a bomb In St. Peters
burg : and Lady Maud's most Intimate
friend wns Unfits Van Torp , an Ameri
can , who had been a cowboy. In early
life , but ) had berorno ono of the richest
iiifn In the world. Van Torp was In love
with Margaret , and rushed to London as
coon" as he heard of her betrothal. lie
offered Lady Maud $ . " ' ,000,000 for her pet
charity If she would aid him In winning
the singer from Logothetl
CHAPTER III. Continued.
"I said I wan a wicked woman , "
Margaret answered , rising ; "nnd
what'n more , I believe I am. But I
quite forgot you were there , Potts , or
I probably should not have said It
aloud. "
"Yes , ma'am , " answered Potts meek
ly , and she went back to her unpack-
. Ing.
Margaret had two maids , who were
oddly suited to her two natures. She
had inherited Alphonslno from her
friend the famous retired soprano.
Mme. Bonannl , and the cadaverous ,
clever , ill-tempered , garrulous dresser
was as necessary to Cordova's theatri
cal existence as paint , limelight , wigs
and an orchestra. The English Potts ,
the meek , silent , busy and intensely
respectable maid , continually made it
clear that her mistress was Miss
Donne , an English lady , and that Mine.
Cordova , the celebrated singer , was
what Mr. Van Torp would have called
"only a side-show. " *
The letter that had been torn up
before it was finished was to have
gone to Lady Maud , but Margaret her
self had been almost sure that she
would not send it , even while she was
writing.
She had written that she had done
very wrong in engaging herself to Lo-
gothetl ; that was the "wickedness"
she accused herself of , repeating the
self-accusation to her astonished maid ,
because It was a sort of relief to say
the words to somebody. She had writ
ten that she did not really care for
him in that way ; that when he was
near she could not resist a sort of
natural attraction he had for her , but
that as soon as ho was gone she felt
It no longer and she wished ho would
not come back ; that her ideal of a
husband was so and so , and this and
that and hero fiction had begun , and
she had put a stop to it by destroying
the whole letter Instead of crossing
out a few lines which was a pity ; for
1C Lady Maud had received .it , she
would have told Mr. Van Torp that he
needed no help from her since Mar
garet herself asked no better than to
bo freed from the engagement.
Logothcti did not come out to Ver
sailles that afternoon , because ho was
plentifully endowed * vith tact where
women were concerned , and he ap
plied all the knowledge and skill he
had to the single purpose of pleasing
Margaret But before dinner ho tele
phoned and asked to speak with her ,
nnd this she could not possibly refuse.
Besides , the day had seemed long , and
though she did not wish for his pres
ence she wanted something that Inde
scribable , mysterious something which
disturbed her and made her feel un
comfortable when she felt it , but
which she missed when she did not
ECO him for a day or two.
"How are you ? " asked his voice , and
lie ran on without waiting for an an
swer. "I hope you are not very tired
after crossing yesterday. I came by
Boulogne decent of me , wasn't it ?
You must bo sick of seeing mo all
Uie time , so I shall give you a rest fern
n day or two. Telephone whenever
you think you can bear the sight of
mo again , and I'll bo with you in 35
minutes. I shall not Btir from home
In this baking weather. If you think
I'm In mischief you're qulto mistaken ,
dear lady , for I'm up to my chin in
work ! "
"I envy you , " Margaret said , when
ho paused at last "I've nothing on
earth to do , and the piano here Is out
of tune. But you're qulto right , 1
don't want to see you a little bit , and
I'm not Jealous , nor suspicious , nor
anything disagreeable. So there ! "
"How nice of you ! "
"I'm very nice , " Margaret answered
with laughing emphasis. "I know it.
What sort of work arc you doing ? It's
only idle curiosity , so don't tell mo If
you would rather not ! Have you got
n now railway in Brazil , or nn over
land route to the other side of be
yond ? "
"Nothing so easy ! I'm brushing up
my Tartar. "
"Brushing up what ? I didn't hear. "
"Tartar the Tartar language T-a-r
" ho began to spell the word.
"Ye j , I hear now , " Interrupted Mar-
tareL "But whet In thtj world la the
use of knowing It ? You must bo aw
fully hard up for something to do1 !
"You can bo understood from Con
stantinople to the Pacific ocean it you
can Bpeak Tartar , " Logothetl an
swered In a matter-of-fact tone.
"I daresay ! But you're not going
to travel from Constantinople to the
Pacific ocean "
"I might. Ono never can tell what
one may llko to do. "
"Oh , If It's because Tartar Is use
ful 'against the bites of sharks , ' " an
swered Margaret , quoting Alice , "learn
it by all means ! "
"Besides , there are all sorts of people
ple In Paris. I'm sure there must bo
some Tartars. I might meet one , and
It would be amusing to be able to talk
to him. "
"Nousonse ! Why should you ever
meet a Tartar ? How absurd you are ! "
"There's ono with mo now close
beside me. at my elbow. "
"Don't be silly , or I'll ring oft. "
"If you don't believe me , listen ! "
Ho said something In a language
Margaret did not understand , and an
other voice answered him at once in
the same tongue. Margaret started
slightly and bent her brows with a
puzzled and displeased look.
"Is that your teacher ? " she asked-
with more Interest In her tone tlian
she had yet betrayed.
"Yes. "
"I begin to understand. Do you
mind telling mo how old she is ? "
"It's not 'she , ' it's a young man. I
don't know how old he is. I'll ask
him if you like. "
Again she heard him speak a few
Incomprehensible words , which were
answered very briefly In the same
tongue.
"He tells mo ho is 20 , " Logothetl
said. "He's a good-looking young fel
low. How is Mrs. Rushmore ? I for
got to ask. "
"She'B quite well , thank you. But I
should llko to know "
"Will you bo so very kind as to re
member me to her , and to say that I
hope to find her at home the day after
to-morrow ? "
"Certainly. Come to-morrow if you
like. But please tell mo how you hap-i
pened to pick up that young Tartar.
It sounds so interesting ! He has Btich
a sweet voice. "
There was no reply to this ques
tion , and Margaret could not get an
other word from Logothoti. The com
munication was apparently cut off.
She rang up the central ofllco and
asked for his number again , but the
young woman soon said that she could
get no answer to the call , and that
something was probably wrong with
the instrument of number one-hundred-
and-slx-thlrty-seven. '
Margaret was not pleased , and she
was silent and absent-minded at din
ner and in the evening.
"It's the reaction after London , " she
said with a smile , when Mrs. Rushmore -
more asked if anything was the mat
ter. "I find I am more tired than I
knew , now that it's all over. "
Mrs. Rushmore was quite of the
same opinion , and it was still early.
when she declared that she herself |
wns sleepy and thatMargaret had much
hotter go to bed and get a good night's
rest.
rest.But
But when the prltna donna was sit
ting before the glass and her maid
was brushing out her soft brown hair ,
she was not at all drowsy , and though
her eyes looked steadily at their own
reflection In the mirror , she was not
aware that she saw anything.
"Potts , " she said suddenly , and
stopped.
"Yes , ma'am ? " answered the maid
with meek interrogation , and without
checking the regular movement of the
big brush.
"Potts , " Bho began again , "you are
not very imaginative , are you ? "
"No , ma'am , " the maid answered ,
' because It seemed to be expected of
her , though she had never thought of
the matter.
"Do you think you could possibly
bo mistaken about a voice , If you
didn't see the person who was speak
ing ? "
"In what way , ma'am ? "
"I mean , do you think you could
take n man's voice for a woman's at
a distance ? "
"Oh , I see ! " Potts exclaimed. "As
It might be , at the telephone ? "
"Well at the telephone , if you like ,
or anywhere else. Do you think you
might ? "
"It would depend on the voice ,
ma'am , " observed Potts , with caution.
"Of course It would , " assented Mar-
gat et rather Impatiently.
"Well , ma'am , I'll say this , since you
ask me. When I was last at homo I
was mistaken In that way about my
own brothe , for I heard him calling
to me from downstairs , and I took him
for my sister Milly. "
"Oh ! That's Interesting ! " Marga
ret smiled. "What sort of voice has
your brother ? How old Is ho ? "
"He's elght-and-twenty , ma'am ; and
as for his voice , lie has a sweet conn-
tor tenor , and sings nicely. He's a
song-man at the cathedral , ma'am. "
"Really ! How nice ! Have you a
voice , too ? Do you sing at all ? "
"Oh , no , ma'am ! " answered Potts in
a deprecating tond. "Ouo in the fam
ily is quite enough ! "
Margaret vaguely wondered why , but
did cot Inquire.
"Potts , " She Said Suddenly , and Then
Stopped.
i
"You arc quite sure that it was
your brother who was speaking , I sup
pose. " she said.
"Oh , yes , ma'am ! I looked down
over the banisters , and there he was ! "
Margaret had the solid health of a
great singer , and it would have been
a serious trouble indeed that could
have Interfered with her unbroken
and dreamless sleep during at least
eight hours ; hut when she closed her
eyes that night she was quite sure
that she could not have slept at all
but for Potts' comforting little story
about the brother with the "counter
tenor" voice. Yet oven so , at the mo
ment before waking in the morning ,
she dreamt that she was at the tele
phone again , and that words in a
strange language came to her along
the wire in a soft and caressing tone
that could only bo a woman's , and
that for the first time in all her life
she knew what It was to be jealous.
The sensation was not an agreeable
one.
one.Tho
The dream-voice was silent as soon
as she opened her eyes , but she had
not been awake long without reallz-
ng that she wished very much to see
Logothotl at once , and was profoundly
thankful that she had torn up her let
ter to Lady Maud. She was not pre
pared to admit , oven now , that Ken
stanttn was the Ideal she should have
chosen for a husband , and whom she
had been describing from imagination
when she had suddenly stopped writ
ing. But , on the other hand , the mere
thought that ho had perhaps been
amusing himself in the society of an
other woman all yesterday afternoon
made her so angry that she took
refuge in trying to believe that ho had
spoken the truth and that she had
really been mistaken about the voice.
It was all very well to talk about
learning Tartar ! How could she be
sure that it was not modern Greek , or
Turkish ? She could not have known
the difference. Was It so very unlikely
that some charming compatriot of his
should have come from Constantinople
ple to spend a few weeks in Paris ?
She remembered the mysterious house
in the Boulevard Pereiro whore he
lived , the beautiful upper hall where
the statue of Aphrodite stood , the
doors that would not open like other
doors , the strangely-disturbing encaustic -
caustic painting of Cleopatra In the
drawing room many things which she
distrusted.
Besides , supposing that the language
was really Tartar wore there not
Russians who spoke it ? She thought
there must bo , because she had a
vague idea that all Russians were
more or less Tartars. There was a
proverb about it. Moreover , to the
English as well as to the French , RUB
sians represent romance and wicked
ness.
She would not go to the telephone
herself , but she sent a message to Lo-
gothetl , and ho carao out in the cool
"time of the afternoon. She thought
he had never looked so handsome and
so little exotic since she had known
him.
him.He
He was received by Mr8. Hushmore
and Margaret together , and ho took
noticeable pains to make himself
agreeable to the mistress of the house.
At first Margaret wan pleased at this ;
but when she saw that ho was doing
his best to keep Mrs. Rushmore from
He Became Very Gloomy and Thought
ful.
leaving the room , as nho probably
would have done , Margaret did not
llko It She was dying to ask him
questions about his lessons In Tartar ,
and especially about his teacher , and
she probably meant to cast her In
qulrles in such a form as would make
it preferable to examine him alone
rather than before Mrs. RuHhmorc ;
but ho talked on and on , only pausing
an Instant for the good lady's expres
sions of Interest or approval.
He was telling her what a prime
minister had told an ambassador
about the pope , when Margaret rose
rather abruptly.
"I'm awfully sorry , " she said to Mrs
Rushmore , by way of apology , "but I
really must have a little air. I've not
been out of the house all day. "
Mrs. Rushmore understood , and wa :
not hurt , though she was sorry not to
hear more. The "dear child" should
go out , by all means. Would Mons
Logothotl stay to dinner ? No ? She
was sorry. She had forgotten that
she had a letter to write in time for
the afternoon post. So she wont off
and left the two together
Margaret led the way out upon the
lawn , and they sat down on garder
chairs under a big elm trco. She sail
nothing while she nettled herself very
deliberately , avoiding her compan
ion's eyes till she was quite ready , ant
then she suddenly looked at him wltl
a sort ot blank stare that wouh
have disconcerted any ono less
porlatively Kclf-posscssed than ho was.
It was most distinctly Mme. do Cor
dova , the offended prima donna , that
spoke at last , and not Miss Margaret
Donne , the "nice English girl. "
"What in the world has got Into
you ? " she inquired In a chilly tune.
He opened his almond-shaped eyes
a liltlo wider with an excellent af
fectation of astonishment at her words
and manner.
"Have I done anything you don't
llko ? " he asked In a tone of anxiety
and concern. "Wns 1 rude to Mrs.
Rushmore ? "
Margaret looked at him a moment
longer , and then turned her head
away in sllenco , as if scorning to an
swer such a silly question. The look
of surprise disappeared from his face ,
and ho became very gloomy and
thoughtful but said nothing more.
Possibly ho had brought about exactly
what ho wished , nnd wan satisfied to
await tlm Inevitable ) result It came
before long.
"I don't understand you at all , "
Margaret Bald less icily , hut with the
sad llttlo air of a woman who be
lieves herself misunderstood. "It was
very odd yesterday , at the telephone ,
you know very odd Indeed. I sup-
lioso you didn't realize It And now ,
this afternoon , you have evidently
been doing your best to keep Mrs.
Rushmore from leaving us together.
You would still bo telling her stories
about people if 1 hadn't obliged you
to como out ! "
"Yes , " Logothotl assorted with exasperating -
asperating calm and meekness , "wo
should still bo there. "
"You did not want to bo alone with
me , I Hiippose. There's no other ex
planation , and It's not a very flatter
ing one , Is It ? "
"I never flatter you , dear lady , " said
Logothetl gravely.
"But you do ! How can you deny
It ? You elton toll mo that I make
you think of the Victory In the
Louvre "
"It's quite true. If the statue had a
head It would bo a portrait of you. "
"Nonsense ! And In your moments
of enthusiasm you say that I sing hotter
tor than Mine. Bonannl in her best
days "
"Yes. You know qulto as much
as she ever did , you are a much hotter
musician , and you began with n better
voice. Therefore you sing better ,
maintain It"
"You often maintain things you
don't believe , " Margaret retorted ,
though her manner momentarily re
laxed a little.
"Only hi mutters of business , " an
swered the Greek with imperturbable
calm.
"Pray , is 'loamlng Tartar' a matter
f business ? " Her eyes sparkled
ingrlly as 'she asked the question.
Logothcti smiled ; she had reached
ho point to which he know she must
como before long.
"Oh , yes ! " ho replied with alacrity ,
Of course it Is. "
"That accounts for everything ,
since you arc admitting that I need
not even try to believe it was a man
whom I heard speaking. "
"To tell the truth , I have some sus
picions about that myself , " answered |
Logothetl.
'I have a great many. " Margaret I
aughod rather harshly. "And you bo-1
mvo as If you wanted mo to have
more. Who Is this eastern woman ?
Joine , bo frank. She Is some one
from Constantinople , Isn't she ? A
"anarlote llko yourself , I dare say an
old friend who Is In Paris for a few
days , and would not pass through
without seeing you. Say so , for heav
en's sake , and don't make such u mys
tery about it ! "
'
"How very Ingenious women aro"J ! j
observed the Greek. "If I had thought
of It I might have told you that story
hrough the telephone yesterday. But
I didn't. "
Margaret was rapidly becoming ex
asperated , her eyes flashed , her firm
young cheeks reddened handsomely ,
and hot * generous lips made scornful
curves.
"Aro you trying to quarrel with
mo ? "
The words had a fierce ring ; ho
glanced at her quickly and saw how
well her look agreed with her tone.
She was very angry.
"If 1 were not afraid of boring you , "
ho said with quiet gravity , "I would
tell you the whole story , but " ho
pretended to hesitate.
Ho heard her harsh little laugh at
once ,
"Your wors' enemy could not ac
cuse you of being a bore ! " she re
torted. "Oh , no ! It's something
quite different from boredom that I
feel , I assure you ! "
" 1 wish I thought that you cared
for me enough to be jealous , " Logo
theti Hald earnestly.
"Jealous ! "
No ono can describe the tone of In
dignant contempt in which a thorough
ly jealous woman disclaims the least
thought of jealousy with a single
word ; a man must have heard It to
remember what It Is like , and most
men have. Logothetl knew It well
and at the sound ho put on an cxpres
slon of meek Innocence which would
have -lone crodlt to a cat that had
just eaten a canary.
"I'm so sorry , " ho cried in a voice
like a child's. "I didn't mean to make
you angry , I was only wishing aloud
Plcaso forgive mo ! "
"If your Idea of caring for a worn
an Is to make her Jealous "
This was such an obvious mlslnter
prctatlon of his words that she
stopped short and bit her lip. Ho
sighed audibly , as If ho were very
sorry that ho could do nothing to ap
pease her , but this only made her fee
more Injured. She made an effort to
Bpoak coldly.
"You seem to forget that so long
as wo are supposed to be engaged I
have some little claim to know how
iyou spend your time ! "
"I make no secret of what I do.
That is why you were angry Just now.
Nothing could have been easier than 11
[ for mo to 807 that I wao busy with 11
ono of the matters you suggested. "
"Oh , of course ! Nothing could bo
easier than to toll mo an untruth ! "
This certainly looked llko the fem
inine retort-triumphant , nnd Margaret
delivered it In n cutting tone.
"That la precisely what you seem to
imply that I did , " Logothotl ohjoctcd.
"But If what I told you was untruu
your argument goes to pieces. There
wan no Tartar lessen , there was no
Tartar teacher , and it was all a fabri
cation of my own ! "
"Just what I think ! " returned Mar
garet "It was not Tartar you apoko ,
nnd there was no teacher ! "
"You have mo there , " answered the
Greek mildly , "unless you would llko
mo to produce my young friend nnd
talk to him before you In the presence
of witnesses who know his languago. "
"I wish you would ! I would like to
see 'him ! ' 1 should llko to BOO the
color of 'his' eyes and hair ! "
"Black as Ink. " said Logothotl.
"And you'll tell mo that Mils' com
plexion la black , too , no doubt ! ' '
"Not at nil ; u sort'of ' rronmy com
plexion , I think , though I did not pay
much attention to his skin. Ho Is n
smallish chap , good-looking , with
hands and feet llko n woman's. I
noticed that. As I told you , a doubt
occurred to mo at once , nnd I will not
positively swear that It Is not n girl
after all. He , or she , Is really a Tor-
tar from central Asia , und I know
enough of the language to say what
wan necessary. "
"Necessary ! "
"Yes. Ho or nhu came on a matter -
tor of business. What I said about a
teacher was more nonsense. Now you
know the whole thing. "
"Excepting what the business was , "
Margaret said Incredulously.
"Tho business was an uncut stone , "
answered Logothotl with indifference.
1 To linil rmn fn onll ntnl
"Ho was recommended to mo by a man
In Constantinople. IJc came to Mar-
nellies on a French steamer with two
Greek merchants who wore coming to
Paris , and they brought him to my
door. That Is the whole story. And
hero Is the ruby. I bought It for you ,
because you llko those things. Will
you take It ? "
Ho hold out what looked like a little
ball of white tlsntio paper , but Marga
ret turned her face from lilui.
"You treat mo llko a child ! " she
said.
said.To
To her own great surprise and Indig
nation , her voice was unsteady and
she fait something burning In her
oycn. She was almost frightened at
the thought that she might bo going
to cry , out of sheer mortification.
Logothotl said nothing for a mo
ment Ho began to unroll the paper
from the precious stone , but changed
his mind , wrapped it up again , nnd
put It back Into his watch-pocket before -
fore ho spoke.
"I did not mean it as you think , " ho
Bald softly.
She turned her eyes without moving
her head , till she could just see that
ho was leaning forward , resting Ma
wrists on his knees , bending his head
nnd apparently looking down at hla
loosely hanging hands. His attitude
ixprcsscd dejection and disappoint
ment She was glad of It Ho had no
right to think that ho could make her
a& angry as she still was , angry oven
to tears , nnd then bribe her to smile
again when ho was tired of teasing
her. Her eyes turned away again , nnd
she did not answer him.
"I make mistakes sometimes , " ho
said , speaking still lower , "I know I
do. When I am with you I cannot bo
always thinking of what I Bay. It's
too much to ask , when a man Is as far
gone as I am ! "
"I nhould llko to bollevo that , " Mar
garet said , without looking at him.
"Is it hard to "
believe ? ho asked so
gently that Bho only Just heard the
words.
"You don't make It easy , you know , "
'said she with a little defiance , for Bho
felt that she was going to yield before
long.
"I don't know how to. You're not
In the least capricious and yet "
"You're _ mistaken , " Margaret an
swered , turning to him suddenly. "I'm
the most capricious woman in the
world ! Yesterday I wrote a long let
ter to a friend , and then I suddenly
tore It up there were ever so many
pages ! I daresay that if I had writ
ten Just the same letter this morning
I should have iicnt it. If that is not
caprice , what is it ? "
"It may have been wisdom to tear
it up , " Logothotl suggested.
( TO BE C'ONTINUIin. )
Decline of Ancient English .Fair.
After being hpld annually for 800
years Stow Grnen pleasure fair has
practically ceased to exist
Established by charter of Henry III. ,
It ranked as ono of the largest fairs
In England for merchandise and last
ed three weeks. All the largo travelIng -
Ing bhows iu the country used to at
tend and they covered nearly four
acres of ground. The fair is now
limited to two days and when it com
menced Jt only consisted of a few
catchpenny devices.
This year the magistrates curtailed
the hours for drinking and it Ja ox-
pectod the fair will soon collapse alto-
gether. London Standard.
