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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1921)
10 THE BEE: OMAHA, SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 12. 1021. The Fortune Hunter oka m But M la4 to ' Ml. yhl)tiM lha f(rl rkapU w4 ! Ik Mrud. ! cftaklwa. OUt Men By RUBY AYRES. The Fortune Hunter Ht t the top of five-barred gate, his hat at the back of hit head, Idly tapping hit rather ihabby brown boot with rough stick which he had pulled irout a hedge. It wi hit eight-ind-twentieth birthday, and he had exactly eight-pnd-tweiity (hilling in the world, l'erhapa it wai thii fact that wa re. ponibIe for the preoccupied iook on his face and hit total oblivion to the fact that the top of the gate wi bordered with barbed wire to the exceeding danger of hit already well worn iuiL It wa a warm evening in early September. The trees all around were beginning to be faintly tinged with autumn coloring, and a faint grey mist was rising from the bed of the river which flowed by on the mhiT niile of the field at his back Eight-and-twenty shillings. The Fortune Hunter took the coins from his pocket, looked at them, laughed, and jingled them back again: He had been in many tight cor- ners during the past 10 years ot nis roving life and always had managed to struggle out of them, but today somehow his usual optimism seemed to have failed him. Perhaps it was the silence all around that depressed him. for at any rate he sished a most unusual thing for the Fortune Ilunter to do and passed a hand wearily across his eyes. For a fortnight now he had tramp ' ed England, waiting for something to turn up, for he was a firm believer in his luck, and this was the first time he had allowed himself even to con sider the possibility that it might be going to fail him after all these years. To begin with, he was hungry, and hunger makes a man a pessimist more quickly than anything on earth; but there was a sort of unwillingness in his heart to break into that last cight-and-twenty shillings until he was absolutely forced to do so. When things were at their worst, something always turned up or such, at least, had always been the case with him, and with the sort of fccline that he must Ket away from his thoughts and shake off his grow insr deorcssion. the Fortune Hunter iumned down from the gate and started walking uo the road again He was a tall man and he looked like a gentleman in spite of the fact that his clothes were shabby and his boots wanted heeling. Yet there was an undeniable air of breeding about him, and he walked with a fine, athletic swing, despite his weariness. His hair was short-cropped and showed touches of grey here and there, and his face was burnt by exposure to sun and weather. ..For a fortnight he had slept in woods or barns, or ' out in,. the hedges; anything served him for a bed; he had roughed it in all four Corners of the world, and never quar relled with the pillow provided by circumstances. , A little further on the road forked; one way leading straight along, was evidently the main road, and .the other, turning into a narrower path, ultimately ending in a shady wood. . The Fortune Hunfer hesitated, then turned into the wood, where neither heat nor dust had penetrated and everything was cool and fresh. He took off his hat and let the soft air beat on his forehead, walk ing mechanically along until sudden ly he tripped and alriiost fell over an obstacle half hidden in . the thick bracken overhanging the narrow foot path. ' 1 ' The Fortune Hunter recovered himself and swore good-naturedly, glancing down to see what had trip ped him. then his face changed and he caught his breath on a muttered ejaculation as he saw the huddled form of a man lying face downward amongst the green undergrowth. "Drunk!" was his first thought, and he half moved aside to pass on. Then some inexplicable instinct re strained him, and, stooping down, he pulled the tall bracken aside, peering more closely at the prostrate figure. ' Another second and he was on his knees beside it, his deft brown hands feeling under the coat for a heart beat, his tanned face pale with horror, For. the man was dead. The Fortune Hunter had seen death too many times to be mistaken, but it gave him an unusual shock to have come across it here in the heart of a shady English wood. Turning the dead man gently over on his back, he looked into his face. .Quite a young face it was and not unlike his own. he thought vaguely, with its clean-shaven lips and smooth skin, from which even death had not been able to obliterate the tan. He wore a rough tweed suit that looked rather colonial in cut, and a soft gray hat lay a little distance off in the bracken. ( The Fortune Hunter rose to his feet and stood looking around him with a feeling of helplessness. What ought he to do? Inform the police, he supposed. He turned his eyes again to the still form at his feet Whatever the cause of death, it had come peacefully enougTi, for the face was quite calm and unlined by pain and the lips a little parted as if in sleep. If only aomeone would come along! The Fortune Hunter had no idea how far he was from the nearest village, but he was turning to re trace his steps to the main road, when he caught sight of a bulky package lying almost at his feet. - He stooped and picked it up. It was a shabby leather pocketbook, held together by an elastic band and bulging with papers or letters. The Fortune Hunter turned it over uncertainly; then, with a little shrug of the shoulder, he pulled off the band and glanced through -the contents. . There were a lot of v pencil notes that seemed to relate to nothing in particular, and jottings of various sums of money; a few letters, all in the same writing; an old photo graph of a girt with hair tumbling about her shoulders; and on the fly leaf of the pocketbook a name, evi dently the name of the dead man, written in a sprawly hand: "John Smith." The Fortune Hunter smiled grim ly. He had known many "John Smiths" in his wanderings, but sel dom had it been the rightful name of the man who claimed it; and it Was with the idea of finding fume lie unfolded one ot the letters an glanced casually through it. It obviously was written by woman and bore a date lour months previous: "My Dear John! "I know you will think that I have been a long time answering your last letter, but now you will to soon be home again I am begin' nin to be afraid. Then yean is long time an I was only 18 when you went away Supposing you don t like me any more? Supposing 1 don't like you Oh, I know there has been nobody else for either of us since, but am afraid all the same. I was child when you went away, knd now I am a woman, though I don feel to very muhch older, except when I look back on the days with you and realize how far away they really are. "You must be patient with me, won't you? Don't expect too great things from me at first, although in spite of the fear, I am longing to see you, and somehow tn my heart I think 1 feel sure it will be all rleht. . . I shan t write again you will be home before vou could get anoiner jeucr. oo us jusi an revoir, dear. Anne The Fortune Hunter shrugged his shoulders and glanced again at the heading on the paper: i "Cherry Ledge, omerton-on Thames." Not so far away then! He had vague idea that he had ' seen signpost to Somcrton as he had tramped the last weary mile. He thrust the letters and shabby case into his pocket and turned on to the main road. Somehow, in my heart I feel sure it will be all right lhe words echoed through his mind rather Ditenuslv. Well, whoever "Anne was, tne dreaded meeting with John Smith would never take place now, for John Smith lay dead in the silent wood, with the tall branches Dena- inor above him. Odd how deserted the road was. It stretched before the Fortune Hunter dusty and empty as he quickened his . tired steps, anxious now to be rid of the responsibility of his discovery. But in half a mile he had failed to meet one pedestrian, though the road had curled about until it had brought him parallel .with the river flowing silently by, bathed in the late evening light. . Some distance ahead the figure of a girl in a punt was clearly sil houetted .against the 'sky, and the Fortune Ilunter gave a little growl of satisfaction as he realized that he could not now be far from a vil lage. ' He watched the girl with a curi ous sense of satisfaction; she and the ouiet river scene were so typsically English, and he felt all at once how good it was to be home again if one could call a country home where in a ' man had neither friends nor money. The girl wore a white frock with short sleeves, and the rays of the sinking sun glittered on . her hair, turning it to gold, as her slim body moved with slow grace, propelling the little punt upstream. There was someone with her a man or a boy. The Fortune Hunter could not be sure which, for the figure was stooping over the side of the punt, watching something in the water; and across the silently flowing river the man on the roadway cculd hear their voices distinctly through the still evening. " "If you'd only sit still Tommv. You can't reach them do, please." And then came a shrill scream and a stifled cry, as the punt seemed to lurch violently. The girl swayed dangerously, only recovering herself with a tremendous effort, but the other figure tumbled headlong into the water, without ap parently making the least attempt to save itself. ' Serve him right 1" thought the Fortune Hunter grimly, and stood still for a moment waiting for it to reappear. k But the seconds passed, and be yond a sort of swirl where the boy had disappeared there was no sign. lhe girl was on her knees m the punt now, screaming helplessly, and all at once the Fortune Hunter seem ed to realize that the matter was serious and that the boy was in dan ger of drowning. - He ran along the road till he was almost abreast of the drifting punt, then he kicked off, his shoes, flung his jacket aside and plunged into the river. . The girl saw him and stretched agonized hands to him. . "Oh, save him save him! He can't swim he's a cripple." , ine rortunc ilunter was a pow erful swimmer and the distance was nothing to him, but when he reached the boy a lad of about 17 it was not such an easy matter to bring him to shore. Buthe managed it at last, and clambered out with the weed in his hair and water dripping from him. The girl had regained her self control and brought the punt to the bank, but she was very pale and her voice shook as she knelt down beside the exhausted boy. "Oh, Tommyl Oh, are you all right? Oh, Tommy I was so ter rified . . She tried to put her arms round the boy's 'drenched ficrure hut he tr. pelled her almost roughly. Shut up I he choked. "Leave me alone. It was your fault; you ought to have balanced the beastly boat better." -He looked a miserable enoueh ob ject as he sat there in the Ions grass, shivering and shaking, and the Fortune Hunter felt a wave of contempt as he picked up the coat he had flung aside and calmly pro ceeded to put it on over his wet shirt The girl gave a little cry of horror. "You're not going! You can't go like that! You'll take your death of cold. Oh, please! We live quite close you must come in and tret cry." The Fortune Hunter laughed. I don't take cold easily" his careless gaze wandered over the girls concerned face, and, realizing its attraction, he added more gra ciously: "You're very kind at any rate, I will help you home with . . your brother?" Yes. 1 am sure we can never thank you. You saved his life. Oh, Tommy, what should we have done if nobody had come along?" The boy laughed harshly. "1 should have drowsed, that's all." He began to hoist himself up from the grass with difficulty, Mid the Fortune Hunter put a strong snn round him, and lifted him to bis feet. . "Lean on me," he said, "I can carry you if you like, but . ." "Thank you, I can walk," was the ungracious response. But " he was glad of a helping hand before they had gone very far, and presently, without a word, the Fortune Hunter picked him up bodily and carried him the remainder of the way, the water running from both of them in uncomfortable little rivulets, leav ing a trail along the dusty road. The girl followed silently. From time to time the kept looking at the Fortune Hunter with queer, half scared glances, and when they reach ed the house she ran ahead and opened the gate, standing aside to let him pass. It was an old-fash ioned house, with ivy-colored walls and a gardvn sloping down to the river. Tubs filled with ivy eeranl- urns bordered the terrace, and strip I ed sun blinds were drawn over the ! windows of the house. The Fortune Hunter cast a swift glance around him and wondered if this was the turn in his luck for which he had been waiting. . n e followed the srirl into the hall. It was cool and . shady and rose scented, and he put his burden down gently. ' m You d better have a hot bath at once," he said casually. "A ducking 1 r- c n ' , U -. I'm ....J . . , uuii ,hc, tui uscu iu rougn- ing it, but you . " The boy limped away towards the stairs without answering: he was an ungracious sort of youth, and his thin, delicate face was fretful and ill-tempered. lhe Kirl looked ud at tli Fni-tnn Hunter as he moved to the dnnr. "I cannot let vou on lit ikU " she said decidedly. "You must change, too, and my uncle will like to see you and thank you. 'tommy mv brother U vrr delicate, you know" she paused but, of course, vou don't know" she added slowly. ine fortune Hunter did not answer. He was a little nnzzlerl h the girl's manner; and when pres ently he was shown into a hath. room and given a suit of dry clothes which, even if they were slightly on the small side, were a welcome change from his own damp gar ments, he found himself wondering whether by any chance in his wan dering he could have met this girl before. - There was something in tir ,v when she looked at him H t,;. his brows. After all, he had known so many women. He dismissed the thought casually. . it was when he was trying to wring out his own soaked garments and pull them into some semblance of shape again that he came across the pocketbook he had taken from the dead man in the woods. For the moment he had forgot ten that gruesome discovery, and it returned now to Ms memory un pleasantly. "Cherry : Lodge, Somerton-on- Thames." It must be somewhere near here, at all events; perhaps the girl down stairs could tell him where it was. He opened the door and went to the hall. The house was beautifully fur nished, and the Fortune Hunter looked around him with . envious eyes; it was many months since he had been in such surroundings, He was standing at the bottom of the staircase, uncertain which way to go,' when the girl came from room on the right. ' Please come in," she said. There was a hint of nervousness in her voice, and the Fortne Hunter followed her with a faintly amused smile in his eves. She wag very beautiful, he thought; and he liked her white frock and shoes and stockings and the pretty waves of her hair, There were wine and biscuits; on the table, and she pressed him to take some. . ' ' "My uncle is out, she said or I know he would make you el- come. I cannot thank you enough for what you have done. If you had not been there Tommy would have drowned. "I am glad I was there then," he answered smiling. There was a moment's silence; the girl was fidgeting nervously with her handkerchief; then, quite suddenly, she raised her eyes. "Will you will you tell me your name?' she asked. ; The Fortune Hunter hesitated.. He had- answered to so many different names during his lifetime few of them his own then he half shrug ged his shoulders. After all, what did a name matter? "My name is John Smith." he said deliberately, with cynical memory of that moment in the woods when ' e had ' taken the pocketbook from a dead man. ..' , But he was totally unprepared for the stifled cry which broke from the girl's lips, or for the little eager steps she took towards him her hands outstretched. I knew I knew it was you, she said with a sobbing laugh. Continued In The Evening Bea Tomorrow. Swedish experimenters have aban doned efforts to use peat fiber in the textile industry until an economical method be. found to extract the fiber from peat moss. . - I Commander and Six Members of Crew Hurt In Fire in Submarine Los Angeles, Nov. II. Fire broke out In the forward compartment of the submarine L-6 yesterday while the craft was 10 fathoms below the surface on a test run from San Diego to Los Angeles and IS miles from the latter. Six members of the crew and the commander, Lieut. M. V. Stonestreet, were cither seriously burned or overcome by smoke and gas. The cause of the fire had not been determined last night. Only a hard fight and a quick rise to the surface saved the lives of the 22 men aboard the craft. Several men were overcome fighting the fire before the forward compartment was locked. Then the craft reached the surface and a 15-mile race for the shore and safety was commenced. Other naval vessels hurried to the rescue as the submarine entered San redro harbor, but it continued with unchecked speed until the subma rine base had been reached, iliere sailors with gas helmets went into the hold and carried out the injured from the hold. They were taken to the naval base hospital for treatment. Mooney and Keeney Released. Charleston, W. Va., Nov. 11. U F. Keeney and Fred Mooney, pres ident and secretary of District No. 17, United Mine Workers of Amer ica, were' released from the Kanawha county jail here yesterday following a writ issued by the state supreme court requiring Judge Robert Bland of the Logan county circuit court to appear next Tuesday to show cause why he should not be prohibited from proceeding with the trial of the officials in that county on charges growing out of the armed march from Marmet to Mingo. Freight Rate Cut to Affect ' Wages of 750,000 Rail Men New York. Nov. ll. Reductions in freight rates-which will reflect the cut in the wages of nearly 750.000 employes of railroads north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and east of the Mississippi, decided upon here yesterday at a meeting of railway executives, will probably be taken up with the Interstate Commerce commission by executives of the lines tomorrow. Arms Meet Failure Would Be Disaster, Says Grey London, JNov. 11. failure by the Washington armament conference to attain the ends for which it was ummoned would be a great disaster. Viscount Grey declares in an article contributed to the Westminister Gazette. S. . COH. Kit & JACKSON SIX WWW Y irn Its rv iv WW illUVtV mm? mmI Appairel at Moderate Prices and Easy-to-Pay Terms Straight Virginia tobacco just that and nothing more mellowed in the sun and ripened on the hilL Tim Cigarette C' J from down where , the good tobacco grows Your Choice of Any ' Dress 25 off Nothing reserved. All the new models of the season in tricotine, serge, Poiret Twill, satin, silk,' velvet, Canton Crepe, etc' , In Plush, Cloth and Fur New Coats Coats Jike the ones we are showing this season and marked ' a THIRD below what similar qualities sold for a year ago. There are plain and fur-trimmed. models. with stunning lines, tailored of Plush, Normandy, Polyanna, Won dora, Orlando, Suedine and Fur Fabrics. New iCD New Plush Coats $9450 ,:5n $1750 mE'VP Coats 1 JL f Tup Our Entire Stock of Suits m off Many smart models with fur collars that button high around the neck, making them suitable for Winter wear. All the wanted colore, Join Our Hbosier-' Club , ; ' Pay $1.00 Down and $1.00 a Week ; Join our Thanksgiving "Hoosier" Club Plan Sale Saturday, pay $1.00 and We deliver a big. ' Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet to you at noce with $7.50 worth of ADVO Groceries FREE. . , See the Big New Hoosier at $42.00 1 .J Liggett k Myers Tobacco Co. D & M Clothes Shop FORCED TO QUIT BUSINESS Gigantic Disposal of $28,000 Stock Starts Saturday at 8:30 A.M. Men's and Young MeiVs Suits and Overcoats, Furnishings, Hats, Caps, Shoes and Luggage Ordered Sold at Far Less Than Manufacturer's Cost Fixtures for Sale T- XT' The Sacrifice CLOTHE, S SHOP. I Will Be Tremendous s f a. rrm Comforters and Bed Linens Big Special Sale Saturday For Saturday only, here are warm, fluffy Blankets and ' Comforters as well as serviceable Bed Linens at prices that challenge comparison. 66x80 in. Scotch Plaid Blankets, Saturday at 62x76 in. Cotton Blan kets in plaids only' $L59 66x80 in. Cotton Blan kets in pretty plaids $1.95 66x80 in. Cotton Blan kets in plaid designs $2.25 66x80 in. Cotton Blan kets in plaids only $2.95 $3.79 66x80 in. Wool Nap Blankets, Saturday $3.98 72x80 in. warm, heavy Cotton Blankets at $4.45 Good, warm 66x80 in. Indian Blankets are $5.85 Comforter 72x84-inch size, filled with new, carded cotton; special 49 QR Saturday,. P.i70 Comforter. Thick, warm, 72x 84-inch size, covered with fancy, silkoline; Q Saturday, tfO.OO 68x80 in. Woolen Blan kets, Saturday only $6.50 68x80 in. Woolen Blan kets in plaids, only $7.45 Extra fine 58x80 in. Woolen plaid Blankets $9.50 68x80 in. ALL WOOL plaid Blankets, only $12.75 Wool-Filled Comforter, neatly stitched and covered with a good grade silkoline, $5.45 You Can SAVE Dollars on Bed Linens in This Sale PILLOW CASES . 42x36 in Marathon 21c 42x36 in. Wearwell 31c BED SHEETS 72x90 in. Marathon 65c 81x90 in. Wearwell $1.25 SPREADS 78x88 in. Plain Wearwell Spreads, only $2.49 80x90 in.. Wearwell Scalloped Cut Cor ner $2.98 82x92 in. Hardspun Scalloped Cut Cor ner $3.15 Yes, Your Credit IS Good SPREADS 89x90 Knickerbock er Scalloped Cut Corner $4.35 80x90 in. Rathvern Scalloped Cut Cor ner $4.49 86x90 in. Woodbine only $5.45 Plain Spreads, SPREADS 84x90 in. Fine Gil roy Plain, Heavy Spreads $5.45 82x94 in. Martha Washington, ScaU loped Cut Corner $6.50 84x94 in. Fine Ionia Scalloped Cut Corners I $6.98