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
