Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1891-09-10

of the new neighbors; there are a good
many newcomers in the street"
Portman Brown set next morning
for Lucerne via Brussels and the Rhine,
staying few days at Ostend on the
way. He took his place in the unde-
niable comfort of first-class carriage
in the express to Brussels with mind
as free from care and uneasiness as an
elderly gentleman ever possessed. A
life of plain. undiluted prose had, up to
this, kept his imaginative faculties in
complete allegiance; lunatics, hyp-
notists, murderers, etc, as possible fell
low travellers, had never entered his
mind. AS a rule, indeed, his fellow
travellers no more excited his interest
or notice than his near neighbors at
home. On this occasion he was just
conscious, in leaving the station at Os-
tend, that an elderly couple were the
other occupants of the carriage; he
merely gave passing glance from his
newspaper at the man, a stranger, who
got in at Bruges and sat down ON the
opposite seat.
Nearly an hour had passed before
Brown laid down his newspaper, and
when he did he was Mortified to see in
the traveller who got in at Bruges the
dark-faced man who had excited his
suspicion when he started from Lon
don.
At Brussels Brown lodged the dark
faced man.
Never within the whole course of his
experience in foreign ports had Brown
passed a more wretched night; the
morning found his nerves in a sad
state. He, who had never before known
himself the possessor of nerves! The
| fdgety man who made fussy arrange
| ments about starting by the first train
| for Lucerne, and whose eyes had a way
of casting furtive-not to say appre-
hensivc-glances around, was strange
ly unlike the self-satisfied, phlegmatic
Briton who had arrived the evening be-
fore at the Three Kings.
The success of this maneuver in leav-
ing Brussels made him repeat it; be-
sides he was in a perfect fever to get
to the end of his journey, and rid him
self of the charge of the diamond. His
spirits rose considerably as the hour of
| the trains departure drew near with
| out any appearance of the ''shadower''
| in the station. Brown remained on the
| platform until the last moment, then,
with fervent sigh of relief, he entered
| the railway carriage. The train was
| just moving off when the door was sud-
| denly opened, a breathless porter
dashed in a handbag and parcel of rugs,
| followed by still more GREATNESS
| traveller. The door was shut. the engine
shrleked the last departing signal, the
train moved from Bale station. In one
corner of the carriage sat Brown; in
| another-the farthest on the opposite
side - sat the man with the black
| whiskers!
How often-in fancy we place our.
| selves in heroic situations. and there
| in fancy act with invariab BILE heroisra.
| It is quite different. however, when the
heroic situation is a reality; our conse.
| quent actions are liable to be quite diff
| ferent, too. The position in which
Brown now found himself might well
have appalled,. the bravest. He was
alone in a railway carriage with a
scoundrel who had followed him from
London; Brown had utterly aban.
doned surmise since last night and a..
cepted each idea as an absolute cer-
tainty-the object in this scoundrel's
| view was the capture of the valuable
diamond, which was at that very mo-
ment on Browns person. A long jour.
ney lay before them and Brown was
unarmed. At this review of the situa
ton his heart sank; he drew back in
| stinctively into the corner. His eyes
suddenly met those of the other man; {
deep flush suffused his face, which
| seemed to find reflection in the others
Brown hastily took up Baedeker ant
affected to read, the man opposite
simultaneously did the same. A trans
parent unreality on both sides. Browns
furtive glances invariably caught
quickly withdrawn though they were
those of the other man leveled on him
While this went on, the slightest
change Of position, the least movement
in the opposite corner made Brown
| start. Might it not herald the approach
of danger? spri ng, rush, the at
tack!
The tension was terrible; to remain
inactive almost impossible. Brown
had an inspiration. as man in ex
tremity sometimes has. Though hs
was not armed, he would pretend to be
That might do something; produce
hesitation or delay, at least. Accord