Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-03-24
coPsNkrr 1895. sSr-e Aursoa

he's been. He comes with money, spends
is en- prince and then gees off again. nom
inally perhaps to the Cobb desert, and re-
turns with another cargo"
How rcmantic'" said Miss Rivers.
Yes. isn't it," said her fance dryly
IF he'd lived a century earlier. one would
have said he'd got sound business con-
noction rs a pirate somewhere West In
dies way. As this year is 1898 and that
explanations barred. one simply has to
accept him as an uncomfortable mystery"
Hamilton, how absurd you arel Wher-
ever did all this rigmaro!e come FRONT"
"From the club and London gossiping
places generally. I suppose we ought to
be indebted 10 Cambel for providing US
something to talk about.
But tell me, if his antecedents are SO
queer, how is it he goes about SO much
here? He's apparently asked everywhere
at least SO Mrs. Shelf says-ard he knows
every body who's worth knowing"
Fairfax laughed. Why docs London
society take up with an cz bushranger
from Australia or n glorified advertising
cowboy from the wild, wild wests Simply
because London society is extremely paro-
chicl and gets desperately bored with its
own little self undilutcd. Now, Cambel
has undoubtedly wandered about outside
the parish, and occasionally he lets drop
hints which makes one guess he's seen
some qucerish rough and tumbles in
places where polite society doesn't so,
and, in fact, preserves good humored ret
icence about most of his doings. This
makes people thoughtful and speculative.
If n Chinese extradition warrant was to
turn up tomorrow TO arrest him for stick
ing up q two button mandarin beyond tho
great wall nobody would be bit surpris-
ed, or If he were to tell the city this after
noon that he Il concession for n silver
mine in Paraguay which he wished to dis
pose of at reasonable rates we'd take it
with pleased equanimity. Now, you
know, Amy, there's a fearful joy in enter
tanning n man of that stamp
Especially when he's as entirely fas-
cinating as Mr.. Cambel can be when he
chooses. And such walter! But you
speak as IL he were q savage from some
back settlement come into decent society
for the FIRST time. He isn't that in the
least. Hos gentleman distinctly"
My dear girl, never meant to suggest
that he was not. There's no particular Sc
cret about his raising. He comes Of a
good west county family, was an Elton
boy and played in their eleven, went
through Cambridge and afterward found
berth in the diplomatic service. Then
by way CT variety he got engaged to be
married to a girl who Tilted him, on tho
strength of which he began to run wild.
He started on six months leave for n trip
into Tibet, but he staid beyond the lin
its of the postal system for two years and
half, and when he got back to England
the diplomatic corps found that they could
| ygf nr,y yvo11 bn,rf him, CO, ha
tinucd his rambles. He doesn't seem able
to settle down.
That's because he can't forget the girl
who threw him over" exclaimed Miss
Rivers. How awfully romantic! Won
der who she was. She couldn't have been
anybody nice, or she wouldn't have done
1t, because he's n regular dear. And fancy
his remembering her all this time. just
love him for it,
Some fellows" remarked Fairfax ju
diciously, would get jealous if the girl
they were going to marry talked about an
other man this way
Miss Rivers treasured him first practi-
cally and then in word. "You goose, " said
she, If cared for him in thsf way, don t
you see l shouldn't have spoken about
him to you ut all:''
Fairfax did not answer directly. He
kissed her thoughtfully, and after awhile
he said: Il M not superstitious, dear as a
general thing. Work in a shipping Office
tends to make one painfully matter of fact
But for all that wish this fellow Cambel
would either marry the queen. or get
crushed up in n cab accident, or have him
self safely fastened down out of harm s
way somewhere. I've got a foreboding
Amy; that he's going to do a bad turn
either to you or to me, which means both
of us. know ii S absurd, but can't get
rid of it,
How creepy!" said Amy Rivers. But
what nonsense, Hamiltonr'