Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-08-14
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4
| actor and artist world.
Mrs. Drtior smiled in his direction,
but the smile was not reassuring. He
| wal, however. delighted. He almost
asked her then and there to ride with
him on the morrOw, but he remembered
| that he could drive much better than he
could ride. and. in the pause necessary
to ;hin!; the matter ont. the chance
passcd-he could not concentrate him.
self easily.
"Yes. Who is it," said the young girl
Lord, I'll find out. - said the fiaring
Alpheus. a jeweled hand at his tie as he
rose.
But their host had made up his mind.
| He did not know whether Mrs. Dctlor
did or did not recognize the voice, bat
he felt that she did not wish the matter
to 60 farther. The thing was irregular
\ If III were stranger ard if he were
not II stranger it lay with Mrs. Detlor
whether he should be discovered.
There was u curious stiffness i'll Mrs.
| Dctlor's manner, rs though she We're
waiting further development of the in
cident Her mind was in q whirl of
|
ing sensation in her head. Yet who was
| TO know that from her manner?
She could not help flashing look Of
thanks to Hagar when he stepped quick.
| ly between the Prince and the window
and said in what she called his light
comedy manner:
| mo, no. Richmond. Let us keep up
the Illusion. The gentleman has done
MS service; otherwise we had lost the
best half of Mrs. Debtors song. Well
not put him at disadvantage
'Oh, but look here, Hagar," said
the other protestingly as he laid his
hand upon the curtains.
| Few men could resist the quiet de-
cision of Hagar's manner, though he
often laughed that. having but poor
opinion of his will as he knew it, and
believing that he acted firmness with.
out possessing it, save where he was
purely selfish. lie put his hands in his
pockets carelessly. and said in low,
decisive tone, Don't do it, if you
| please
| But he smiled, too, so that others,
now gossiping. We're unaware that the
words Were not Of rs light comedy as
the manner. Hagar immediately began
. general conversation and asked Baron
| to sing The Banks O. Ben Lomond, :"
feeling sure that Mrs. Detlor did not
wish 10 sing again. Again she sent him
u quick look of thanks and waved her
fingers i'll protest to those who We're urR.
! ing her. She clapped her hands as she
saw Baron rise, and the others, for po-
likeness sake, could not urge her more.
For the stranger. Only the morning
Of that day he had arrived at the pretty
town of Herridon among the hills and
moors. set apart for the idle and ailing
Of TINS world. Of the world literally,
! for there might be seen at the pump
room visitors from every point of the
cOmpass-Hindoo gentlemen brought by
sons who ate their legal dinners near
Temple Bar; invalided officers from
HongkOns. Bombay, Alden. the Gold
Coast and otherwhcre Australian squat
tiers and their daughters; attaches Of
foreign embassies; u prince from the
Straits Settlements; priests without
number from the northern counties ;
Scotch manufacturers ladies wcaried
from the London season; artists, actors
and authors, expected to do at inoppor-
tune times embarrassing things, and
very many from Columbia, happy land.
who go to Herridon as to Westminster
TO see the ruins.
1t is difficult for Herridon to take its
visitors seriously, and quite as difficult
for the visitors to take Herridon seri.
Ously. That is what the stranger
thought rs he tramped back and forth
from point TO point through the town.
He had only been there II hours. yet he
was familiar with the place. He had
the instincts and the methods of the
true traveller. He never was guilty Of
sightseeing in the usual sense. But it
was his habit to get general outlines
fixed ut once. In Paris, i'll London, he
had taken u map. had gone to some cen
trail spot. and had studied the cities
from there; had Travelled in different
directions merely to get his bearings
After that he was gate at home. This
was singular, too. for his life had been
If recent years much ont Of the beaten
tracks of civilization. He got the out
lines Of Hcrridon i'll an hour or two.
tni by evening he could have drawn a
lprctty accurate chart Of it, both rs to
detail and from the point of a birds
eye view ut the top Of the Moor
The Moor had delighted him. He
looked away to all quarters and saw
hill and valley wrapped i'll that green
He saw it under an almost cloudless
sky, and he took off his hat and threw
his grizzled head back with a boyish
laugh.
Its good-good enough he said.
1--we seen so much country all Oh edge
that this is like getting q peep over the
wall on the other side-the other side
of Jordan. And yet that was Gods
country with the sun on it, as Gladney
used to say-poor devil!'
He dropped his eyes from the prospect
before him and pushed the sod and
ling with his foot musingly IF I had
been in Gladney's place, would have
done as he did. and if he had been in
my place would he have done as did:
One thing is certain, there'd have been
lad luck for both Of Us, this way or