Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-05-10

my uncle. ana, seeing that th sSs wanted
10 talk business. u strollei Ron. When
SI#returned, he as no wN5h here rs be seem
RE- This ii itself was not a very alarm;
ing matter, but q fruitless search from
one end 5of the prom enade to5 the other
caused some slight misgivings. What
had become of him Where had he
gone? :5 5& sx$ .Ss. .S
walked up and down Tor some time.
.peering to right and LEFT, but the lnin-.
sutes ran on. and still he put in no APP
pearance. Then really began tofeel
nervous, for his going away like this
was in direct opposition to an arrange
ment into which we had entered-that
Of keeping together while out of doors.
No doubt he was somewhere within
the precincts Of the house. OF that |
almost succeeded in convincing my
self. But where7 E:g,~y 's5,tt$$5s =
Not daring to leave the promenade
for fear he should return during my
absence. / went to the bar at the far
end and ordered a drink, which we'll
remember receiving from: a weary.
worn creature whose pallid face pro
claimed an intimate acquaintance with
the least delightful side Of life. Group
ed around the bar were about a dozen
men Of various ages. some with the
youthful bloom still on their faces, 9TH
ers of the notified, flushing stamp
whose features are an unfailing index
to their lives. r.. '".' 49,.
ordered my drink, drank while the
soda fixed and then placed the tum-
bier upon the counter while turned.
about to quiz the approach to the bar,
for l was not without hope of seeing.
my uncle thread his way through the
throng and come toward me. How
ever, he failed to put in an appearance,
and one by one the men moved off and
made room for new, arrivals, and the
fellow who was next to me, a man
with somewhat full, dark brown
beard, accidentally touched my foot in
passing. He Immediately apologized
profusely and with a quite unneces-
sary 'vehemence, thought. Indeed
the little accident seemed to excite him
greatly and fill him with an alarm
which was quite disproportionate to
the offense. I smiled a ready forgive
ness as he moved. off, and not until he
was gone did seem to recollect the
wild, nervous glance of his eyes as he
stared a moment into my face. Under
other conditions might have thought
seriously of it. Nevertheless watched
him with some interest as he disap-
peared in the crowd.
Discovering; no sign Of my uncle
amid the moving throng and feeling
that had held my place for a reason
able period, turned with the intention
of finishing my drink, when my eyes
encountered those of a pale faced
young gentleman who was leaning on
the end of the counter. He started
suddenly, as though he intended to
speak, but hesitated as quickly, re-
strained, so it appeared, by second
thought. in the meantime took up
the tumbler and was about to raise it
to my lips when once more my look in
stinctively wandered his way. His
eyes were fixed upon me with keen
ness which l failed utterly to fathom,
and, seeing, no doubt, the curious In
terrogative expression Of my face, he
came instantly toward me. l at once
lowered the glass and watched him in
tently. $685.
He was an ordinary young fellow.
with an insipid mustache and fair hair
pressed close upon his head; perhaps
not a strong man physically or INTEL
!eetually. but apparently of some class.
II hope you will:pardon me-" he said.
II have not the pleasure of knowing
you, but-but'' and he seemed ex-
tremely nervous-"l think ought tc
tell you what I've, seen You will par
don the libertyT'
Certainly" ~ ~ y. i. -.
'eThen I'm afraid it will seem an alb
surd question to ask. Have you-have
you any enemies?' H..
l started and looked him squarely in
the eyes, but he withstood the scrutiny
without the flicker of a lid. -, ?
IASuSS uSs Stlus 10" LuOEOuSuly
on my guard, ''''but you must surely
recognize the incongruity of address
ing such question to stranger" '
81 do" he replied. ~.
"Then why do you ask? p
Because have just seen something
hich-which, to say the least of it. Is
singular. Do you remember the man
with the beard who a minute ago apol-
ogized for treading on your foot?"
Perfectly 80 = -
''tWell, l. saw him, while your back
was turned, drop something into your
tumbler." =: rs
GOOD heavens! .@.@G
1nvoluntarily the exclamation escap.
ed me-. A convulsive shiver swept me
from head to foot The young man,
watching intently, must have seen my
face blanch, for he added hastily: .z
Il hope I haven't frightened you, but
thought It looked suspicious and that
had better speak, e I=-~ Sc / $ss, i
Thanks, a thousand times!' said