Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-02-06

tners son, ana it would nave Deen a
! strange ghost that could have cowed
him atmy agc, OF the stories they tell
of him can have but slight foundation
in fact.
My uncle looked around inquirlngly
for the waiter, hut 1t was some min
utes before that worthy returned.
When he did, Jim held the letter up be-
fore the man. ~
"Who gave you this?"
/ "a gentleman, sir"
SIS he still In the roomY p
mo, sir. He handed 1t to me as he
was going out"
| do you know him at all?"
mo, sir; not that know Of"
do you remember what he was
Hke2"
For moment or two the man warily
scratched dark chin.
Cant say that do, sir, though
rather fancy he was foreign gent"
Thanks"
The description was quite sufficient.
Foreign gent" was near enough to
the mark. The waiter would hardly
distinguish his nationality at glance.
Strange" said my uncle as the man
departed with load of empty dishes,
that we, the superior animals, should
be. SO utterly lacking In instinct. We
have evidently been within touch Of
our esteemed Wentworth and yet had
40 suspicion Of 1t. An animal would
have smelt danger; man blunders
into 1t. Yet the one has only instinct,
the other reason. A pretty question.
Davie: Has our intellect blunted our
instinct"
believed It had, but was in no
mood to continue this philosophic vein.
When he took that calm, rational view
Of abstruse problems, he was getting
dangerous.
'The time has come for us to make
u move" he said. 1.-THE police regard
US more or less suspiciously. The MUIR
der of Mr.. Hilbury is thing of the
past. The verdict has gone forth
murder against some person or persons
unknown. 1t is but one more mystery
added to the many. Some even have no
doubt that 1t was q case Of suicide,
their efforts to trace the perpetrator
having signally failed. But we know,
and we must act accordingly. admit
was not without hope that the socie-
ty, having left us SO long in peace, had
at last grown weary Of revenge; but
this nights business has entirely dissi-
pated that hope. Whether they mean
to strike or merely to torture cannot
say, but one thing know-I am weary
to death Of this awful manner of liy-
ing"
what do you propose by way of
remedy?"
he paused, the attitude of the waiter
arresting his attention. He called to
him and sent him for fresh liqueurs. I
opened my eyes. Jim smiled.
II don't know, of course, but one
can't be too careful. The fellow has an
ugly jaw anyway, and he seemed to lis
ten rather attentively."
sighed. 1t was awful, this fear Of
every shadow.
"Yes." he continued, "it's rather un-
pleasant, isn't it? In fact, it's become
unbearable."
at has long been SO to me-"
"And to me, and what is more, 1t all
appears SO hopeless. have no wish to
frighten you, Davie, but how is 1t 60
ing to endT'
feared 1t could only end one way,
and said SO.
''In the triumph Of our enemies? I
believe so too. have long believed it.
Police have failed, we have failed, but
the society never fails. It can be BAT
fed, kept at bay, but 1t has infinite pa
thence and long purse. Itell you can
didly, Davie. I am beginning to fear 1t;
fear 1t, that Is, in q manner that never
appealed to me before. There is evil
IDENTIFY no security for us in England.
We must go abroad" This he said with
look which was half an interroga-
tion.
Willingly" l said, "but will our go
ing abroad aid us7 And where shall
we goT'
put this last question not without
certain inward suspicion, for had not
forgotten his wish, which knew was
not dead though 1t had lain dormant
80 long, Of boarding the lion in his den.
"You know" he replied, II have al
ways rather fancied that your father
was guilty of piece of good sense
when he suggested that we should
seek Kung in his native land, and you
know that wisdom is a thing have
never accused him Of before. To my
thinking the very daring of the object
is almost an inspiration, dangerous as
it undoubtedly will be. II we can on
| ly give Wooching the Slip
Easier said than DONE"
Precisely, but that is no reason
why we should not try. Hitherto our
open manner of living has taxed his
cleyerness in no way. He has known
where to find us without the trouble
of looking. Though you are inclined
not to think SO, can assure you that
human ingenuity Is not infallible."
Truth to tell, the idea appealed to
me strongly. Though to him had not
broached the subject for some time. 1
| had thought none the less Of this going
to China. The awful restlessness and
Irritation caused by the yellow mans
espionage had bred in me feeling
much akin to despair, and it was this
despair which stiffened my back and
added certain recklessness to my
spirit. And, as my uncle had said,
hitherto we had scarcely tried to throw
our enemies of the scent, hoping they
would commit some overt act which
would bring US face to face. But in
that we failed to realize our hopes.
They had wisdom and patience.
He looked at me to see how took
his words and, perceiving an encour-
aging sign, continued:
Believe me. Davie, the time has
come for us to strike out"
We talked should think, for nearly
an hour, during which we assiduously
plodded through our second cigar. Up
on one point we were resolved, we
must leave London, and secretly. But
how? There we stopped in spite of q