The Holly chieftain., 1902-08-22

once dam this up andsthe molten mass
will barst out sayagely In hale = dozen
places.
Wretched though the results are,
1t seems to be q necessity In the eyes
Of surrounding nations.
At any rate not step is taken to-
ward crushing the hydra-headed mon
ster.
Perhaps Jones Was fated to be the
man who would deal the dragon to his
death blow-Jones, who carried upon
his person the remarkable system
whereby. persistent player must al
ways win three times out Of four. and
that will break amy bank.
Down upon the silvery strand, en-
1oying cigar and admiring the pic
turesque scene, our two friends stroll
ed in the evening
Jones talked OF the count and his
ally.
Would viflebois now give up his
mad desire to secure possession OF the
packet which. promised untold riches
to Its owner. s.s
Did his well-known record as 4 trav-
eler give any reason to believe that he
ever gave UP any object upon which
his heart was really set?
Jones' reached this conclusion. but
gave no indication OF alarm-he had
taken his stand upon this affair and
was ready to hold up his end OF the
game, NO matter what prevailed
against him.
The beauty Of the night and their
desire for exercise after being cooped
up in the cars 80 long time induced
the two friends to saunter quite dis
tance
A band was playing back in the re-
gion from whence they had come, and
the music reached their ears, mellow
ed by distance.
Away from the crowd of fashion
ables. who promenaded under the cleo
trio lights. where the palm trees threw
their mystic shade upon the white
strand--away from the noise and con-
fusion attendant upon a watering
place, they could smoke and chat in
comfort, as men OF their stamp delight
to do.
Az to the possibility of danger lurk-
ing near, the thought had not occurred
to them-bravs men are sometimes
reckless; at least, they do not always
keep ON the lookout for hidden peril. X
Even Jones, cautious by nature,
could not suspect that the count would
have set wires in motion 80 soon after
his arrival. .a.. .5....e,
Perhaps, after all, he had not yet
fully sized up the, man from Africa,
whose very first act upon reaching
Nice had been an aggressive one.
Come men would rather cater to the
influences Of revenge and cupio.ty
than enjoy q dinner.
Count Leon was the chief among
them.
More than once Merrick. who was
something Of sailor and loved tho
sea, turned squarely toward the wa
ter and endeavored to catch the salty
aroma that came stealing in on the
Mediterrnean. 5ss,
Lights of vessels riding at anchor
could be seen, but the darkness COM
cealed their outlines-
No doubt some Of them were steam
yachts belonging to the nabobs VINO
congregated along this favored coast
while the Frost King held most of Eu-
rope in his arctic clutches.
"Oh. my dear boy" said Jones.
heartily, "just have patience for few
days, and think can promise you .
yacht In which We may steam all
around the world. That would be .
small thing to man who breaks the
bank It Monte Carlo. Yes. you shall
flnd yourself ON board one Of those
fool's paradise boats out yonder before
. week has passed. :.
These good-hearted fellows did NOT
dream that his prediction would more
than coma true, simply because he
could not. possibly Mt ~ vsil and pry
into the future.
Yet there was a Axperience hover
ing over Merrick thAt would add still
another chapter to his already check
cred career.
They had 1pst turned TO head back
to the glow Of electric lisAts. where
the crowd was most in svtdencs, whsn
number Of men came jostlins along
arm In arm, singing as only Jack tars
can when on shore leave, and appar-
emily pretty much the worse for liquor.
It was surely the, intention Of our
two comrades to sheer Oh and give
them all the room they nesded. but .
sudden staggering larch sent the roll