The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-02
Copyright. 1904.
BY
Harper & Brothers


. rconed and by my own men. That last
amused me-a little. 1 was the second
man to arrive at Bordeaux in the Paris
Madrid race of 1908; during the Spanish
American war l acted as a spy for;th
. United States government in Barcelona
Il made the common mistake of con-
founding the unusual with the interesting
Romance is a shy bird, and not to be-
hunted with a brass band. Where is the
heart of life. if not at ones elbow? At
. the farthest one has only to turn the
corner of the street. 1t is useless to look
for prodigies in the abyss, but every
stream has its straws that float; + have
determined to watch and follow them
Il want companion, and SOL adver-
tised after my own fashion. selected
you, tentatively. from the mob; later on
| made the test more complete. But you
have no boutonniere; allow me-"
He took spray of orchid from the sill
yer bowl in the center of the table and
handed it to me.
/ protested: Il have my gardenia-' L
looked at my buttonhole and was
gone.
MI Indiman smiled. Let me confess"
he said. You recall the abnormal ten
sion of your nerves as you sat waiting in
my reception room. Merely the effect pro-
duced by Q mixture of certain chemical
gases turned on from a tap under my
Hdiiu Illcll Tie CRASH Oh Il DTdZen SOHSs
it is what the scientists call massive
stimulation, resolving super excitation
into partial hypnosis.
'Once had you in the hypnotic condi
ton, the rest was simple enough. | had
only to suggest to your mind the three
objects on the table. and you saw them.
The bank note, the revolver-they were as
immaterial the gardenia that no longer
adorns your buttonhole.
Il did not attempt to influence your
choice among the three as that would
have destroyed the value of the test to
me. But, as L had hoped, you accepted
my invitation to dinner. Frankly, now,
l am curious why?"
THAT is very simple" answered 81
had not eaten anything for two days, and
I detected the odor of that exquisite filet.
Not the slightest ethical significance in
the choice. as you see
Esper Indiman laughed. 81 should have
kept my pantry door closed. But it does
not matter; 1 am satisfied, Shall we go
into the library for Coffee"
Directly opposite the door of the latter
apartment stood an easel holding an I'M
framed canvas. remarkable portrait
little as l know about pictures 1 could see
that clearly enough. A three quarter
length of a woman wearing dueal coro-
t.and dressed in a magnificent costume
of red velvet.
host, carelessly. You may have seen it
in the Hermitage at Petersburg"
l looked at the picture again. Why
should this masterpiece not have been
properly mounted and glazed? The edges
of the canvas Were jagged and uneven, as
though it had been cut from its frame
with not oversharp knife We sat down
to our coffee and liqueurs.
AS l awake in the narrow quarters
of. my hall bedroom l am inclined
to believe that the occurrences of the
preceding night were only the phantasms
of disordered digestion; where had
eaten that Welsh rabbit? The morning
paper had been thrown over the transom.
and, following my usual custom, reached
for it and began reading. Among the
foreign dispatches l note this paragraph
dated st. Petersburg:
The famous portrait of the Duchess
of Lacksl1ire, by Sir Peter Lely, better
known as the RED Duchess" has disap-
peared from the gallery of the Hermitage
1t is now admitted that it must have been
stolen, cut bodily from it's frame and
carried away. The theft took placeesev-
eral months, ago, but the secret has just
become public property The absence of
the picture from its accustomed place
had, OF course. been noted, but it was
understood that it had been removed for
cleaning. An enormous reward is to be
offered for information leading to its re-
covery.
There is also a letter for me which 1
had not noticed until now. II was from
Indiman, and it read:
Dear Thorp: Dine with me tonight at
z half after eight. 1 noticed that you were
rather taken with my Red Duchess" We
will ask the lady to preside over our mod
est repast, and you can then gaze your
fill upon her. Faithfully, E. l.
OF course, I intend to accept the invi-
tation.
(To be continued)