The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-10-02

the finishing touch, and it was. but not
after the fashion that might have been
expected. AS though by magic. the
horrible tension relaxed: my nerves
again took command of the situation.
In the center of the room stood a
heavy table of SINE East Indian wood
teak | think, they call it. I could
have sworn that there was nothing
whatever upon this table when | en-
tered the room; now i saw three OBJ
jects lying there. l walked up and ex-
amined them. AS they lay towards me,
the first was $4,000 bill, the second a
loaded revolver, caliber forty four: the
third an envelope Of heavy white paper
directed to me, Winston Thorp
The letter was brief and formal; it
read:
Mr. Indiman presents his compliments to
Mr. Thorp
and requests the honor of his
company at dinner Tuesday, March
49,. The thirtieth. at nine O'Clock.
1000 Madison Avenue"
Dishonor, death and dinner-a Gu
rious trio to choose between. Yet to
manNin my present position each of
them appealed in its own way. and
I'm not ashamed to confess it, Per-
haps the choice I made may seem in
evitable, but what if you had seen
Binghams face as l did. with the arc
light full upon it? 1t was the remem-
b1ance of that which made me hest
tate; twice 1 drew my hand away and
looked at the money and the pistol.
Through the open door came a raw
ishing odor, that of a filet a la Chateu-
BRAND; the purely animal instincts
reasserted themselves and [ picked up
the gardenia blossom that lay beside
the letter and stuck it fnto-t button
hole OF my dinner jacket. | looked
down at the table and it seemed to me
that the $4,000 note and the pistol
had disappeared. But what of that,
what did anything matter now; | was
going to dine-to dine!
| walked up stairs, guided by that
delicious, that heavenly odor, and en-
tered the dining room in the rear
without the smallest hesitation Al
one end of the table sat a man of per-
hapS forty years of age. An agree
able face, for all of the tired droop
about the mouth and the deep lines in
the forehead; it could light up, too,
upon occasion. as I was soon to dis
cover. For the present I did not
bother myself with profitless conjec-
lures; that enhancing flet, displayed
in massive silver cover, stood before
him; l could not take my eyes from it.
My host, for such he evidently was,
rose and bowed with great politeness.
You must pardon me- he said, ''for
sitting down; but as my note said, I
dine at 8. l will have the shellfish
and soup brought on"
Il should prefer to begin with the
filet," l said, decidedly.
A servant brought me a plate: my
hand trembled, but I succeeded in
helping myself without splitting the
precious saucel l ate
There are three conditions of men who
might be expected to accept the kind of
invitation which has brought me the hon
or of your company" remarked my host
as we lit our cigarettes over the Roman
punch. ITO particularize, there is the Gu
rious impertinent, the merely foolish per-
son, and the man in extremis rerum
Now 1 have no liking for the dog faced
breed, as Homer would put it. and neither
do l suffer fools gladly. AT least, one of
the latter is not likely to bother me
again" He smiled grimly, and I thought
of Bingham's face of terror.
II found my desperate man in you, my
dear Mr.. Thorp; shall we drink to our
better acquaintance" / bowed, and we
drank
''The precise nature of your misfortune
does not concern me-" he continued. air
lily. ut is sufficient that we are of the
same mind in our attitude toward the
world-'to shake with Destiny for beers,
is it not?
"One may meet with many things on the
highway of life-poverty, disease, sorrow.
treacheries. These are disagreeable, /
admit but they are positive; one may
overcome or, at least, forget them. But
suppose you stand confronting the mega
tive of existence; the highway is clear,
indeed but how interminable its vista, its
straight smooth and intolerably level
stretch That road is mine
Eyes; have tried the by-paths. Once
I was shanghaied; twice | have been ma