Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-26
CHAPER I.
r-ha SIGN Of the Three Pyramids

The Sign Of the Three Pyra1nios'
"Rv Jover' thought Frank Ar"s'i'ne'
he stood for a moment on the nor'h siu. -
Regent street, near to the coioi'ie'
good to be in town again! ,o
A great many millions OF peopi1 80
noised irresolutely on that ldeh'ie"i ~
To step off the curbstone lmpiies ;.
firto the vortex of Piccadily Circus. stralght
In front is the line of least resistance. :.
double stream of traffic must be fordeo' l.
- -, but i+s currents are sharply defneo
nv midway rest That is the route loi
.uo,,ors and tinnid women, who have the
hinge pile of the Criterion as an op1ecuVe'
rhara are nolicemen with sentinel arms
,narking the danger points. Ihere are
,., ona inelorious rushes of well-dresseo
hordes; but there is safety.
Ro,dar shirts breast the maelstrom VI
boofs and wheels through which lies INC
naarer diagonal path; they dodge the stano
=, tho Atlas and Old Times 'ouses, run the
sartIet of keen-eyed flower girls, nlt De-
tveen several rows of fast-running vehlcles'
ranging from two-ton railway vans TO car
r,er tricvcles and finally emerge, II not car
ried To Charing Cross Hospital, into the ma
ven of broad pavement in front oht the Well
known theater and restaurant.
Reing a bold spirit Armstrong chose the
direct road With the splendid phlegm OF
the British officer under fire, he did not
hurry. and with the proverbial luck OF that
yenturesome person he suffered no more loss
than the white ash off an excellent cigar.
Then he halted, faced north, spread out
his feet, propped his Malacca cane win
both hands behind him, and took another
inspiring sniff of London.
Eyes" he said, being a sociable creature
who could converse cheerfully with himself
this beats Russian steppe or Indian MADAM
sky high"
He really could talk in much more lofty
strain, having the gift of tongues. But
when a man chats at ease with his own con-
seriousness he may be permitted to indulge
in little expressive slang.
The commissionaire pacing the front OF
the theater cooked an eye at him. This man
saw tens of thousands of people daily; but
he carried four bits of ribbon on the LETT
breast of his trim uniform, and he could
pick out a soldier in multi from the multi
tude, as the farmer can distinguish oats
from barley when the green shoots are an
inch above the ground.
I'm" he communed. noting the squared
shoulders, the straight back, the neat blue
serge suit and brown boots that seemed 10
be nodded to the wearer, "a young officer
home on leave. staff Corps, l reckon; Ben
gal Lancer. by the cut of him.
He was not mistaken And to him, worn
veteran, this outer London of May, with Its
glitter of fashion and busy life, straightway
became dull and colorless. His minds eye
roved along the white. gun-barrel roads OF
an Indian cantonment; he looked at the
los 90 he
Himalayas; he wandered toward the rugged
Khyber until he saw kafila of camels COM
ing down to Peshawar from Ali Musjid.
Blithely unconscious that -he had evoked
day dreams in a commissionaire. Armstrong
gazed his fill at the passing show.
1t was familiar. yet wholly new. to his re-
freshed senses He had reached London
only that morning by mail train from Ber-
lin, wirbalien and Moscow. 1t was fine
day in the height of the season; he had
plenty of money Qor subaltern) in his
pocket; he had q months leave before he
need trouble the =. and o. for ticket, anC
he could enjoy life to the fullest extent com.
patible with a well-balanced mind and q
sober taste. No wonder that town" should
be good to his eyes. and the very scent of II
grateful TO his nostrils!
He waited there for no reason. 1t was II
his mind to lunch at the Junior United Serv
ice Club. He had no plans for the day
Blow plans! He would just drift, and lie
the social eddy carry him whittier it listed
Yet he had grave cause, in after time, Il
remember that happy go-lucky pause by tn,
wayside. Never was man drawn into NOR,
perilous rapid than he who loitered that da,
on the bank of the life-river which fiowet
plecidly before him.
In the first place. string of sandwich
men sauntered slowly, with downcast vision
along the gutter from Coventry street
These woebegones did not veil their eyes be
cause of misery or shame They were look
ing for cigar stumps and the raveled end
of cigarettes. Armstrong became aware O
the fact, forcibly, as 1t were. He took ,
fresh cigar from his case lit It with tn,
glowing remains of its predecessor and mar
rowly escaped having the new one knocke,
from between his teeth when the neares
sandwich man made wild dive for tn
"stub." canting his placarded framework
with careless energy as he bent double.
"Poor fellow!' unused Armstrong. witt
ready laugh, as the standard-bearer strolle,