Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-28
Chapter III-Continued.

was no longer travelling, now tndt MS tlfne
was no longer Uncle SANS? He had never
till now known idleness, and the thought
OF II did not run smoothly with the
gram. He was essentially a man of ac-
tioh. 1here might be some good sport for a
soidier IN venezuela, but that was far away
and uncertain. 1t was quite possible Jack,
his brother. might find him a post as mill
tary attache, perhaps in France, perhaps In
Belgium, perhaps in Vienna. That was the
goal of more than one subaltern. The Eng
fish novelist is to be blamed for this ambi-
ton. But Warburton could speak French
with certain f1uency, and his German was
good enough to swear by; so it will be seen
that he had some ground upon which to
build this ambition.
Heigho! The old homestead was gone; his
sister dWelt under the elder brothers roof;
the prodigal was alone.
But there's always a fatted calf waiting
in Washington" he laughed aloud. Once
a soldier, always a soldier I suppose I'll
be begging the colonel to have chat with
the President. There doesn't seem to be
any way of getting out of it. I'll have to
don the old logs again. I ought to write
letter to Nancy, but it will be finer to drop
IN On EN- unexpectedly. Bless her heart!
$50 say ID And Jacks, too, and his little
wife's! And 1 haven't written line in
eight weeks. But I'll make 1t all up in ten
minutes. And If I haven't a roof tree at
least I've got the ready cash and can buy
one any day." All of which proves that
Mr.. Robert possessed buoyant spirit, and
refused to be downcast for more than one
minute at a time.
He threw away his cigar and re-entered
the hotel, and threaded his way through
the appalling labyrinths Of corridors till he
found some one to guide him to the barber
shop, where he could have his hair cut and
his beard trimmed In the good old American
way, money no object. For plan had at
1,r% To, h V,,. Il oct,'f ut oil a
He determined to dine at the Holland
House at $50. 1t was quite possible that
he would see Her.
My only wish is that, when put on even
ing clothes Qn my humble opinion, the
homeliest and most uncomfortable garb
that man ever inventedD l might look one
quarter as handsome and elegant as Mr.
Robert looked, as he came downstairs at
the women glanced in his direction, and
then whispered and whispered, and nod
ded and nodded. Ordinarily he would
have observed these signs of feml-
nine approval, for there was warm
blood in his veins, and 1t is proverblal
that the army man is gallant. But tonight
Diana and her white huntresses might have
passed him by and not aroused even
flicker of interest or surprise On his race.
There was only one pair of eyes, one face,
and to see these he would have gladly
gone to the ends of the earth, travel-weary
though he was
He smoked feverishly. and was somewhat
troubled to find that he hadn't quite got
his land legs, as they say. The floor swayed
at intervals, and the throbbing of the en-
gines came back. He left the hotel, haHed
a cab, and was driven down Fifth avenue.
He stopped before the fortress of prlvi-
leges From the cab it looked very for
midable. Worldly as he was, he was some
what innocent. He did not know that New
York hotels are formidable only when your
money gives out. To get past all these
I,rac -h,,ft In
though he really had business within took
no small quantity Of nerve. However, he
slipped by the outpost without any chal-
lenge and boldly approached the desk. A
quick glance at the register told him that
they had indeed put up at this hotel He
could not explain why he felt so happy
over his discovery. There are certain exul-
tations which are inexpicable. AS he
turned away from the desk he bumped into
a gentleman almost as elegantly attired as
himself.
II beg your pardon"' he cried, stepping
aside.
what? Mr.. warrburton?'
Mr. Robert, greatly surprised and con-
fused found himself shaking hands with
his ship acquaintance, the Russian.
Il am very glad to see you again, count, '
said Warburton, recovering.
"A great peasurei 1t is wonderful how
small city is. l had never expect to see
you again. Are you stopping here! mad
intended to try to reproduce the Russian s
and we haven't reached the period of &C
tivity.
mo, I am at the Waldorf
"Eh? 1 have heard all about you mil
lionaires.'
ooh, we are not all of us millionaires
who stop there laughed Warburton.
There are some of US who try to make
others believe that We are Then, drop
ping into passable French, he added: Il
came here tonight with the purpose of din
ing. VIII you do me the honor of sharing
my tablet"
you speak French?'-delighted. 1T is
wonderful. This English has so many words
mean so many things, that of all langsla ges
I speak it with the least fiuency. But it is
my deep regret, monsieur, to refuse your
kind invitation. am dining with friends.
We'll, then, breakfast tomorrow at H.
Warburton urged, for he had taken fancy
to this affable Russian.
ALAS! See how I am placed. I am
forced to leave for Washington early in
the morning. We poor diplomats, we earn
our honors. But my business is purely
personal in this case, neither political nor
diplomatic" The count drew his gloves
thoughtfully through his fingers 1 shall
of course pay my respects to my ambas-
sador Do I recollect your saying that
you belonged to the United States army?
L recently resigned. My post was in
wild country, with little or nothing to do;
monotony and routine
You limp slightly"
"a trihing mishap,
Eth, you do wrong. You may soon De dl
war with England, and having resigned
YOUR commission, you would lose all you
had waited these years for
Warburton smiled. I'VE shall not go 10
war with England.
s"rhis army of yours is small
well yes. but made of pretty good ma
terial-fghting machines with brains
Hal" The count laughed softly. Ban:
how T detest all these cars and ships! viii
YOU believe me, had rather my little cha
teau, my vineyard, and my wheat fieids.
than all the orders. .Eh. We'll my
Country: there must be some magic in that
nbrase OF all loves, that of country is
the most lasting. Is that Balzac? do not
recall. Only once in a century do we find
n man who is willing to betray his coun-
try. and even then he may have Tor ms
nurpose neither hate, revenge, nor love OF
bower" peculiar gravity sat on ms
mobile face, caused perhaps, by some dIs-
agreeable inward thought.
How long shall you be in Washington
asked Warburton.
The count shrugged. who can say?
II 60 to Washington myself within a Few
days.
The count lifted his hat, a cour-
tesy which was gracefully ac-
xnowledged by the American, while
the clerks at the desk eyed with tolerant
amusement these polite but rather unfa-
rriljar ceremonies of departure. These Tor
ejeners were odd buffers.
IA very decent chap unused Warburton,
.tord q niphty shreWd hand at pOker-fOr