The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-08
u.-NoRlE's mAeNuM

m ARVEY- CROOK pulled out his
III watch with one hand, and with
IL u the other he pressed the cleo
trio bell. In two minutes he
was comparing his watch with the
tables of railway guide. There would
be train from Waterloo for South
ampton at 8 precisely. and with any
reasonable luck that train would en-
able him to reach the auctioneer's office
before 1t closed at s.. Twenty-Five min
utes was all he had to catch this train,
and he realized that he must hurry.
He sent the waiter for a hansoIn and
selected kitbag from his luggage In
this bag he commonly kept ali he need
ed for his Immediate wants, and now a
glance showed him that it was sufff-
cient. He took out carefully tied roll
rather less than two feet long, and
glanced about him as If doubtful where
to leave it. Finally he put it back in
the bag. 1t was almost the only rarity
the only piece Of stock-he happened
TO have with him. and it had originally
come from China For the moment he
could not think of a suitable place in
which 10 stow it, So since it was
light matter enough. he resolved to
carry it with him. Indeed, since, in a
search after the Tokay, he would
probably have to deal with persons in
terested in rarities this particular ar
ticle might serve as a convenient in
PRODUCTION, and. in any extreme event,
possibly as an object of trade Or bar
ter.
The waiter made lucky choice with
the hanson. and all fear Of losing the
~.
of the trot; though it was plain that
every cab rider at that moment was not
so fortunate. for in Cranborne street
Crook passed another hanson which
had come to grief. The eabman was
unbuckling the traces from his fallen
horse, while his unfortunate fare
was desperately collecting num-
Der of articles which had scat
tered from burst portmanteau-a
portmanteau that had evidently fallen
endwise from the roof. The man look
ed up as Crooks cab passed, and Crook
was nterested--probably little grati-
fed-to perceive that it was Hahn
himself who was thus being DELAYED
at the beginning of the race.
Waterloo was gained with a margin
of four minutes, and all was so far
satfsfactory-for Crook. Not so for
Hahn, however, for as the train left
the pf@tfor1n35 Crook saw him once
again, running his hardest with his
broken poFtmanteau tied round with
string, while a gaflopfng porter ran
At his heels to prevent him risking his
life. The porter, having nothing to
carry, ran the faster. and seized Hahn
by the arms from behind; and Crooks
last view of him comprised a heap,
whereof the broken portmanteau form
ed the base, the jealous porter the
apex, With the baffied Hahn spraWling
between them.
Having thus scored the first trick.
Harvey Crook sat back well content.
Two other men were in the carriage,
both younger than himself, in animated
conversation. For some while Crook
paid no attention to this, but turned
over the evening paper he had brought
with him. Presently, however, he
threw this aside, and then he could no
longer avoid hearing
He had set the young men down as
artists from the beginning, and now it
grew plain that he had been right One
was a sculptor and the other painter,
and much of their talk had reference
TO another painter familiarIy referred
to as Charley Charley, it would
seem, was something of a practical
wag-a character which Crook had
himself met among painters more than
once.
I'm score behind with Charley"
III
even somehow. Did you hear about
the awful row at my little show?"
something about a drunken model
wasn't it? Tell me-
Drunken model? l believe YOU But
it was Charley that worked the thing.
Ha! ha! But it really wasn't so bad
While 1T lasted, though it gave awful
Jumps to some of my respected
patrons. You should have been there"
Always keep out of show days
except my own. Can't help being
there, you know"
No-I Sympathize; the sort of peo-
pie that go round on show SUNDAYS
and such-well, there that's enough
never mind EN- now. l was showing
that thing Of mine for the new park.
open space, or whatever it is-yo,I
know, the alderman in his robes; that
and the bust of the mayor of Dufnble-
dore. Well, all the friends of the
alderman and the mayor turned up. as
expected they would, and they
brought their sisters and their cous-
ins, though I should judge that the
larger part of the female visitors were
aunts-fat ones. I did all 1 could to
make things comfortable-no to saw
splendid. Hired a carpet and two
dozen chairs and got in the necessary
tuck from the pastry cooks And I
thought I'd have Boaler to wait, in an
eighteenth century dress and wig
Know Boaler?"
Know of him; never employed him.
Big model, for muscles and all that.
isn't he?"
That's the fellow-an uncommon
me old chap for anything of that sort.
though he is getting a tri1e old and
drinks lot. He's been posing to me
for the Prehistoric Man I'm on for
the next academy, and mighty well he