The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-28

l- HAT night he told me the
IT. story of his earliest
crime. Not since the
fateful morning of the
- Ides of March, when he
had just mentioned it as
an unreported incident
of certain cricket tour,
had l succeeded in get
ting d word out of Ranles on the sub
Ject 1t WIS not for want of trying;
he would shake his head and watch
his cigarette smoke thoughtfnlly,
subtle look in his eyes. half cynical
half wistful, as though the decent,
honest days that We're no more had
had their merits after all Raffles
would plan a fresh enormity or glory
IN the last with the unmitigated en-
thusiasm of the artist. 1t was i'm
possible t. imagine one throb or twit-
ter of compunction beneath those
frankly egotistic and infectious trans
ports. And yet the ghost of a dead
remorse seemed still To visit him with
the memory of his first felony. so that
I had given the story mp long before
the night of our return from Miches-
ter Cricket. however, was in the air,
and RaGles's cricket-bag back where
he sometimes kept 1t, in the fender,
with the remains of an Orient label
still adhering to the leather. Ny eyes
had been ON this label for some time
and l suppose his eyes had been on
mine, for all at once he asked me II
I still burned to hear that yarn.
It's no use" | replied. You won't
spin it | must imagine it for my
self"
How can you?"
"Oh. l begin TO know your meth
DDS
"You take it l went in with my
eyes open. as do now, eh?'
Il cant imagine You doing other
wise.
my dear Bunny II was the most
unprecedented thing 1 ever did in my
life
His chair wheeled back into the
books as he sprang up with sudden
energy There was quite an indig
nant glitter in his eyes.
81 can't believe that" said l craft
lily Il cant pay You such poor
compliment.
"Then You must be a fool
He broke off stared hard at me, and
In a trice stood smiling in his own
despite
"Or a better knave than | thought
you Bunny, and by Jove it's the
knave. Well suppose I'm fairly
drawn; | give you best, as they say
out there. As "A matter of fact I've
been thinking of the thing myself;
last nights racket reminds me Of it
In one or two respects. | tell you
what, though, this is an occasion in
any case. and I'm going to celebrate
1t by breaking the one good rule of
my life. I'm going to have second
drink
The whiskey tinkled, the syphon
fixed, the ice plopped home; and
seated there in his pajamas, with the
inevitable cigarette Raffles told me
the story that | had given up hoping
to hear The windows were wide
open; the sounds of Piccadilly loated
In at first Long before he finished
the last wheels had ratified, the last
brawler was removed, we alone broke
the quiet of the summer night.
- No, they do you very well,
indeed. You pay for nothing but
drinks, so To speak, but I'm afraid
mine We're of comprehensive char
acter. | had started in hole. |
ought really to have refused the invl-
tation; then we all went to the Mel
bourne Cup, and | had the certain
winner that didn't win. and that's not
the only way you can play the fool
IN Melbourne. / wasn't the steady
old stager | am now, Bunny: my an
alysis was a confession IN itself But
the others didn't know how hard up |
was and | swore they shouldn't. /
tried the Jews, but they're extra fly
our there Then | thought Of lIlns-
man Of sorts. second cousin of my
fathers whom none of us knew any
thing about except that he was sup
posed to be In one or other of the
Colonies. Il he was rich man, well
and good, ! would work him; If not,
there would he no harm done. tried
to get on his tracks, and as luck
would have 1t, | succeeded Tor
thought | had) at the very moment
when | happened to have a few days
TO myself. | was cut over on the
hand just before tho big Christmas
match, and couldn't have bowled a
ball If they had played me.
1.-THE surgeon who fiXed me up hap
pened to ask me if | was any rcla-
ton to Raffles of the National Bank
and the pure luck of it almost took
my breath away. A relation who was
a high official in one of the banks