Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1906-03-22

parsng a sudden assault upon me put
that knew he carried no weapon and
was of stronger and bigger build than
he. But apparently nothing of the
sort was in his mind. It was merely
the Difference due to my position which
he proclaimed in that attention. That
mask of the trained servant concealed
his individuality now as ever. Never
once had seen the veil lifted and the
real man exposed and naked to the
light Of day.
Hood" said I, almost with a sigh Of
despair at his imperturbable calm, edo
you want to stay here indefinitely?s
Certainly not, sir; by your leave
sir" he answered promptly.
sThen upon what terms shall offer
YOU reIeaseY His eyes dropped, and
there was silence. Remember" said
/ i. ssthat no one outside ourselves is
aware of your existence here. You
may be hidden here till the day Of
Judgment and none be the wiser, and
even then your bones will scarcely see
the light Of day. What do you pro
poser"
Hood shifted his gaze to my face.
Anything that's convenient to you,
sir. I'd rather leave 1t to you, sir"
/ experienced strange impulse to
cry out with some emotion, but wheth-
er this was establishment, anger or a
mere sense of the ridiculous, or wheth-
er it was combination of all three,
could not have said. rose from my
seat, controlling my voice with diff
Guilty.
every well, Hood" / said. 1T shall
be left to me, as you suggest. And
with that / stalked out Of the dungeon
and locked the door.
1t was impossible to transact bust
ness with such man. felt the need
of reciprocity, whereas dealing with
Hood reminded me Of nothing SO much
as of digging at piece of rubber that
viii fly gently back when the pressure
is removed. And so it must be with
Sercombe that should arrange the de-
tails of compromise, or at least the
terms of truce if not of permanent
peace.
Sercombe was absent from the inn,
but learned that he was in Raymond,
and, taking our horses, Montgomery
and rode across to the little town in
the early hours of the afternoon. We
ran upon the captain himself in High
street and as we were making for the
Swan to put up our nags. He welcom-
ed us cheerily and, hopping his red
forehead for the day was very sultry),
invited US to drink with him.
"Just stepping across to the Swan"
said he. "Come along and put up your
toes. Ecuador was nothing to this"
1 accepted with nod, and presently
we were seated in the commercial
room by the window that looked out
upon the courtyard. slipping a cooling
draft.
81 prefer" says the captain hospita-
bly,, ssto drink in company rather than
alone. And that's the distinction be
tween drinker and a drunkard, Mas
ter Montgomery. Take it from me-"
With which he threw back his head
and took long pull at his glass. 4
have not felt so warm since | was in
Abyssinia,' he remarked.
"Ah,' said l, you are right, captain.
Hot is the word. I'm sure from my
heart envy Hood"
Sercombe pricked up his ears, re-
garding me inquisitiyely.
eyes, l went on, leaning back in
my chair; 'cool, damp floors, cold stone
walls and neither the sun nor the moon
to smite him-that's my notion Of COM
fort this weather.
Sercombe paused in the act of drink
ing and put down his glass. what
is this conundrum, Mr.. Greatorex?" he
asked in a puzzled way.
''Tis no conundrum," replied airi-
II. by the way. where did you say
your friend Hood wasY
He looked at me under his red eye
brows. ssMr. Hood" he said, lis on
business Of his own. He is gentle
man at large, but he has affairs
mo doubt, no doubt" remarked
amiably. This is an excellent cool
ing drink, captain"
Sercombe puffed at his cigar, con-
tinuing to study our faces. Upon Mont
gomery's, / dare say, he perceived a
smile of triumph, for he suddenly put
down bis cigar and folded bis hands
on his head.
II fancy we've got to come to an
understanding, Mr.. Greatorex,' he said
slowly. sI'm slow Of wit, no doubt,
but / begin to see daylight. But !
will call on you to observe that ] am
not responsible for Mr.. Hoods move
ments.,
Il have never imagined So" an
swered. "On the contrary"
A frown, rather than scowl, cross
ed his face. "Has it ever fallen to
you, Mr.. Greatorex, to be tied in a
leash; to be- But / reckon as bar
rister you are not particular about
your cases. You have messed up with
many a dirty attorney
'You felicitate me too much" said