Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-03-22
CONTINUED

Clno.
The captain cast a curious glance at
him. We'll. YOU seem TO know" he
said slowly. But l tell You frankly
that greed can carry too far and that
a jaw too widely open will sometimes
lose q bite; it takes too long to shut it.
If l had managed this business But
here. apparently ~recollecting himself,
be broke off and turned away with q
little frown. But presently he resum-
ed, wearing his accustomed good hu-
mored expression. There was never
any good came of q Greek. I've known
them upward Of twenty years, and l
never knew one that was fit for any
thing save to iab you in the back when
you We're not looking"
Il should say" remarked Sheppard
mildly. that you had a Very suitable
gang for your purpose"
Sercombe laughed. oh. l don't fan
cy the knife myself, though some peo-
pie do"
Sheppard turned deathly pale. but he
smiled politely and answered. There
is no knowing what scruples Il man
will develop"
This turn Of the conversation sud
denly woke me to a sense of my errand,
and l quickly communicated my news
to Sercombe.
II thought we should come to this
he said c%heerfully, land I would have
laid odds I should have had you here
on this mission. I knew you would
drop that mealy mouthed righteous
ness of yours. What l disliked in you,
Mr.. GreatoreX. from the outset, if l
may say so without o%ffense, was
your blamed British pharisaism. You
couldn't look at a job squarely. It's
not your fault, but that Of your train
ing. I had the same defect once my
self, but a campaign in the Ionian isles
knocked the pretenses out of me.
That's how l m to know these
%scoundrels so well. Well, I'm glad we
meet evenly at last. You can see for
yourself there's not a Denn'orth to
choose between us. ave that you've
had first blood" and with that he look
ed at Sheppard.
This time Sheppard held his color
under control, but he looked away. and
1 perceived, in spite of his severe re-
straint, a twitching Of the nostrils.
Come, come" said I, I'VE must take
what steps we may in self defense
against c%utthroats, captain
Tn with you there said Sercombe
cheeril.y, land the steps l usually take
consist of a barker. I shoot out of nv
coat tails as often as not. Ny plan is
to fire when l see a squint."
Il e you rebuke me-" 1 replied.
with a bow, "but 1 swear that 1 would
have fired if it had been any other
place but London. 1 am so well known
there"
Sercombe burst out laughing. 81
once thought" he said, that Mr.. Shep-
pard was more my sort, but now |
believe l pin my note on your
You honor me-" l returned, but
come to business"
The captain pluckcd his long red
mustache meditatively. I'm sorry /
can't discuss this with you now, gen
tlemen.' he said. After all, it's your
affair, though l admit l have a certain
interest in it. but if l may come up and
see You about 3 o'clock we can 20 into
details. | fancy it's a concerted plan
we want"
"Ilat's so" | returned, feeling ter
r1bly mean and small to be c~onspirinc
SO against the laws of my country with
an admitted scoundrel.
VERY well; let us say 81 said the
captain and stuck out his hand as
though to dismiss us.
For myself, being in the frame Of
mind have described, 1 contrived to
overlook his arm, but Sheppard, all
smiles, sprang forward and shook him
heartily. "By the way" he said bright
ly, land where is my friend Hood?'
Hood echoed Sercombe and looked
at us 4ueerly. ooh, Mr.. Hood is in
venting a new maneuver. He is a bet
ter soldier than l am, is Mr.. Hood, nat
urally.' suppose he saw that we ex-
changed Chances. my dear sirs," he
said, Il only tell you what you might
suppose for yourselves. Mr.. Hood is
trying his hand at generalship, but l
dont reveal his plan Of campaign. Per-
N4Po - SOCoS II. Ld1u uC UuTSI OQI
laughing rather unpleasantly.
1t was obvious to both Of US that
there was d bitterness in Sercombe's
words. Fallen though he was from a
respectable estate and sunk as he had
become III a career Of dissipation and
unscrupulous adventure, he still re-
tanned a certain feeling of his own dig
nifty. How FAR the difference between
Hood and himself had gone I could
not know, but if it went much further
1t seemed as though we might take
some advantage out Of it. But of the
two it was Hood-Hood, with his lean
black f%ace-that feared,
Serco,nbe kept his appointment with
commendable pu%nctuality, entering our
council chamber, IL l may so describe
the smaller Of the halls In which we
usually sat. with the jauntiness of his
morning encounter. Lunch was but
~~--I- MA