The Lake County times., 1907-05-04


to lady. The lieutenant had visited /
the bank for the purpose of changing
several crisp white Bank Of England !
notes into the currency of the country
he was then visiting. The lady did
not appear to notice either his courtesy
or his presence, and this was the more |
remarkable since Drummond was n |
young man sufficiently conspicuous
even in a crowd, and he and she were
at that moment the only customers in
the bank He was tall, well knit and
stalwart, blond as a Scandinavian,
with dark blue eyes which he some
times said Jocularly were the colorS
of his university. He had been slowly
approaching the cashiers window with
the easy movement of a man never in
a hurry, when the girl appeared at the
door and advanced rapidly to the bank
counter with its brass wire screen sur
rounding the arched aperture behind
which stood the cashier. Although
very plainly attired. her gown never
theless possessed a charm Of simple
ity that almost suggested complex
Paris, and she wore it with that air Of
distinction the secret of which is sup
posed to be the exclusive property Of
French and American women.
The young man saw nothing of this,
and, although he appreciated the beau
ty Of the girl, what struck him at that
instant was the expression Of anxiety
on her face, whose apparently tenn
porary pallor was accentuated by an
abundance of dark hair. 1t seemed to
him that she had resolutely set herself
q task which she was most reluctant
to perform. From the moment she en-
tered the door her large dark eyes
were fixed almost appealingly on the
cashier, and they beheld nothing else.
Drummond, mentally slow as he usual
Iy was, came to the quick conclusion
that this was q supreme moment In
her life, on which perhaps great issues
depended. He saw her left hand grasp
the corner OF the ledge In front Of the
cashier with a grip of nervous tension,
as If the support thus attained was
necessary to her. Her right hand trem-
bled slightly as she passed an oblong
slip of paper through the aperture to
the calm and indifferent official.
"Will you give me the money for this
check?" she asked In low voice.
The cashier scrutinized the document
for some time in silence. The sigma
ture appeared unfamiliar to him.
"One moment, madam" he said qui-
city and retired to q desk in the back
part of the bank, where he opened
huge book, turned over some leaves
rapidly and ran his finger down a
page. His dilatory action seemed to
! increase the young woman's panic.
Her pallor increased, and she swayed
slightly. as If In danger Of falling, but
brought her right hand to the assist
ance of the left and so steadied her
self against the ledge of the cashiers
counter.
"By Jove," said the lieutenant to
himself, there's something wrong
here. l wonder what it is. Such a
pretty girl toor
The cashier behind his screen saw
nothing of this play of the emotions.
He returned nonchalantly to his sta
ton and asked in commonplace tones:
How win you have the money,
MADAME
"Gold. If you please" she replied, al
most in a whisper, rosy flush chas-
ing the whiteness from her face, while
a deep sigh marked the passing Of a
crisis.
At this juncture an extraordinary
thing happened. The cashier counted
/
through the aperture toward their new
owner.
'SThank you" said the girl. Then.
without touching the money, she turn
ed like one hypnotized, her unseeing
eyes still taking no heed of the big
lieutenant, and passed rapidly out of
the bank. The cashier paid no regard
to this abandonment Of treasure. He
was writing some hieroglyphies on the
cashed check.
by Jover' gasped the lieutenant
aloud. springing forward as he spoke,
sweeping the coins into his hand and
bolting for the door. This was an ac-
ton which would have awakened the
most negligent cashier had he been in
a trance. Automatically he whisked
out revolver which lay in an open
drawer under his hand.
Stop, you scoundrel, or I firey'' be
shouted. but the lieutenant had al
ready disappeared. Quick as thought
the cashier darted into the passage
and. without waiting to unfasten the
low door which separated the public
and private rooms of the bank, leape6
over 1t and, bareheaded, gave chase
A British naval officer in uniform rap
Idly overtaking a young woman quite
unconscious Of his approach, followed
by an excited, bareheaded man with {
: revolver in his grasp, was a sigh
which would quickly have collected {
crowd almost anywhere but it happen
81 Il, h., fhn Irnr,nh ho,rr "a a.. L.