The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-31
Was It to Rob Him
OF Money or a Kiss?

folIrtpell-Wliie standing IN 4 fdllfOdu |
station, a woman | had never seen be
fore surprised III" by approaching me.
putting her arms about me and giving |
| me a kiss. Then she went away, look |
| ing back at me admiringly ana smiling |
| as though we'll satisfied both with her
| self and me confess her reason Tor |
| what she did WAS L mystery 10 me- |
and it has been something OF Il nys- |
| terry ever since The incident mas noun !
| ing to do with this story unless it may |
serve for material on which to base an /
| opinion In Il similar case.
| Fletcher LIE Roy had been graduated
from college and was making Il tour
abroad. one day he was travelling
through Switzerland in one of those
| railway coaches they have abroad
which are nothing more or less thah Il
string of stagecoaches moderniZed ana
| built together. lie Roy was Il hand
| some fellow, with reddish curly HAIR.
blue eyes and exquisitely curved lips,
| which he did not cover by mustache
In other words he was tempting to n
! woman, though to do him Justice lie
| was perfectly unconscious of his man
w beauty and nothing disturbed INN
more than to have it remarked upon
In his hearing.
| In the compartment with him W"r" II
man. a girl of fourteen to sixteen ana
| q Young woman The man and tn" girl
| sat on the same side with lie Roy. the
Young woman opposite 1t sudden!
| Inf he mi
have funds to last him TIL he should
again reach point where he could get
more, After CHANGING at his fellow
passengers to satisfy himself that he
might safely examine his funds before
them he took ont his pockctb"ok ana
counted a number of new crisp notes
he had drawn in Paris. He had de-
tcrmined the amount and put the DIS
back into his portemonnaie and the
nortemonnaie into the left breast peck
Of of his coat when the train dashed
into tunnel under the Alps.
Not more than twenty seconds had
ELAPSED after this entry when LIE Roy
felt hand on his right and Immediate
Iv another on his left breast. Some
bnc who could not see him was feeling
to find out where he was. He grasped
| both hands They were soft and small,
like n Womans In another moment
he felt Il face against his cheek ana
nair of lips We're pressed to his mouth.
There was no beard on the face. FOR
. pcrhaps ten Seconds those lips were
glued to his. then they were with
: drawn. and their owner made vigor-
Gus attempt to get away. Both hands
were held In lie Roy's grip. In VAIN
the woman-if she wcr" Wonan-
struggled. only to he held the tighter.
For . fine g .uv never doubted that
: what he had experienced was IN at
l tempt to rob him But the ksS-what
did 1t mean: Was the person he held
the young woman VIII" sat opposite or
! the girl beside him: She might he
u either. The man hryond the girl might
v have educated her (" such methods.
she being an accomplicr. He was more
inclined To suspect this couple than
= tho Young woman opposite, FOR while
countin. his bills he had glanced re
+ peatedly ut the latter. aud she had
y never once taken her eyes off Il book
:, she was reading. Lastly. 1t occurred
;, to him that for some reason he could
. not understand she might have deSiref
to kiss him.
These thoughts flashed one after thu
other in his mind while the train Was
. speeding through the tunnel. lie Ro!
, held the two hands in his despite fran
- tic efforts to get them away till thi:
| ~
!, suddenly he released his grasp.
- In ten or fifteen seconds more tn
=, train shot out of the tunnel. lie Ro!
at once examined the faces of his fel
~ low passengers The man was lookin.
- | out of the window, With his back turn
!, ed so that his features were not visi
BILE. The girl looked Il triflc clustered
7 though not so much so but that lie Ro.
i. thought he might have attributed he
70 appearance to his own imagination
The young woman opposite sat Wit
, her book on her lap and raised it til
moment the train ran out into tn
s- light. She seemed to be breathin
quickly, but lie Roy was not sure bu
nj this, too. was an appearance create
H. by his Imagination. He turned hi
,,t gaze from one to the other in unccl
pv tainty The train rolled on; the ma
in continued to look out of the window
.t the girl leaned her head back In
,is cushioned corner and closed her eyes
or the young woman opposite turned pas
"a after page. lie Roy was so intereste
Dir in watching and studying them til;
~ for q time he forgot to feel for h
be pOcketbook When he did he fOun
ed that 1t was safe, and glance assure
,-. him that the bills were inside.
On In perhaps ten minutes after the il
ey cident the train entered the outskir
cd Of town. The young woman opposi
re glanced out of the window, shut up h.
ire book, put it in satchel and prepare
to leave the car. AS she passed lie RI
.s to alight she accidentally graZed h
knee and she said i'm a soft VOic