The Washington times., 1908-12-31
CHAPTER XIII.
THE LITTLE MAN ACROSS TIL
STREET.

THE LITTLE MAN ACROSS THE
STREET.
Tor six months Ben Davis" lin
- gered on al Cape Town, aprar-
emily absorbed In his own our
suits. anC associatirg chiefly
1 With certain mysterious individuals
who. although seemingly engaged in
blameiess lines Of trade. often had the
significant initials. Il. y. b" after theiI
names upon the secret records Of the
police
Thee illicit Diamond Buyers. %
shrewG. wary customers as ever lived
made many Efforts to discover where
their new client secured such large and
beautiful stones. but neither they nor
/ the officers, who also closely watched
him could ever rathom his secret.
As he dug them from time to time
out Of the solos Of his shoes. and the
other recesses an his garments where
he had them hidden. he could afford
70 laugh at the espionage exercised over
him.
OF course. ha got much less than the
value OF his gems. disposlug OF them
. IN this way, but ne had such quantity
that this really made small difference
and the wiId-goose chases he led tno
buyers and officers impaired an inter
est 20 his solitary Ufe
Even so, however, he found II a dun
and unsatisfactory existence enough.
with long hours In which he could oniv
SIT IN his lonely quarters and brood
The funds he kept renting 10 yari-
Gus New York banks we're steadily
TliinE up- the reports he received from
DIS agents there were barring IN hin,
every detail OF Starr Speucer.s rraDr-
aclous- bat none OF il brought hin, tho
slightest thrill Of triumph.
lie was a sOured and enb;trered ma,
sunny Jim" Harrison was RAPIDLY, he
coming misanthrope
True, he cIUnE determI0ed1v IN rfs
purpose TO amass riches. and IN o-ssr
MS name OF stain. but il WAS now crfar-
is with the unworthy motive Of demon
stTating to Helene what a prize she la5
cast away SO far as ne was Dersonarr,,
concerned IN the matter. he no longer
particularly cared.
r. or the same reason he held hin7sarF
alOof from drink and gambling N vrr,oL
another man ia his situation might r,,-o
been tempted There should be no Hayt
ne vowed. in the armOr OF reproacb ra
should wear 10 her eyes in the daz NJ
his rehabilitation.
He told himself he wanted 10 bur,bra
her TO make her feel the same hfttar-
ness ne had endured at her abandon
ment Of him. Vet sometimes. even .vyhiI,
ne was cheTishiIL these retalIatov,.
aims and nursing His smarting wounds
there would come to him Z. -acouec+ior
OF the glory Of her hair a. ( had rim
pied unbound In the sunlight that 5sy-
at the mouth OF the cave. = memory. ~
her brown eyes raised So trustrrlIIZ- -
his in the forest-hyur when they had
pliEhted their trOth. and a great vearn-
ing would arise, feeling that he womb
almost be willing TO die If only he
could clasp her I'm his arms lust once
more, once more thrill To- the sweetness
Of her kisses.
Captain Kirby had told Harrison 70
remain in South Africa q year. At the
end OF six months he told himself thar
ne could not stand another dav of Il
and FeedIess Of consequences. he start
ed for New York
He himself would have been the first
one TO scon at such a suggestion. vet if
is questionable II this sudden and i'm
petuous decision was not reached as
the result Of the information which
came 10 him IN roundabout fashion
that Helene was once more back in
America.
At any rate, the two circumstances
were remarkably cOincidental in point
Of time One day, he read the intelu-
gence In an obscure corner OF an Amer
lean newspaper; the next he was out
ward bound, with Table mountain fad
frg Trrn Z Trg
Nor. after all. did his advent into his
native land prove to be fraught with
any especial danger.
The heavy beard. The changes
wrought by time and such a wealth
Of experiences had effected so marked
an alteration in his appearance that
even the most Iynx-eyed sIeuth could
easily be excused for failing TO recog-
nize Jim Harrison Of swindlng fame
In the quiet. unO btrUsive Mr. BENJAMIN
Davis" who lived in a secluded wav at
one of the uptown notels. seldom going
out except to pay an occasional visit 10
the offices Of the InvinclbIe Trust
Almost a hermit. I'm fact. was this
Mr.. Davis" yet the hotel people could
have told you that he did often take
long walks at night by himself, and.
II anybody had had the curiosity TO fol-
low him they would have found that
more often than not these solitary ex-
cursions extended up into the Morning
side Heights section.
Throughg l22d street he would night
ly pace until he had reached Grants
vomb, and then standing a moment on
the plaza TO look out over the lordIv
sweep of the Hudson, would turn and
retrace his steps along the same route
II might have been noticed, too. that
he strolled generally with his
head sunk musingIy upon his breast
he always raised mis- eyes as he passed
Broadway, and directed his glance nm
waveringly toward a certain fiat-house|
near tine middle of the block.
Sometimes he would catch a Elimpse
OF slender, studious figure seated at