Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-01-30
The Fighting
Chance. 3 esis i ::
Copyright y Curtis Publishing Company
Copyright Robert W. Chambers
Copyright 1905, by tho Curtis Publishing Company.
Copyright, 1906 by Robert w. Chambers.
courts and swimming pool.
80. BY -.
ROBERT w.
CHAMBERS.

w
The big, slipping, glistening ball was
flying about through storms OF spray.
Marion caught 1t, but her brother Cor
don got it away. Then Ferrall secur-
ed it and dived toward the red goal.
but Rena Bonnesdel caught him under
water; the ball bobbed up, and Sylvia
flung both arms around it with lit
tie warning shout and hurled 1t back
at Siward, who shot forward like an
arrow. his opponents gathering about
him in full cry amid laughter and eX-
cited applause from the gallery. where
Grace Ferrail and Captain Voucher
were wildly offering odds on the blue
and Alderdene and Major Belwether
were thriftily booking them.
Mortimer climbed the slippery mar
BILE stairway as fast as his lack of
breath permitted, anxious for his
share Of the harvest If the odds were
right. He managed to make several
apparently desirable wagers with
Kathryn Tassel and one with Beverly
Plank, who was also obstinately back
ing the blues, the losing side. Sylvia
played forward for the blues.
Suddenly through the confused blur
of foam and spray the big, glistening
ball shot aloft and remained
Blue! Bluew exclaimed Grace Fer
rail, clapping her hands, and little
whirlwind of cries and hand clapping
echoed from the gallery as the breath
less swimmers came climbing out of
the pool with scarcely wind enough
left for word or strength for ges
tire toward the laughing crowd above.
Mortimer, disguised, turned away.
already casting about him for some
body to play cards with, 1t being his
temperament and his temper to throw
good money after bad. But Quarter
and Miss Caithness had already re-
turned to the squash courts, the ma
iority of the swimmers to their sever
al dressing rooms and Grace Ferrall's
party, equipped for motoring, to the
lawn, where they lost little time In
disappearing into the golden haze
which sudden shift Of wind had
spun out of the cloudless afternoons
sunshine.
However he got Marion and also, as
usual, the two men who had made a
practice of taking away his money.
Major Belwether and Lord Alderdene
He hadn't particularly wanted them
He wanted somebody he could play
with. like Siward, for example, or
even the two ten dollar Pages. Not
that their combined twenty would do
him much good, but it would at least
permit him the pleasures Of the card
table without personal loss.
But the Pages had retired to dress.
and Voucher was for motoring, and he
had no use for his wife, and he was
afraid of Plank's game, and Siward,
seated on the edge of the pool and
sharing pint of ginger ale with Syl
via Lands, shook his head at the sug
gestion and resumed his division OF
the ginger ale.
Plank and Leila Mortimer came
down to congratulate them. Sylvia.
always instinctively and particularly
nice to people of Piank's sort whom
she occasionally encountered, was SO
faultlessly amiable, that Plank, who
had never before permitted himself
the privilege Of monopolizing her,
found himself doing it so easily that
1t kept him in a state of persistent
mental intoxication.
Siward, inclined to be amused by
the duration Of the trance into which
Plank had fallen, watched the prog
ress of that bulky young mans infatu-
alton as he sat there on the pools
marble edge, exchanging trivial views
on trivial subjects with Mrs. Leroy
Mortimer
Once in their history, during her
early married life, Siward had been
very sentimental about her, but nei-
Their, he nor she had approached the
danger line closer than to make dar-
ing eyes at one another across the
frontiers of good taste. And their
youthful enchantment had faded so
naturally, SO pleasantly, that always
there had remained to them both an
agreeable after taste-a sort of gay
understanding which almost invaria-
bly, led to mutual banter when they
encountered. But now something APP
peared to be lacking in their rather
listless Misunderstanding Of the
usual .fiavcx which once had sailed
even laughing silence with signif-
canoe. Siward, too, had ceased to be
amused at the spectacle of Plank s
calflike infatuation, and Leila Morti-
mer's bored smile had lasted so long
that her olive-pink cheeks were stih
and she relaxed her fixed features
with little shrug that was also some
thing of shiver. Then, looking pru-
IDENTITY around, she encountered ST.
wards eyes, and during moments
hesitation they considered one another
with an increasing curiosity that
slowly became tentative intelligence.
And her eyes said very plainly and
wickedly to Siward's: "Oho, my friend
So it bores you to see Mr.. Plank mo-
nopolizing an engaged girl who be-
longs to Howard Quarter
Then without appearing to she took
Plank away from temptation so skill
fully that nobody except Siward I'M
derstood that the young man had been
incontinently removed. He, Plank,
never doubling that he was perfect
ly free agent, decided that the time
had arrived for triumphant retirement.
Sylvia turned to Siward. glanced up
at him, hesitated and began to laugh