Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-08-27

Ii
of acquaintances, yes. I had friends,
the right sort, mean. l drifted
away from them. Now. 1t would be
impossible to pick up those old friend
ships. I am sick of England, sick to
death Of the aimless life have led.
What remaina7 Joy vennable, How
would my death affect herr If there's
one think I'm proud Of. It's the knowl-
edge that won her love. Under false
pretences, If you like, but I won u.
And as long as live, she will never
be able to forget that. And as you
said last night, it may prevent her
marrying, her, the woman Of all the
women I have known best fitted to be
a wife and mother. If she believes
me to be dead, she will be free"
II don't want to hurt your feelings,
Charters, but how do you propose to
live?"
'1ve three thousand pounds in nv
pocket Purpose again. If can't
make living with that the sooner
starve the better. shall begin again
in Argentina, California or Australia"
Sooner or later somebody would
turn up who could identify you"
Lets face that possibility What
of it? should tell the fellow that he
was making mistake. How could
he prove that he wasn't? You and
have had our noses near together, but
last night you hardly recognized me,
merely because I'd shaved off a
beard, which will grow again
Tisdale, at bay, thrust the last ar
gument forward.
"You can't take step of this ire
mendous Importance without losing
consideration"
CHAPTER XIII. (continued).
"There my hand is forced l can't
allow my people to believe me dead,
and then resurrect myself But, l
have little time. The papers will
report me missing, not dead"
| II protest against this wild idea Of
yours with every fibre of my mind and
body"
tits been done again and again.
That Austrian Archduke, who was
supposed to be drowned, is living
somewhere, depend upon it! Now,
look here I shall go for walk, and
make up my mind, if two hours hard
thinking can do 1t.
Tisdale nodded, with a gesture of
depreciation.
The suburb Of Easthampton, where
in Tisdale had lived and labored for
five years, is as ugly as design, neces-
sarily utilitarian, can make 1t. The
rows of small houses are built Of a
crude red brick and rooted with dull
states: the streets are laid out in
straight lines upon fat and character
less ground. And the people who live
there exhibit in their faces and clothes
the same drab uniformity Of express
sion. Even the little children are cur
iously alike. Responsibility permeates
the air. Real poverty is conspicuous
ly absent, although, here and there,
one may divine it's presence, even be-
hind highly-varnishod doors and lace
curtaineG windows.
AS an object lesson to illustrate
forcibly the sacrifice of a large income
and the substitution Of small one,
Hugo Charters could hardly have
found a better place wherein to walk
and think. And his was the eye OF
the hunter trained to observe details
which escape the vision of the aver
age pilgrim. More than once in his
life, in pursuit Of some rare species OF
game, he had plunged deep into an
arid wilderness, knowing that If he
failed to find water before night he
must perish miserably. And always
he had pushed on, impelled by that
strange force which drives men to the
accomplishment Of seemingly un
achievable enterprises. In like man
ner he had braved again and again
hunger and the atrocious extremes OF
great heat and cold. One cannot &C
count for these things. Turn over the
back numbers Of the Alpine Journal
Read some vivid description Of the
conquering o. virgin peak, that first
awful ascent of the Matterhorn, If you
WILL up which we, If we live long
enough, may travel in funicular rail
way. Why should strong, sane men
risk their lives for admittedly no pur
pose other than the wish to place
their feet where no human foot has
trod before? In the days Of Charlie
magne no man went mountaineering
ing as pastime, because, obviously
the work-a-day lives Of gentle and
simple were full enough Of adventure
and danger. And, nobody, today, leaps
into lions dens to rescue a lady's
glove, but in every part of the globe
just such unreasonable and dangerous
feats are being attempted by few Of
US.
Hugo happened to be one of this
small minority And now. upon the
psychical plane, he was about to ex
plore a new country, probably arid
certainly strange, because innate II
him a force greater than himself wa:
expanding and fructifying. To remain
weed on "Lethe's wharf" had be
come impossible.
He passed mechanic with bag O
tools in his hand, nurrying from one
job to another The mans face was
grimed with dirt and deep lines la,
about the mouth and eyes, although
he was still young. Hugo marked tht
expression never to be seen upon tn,
faces Of the loungers in Piccadilly ant
Hyde park; the expression which ma.
be said to be the answer and justifica
ton Of the Yankee injunction: Root
| hog or diet' The ha oman who re