Putnam patriot., 1908-09-25

M
 hs icas neie imteat upon the lttfte room,
 aad Us eccHpnnfS
 We must not forget our more legiti- nate business Ia the midst Of these pleasant side issues"
 "The field is easy After out delight tui continental capitals, where. as you Snow, one is never quite sure of one Self. it Is pleasant to breath the demo cratic airs of Washington" remarked Chauvenet..
 Particularly So. my dear friend, when one Is blessed with your delight ful social gifts. envy you your ca- pacity for making others happy"
 There was keen irony In the fel- lows tongue. and the edge ef il evi- dently touched Chauvenet. who scewl- ell and bent forward. with his fingers on the table.
 Enough of that. If you please"
 "As you will. carino. but you wtll pardon me for offering my condolences sn the regrcttable departure of Ia belle Americalne If you had not been so Intent oh matters of state you would undoubtedly have found her here. As It Is, ycu are now obliged to sec her ep her native soil \ month in Wash ltngton may do much for you She Is beautiful and reasonably rich. Her lrother, the tall captain, is said to be he best hcsseman in the American army"
 "Humph, He is an ass." ejacuiated l fhauyenet
 \ servant now appeared bearing a freso bottle of cordial. He was distin- ruished by small head upon tall md powerful bodg and bore little re | temblance to d house servant While l he brushed the cigar ashes from the l table the men continued their talk without needing him.
 Chauveuet and his friend had spoken 1 from the first in French. but i'll ad- 1 dressing some directions to the servant. l the blond who assumed the role Of | host, employed Servian dialect
 II think We were saying that the | mortality list in certain directions will | have to be stimulated a triAe before | we can do our young friend Francis l any good You have business in Amer I lea carino. That paper We nlched | from old Stroebel strengthens our hold ! on Francis. but there is still that ques- l ton as to Karl and Frederick Angus JUS. Our dear Francis Is not satisfied. I He wishes 10 be quite sure that his dear father and brother are dead. We l must reassure him. dearest Jules'
 Don't be fool. Durand. You never | seem to understand that the United States of America is d tritie larger han barnyard And l don't believe | those fellows are over there. They re | probably lying in wait here somewhere l ready to take advantage of any oppor- 1 tunity-that Is, if they are alive. 4 | man can hardly fail to be impressed | with the fact that so few lives stand | between him and
 -The heights-the heightsv' And the | young man. whom chauyenet called l Durand. lifted his tiny glass airily.
 Yes. the heights. replied Gaauye- | net a little dreamily.
 But that declaration-that docu- ment You have never honored me | with glimpse, but you have It put safely away. l dare say"
 There is no place-but One-that dare risk. II is always within easy reach. my dear friend"
 You will do well fc destroy that doc ument It Is much better out of the l way"
 Your deficiencies h the matter of wisdom are unfortunate. That paper | constitutes our chief asset. my dear associate. So long as we have 1t we are able to keep dear Francis in order Therefore We shall hold fast to II. re | membering that we risked much in re 1 moving 1t from the lameDted Str"ebels : archives
 Do you say .risked muchT My val ued neck, that is ail.' said the other ~Yon and Winkelried are without grat- Itude,'
 You will do well' said Chauvenet ito keep an eye open in Vienna for the unknown. II you hear murmurs irl i Hungary one Of these fine days.- Nothing has happened for some time therefore much may happen" He glanced al his watch.
 .I have work in Paris before sailing for New York Shall We discuss the matter of those Peruvian claims? That Is business. These other affairs are more In the nature of delightful diver. sions. my dear comrade."
 They drew nearer the table. and Du- rand produced q box or papers. over which he bent with serious attention. Armitage had heard practically all o1 their dialogue and. what was of equal interest, had been able to study the faces and learn the tones of voice of .he two conspirators- He was eramp' sd from his position on the narrow bal. rony and wet and chilled by the rain, which was now slowly abating. He had learned much that he wished to know and with an ease that astontshed aim and he was well content to with srsw with gratitude for hts good for tnue.
 His legs were numb. and be ciung .iose to the railing of the little ladder lfos support as he erept toward the area. Al the second story his foot sipped on tue wet iron. smooth from ong use. and he stumbled down sev- sraI steps before he recovered himself. lHe listened q moment heard nothing but the finkie of the rain in the spout then continued his retreat
 | As he stepped out upon the brick | .ourtyard he was seized from behind py pair of strong arms that ciasped alru tight. In q moment he was thrown | I.rrosS the threshold of Q door into I.n uultghse-f rsofn where ats captGF