Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1908-01-09

tlonary at his elbow, and the
book of synonyms was suffo-
eating under a pile of papers that were
stuffed into q drawer as Tom entered
guiltily. The clock-an athletic trophy
in the form of a kettledrum-was then
striking midnight, and Daintree wheel
ed around in his chair with the elev-
enth stroke.
"Shut the window" said he. II have
two things to tell you which 1 don't
want the girl to hear. If her windows
are open she might"
Peggy happened to be listening at
the door.
"In the first place." proceeded Dain-
tree, "tell me frankly and finally
whether you mean to marry the girl
or not-yes or no?"
mo, sir; it is impossible"
"You shall do just exactly what you
like. At the same time, she tells me
you did ask her"
II did. | wronged her in doing so,
but she had the sense to refuse me,
and I'm not going to wrong her worse
by asking her again."
'"That settles it. I've found a cap
tain who's willing to smuggle you over
to America for a consideration, all de-
tails to be arranged before l leave
Sydney tomorrow. Will you go?"
"VNill 1 not! Thank God for the
chance!"
"Then that settles that-for the pres
ent. You shall be spirited aboard to-
morrow night. and by Monday morn
ing you shall have seen the last of
New South Wales forever"
Peggy crept away from the door.
Her mind was made up.
"The other things a trife," said
Daintree. GA pretty place this New
South Wales! 1 go to the bank and
cash a check, come in and shove the
notes into n Of these drawers, and a
man breaks into the house and all but
into my desk while l am sitting in the
next room at my dinner! Look at
this" And he pointed out the marks
Of a jimmy on the polished mahogany.
The circumstance did not appear to
excite him in the least. He smiled
loftily on Toms concern and at once
exaggerated an attitude which had
been perfectly genuine before.
"Ah, Thomas" he remarked, "even
you don't know your Sydney yet or
you would be like me and think moth
ing Of such trifes. l was eating my
dinner, as 1 say, when 1 heard him at
his work. Unfortunately I let him
hear me. Still, 1 chased him out Of
that and some way down the road and
could have caught him if l hadn't pre-
ferred to come back and finish my
dinner
"By Jove," exclaimed Tom, II Won
der whether it was the fellow who
turned up on the beach almost at the
instant we went down.
"What!" cried Daintree. Did you
see him?"
Eyes, 1 caught a glimpse Of some
body as we heeled over. Depend upon
it, that's our man!'
Daintree turned nasty in a moment.
"Why depend upon it?" he snapped.
did you see the mans face? Would
you know him again? Oh, you would
not! Then let me recommend you not
to make a fool Of yourself. my good
fellow. Nobody but a fool would con
meet the two men,"
His i'll temper was inexplicable, yet
to treat an attempt upon hts property
as a joke and an inoffensive theory Of
the attempt as something Of an insult
was but in accord with the capricious
character of the man. And, indeed.
Tom would have gone to bed like a
lamb and thought no more about the
matter, but yet another caprice detain-
ed him. Daintree would not hear Of
his going. 1t was their last night to-
gether; they must sit up and talk. ard
he apologized for what he had said.
So they sat up once more, but the con-
versation ~languished for the first time
on these occasions. Something had
unnerved and depressed Toms master;
he was never himself until the last
night Of his single life was at an end,
and in the first light Of dawn a full
rigsed ship sailed in just as the Hosa-
mund had done on the previous Bun
day afternoon.
'Isttsrs!" - cried. "Lsstss tsr ms