Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1909-09-30

ulllllSllc uIOp anu cEulQD Wullc ClG
Dunkerque train meandered serenely
through a sunny, smiling Flemish
countryside. somewhat revived their
jaded spirits.
For a time they laughed and chat
tered, pretending that the present held
no cares or troubles, but soon the girl,
nesting her head in a corner of the
| dingy cushions, was smiling ever more
drowsily on Kirkwood. And presently
she slept in good earnest, the warm
blood ebbing and flowing beneath the
exquisite texture of her cheeks, the
ghost of an unconscious smile CULVER
ing about the sensitive scarlet mouth.
the breeze through the open window
at her side wantoning at will in the
sunlit witclcrN OF her hair. And Kirk
wood, Worn With sleepless watching,
dwelt in longing upon the dear, inno-
cent allure of her until the ache in
his heart had grown we'll nigh insup-
portable, then instinctively turned his
gaze upward, searching his heart.
reading the faith and desire of it, so
that at length knowledge and under
standing came to him of his weakness
II strength and the clean love that
he bore for her, and. g%laddened. he sat
dreaming in waking the same clear
dreams that modelled her unconscious
lips secretly for laughter and the 10Y
of living.
When DunkerQue halted their prog
ress they We're Obliged to alight and
change cars. Hobbs IL discreetly sinis-
ter shadow at the end of the platform.
BY schedule they We're to arrive in
Calais about the middle of the fore
noon, With a wait of three hours to he
brid@ed before the departure of the
Dover packet. That would be an anX-
ious time. The prospect of it rendered
both Dorothy and kirkwood doubly
anxious throughout this final stage Of
their flight. In three hours anything
could happen or lie brought about.
Neither could forget that it was quite
Within the bounds of possibilities for
Calendar to be awaiting them in Ca
lais. Presuming that Hobbs had been
acute enough to guess their plans and
advise his employer by telegraph, the
latter could readily have anticipated
their arrival, whether by sea in the
%brigantine or by land, taking the direct
route via Brussels and Lille. If such
proved to be the case it were scarcely
sensible to count upon the arch adj
venturer contenting himself with a
waiting role like Hobbs.
With such unhappy a-pprehensions
for a stimulant, between them the
MON, Ord tho civil onrtrivo1 n ,,oJ.o
shift counter stratagem, or it were
more accurate to say that Kirkwood
proposed it, while Dorothy rejected,
disputed and at length accepted it, al
belt with sad misgivings, for it in
volyed a separation that might not
prove temporary.
Together they could never escape the
surveillance of MI. Hobbs; parted he
would be obliged to follow one OF the
other. The task of misleading the Ale
thea's mate Kirkwood undertook, dele
eating to the girl the duty of escap-
ing when he could provide her the op-
%portunity, of keeping under cover I'm
til the hour of sailing and then pro-
ceeding to England with the gladstone
bag alone if Kirkwood was unable or
thought it inadvisable to join her on
the boat.
In furtherance Of this design a ma
jority of the girls belongings We're
transferred from her travelling bag to
Kirkwood's, the gladstone taking their
place, and the young mar provided her
with voluminous instructions, 4 re-
volyer which she did not know how to
handle and declared she would never
use for any consideration and enough
money to pay for her accommodation
at the Terminus hotel, near the pier,
and for two passages to London. 1t
was agreed that she should secure the
steamer booking lest Kirkwood be de-
layed until the last moment.
These arrangements concluded, the
pair of blessed idiots sat stepped in
melancholy silence, avoiding each 9th
er's eyes, until the train drew in at
the Care Centrale, Calais.
In profound silence, too, they left
their compartment and passed through
the station into the quiet, sun drenched
streets of the seaport. Hobbs lowering
solicitously in the offing.
Without comment or visible relief
of mind they were aware that their
fears had been without apparent
foundation. They saw no sign of Cal
endar, Stryker or M%ulready. The cir
c%umstance, however, counted for moth
ing. One OIL all of the adventurers
might arrive in Calais at any minute.
Momentarily more miserable as the
time of parting drew nearer, dumb
with unhappiness. they turned aside
from the main thoroughfares of the
city, leaving the business section, and
gained the sleepicr side streets Dor
dered by he residences of the prole-
tariat, where for blocks none but chill
dren were to be seen, and OF them but
few-quaint, sober little bodies play
ing almost noiselessly in their door
yards.
A. length Kirkwood spoke.
Lets make it the corner" he said
without looking ut the girl. offs n