The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-09-09


things as she disappeared from Griggs'
sight, for she was little afraid that
she had made trouble. Ten days had
passed since she had last written to
Rufus Van Torp, and she had told
him, amongst other things, that Nine.
de Cordoya and Logotheti were en-
gagged to be married, adding that it
seemed to her one of the most ill-as-
sorted matches of the season, and that
her friend the singer was sure to be
miserable herself and to make her
husband perfectly wretched, though
he was a very good sort in his way
and she liked him. There had been
no reason why she should not write
the news to Mr.. Van Torp, even
though it was not public property yet,
for he was her intimate friend, and
she knew him to be as reticent as all
doctors ought to be and as some so
licitors' clerks are. She had asked
him not to tell any one till he heard
of the engagement from some one
else.
He had not spoken of it, but some
thing else had happened. He had
cabled to Lady Maud that he was COM
ing back to England by the next
steamer He often came out and went
back suddenly two or three times at
short intervals, and then stayed away
for many months, but Lady Maud
thought, there could not be much
doubt as to his reason for coming
now. She knew well enough that he
had tried to persuade the prima donna
to marry him during the previous win
ter, and that if his passion for her
had not shown itself much Of late, this
was due to other causes, chiefly to the
persecution of which he had rid him
self just before he went to America,
but to some extent also to the fact
that Margaret had not seemed in
clined to accept any one else.
Lady Maud, who knew the man bet
ter than he knew himself, inwardly
compared him to volcano, quiescent
just now, SO far as Margaret was con-
cerned, but ready to break out at any
moment with unexpected and destruc-
tive energy.
Margaret herself, who had known
Logotheti for years, and had seen
him in his most dangerous moods as
well as in his best moments, would
have thought similar comparison
with al elemental force quite as truly
descriptive of him, if it had occurred
to her. The enterprising Greek had
really attempted to carry her on by
force on the night of the final re-
hearsal before her first appearance On
the stage, and had only been thwarted
because a roya! rival had caused him
to be locked up, as if by mistake, in
order to carry her on himself; In
which he also had failed most ridicu-
iously, thanks to the young singers
friend, the celebrated Nine Bonanni.
That was very amusing story. But
on another occasion Margaret had
found herself shut up with her orr
entail adorer in a room from which
she could not escape. and he had quite
lost his head; and If she had not been
the woman she was, she would have
Jared i'll. After that he had behaved
more like an ordinary human being,
and she had allowed the natural at
traction he had for her to draw her
gradually to a promise of marriage;
and now she talked to Lady Maud
about her gown, but she still put on
naming day for the wedding, in spite
of Logotheti's growing impatience.
This was the situation when the
London season broke up and Mr.. Van
Torp landed at Southampton from an
ocean greyhound that had covered the
distance from New York in days IL
hours and 81 minutes, which will
doubtless seem very slow travelling if
any one takes the trouble to read this
tale 20 years hence, though the pas
sengers were pleased because it was
not much under the record time for
steamers coming east.
Five hours after he landed Van
Torp entered Lady Maud's drawing
room in the little house in Charles
street, Berkeley Square, where she
had lived with the departed Leven
from the time when he had been at
tached to the Russian embassy till he
had last gone away She was giving
1t up now, and it was already half dis
mantled. 1t was to see Van Torp that
she was in town in the middle of
August, instead of with her father at
Craythew or with friends in Scotland
London was as hot as it could be,
which means that a New Yorker would
hnx- - IL:
lightfully cool; but the Londoners
were sweltering when Van Torp ar
rived, and were talking of the oppres-
sive atmosphere and the smell of the
pavement, not at all realizing how
blessed they were
The American entered and stood
stin q moment to have a good look at
Lady Maud. He was a middle-sized,
rather thick-set man, with rude hands,
sandy hair, an over-developed jaw,
and sharp blue eyes that sometimes
fixed themselves in a disagreeable
way when he was speaking-eyes that
had looked into the barrel of another
mans revolver once or twice without
wavering, hands that had caught and
saddled and bridled many an unridden
colt in the plains, a mouth like car
pet-bag when it opened. like a closed
vice when IT was shut. He was not Q
handsome man, Mr.. Rufus Van Torp,
nor one with whom any one short of a