The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-09-04

tn:ng else mad happened. ne mad
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 1T
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 we'll enough that he
had tried to persuade the prima donna
to marry him during the previous wfn-l
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 facts
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, quiescents
Just now. SO far as Margare. was COM
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
we'll as in his best moments, would
have thought a similar comparison
with an elemental force quite as truly
descriptive Of him. II 1t had occurred
to her The enterprising Greek had
really attempted to carry her of by
force on the night of the final re-
hearsal before her first appearance on
the stage. and had only been thwarted
because a royal rival had caused him
to be locked up, as If by mistake, In
order to carry her off himself: in
which he also had failed most ridicu.
lousy, 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 II she had not been
the woman she was, she would have
Jared Ill. After that he had behaved
more like an ordinary human being,
and abe had allowed the natural at
traction he had for her to draw her
gradually to promise Of marriage;
and now she talked to Lady Maud
about her gown, but she still put off
naming day for the wedding. in spite
of Logotheti's growing impotence.
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
dista.ce from New York in days IL
hours and 81 minutes, which will
doubtless seem very slow travelling II
any one takes the trouble to read this
tale 20 years hence. though the pas
sengers were pleased because 1t 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 1t 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 RS hot as 1t could be,
which means that New Yorker would
have found it chilly and an Italian de-
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
still moment to have 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 disagreeablo
way when he was speaking-eyes ths1
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, mouth like a car
pet-bag when 1t opened, like a closed
vice when 1t was shut He was not
handsome man, Mr.. Rufus Van Torp,
nor one with whom any one short Of q
prize-fighter would NEEDLE. nor one
to haunt the dreams of sweet 16. It
was not for his face that Lady Maud,
good and beautiful, liked him better
than any one In the world, except her
own father. and believed in him and
trusted him, and it was assuredly not
for his money. The beggar did not
live who would dare to ask him for q
penny after one look at his face, and
there were not many men on either
side OF the Atlantic who would have
looked forward to any sort of contest
with him without grave misgivings.
WELL" he said, advancing the last
step after that momentary pause. and
taking the white hand in both his
own, how have you been? Fair to
middling? About that? Well-1'm
glad to see you. gladder than sitting
hen at sunrise!"