Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-02-11


the Scheldt flowed its broad shining
surface oily, smooth and dark. mir
ror for the incandescent glory of the
skies. Over on the western bank old
Tete de Flandre lifted up its grim
curtains and bastions, sable against
the crimson, rampant and parapet
edger with fire Busy little side
wheeled ferry steamers spanked the
with dark, drifting trails Of smoke:
slip out Of the shadow to glide Ian
guidly with the current Otherwise the
life of the river was gone; and at
their moorings the ships swung in
great quietness, riding lights glimmer-
ing like low wan stars.
In the company of the latter the
young man marked down the Alethea;
a sight which made him unconscious
ly clench both fists and teeth, re-
minding him of that rare wag, Stry-
ker
To his way OF thinking the be-
havior of the farce was quite I'M
accountable. Hardly had the horse
paced off the length of two blocks on
the Quai ere it was guided to the
edge Of the promenade and brought
to stop. And the driver twisted the
reins round his whip, thrust the lat
ter in its socket, turned sidewise on
the box, and began to smoke and
swing his heels, surveying the piano.
rama of river and sunset with COM
placency - a cabby, one would ven
ture, without care in the world and
serene in the assurance OF generous
1pour-boire when he lost his fare. But
as for the latter, she made no move;
the door of the cab remained closed
like it's occupants mind, a mystery
to the watcher.
Twiliht shadows lenthened.
darkling, over the land; street lights
flashed up in long radiant ranks.
Across the promenade hotels and
shops were lighted up; people began
to gather round the tables beneath
the awnings of an open air cafe. In the
distance, somewhere, band swung
into the dreamy rhythm of q haunting
waltz Scattered couples moved slow.
ly arm in arm, along the riverside
walk, drinking in the fragrance of the
night Overhead stars popped out in
brilliance and dropped their reflection
to swim lazily on spellbound waters.
And still the farce fingered
in inaction. still the driver lorded it
aloft, in care-free abandon
In the course OF time this inertia,
where he had looked for action, this
dull suspense when he had forecast
interesting developments, wore upon
the watchers nerves and made him
at once impatient and suspicious. Now
that he had begun to doubt, he con-
ceived it as quite possible that Mrs.
Hallam (who was capable Of anything)
should have stolen out of the cab by
the other, and to him, invisible door.
To resolve the matter, he took advan-
tage of the darkness, turned up his
coat collar, hunched up his shoulders,
hid his hands in pockets, pulled the
visor of his cap well forward over his
eyes, and slouched past the farce.
Mrs. Hallam sat within. He could
see her profile clearly silhouetted
against the light; she was bending
forward and staring flxedly out of
the window, across the driveway.
Mentally he calculated the direction
of her gaze, then moved out and fol-
lowed it with his own eyes; and
found himself staring at the facade Of |
a third.rate hotel. Above It's hoof the
gilded letters of sign, catching the |
from below, spelled out
the tile Of Hotel du Commerce"
Mrs. Hallam was interested in the
Hotel du Commerce.
Thoughtfully Kirkwood fell back
to his former point of observation. I
now the richer by another object of
suspicion, the hostelry Mrs. Hallam
was waiting and watching for some
one to enter or leave that establish
ment. 1t seemed a reasonable infer
ence to draw. Well, then, so was
Kirlwood, no less than the lady; he
deemed it quite conceivable that their
objects were identical.
He started to beguile time by won
dering what she would do if X .
Of a sudden he abandoned this line
of speculation, and catching his
breath, held it, almost afraid to credit
the truth that for once his anticipa.
tons were being realized under his
very eyes.
Against the lighted doorway of the
Hotel du Commerce, the figures of
two men were momentarily sketched,
as they came hurriedly forth; and of
the two, one was short and stout, and
even at distance seemed to bear
himself with an accent of assertive.
ness, while the other was tall and
heavy of shoulder.
Side by side they marched in step
across the enlbankment to the head
of the Quai gangway, descending with.
ont pause to the landing stage Kirk
wood, hanging breathlessly over the
guard rail, could hear their footballs
ringing in hollow rhythm on the
planks of the inclined way - could
even discern Calendars unlovely pro.
file in dim relief beneath one of the
waterside lights; and he recognized
Enthusiastically Mulready's deep voice.
grumbling inarticulately.
At the outset he had set after
them, with intent to accost Calendar;
but their pace had been swift and his
irresolute. He hung fire on the issue,
dreading to reveal himself, unable to
decide which were the better course,
to pursue the men, Or to wait and dis
cover what Mrs. Hallan was about.