Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-05-11

good way to avoid It, But some
hours later he was going to be very
sorry that he had not made conf1dant
Of his guide. Merrihew had never
head Of the town of Ventin1iglia, which
straddles the frontiers Of France and
Italy
AS they were boarding the train
they noticed two gentlemen getting
into the forward compartment of the
carriage.
"Humph! Our friend with the
scar,'' said Hillard. 1--WE do not
seem able to shake him.
I'D like to shake him. He goes
against the grain, somehow" Merri-
hew swung into the compartment. Il
wonder why the Sandfords dropped
h1m?"
For some good reason. They are
liberal pair, and if our friend forward
offended them, it must have been
something deliberate and outside the
pale of forgiveness. But / should like
to know. where old Giovanni is
miss him"
Poor devil!' said Morrihew with
careless sympathy. 1t is easy to be
sympathetic with persons whose troll
bles are remote from our own.
The train started. and again they
had the compartment
Monte Carlo, Gold. gold, little
round pieces of gold" Merrihew rub
bed his hands like the miser in the
Chimes of Normandy.
Hard to get and heavy to hold
quoted Hillard. Il suppose that you
have system already worked out.
"Of course. l shall win if stick
to it."
COR if the money lasts. Bury your
system, my boy. 1t will do you no
good. Trust to luck only. Monte
Carlo is the graveyard of systems"
"But maybe my system Is the one.
You can't tell till have tried 1t.
Merrihew lighted a cigar, and Hill
lard smiled secretly. After some time
the conductor came in to examine the
tickets. When the examination was
over he paused in front of Merrihew,
who puffed complacently.
"Signore," the conductor said po-
litely, "e vietato fumare.'
Merrihew replied with an uncom-
pretending stare.
''Non fumer" said the conductor.
with his hand at the side of his mouth
as one does to a person who is sud
denly discovered to be hard of hear
ing
Merrihew smiled weakly and signi-
fed that he did not understand.
'sNicht rauchen!' cried the official
in desperation.
Merrihew extended his hands hope
lessly. He had nothing belonging to
the conductor Hillard had the tick
cts.
.'Niet rooken! Met rooken!'
81 say. Jack, what the deuce does
he want, anyhow
"Cigare, cigare!" The conductor
gesticulated toward the window
"Oh!" Merrihew took the cigar
from his teeth and went through the
pantomime of tossing it out of the
window
Isl, si!" assented the conductor, de-
lighted that he was finally under,
stood.
you might have given me the
tip" Merrihew grumbled. across to
Hillard. He viewed he half-burnt
perfecto ruefully and filliped It
through the window. How should !
know smoking was prohibited"
you had your joke; this is mine.
Besides, | remained silent to the adj
vantage of your future education. The
conductor has spoken to you in four
anguages-Italian, French, German
and Dutch" Hillard then spoke %
the conductor. May not my friend
smoke so long as ladies do not
enter?"
Certainly, since it does not annoy
you" Then the conductor bowed and
into the next compart-
ment.
Merrihew inscribed on the back of
an envelope, for future reference, the
four phrases, and in ten minutes had,
with the assistance Of his preceptor,
mastered their pronunciations.
Il wish had been born hotel
concierge he said mournfully. "They
speak all languages, and the Lord
knows where they find time to learn
them
"The Englishman, the Partisan and
the American are the poorest lin,
gusts" said Hillard "They are alto
gether too we'll satisfied with them
selves and their environments to
bother learning any language but their
own, and most Americans do not take
the trouble to do that"
Hear, hear"
'It is because am good patriot
that l complain said Hillard 81 love
my country. big, healthy and strong
as it is; but l wish my people would
brush up their learning. so that these
foreigners would have less right to
make sport of US
There's some truth in what you
say. But we are young and going
ahead all the time
Soon the train began to lift into the
the beautiful Apennines,
and Merrihew counted so many tun-
nels he concluded that this was where
the inventor of the cinematograph
got his idea. Just as some magnificent
valley began to unfold with roar the
train dashed into dank, sooty tun-
mel One could neither read nor enjoy
the scenery; nothing to do but sit
tight and wait, let the window down
when they passed a tunnel, lift it
when they entered one. BY the time
they arrived in Genoa, late at night,