Arizona republican., 1909-06-01

I
bilities."
But why did she leave you that
mask?" demanded Merrihew. She
must have meant something by that"
( True, but for the life of me 1 can't
/ figure out what, unless she wished to
| leave me with the last page of the
[ adventure"
! But l don't like the idea of leav-
| ing Kitty this way, without a final
effort TO rescue her from the clutches
of this fascinating adventures. For
you must admit that she is naught
| else"
Il admit nothing, my boy, save
that the keenness of the chase is
gone" Hillard balanced his watch
| idly. "As for Kitty, she's a worldly
little woman, and can take good care
of herself. She is not likely to blum
der into any serious conspiracy. Her
letter should be sufficient" ~
But it isn't. A woman's don't
often means do If Kitty really ex-
poets me to search for her and l do
not, she will never believe in me
again"
Perhaps your knowledge of wo-
men is more extensive than mine,"
/ said Hillard, without the least irony.
But this flattery did not appeal
to Merrihew. "Bosh! There's some-
thing you haven't told me about that
makes you so Indifferent"
This was a shrewd guess, but Hill
lard had his reasons for not letting
] his friend see how close he had shot.
"A lady? Grace of Mary, that is
\ droll!" He could not cast this out Of
his thought. He floated between this
phrase and Mrs. Sandford's frank
defense of her girlhood friend. Per-
haps he was lacking in some par
ticle of chivalry; perhaps he was not
/ in love at all. And of what use TO
offer faith to one who refused it?"
Times flies" he warned. Which
I is it to be-"
Wen go on to Venice. 1t would
be folly for me to continue the hunt
alone. And if you went with me-
your half-heartedness would be a
damper. Wen go on to Venice"
Have you any cigars left?" smil
ing.
4 have thrown away the boxes and
filled my pockets"
That's better. But the Italians are
no so severe as the French. We
shan't have any trouble recrossing
into Italy. All aboard, then
Merrihew solemnly directed the
porter to paste the scarlet labels on
his cases. He was beginning to take
certain blase pride in his lug
gage. Already it had the appearance
of having Travelled widely. 1t would
/ mi OF
At seven that evening they stepped
out of the station in Venice. The
blue twilight of Venice, that curves
! down from the hollow heavens, soft
/ ening a bit OF ugliness here, accen-
tuating a bit of loveliness there; that
mysterious, Incompatible bule which
| is without match or equivalent, and
| which flattens all perspective and
! gives to each scene the look of a
! separate canvass Here Merrihew
| found enc of his dreams come true,
and his first vision of the Grand Ca
| nal, with its gondolas and barges
and queer little bobtailed skiffs, was
never to leave him. What impressed
him most was the sense of peace
and quiet. No one seemed in hur-
ry, for hurry carries with it the sug-
gestion of noise and turmoil. Hillard
| hunted for his old gondolier, but
could not find him. So he chose one
Achille whose ferrule was bright and
who carried the number 154. With
! their trunks, which they had picked
up at Genoa, and small luggage in
the hotel barge, they had the gon-
dola all to themselves.
Instead of following the Grand Ca
nal, Achille took the short cut
through the Ruga di San Giovanni
and the Rio di San Polo. 1t was
early moonlight, and as they glided
silently past the ancient marble
church in the Campo San Polo the
fairy-like beauty of it caught Mer-
rihew by the throat
This is the happy hunting grounds
he said. This beats all the cab-rid-
ing l ever heard of. And this is
Venice," He patted Hillard on the
shoulder. Il am grateful to you
Jack. If you hadn't positively drag
ged me into it, l should have gone
on grubbing, gone on thinking that
knew something about beauty
Venice!" He extended his arms as g
Muezzin does when he calls to prayer
"Venicei The shade Of Napoleon, OF
OthellO, of Portia, of Petrarch!"
Hillard smiled indulgently. Il love
your enthusiasm, Dan. So long as
man has that, the rest doesn't mat.
ter"
Out into the Grand Canal again
and another short cut by the way
of the Rio del Baccaroli. AS they
swept under the last bridge before
coming out into the hotel district
Hillard espied a beggar leaning ovel
the parapet. The faint light of the
moon shone full in his face.
Stop" cried Hillard to Achille
who swung down powerfully on hi:
blade. Hillard stood up excitedly.
The beggar took to his heels, anC
when HilIard stepped out of the gon-
dola and gained the bridge. the beg
gar had disappeared.