The San Francisco call., 1909-02-28

which Kirkwood initiated, keeping him
self at discreet distance to the rear
of the cab. but prepared to break into
a run whenever it should prove neces-
sary.
Such exertion, however, was not re-
quired of him. Evidently Mrs. Hallam
was in no great haste to reach her
destination: the speed of the hacre re-
mained extremely moderate. Kirkwood
found a long. brisk stride fast enough
to keep ii well in sight
Round the green square. under the
beautiful walls of Notre Dame Fan
vers, through Grande Place and past
the Hotel de Vile, the cab proceeded.
dogged by what might plausibly be
asserted the most persistent and infat-
uated soul that ever crossed the water;
and so on into the Quai Van Dyck,
turning to the left at the old Steen
dungeon and. slowing to walk, NOV
ing soberly up the drive.
Beyond the lip Of the embankment,
the Scheldt flowed. its broad shining
surface oily, smooth and dark. a mirror
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 edged with fire.
Busy little side wheeled ferry steam
ers spanked the waters noisily and
smudged the sunset with dark drifting
trails of smoke; and ever and anon a
rowboat would slip out of shadow to
glide languidly with the current. 9th
erwise the life of the river was gone;
and at their moorings the ships swung
in great quietness. riding lights glim-
mering like low wan stars.
In the company of the latter the
young man marked down the Alethea;
a sight which made him unconsciously
clench both fists and teeth. reminding
him Of that rare wag. Stryker.
To his way of thinking the behavior
of the fiacre was quite unaccountable.
Hardly had the horse paced off the
length of two blocks on the Quai ere
ii was guided to the edge of the prom
enade and brought to a stop. And the
driver twisted the reins round his
whip, thrust the latter in its socket,
turned sidewise on the box, and began
to smoke and swing his heels. survey
ing the panaroma of river and sunset
with cOmplacency-a cabby, one would
venture without care in the world
and serene in the assurance of a gen
erous pour-boire when he lost his fare.
But as for the latter. she made no
move; the door of the cab remained
closed,-like its occupants mind, a
mystery to the watcher.
Twilight shadows heightened. dark
ling, over the land; street lights
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. a band swung into the
dreamy rhythm of a haunting waltz.
Scattered couples moved slowly, arm
in arm along the riverside walk,
drinking in the fragrance of the night.
Overhead stars popped out in brilliance
nd n i'm
lazily on spellbound waters. :.
And still the fiacre fingered in inaction,
still the driver lorded it aloft, in care
free abandon.
In the course of time this inertia,
where it had looked for action, this
dull suspense when he had forecast in
teresting developments, wore upon
the watchers nerves and made him
at once impatient and suspicious.
Now that he had begun to doubt, he
conceived. it as quite possible that
Mrs. Hallam (who was capable of any
thing) should have stolen out of the cab
by the other and; to him, invisible door,
To resolve the matter finally he took
advantage of the darkness, turned up
his coat collar hunched up his shoul-
ders hid his hands in his pockets
pulled the visor of his cap we'll forward
over his eyes and slouched past the
fiacre
Mrs. Hallam sat within. He could see
her profile clearly silhouetted against
the light. She was bending forward
and staring fixedly out of the window
across the driveway Mentally he cal
culated the direction of her gaze, then
moved away and followed it with his
own eyes, and found himself staring ct
the facade of a third rate hotel. Above
its roof the gilded letters of a sign,
catching the illumination from below,
n nT1f n n II
merce."
Mrs. Hallam was interested in the
Hotel du Commerce?
Thoughtfully Kirkwood fell back to
his former point of observation, now the
richer by another object of suspicion,
the hosiery. Mrs. Hallam was waiting
and watching for some one to enter or
to leave that establishment. 1t seemed
a reasonable inference to draw. Well,
then. so was Kirkwood. no less than
the lady; he deemed it quite conceivable
that their objects were Identical.
He started to beguile the time by
wondering what she would do If
OF sudden he abandoned this line of
speculation. and catching his breath,
held it. almost afraid to credit the truth
that for once his anticipations were be-
ing realized under his very eyes.
Against the lighted doorway of the
Hotel du Commerce the figures of two
men We're momentarlly Sketched as they
came hurriedly forth. and of the two,
one snort and stout, and even at a dis
tance seemed TO bear himself with an
accent of assertiveness, while the other
was tall and heavy Of shoulder
Side by side they marched in step
across the embankment to the head of
the Quai gangway, descending without
pause to the landing stage. Kirkwood,
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 profile in dim relief
beneath one of the waterside lights;
and he recognized Enthusiastically Null
ready's deep voice, grumbling inarticu-
lately.
At the outset he had set after them,
with intent TO accost Calendar, but
their pace had been swift and his ir-
resolute. He hung fire on the issue,
dreading to reveal himself unable to de-
eide which were the better course, to
pursue the men or TO await and dis
cover what Mrs. Hallam was about. In
the end he waited, and had his disap-
pointment for recompense.
For Mrs. Hallam did nothing intelli-
gible. Had she driven over to the