Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1909-05-18
I am going to yillefranche., ;.

Il am going to Villefranche."
you will be wasting time. After
what happened last night, 1 am cer-
tain that they will be gone. Let US
change our plans, and let us respect
theirs. hard as 1t may seem to you"
"But your
"Oh, don't bother about me. I have
relegated my little romance to the gar
ret of no-account things, at least for
the present" said Hillard, with an
enigmatical smile. He sought his
watch. Make up your mind at once;
we have only twenty minutes"
"Oh, divine afflatus! And you lay
down the chase SO readily as this? ?''
Merrihew was scornfully Indignant
II would travel the breadth of the
continent were sure of meeting this
woman. But she has become a will
o'-the-wisp, and I am too old and like
comfort too we'll to pursue impossi-
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 can't
figure out what, unless she wished to
leave with me the last page of the ad-
venture"
But don't like the idea Of leaving
Kitty this way, without a final effort
to rescue her from the clutches Of this
fascinating adventures. For you
must admit 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 wo-
man, and can take good care Of her.
self. She is not likely to blunder into
any serious conspiracy. Her letter
should be sufficient"
But 1t isn't. A woman's don't
often means do If Kitty feally ex.
poets me to search for her and / do
not. she will never believe in ME
again."
Perhaps your knowledge of women
is more extensive than mine," said
Hillard, without the least irony.
But this 1attery did not appeal to
Merrihew. "Bosh. There's some.
thing you haven't told me about thet
makes you SO Indifferent"
This was 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 de-
fense OF her girlhood friend Per-
haps he was lacking in some particle
Of chivalry; perhaps he was not in
love at all. And of what use to offer
faith to one who refuses it?
fHTinoos A}oo ba r,or,od sttTYhtat,
is it to be-"
We'll 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 damper.
Well go on to Venice
Have you any cigars left?" smil-
ing.
q have thrown away the boxes and
filed my pockets
That's better But the Italians are
not so severe as the French. We
shant have any trouble recrossing
into Italy. All aboard, then"
Merrihew solemnly directed the por-
ter to paste the scarlet labels on ais
cases. He was beginning to take a
certain blaze pride in his luggage, AL
ready 1t had the appearance of hav-
ing Travelled widely. 1t would look
we'll on weekend trips at home.
At seven that evening they stepped
out Of the station in Venice. The blua
twilight of Venice, that curves down
from the hollow heavens, softening a
bit of ugliness here, accentuating :.
bit of loveliness there; that mysteri-
Gus, Incompatible blue which is with
out match OR equivalent, and which
flattens all perspective and gives 70
each scene the look of separate can
vas! Here Merrihew found one Of his
of the grand canal, with it's 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 a
hurry, for hurry carries with 1t the
suggestion of noise and turmoil. Hill
lard 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 gondola all
to themselves.
Instead of following the Grand
canal, Achille took the short cut
through the Ruga di San Giovanni AMI
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 Merrihew by the throat.
This Is the happy hunting
grounds he said. "This beats all the
cab-riding ever heard Of. And this
is venice!'' He patted Hillard on the
shoulder. 81 am grateful to you
Jack. Il you hadn't positively dragged
me into it, | should have gone on
grubbing, gone on thinking that
knew something about beauty. Ven
ice!" He extended his arms as a
Muezzin does when he calls to prayer
Venice! The shade of Napoleon ol
Othello, of Portia, of Patriarch
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 Baccaroli. AS they swept under