Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1909-07-03
He regretted Brentwick sincerely.

the meagerness of eitber's information
about the other. to say nothing of the
disparity between their ages. Con.
cernlng the elder man Kirkwood knew
| little more than that they had met on
shipboard. coming over" that Brent.
| wick had spent some years In Amer
lea: that he was an Englishmun by
birth. a cosmopolitan by habit. by pro.
fession n gentleman employing that
term In Its most uncompromisingly
British signiicance) and by inclina.
ton a collector of ARTICLES OF virtu
and bigotry." In pursuit of which he
made frequent excursions to the cont.
nent from his residence In n quaint.
| quiet street Of Old Brompton. II had
been during his not infrcquent. but or.
dinarily abbreviated. sojourns In Paris
that their steamer acquaintance had
ripened into nm affection almost filial
on the one hand. almost patprnnl ON
the other.
| There came rap..ng at tie door.
The knob was turned; the door open.
ed Kirkwood. swinging on one heel.
beheld. hesitant upon the threshold. n
rather rotund figure of medium height!
clad In an cypressiOnless gray lounge
suit. with brown "bowlcr" hat held
tentatively In one hand. IN umbrella
| weeping IN the other 4 voice. which
was unctuous and lnsnuativc. cmnnat-
ed from the figure.
mfr. Klrswood|'
Kirkwood nodded. with romc effort
recalling the name ~ detached had
been his thoughts since tie disappear.
ance Of the page.
ayes. Mr.. CalendarT"
"Are you--ah-busy. Mr.. Kirkwoodi"
Are you. Mr.. Calendar" Kirk
woods smile robbed the retort Of any
| flavor OF inciviiity.
| Encouraged. the man entered. pre-
missing that he would dctaln his host but
a moment and readily surrendcring hat
and umbrella. Kirkwood. putting the
latter aside. invited his caller to the
easy chair which Brentwick had occu.
pied by the fireplace
ut takes the edge or the dampness."
Kirk wood explained In Difference to
the others look OF pleased surprise ut
the cheerful bed OF Goals. I'm afraid
| I could never get acclimatcd 10 life In
a cold, damp room-or damp. cold
room-such as you BrItisher. prefer"
1T is grateful" Mr.. Calendar agreed,
spreading plump and well cared for
hands to the warmth. But you are
mistaken. I am as much an American
as yourself"
"Yes" Klrkwood looked the man
over with more interest. less matter Of
course courtesy.
lie proved not unprepossesslng. this
undesirable Mr.. Calendar He was
dressed with some care. his complexion
was good. aSd the fullness Of his girth.
| emphasized ms 1t was by notable
lack Of inches. bespoke a nature genial.
easy going and sybaritic. His dark
eyes, heavy liddcd, were active. Gu.
rlously at, times with a subducd gilt.
ter. In f.,ce large. round. pink. Of
which the other most remarkable fen.
lures were n mustache. close trimmed
| and showing streaks OF gray: chubby
| nose and duplicate chlns. Mr.. Calen.
dar was. furthermore. possessed Of n
polished bald spot. girdled with ton.
sure of sllvered halr--circumstances
which lent some Fictitious distinction
to a personality otherwise common.
place.
His manner might be best described
rs uneasy. with assurance, Ms though
he frequently found II necessary to
make MP for his unimprcssivc stature
by assuming nm unnatural habit Of au.
thority.
$50 you knew was an American.
Mr.. Calendar" suggested Kirkwood.
saw your name ON the register. We
both hall from the same neck OF the
woods. you know"
~ didn't know II, and
"Yes: I'm from Frisco too"
And I'm sorry"
Mr.. Calendar passed i've fat fingers
nervously over his mustache. glanced
alertly up at Klrkwood. M II momrn.
tarlly inclined to question his tone.
then again stared glumly Into the
fire. for Kirkwood had maintained an
attitude purposefully colorless. Not to
put too fine point upon II. he believed
that his caller was lying The mans
appearance. his mannerisms. his voice
and enunciation. while they might
have been American, seemed all nm.
Californian. To one born and bred In
that state. rs Kirkwood had been, her
sons are Enthusiastically hall marked.
Now. no man lies without motive.
This one chose to reaflirm. with q show