The San Francisco call., 1909-02-07

SIT.
"Arsk tn wye to tn Dorkyard sty-
shun," young William volunteered. Ills
tn shortest walk. sir. I opes yer
catches 'er. Thanky, sir"
He caught dexterousIy the sovereign
which Kirkwood, in ungrudging lib
erality. spared them OF his store Of
two. The American nodded acknowl-
edgments and adieux, with a faded
smile deprecating his chances of win
ming the race. sorely handicapped as
he was. He was very. very tired. and in
his heart suspected that he would fail.
But, If he did. he would at least be
able to comfort himself that it was not
for lack of trying He sset his teeth
on that covenant, in grim determina-
ton; either there was a strain of the
bulldog latent in the Kirkwood breed or
else his infatuation gripped him more
strongly than he guessed.
Yet he suspected something of its
power he knew that this was alto
gether an insane proceeding. and that
the lure that led him on was Dorothy
Calendar. A strange dull light slowed
in his weary eyes, on the thought OF
her. He'd go through fire and water
in her service. She was costing him
dear. perhaps was to cost him dearer
still and perhaps there'd be for his
guerdon no more than Thank you.
Mr. Kirkwoodr' at the end of the pas
sage. But that would be no less than
his deserts; he was not to forget that
he was interfering unwarrantably; the
girl was in her fathers hands, surely
safe enough thereto the casual mind.
If her partnership in her parents for
tunes were distasteful. she endured it
passively. without complaint.
He decided that ii was his duty 70
remind himself. from time to time. that
his main interest must be in the game
itself, in the solution of the riddle;
whatever should befall, he must look
for no reward for his gratuitous and
self-appointed part. Indeed. he was all
but successful in persuading himself
that 1t was the fascination of adven-
ture alone that drew him on.
Whatever the lure, it was inexor-
able; instead of doing as a sensible
person would have done-returning
to London for long rest in
his hotel room. ere striving to re-
trieve his shattered fortunes-Philip
Kirkwood turned up the. village street,
intent only to find the railway station
and catch sthe first available train for
late.
A hapchance native whom he pres
emily encountered furnished minute
directions for reaching the Dockyard
station of the Southeastern and Chat
ham railway. adding comfortable in
formation to the effect that the next
eastbound train would pass through in
10 minutes; If Kirkwood would mend
his pace he could make il easily, with
time to spare.
Kirkwood mended his pace accord
ingly, but, contrary to the prediction,
had no time to spare at all. Even as
he stormed the ticket grating the train
was laundering at the platform. There
fore a nervous ticket agent passed him
out first class ticket instead of the
third class he had asked for; and there
was no time wherein to have the mis-
take rectifed. Kirkwood planked down
the fare. swore, and sprinted for the
carriages.
The first compartment whose door
he jerked violently open proved to be
occupied, and was, moreover, not a
smoking car. He received a fleeting
impression of a woman's startled eyes
staring into his own through a thin
mesh of yelling, fell of the running
board, slammed the door, and hurled
himself toward the next compartment
Here happier fortune attended upon
| his desire; the boxlike section was un-
tenanted and a notice blown upon the
window glass announced that 1T was
I'D Glass Smoking KirkwoO6
promptly tumbled in; and when he
turned to shut the door the coaches
were moving.
A pipe helped him to bear up while
the train was making its two other
stops in the Borough of Woolwich: a
circumstance so maddening TO a man
on edge with sheer impatience and
made him long fervently for the land
of his birth. where they do things diff
ferently-where the board of directors
of railway company doesn't erect
three substantial passenger depots il
the course of mile and a half of over.
grown village. 1t consoled him little
that none disputed with him his lonely
possession of the compartment, that he
had caught the Sheerness train, or that
he was really losing no time; a sense
Of deep detection had settled dowT
upon his consciousness, with a realiza-
tion of how completely a fools erran6
was this of his. He felt foredOomeo
to failure; he was never to see Dor
othy Calendar again; and his brain
seemed numb with disappointment.
Rattling and swaying, the train left
the town behind.
Presently he put aside his pipe and
stared blankly out at a reeling land
scape. the pleasant. homely. smiling
countryside of Kent A deeper mel
ancholy tinted his mind: Dorothy Cal
endar was forever lost to him.
The trucks drummed it out persist
ently-he thought vindictive1y: Lost
Lost For eve,
lost!
And hs had made-was then making
"a ID fool OF himself The
trucks had no need to din that into
his thick skull by their ceaseless tier
alton; he knew 1T, would not deny
It.
And it was all his own fault. He'd
had his chance, Calendar had offered
him it. If only he had closed witt
the fat adventureri
Before his eyes field and coppice
hedge and homestead. stream ant
flowing highway. all blurred and rar
streakily into one another, like Z
highly impressionistic water color. He
could make neither head nor tail oil
the flying views. and so far as coher-
ent thought was concerned. he could
not put two ideas together. Without
understanding distinctly. he presently
did more wise and wholesome thing