Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-09-10

Against the lighted doorway or the
Hotel du Commerce the figures of two
men were momentarily sketched as
they came hurriedly forth, and of the
two one was short and stout and even
at distance seemed to bear himself
with an accent Of assertiveness, while
the other was tall and heavy of Shout
der.
Side by side they marched in step
across the embankment to the head of
the quay 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 Cal
endars unlovely profile in dim relief
beneath one of the waterside lights,
and he recognized Enthusiastically Null
ready's deep voice, grumbling inartic-
ulately.
AT the outset he had set after them
with intent to accost Calendar, but their
pace had been swift and his irresoute.
He hung fire on the issue, dreading to
reveal himself, unable to decide which
were the better course-to pursue the
men or to wait and discover what
Mrs. Hallam was about. In the end
he waited and had his disappointment
for recompense.
For Mrs. Hallam did nothing intelli-
gible. Had she driven over to the ho-
tel hard upon the departure of the
men he would have believed that she
was seeking Dorothy and would, fur
thermore, have elected to crowd their
interview if she succeeded in obtaining
one with the girl. But she did nothing
Of the sort. For time the fiacre re-
manned as it had been ever since stop
ping; then, evidently admonished by
his fare, the driver Strengthened up
Knocked out his pipe, disentangled
refns and whip and wheeled the
equipage back on the way it had come.
disappearing in a dark side street lead
Ing eastward from the embankment.
Kirkwood was, then, to believe that
Mrs. Hallam, having taken all that
trouble and having waited for the two
adventures to appear, had been con-
tent with sight Of them. He could
hardly believe that Of the woman. It
wasn't like her.
He started across the driveway after
the fiacre, but it was lost in tangle
OF side streets before he could make
up his mind whether it was worth
while chasing or not, and, pondering
the womans singular action, he re-
traced his steps to the promenade rail.
Presently he told himself he under.
stood Dorothy was no longer Of her
fathers party He had a suspicion
that. Mulready's attitude had made it
seem advisable to Calendar either to
leave the girl behind in England or to
segregate her from his associates in
Antwerp. If not lodged in another
quarter of the city or left behind she
was probably travelling on ahead to
destination which he could by no
means guess. And Mrs. Hallam was
looking for the girl. If there were
really jewels in that gladstone bag
Calendar would naturally have had
no hesitation about intrusting them to
his daughters care, and Mrs Hallam
avowedly sought nothing else. How
the woman had found out that such
was the case Kirkwood did not stop
to reckon unless he explained it on
the proposition that she was a person
Of remarkable address. 1t made no
matter one way or the other. He had
lost Mrs Hallam, but Calendar and
Mulready he could put his finger on.
They had undoubtedly gone off to the
Alethea to confer again with Stryker
that was. unless they proposed sail
ing on the brigantine. possibly at turn
Of tide that night
Panic gripped his soul and shook 1t.
as terrier shakes rat, when he con-
ceived this frightful proposition.
In his confusion of mind he evolved
spontaneously an entirely new hypoth-
esis- Dorothy had already been spir-
tied aboard the vessel: Calendar and
his confederates. delaying to Join her
from cnigmatic motives. were now
; aboard. and presently the word would
be. Up anchor and away!
Were they again to elude him? Not.
he swore. If he had to swim for it.
And he had no wish to swim. The
clothes he stood in. with what was
left of his self respect. were all that
he could call his own on that side of
the North sea. Not boatman on the
Scheldt would SO much as consider
: accepting three English pennies in ex-
; change for boat hire. In brief, it be-
gan to look as if he were either to
: swim or to steal a boat
Upon such slender threads Of circum-
stance depends our boosted moral
health. In one leeting minute Kirk
woods conception Of the law of mine
and thine. its foundations already in
sidiously undermined by series Of
: cumulative misfortunes. toppled crash
ing to its fall and was not.
He was wholly unconscious Of the
change. Beneath him. in space be-
:. tween the quays bridged by the gang
way, a number of rowboats. a putative
score. lay moored for the night and
, gently rubbing against each other with
,, the soundless lift and fall Of the river
For all that Kirkwood could determine
to the contrary, the lot lay ut the
mercy Of the public. Nowhere about
was he able to discern a watchman.
Without CULVER of hesitation-mo-
ments were invaluable, if what he
:. feared were true-he strobe to the
gangway. passed down and with alb
:, solute nonchalance dropped into the
= nearest boat, stepping from one to an
other until he had gained the outer