Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-04-24

of their conversation. She had seen
the match flare in the young man 4
face. Fortunately they had not thought
to peer into the area-ways Was it the
face she had seen in that flash of light
that interested her sufficiently to risk
! the note? Against the dark of the
night it had appeared for an instant
clean, crisp, ruddy as cameo. Some
times single glance is enough; the
instinct of the heart is often surer
than the instinct of the mind She
would not have been afraid had he
found her. The face warranted conf,
dence
She had sung because she had been
happy, happy with that transient hap
piness which at times was her por.
| ton. Could she ever Judge another
man by his looks? She believed not.
How she had run! The man, barehead-
ed giving chase, and the burly police
man across the street Chorus ladies'
what in the world were they?
She stepped down from the alcove,
wound the gray veil around the rid
ing crop and tossed them into a cor.
ner, Somehow, in the daylight, the
magis was bone from his face, for she
had recognized him that first day IN
the park. He rode we'll. She knew that
his interest in her had only been cas-
ual. She touched a bell. A maid APP.
peared.
"signora?'
fBettina, you will go to the Office OF
this newspaper and inquire for letter
addressed to Madame Angot. You can
hot hn
quick, for l may change my mind"
'1 go at once, signora.'' And she was
back in less than half an hour.
There was a letter, them" The
points were dancing again in her blue
eyes.
"And here it is, signora' The maid S
eyes sparl1led, too An intrigue! II
would not be so dull hereafter.
you may go. Perhaps" and Bet
tina's mistress smiled. perhaps I
may let you read it and answer it aft.
err I am done with it. That would be
rather neat"
"But it will be in English, signora;
and that I can not read" Bettlna's
eyes filed with disappointment.
"You may use it as lesson. In Il
few days you should be able to master
it,"
The slight nod was a dismissal, and
the maid went about her duties, which
were not manv in this house. These
were terrible days; the two of them
alone in this strange palazZo and the
stuffv. ill-smelling trattoria they dined
at! Che peccato! And that she should
sit side bv side with her mistress.
70 Mo- Sybo NO. tho .<ooJ ror;S
coming to? And the ban on the fanlil-
lar tongues English? She despised it.
Berman? She detested it, But to be
allowed to speak in French. that alone
made conversation tolerable. And this
new mad wnim! Oh. yes; the signora
was truly mad this time
Meanwhile the lady with the vene-
tian hair toyed with the letter Club
paper. Evidently he was not afraid TO
trust her. But would he amus= her?
Would he have anything to say that
would interest her? She ran the paper
knife under the flap. The contents
gave her genuine sunrise. She ran
to the window. Italian' It was written
in italian. with all the fourishes Of all
italian horn. She turned to the. sigma
ture. Hillisrd; so he had signed his
name in full? She ruminated. How
came such name to belong to man
who wrote italian so beautifully?
Here was something to ponder over
She smiled and looked at the sigma
ture again. John. Giovanni
She would call him Giovanni. she had
been rather clever. To have had tho
wit TO look in the library for the blue
book and the club list; not everv wonl-
an would have thought of that Then
new inspiration came to hec, and
she struck the bell again. She sent
Bettina for the card basket in the
lower hall She scattered the contents
fire and sat down Turkish-wisa. She
sorted the cards carefully. and lol
she was presently rewarded. She held
I'D the card in triumph He had called
at this house on Thanksgiving day
He, was known. then to the master
and mistress. this Giovanni with thu
Irish surname. Very good. She now
gave her full attention to the letter,
which, incredible as it may seem, she
had not yet perused.
To the Lady in the Fog.-To begin
with, let me say that I, too, have
laughed. But there was some degree
of chagrin in my laughter. On my
word of honor, it was distinct shock
to my sense of dignity when saw
that idiotic personal of mine IN the
paper. It was my first offense of the
kind, and l am really ashamed But
the situation was not ordinary Ordi
nary women do not sing in the streets
after midnight. AS you could not pos
sibly be ordinary, my offense has
greater magnitude. To indite person
al TO a gentlewoman! A thousand par
dons. l doubted that it would come un
der your notice; and even if it did, 1
was sure that you would ignore it.
And yet I am human enough to have
hoped that you wouldn't When l
found your note, it was kind of vim
dication; it proved that singular cpl
sode had taken place To find wonl-
an with an appreciable sense of hui
NOR is rare; to find one who couples
this with initiation is rarer still. do
not refer to wit, the eternal striving
to say something clever, regardless of
cost. How you found out my name con-
fuses me.