The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-09-16

ceed or come to grief in the attempt,
for as long as he had any money left,
or any strength, he would spend both
lavishly for that one purpose.
Yet he did not know how to begin,
and his lack of imagination exasper.
ated him beyond measure. He was
sleepless and lost his appetite, which
had never happened to him before; he
stayed on in London instead of going
down to his place in Derbyshire, be-
cause he was always sure that he
meant to start for the continent in a
few hours, with an infallible plan for
success; but he did not go.
He was meditating on the future
one morning, over an almost untouched
breakfast, between nine and ten o'clock,
when his man Stemp brought visit
ing card.
1t was a rather large card, bearing
In the middle two or three odd-looking
signs which meant nothing to him,
but underneath them he read in plain
characters the single word "Barak.'
"Barrack!" grumbled the American.
"Oh, the writings on the back,
see. Now, that's very curious, must
say" he said, after reading the words.
That's very curious" he repeated,
laying strong and equal emphasis on
the last two words. ASK him to walk
in, Stemp."
VERY good, sir"
AS the valet went out Mr. Van Torp
turned his chair half round without
getting up, so that he sat facing the
door. A moment later Stemp had
ushered in the visitor, and was gone
A slim youth came forward without
boldness, but without the least timidi-
ty, as If he were approaching an equal.
He had an oval face, no mustache, a
complexion like cream, short and
thick black hair and very clear dark
eyes that met the Americans fearless
ly. He was under the average height,
and he wore rather thin, loose gray
clothes that had been made by good
tailor. His hands and feet were
smaller than a Europeans.
80 you're Mr.. Barrack," Mr.. Van
Torp, said, nodding pleasantly.
The young face smiled, and the
parted lips showed quite perfect teeth.
"Barak," answered the young man,
giving the name the right sound.
Eyes, understand, but can't pro
nounce it like you. Take a chair, Mr..
Barrack, and draw up to the table"
The young man understood the ges-
ture that explained the speech and sat
down.
$50 you're a friend of Mr.. Logo
theti's, and he advised you to come to
me? Understand? Logotheti of Paris" :"
Barak smiled again, and nodded
quickly as he recognized the name.
The American watched his face atten-
lively.
"All right" he continued. you can
trot out your things now, right on the
tablecloth here"
He had seen enough of Indians and
Mexicans in his youth to learn the
simple art of using signs, and he easi-
ly made his meaning clear to his visi-
tor. Barak produced little leathern
bag, not much bigger than an ordinary
purse, fastened with thin thongs,
which he slowly united. Mr. Van Torp
watched the movements of the deli
cate fingers with great interest, for he
was an observant man.
with those hands," he silently re-
fected, "it's either a lady or thief,
or both"
Barak took several little twists of
tissue paper from the bag, laid them
in a row on the tablecloth and then
began to open them one by one. Each
tiny parcel contained a ruby, and when
the young man counted them there
were five in all, and they were fine
stones if they were genuine; but Mr..
Van Torp was neither credulous nor
easily surprised. When Barak looked
to see what impression he had pro-
duced on such desirable buyer, he
was disappointed.
Mice" said the American careless
ly; mice rubies, but I've seen better.
I wonder if they're real, anyway
They've found out how to make them
by chemistry now, you know"
But Barak understood nothing, of
course, beyond the fact that Mr., Van
Torp seemed Indifferent, which was
common trick of willy customers; but
there was something about this ones
manner that was not assumed. Barak
took the finest of the stones with the
tips of his slender young fingers, laid
it in the palm of his other hand, and
held it under Mr. Van Torp's eyes,
looking at him with an inquiring ex-
preston. But the American shook his
head.
mo rubies to-day, thank you," he
said.
Barak nodded quietly, and at once
began to wrap up the stones, each in
its own bit of paper, putting the twists
back into the bag one by one. Then
he drew the thongs together and tied
them in a neat sort of knot which Mr..
Van Torp had never seen. The young
man then rose to 60, but the million
aire stopped him.
"Say, don't go just yet. I'll show
you a ruby thatll make you sit up"
He rose as he spoke, and Barak un-
derstood his smile and question, and
waited. Mr.. Van Torp went into the
next room, and came back almost i'm