Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1909-09-23

circumstances nor let ner tolerance
render him oblivious to his place.
which must be a servants, not a low
er's.
The better to convince himself of
this he plunged desperately into Il for
lorn attempt to make head or tail of
Belgian railway schedules, complicat-
ed as these OF necessity are by the
: alteration from normal time notation
TO the abnormal system sanctioned by
the government. and vice versa, With
every train that crosses a boundary
line of the state.
SO preoccupied did he become in this
pursuit that he was subconsciously
Impressed that the girl had spoken
ewice ere he could detach his interest
from the cXaspcratingly inconclusive
ard incoherent cohorts of ranked fig
urcs.
Cant you find out an%ything?" Dor
othy was asking.
"Precious little" he grumbled. I'D
give my head for Il Bradshaw. Only
1t wouldn't be Il fair exchange. There
seems to be an express for Eru@cs
leaving the Care du Nord, Brussels.
at tifty-flve minutes after % o'clock,
and If Pm not mistaken that's the
latest train out of Brussels and the
earliest we can catch-if we can catch
1t. I've never been in Brussels, and
heaven only knows how long it would
AXE us to cab it from the Care du
Midi to the N0rd."
In this statement, however, Mr..
Kirkwood was Fortunately mistaken.
Not only heaven, it appeared. had
cogniZance of the distance between
the two stations. While Kirkwood
was still debating the question. with
pessimi#tic tendencies. the friendly
guard had occasion TO pass through
the coach and. being tapped. yielded
the desired information with entire
tractability.
1t would be Il a ride OF perhaps ten
minutes. Monsieur, however, would
serve himself We'll if he offered the
driver IN advance tip as an incentive
TO speedy driving. Why? Why, be-
cause Chere the guard consulted his
watch, and kiriwood very keenly re-
GREETED the loss of his own)-because
this train, announced to arrive in Brus-
sells some twenty minutes prior to the
departure of that other, was already
late. But, yes, a matter Of some ten
minutes-could that not be made up?
All, monsieur, but who should say?
The guard departed, doubtless with
private views as to the madness Of all
English speaking travellers.
"And there we are!" commented
Kirkwood in Fictitious resignation.
eff we're obliged to stop overnight in
Brussels our friends will be OH our
back before we can get out in the
morning if they have to come by
motor car" He reflected bitterly Oh
the fact that with but a little more
money at his disposal he, too, could
hire a motor car and cry defiance to
their prosecutors. However" he
amended, with rising spirits, $50 much
the better our chance Of losing Mr..
Hobbs. We must be ready to drop o.
the instant the train stops"
He began to unfold another time
table, threatening again to lose him
self completely, and was thrown into
the utmost confusion by the touch of
the girls hand, in appeal placed lightly
on his arm. And had she been observ-
ant she might have seen a second time
his knuckles whiten beneath the skin
as he asserted his self control, though
this time not over his temper.
His eyes, dumbly eloquent, turned to
meet hers. She was smiling.
please" she iterated, with the least
Imperative pressure on his hand, push
ing the folder aside.
Il beg pardon:" he muttered blankly.
rs it quite necessary, now, to study
those schedules? Haven't you decided
to try for the Bruges eypress?"
"NNhy, yes, butt
''Then please don't leave me to my
thoughts all the time, Mr.. KirkWood."
There was a tremor of laughter in her
voice, but her eyes We're grave and
earnest. "I'm very weary of thinking
Guided, with a nervous little laugh, sis
all I've had to do for days."
"Pm afraid I'm very stupid" he hu-
mored her.
She watched him, Il little piqued by
his absentminded mood for a moment,
then, and not without a trace of NAL
ice, "Must 1 tell you again what to
talk about" she asked.
"Forgive me. l was thinking about
If not talking to you. I've been won
dering just why it was that you left
the Alethea at Queensborough to go
on by steamer"
And Immediately he was sorry that
his ~tactless query had swung the con-
versation to bear upon her father, the
thought of whom could not but prove
painful to her. But it was too late to
mend matters. Already her evanescent
thlsh of amusement had given place to
remembrance.
ut was on my fathers account" she
told him In a steady voice, but with
averted eyes. "He is Il very poor snil-
or, and the promise of a rough passage
A-1