The state herald., 1910-10-28
CHAPTER II.
A Torn Telegram.

l lunched alone at the gilmore
house, and went back to the city at
once. The sun had lifted the mists,
and q fresh summer wind had cleared
away the smoke pail. The boulevard
was full of cars flying countryward
for the Saturday half.holiday, toward
golf and tennis, green fields and bab-
bling girls. gritted my teeth and
thought of Mcknight at Richmond.
And then, for the first time, | associ'
ated John Gilmore's granddaughter
with the West" that Mcknight had
irritably flung at me.
still carried my travelling bag, for
Meningitis vision at the window OF
the empty house had not been without
effect. | did not transfer the notes to
my pocket, and. II ! had, 1t would
not have altered the situation later.
Only the other day Mcknight put
this very thing up to me.
II warned you," he reminded me.
'I told you there were queer things
coming. and to be on your guard. You
ought to have taken your revolver"
1T would have been of exactly as
much use as bucket Of snow in
Africa" retorted. IF | had never
closed my eyes, or II had kept my
finger on the trigger of six-shooter
(which is novelesque for revolver).
the result would have been the same.
And the next time you want n little
excitement with every variety of thrill
thrown in, can put you by way OF It.
You begin by getting the wrong berth
in Pullman car. and end"
"Oh, | know how II ends" he fin
ished shortly. Don't you suppose the
whole things written on my spinal
marrow"
But | am wandering again. That is
the difficulty with the unprofessional
storyteller: He yaws back and forth
and can't keep in the wind; he drops
his characters overheard when he
hasn't any further use for them and
browns them; he forgets the coffee
pot and the frying pan and all the
other small essentials, and. II he car
ries a love affair. he mutters fer
vent Allah be praised" when he
lands them. drenched with adventures.
at the matrimonial dock at the end of
the final chapter.
put in a thoroughly unsatisfactory
afternoon. Time dragged eternally. I
dropped into n summer vaudeville. and
bought some ties at a haberdasher's,
I was bored but uneXpecsant; had
no premonitlon OF what was to come.
Nothing unusual had ever happened
TO me; friends of mine had some
times sailed the high seas Of ndven.
ture or sklrtod the coasts Of chance.
but all Of the shipwrecks had occurred
after n woman passenger had been
taken on. Ergo" ! had always said
no womenl" repeated II TO my.
self that evening almost sayagely.
when found my thoughts straying
back TO the picture OF John Gilmore's
granddaughter, even argued as I
ate my solitary dinner at a downtown
restaurant
Haven't you troubles enough"
reflected. without looking for MORE ?
Hasn't Bad News gone lame, with n
matinee race booked for next week.
Otherwise aren't you eomfortable'
Isn't your house In order? DO you
want 10 sell pony In order 10 have
the library done over In mission or
the drawing room In gold7 DO you
want somebody to count the empty
cigarette boxes lying around every
morninE7"
Lay Il to the long idle afternoon. to
the new environment, 90 anything you
like, but began to think that per.
hhpH ! did. was confoundedly lone,
iy For the first timo In my life It's
even course began 10 waycr The
needle registered warning marks on
the matrimonial solsmograph. lines
vague enough, but lines
My alligator bag lay at my feet.
rtill locked While | waited for my
coffee leaned back and surveyed tho
people incurlously There were the
usual couples intent on each other.
my now state Of mind made me re-,
gard them with tolerance, Hut at the
next table, where n man and woman
dined together n different atmosphere
prevailed, Ny attention was first
caught by the woman'a face. She had
been speaking earnestly across the
table, her profile turned to mo. had
noticed casually her earnest manner.
her uombor clothes, and tho great
mass ~ odd, bronze colorcd hair on
her neck Hut suddenly she glanced
toward me and tho utter hopeloHuness
almost tfhFedy-of hor expression
struck me with n shock She half
closed her eyes and drew long
breath. then hho turned again 10 the
man across the table
Neither one was eating iIa rat low
r. hls chair, his chin on his cheat.
ugly folds Of thick hcah protruding
over hih collar He was probably %.
bald, EfotoHque, Hullen. and yet not
without suggestion Of power hut he