Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-09-22
She replied:

| ouc lcpileu.
I have no desire to alleviate your con-
fessed boredom. Your persistence would
be praiseworthy If we'll directed. Waters
wear away stone, the wind crumbles the
marble. but a woman is not moved till
she wishes to be. l never thought that l
should dabble in an intrigue of this sort.
and l am surprised at the amusement it
affords me. l really owe you some graft
tude. The few 1 nave met who know you
tell me That you are a nice young man."
Every man has some portion Of self
love. So his next effort was a pas
sionate denial that he was nice"
When should he meet her? The post
man brought him a letter which con-
tanned one word-Nimmer! He sent
her four pages, a frank and witty de-
scription of himself and his friends.
On the day she received this letter
a cablegram came to her from the far
Mediterranean. Whatever it contained
had the effect to cause all restraint to
disappear from the tone of her letters.
They became charming, and more and
more Hillard found himself loving a
voice. All his watching, all his traps,
came to no successful end. She was
too clever for him. He sought the mail
department of the great newspaper;
the clerk couldn't remember, there
were so many calling for mail. Let
tiers passed to and fro daily now, but
always3she declared that it was i'm
possible for them to meet. No, it was
out Of the, question. to dine with him in
a resfauranT It Was equally out If
the question to, cook q ! ddIIpgnaeeyrs where,
she lived, as, she and her maid diinneeMAt
at a small restaurant It ear So; BY, Finally
she p Pr apps3sesdl, tAQs b 9fBsgs the d lii9as:r az
Cooked From ron the A club Tvs. days WNsgnltt
b J, Wllt ae9nF q sign sAspl; thsR t be- b 9s1a. letter Aeae1
scame. 7'"
1 surrender. The most fatal thing in
life is curiosity. 1t has the power to lead
us into all manner of trouble. And 1 nave
my share Of curiosity. Remember, you
never would have found me. may dwell
In a garnet; l may be hideous; perhaps
nothing remains to me but my voice.
And now the terms. And if you do not
follow them confidently and blindly your
dinner will grow cold in the carriage.
Dinner will be at s, Feb. l. At Z a car
rage viii call for you. The messenger
will blindfold you. He will then proceed
to the club and take the dinner and bring
you here. Be warned! If you so much
as lift the corner of the bandage, the ro-
nance will end then and there. 1 realize
that l am doing something very foolish
and unwise; but, as you say, am a wo-
man who has seen much of the worl7.
Thus l have my worldly side. I shall i,
1t as a buffer.
"Blindfolded." Hillard scrubbed his
chin. All these precautions! Who was
she? What was she? Since there was
no escape, blindfolded he would go.
AT half after 6 on the night of the
LIST of February, then, he began to
dress. 1t was some time since he had
taken such particular care.
9Th signor seems in high spirits
tonight" observed Giovanni as he laid
out the linen.
Man. I'm happy and greatly eX-
cited. Do you recollect the lady who
sang under my window? l am going
to meet her tonight. The mystery will
be a mystery no longer"
"Ah!" Giovanni stroked his lips
doubtfully. 1T is not like the signor
to plunge blindly into adventures like
this"
1.-THE very word, blindly. I go blind
folded, AMIGO. What do you think Of
that?"
"Blindfolded9" Giovanni was horri-
fed. 1T is a trap! he cried. "They
will assassinate you! No; you shall
not go! In Rome, at the carnivals, it
is an old game. They will rob you"
"Take the number Of the cab as l
get in. If anything should happen,
give the number to the police"
Giovanni, with a sharp movement of
the hands, expressed his resignation
to the worst. He knew the futility of
arguing with his master. But he fol-
lowed him down to the hall and tied on
the bandage himself. He was honest
about it, too, for Hilarde cpuld:see moth
ing. Then the messehhEgeer boy took him
by the hang and 11eesd Tim to the car,
rrhiaagese. As THE ttMMo were climbing in
Giovanni spoKe rapidly in. bis, native
tongue.
There is no Number gy'Ea BE- on the car
riage!w ~
100 late to bother now"
The carriage rolled off toward the
club, where the dinner, hot and smok-
ing, was taken on.
(To BE Continued