Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1910-01-20

him in his most dangerous moods as
well as in his best moments, would
have thought a similar comparison
with an elemental force quite as truly
descriptive of him, IL it had occurred
to her The enterprising Greek had
really attempted to carry her OF by
force on the night of the final re-
hearsal before her first appearance on
the stage, and had only been thwarted
because a royal rival had caused him
to be locked up, as If by mistake, In
order to carry her off himself; In
which he also had failed most ridicu-
lousy, thanks to the young singers
friend, the celebrated Nine. Bonanni.
That was a very amusing story. But
on another occasion Margaret had
found herself shut up with her orr
entail adorer in room from which
she could not escape, and he had quite
lost his head; and If she had not been
the woman she was, she would have
Jared i'll. After that he had behaved
more like an ordinary human being.
and she had allowed the natural at.
traction he had for her to draw her
gradually to a promise Of marriage;
and now she talked to Lady Maud
about her gown, but she still put off
naming a day for the wedding, in spite
of Logotheti's growing Impotence.
This was the situation when she
London season broke up and Mr.. Van
Torp landed at Southampton from an
ocean greyhound that had covered the
distance from New York in days IL
hours and 81 minutes, which will
doubtless seem very slow travelling if
any one takes the trouble to read this
tale 20 years hence, though the pas
sengers were pleased because 1t was
not much under the record time for
steamers coming east.
Five hours after he landed Van
Torp entered Lady Mauds drawing
room in the little house in Charles
street, Berkeley Square, where she
had lived with the departed Leven
from the time when he had been at
tached to the Russian embassy till he
had last gone away. She was giving
it up now, and it was already half dis
mantled. It was to see Van Torp that
she was in town in the middle of
August, instead of with her father at
| Craythew or with friends in Scotland.
London was as hot as it could be,
which means that New Yorker would
have found it chilly and an Italian de-
lightfully cool; but the Londoners
were sweltering when Van Torp ar
rived, and were talking of the oppres-
sive atmosphere and the smell of the
pavement, not at all realizing how
blessed they were.
The American entered and stood
still moment to have good look at
Lady Maud. He was a middle-sized,
rather thick-set man, with rude hands,
sandy hair, an over-developed jaw,
and sharp blue eyes that sometimes
fixed themselves in disagreeable
way when he was speaking-eyes that
had looked into the barrel of another
mans revolver once or twice without
wavering, hands that had caught and
saddled and hridled many an unridden
colt in the plains, q mouth like a car
pet-bag when 1t opened, like a closed
vice when it was shut He was not a
handsome man, Mr. Rufus Van Torp,
| hOl OnS Will WhOm any Ou6 SuOTJ VI a
prize-1ghter would NEEDLE, nor one
to haunt the dreams of sweet 49, 1t
was not for his face that Lady Maud,
good and beautiful, liked him better
than any one in the world, except her
own father, and believed in him and
trusted him, and it was assuredly not
for his money. The beggar did not
| live who would dare tn ask him for a
penny after one look at his face, and
there were not many men on either
side of the Atlantic who would have
looked forward to any sort of contest
with him without grave misgivings.
well" he said, advancing the last
step after that momentary pause, and
taking the white hand in both his
own, 'how have you been? Fair to
middling? About that? Well-Tm
glad to see you, gladder than sitting
hen at sunrise!"
GRO BE CONTINUED)