The Washington times., 1911-04-22
THE TIMES DAILY SERIAL STORY
Milady of the Mercenaries
VANCE 49,.
By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
Copyright. The Frank A. Munsey Company

, And then night fell upon the plateau,
with the abruptness of a dark change IN
a theater.
Curtice dined In solitary state; his
host. Hamilton. lay. abed. the victim o. OF
| fever contracted in San Diego. Con-
scious, he had given Curttce the tree-
dom of his house, for old friendship
! sake. Hendry, bereaved as father OF
his child by the loss of his vessel, had
| taken to tramping the streets; he did
not put in an appearance for the meal.
Rising, Jimmy leisurely arrayed him
| self in the uniform of a colonel OF The
the President himself. and with an eye
to the advantage II might give him I'm
the accumulation Of news. he had ac-
cepted a commission In the regiment.
And tonight he must attend the recep-
tion in the Palaclo Federal, a monthly
official affair which nothing, II seemed
could induce Malone TO forego,. even in
this time of trouble
He returned at late hour, thorough
ly Wearied. Upon the face OF things,
the gathering had been Success It
was sort of ball, and official Guayana
had attended with It's wives and daugh-
ters-a spontaneous tribute to the can
niness of your South American, who
will wait to see which way the cat jumps
ere he commits himself to one party or
another. With no thought but to de-
sert the ship of state II indeed she was
to sink, the rats vet waited, calculating
nicely that she might still be saved.
The city had been quiet: no demon
stratton had been attempted during the
reCeption-probahly because anticipated
and provided against by extra guards.
Curtice, who had greatly feared the out
come of this night, breathed freely
with relief. Wakeful, he lit a cigar
cite and mixed him nightcap in the
dining room.
He wondered no longer at the infat-
uation of Malone. Prominent in the
great assembly hall Of the Palacio had
been the woman, the Sonora de Cas-
ada. She was conspicuous not only
for the fairness of her, contrasting so
greatly with feminine Guayana. col
ored is 1t was by intermarriage with
native Indians and the negroes. but
also by an audaciOus insouciance of
manner, bold assumption-or con-
fession-of power which. in other
of a Louis of France. With an ap-
parent lack of effort, she had gather
ed a bout her circle of courtiers, to
whom she accorded an imperious in
difference. having eyes. apparently. 70,
but one man in the throng: and he
the president. Pre- eminently she was
the type of woman to work riot with
the imagination OF the plastic Celt
Her charm. consisting not so much in
certain well-preserved beauty as
vaguely, term magnetism" was pre-
cisely calculated to reduce a Malone
to an abject worshiper.
Curtice had been presented to her
by the president himself. and with a
hourish-"Mv devoted friend. Colonel
Curtice of the Guards" And Jimmy
had been a trlf1e puzzled by her man
ner toward him as she. ignoring the
custom nf the land. offered him her
hand. Had there been in her eyes p
startled, disquieted look? Had indeed
Il trenor slightly aEitated her hand as
she pressed his with a warmth un-
necessary? Or had he imagined It?
Had his inventive fancy been led
lad thought she bore to some one-a
resemblance which he could not place,
but which carried with 1t a faint re-
What was there about her.
a total stranger to him. which sug-
gested something unpleasant?
Jimmy Clinked the ice within his
glass ref1ectively. Then he set II
down very deliberately. His ear had
behind him-the shadow of a foot |
fall. He waited breathless for the |
none came. but he thought |
the Venetian blinds in the long win i
dow stirred-though that might be the |
breeze.
But no; the sixth sense told him
that one stood watching him through
the slanted Stats of the blind. Was
it. then, that he was marked for as
sd ssina tion?
An incautious move might be his
last. Nevertheless. anything were
better than the suspense. His napkin
urged by CULVER of his thigh. slipped
to the floor; STOPPING to recover Ii,
his hand slipped to mis- breast pocket
and brought out his revolver.
Without at that instant, sounded a
sharp click; Curtice thought II the |
cooking of a rifle. He heard his own |
voice breaking huskily from his |
throat.
Don't shoot!' it said 81 am nerp- |
less. I surrender!' |
"Ah. Mr.. Curtice, If one might be !
sure Of that
The speaker laughed: and Jimmy
knew the voice for that of Mr.. Arthur |
(The Continuation of This Story VIII |
BE Found in Tomorrow Issue
of The T1mes.D