The Washington herald., 1911-02-13
A SPLENDID HAZARD
: By HAROLD MacGRATH
1910 The BOOsNerm cOmransl
By HAROLD MacGRATH
Copyright. 1910 The BOOos-Merrfll cOmpanyl

be so in Europe But it pIeases me.
have been alone so much that I grow
moody; and that is not good
There was always that trifling German
accent, no matter what tongue he used,
but it was perceptible only to the trained
ear And yet, to Fitzgerald's mind, the
man was at times something Gallo in his
| liveliness.
You will never use your title, then?'
Brcitmann laughed. No"
You have made great mistake. You
should have fired the first shot with 1t
| You would have married an hetress by
this time" ironically. "and all your trou-
bles would be over"
.Or begun" in the same spirit. I'm
no fortune hunter. in the sense you mean.
Pah! l have no debts; no crumbling
schloss to rebuild. All l ask is to be let
alone" with a flash of that moodiness of
which he had spoken. How long will
you be here?'
Cant say. Three or four days. per-
haps. 1t all depends. What shall 1 say
about you to them?''
"AS little as possible
And that's really about all 1 could
say" with a suggestion.
But the other failed TO meet the sugges-
! tion halfway.
You might forget about my ragged
| linen in Paris acridly.
I'll omit that" good-naturedly. Come.
be cheerful; fortunes wheel will turn, and
| it pulls up as well as down. Remember
that
Il must be on the ascendancy. for God
knows that I an at the nadir just at
present" He breathed in the sweet
freshness which still clung to the morn
ing. and settled his shoulders like a re-
cruiting sergeant.
How we'll the man has studied his
English thought Fitzgerald. He rarely
hesitated for a word, and his idioms were
always nicely adjusted.
The admiral was alone. He received
them with an easy ccurtliness. which is
more noticeable in the Old World than
in the New. He directed the servants
to take charge OF the luggage, and to
Breitmann there was never word about
work. That had all been decided by let
ter. He urged the neH secretary to re-
turn to the library as soon as he had
established himself
Strange that you should know the
man. said the admiral. 1T comes in
pat. From what YOU say, he must be a
brilliant fellow. But this situation seems
rather out of his line
We all have our ups and downs, ad-
niral. I've known a pinch or two myself
We are an improvident lot, we writer's.
who wander round the globe; rich to-
day, poor tomorrow. But on the
other hand, it's something TO set down
on paper what king says, the
turn of battle, to hobnob with
famous men, explorers, novelists, paint
ers, soldiers. scientists. to say nothing
of the meat in the pie and the bottom
crust I'm going to write a novel some
day myself
Here" said the admiral. with a sweep
OF the hand. which included the row
upon row of books. come here to do it.
Make 1t pirate story; there's always
room for another"
"But it takes Stevenson to write It.
1t is very good of you, though Where is
Miss killigTew this morning.
She hasn't returned from her ride
All: Come in, Mr.. Breitmann, and sit
down. By the way, you two must be
fair horsemen.''
Breitmann smiled, and Fitzgerald
laughed.
Il dare say" replied the latter, that
there's only one thing we two haven
ridden--ostriches. Camels and elephants
and donkeys; we've done some warm
sprinting. Eh, Breitnann?'
The secretary agreed with nod. He
was rather grateful for Fitzgeralds pres
ence. This occupation was not going to
be rnenial; at the least, there would be
pleasant sides to =. And, then. II might
not take him week to complete his own
didiT. Inere was no mlSreading the
admiral; he was a gentleman, affable,
kindly, and good story teller, too, crisp
and to the point, sailor fashion Brett
mann cleverly drew him out. Pirates,
He dared not smile. Why, there was
hardly such a thing in the pearl zone.
and China was on the highway to re-
spectaoillty. And every once in so often
there was a futile treasure hunt He
grew cold. II this old man but knew,
htrA
geraId?"
"Social?''
The admiral laughed mo. The law
doesn't permit you to stick pins in that
kind. No; 1 mean that kind" indicating
the cases.
Both young men admitted that this
held had been left unexplored by either
of them.
1t was during a lull, when the talk
had fallen to the desultory, that the hall |
door opened, and Laura came in Her
cheeks glowed like the sanny side Of a |
Persian peach; her eyes sparkled. he
tween her moist red lips there was a |
nasn or hrTn, white teeth; the seal-brown |
halr glinted Venetian red-for at that
moment she stood in the path of the sun
shine which poured in at the window
and blown tendrils in picturesque disorder
escaped from under her hat.
The three men rose hastily. +ba fa+ho-
with pride, Fitzgerald with gladness. and
Breitmann with doubt and wonder and
fear. ''N