The Washington herald., 1911-02-10
A SPLENDID HAZARD
By HAROLD MacGRATH
The Ne1uC
By HAROLD MacGRATH

the walls. There were many like it up
| and down the coast There were pic
| lures on the walls Of terribh, wrecks at
sea- naval battles. and a race horse or
| two.
| The landlord himself lifted Fitzserald's S
| bag to the counter
; "A room for the night and supper, right
away"
; Here. Jimmy called the landlord to
| growing numbering boy. take this
| satchel up to number five
| The boy went his way. eying the labels
respectfully and with some awe This
was the third of its kind he had ported
upstairs in the past twenty-four hours.
Fitzgerald cast an idle glance at the
| loungers. There were half a dozen of
| them. some of them playing cards and
some displaying talent on a pool table,
| badly worn and beer-Stained. There was
nothing distinctive about any of them
! excepting the little man who was read
! ing an evening paper. and the only dis
tinctive thing about him was a pair of
! bright eyes Behind their gold-rimmed
spectacles they did not waver under F'itZ-
| e. raids scrutiny; so the latter dismissed
| the room and its company from his mind
and proceeded into dinner. AS he was
! late, he dined alone on mildly warm
chicken. greasy potatoes. and muddy
coffee. He was used often to worse fare
| than this. and no complaint was even
thought of. After he had changed his
| linen he took the road to the house at
| the top of the hill. Now, then what
| sort of an affair was this going to be,
| such as would bend girl of her bearing
| to speak to him on the street? More
over, at a moment when he was playing
a grown-up child's game? She had known
| that he was prevaricating when he had
stated that he represented a charitable
organization; and he knew that she knew
he knew it. WhRt, then? 1t could not be
joke; women never rise to such extrav-
agant heights. Pirates and treasures
he wouldn't have been surprised at all
! had Old Long John Silver hobbIed out
from behind any one of those vine
grown fences, and demanded his purse
The street was dim. and more than once
he stumbled over loose board in the
| wooden walk. If the admiral had been
the right kind Of philanthropist he would
have furnished stone. But then, it was
one thing to give a country town sOme-
thing and another thing to force the town
council into accepting it. The lamp posts
also of wood, stood irreGularly apart.
often less than hundred feet. and some
| times more. lighting nothing but their
| immediate vicinity. Fitzgerald could see
the lamps plainly but could separate none
of the objects round or beneath. That
is why he did not see the face of the
man who passed him in hurry. He
never forgot a face. if it Yere mans;
his only difficulty was in placing it at
once. Up to this time one woman re-
sembled another feminine faces made
no particular impression on his memory
He would have remembered the face of
the man who had just passed. for the
very fact that he had thought Of it often
The man had come into the dim radiance
of the far light, then had melted into the
blackness of the night again. leaving as
sign of his presence the creak of his
! shoes and the aroma of a cigarette.
Fitzgerald tramped on. cheerfully. 1t
was not an unpleasant climb. only dark
The millionaire's home seemed to grow
up out Of a fine park. There was great
iron fence inclosing the grounds. and the
lights on top of the gates set the dull
red trunks of the pines a-glowing. There
were no lights shining in the windows Of
the pretty lodge. Still. the pedestrians
gate was ajar. He passed in, fully ex-
pecting to be greeted by the growl of
dog. Instead. he heard mysterious foot
steps on the gravel. He listened. Some
one was running.
Hello, there!'' he called.
No answer. The sound ceased. The
runner had evidently taken to the silent
going Of the turf. Fitzgerald came-to
stand Should he so on or return to
the hotel? Whoever was running had no
right here. Fitzgerald rarely carried
arms. at least in civilized countries;
stout cane was the best weapon for gen.
eral purposes. He swung this lightly.
II am going on. should like to see
the library"
He was not overfond OF unknown dan
gers In the night; but he possessed
keen ear and sharp pair Of eyes, being
good hunter. A poacher. possibly. At
any rate, he determined to 30 forward
ana ring the bell.
Y.xS, a.. - ~ Z, ~ .fhn 1,s,s,.. ~nss S<sIA