Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-18
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was too wise TO press ner.
'And can you afford to throw away
ten pounds?" with assumed lightness.
my one permanent impression Of you
is the young man who was always
forced to borrow car-fare whenever he
returned from Monte Carlo"
"A fool and his money. But I'm
rich man now," he volunteered. And
briefly he sketched the exploit of the
Yhiordes rug.
1T was very brave of you. But has
it ever occurred to you that it wasn't
honest?"
''Honest?" frankly astonished that
she should question the ethics. "Oh, l
say. Fortune; you don't call 1t dis
honest to get the best of a pagan!
Aren't they alweys getting the best
Of us?"
''If you had bargained with him and
beaten him down, it would have been
different. But, Horace, you stole It;
you admit that you did"
II took my life in my hands. l
think that evened up things"
mo. And you sold it to Mr. Jones?'
"Yes, and Mr.. Jones was only too
glad to buy It, told him the facts.
He wasn't particularly eager to bring
up the ethics of the case. \ Why, child,
what the duce is Turk? I shouldn't
cry out If some one stole my bible"
GOOD gracious! do you carry one?'
"Well, there's always one On the
room-stand in the hotels I patronize."
~ suppose it all depends upon how
We look at things"
That's it. A different pair Of
spectacles for every pair of eyes"
If only he weren't in love with her!
thought the girl. He would then be an
amusing comrade. But whenever he
met her he quietly pressed his suit.
He had never spoken openly of love.
for which she was grateful, but his at
tentions, his little kindnesses, his I'M
obstructive protection when those other
men were at the villa, made the read
ing between the lines no difficult
matter.
what shall you do If this Mahomed
you speak of comes"
'Turn him loose upon our friend
JONES'" with a laugh.
"And what will he do to him."
Garry him Off to Bagdad and chop
o. his head" Ryanne TESTED.
Tell me, is there any possibility Of
Mr.. Jones coming to harm?"
Cant say" Her concern for
Percival annoyed him.
SIS it fair, when he paid you gen.
erously?"y, 49,, ,.... .-.-... ...~ -,
He did rot look into the grave eyes.
They were the only pair that ever, dis
concerted him. my dear Fortune, it's
a question which is the more valuable
to me, my skin or Percival's."
ut isn't fair"
Prom my point Of view It's fair
enough. warned him; told him the
necessary facts, the eventual dangers.
He accepted them all with the Yhior-
des. ] see nothing unfair in the deal,
since I risked my own life in the first
place"
"And why must you do these des-
perate things?" -.
ooh love excitement. My one idea
in life is to avoid the humdrum." h.
els it necessary to risk your life for
these excitements? Is your life, moth
ing more to you than something to ex-
pertinent WITH"
Truth, sometimes don't know.
Fortune. Sometimes don't care
When one has gambled for big stakes,
1t is hard to play again for penny
points"
"a strong, healthy man like you
ought not to court death"
II do not seek it. My only tempta-
ton is to see how near I can get to the
man in the shroud, as some poet calls
it. without being touched I'll make
you my confessor You see. it is like
this. A number of wearied men re4
Gently formed a company whereby
became an obsolete word in
our vocabulary. You must not think
I'm testing: I'm serious enough. This
company ferrets out adventures and
romances and sells them to men of
spirit I became member. and the
trip to Bagdad is the result. One never
has to share with the company. The
rewards are all yours. All one has
to do Is to pay lump sum down for
the adventure furnished You work
out the end yourself unhindered and
unassisted."
"Are you really serious?'
Never more So Now, Percival AL.
geron has always been wanting an adj
venture, but the practical side or him
has made him hold aloof. told him
about this concern, and he refuses to
believe in it. So am going to under
take to prove it to him. This is con.
fdential GU will say nothing,
know"
He will come to no harm physic"
ally?" ..f
Lord, no! It will be mild and in
nocuous. OF course, if any zone told
him that an adventure was toward for
his especial benefit, it would spoil all:
can rely upon your silence?
She was silent. He witnessed her
INDIGESTION with distrust. Perhaps he
had said too much. r,. ss,,.
Wont you promise? Haven't /
always been kind to you, Fortune,
times when you most needed kind
ness? -.
81 promise to say nothing. But If
only harm comes to that young man,
either in Jest or in earnest, | will never
speak to you again"
81 see that, after getting Percival
Algeron into an adventure. I've got to
cicerone him safely out Of it. Well,