Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1912-02-01


now in use on the vaudeville stage.
mighty handy when you're thirsty" :"
Flanagan advised.
They built up the fire and sat round
it costly. They were all more or less
happy, all except Fortune. So long as
she had been captive of Mahomed,
she had forced the thought from her
mind: but now it came back with a
full measure Of misery. Never, never
would she return to Mentone, not even
for the things that were rightfully
hers. Where would she go and what
would she do ? She was without money.
and the only thing she possessed OF
value was the Soudanese trinket
Ryanne had forced upon her that day
in the bazaars. She heard the men
talking and laughing, but without
sensing. No, she could not accept
charity. She must fight out her battle
all alone. The child OF a
thief; for never would her clear mind
accept smuggling as other than thiev-
ing. SO Neither could she accept
pity; and she stole glance at George,
as he blew clouds Of smoke luxuriantly
from his mouth and nose, his eyes
half closed in ecstasy. How little 1t
took to comfort a man!
Ryanne suddenly lowered his pipe
and smote his thigh. HE'LL" he NUT
tered
whats up?" asked George.
" Iwant you to look at me, Percival;
want you to take a good look at :nis
thing I've been carrying round as a
head" ,Eg
"It looks all right" observed George,
puzzled.
empty as dried cocoanut! never
thought of 1t till this moment. won
dered whoy he was in such a hurry to
get out. I've. let that copperhided devil
get away with that nine hundred
pounds!"
CHAPTER XVII.
Mrs. Chedsoye retired to her room
early that memorable December night.
Her brother could await the return OF
Horace. She hadn't the least doubt as
to the result: a green young man
pitted against a seasoned veterans s
duplicity. She wished Jones no harm
physically; in fact, she had put down
the law against it. Still, much de-
pended upon chance. But for all her
confidence of the outcome, q quality
of, restlessness pervaded her. she
tried to analyze 1t, Intellectually at
first. Perhaps she did not look deep
enough perhaps she did not care
thoroughly to examine the source OF
it.. Insistently, however, 1t recurred;
and by repeated assaults it at length
conquered her. It was the child.
Did she possess, after all, latent
sense OF motherhood, and was It
stirring to establish itself? She really
did not know. Was 1t not fear. rather
than motherly instinct? She paused IN
front Of the mirror, but the glass
solved only externals. She could not
see her soul there in the reflection;
she saw only the abundant gifts OF
nature, splendid, double-handed, prodi-
gal. And in contemplating that reflec-
tion, she forgot for space what she
was seeking. But that child! From
whom did she inherit her peculiar
ideas Of life? From some Puritan
ancestor of her fathers; certainly not
from her side. She had never bothered
her head about Fortune, save to house
and clothe her, till the past forty-eight
hours. And now it was too late to pick
up the thread she had cast aside as
not worth considering. To no one is
given perfect wisdom; and she recog-
nized the flaw in hers that had led her
to ignore the mental attitude OF the
girl. She had not even made friend
OF her; mistake bit of stupidity
absolutely foreign to her usual keen.
ness. The child lacked little of being
beautiful, and in three or four years
she would be. Mrs. Chedsoye was with.
out jealousy; she accepted beauty IN
all things unreservedly. Possessing as
she did an Incompatible beauty Of her
own, she could well afford to be gen.
ero,ls. Perhaps the true cause Of this
disturbance lay in the knowledge that
there was one thing her daughter had
inherited from her directly, almost
Iidentically; indeed, of this pattern the
younger possessed the wider margin
| OF the two: courage. Mrs. Chedsoye
was afraid of nothing except wrinkles
and Fortune was too young to know
this fear. So then, the mother slowly
began to comprehend the spirit which
had given life to this singular per
turbation Fortune had declared that
she would run away; and she had the
courage to carry out the threat.
Resolutely Mrs. ChedsQye rang fol
her maid Celeste. Thoughts like these
only served to disturb the marble
smoothness of her forehead.
| The two teyan to pack. That Is tc
say, Celeste began; Mrs. Chedsoye
generally took charge Of these
maneuvers from the heights. as be
came the officer in command. Bending
was likely to enlarge the vein in the
neck; and all those beautiful gowns
would not be worth soldi without the
added perfection Of her lineless throat
and neck. She was getting along II
years, too, fact which was assuming
/! the proportions of a cross; and more
land more she must husband thaaa ling