, 1912-02-15
(byHAR0D ADM

HN@SH

An' oass! murmure0 Cathewe
from behind his journal.
by the way. Hewitt" said Fitz-
gerald. have you ever heard of a
chap called Karl Breitmann?"
Yes" answered Hewitt. Never
me- him personally. though"
Il have joined In Cathewe quietly.
What do you know about him?'
Met him in Paris last year. Met
him once before in Macedonia. Dined
with me In Paris. Amazing lot OF
adventures. Rather down on his luck.
l should Judge
Couple OF scars on his left cheek
and a bit Of the scalp gone; German
student sort. rather good looking, fine
physique?"
That's the man."
Il know him. but not very we'll"
And Cathewe fumbled among the
other newspapers.
Dine with me tonight" urged Hew-
lit.
I'll tell you what. See that Italian
over there with the statues? am
going to buy him out. and IL l don't
make a sale in half an hour I'll sign
the dinner checks"
"Donet"
''T1l take half of tina bet" said
Cathewe, rising. ut will be cheap"
Ten minutes later the two older
men saw Fitzgerald hang the tray
from his shoulders and take his posi-
ton on the corner.
Il love that chap. Hewitt: he is what
I always wanted to be. but couldn't
be-" Cathewe pulled the dropping
ends of his mustache. Heaven on
arguing with him."
But l bought him OUT" protested
Fitzgerald. There's no law to pre-
vent my selling these"
"Oh. I'm wise. We want no horse
play on this corner; no joyful col
lege stunts" roughly.
Fitzgerald saw that frankness u
be his card. so he played it. Look
here. Do you see those two gentle
men in the window thereT"
THE club?"
Yes. l made a wager that l could
sell one of these statues in half an
hour. II you force me Off I'll lose a
dinner"
Well, I'll make a bargain with you.
You can stand here for half an hour.
! but II you open your mouth to a wo-
man I'll run you in. No fooling; I'm
talking straight. I'm going to see
what your game is"
II agree"
So the policeman turned to his cross
ing and reassumed his authority over
traffic, all the while eve losing sight
Of the impromptu vender.
Many pedestrians paused. To see a
well dressed young man hawking plas-
ter Venuses was no ordinary sight.
They knew that some play was going
on. but with hat inveterate suspicion
of the city pedestrian none of them
stopped to speak or buy. Some news
boys gathered round and offered a
few suggestions. Fitzgerald gave
them pack in kind.
Once he turned to see If his friends
were still watching him. They were
two among many. for the exploit had
gone round. and there were other
wagers being laid on the result. While
his head was turned and his grin was
directed at the club window a hand
some young woman In blue came
along. She paused, touched her lips
with her gloved hand m~editatingly
and then wen right about face swift
". Some one In the window motion
ed frantically to the vender, but he
did not understand. Ten minutes left
in which to win his bet. He hadn't
made a very good bargain. HIN! The
young woman in blue was stopping
Her exquisite face was perfectly seri-
GUS as her eyes raj over the collection
on the tray. They were all done
execrably. something Fitzgerald hadn't
noticed before.
How much are these apieceT"
.'Er-25 cents. ma'am." he stammer-
ed As a matter of fact he d any
idea what the current price list was.
"You seem very well dressed"
doubtfully. land you do not look hun
cry"
81 am doing this for charity's sake"
finding his wits. The policeman how
cred near. scowling. He was power
less, since the young woman had spo-
ken first.
81 will take this Canova, l believe"
she finally decided. opening her purse
and producing the necessary silver.
"Of course. 1t is quite impossible to
send this?"
eyes. ma'am. Sending IL would eat
up all the profits" But with III con
cealed eagerness. IF you will leave
your address l can send al many as
you like"
81 will do that"
Incredible as it seemed. neither face
lost its repose: he dared no smile. and
the young woman did not care to.
There was something familiar to his
memory in the oval face, but this was