Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-18
Continued from page 7

letters from where they lay on the safe, how
he rearranged his clothes, cleaned his hand
with the curtains, took another cigarette
from the box, left the room, babe the negro,
in Arabic, conduct him to the exit of the
Village Negro, which the black, suspecting
nothing, obediently did, and so came back
to the cafe and to the Spanish girl, who was
awaiting him.
But he did these things-falling prone
upon his face as he crossed the threshold of
Perdita, utterly exhausted, unstrung, worn
out.
FROM that moment the Cafe du Legion
ceased to exist. Perdita had other
he was half delirious. During many days
she nursed him, watched him, hung over
him, and when he was fit to be left alone she
began her negotiations with the Colonel of
the Legion for Belmont's discharge from that
regiment of despair, in return for the letters
he had brought from the Village Negro. All
this and more she accomplished.
Then, one day, comrade of the Legion
brought Belmont a letter with an English
postmark on it. He pondered long over
this letter, looking very grave. Perdita
asked him if he had received bad news.
Both bad and good" he said. "A man
whom l loved once and misunderstood, who
loved me once ana also misunderstood me,
is dead. He was my father. That is the
bad. And the good is that now | can do as
would had done long ago. He took her
in his arms.
"Perdita, l love you" he said simply.
Her eyes glowed up at him. "Ah, adore
you'll worship you'll am your slave!"
They kissed for the first time since that
all but fatal kiss which The Shoulder had
surprised.
CHAPTER TX. Belmont Comes Home
A MONTH later, travelling openly, two
people came ashore from the Oran boat
at Marseilles, English gentleman, well
dressed, apparently wealthy, and his wife, a
woman of Spanish appearance.
Awaiting them was an elderly, gray haired
Englishman, prim, precise, legal looking,
dressed in black, obviously lawyer of some
standing. He bowed as the two passengers
came up to him.
well, Sandlands!" said the man who had
been Belmont of the Foreign Legion. u re-
.ceived your letters-and drafts" He
smiled. "You will never know how needed
them" He offered his hand, and the old
lawyer shook it affectionately.
"My Lord" he said, @this is great mo-
ment for me. 1t has always been my wish
to see you return and take up your rightfu1
position; it is what have worked for for
years. had begun to fear that it would
never be. Your father understood at the
last that he had been harsh and autocratic.
He did what he could to put things right.
will explain everything in due time
Belmont-or, as he had now become,
Lord Cleremont- slipped his hand through
his wife's arm. HLet me present you to
Lady Cleremont, Sandlands," he said, ito
whom owe debt of gratitude which shall
never be able adequately to repay"
His voice vibrated strangely. It required
but little perception to see that the speaker
adored his wife to the point of sheer rever-
ence.
Perdita put out her hand to the old law
yer, in the pretty, unaccustomed way of the
foreign woman who is learning the English
custom of shaking hands.
@My husband" she said proudly in de-
icious broken English, "is so generous that
he thinks too much of the poor help 1 was
once able to give him."
Belmont laughed. @That is what she al
ways says, Sandlands."
The old lawyer smiled. at is a matter
that you must settle between yourselves,
and you have lifetime to do it in, he said
quietly.
J:fo+;,,,o I'LL ~,o4 ~