The Irish standard., 1912-12-28

George dld not possess that easy
and adjustable sophtstry which made
Ayanne look upon smuggling as q
clever game between two cheats. Hia
point OF view coincided with For
tunes; 1t was thievery. more or les,
condoned. but the ethics covering II
were soundly established. He had
come very near being culpable him.
self. True, he would not have been
guilty OF smuggling. for profit; but
none the less he would have tried ia
cheat the government His sin had
found him out; he had now neithe.
the rug nor his thousand pounds.
All these cogitations passed through
his mind, disjointedly, as the dinner
progressed toward its end. They bads
Alderman sood.by and Godspeed, az
he was to leave early for Beirut. upon
his way to Smyrna. Fortune went ia
bed; Ryanne sought the billiard,
room and knocked about the balls:
while George asked the manager II
he could send cable from the hotel,
Certainly he could. It took some
time to compose the cable to Mortt
mer; and 1t required some god be.
sides. Mortimer must have q fair view
Of the case; and George presented it.
requesting reply to be sent to Cooks
In Naples, where they expected to be
within ten days.
How much will this BET"
The porter got out his telegraph.
book and studied the rates carefully,
Twelve pounds six, SIR
The porter crested each sovereign
with genufection, the lowest beina
the twelfth. George pocketed the re,
ceipt and went in search of Ryanne,
But that gentleman was no longer
In the billiard-room. Indeed, he had
gone quietly to the other hotel and
written ascable himself, the code Of
which was not to be found in any
book. For long time he seemed ia
be In doubt, for he folded and refold.
ed his message half dozen times be.
fore his actions became decisive. He
tore 1t up and threw the scraps upon
the floor and FASTENED into the street
as II away from temptation. Hs
walked fast. and Indirectly, smokina
tnnumerable cigarettes. He was fight,
Ing hare, the evil in him against tho
good, the chances OF the future against
the irreclaimable pal:,. At the end Of
an hour he returned to the strange ho
tel. His lips were pulled and bleed,
Ing. He had smoked so many ciga,
rettes and had pulled them SO impa,
tiently from his mouth, that the dry
paper had cracked the delicate skin,
He rewrote his cable and paid fol
the sending Of 1t. Then he poked
about the unfamiliar corridors till hi
found the dingy bar. He sat down be.
fore a peg Of whisky, which was fol,
lowed by many more, each a bit sitter
than its predecessor. At last, when
he had had enough to put a normal
mans head upon the table or to cover
his face with the mask Of inanity,
Ryanne fell into the old habit OF talk,
ing aloud,
"Horace, old top, what's the use
Wed just like to be good II we could
eh? But they won't let us. We'd
grow raving mad in a monastery. We
were honest at the time, but va
couldn't stand the monotony Of watch,
ing green olives turn purple upon the
silvery bough. Nay, nay!"
He pushed the glass away from him
and studied the air.bubbles as they
formed, rose to the surface, and were
dissipated.
mo matter what the game has
been, somehow or other, they've
Dashed us. and we've lost out"
He emptied the glass and ordered
another. He and the bartender were
alone.
After all, love is like money. It's
better to live frugally upon the inter.
est than to sQuander the capital and
go bankrupt. And who cares, any.
how"
He drank once more, dropped half.
sovereign upon the table, and pushed
back his chair. His eyes were blood
shot now, and the brown Of his skin
had become a slaty tint; but he
walked steadily enough into the read.
~A-o AOnS "AOA0 AC WAOl0 q bUOTL leu
ter. It was not without a perverted
sense Of humor, for smile twisted
his lips till he had sealed the letter
and addressed the envelope to
George Percival Algernon Jones. He
stuffed it into a pocket and went out
whistling "The Heavy Dragons" from
the opera Of Patience"
Before the lighted window Of shop
he paused. He swayed little. From
a pocket OF his new coat he pulled
out glove. It was gray and small
and much wrinkled. From time to
time he drew it through his fingers.
staring the while at the tawdry trim.
kets in the shop-window. Finally he
looked down at the token. He became
very still. A moment passed; then
he flung the glove into the gutter, and
proceeded to his own hotel. He left
the letter with the porter, paid his
bill. and went out again into the dark,
chill nirhf ~