Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-16

! office of his bankers there to Paris,
Paris to Naples, Naples to New York.
That Ryanne did not open these let
| tiers was in nowise due to- moral
, suasion: whatever they contained
could be of no vital Importance to
him.
! Nov, Horace, we shall bend the
! crook of our elbow in the bar room.
The reaction warrants stimulant.
! An hour later the whole affair was
nicely off his hands. The cable had
cost him three sovereigns. But what
was that? Niente. rien; nothing; a
mere bagatelle. For the first time in
| weeks a sense of security invaded his
being
It was by now 8 O'clock; and Per
cival Algernon still reposed upon his
bed of ease. Let him sleep. Many days
were to pass ere he would again know
the comfort of linen sheets, the luxury
of down under his ear.
What to do? unused the rogue. On
. the morrow Mr.. Jones would leave FOR
Port Said. Ryanne shook his head ana
! with his cane beat light tattoo
against the side of his shin. Abduc.
ton was rather out OF his sphere or
action. And yet, the suppression OF
! Percival was by all odds the most I'm.
! portant move to be made. He had
volunteered this service and &C
complish 1t he must, in face OF all OBJ
stacles, or poof! went the whole droll
fabric. For to him it was droll, and
never it rose to his mind that he did
not chuckle saturninely. 1t was kind
of nightmare where one hung in mid
air, ones toes just beyond the flaming
dragons jaws. The rewards would pc
enormous, but these he would gladly
surrender for the supreme satisfac-
ton of turning the poisoned arrow IN
| the heart of that canting hypocrite, that
SNUG church-deacon. the sanctimon'
! ious. the sleek, the well.fed first born
And poor Perclval Algernon, for no
blame of his own, must be taken Dy
the scruff of his neck and thrust
bodily into this tangled web OF scheme
and under-scheme 1t was Infinitely
humorous.
He had vague plan regarding
Mahomed, guardian OF the Holy
! Yhiordes, but it was not possible for
him to be in Cairo at this early date.
That he would eventually appear
Ryanne never doubted. He knew the
Oriental mind. Mahomed-El-Gebe
would cross every barrier less effec-
tive than death. 1t was a serious mat
ter to the Moslem. II he returned 10
the palace at Bagdad, minus the rug, 1t
would mean free transportation to the
Arabian gulf, bereft of the most I'M
portant part of his excellent anatomy,
his head. Some day, If he lived,
Ryanne intended telling the exploit
to some clever chap who wrote; it
would look rather we'll in print.
TO turn Mahomed against Per-
cival as being the instigator
would be an adrot bit of owrk;
and it would rid him OF poth
of them Gioconda said that she
wanted no rough work. How like
woman! Here was mans game.
desperate one; and Gioconda, not for
getting that it was her inspiration,
wanted 1t handled with gloves! 1t was
bare.hand work, and the sooner she
was made to realize this, the better.
1t was no time for tuning fiddles.
Mahomed out of 1t, there was GER
tain English bar in the Quarter Rosetti
"A place of dubious repute. Many
derelicts drifted there in search of en-
ployment still more dubious. Dregs,
scum: the bottom and the top of the
kettle: outcasts, whose hand and ami
mus were directed against society;
black and brown and white men; not
soldiers of fortune, like Ryanne, but
their camp followers. In short, it was
there (and Ryanne still felt dull
shame of it, that Wallace, carrying
the final instructions of the enterprise,
had found him, sleeping off the effects
of shabby rout of the night before.
It was. there also that he had heard
of the history and the worth Of the
Yhiordes rug and the possibility OF
its theft. He laughed. To have gone
upon an adventure like that, with
nothing but the fumes of wine In his
head!
For a few pieces of gold he might
enroll under his shady banner three or
four shining lights who would under
take the disposal of Percival. Not that
he wished the young man any harm-
no; but business was business. and IN
some way or another he must be made
| to vanish from the sight and presence
of men for at least two months.
! AS for Major Callahan's unforeseen
| danger, the devil could look out for
that.
Ryanne consulted his watch, a cheap
but Trustworthy article, costing dol
lar, not to be considered as an avail
able asset. He would give it away later
in the day; for he had decided that
while he was in funds there would be
wisdom in the purchase Of fine gold
Longines. A good watch, as every one
knows. Is always as easily converted
into cash as bank note, providing, OF
course. one is lucky enough to
possess either. Many watches had he
left behind. in this place or in that;
and often he had exchanged the ticket
for a small bottle with a green neck.
Wherever fortune had gone against
him heavily at cards, there he might
find his latest watch. Besides getting
new timepiece, he was strongly in
clined to leave the bulk Of his little
fortune in the hotel safe. One never