Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1912-11-13
ervation, otherwise it would not b

"I ~telegraphed," crisply.
"The name, if you ~please?"
"Ryanne; spelled R-y-a double-n e..
Have you ever been in County Ciare?''
mo, sir" The manager added a
question with the uplift Of his eye
brows.
"Well," was the enlightening an
swer, ''you pronounce it as they do
there"
The manager scanned the little slip
Of paper in his hand. "Ah, yes; we
have reserved a room for you, sir.
The French style rather confused me-
This was not offered in irony, or sar-
casm, or SATIRE; mining in a Swiss
brain for the saving grace Of humor
is about as Iemunerativeo as the ex-
traction Of gold from sea-water. Nev-
~ertheless, the Swiss has the talent Of
swiftly ~subtracting from a confusion
Of ideas n point of Illumination:
there was a quality to the strangers
tone that decided him f%avorably. 1t
was the voice Of a man in the habit
Of being obeyed; and in these days it
was the power of money alone that
obtained obedience to any man. Be
yond this, the same nebulous cogita-
ton that had subdued the Arabs out
side acted likewise upon him. Here
was a brother.
"Mail?"
ct VIII see, sir" The manager sum-
moned a porter. Groom 208."
The porter caught up the somewhat
collapsed kit-bag, which had in all evi-
dence received some rough usage in
its time, and reached toward the roll.
Mr.. Ryanne interposed.
II will see to that, my man." terse-
~.
eyes, sir"
Where is your guest-list?" de-
manded Mr.. Ryanne of the manager.
"The head-porter's bureau, sir. I
will e if you have any mail" The
manager passed into his own bureau.
1t was rather difficult to tell whether
this man was an American or an Eng
lishman. His accent was western, but
his manner was decidedly British. At
any rate, that tone and carriage must
be Fashioned by good English sover-
eigns, or for once his judgment was
at fault.
The porter dashed upstairs. Mr..
Ryanne, his bundle still snug under
his arm, sauntered over to the head
porter's bureau and ran his glance up
and down the columns of visiting
cards. Once he nodded with approval,
and again he smiled, having discov-
cred that which sent a ripple across
his sleeping sense of amusement. Ma
jor Callahan, room 206; Fortune Ched-
soye, 205; George P. A. Jones, 21O.
"Hm! the Major smells of County
Antrim and the finest whisky in all
the isle. Fortune Chedsoye; that is a
pleasing name; tinkling brooks, the
waving green grasses in the mead
ows, the kline in the water, the fleet
ing shadows under the oaks; a pas
toral, a bucolic name. To claim For
tune for mine own; a happy thought"
AS he uttered these poesy express
siCns aloud, in a voice low and not un-
pleasing, for all that it was banter
ing, the head-pOrter stared at him with
mingling doubt and alarm; and as if
to pronounce these emotions mutely
for the benefit Of the other, he per-
mitted his eyes to open their widest.
%Tut, tut; that's alright, porter. /
am cursed with the habit of speaking
my inmost thoughts. Some persons
are afflicted with insomnia; some fall
asleep in church; I think orally. Beast
ly habit, eh?'
The porter then understood that he
was dealing not with a species of
mild Iunacy, but with that kind of
light-hearted cynicism upon which
the world (as porters know it, had set
it's approving seal. In brief, he smiled
family; and if he had any pleasantly
to pass in turn, the approach Of the
manager, now clothed metaphorically
in deferentialism, relegated it to
the limbo Of things thought but left
unsaid.
"Here is a letter for you, Mr.. Ry.
anne. Have you any more luggage? ?"
mo" Mr.. Ryanne smiled. "Shall
I pay for my room in advanced"
ooh, no, sfr!" Ten years G the
manager would have blushed at hav.
ing been so misunderstood. "You1
room is 2O8."
will you have a boy show me the
way?''
81 shall myself attend to that. Il
the room is not what you wish il
may be exchanged"
"The room is the one I teiegraphe6
for. I am superstitious to a degree
On three boats I have had fine state
rooms numbered 208. Twice the mum
Der Of my hotel room has been the
same. On the last voyage there were
208 passengers, and the captain haC
made 208 voyages on the Mediterra
nean."
"Quite a coincident."
"Ah, if roulette could be played with
such a certainty"
Mr.. Ryanne sighed, hitched up his
bundle, which, being heavy, was begin
ming to veal upon his arm, and signi
fed to the to laad tho NOV