The Lamar register., 1912-01-17

SyncnrOnouSly thS HIt neSitdteu bt
that landing and the gate changed
wide; the young woman wound her
skirt about her and showed him
back which at any other time would
have evoked his unstinted admiration.
Then the gate shot to with q rattle
and bang, and the lift dropped out of
sight, leaving the man with mouth
agape and eyes as wide.
A beaming but elderly femme de-
chambre on duty In the corridor. re-
marking O'Rourke's pause of stupefied
chagrin. hoped and believed he need.
ed her services. She bore down upon
him accordingly.
"M'sieu' IL DESTROYS Of"
He came out of his trance. Moth,
ing" he told her with acid brevity
But, yes" he reconsidered with
haste. That lady who but this mo
ment took the nft-her name"
Her name, m'sisu'? Ma'm'selle Vol.
taire.''
'ImpossibleI" he told himself aloud.
utterly unable to forge any connecting
link between the lady in the lift and
her whose voice had bswitohsd him.
But assuredly. m'sisu'. Do I ~
know-I who have waited upea -
hand and foot these three days aAl -
WON she has not given - nuoh -
that" The woman tiolnsA . AAgsr
nail against her strong white
teeth. ''Ma'm'selle vIoeceiAs Vol.
taire." she asserted stubboeAly.
O'Rourke fumbled In his peelpst and
found golden ten-frano plsss. surrsn-
dering it to the woman - hsslusssly
IS though 1t had bsea - naay oen.
tires. III be leaving - Soo0 In Ave
minutes. now. And = - lpr the love
Of Heaven. me dsaa " to set me
,iings the least tribe - rights. Will
.e now. like the 49, little girl 10
the world?"
The best little GIRL In the world.
who was forty-avs II Q day, promised
miracles-with . bob Of a courtesy
But so disgruntlsd was O'Rourke that
he shut his door in her face.
"Tis messh that's the fool" he
said savasely enough. ito think for q
moment that ever again I'll set me
eyes ON her pretty face-God bless 1t
wherever she may be, Fol-
I
niless adventursff"
CHAPTER H..
After that bitter disappointment his
interest In his personal appearance
iwindled to the negligible. In black
temper with himself (whom alone he
'jlamed for the deception to which
hs had fallen too facile a victim) he
earched blindly for a fresh tie. found
. somehow. ,and knotted 1t round his
collar in the most haphazard fashion
ccat upon his shoulders and marched
forth to dine.
In this humor he propelled himself
with determination into the public res
taurant OF the establishment. and. OBJ
livious to the allure Of many pairs OF
bright eyes that frightened all too
readily to challenge his. insisted upon
a table all to himself. and dined In soil.
tary grandeur. COMFORTING himself
openly as q morose and misunderstood
person. and to his waiter with a man
ner so near rude that the latter be-
gan almost to respect him.
After some time he was disguised to
discover that he felt better. An i'm
pulse toward analysis led him to probe
the psychology Of the change. with tho
result that he laid the blame for 1t at
the door-or the neck-of half-bottle
OF excellent burgundy. So he ordered
another. and. resolutely Diminishing
from his mind the woman who had
no right whatever to be able to sing
n certain song the way she had. set
his wits to work on the riddle OF To-
morrow.
To a man whose trade was fighting,
the world Just then was a most dis
tressful place. too peaceful entirely.
Over his coffee the adventurer nod
ded in despair and frowned in dis
gust; then rousing. he summoned the
waiter and paid his reckoning with a
secret grin at himself. a fifty-franc
note and q gesture which splendidly
altogether every trace OF
suspicion that he intended to take
back any part Of the change due him.
Trimming and lighting a cigar, he
reviewed the restaurant with a list
less eye which discovered no one of
his acquaintance; therefore. with
neither haste nor waste of time, he
rose and betook himself to the Casino
that is, to the one place where one