Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-10-18

shouldn't she distrust Ryanne? .-'s
George concluded that he must 40
quire patience She was far too loyal
to run away without first giving him.
warning. In the event Of her refus>
ing Mortimer's roof and protection, he
knew what his plans would be. Some
one else could do the buying for Nor
timer Clones; his business would be-
to revolve round this lonely girl to
watch and guard her without her b.
ing aware Of IT, OF what use were
riches II he could not put them to-
whatever use he chose? So he would
wait near her, to see that she came
and went unmolested, till against thai
time when she would recognize how
futile her efforts were and how wide
and high the'wall of.the world was.
That mother Of hers! To his mind
1t was positively unreal that one go
charming and lovely should be a.
heart strong as the wind and metci.
less as the sea, His mother had been
everything; hers, worse than noneJ
an eternal question. What a drama
she had moved about in, without un,
derstanding! ]
George did not possess that easyI
and adjustable sophistry which made
Ryanne look upon smuggling az n
clever game between two cheats. HiaI
point OF view conceded with ForI
tunes; 1t was thievery, more or lessl
condoned, but the ethics covering nd
were soundly established. He had
come very near being culpable him
self. True, he would not have BEEN
guilty OF smuggling for profit; buh
none the less he would have tried tol
cheat the government. His sin had
found him out; he had now neither
the rug nor HIS thousand pounds.
Il All these cogitations passed througA
his mind, disjointedly, as the dinner
progressed toward its end. They badi
Ackermann good.by and Godspeed. an
he was to leave early for Beirut, upoK
his way to Smyrna. Fortune went to
bed; Ryanne sought the billiard
room and Knocked about the ballss
while George asked the manager II
he could send cable from the hotel
Certainly he could. 1t took some
time to compose the cable to Morti@
* mer; and 1t required some gold be.
sides. Mortimer must have fair view
Of the case; and George presented Il
u requesting a reply to be sent to Cooks
70 in Naples, where they expected to b
= within ten days.
u How much will this be-"
g ). The porter got out his telegraph.
J" book and studied the rates carefully.
Twelve pounds six, sir"
u The porter greeted each sovereign
with a genuhection, the lowest being
the twelfth. George pocketed the no
u ceipt and went in search Of Ryanna
But that gentleman was no Longer
d. In the billiard-room. Indeed, he had
~ gone quietly to the other hotel and
:" written a cable himself, the code Of
which was not to be found in AM
" book. For long time he seemed q
be in doubt, for he folded and refold
l ed his message half dozen times be
IL fore his actions became decisive. H,
IN tore it up and threw the. scraps upol
na the floor and FASTENED into the street
III as if away from temptation. H,
We walked fast and Indirectly, smokin,
Gu innumerable cigarettes. He was fight
ing hard, the evil In him against tn,
ny good, the chances Of the future agains
or the irreclaimable past. AT the end o
to- an hour he returned to the strange he
all tel. His lips were pulled and bleed
ing. He had smoked so many cigs
he rettes and had pulled them SO imps
he tently from his mouth, that the dr.
ter paper had cracked the delicate skin
ng He rewrote his cable and paid 70
the sending Of II. Then he poke
eli. about the unfamiliar corridors till b
ed. found the dingy bar. He sat down b,
In fore peg Of whisky, which was 10
Tas lowed by many more, each bit stiffe
Igi- than its predecessor. At last, whe
lex he had had enough to. put a norml
sat mans head upon the table or to cove
led his face with the mask Of inanit,
ks. Ryanne fell into the old habit Of tall
,of. ing aloud. .. .t
vas Horace, old top, what's the us
ed. We'd Just like to be good II we coulI
,ss, Ell? But they won't let u.s.. We
ok grow raying mad in a monastery. W
nd were honest at the time, but "
lch couldn't stand the monotony Of watcl
gh- ing green olives turn purple upon tn
silvery bough. Nay, nay!" =
Ry- He pushed the glass away from hiI
the and studied the air-bubbles as the
eat formed, rose to the surface, and wer
the dissipated.
lat, mo matter what the game Ia
are been, somehow or other, .they'y
he Dashed US, and we've lost out"
Of He emptied the glass and ordere
It'll another. He and the bartender wei
ny. alone.
per After all, love is like money. It
ers better to live frugally upon the inte
no est than to squander the capital an
sad 60 bankrupt. And who cares, an,
uch how%
nv. He drank once more, dropped a hal
all sovereign upon the table, and pushe
low back his chair. His eyes were bloc,