Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-06
CHAPTER u.--(Continued. J

CHAPTER H.-(Continned.)
He Went down to dinner. and they
gave him table in an obscure cor
rer. ss su2tle reminder that his
style was passe He didn't care; he
was hungry and thirsty. He could see
nearly eveTvr ne. even if only a few
could see him. This was somewhat
to bis carnage. He endeavored to
pick cut rcrciral hlgernon; but there
We're 100 many high collars. too many
mons clcs. SO he contented himself
with mild rh !csophical observance
rising a. tie vail OF the violins sank
sinking as the vail rose; the tinkle
OF glass and china, the silver and lin
en-, ie pretty women in their rustling
gowns, the delicate perfumes, the flash
CT an arm, the CLINT Of polished
shoulder: this was the essence of life
he coveted He smiled at the thought
and the sure knowledge that he was
not the only wolf in the fold. Ay
and who among these dainty Red Rid
ing Hoods might be fooled by a vul.
pine grandmother? Truth, when a
fell)w winncwed it all down to hand
full, there were only fool; and rogues.
If one was TOOL, the rogue got you.
and he in turn devoured himself.
He held his glass toward the table
lamp. moved it slowly to and fro un-
der his nose. epicureanly; then he
slipped the wine. Something like! 1t
ran across his tongue and down his
throat Infringing fire, necartious; and
he went hall way to Olympus. to the
feet Of the gods. For. weeks he had
lived in the vilest haunts. in desper-
ate straits. his life in his open hands );
and now once more he crawled from
the depths to the outer crust of the
world 1t did not matter that he was
destined to 90 down into the depths
again; so long as the spark burned he
was going to crawl back each time.
Damnable luck! He could have lived
like a prince Twenty-four hundred
and all in two nights, steady stream
of gold into the pockets Of men whom
he could have cheated with consum-
mate ease, and didn't. An fine wolf,
whose predatory instincts We're still
riveted to that obsolete thing called
conscience!
Conscience? Rot! Let us for once
be frank and write it down as caution,
as lSdl VI puOlAC1Cy, any IAAAto buC SAAS
white guardian angel Of the immortal
ity of the soul. Heap up the gold,
Apollyon; heap it up. higher and
higher, till not squeak OF that still
small voice that once awoke the chap
in the Old Testament can ever again
be heard Now, mo. more srestrospec-
ton, Horace: NO more analysis; the
vital question SINNERS down to this:
If Perciva1 Algernon balks, how far
will four soverigns go?' g.. -. % .
CHAPTER III.
George drank his burgundy per-
functorily. Had it been astringent as
the native wine of Corsica, he would
not have noticed it. The little nerves
that ran from his tongue to his brain
had temporarily lost the power OF
communication. And all because OF
the girl across the way. He couldn't
keep his eyes from wandering in her
direction. She faced him diagonally.
She ate but little, and when the elder
ly gentleman poured out for her a
a glass of sauterne, she motioned 1t
aside, rested her chin upon her fold.
ed hands, and stared not at but
through her vis-a-vis.
1t was a lovely head, topped with
coils of lustrous, light brown hair:
an oval face, of white and rose and
ivory tones; scarlet lips, small,
regular nose and chin the soft
roundness of which hid the resolute
lift to it. TO these attributes of love-
illness was added perfect form, the
long, flowing curves CT youth, not the
abrupt contours Of maturity. George
bo ho1 hoon
so impressed by face. From the
moment she had stepped down from
the carriage, his interest had been
drawn. and had grown to sucn dimen-
sions that when he entered the dining
room his glance Immediately searched
for her table. What luck in finding
her across the way. He questioned il
he had ever seen her before. There
was something familiar: the delicate
profile stirred some sleeping momory
but did not wake it.
How to meet her. and when he did
meet her, how to interest her? If she
would only drop her handkerchief, her
purse, something to give him an ex-
cuse. an opening. All, he was certain
that this time the hydra-headed one
should not overcome him. To gain
her attention and to hold it, he would
have faced a lion, a tiger. a wild
elephant. To diagnose these symp-
toms might not be fair to George.
Love at first sight reads we'll and
sounds we'll but we hoary-headed phil
osophers know that the phrase is only
pcetical license.
Once, and only once, she looked in
his direction. 1t swept over him with
the chill of a winter wind that he
meant as much to her as tree,
a fence, meadow, as seen from
the window, of a speeding railway
train. But this observation, transient
as it was. left with him the indelibIe
impression that her eyes were the
saddest he had ever seen. Why?
Why should a young and beautiful girl
have eyes like that? 1t could not
mean physical WEAKNESS, else the
face would in some way have express
ed it. The elderly man appeared to do
his best to animate her; he was kind
ly and courteous, and by the gentle
way he laughed at intervals was try
ing to bolster up the situation with a
lest or two. The girl never so much