The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-18
rt, 1910, by nobbs-MsrriIl company.I

even knock down the quality of his cigars. He's the best old chap out
 None of your red faced. yo-hoing. growing seadogs: just kindly. gen erous old sailor, with only one bee i= 1 his bonnSt-"
 ''What sort Of beeT'
 ''FiratesF' in ghOstly whisper. ''Pirates7 Oh, say, nowT' with a protest
 Straight as die. He's got the finest library on piracy in the world every thing from the Pirates of Penzance' to The Life of Morgan"
 "Bat there's no pirate. anoat these dayS.''
 ''rSot ou the high seas. no. It's inst ] the old mans pastime. Every so ofteu. be coaIs up the yacht. which is a seven teen knotter. aud goes oH to the south seas. hunting for treasures"
 'By GeorgeT Fitzgerald whistled softly. Has he ever found anyT
 Mot so much as a postage stamp. so far as I know. Moneys always been in the family, and his Wall street friends have shown him how to double what he has, from time to time. Just l for the sport of the thing some old fellows go in for crockery some for pictures, and some Tor horses. The admiral just hunts treasures. Half- past 6; you'H excuse me. There'n be some train dispatches in a minute" Fitzgerald gave him a good cigar. took up his bag. and started on Tor the main street: and once there he remembered with chagrin that he had not asked the agent the most important thing of all: Had the admiral a daughter? Well. at o'clock he would learn all about that Piratesi It would be as good as play. But where did he come in? And why was courage necessary His interest found new life. Swans hotel was one of those non- deseript buildings of wood which are not worth more than a three line para grIph even when they burn down.
 The landlord himself lifted FItz- gerald's bag to the counter.
 "A room for the nigt and supper, right away"
 ''Here Jimmy" called the landlord to growing. numbering boy, ''take this satchel up to No. 6.'
 The boy went his way. ewing the labels respectfully and with some awe This was the shird of its kind he had ported upstairs in the past IHGuIy-IOuE QOuTS-
 Fitzgerald cast an idle glance at the loungers. There were half a dozen of them, some of themspiaying cards and some displaying talent on pool table. badly worn and beer stained There was. nothing distinctive about any of them excepting the little man who was reading an evening paper. and the only distinctive thing about him a r1Qfr nf hrfO noh their gold trimmed spectaeIes they did not waver under FitziyeraId's scrutiny. So the latter dismissed the room and its company from his mind and pro ceeded into dinner. As he was late he dined alone on mildly warm chick en. greasy potatoes and muddy coffee. He was used often to- worse fare than this. and no complaint was even thought of. After he had changed his linen Ohe took the road to the house at the top of the hill Now. then. what sort of an affair was this going to be. such as would bend girl of her bearing to speak to him on the street7 Moreo' CT. at moment when he was playiI a grownup child's gamer 1t could not be joke. Women never rise to su ch extraVagant heights Pirates and tI sasuresi He wouldn't have been SUI prised at all had old Long John Si yer hobbled out from behind any on } of those vine grown fences and den anded his purse.
 The street W IS dim. and more than once he stuml led over a loose board in the wooden walk If the admiral had been the right kind of philanthru- pist he would have furnished stone. But. then. 1t was one thing to give a country town something and another to force the town council into accept ing it The lampposts. also of wood. stood irregularly apart. often less than hundred feet. and sometimes more, lighting nothing but their immediate vicinity. Fitzgerald could see the lamps plainly. but could separate none of the objects round or beneath That is why he did not see the face of the man who passed him in a hurry. He never forgot a face if it were a mans. His only difficulty was in placing it at once.
 Fitzgerald tramped on cheerfuIIy. 1t was not an unpleasant climb. only dark. The millionaire's home seemed to grow up out of a fine park. There was great iron fence inclosing the grounds. and the lights on top of the gates set the dull red trunks of the | pines aglowing. There were no lights shining in the windows of the pretty lodge. Still. the pedestrians gate was ajar. He passed in. fully ex- pecting to be greeted by the growl of a dog. Instead he heard mysterious l footsteps on the gravel He listened Some one was running.
 Hello. therer' he called.
 No answer. The sound ceased. The | runner had evidently taken to the s1 1 lent going of the turf Fitzgerald l came to a stand Should be go on or | return to the hoteIf Whoever was running had no right here. Fitzgerald | rarely carried arms. at least in civiliz ed countries. stout cane was the l best weapon for general purposes 1 He sv ung this lightly.