Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-02-03

mortal uldu COulu w " NOOP w 'Ao
spirits of his co-unfOrtunates; and ne
saw that, most Of the time, he had
wasted his talents. Ryanne, sullen ana
morose, often told him to shut up !;
which wasn't celebrating. And For
tune viewed his attempt without sens
ing them, and frequently looked at
him without seeing him. @ .a
Now, all this was not particularly
comforting to the man who loved her
and was doing what he could to
tighten the dreariness Of the journey.
He made allowances, however,; be-
sides suffering unusual privations,
Fortune had had a frightful mental
shock. A girl of her depth of character
could not be expected to rise 1mme-
diately to the old level. Sometimes
while gathered about the evening fire,
he would look up to find her sad
eyes staring at him, and it mattered
not If he stared in return; kind OF
clairvoyance blurred visibilities, TOR
she was generally looking into her
garden at Mentone and wondering
when this horrible dream would pass.
Subjects for conversation were ex-
hausted in no time. Dig as he might,
George could find nothing new; and
often he recounted the same tale twice
OF an evening. Sardonic laughter from
Ryanne.
Ackermann had given them up as
hopeless. He was a strong, vain,
domineering man, kindly at heart,
however, but impatient. When he tcld
8 story, he demanded the attention OF
all; so, when Ryanne yawned before
his eyes, and George drew pictures in
the sand, and the girl fell asleep with
her head upon her knees, he drew orr
abruptly and left them to their own
devices. He had crossed and recrossed
the silences so often that he was no
longer capable of Judging accurately
another mans mental processes. That
they had had strange and numbing
experience he readily understood; but
now that they were out of duress and
headed for the coast he saw no reason
why they should not act like human
beings.
They still put up the small tent for
Fortune but the rest of them slept
upon the sand, under the stars. Once,
George awoke as the dawn was gliding
the east. Silhouetted against the sky
he saw Fortune. She was standing
straight, her hands pressed at her
sides, her head tilted back-a tense
attitude. He did not know it. but she
was asking God why these things
should be. He threw off his blanket
and ran to her.
Fortune, you mustn't do that. You
will catch cold.'
II can not Sleep" she replied
simply.
He took her by the hand and led
her to the tent TRY" he said. Then
he did something he had never done
before to any woman save his mother.
He kissed her hand, turned quickly,
and went over to his blanket. She re-
NAMED motionless before the tent
The hand fascinated her. From the\
hand her gaze travelled to the man
settling himself comfortably under his
blanket. Pity, pity; that was
ever to be her portion; pity!
In Damascus the trio presented
themselves at the one decent hotel,
and but for Ackermann's charges
upon the manager. it is doubtful If he
would have accepted them as guests;
for more suspicious-looking trio he
had never set eyes upon. { A hotel man
weighs a person by the quality of his
Moreover. they carried no
luggage. Ackermann went sponsor;
and knowing something of the in
tegrity of the rug-hunter, the manager
And when George pre-
scented his letter Of credit at the
Imperial Ottoman bank, again it was
who vouched for him. 1t