Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1913-09-24

!Z.IEE. yvllIllA u kTRt1u lleDltE|
night. said Brock family. ne was
forgetting his English.
III m'sieur will not occupy his own
bed, yes said the guard. struggling
his shoulders and washing his hands
Of the whole Incompetent AFFAIR.
"M'sieur will then be up to receive the
customs officers at the frontier. Per
haps be will give me the keys to ma
danes trunks 50 that she may not be
disturbed .@.:. ...:. ..Z h. I.
ASK her for 'em yourself" growled
Brock. after one dazed moment Of dis
may. *s=s 81 81
The hours crawled slowly by. he
paced the length Of the wriggling cor
ridor hundred times back and forth;
he sat on every window seat in the
carriage; he nodded and dozed and
groaned and laughed at himself in the
deepest derision all through the dismal
night Daylight came at 4. He saw
the sun rise for the first time In his
life. He neither enjoyed nor appre-
ctated the novelty. Never had he wit.
messed anything SO mournfully depress-
ing as the first gray tints that crept up
to mock him In his vigil. Never had
he seen anything so CHASTITY as the soft
red glow that suhused the morning
sky. =
It'll sleep all day II l ever get into
that id bed" he said to himself, bit
terly wistful. at:
The customs officers had eyed him sus-
pictously at the border. They had evi.
IDENTITY been told Of his strange mad
ness in refusing to occupy the berth
he had paid for. Their examination of
his effects was more thorough than
usual. 1t may have entered their heads
that he was standing guard over the
repose Of fair accomplice: They ask
ed so many embarrassing and discon-
cert1ng questions that he was devoutly
relieved when they passed on, still sus.:
picious !"
The train was late, and at s O'Clock
he was desperately combating an Inn
pulse to leave 1t at Strassburg, find
lodging In hotel and then, refreshed,
set out for London to have it out with
the malevolent Medcroft. The disem-
barking of the venerable mourners,
however, restored him to a degree of
his peace of mind After all, be re-
viewed, it would be cowardly and base
to desert trusting wife,. He pictured
her as asleep and securely confident in
his stanchness. No. he would have 1t
out with Medcroft at some later day. i.
He was congratulating himself on
the acquisition Of bed-although it
might possess the odor Of a bed Of
tuberoses-when all of his pleasant
calculations were upset by the appear
ance Of German burgher and his
family. It was then that he learned
that these people had booked lie CON-
partement from Strassburg to Mu-
mich.
Brock resumed bis window seat and
despondently awaited the call to break
fast. He fell sound asleep with his
monocle in position, nor did It matter
to him that his hat dropped through
the window and went scuttling off
across the green Rhenish fields. When
next he looked at his watch it was 8
o'clock. A small boy was standing at
the end Of the passage staring wide
eyed at. him. Two little girls came
piling, half dressed, from a compart-
ment, evidently in response to the.
youngsters whispered command, to
hurry out and see the funny man.
Brock scowled sdarkly. and the trio
darted swiftly into the compartment.
He dragged his stiff legs into the
dining car at Stuttgart and showed
them under a table. The car was
quite empty. As he was staring blank
~ at the menu the conducteur from
his car hurried in with the word that
madam would not breakfast until 8.
She was still very sleepy Would NJ
Medcroft be good enough to order her
coffee and rolls brought to her com
partment at that hour? And would he
mind seeing that the maid saw to it
that Raggles surely had his biscuit and
walk at the next station?
"Raggles?" queried Brock, passing
his hand over his brow. The other
shrugged his shoulders and looked
askance. "Oh. yes; understand"
murmured the puzzled one. recovering
himself. For the next ten minutes he
wondered who Raggles could be. :"
He had eaten his strawberries and
was waiting for the eggs and coffee.
resentfully eying the early risers: who
were now coming in for their coffee
and rolls They had slept He could
tell by the complacent manner In which
their hair was combed and by the in
terest they found In the scenery which
he had come, by tedious familiarity.
to loathe and scorn. r.
The actions Of two young women
near the door attracted his attention
From their actions he suddenly gather
ed that they were discussing h1m-and
In more or less facetious fashion at
that. They whispered and looked shy
and grinned in a most disconcerting
manner He turned red about the ears
and began to wonder lercely why his
eggs and coffee were so slow in com
Ing. Then. to his CONSERVATION, the
young women. plainly Of the serving
class. bore down upon him with abash.
ed smiles. He noticed for the first
time that one of them was carrying
very small child in her arms. As she
came alongside. grinning sheepishly.
she extended the small one toward the
astounded Brock, and said in excellent
old English: :