The Elbert County tribune., 1913-01-24


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
umer d Jones: his business would be
to revolve round this lonely girl, to
watch and guard her without her be-
ing aware OF It. or 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 that
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 so
charming and lovely should be at
heart strong as the wind and merci-
less as the sea. His mother had been
everything; hers. worse than none.
an eternal question. What a drama
she had moved about in, without un-
derstandlngl
George did not possess that easy
and adjustable sophistry which made
fyanne look upon smuggling as a
clever game between two cheats. His
point OF view coincided with For
tunes; 1t was thievery. more or less
condoned, but the ethics covering 1t
were soundly established He had
come very near being culpable him
self. True, he would not have been
guilty of smuggling for profit; but
none the less he would have tried TO
cheat the government. His sin had
found him out; he had now neither
the rug nor his thousand pounds
All these cogitations passed through
his mind, disjointedly, as the dinner
progressed toward its end. They bade
Ackermann good-by and Godspeed, as
he was to leave early for Beirut upon
his way to Smyrna. Fortune went to
bed; Ryanne sought the billiard
room AND kpocked about the balls;
while George asked the manager II
he could send a 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 II,
requesting reply to be sent to Cooks
in Naples. where they expected to be
within ten days.
How much will this be?"
The porter got out his telegraph
book and studied the rates carefully.
Twelve pounds six, SIR"
The porter greeted each sovereign
with genufiection. the lowest being
/ the twelfth. George pocketed the re-
ceipt and went in search OF Ryanne.
| But that gentleman was no longer
IN, fha >. nx-1 \
gone quietly to the other hotel and
written a cable himself, the code of
which was not to be found in any
book. For long time he seemed to
| be in doubt, for he folded and refold-
ed, his message half dozen times be-
| fore his actions became decisive. He
tore 1t up and threw the scraps upon
the floor and hastened into the street,
| as IL away from temptation. He
walked fast and indirectly. smoking
innumerable cigarettes. He was fight
ing hard. the evil In him against the
good, the chances of the future against
F, the irreclaimable past. At the end Of
an hour he returned to the strange ho-
tel. His lips were puffed and bleed
ing. He had smoked so many ciga-
icttcs anu udu puiieu Lutll sO iulpd-
tiently from his mo tn. that the dry
paper had cracked the delicate skin.
He rewrote his cable and paid for
the sending of It, Then he poked
about the unfamiliar corridors till he
found. the dingy bar. He sat down be-
fore a peg of whisky, which was fol-
lowed by many more. each bit sitter
than its predecessor. At last. when
he had had enough to put normal
mans head upon the table or to cover
his face with tho mask OF inanity.
Ryanne fell into the old habit Of talk
Ing aloud
Horace, old top. what's the usef
We'd Just like to be good II we could,
eh7 But they won't let US. We'd
grow raving mad in a monastery. We
were honest at the time, but we
couldn't stand the monotony OF watch
ing green olives turn purple upon the
silvery bough. Nay. nay"
He pushed the glass away from him
and studied the air-bubbles as they
formed, rose to the surface, and were
dissipated. =.
mo matter what the game has
been, somehow or other. they've
dashed us, and we've lost out"
He emptied the glass and ordered
another. He and the bartender were
alone.
after all. love is like money. It's
better to live frugally upon the inter
est than to squander the capital an
go bankrupt. And who cares. any
howl"
He drank once more. dropped half
sovereign upon the table. and pushed
back his chair. His eyes were blood
shot now. and the brown Of his skin
had become a slaty tint; but he
walked steadily enough into the read