The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1913-08-28

As the result of strong persuasion
the garde consented to make 1.-The
grand tour Of the train de luxe In
search Of a berth. 1t goes without
saying that he was intensely mystifed
by Brooks Hincautious remark that he
would be satisfied with ian upper II
he couldn't do any better" For the
life of him monsieur the garde could
not comprehend the situation. He
ing at the tickets. as much as to say
that an American Is never satisfied
not even with the best.
Brock lowered a window seat in the
passage and sat down. staring blankly
and blackly out into the whizzing
night The predicament had come upon
him so suddenly that he had not until
now found the opportunity to analyze
1t in its entirety. The worst that could
come Of 1t, of course, was the poor com
fort of a night In a chair. He knew
that 1t was a train Of sleeping coaches
All! He suddenly remembered the lug
gage van! AS a last resort he might
find lodging among the trunks.
And then. too, there was something
irritating in the suspicion that she had
laughed as If it were a huge joke. Per
haps even now she was doubled up in
her narrow couch sitting the giggle
that would not be suppressed.
When the garde came back with
the lugubrious information that moth.
ing, positively nothing, was to be had
1t u pslnful to record that Brock swore
in 6 which won the deepest re,
spst of the trainman.
"A. 4 o'clock in the morning. m'sieur.
an I'D gentleman and his wife will get
out at Strassburg. their destination.
They are in this carriage, and you may
tase their compartment If m'sieur will
not OBJECT to sleeping In a room just
vacated by two mourners who today
buried a beloved son in Paris. They
have kept all Of the flowers In their
-Four o'clock. Good Lord, what am
l to do till then?' groaned Brock, glar-
ing with unmanly hatred at the door
of the Medcroft compartment.
Perhaps madame may be willing to
take the upper ventured the guard
timorOusly. but Brock checked him
with a peremptory gesture. He pro-
posed, instead, the luggage van. where
upon the garde burst into a psalm of
utter detection. 1t was against the
rules, irrevocably.
"Then l guess I'll have to sit here all
night" said Brock family. He was
forgetting his English.
IF m'sieur will not occupy his own
bed, yes" said the guard. struggling
his shoulders and washing his hands
Of the whole incomprehensible affair.
"M'sieur will then be up to receive the
customs officers at the frontier. Per-
haps he will give me the keys to ma
DANES trunks so that she may not be
disturbed"
ASK her for 'em YOURSELF" growled
Brock. after one dazed moment Of dis
may.
The hours crawled slowly by. He
paced the length of the wriggling cor
ridor a 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-
ciated 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 suffused the morning
sky.
I'll sleep all day If l ever get into
that id bed" be said to himself. bit
terly wistful.
The customs officers had eyed him sus-
piciOusly at the border. They had evil
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 q fair accOmplice. They ask
ed 80 many embarrassing and discon-
certing questions that he was devoutly
relieved when they passed on. still sus
picious.
The train was late. and at 8 O'Clock
be was desperately combating an i'm
pulse to leave 1t at Strassburg. nnd
lodging In a hotel and then, refreshed.
set out for London to have II 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. he re-
viewed. It would be cowardly and base
to desert q trusting wife. He pictured
her a. asleep and securely confident In
his ~stanchnesa No. be would have 1t
out with Medcroft at some later day.
He WAC congratulating himself on