The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1913-04-25

Ing Mortimer's roof and protection. he
Knew what his plans would be. Some
one else could do the buying for Nor
inner & Jones; his business would be
10 revolve round this lonely girl, to
"atch and guard her without her be-
ing aware of it. Of what use were
rlches II he could not put them to
Whatever use he chose? So he would
wait near her. to see that she came
ana went unmolested, till against that
tlme when she would recognize how
futile her efforts We're and how wide
ana 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 TN
Outstanding!
George did not possess that easy
and adjustable sophistry which made
Ryanne look upon smuggling as
clever game between two cheats. His
point of view conceded with For
tunes; 1t was thievery, more or less
condoned, but the ethics covering it
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 babe
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 knocked about the balls;
while George asked the manager II
he could send cable from the hotel.
Certainly he could. 1t took some
tiFS', to compose the cable to Morti-
lMeV: and it required some gold be-
sides. Mortimer must have fair view
Of the case; and George presented it,
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 a genufection, the lowest being
! the twelfth. George pocketed the re-
ceipt and went in search Of Ryanne.
But that gentleman was no longer
| in the billiard-room. Indeed, he had
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 it up and threw the scraps upon
| the floor and fastened into the street,
as if away from temptation. He
/ walked fast and indirectly, smoking
nnumerable cigarettes. He was fight
ing hard, the evil in him against the
good, the chances Of the future against
the irreclaimable past. At the end OF
Ian hour he returned to the strange ho-
Itel. His lips were pulled and bleed.
ling. He had smoked so many ciga-
rettes and had pulled them so impa-
tiently from his mouth, that the dry
paper had cracked the delicate skin.
I He rewrote his cable and paid for
/ the sending of 1t. 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 it's predecessor. At last, when
he had had enough to put a normal
mans head upon the table or to cover
his face with the mask OF inanity.
Ryanne fell into the old habit Of talk
ing aloud.
Horace, old top, what's the use1
We'd just like to be good If we could,
Ell? But they won't let US. Wed
grow raving mad in monastery. We
were honest at the time, but we
couldn't stand the monotony Of watch
ing green olives turn purple upon the
silyery 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 and
go bankrupt. And who cares, any.
how pr
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 q slaty tint; but he
walked steadily enough into the read