The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-10-04
d MacCRATH,

have been largely In her favor. No
the encounter must be when they
two were alone. She must be sur
prised. She must have no time Il
use her ready wit. He had thought
to wait until some reasonable plaI
offered itself for trail; yet, here ht
was, with nothing definite or recog
nizable but the fact that the craving
to see her was not to be withstood
The blcod began to thunder In hill
ears. An idea presented itself. II
appealed to him at that moment Al
quite clever and feasible.
Watt" he called to the driver.
He dived among the carriages ant
cars, and presently he found what he
sought.-her limousine. He had taker
the number into his mind too keenly
to be mistaken. He saw the end o.
his difficulties: and he went about
the affair with his usual directness
II was only at rare times that he ran
his head into a Guide sac. II her chauf
feur was regularly employed In hei
service, he would have to return to
the hotel; but II he came from the
garage. there was hope. Every man
Is said to have his price, and a French
chauffeur might prove no notable ex
ception to the rule.
Are you driver for Madame da
Toscana?" Courtlandt asked of the
man lOunging in the forward seat.
The chauffeur looked hard at his
questioner, and on finding that he sat
isfied the requirements Of a gentle
man, grumbled an Affirmative. The
| limousine was we'll known In Paris
and he was growing weary OF these
endless inquiries.
Are you in her employ directly, or
do you come from the garage?"
II am from the garage. but drive
mademoiselle's car most OF the time,
especially at night. 1t IL not Madame
but Madamoiselle, monsieur"
MY mistake A slight pause. II
was rather difficult moment for
Courtlandt. The chauffeur waited
wonderingly. Would you like to
make five hundred francs?"
How, Monsieur"
COurtlandt should have been warn
ed by the tone, which contained no
unusual interest or eagerness.
Permit me to remain in MAIDEN.
Oiselle's car till she comes. I wish
to ride with her to her apartment.
The chauffeur laughed. He stretch
ed his legs. Thanks, Monsieur. It
is very dull waiting. Monsieur knows
good joke
And to Courtlandt's dismay he real
ICED that his proposal had truly been
accepted as a jest.
Il am not joking. am in earnest.
Five hundred francs. On the word
OF gentleman I mean mademoiselle
no harm. ! am known to her All
she has to do is to appeal to you,
and. you can stop the car and sum-
mon the police
The chauffeur drew in his legs and
leaned toward his tempter. Monsieur,
II you are not testing, then you are
a mailman. Who are you? What do |
, know about you? never saw you
before, and for two seasons I have
driven mademOiselle In Paris. She
wears beautiful Jewels tonight. How
do l know that you are not a gentle
manly thief? Ride home with mad
emoiselle! You are crazy. Make your.
self scarce, Monsieur; In one minute
l shall call the police"
"Blockhead!"
English Of this order the French
man perfectly understood. La, la"
he cried. rising to execute his threat.
Courtlendt was furious, but his fury
was directed at himself as much as
at the trustworthy young man getting
down from the limousine. His eager
ness had led him to mistake stupid
ity for cleverness. He had gone about
the AFFAIR with all the clumsiness Of
boy who was making his first ap-
pearance at the stage entrance. Il
was nightly disconcerting. too, to
have found an honest man when he
was In desperate need of a dishonest
one. He had faced with fine courage
all sorts Of dangerous wild animals |;
but at this moment he hadn't the
courage to face policeman and en-
deayor to explain. In a foreign tongue,
q situation at once so delicate and
30 singularly open to misconstruc-
ton. So, for the second time in his
life he took to his heels. or the first
time, more anon. He scrambled back
to his own car, slammed the door,
and told the driver to drop him at
the Grand. His undignified retreat
caused his face to burn; but discre-
ton would, not be denied. However.
he did not return to the hotel.
Mademoisele da Toscana's chauf-
feur scratched his chin In perplexity.
In frightening OF his tempter he rec
Ognized that now he would never be
able to find out who he was. He
should have played with him until
mademoiselle came out. She WOULD
have known instantly. That would
have been the time for the police.
To hide In the car! What the devil!
Only mailman would have offered
such proposition. The man chad
been either an American or an Eng
lishman, for all his accuracy in the
tongue. Bah! Perhaps he had heard
her sing that night, and had come away
from the opera, moonstruck. It was
not an isolated case. The fools were
always Fostering him, but no one had
ever offered SO uncommon a bride:
five hundred francs. Mademoiselle
might not believe that part of the
tale. Mademoiselle was clever. There
was a standing agreement between
them that she would always give him
half OF whatever was offered him In
the way OF brides. It paid. II was
easier to sell his loyalty to her FOR
two hundred and fifty francs than
to betray her for Ave hundred. She
had yet to find him untruthful, and to.
night he would be as frank as he had
always been.
| But who was this fellow in the
Bavarian hat, who patrolled the aide
walk? He had been watching him
when the mailman approached. For
an hour or more he had walked IN
and down, never going twenty feet
beyond the limousine. He couldn't see
the face. The long dark coat had .
| military cut ahouf tho htvs ora ~ 80,