Middletown transcript., 1914-07-04

you want TO know, and It's no business
Of mine who he is, because 1 never
saw him before in my life"
But he absolutely declined to be
neve me.
ooh. oh, madame" he said, smiling
and shaking his finger at me. ut was
deucedly clever scheme to pretend
to be strangers to one another. It
made your flight look so much more
spontaneous. OF course, shall not
press you"
wont you please take back this
money!" I pleaded. Indeed, you are
under misapprehension."
"Will not madame keep it and hand
it to monsieur, If she should happen
to encounter him?" asked the secre-
tary, blandly.
Evidently he refused to believe that
/ was not the wife of the chevalier-
the very man whom 1 hated more Bit
terly than / had ever dreamed could
hate anyone. The very mention Of the
hateful word indicating the relation
ship in which he thought we stood
filed me with loathing. I should have
flung the money into his face, but sud
denly bells rang, and there was con-
certed rush for the train. The guard
was already signaling to the engine
driver. dashed into a compartment
just In time; the wheels began to re-
volve, and / sank down into my seat,
still clutching the envelope. 1 looked
inside; there were i've bank notes, Of
the value Of one hundred pounds
apiece. l thrust them into my hand
bag.
Estelle had packed my suitcase for
me, and, when 1 opened it, a little
later, what do you suppose found
on top of everything? Nothing else
than that horrid little Mr.. Spratt's
book on the Code Napoleon, which he
had so eloquently presented to me at
the moment of my departure from
Winnipeg. Poor little Mr.. Spratt!
The sight Of it recalled to my mind
wildly Mary Jenner, my best friend,
and the life which now seemed so in
fnitely far away. And it was only
two weeks before that had been
teaching class Of overgrown boys
and girls the principles of arithmetic!
If they knew of my subsequent ad-
ventures! 1 smiled, and then felt
the moisture in my eyes. I thrust the
envelope containing the money into
the cover Of Mr.. Spratt's book and
gave myself up to somewhat painful
meditation until reached Dover.
The night passage was calm and
slept well until awakened at Calais,
where we re-tfained for Paris, reach
ing there at an unearthly hour in the
morning. Through the kindness of an
old gentleman aboard the train-you
know those old gentlemen who are
bubbling over with altruism toward
the stranger eventually found my
self knocking YEARLY at the doors Of
the Pension Anglais. was assigned
a room by the sleepy night clerk and
tumbled into bed without even trou-
bling to undress. When I awoke it
was past twelve o'clock, and the noise
and stir of the great city was in full
swing beneath my windows.
I couldn't bring myself to the per
formance Of my mission for a couple
Of days. l inspected the cathedral,
the Louvre, the shops; reveled in my
surroundings. Indeed, the fascination
of the French capital so overwhelmed
me that doubt whether l should ever
have brought myself to carry out my
purpose of visiting the banker but for
a serious incident which suddenly
recalled me to a sense of duty.
1 was in the Louvre for the third or
fourth time, reveling in the beauty of
the sculpture there. had paused be-
fore a statue of Praxiteles, an ex-
quisite piece of work depicting the
ideal Of beauty, the Greek Hermes.
fell into train of speculation. Were
the modern Greeks, 1 thought, of the |
same physical type? I mused; had
ever seen a Greek? There must be |
Greeks in Winnipeg, but And |
suddenly felt pair of eyes regard
ing me from across the gallery. 1
looked up with a start, to see a man in
a slouch hat, attired like a guide, and |
yet evidently not one, since he lacked
the official badge, regarding me with
intense penetration.
It was the Greek Zeuxis, the hanger
on of villainous scoundrelly Leopold
Magniff!
But was it? Was not I, rather, the /
victim of an overweighted imagina-
ton? AS I stared at him in conster-
nation he moved with stealthy, glid-
ing steps into another chamber. When
I had recovered my self-possession
and followed him, he was nowhere to
be seen.
The shock of this incident recalled
me to the duty that lay before me. If
indeed were under espionage, it was
my task to obtain my bonds with the
least possible delay. 1 should never
feel satisfied until had disposed of
them and taken the train and boat
back to England. For the first time
I regretted Estelle's absence. My
loneliness was appalling; I felt as
though some dark, ominous cloud
of danger hung over me.
Early the next morning I sought
admission to Leopold Magniff, senior,
in his banking house upon the avenue.
had anticipated some difficulty in
seeing him, but for some reason or
other I was admitted almost immedi-
ately to the inner room in which he
sat alone, surrounded by ledgers and
account books. He was evidently
toiling as industriously as any of his
assistants, for he looked up, nodded
the barest greeting, and went on writ
ng.
Five minutes later he put down his