The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-12-04
CHAPTER /.

NJ.
CHAPTER 1.
AZ the stage Door.
Courtlandt sat perfectly straight:
his ample shoulders did not touch the
back Of his chair: and his arms were
folded tightly across his chest The
characteristic OF his attitude wa
~tenseness. The nostrtls we're we'll de-
nned. as In a who sets the upper
Jaw hard upon the neither. His brown
eyes-their gaze directed toward the
stage whence came the voice Of the
prfma donna-epitomized the tension,
expressed the whole as In a word.
Just 10 the voice was pathetically
subdued. yet reached syery part Of the
auditorium. kindling the q with its
s~ingularly mellowing sweetness. To
Courtlandt 1t resembled. az no other
sound. the note Of q mufied Burmese
gong. struck In the dim incensed cav
ern Of . temple. A Burmese gong:
briefly and ~magically the stage, the
audience. the amazing CLEAN and scin'
tllation OF the Opera. faded. He
heard only the voice and saw only
the purple shadows in the temple at
Rangoon, the oriental sunset splash
ing the golden dome. the wavering
lights Of the dripping candles. the dead
flowers, the kneelhg devotees. the
yellow-robed priests, the tatters Of
goldleaf. fresh and old. upon the rows
Of placid grinning Buddhas. The
French horns blared and the timpani
crashed. The curtain sank slowly.
The audience rustled, stood up, sought
Its wraps. and passed toward the ex-
its and the grand staircase. 1t was
Ill over.
Courtlandt took his leave In leisure.
Here and there he saw familiar faces.
but these. after the finding glance. he
studiously avoided. He wanted to be
alone. Outside he lighted a cigar. not
because at that moment he possessed
q craving for nicotine. but because like
I'll inveterate smokers he believed that
tobacco c0nduced to clarity Of thought.
And mayhap It did. At least, there
presently followed q mental calm that
expelled al this confusion. The goal
waxed and waned as he gazed down
the great avenue with its precise rows
OF lamps. Far away he could discern
the outline Of the brooding Louvre.
There was not the least hope in the
world for him to proceed toward his
goal this night. He realized this clear
". now that he was face to face with
actualities. A wild desire seized him
70 make q night Of it-Maxim's, the
Gbarets: riot and wine. Who cared?
But the desire burnt itself out between
two puhs Of his cigar. Ten years
ago. perhaps, this brand OF amuse.
ment might have urged him success
fully. But not now; he was done with
tomfool nights. Indeed. his dissipa.
tions had been whimsical rather than
brutal; and retrospection never
aroused . furtive sense Of shame.
He Wa young, but not 30 young az
N idle glance might conjecture IN
passing. To such casual reckoning
he appeared to be in the early TWEEN.
tiQs; but. scrutiny. more or less infal.
lible. noting q line here or an angle
there. was disposed to add ten years
70 the score. There was in the nose
and chin . certain decisiveness which
In true youth Is rarely developed. This
characteristic arrives only with man
hood. manhood that has been tried
and perhaps buffeted and perchance
: little disillusfoned.
Whist was one to do who had both
money and leisure linked to an ire
'sistible desire to leave behind one
place Of thing Ia pursuit Of another.
1nAeterminately? Che inherent ambi.
ttcn was to make money: but recog.
MIXING the absurdity Of adding to his
Income, which even IN his extrava-
gancs he could not spend, he gave
himself over into the hands Of grasp
ms railroad and steamship companies,
a their agencies. and became for a
tima the slave Of guide and dragoman
md carrier. And then the w~anderlust.
descended 70 him from the blood Of
~ rowing Dutch ancestors, which had
Tin dormant ID the several genera.
fipn6 following. sprang into active life
oGnin. He became known In every
pcst o. call. He became known also
- The Mildernesses.
Whatever had Tor. thu moment ap-
$500 ~ ~ fancy. that he had done.
80 al6he, absolute master OF his
o6. 1amraa1 with mafr1ageable