The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-08-27
Copyright, 1913,
By Geo. Barr
McCuteheon.

Mr. Pless tossed his cigarette over
the railing and sauntered over to join
us.
~ suppose you we been discussing
the view,' he said as he came up.
There was mean smile on his-yes, it
was a rather handsome face-and the
two ladies started guiltily. The attack
on his part was particularly direct when
one stops to consider that there WASH t
any view to be had from where we
were sitting, unless one could call
three-decked plasterer S seaffolding a
view.
"Weve been discussing the recent
improvements about the castle, Mr..
Pless," said | with SO much directness
that I felt Mrs Billy Smiths arm
stiffen and suspected general tension
of nerves from head to foot.
"You shouldn It spoil the place, Mr..
Smart" said he, with careless glance
about him.
"'Don't ruin the ruins" added Billy
Smith, of the diplomatic corps.
"What time do we dines'' asked Mr..
Pless, with suppressed yawn.
cat eight said Elsie promptly.
We were in the habit of dining at
seven-thirty, but | Was growing accus-
toned to the overriding process, SO al
lowed my dinner hour to be changed
without word.
~ think III take nap" said he.
With languid smile and little flaunt
of his hand as if dlsmissing us, he
moved languidly off, but stopped after
a few steps to say to me: Gwen ex-
plore the castle tomorrow, Mr.. Smart,
if it just the same to you. He spoke
with a very slight accent and in a
peculiarly attractive manner. There was
charm to the man, | was bound to ad-
nit ~ know Schloss Rothhoefen very
well. 1t is an old stamping ground Of
mine.
"1ndeed, said /, affecting surprise.
~ spent very joyous season here
not SO many years ago. Hohendahl is
a bosom friend -
When he was quite out of hearing,
Billy Smith leaned over and said to me:
:" He spent his honeymoon here old
man. 1t was the girls idea to bring
him here to assuage the present with
of the past. Quite a pretty
ehs'
ut depends on how he spent it,"
said significantly. Smith grinned p
provlngly. Being "a diplomat, he sensed
ny meaning at once.
1t was a lot of money" he said.
At dinner the Russian baron, who
every particle of food he ate
With great care and discrimination, evil
lently looking for poison, embarrassed
ne in the usual fashion by asking how
write my books, where get my plots,
md all the rest of the questions that
ave become so hatefully unanswerable,
nding up by blandly enquiring what l
ad written. This was made especially
by the PREDATORY remark
hat he had lived in Washington for
i've years and had read everything that
ras worth reading.
If Elsie mad been a man | should have
licked her for further confounding me
y mentioning the titles of all my books
nd saying that he surely must have
'ad them, as everybody did, thereby
applying him with the chance to trlum-
hantly say that he d be hanged if he d
yer heard of any one of them. l shall
ways console myself with the joy
Il thouglv that | couldn t remember
IS internal name and would now make
a point never to do so.
Mr.. Pless openly made love to Elsie
I'd the Baron openly made love to
city Billy. Being a sort of non-com-
ittal bachelor | ranged myself with
e two abandoned husbands and we
ID quite reckless time of it, talking
th uninterrupted devilishness about
Q growth of American dentistry in
lropean capitals, the way one has his
ills manicured in Germany, the upset
ice of hot-house strawberries, the
lative merit of French and English
lis, the continued progress of the
'ather and sundry other topics of
milar piquancy.
ITO Be Continued.)