The Cook County news-herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Cook County, Minn.) 1909-current, 1915-07-01
next when was staggered by sud

KIM OF SpeecnleSS ana greatness sur
prise. ''Who is it," I asked. ROsanna
gave me back my own question. "Oh,
who is it?' she said softly, more to
herself than to me. I twisted round
on the sand and looked behind me-
There, coming out on us from among
the hills, was bright eyed young gen.
tleman dressed in a beautiful fawn
colored suit, with gloves and hat to
match, with rose in his .buttonhole
and a smile on his face that might
have set the shivering sand itself smil-
ing at him in return. Before I could
get on my legs he pumped down on
the sand by the side of me, put his
arm round my neck, foreign fashion,
and gave me hug that fairly squeezed
the breath out of my body. "Dear old
Betteredge," says he, II owe you seven
and sixpence. Now do you know who
amp
Lord bless us and save us! Here,
four good hours before we expected
him, was Franklin Blake!
Before 1 could say word saw Mr.
Franklin, surprised to all appearance,
look up from me to Rosanna. Follow
ing his lead, looked at the girl too.
She was blushing Of deeper red than
ever, seemingly at having caught Mr..
Franklin's eye, and she turned and left
us suddenly in a confusion quite unac-
countable to my mind without either
making her courtesy to the gentleman
| or saying a word to me, very unlike
her usual self; a civiler and better be-
haved servant in general. you never
met with.
THAT'S an odd girl" says Mr.. Frank
lin. II wonder what she sees in me to
surprise her?''
II suppose, SIR" answered, drolling
on our young gentleman's continental
education, 'its the varnish from for
eign parts"
1 set down here Mr.. Franklin's care
less question and my foolish answer as
consolation and encoura cement to all
stupid people, it being, as I have re-
marked, a great satisfaction to our in
ferior fellow Great lures to find that their
! betters are on occasions no brighter
| than they are. Neither Mr.. Franklin,
with his wonderful foreign training,
nor l, with my age, experience and
natural mother wit, had the ghost Of
an idea of what Rosanna Spearman's
unaccountable behavior really meant.
She was out Of our thoughts, poor soul,
before we had seen the last futter Of
her little gray cloak among the sand
hills. And what Of that? you will ask
naturally enough. Read on, good
friend, as patiently as you can, and
perhaps you will be as sorry for Rosan-
| ma Spearman as I was when I found
| out the truth.
The first thing 1 did after we were
left together alone was to make third
attempt to get up from my seat on the
sand. Mr.. Franklin stopped me.
There Is one advantage about this
horrid place." he said-"we have got it
all to ourselves. Stay where you are,
Betteredge. I have something to say
to you."
While he was speaking I was look
ing at him and trying to see some
thing Of the boy I remembered in the
man before me- The man put me out.
Look as might, I could see no more
of his boys rosy cheeks than his boy S
trim little jacket. His complexion had
! got pale. His face at the lower part
was covered, to my great surprise
and disappointment, with a curly
brown beard and mustache He had
a lively touch and go way with him,
very pleasant and engaging, I admit,
but nothing to compare with his free
and easy manners of other times. To
make matters worse he had promised
to be tall and had not kept his prom
Use. He was neat and slim and we'll
made, but he wasn't by an inch or
two up to the middle height. In short,
he baff1ed me altogether. The years
that had passed had left nothing of
| his old self except the bright, straight
forward look in his eyes. There I
found our nice boy again, and there I
concluded to stop in my investigation.
"Welcome back to the old place, Mr..
Franklin" I said. Cali the more well
come, sir, that you have come some
| hours before we expected you.''
II have a reason for coming before
you expected me-" answered Mr..
Franklin. II suspect, Betteredge. that
I have been followed and watched in
London for the past three or four
days, and have travelled by the morn
ing instead Of the afternoon train be-
cause wanted to give a certain dark
looking stranger the slip"
Those words did more than surprise
me- They brought back to my mind
in a fash the three jugglers and Pencil
! ope's notion that they meant some mis-
chief to Mr.. Franklin Blake.
"Whos watching you, sir? And
why?" I inquired.
'Tell me about the three Indians you
have had at the house today" says
Mr.. Franklin without noticing my
question. "1ts just possible, Better
edge, that my stranger and your three
jugglers may turn out to be pieces of
1