The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1915-05-28
next when l was staggered by a sud
den change in the girls face.

Her complexion turned of a beautiful
red. which l had never seer in it be-
fore; she frightened all over with a
KIND OF Speechless and %breathless sur
prise. "Who is it?' l asked. Rosanna
gave me back my w question. ooh.
who is it?' she said softly, more to
herself Ii to me. l twisted round
on he sam and looked behind me.
There, coming out on us from among
the hills, was a bright eyed young gen
tleman dressed III a beautiful fawn
colored suit, with gloves and hat to
match, with a 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 l 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 a hug that fairly squeezed
h breath out of my body. Dear old
Betteredge,' says he, 81 owe you seven
and sixpence. Now do you know who
I ann
Lord bless us and save us! Here,
o u good hours before we expected
him, was Franklin Blake.
Before l could say a word l saw Mr..
Franklin, surprised to all appearance,
look up from me to Rosanna. Follow
ing his lead, l looked at the girl too.
She was blushing Of Il 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 q word to me, very unlike
her usual self; u civiler and better be-
haved servant in general you never
met with.
That's an odd girl" says Mr.. Frank
lin. 81 wonder what she sees in me to
surprise herr"
Il suppose, sir" l answered, drolling
on our young gentleman's continental
education. Its the varnish from for
eign parts"
set down here Mr.. Franklin's care
less question and my foolish answer as
a consolation and encouragement to all
stupid people, it being, as l have re-
marked, a great satisfaction to our in
ferior fellow creatures to find that their
betters are on occasions no brighter
than they are. Neither Mr.. Franklin,
with his wonderful foreign training,
nor I, 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 tlutter 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 l was when l found
out the truth.
The first thing / did after we were
left together alone was to make a third
attempt to get up from my seat on the
sand. Mr.. Franklin stopped me.
There is II 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 l 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 l might, l could see no more
of his boys rosy cheeks than his boys
trim little Jacket. His complexion had
UOf nn1n His facn Of t1o 1nr-o,, ~c,
was covered. to my great surprise
and disappointment, with a curly
brown beard and mustache. He had
a lively touch and 60 way with him,
very pleasant and engaging, l admit,
but nothing to compare with his free
and easy manner 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 OIL
two up to the middle height. In short.
he baf1icd me altogether. The years
his old self except the bright. straight
forward look in his eyes. There l
found II nice boy again. and there I
concluded to stop in my investigation.
"Welcome back to the old place, Mr..
Franklin" l said. "All 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
l have been followed and watched in
London for the past three or four
days. and l have travelled by the morn
ing instead of the afternoon train be-
cause l wanted to give a certain dark
looking stranger the slip"
Those words did more than surprise
me. They brought back to my mind
in Il flash the three jugglers and Pencil
ope's notion that they meant some mis-
chief to Mr.. Franklin Blake.
who's watching you, sir? And
why"' l inquired.
Tell me about the three Indians you