The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1915-01-01

gagement at nvs&hirty. and must be
o."
+ was about to ask yOu to dine with
me tonight" disappointedly.
Cant; awfully sorry. Abby. II was
only luck that l met you In the Laz.
embourg. Be over about even.
was very glad to . you again."
Abbott kicked . broken easel into
. corner. "All right. II anythiaS
turns up III let you know. You're q
the Grandf~
Yes. By-by."
II know what's the matter With
him." unused the artist, alone. "Some
woman has chucked him. Silly little
fool, probably"
Courtlandt went down stairs and out
into the boulevard. Frankly, he was
beginning to feel concerned. He still
held to his original opinion that the
diva had disappeared of her own free
will; but II the machinery OF the po-
lice had been started. he realized that
his own safety would eventually be-
come involved. BY this time, he rea-
soned, there would not be a hotel In
Paris free Of surveillance. Naturally,
blond strangers would be In demand.
The complications that would follow
his own arrest were % to be ignored.
He agreed with his conscience that he
had no acted with dignity in forcing
his way into her apartment. But that
night he had been at odds with con-
vention: his spirit had been that Of
the marauding old Dutchman of the
seventeenth century. He perfectly
well knew that she was In the right as
far as the pistol-shot was concerned.
Further. he knew that he could quash
any charge she might make in that d.
rection by the simplest Of DECLARE
lions; and to avoid this simplest Of
declarations she would prefer silence
above all things. They knew each 9TH
or tolerably we'll.
It was extremely fortunate that he
had not been to the hotel since Satur.
day. He went directly to the war Of
fee. The great and powerful man
there val the only hope left. They
had met some years before In AlgierS,
where Courtlandt had rendered him .
very real service.
Il did not expect you to the min
ute." the great man said pleasantly.
You will not mind waiting for q few
minutes"
Not in the least. Only, I'm In a
deuce Of a mess" frankly and directly.
'Innocently enough. I've stuck my
head into the police net"
is 1t possible that now l can pay
my debt to your"
Such as 1t Is. Have you read the
article in the newspapers regarding
the disappearance of Signorina da Tos-
cana, the singer"
YES"
Il am the unknown blond. Tomor-
row morning l want you to go with me
to the prefecture and state that l was
with you all Of Saturday and Sunday;
that on Monday you and your wife
dined with me. that yesterday we went
70 the aviation mest, and later tn the
Odeon."
I'm brief. an alibi?" smiling now.
Exactly. I shall need one"
And Q perfectly good alibi. But !
have your word that you are in no
wise concerned? Pardon the question.
but between us It 10 really necessary
II | am to be Of service to you"
-On my word as q gentleman"
THAT il sufficient"
I'm fact, I do not believe that she
has been abducted at all. Will YOU
let me 9 your pad and pen for a
minute?"
The other pushed over the required
articles. Courtlandt scrawled q few
words and passed back the pad.
For me to read?"
YES" modify.
The Frenchman read. Courtlandi
watched him anxiously. There was
not yer q flicker Of surprise in the
official eye. Calmly he ripped of the
sheet and tore 1t into bits, distribut
ing the pieces into the various waste
baskets yawning about his long fiat
desk. Next. still avoiding the younger
mans eye. he arranged his papers
neatly and locked them up in a huge
safe which only the artillery of the
German army could have forced. He
then called for his hat and stick. He
beckoned to Courtlandt to follow. No,
a word was said until the car was
hamming on the road to Vincennea-
"Well?" said C%ourtlandt. finally. l,
was not possible for him to hold bach
the question any longer.
MY dear friend, l am taking you
out to the villa for the night"
but / have nothing
And l have everything, even fore
sight. II you were arrested tonight il
would cause you some inconvenience
/ am fifty-six. some twenty years your
senior. Under this hat Of mine I carry
q thousand secrets, and every one OF
these thousand must 90 to the grave
with me. yours along with them.
have met you . dozen times since
those Algerian days. and never have
you failed to afford me some amuse.