River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-01-13
By LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE
Copyright by Louis Joseph Vance.

a prescription apt to prove whole
some for a gentleman of his kidney;
which was rather frequently, arguing
that Bourke's professional activities
were fairly onerous.
Having received most of his educa-
ton in Dublin university, Bourke
spoke the purest English known, or
could when so minded, while his facile
Irish tongue had caught the trick Of
an accent which passed unchallenged
on the boulevards. He had an alert
eye for pretty women, heart as big
as all outdoors, no scruples worth men
tioning, q secret sorrow, and pet SUI
perstition
The hue of his hair, a clamOrous
red, was the spring Of his secret sor-
row. BY that token he was marked
man
His pet superstition was that as
long as he refrained from practicing
his profession in Paris, Paris would
stand toward him as an impregnable
tower Of refuge. The world owed
Bourke living, or he so considered,
but Paris was taX-eXempt as long as
Paris let him alone.
Not only did Paris suit his tastes
excelIently, but there was no place, in
Bourke's esteem, comparable with
Troyon's for peace and quiet. Hence
his visits were unprecedented by trials
Of rival hostelries, and Troyons was
always expecting Bourke for the
simple reason that he invariably ar
rived unexpectedly, with neither warn
ing nor ostentation, stopped as long as
he liked, whether a day or week Or
a month, and departed in the same
manner
His daily routine, as Troyon's came
to know it, varied but slightly-he
breakfasted abed, about half after ten.
dined early and well, but always alone,
and shortly afterward departed by
cab for some well-known bar on the
Rive Droite; and the hour Of his re-
turn remained a secret between him
self and the concierge.
On retiring Bourke would empty his
pockets upon the dressing table,
where the boy, Marcel, bringing up
Bourke's petit dejeuner the next morn.
ing, would see displayed tempting
confusion of gold and silver and cop
per, with a wad Of banknotes, and the
customary assortment Of personal
hardware.
Now inasmuch as Bourke was never
wide awake at that hour, and always,
after acknowledging Marcel's 'bon-
jour-" rolled over and snored for glory
and the saints, it was against human
nature to resist the lure of that dress
ing table. Marcel seldom departed
without coin or two.
He had yet to learn that Bourke's
habits were those Of an Englishman,
who never goes to bed without leav-
ing all his pocket money in plain sight
and-carefully catalogued in his mem
DRY.
One morning in the spring Of 1904
Marcel served Bourke his last break
fast at Troyon's.
The Irishman had been on the prowl
the previous night, and his rasping
snore was audible even through the
closed door when Marcel knocked and,
receiving no answer, used the pass
key and entered.
At this the snore was briefly interrupt
ed; Bourke, visible at first only as
flaming shock of hair protruding from
the bedclothes, squirmed an eye above
his artificial horizon, opened it, mum
bled inarticulate acknowledgment of
MarcePs salutatlon, and passed bla-
family into further slumbers.
Marcel deposited his tray on a table
beside the bed, then moved quietly to
the windows, closed them, and drew
the lace curtains together The dress
ing table between the two windows
displayed, amid the silver and copper,
more gold coins than it commonly did
some eighteen OF twenty louis alto
gether Adroitly abstracting in pass
ing a piece of ten francs, Marcel went
Oh his way rejoicing, touched a match
to the fire ready laid in the crate, and
was nearing the door when, casting
one casual parting glance at the bed,
he became aware of notable phenom-
enon-the snoring was going on lus-
thy, but Bourke was watching him
with both eyes wide and filled with in
terest.
Startled, and, to tell the truth,
bit indignant, the boy stopped as
though at word Of command. But
after the first flush of establishment
his young face hardened to immobil-
ity. Only his eyes remained constant
to Bourke's.
The Irishman, sitting up in bed, de-
manded and received the gold piece,
and went on to indict the boy for the
embezzlement of several sums run
ming into a number Of louis.