Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-08-07


blind alley. turned and strobe out Of
it just in time to bump heavily into
the unsupported pursuer. Instantly a
hem of the Numidian's cloak was
lifted to screen his face. but not pc
fore the sharp ayes of the Englisn-
man had seen and recognized 1t. A
tart smile curled the corners OF cap
per's mouth as he passed on down the
bazaar-lined street to the Tavern or
Thermopylae, at the next corner. SO
old Koch was taking precautions, n
Well. Capper. for one, could hardly
blame him: who wouldn't, under the
circumstances?
The Tavern Of Thermopylae was
| built for the Billy Cappers of n
world-a place of genial deviitry
where every mans gold was better
than his name. and no man asked
I more than to see tho color of the
strangers money. Here was gather
cd as sweet a company of assassins as
one could find from Port Said to Hon
-nosu. all gentle to fellows Of their
craft under the freemasonry of hard
i2saacr, Greeks. Levantines, Liverpool
siuae-Juicers from the Cape. leech-eyed
FSnn's from a Russians stokehole,
tanned ivory runners from the forbid
dsn lands Of the African back coun-
Itry-all that made Tyre and Sidon in
lords mas represented there.
Capper called for an absinth drip
per and established himself in a e
serted corner of the smoke-fllled
room There was music, of sorts, and
singing; women whose eyes told
strange stories, and. whose tongues
jumped nimbly over three or four Ian
iguages, offered their companionship
to those who needed company with
their drink. But Billy Capper ignored
the music n closed his ears to the
sirens; he knew who was his best cup
companion.
The thin green blood of the worm
wood drip-dripped down on to the
ice in Capper's glass. coloring 1t with
a rime like moss. He watched 1t, fas-
cinsted. and when he slipped the cold
sicky-sveet Igor he was eager as a.
child 10 see how the pictures the alb
smith drew IN the ice had been chan
ged by the draft. Sip-sip: q sooth-
ing numbness came to the tortured
nerves. Sip-sip: the clouds Of doubt
and %self-pity pressing down on his
brain began to shred away. He saw
things clearly now everything was
sharp and clear as the point Of an
icicle.
He reviewed. with new zest, his re-
cent experiences, from the night he
met Louisa in the Cafe Richie up to
his interview with Doctor Koch.
Loufsa-that girl with the face Of q
fine animal and a heart as cold as
carved amethyst; why had she been
so willing to intercede for Billy Cap
per with her superiors in the Will
helmstrasse and procure him a num-
Der and a mission to Alexandria? For
his information regarding the Anglo
for that; h deal as fairly closed with
three hundred marks. Did Louisa go
further and list him in the wilhelm
strasse out Of the goodness -of her
heart. or for old memory's sake?
Capper smiled wryly over his absinth.
There was\ no goodness in Louisa's
heart, and the strongest memory she
had was how nearly Billy 5Capper had
dragged her. down with him in the
scandal Of the Lord Fisher letters.
How h thin green blood OF the
wormwood cleared the mind-made
it leap to logical reasoning!
Why had Louisa instructed him to
leave Marseilles by the steamer touch
Ing at Malta when a sWifter boat
scheduled to go to Alexandria direct
was leaving the French port a few
hours later? Was 1t that the girl in
tended he should get no farther than
Malta: that the English there
Capper laughed like the philoso-
pher who has just discovered the alb
solute Of life,s futility. The ticket
his ticket from the Wilhelmstrasse
which Louisa had procured for him;
Louisa wanted that for other pur-
poses. and used him as the dummy to
obtain It.. She wanted it before he
could arrive at Malta-and she got 1t
before he left Marseilles. Even Louisa,
the wise, had played without dis
counting the Double o on the wheel
l-fate's percentage in every game:
she could not know the ''Vendee'
would be warned from lingering at
Malta because Of the exigency Of war,
and that Billy Capper would reach
Alexandria. after all.
The green logic in the glass r
rfed Capper along with mathematical
exactness Of deduction. AS he sip
ped. his mind became a thing detach-
ed and. looking down from somewhere
high above earth, reviewed the blum
dering course of Billy Capper's body
from Berlin to Alexandria-the poor
deluded body of a dupe. With this
gertrude Of logic came the begin
nings of resolve. Vague at first and
then, helped by n alb
smith to focus. was this new deter
mination: capper, nursed it., elabor-
ated on IT, took pleasure in forecast
Ing it's outcome, and viewing himself
in the new light Of a humble hero.
It was near morning, and the Tavern
of Thermopylae was well-nigh desert
ed when Capper paid his score and
Numbered through the early-morning
crowd OF mixed races to his hotel.
mind was coldly and acuteiy sober.
Very drunk. MASTER" was the re-
port Caesar. the Numidian, delivered
to Doctor Koch at the Ramleh villa.
The doctor. believing Caesar to be a
competent Judge, chuckled in his
beard. Caesar was called off from
the trail.
Across the street from Doctor