Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-08-21
me "a he hacked u away.


TO us.
slipped into the socks and Oriental
slippers | discovered, drew on a pair
Of Tapping pantaloons. and thrust my
arms through the sleeves of silken
Jacket, which hung loosely down be-
low my waist. Lastly added a'cap.
and then I walked over to the mirror
filled door OF closet in tho room and
had good look at myself,
The yellowish face of a seeming
Oriental was thrown back to my eyes.
Even the eyes themselves seemed
slightly slanted by the contracting
pull of the stuff the man had placed
at their outer corners. Ny yellowed
hands and wrists stuck out of the
Jackets flowing sleeves.
was a pretty fair counterfeit OF a
Chnaman as / saw it.
Iwent to the phore again and asked
for n taxi I gave the key of the room
TO the man with the case and left the
room
felt rather bizarre, in way. as
walked across the foyer Of the hotel.
had entered as Gordon Glaze and
I was leaving az the apparent servant
Of an Oriental prince ! wondered II
any watching eyes would detect the
connection. rather fancy not
NV taxi was waiting and entered
II at once, giving my driver the dirsc-
ton in a singsoag voice through the
tube.
We were off
I leaned back and LET myself relax
"a we darted through the traffic OK
Market. and chuckled. The adven-
ture took hold and swept me along.
Once. years before. when ! first
knew him. Dual had disguised me- as
his personal attendant. and We had
gone to the rescue of the daughter OF
the same old Colonel Sheldon who was
now mounting guard over the girl In
The ST. Francis hotel.
The present circumstance brought
back the former, and with it the thrill
Vt that other masquerade. Then. -
now, Semi Dual had led and had
followed.
Then, as now. Sheldon had been LEFT
TO wait with what patience he could
when the final movements of the
game We're to be played out. Then, as
now, he had taken me with him in the
end of the venture and made me his
lieutenant--the witness of his skillful
playing on the strings of fate.
Then. as now, he had posed as
Prince Abdul.
| smiled | fancied how would
find him now dressed, no doubt as
some Eastern potentate in flowing
robes which seemed to fit him as to
the manner born
The evening glow was living over the
city, flingine the streets into shadow
as we turned 10 the hill toward my
destination From he windows of the
''' Nitblp Nfu lllt nun NiHN NlUNUH ~
they jostled along
h5a'n | smiled Not one Of them.
! fancied. would dream in their rou-
tine round that the spirit Of adventure
was abroad in their midst
They led their lives from day TO day
IN the selfsame manner They went
their WAYS and minded their business.
and saw only what was on the surface
They couldn't see deeper to the soul
Of things.
To them, IL they saw me. was
Chinese driving in hired taxi In
whimsical way. paraphiased an old
voice | once had beard.
A Chinese in a tayicab.
a Chinese was to him. by Grab,
And he was nothing more
And ! grinned. Since Dual and I
had been friends, the spirit Of adven-
ture had grown familiar to me. Peo.
pie said adventure was dead in these
commercial days.
Well, then people didn't know. A
tingling thrill of impotence laid hold
Of me as in the old days of our early
acquaintance, and | mentally urged
the wheels Of my cab as'we climbed
the long hill.
Adventure dead! What fslacy.
II was no more dead today than
thousand wears afO
II could not die MS long rs men and
women loved and gave life 10 their
and reared them with hopes
and aspirations of what they. too
were to become.
Life itself was the great adventure.
and today Dual, and now were en-
gazing in the task Of saving life,
What more could there be than that
to save life itself life Of man
and woman who loved. and If was
to believe the words Of my paradox.
speaking friend, would mate and give
yet another life to the world.
What an adventure! To save life.
And before Dual had left our hotel
he had known He had read il from
the stars themselves. and told Sheldon
that Mercury and Venus were drawing
to conjunction