Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-01

travel ana the forming OF chanco ac-
sa Ia Sa not s asRs yo oaok IN
tho lounge and Tn sure I've met you
somewhere or another, but Il can't place
you." ~ n. r''3 N.ttf.
CHAPTER II.
The stranger.
j., The stranger. taking his change from
the assistant bartender, laughed.
Eyes," said he. you have seen me
before, often, I should think. Do you
mean to say you don't know where?"
40 'tNope," said Jones--he had ac-
quired few American idioms-"I'm
clear out of my reckoning-are you an
Americana"
mo, I'm English" replied the other.
This Is very curious, you don't recog-
nize me. well-well-well-le sit
down and have . talk; maybe recollec-
u is easier to think sitting down than
standing up" vsf
Now as Jones turned to take his
seat at the table indicated by the
and his assistant were looking at him
as though he had suddenly become an
object Of more than ordinary interest.
The subtlety Of human facial ex-
preston stands unchallenged. and the
faces Of these persons conveyed the
impression to Jones that the interest
he had suddenly evoked in their minds
had in 1t q link with the humorous.
= When he looked again, however, hay
Ing taken his seat, they were both
washing glasses with the solemnity
OF uhdertakers. =
II thought those guys were laugh
ing at me-" said Jones; Seems was
wrong, and all the better for them
WE'LL now, let's get to the bottom Of
this tangle--who are you, anyway"
Just friend" replied the other.
want you to think it out for yourself.
Talk about yourself and then. maybe,
you'll arrive at 1t. Who are your
Me? cried Jones: I'm Victor Jones
Of philadelphia. I'm the partner Of a
skunk by name Of stringer. I'm the
doesn't know the difference between
tin plate and IIarveyized steel. I'm q
man. on the rocks.p Il! ~
The flood gates Of his wrath were
opened and everything came out, In
Guiding the fact Of his own desperate
position. ~,
When he had finished the only re-
mark Of the stranger was:
Have another" e.,
mot on your life" cried Jones. ~
sage back to the states-well-I don't
know. No--no more cocktails. TIL
have sherry, same as YOU"
The sherry having been dispatched
the stranger rose. refusing q return
drink just at that moment "s 0..
Come into the lounge with me-"
said he. y want to tell you some-
J. They passed up the stairs, the
stranger leading the way, Jones fol-
lowing. slightly confused in his mind,
but full Of warmth at his heart and
with buoyancy Of spirit beyond ex-
d perience.. stringer was forgotten, the
British government was forgotten,
contracts. hotel bills. steerage Jour-
reys to the States-all these were for
e rooms and the golden lamps of the
Savoy were sufficient for. the moment.
and as he sank into an easy chair and
lit q cigarette even his interest in the
stranger and what he had to say was
for q moment dimmed and diminished
by the fumes. that filled his brain and
tho ease that Tapped his senses.
What have to say is this" said
the stranger, leaning forward in his
chair. when saw you here some
time ago recognised you at once as q
person I knew. but. as you put 1t, !
into the main hail a mirror at once
told me. You are, to put 1t frankly,
my twin image" T..
II beg your pardon" said Jones, the
word image SCATTERING his COM
placency. "Your twin which do you
say7" Is ..a "
'Tmage, likeness, counterpart
mean no offense--turn around. and
glance at that mirror behind YOU"
Jones did and saw the stranger and
the stranger was himself. Both men
belonged to fairly common type, but
the likeness went far beyond that
they were identical The same hair
and color Of hair, the same features,
shape of head, ears and color of eyes,
the same serious expression Of counten-
ance.
Absolute likeness between two hui
man beings Is almost as rare as abso-
Lutte likeness between two pebbles on
a beach. yet 1t occurs, as In the case
of NJ. de Joinville and others we'll
known and confirmed, and when say
absolute likeness I mean likeness SO
complete that 4 close acquaintance
cannot distinguish the difference be-
tween the duplicates. When nature
does a trick like this she does 1t thor
oughly, for It has been noticed--but
moro especially in the case Of twins
the likeness includes tho voice, or at
least it's timbre. the thyroid cartilage
and vocal chords following the mys-
terious law that rules the duplication.
Jones' voice and the voice of the
stranger might have been the same as
far as pitch and timbre were con-
ccrned; the only difference was In the
- ~ a