Mountain advocate. (Barbourville, Ky.) 1904-1935, 1919-08-01

I for" II hesitated again "a tw,
weeks Journey"
Bermuda or Niagara Falls" aske,
the young woman.
II beg your pardonr I inquired, con
scious that my face was insuffsrnbl,
hot.
"If you are taking madame to Der
muda she will naturally require cooler
clothing than II you are taking her tC
Niagara Falls" the young woman ex
planned, looking at me with benevolent
patience. And seeing that was wholly
disconnected, she added:
perhaps madame might prefer 10
make her own selection"
AS l stood in the center Of the store,
apparently a stumbling block to every
shopper, Jacqueline fitted here and
there, until a comfortable assortment
Of parcels was accumulated upon the
counter.
l bought a neat sole-leather suit
case, which, at Jacqueline's practical
suggestion, was changed for a lighter
one of plated straw.
1t was while Jacquellne was exam
lining the sultcases that my attention
was drawn to tall, elderly man with
hard, drawn and deeply lined
weather-beaten face and wearing a
massive fur overcoat, open in front,
who was standing in the division be-
tween the trunk department and that
adjoining 1t, Immediately behind
Jacqueline. He was looking at me
with an unmistakable glance Of rec
ognition.
knew that had seen him several
times before, but, though his features
were familiar, 1 had forgotten his
name. / stared at him and he stared
back at me, and made an urgent sign
to me.
Keeping an eye on Jacquelinc and
not losing sight CT her at any time,
followed the tall han. AS I neared
him my remembrance Of him grew
stronger. When he turned round
had his name on my lips.
II was simon LerOuX.
"Diable! So you've got herr he
began in hoarse, forcible whisper.
Where did you pick her up?"
! made no answer, but waited for
him to lead again-and / was thinking
hard.
There's the devil TO pay I" he went
on in his execrable accent. "Lonis
came on post-haste, as you know, and
he hasn't turned up this morning yet.
All, mon Dieu, l always knew Tom was
close, but i never dreamed you knew
anything. You know what happened
last night?"
ut was an unfortunate affair."" I
said guardedly.
"Unfortunate" he repeated, staring
at me out Of his bloodshot eyes. 1T
was the devil, by II Who was her
His face was fiery red, and he cast
so keen a look at me that l almost
thought he had discovered he was be-
traying himself.
ut was lucky was in New York
when Louis wired us she had flown"
he continued-I omit the oaths which
punctuated his phrases. Lucky / had
my men with me, too. l didn't think
I'd need them here, but I'd promised
them a trip to New York-and then
come Louis wire. I put them on the
track. l guessed she'd go to Days
old Duchaine was mad about that
crazy system of his, and had been
writing 10 him.
81 tell you 1t was tIckiish. There
was millions Of dollars worth of prop
erty walking up Broadway, and they'd
got her, with u taxi waiting near by,
when that DEVILS fool strolls up and
draws a crowd. If I'd been there I'd
have"
A string of vile explosives followed
his last remark.
"They got on his track again and
followed them to the Merrlmac," he
continued. "And they never came out.
They waited all night till nine this
and they never came out.
thought her a good girl-it's awful
Who was he? Say, how much do you
known"
His face was dripping with sweat
and he shot an awful look at Jacque-
line as she bent over the suitcase.
could hardly keep my hands Off him.
but Jacqueline's need was too great
for me to give vent to my passion.
Hewlett eIudeS leroux