The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-09
On the Kings Brand
(Continued from Page seven)

went by altogether and as they went they cried to one another in the Ger man tongue. No longer could doubt my diagnosis of the situation.
 Well, there it was. These men had passed in between me and the town, and to reach my hotel I must meet them as they returned. The idea of lying in the bindweed until the morning was by no means to be entertained; yet it seemed a patent folly to put myself into the hands of men of whose activities I was not unaware. It Is true that I had no papers upon me, yet the very fact might go to my undoing. For if they let me go they themselves were dis covered, and I knew their kind too well to believe that they would per nit discovery.
 The argument decided me to en- trust myself rather to the hillside than to the highway There was a little wood of pines a hundred yards above me, and I ran to it as 10 an obvious sanctuary, At least 1t would serve as a, screen between me and my unknown friends; and when I had gained 1t I saw that there were other hills, and that a man practically might make Q tour of these woods and come down eventually to the town in the nelghborhood of that western suburb which touches upon the sea. It was not a wholly desir- able way of spending a, night, it Is true, but at least 1t appeared to offer some security; and having made up my mind to undertake the Journey, l set out with what cheerfulness could.
 Unfortunately had reckoned with out the thunder storm. Those who have 5ourneyed much In the Pyre- nees will understand me readily when I speak of the terrors of the tempest in those heights and of the truly ap- palling hurricanes which can attend them, This particular storm came literally from nowhere and burst with a suddenness altogether dramatic. The lightning was as vivid as that I have seen in tropical Africa. The thunder seemed to shake the very hills, and upon it was q torrent of jelly cold raIn which cut me to the very bone.
 Seeking Shelter.
 For some while, indeed, sheltered in one of the woods, regardless of the dangers of trees, and 1t was only when one of them was struck not fif- y that ventured again to try my luck in the open. Rightly or wrongly, had imagined that discerned a. light in a little valley some quarter of a mile, perhaps, from the thicket which sheltered me, To this made as to some beacon of salvation, and my as tonishment was considerable when l discovered that no phantom had de- ceived me and that a shepherds cot tage indeed stood alone in this wild erness.
 Be 1t said at once that the light was that of a fire f1ckering upon an ancient hearth. It showed through the chinks of a crazy door, upon which ] beat with the butt end of my revolver Naturally, I expected to wait some time before my knock was answered; but to my surprise the shepherd himself appeared almost immediately, and lifting a lantern, he examined my face closely. Had not been so very wet, the storm so heavy, and the desire for shelter so strong upon me, I might have stood to reflect that his appearance was ominous. Evidently the man was awaiting somebody, but I was not that person.
 You must let me come in,'' said; 'T am a traveller who has lost my way. I q going to-,'' and I men toned the name of a neighboring town.
 For answer he called up the stairs behind him, and a. towsled-haired woman appeared. She in her turn did not seem to like the look of ma at aIL
 'No. nos she said in Spanish; 'T will not have, a heretic in my house."
 "Senora,' I said, ''I am not a here tic, but an Englishman, and as good @ Christian as yourself" and this, from the look of her, was, I should say, a fairly just claim.
 A Test.
 '"If it Is as you say,'' the woman rejoined, repeat the Lords prayer to me in Latin,'' and she stood there, the man obviously applauding her. and the pair of them as ugly a couple as I have ever looked upon in all my life.
 My wife Is quite right the fellow echoed ObstinateIy; you must say the Lords prayer in Latin.'
 Well, it is thirty years since I left school, and Latin was never my strong point, even at Cambridge. Yes, to ask me to stand out on a, hillside in a thunder storm TaCklng my brains for a correct translation of the Pater- noster was certainly a severe test
 However, l managed to get off z remarkable CongIomeradon of Eng fish and Latin and Greek which sounded sufficiently impressive to sat isfy the couple, for no sooner had I finished than the man opened the door and bade me enter.
 You are welcome" he said. though anything less like a welcome it would be difficult to imagine.
 So there it was. Either I must continue my tramp on the hillside or share the hospitality of this stinkfng hoyel- No Irish cabin of tradition could have been less inviting nor barer of the common necessaries. The place reeked with an odor of soot and garlic, while the smoking fire upon it's hearth would have blackened even a nigger from Nigeria
 did not fail to perceive, however, . that amidst all this reek and shabbi- ness quite a considerable supper ap- psared to be set out upon the crazy table. There were some seven or eight drinking mugs in china there; half a dozen bottles of wine I sup pose a great loaf and what looked like a piece of kids flesh. Two