The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1920-02-20


genuine citation in itl And the old
passport photograph which he had
hidden for fear that his real name,
Endorsed on II, might be cnblea home,
together with proof to the world that
he hadn't been Il hero-that he had
failed in this, as III every other UNI
dertaklng of his life, And all the
dates In accuracy! And IL anyone
cared to trace back the story, where
was the flaw2 Where was There a
loopholeP And who would recognize
Dick Morgan In his cloak and mask Of
utter miracle?
Who had?
Llghtningllke, his brain included ali
the salient items of the picture in a
single flash. There was Dlcky Nor
gan, sailing away TO France--which
could be proved. There was num-
Der, and, a name attached to 1t, AMI
since billiards. sturdy defensn OF
Dicky Morgan had had a grain Of
truth in 1t, and one of the steps OF
his many-sided progress carefully
omitted-a name had really been as
sumed, and had endured from the date
of enlistment to the date of discharge.
1t was the individuals recorded name
in the army and at Neullly--and 1t
wasn't Morgan and it wasn't billiard
and it wasn't DutOut. No one here
knew it, or ever would know it; even
Harmon didn't know it; it was the
first sobriquet Of a shell-torn individ-
ual who had been taken to Neuilly,
and had been made whole again. No
one at Neuilly had ever set eyes on
Dicky Morgans real face But Il GER
tain man named Dutout had been dec
Grated and died, and that could be
proved--was proved billiard had
borrowed Dutouts name in perfect
safety; and the trail was cold. And
here was a fourth man, Hilliard-to
take his word for it--and the world is
larger than the curiosity of sincere
people to encompass.
No--if a Neuilly surgeon ever told
as one of the mysterious chapters OF
the war what had happened to a GER
tain gloomy individual that summer,
the name would suggest nothing. And
as far as checking up the visits of
a mythical billiard to a very real Du-
tout was concerned, who would pro-
fess to remember? The testimony Of
any single witness would be inmate
rial.
The voice of Carol Durant was echo
ing in billiards. ears, and billiard,
yielding to tidal wave of reckless
ness, and of swelling anger at imagi-
nary wrongs, looked squarely into
Carols eyes, and spoke with winning
urgency.
YES" he said. 81 have news Of
Morgan. In fact, I'm here in Syracuse
solely because have it. I've just
been telling Mr.. Cullen-and Miss Gull
len-that~I was with him when he
died"
2 She didn't speak, ut first she mere
ly looked at billiard and grew very
white, and her lips quivered. Pres
emily she swayed a little, and reached
out with her hand toward the back
of convenient chair. Armstrong
stepped toward her, and Angela Cul-
len slipped an arm around her waist.
"Hes dead?" she repeated,
and her tone was not yet free from
certain incredulity, as though the fact
were of itself impossible, and the
statement of it subject to discussion.
Eyes, Miss Durant."
She moistened her lips; her eyes
were very bright, unnaturalIy bright
so that Hilliard was fascinated, and
appalled,.
You You know that?' she
asked, again with that queer inflexion
of amazed doubt. Q
"Yes, I know it."
The Others were standing as stat
ues; Mr.. Cullen, snatching at the. first
idea of consolation to present itself,
fumbled for his daughters other hand.
which still retained the trophy bet
ter man had won.
IlClC WIluL lIlNS saw AAAiii3 CttAOi
Look The Croix de Guerre! Don't
let's thing of anything but what he
ler's be proud of him! I"
"Oh, yes" she said iEertly and took
the cross in her palm. She dropped
her eyes for moment, then raised
them to the level Of billiards.. Didn't
he send some word to me-?
mo" billiards. nod was very min
isterial. "No, I'm sorry, but"
Her eyebrows lifted, and her nos
trils dilated the merest trifie. Her
breath was coming more rapidly now;
she was nearing the breaking point
Of her resistance, and all of them
knew it. The moment was agOnizedly
prolonged billiard, gazing without
quaver at the girl he had thought he
loved beyond all else in this world or
the next, was singularly relaxed as
he observed her symptoms. She had
really cared, then 50 much
the greater pity that she hadn't kept
him caring as she might.
"Can that be possible?" she said,
hardly above a whisper.
''I'm sOrry--but-"
II wouldn't have believed it could
D. +,.,,o Che oroua 1Opn