The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-08-19

tr1nkets. Tonight, his travel bag, a
black slouchy leather affair, dear to
his heart for having been through a
great deal with him, was packed with
clean things. and room at the top. He
Travelled light.
The distant draw OF the sands was
upon him now, rousing the old Ioneli-
ness that sometimes made trouble.
At such times Con thought of his
mother. The woman next door had
| told him enough TO identify his fathers
beloved with the nameless beauty in
his own heart The hurt OF this love
illness was often the starting-point for
| rampage in the cutters. A sweet
| ness was forever eluding him. 1t
swept near in the words OF Stephen
March. and at last there was a guild
ance upon his energies. Their talk of
danger was only a courtesy, as Con re-
garded it. For one who had known
the red tangles Of the underworld.
peril was no more to be feared than
thunder in the night.
Andrew March entered Cons room
cit might be better to leave a dark
house" he suggested.
81 understand" replied Lexington.
'Tll find a cab over at the end of the
park. That ought to break any con-
nection with you here
you do not regret your accept
ANGER"
Far from It," declared Con, hastily
DO you mind going alone?"
mo, 1t will do me good. I have
everything to think over. It's rather
strain, you see-such a novelty
this strait and narrow"
They laughed.
"You haven't collapsed under It"
said March.
''It isn't narrow the way you've
brought it to me-
ST have told you," continued the
gray-haired friend, ''that probably you
Will never return"
Their glances met and held a mo-
ment. The elder sought a possible
trace of fear. but did not find it. Lev
ingtOn had the good taste not to utter
brave words. He had accepted his
mission.
There is used in the Orient very
thin parchment, as grateful to the
fnger-tips as the cheek of a babe,
smooth as swans down, and even
more sacred to yellow men.
"Wear this over your heart" said
Andrew March, smiling.
A small folded parchment was placed
in Cons hand. 1t was a duplicate of
the map on the stolen square of silk.
This copy was in a soft leather sack,
the size of a visiting card. TO be Sc
cured about his neck by leather cord.
Andrew then gave him a sealed en-
velope. and in regard to it said:
81 haven't Eeen very explicit with
you, Con. There are some things that
are not mine to tell you-now. When
you have opened and read it, you will
have committed yourself. and you
must not turn back. The breaking of
the seal is your pledge. But until
then, you are free, you have no Obllga-
lions of any kind, to me or any one
else You will understanding Shan
sung"
March smiled family, almost with
solemnity, Lexington bowed, accept
ing the small sealed packet. He
packed it to the bottom of the bag.
Presently they went to the fathers
room. The old man stood up, tall and
steady, the light of youth in his eyes.
There was a brief farewell, firmly
spoken. Again in Levington's room,
Andrew March gripped the young
mans hand, a little more tensely than
usual, and the silence between these
two was vital with enduring affection.
March then took his leave.
It was not yet midnight. Con wait
ed in his room, while the lights of the
March house were dimmed. Into
new clarity Of mind came images from
his earliest days-Shasta that beckOn-
ed, the alley in Memphis, and one
humid evening in the harbor of Flop
ura. Con wanted his father, forget
ting that he was twenty-five.
About one o'clock he turned out his
own light and left the friendly room,
passing down the hall, the black bag
with him. At the door of Andrew
MARGINS room he paused an instant
His benefactor was sleeping, the
bedroom door partly open. Con had
not stopped from sentiment, but in the
darkness he caught curious scent,
as of cinnamon and musty wine. It
whisked him back to a kitchen in
,Dory street, and he shuddered without
knowing exactly why. It was like his
father-shadOwy. intimate, heavy-fated
as if March must share this with
John Lexington as a personal quality.
Con almost believed he imagined the
perfume. 1t was the very odor of
darkness, soft and satiny. He passed
o., down through the darkened house.
and suddenly found himself wishing
he had not paused before the open
door.
Precaution in leaving the March
house was part of Cons instructions.
Whatever the Chinese cook might