Vernon Parish Democrat., 1921-03-03

tered not the slightest objection, 10t
when a man is seriously i'll, he is in
much the same position as politician
--to-wit: He is in the hands Of his
friends.
However, life had the habit Of go
ing hard with Webster so frequently
that fortunately he was trained to the
minute, and after three days Of heroic
battling the doctor awarded Jack the
decision. Thereafter they kept him in
the hospital ten days longer, feeding
him up" as the patient expressed it,
at the end Of which period Webster,
some fifteen pounds lighter and not
quite so fast on his feet as formerly,
resumed his journey toward New Or
leans.
In the meantime, however, several
things had happened. To begin, Do
lores Ruey spent two days wondering
what had become of her quondam
knight of the whiskers-at the end
of which period she arrived In New
Orleans with the conviction strong
upon her that while her hero might be
as courageous as wounded lion when
dealing with men, he was the pos
SCISSOR, wen dealing with women, Of
about two per cent less courage than
a cottOntail rabbit Being a very hu-
man young lady, however, she could
not help wondering what had become
of the ubiquitous Mr.. Webster, al
though the fact that he had mysteri-
Ously disappeared from the train en-
route to New Orleans did not perturb
her one-half so much as it had the dis
appearee. She had this advantage
over that unfortunate man. Whereas
he did not know she was bound for
Buenaventura, she knew he was;
hence, upon arrival in New Orleans
she dismissed him from her thoughts,
serene in abiding faith that sooner or
later her knight would appear, like
little BO-Peep's lost sheep, dragging
his tail behind him, so to speak.
Dolores spent week in New Or
leans renewing schoolgirl friendships
from her convent days in the quaint
| old town. This stOp-over, together
with the one in Denver, not having
been taken into consideration by Mr..
William Geary when he and Mother
jerks commenced to speculate upon
the approximate date of her arrival in
Buenaventura, resulted in the prema-
ture flight of Mother jerks to San
Miguel de Padua, a fruitless visit on
the part of Billy aboard the Cacique,
of the United Fruit company's line
followed by a hurry call to Mother
jerks to return to Buenaventura until
the arrival of the next steamer.
This time Billy's calculations proved
correct, for Dolores did arrive on that
steamer. The port doctor came
aboard, partook of his customary
drink with the captain, received a
bundle Of the latest American news
papers and magazines, nosed around,
asked a few perfunctory questions,
and gave the vessel pratique.
Dolores observed a gasoline launch
shoot up to the landing at the foot Of
the companion-ladder and discharge a
well-dressed, youthful white man. As
he came up the companion, the purser
recognized him.
"Howdy, Bill" he called.
"HelIo, yourself" Mr.. William
Geary replied, and Dolores knew him
for an American. 30 you happen tc
have as a passenger this trip a large,
interesting person, by name John Stu
art Webster?" added Billy Geary.
81 don't know, Billy. I'll look over
the passenger list" and together they
moved off toward his Office. Dolores
followed, drawn by the mention of
that magic name Webster, and paused
in front of the purser's Office to lean
over the rail, ostensibly to watch the
cargadores in their lighters clustering
around the great ship, but in reality
to learn more of the mysterious Web
ster.
BLAST the luck" Billy Geary
growled. ''the old sinner isn't here. BY
the way, do you happen to have
Miss Dolores -Ruey aboard%
Dolores pricked up her little ears.
What possible interest could this
stranger have in her goings or com
ings?
"You picked a winner this time
BILL" she heard the purser say.
"Stateroom sixteen, boat-deck, star
board side. You'll probably find her
there. packing to go ashore"
Thanks" Billy replied and stepped
out of the purser's Office. Dolores
turned and faced him.
81 am Miss Ruey," she announced.
81 heard you asking for me-" Her
eyes carried the query she had not put
into words: "Wh0 are you, and what
do you want?" Billy saw and under
stood, and on the instant a wave Of
desolation surged over him.