The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1921-06-02

Els glance, bent steadily on the door,
had In It some Of the alert, bright wfst-
|, fulness frequently to be observed In
the eyes Of a terrier standing expec-
tantly before q rat hole. The instant
the door opened and Dolores tear
stained face appeared, he called to her
with the old-time camaraderie, fer he
had erased from his mind, for the
nonce, the memory Of the tragedy OF
poor Don Juan Cafetero and was con
cerned solely with the task Of banish-
ing the tears from those brown eyes
and bringing the Joy Of life back to
that sweet face.
"Hello. Seeress," he called weakly.
Little Johnny's been fighting again.
and the bad boys gave him an ALFRED
wallopinE."
There was . swift rustic Of skirts,
and she was bending ever him. her hot
little palms clasping eagerly his pale,
dear!" she whispered, and then her
voice choked with the happy tears and
she was sobbing on his wounded shoul-
der. Ricardo stopped to draw her
away. but John Stuart bent upon him
q look Of such frightfulness that he
drew back abashed. After all, the past
"a hours had been quite exciting. and
Ricardo reflected that Johns inamora-
Ia was tired and frightened and prob
ably hadn't eaten anything all day
long, 30 there was ample excuse for
her hysteria.
"Come, come buck up," Webster
soothed her. and helped himself to a
long whiR Of her fragrant hair. "Old
man Webster had one leg In the grave.
but they've pulled 1t out again"
Still she ssbbed. ;
snow. listen to me. lady" he COM
manded With mock severity. "You
just step that You're wasting your
sympathy; and while, Of course. I en-
Joy your sympathy . heap. Just pause
to reflect on the result II those salt
tears should happen to drop into ono
Of my numerous wounds"
"rm 30 sorry for you. Caliph," she
murmured brokenly. "You poor, harm
less boyl don't see how any one
could be so fendish as to hurt you
when you were SO distinctly a non-com-
batant."
"Thank you. Let us forget The
Hague conference for the present. how
ever. Have you met your brother?""
he whispered.
mo, Caliph." !
Ricardo"
eyes, Jack"
"Come here. Rick. you scheining,
unscrupuleus, bleod!thirsty adventurer,
I have tremendous surprise In store
for you. The sweetest girl in the world
land she's right here"
Ricardo laughingly held Up his hand:
~Jack. my friend" he interrupted;
you're too weak to make a speech.
Don't do 1t. Besides, you do not have.
to-" He turned and bowed gracefully.
to Dolores. II can see for myself she's.
the sweetest gsrl In the world. and that
she's right here" He held out his
hand to her. "Jack thinks he's going
to spring SURPRISE" he continued ma
liciously, quite forgetting that q good
soldier never permits himself to be
taken by surprise. know all about
bis little secret, because heard you
mourning for him when you thought he
was dead" Ricardo favored her with
a knowing wink. ~ am delighted to
meet the future Mrs. Webster. I quite
understand why you fell In love with
him. because, you see, love him my
self and so does everybody else"
With typical Castilian courtliness he
took her hand, bowed low over It, and
kissed II. II am Ricardo Luiz Ruey."
he said. anxious to spare his friend the
task Of further exhausting converse
tion. "And ysu are"
"Yeu're q cohsummate jackass I"
groaned Webster. "rm only dear old
family friend, snd Dolores is going TO
marry Billy Geary. You impetuous
idioti She's your own sister, Dolores
Ruey. She. Mark Twain, and / have
ample cause for common complaint
against the world because the reports
OF our death have been grossly exaS-
gerated. She didn't perish when your
fathers administration crumbled. Miss
Ruey. this Is your brother, Ricardo.
Kiss her you damn fool-forgive me.
Miss Ruey-oh. Lord. nothing matters
any more. He's gummed everything
up and ruined my party. wish I were
dead"
| NRicardo stared from the Outraged
L "SOueCf " htb SlSteT ana DdCk again.
"Jack Webster" he declared, "you
aren't crazy. are your"
"Of course, heis-the old dear" Do
iores cried happily, "but I'm not" She
stepped up to her brother, and her
arms went around his neck. "Oh,
Rick" she cried, ,'T'm your sister. Tru.
ly, am"
Dolores. Ny little lost sister, Do
lsresf Why. can't believe it,"
"Well. you'd better believe It," John
Stuart Webster growled feebly. "Of
course. you can doubt my word and
get away with 1t, now that I'm fiat ON
my back. but II you dare cast asper-
sions on that girls veracity, I'll MUIR
der you month from now"
He closed his eyes. feeling instinc-
lively that he ought not spy on such a
sacred family scene. When, however