Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-08-05

Il wonder II that's complimentary"
mused Bancroft, cycling the ceiling.
instantly the merry blue eyes became as
hard and sinister as gun metal: but even as
Bancroft's gaze swung down the mask Of
merriment fell into place.
Complimentary, indeed. I shouldn't
have approached you at all but for the fact
that ] knew you to be a young man with
a lively imagination, a young eaglet in a
cage" The stranger pyramided his digits,
his lean chin resting upon the index fingers.
What is there so amazing in my propo.
sition. when these days we fly in the air and
rove under the sea? Instead Of an air
plane. I offer YOU an adventure. In fine, for
a nominal sum-a nominal sum for a rich
young mani will undertake to pluck you
out of the rut Of commonplace and give you
a taste Of life-swiftly moving adventure,
thrills, escapes, far countries"
: A blind swung in Hanging upon the rusted
latch. The report was as sharp as that of
a pistol. A singular tableau was formed:
neither the stranger nor his involuntary host
started or shifted his glance.
The stranger nodded approvingly.
Very good he said.
What is?"
The state Of your nerves., your sang froid.
Most human beings would have jumped at
that sound"
20, that? l. am used to it. These blinds
are always banging in the wind. That makes
me think. l must call in a carpenter; there's
a lot Of odd jobs around"
The other laughed. But there was an
undercurrent to this laughter that Bancroft
could not grasp. 1T was positively alien to
the merry light in the steady blue eyes.
Il was certain I should make no mistake
in approaching YOU. To be sure, you are
amused. skeptical. astonished. But why not
a company to sell adventures? Men sell
everything else, Including themselves and
their women. There isn't a normal human
being alive who isn't athirst for an adven-
ture, with all the ramifcations, plots. and
counterplots. There's no fun adding up
figures and darning socks all your life. Our
clients are naturally under thirty. After
that age we begin to think too much of
material comforts"
And what's the price Of this adventure
YOU promise so easily""-willing to humor
the man in order to learn what his real
project was.
Ten thousand dollars TRANQUILITY.
This time Bancroft did start perceptibly.
The sum named was exactly that hidden
in his desk. Could it be that he had been
seen counting the notes? But that was
scarcely possible. since he had always ex-
acted this entertaining pastilme in the seclu-
sion of his bedroom, curtains drawn and door
locked.
Ten thousand is a lot of money" he
said. recovering. to pay for an adventure
which must of a certainty be cut and dried.
You're talking nonsense. I'm no FOOL Ban
croft gestured toward the book shelves.
There are twelve hundred books there. and
I have read about all of them. some many
times over. So at least I've been up and
down the world in fancy, and have my share
of common sense" @
My dear child said the stranger, in
gentle mockery;~"t the point is, you would
never know whether the adventure was real
or cut and dried. The moment you sign
the contract, the adventure begins. up here"
went on the persuader, touching his fore
head. AT once you'll be wondering whence
it will come and when. A smile from a pair
OF pretty lips, perhaps; a knock on the door
at midnight. You'll be glancing into every
face, peering into every dark alley. Out Of
this humdrum, which you have known with
out variety. you will be thrust into a world
of thrilling suspense"
Bancroft felt in his soul that il the man
had come with oil stock he would have
bought it. The voice was as a concrete thing
able to reach into the mind and clutch the
Imagination. He was a good deal astonished.
To PROFOUND an absurdity so well that IL was
given the aspect Of plausibility required
genius Of a kind.
II begin to see" he said. Would you
mind telling me how you learned that I have
inherited money!"
Through the probate courts, which ne
watch continually. A large sum Of money
is left to a young man like yourself. We
investigate thoroughly before we approach
the prospect. We never bother with this
wickedly wise young men OF the cities who
inherit fortunes. We seek young men. buried
as YOU have been.
The utterly guileless."
\ The stranger urbanely ignored this sally.
You have between six and seven millions,
in cash, bonds. securities. houses. apart.
ments. hotels. You are part owner Of a line
of steamships that plow the seven Aeas. You
own pulp mills. o, I know all about you.
I could sit down and write your intimate
history from the age OF six until the present
hour-a Boswell to your johnson. A. Tor
that. 90 could any insurance agent. Il hs