The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-11-04
THE MALACHITE EARRING
 BY M T. L. ADDS

way explain the baleful glances With which the lady had favored him, and | which seemed an e1press:o on of per | sonal anin osity toward him. Arnold | mere presence could be so irksome as i to induce her to take such drastic | steps of ridding herself of it, especi- ally as the more simple course of changing carriages was open to her. | There was also the value of the sac | rifced lace to be considered, which must amount to something
 Even had Arnold entertained the idea of clearing himself at the eX- pense of the young lady, it would have been questionable whether the customs officer would believe him, but for some reason tll-s ungaMant course of action did not occur to him. He glanced at the lady and saw that, unable to sustain her role of unin- terested spectator, she was leaning forward a little. and that she was very pale.
 Fortified by the consciousness of ample funds, as we'll as "a letter of credit on Paris for a substantial amount, he answered a quixotic inn pulse, and accepted the situation.
 He met the douane officers accus- ing eye calmly.
 "I thought that lace was imitation! I did not know it was duitiabIe, or s should have declared it,' he said in his careful French.
 This ingenious defence did nor seem to impress the officer of the douane at all favorably.
 Attempting to evade the payment of duty is a serious offence, mon sieur," he replied coldly. ''I must ask you to come with me-
 Without any further argument ar mold collected his belongings and fol- lowed the customs officer. As he aHghted from the carriage he looned back for moment. The lady in the corner of the railway carriage was regarding him with an expression or calm triumph.
 Fortunately, Arnold found the au- | tn critics of the douane more disposed to believe his impromptu explanation of his failure to declare the lace blouse but his French did still more to disarm them 1t being of that va riety which amply provides for con versation about the most rem ote .r the gardeners relations without be- ing of any assistance in the affairs Of l every-ray. Without a smile they list ened politely to him, then. with due regard for his lingual inf1rmities, ex- | plained to him the enorm1ry or his
 
 one hundred francs, and the cuestio,- | of the penalty they graciously waiveI 1 in the circumstances. and allowed him | to proceed to Paris by the next train, 1 richer by the acquisition or a Ia~e | blouse of exclusive design.
 He arrived at the Garedu Nord about five in the evening, and as he i expected to remain in Paris only few days. he had intended to at once | h C | let. However. as it was already dark, he decided that he would limit hig endeavors that evening to registering at a hotel, dining, and attending some l place of amusement. leaving the pur- l chase !" of the bracelet for the next 1 morning. But first, it being tce hour l of absinthe, when all Paris, fgura- l lively speaking, may be seeen drinking 1 absinthe Or more innocuous pever- ages outside the boulevard cafes. Ar mold went to the Cafe de la Paix for an aperatif. It is needless to say that he looked unCeasingly for the lady 1r the railway carriage in the stream of | passers-by, but without success. | Later in the evening, after dinner 1 he walked out to the Moulin Rouge | which in these days offers a mild en- l tertatnnent very disappointing 70 those who. relying upon it's ancient | reputation, have come in search Cf shocks. This evening the attraction | was a ballet advertised as imported from London; however, the only Eng fish feature of the performance was | the singing of a bevy of young ladies | whose accent suggested that they were | rendering the fOlk-songs of their I1s.- tive Whitechapel. and the words If i whose song were, therefore, as in comprehensible to the young Amer;- can as the most colloquiaI French | would have been.
 Firing of this, he went fo a care | opposite for some coffee, and then began to walk slowly toward the Champs Elysees.
 The night was perfect, and the long walk appeared attractive to Arnold. As he walked his thoughts were con stantly occupied with his recent ac,- venture on the frontier, and his en- | deavors to find a plausible expIarA- | ton of the behavior of the lady. This preoccupation caused him to wander out of the way-in fact, he found himself near Les Halles, with which neighborhood he was quite unfamif- | jar. He decided to obtain direct ons from the first person he saw.
 | On the same evening, the driver of a taxi yawned lazily on his seat out side a cafe near the Boulevard Pois- soniere He had been called by a waiter, who had informed him that three gentlemen desired his services | and, though he had been waitins more than an hour, they still delayed
 Nom fun DiDe!" he grow1ed, "they are very much at their ease, While l sit out here in the coldl No matter. They will pay for it!' And he con- suited his watch and altered his tae,- 1 meter.
 His complaints were cut short by the appearance of the three men for whom he was waiting. They had ev-
 1dently been drinking in 3 private room, for they were emerging from q side door. and not the principal en- trance of the cafe
 All three seemed very thoroughly drunk, winch is a thing rather un- comm on in Parts--and one in particu-