Evening star., 1925-05-10
ri T OW will You have it sir?'
- IL asked the bank cashier
blandly, laying the check
Il Il for f1,357 13s. 4d. on

asked the bank cashie,
blandly, laying the CHECK
Il i for f1.357 13s. 4d. or
his desk, and bringing te
view sundry fat bundles of notes.
"A thousand in hundreds, three hun
dred in tens. and the rest
1t was here that Mr.. Francis Groten
the payee, awoke from a dream vivid
as 1t was beautiful-awoke to facts
unlovely as they were painful.
Fer = merciful moment or two, per
haps, he continued to see the hell
trope-tinted check with its signature
"R. Roland" dreams are sometimes
curiously precise in details.) But soon
too soon. he became miserably con
scic1s of two facts: First, that his
head ached: second, that he did not
possess even thirteen-and-four pence
in the whole wide world.
Shielding his eyes from the morning
glare, he felt for his watch with the
other hand. 1t was not under his
pillow, and groaning. he rose to seek
It in his waistcoat, which he observed
on the floor at the other end of the
room. His watch, however. had
bed when the clock on a neighboring
church doomed 10. That was no rea-
son why he should have started to
look for his socks. for he had no ap.
pofntment to keep, nor was he more
eager than usual this morning to seek
employment. Nevertheless, he deemed
it expedient to dress without delay;
for II he returned to bed, he would
surely sleep for hours. and just at
present he could not afford to risk
annoying the landlord OF the seedy
little temperance hotel wherein he
had made his lodging during the past
three months.
Il must have been bad last night"
he sighed to himself, as he picked the
socks from the fireplace, "and yet I
don't remember taking much. Oh,
Lord. but I do feel cheap! And not
q drop Of water left"'
A curt knock fell on the door.
"Past 10 O'clock" said a gruff voice.
With one sock on, Mr.. Groten few
70 the door and opened it. John"
he said humbly, II don't want shaw
ing water this morning, but / wish
you'd bring me a cup Of strong tea,
like a good chap" The boots hesi-
tated. then answered sulkily enough,
'All right" and departed.
Groaning, the unhonored guest
donned his second sock. 'I'll simply
have to clear out today" he reflected.
How I'm to get my togs away, deuce
only knows. I've been broke before,
but never SO hopelessly as this. Less
than 10 bob all told" He pressed
his hands to his wretched forehead,
and perhaps Heaven heard his bitter
regrets for a n1isspent youth and ig-
nored his speculations concerning the
possibility Of borrowing a "quid'
somewhere.
Grunting a curse, he reused him.
self and picked up his trousers-the
wrong way.
For a long breath's space 1t seemed
as though he were dreaming again.
With the sweetest and discreetest of
tinklings a little shower of gold fell
with gasp, he was on his knees
clutching at the coins. There were
exactly 10 sovereigns. He rose un-
steadily, regarding them In his hand
Gold. How on earth-'
His hand shut suddenly. The. door
opened and the boots entered with
the tea.
'Er]ohn," said Mr.. Groten nerv-
ously, STOPPING for his trousers, was
I trifie tiddley last night?"
You was" stiffly replied the boots.
bed
Smiling feebly, Mr.. Groten softly
slipped the gold into one of the trous-
ers pockets. "Wait O bit, john" From
the other pocket he brought a fiorin.
There you are. JOHN he said with
an attempt at lightness, presenting it.
And by the way, John, you might
ask Mr.. Griffiths to have my bill to
date ready when l come downstairs" I"
Here he got into his trousers.
X X X
JOHNS breath was taken away; his
thanks were inaudible. But at the
ho yoI TO flr4 -
der breakfast, Mr.. Groten?" in an un-
wonted tone of respect. Mr.. Groten
shook his head and. as soon as the
door closed, took it between his hands
and seated himself on the edge of the
bed.
What on earth had he been doing
the previous night? He had spent
some hours, he knew, in a certain
subterranean saloon bar, but that was
no unusual occurrence. He had
spoken and drunk with strangers, but
that also was a common happening.
Had he been gambling? -.
He rose and drank some of the tea.
It seemed to clear his brain a little.
No; he was sure he had not played
any game of chance. Then whence
came those 10 sovereigns? He took
them out and examined them. Sow
ereigns! He finished the tea.
Now he began to remember things.
He remembered, for instance, a face
a dark. keen. clever face, and 1t was
somehow connected with the check
he had dreamed about. In what way?
Why. the name on the check was
the name of the owner Of the face
'Roland'-the man he had met in
the bar had said that was his name.
But what connection
A tap, and the door was thrown
open. The gentleman you was ex-
pecting, Mr.. Groten," said the sub
dued voice Of the boots.
The person who entered closed the
door carefully, ere he turned with a
smile to the hirer Of the room.
Good morning, your Highness." !"
he said softly. And how Is the head
of your Highness this morning."
"Mr. Roland!' stammered Groten,
getting up.