Evening star., 1927-04-18
Red Head r:.'':. u: 's::: s:s..:: %:::.; :: 1...,
BY Edgar Wallace
Copyright 1927 by Chicago Daily News, Inc

peals to me. There has never been a
selling campaign for lumber in this
country and yet you're using 1t all
the time. Most of it comes from Nor
way and Scandinavia. l don't see
why we shouldn't have bigger share
of the market"
He talked wood for the better part
of an hour, kept his listener working
on his amendments to Pawter's
scheme and as suddenly as he began
he stopped and looked at his watch.
THAT fellow won't be here" he
said. lit is ten minutes after I
and though he has many drawbacks
he has one virtue-punctuality."
Does your brother live here?"
The other nodded.
'Yes, he lives here" he said short
ly. II haven't seen him in ten years,
though l hear from him occasional
ly."
You have been in London before.
Mr.. Stone?" asked Bill, as he unfold
ed his serviette.
"Yes, / know the country rather
well. though ! haven't been here since
well, since the last time l met my
brother. and when / was only in Eng
land from Wednesday to Saturday"
do you like London?"
|.
THAT is hardly fair thing to say.
because as a capital like it immense
ly 1t is city of comfort and kind
ness, although the English people are
little thick.headed and a little prig
gish. Behind all the diSagreeable
facets of their nature there is a large
charity and courtesy beyond the un-
derstanding of most folks who have
only a superficial acquaintance with
them. Left would be an Englishman
i am talking about my brother-if
he were anything" He smiled faint
ly. There you have an instance of n
genius on the wrong track. AS news
paper man you must have met them
a score of times in the criminal courts,
Oh, no, Left isn't criminal. He has
great gifts. but he uses them queerly.
His life is rather like one Of those
rivers that run into the desert and
are swallowed up in the unproductive
sand. He would have made n good
churchman; equally he would have
been a great historian. He has just
that touch of romantic medievalism
which produces fascinating and mac
curate histories"
He stared out of the window absent
ly and bit his lip.
Eyes, / know England he said,
speaking half to himself. Il some
times wish I'd never seen the country.
never put my foot upon its shores, and
sometimes I'm on my knees in graft
tude that fate led me to this land"
He caught Bills fascinated eyes and
laughed.
You would like Left. He is one
of those charming idealists that news
paper men find so refreshing and so
rare. If he has any mean qualities
it is that touch of the theatrical
which you see in the Sons of Ragou-
Sa--"
1.-THE Sons of Ragousav gasped
Bill. What has your brother to do
with that?"
He founded the order" said Mr..
Stone. his eyes twinkling at the effect
he had produced upon his guest. Eff
teen to twenty years ago Leiff had his
great uplift scheme and laid dow:
the plans for his society. / tell you
that man is a natural-born organizer.
In business mans office he wouldn't
be worth 2 cents a month. But give
him something bizarre, something fan
tastica1, something that gives him an
opportunity of introducing the atmos-
phere of the middle ages, and Left
will work % hours out of the "a and
spend the other hour thinking. He
tried to start a branch of the society
on the other side. but it didn't work.
Maybe our people aren't gamblers, for
a gamble is at the bottom of the
Ragousans' popularity. That annual
or semi-annual bonus of his was the
inspiration of a genius. 1t got people
interested in his society who never
would have dreamed of Joining. He
brought in every class from the high
est to the lowest and incidentally got
round the anti-gambling laws of Eng
land so effectively that your govern
ment--"
Not my government, protested
Bill.
"Well. the government of England
has never been able to take action
against him. Nobody knows how the
fortunate recipients of the argosicS
are chosen. If there is a lottery no
body has seen the lottery drawn and
no announcement has ever been made
that it has been drawn. Twice year
some lucky people receive bald inti-
nation that their number has received