Evening star., 1928-04-20
The Inn of the
Hawk and Raven
By
George Barr
NicCutclleon
can.r.sh, ,aes hx Me,rnnantan New.nansr scrx.cs

In his hands. Several minutes passed
before he lifted his head suddenly, a
gleam of inspiration in his eyes. "Ihat
daughter of his! BY gad, I'd forgotten
about her. She took my part that
morning on the"
A harsh voice interrupted him. Peter
was speaking to him through the VIM
dow.
Hi! Arc you going to be all day
about it?"
Starcourt began to divest himself OF
the ill-titting garments.
Ten minutes later he was in bed.
He was beginning TO feel drowSy and
would have fallen asleep despite his ef-
forts TO keep awake. had not the door
opened suddenly to admit small, bent
old man wearing Spectacles He had
Scraggly white whlSkerS and carried. a
leather bag in his hand.
"Hullo! Who are Hou?" demanded
Starcourt.
Il am Prof. Gratz come to attend
YOU. Force of circumStanceS-lie still.
Young man, there's a good felloW--forCe
of circumstances had made me a man
of many parts, many professions, you
might say. l am doctor, surgeon,
a leech. a dentist, a barber. an apothe-
cary. taXidermiSt. tinker, an under
taker. an aStrologer-I could go on. ad
captandum vulgue. for hours. but. as 1t
takes more than one to make crowd
| shall confine myself to the business in
hand, Now, let me see. Let me have
a look at it. A slight accident. Jonifer
Davos informs me. Accidents are likely
TO occur at--ah. so 1t hurts. eh? Hum!
Hal see Well. a little of this liniment
good for man. beast and woman. And
a powder to soften the pangS of. Do
not be alarmed, young man.
And presently he took his departure,
having cautioned his patient not 10
stand on his head. If e wished to avoid
pain or complications. He paused at
The door to remind the young man that
he was always at his service. in case he
needed a barber. an undertaken or an
aStrologer
Funny old codger, thought the pa
tient. and there was a smile on his lips
when he fell asleep. few minutes later.
He slept as one drugged,
When he opened his eyes and stared
hagily about him, the sun was almost
on the point of plunging down behind
the Western peaks. For long time he
lay perfectly still. Then his gaze rested
upon a pile of clothing on the bench
against the wall. He got up, drank half
the contents of gourdful of water. and
went over to inspect the garments,
Well. I'm dasned!" he exclaimed aloud.
He found a comparatively new suit of
gray English tweeds, together with
shoes. stockings. shirt. underwear and
a white stock, such as was being worn
in London by we'll dressed men of the
period. "a certain sergeant would have
remembered seeing a suit of clothes
similar to this one on the person of the
courageous traveller who had killed two
robbers on the road 10 Balak not 50
many weeks before.)
We'll, speaking as a beggar without
a stitch 10 his back. there's nothing to
do but choose the gray tweeds-so here
goes, At or not fit"
And, in q little while he opened the
door and walked out, fully and quite
satisfactorily attired in the suit Jonifer
Davos had purchased in st. Petersburg
the season before. Col. Starcourt's new
wardrobe. however, did not include a
hat. He was rather thankful for that.
Not clothes" said he. but hats make
the man Hats and shoes
He found himself in what he sup
posed 10 be the fringe of the forest.
Scarce so yards separated the house
from open country beyond. Striding
quickly toward the edge OF the wood.
he stopped short and stared about him
in amazement.
Before him lay fields in which men
were toiiing with Scythe and fork and
rake He rubbed his eyes. Then he
looked to the right. There he beheld
houses, quaint. squat houses with
thatched roofs. blue doors. flower
gardens and vines-and women In
skirts and short smocks, working among
their vegetables.
Good heavens!" he gasped. Am ]
in some Swiss valley? Am L" Then
his gaze went up to the Snow-capped
peaks that first had caught his eye; he
shook his head No, this is the val
ley from which there is no escape. This
is the land of Jonifer"
A woman was approaching. AS she
drew nearer he observed that she was
young and slender She was not
dressed as were the other women.
Her face was not brown, her dress
vas not that Of gypsy. but he knew
who she was long before she came
within speaking distance.
ITO BE Continued)