&&POOL / JH i
W
SYNOPSIS.
The story opens nt Monte Carlo with
Col. Terence O'Rourke, a military free
lance and something of a Rambler. In his
hotel. Leaning on the balcony he sees a
beautiful girl who suddenly enters the
elevator ami passes from sight. At the
gaming table O'Rourke notices two men
watching him. One is the Hon. Bertie
Glynn, while his companion is Viscount
Des Trebes. a duelist. The viscount tells
him the French government has directed
him to O'Rourke as a man who would
undertake a secret mission.
CHAPTER 111.
As he stepped out of the lift Colonel
O'Rourke remarked a light in his
room, visible through the transom
over the door.
"Tho ferame de chambre," he
thought. "Sure and the poor things
still busy trying *> clear up. , . »"
To the contrary, he found the door
fast. " 'Tis careless she was to leave
the light on."he observed, fitting his
key in the lock.
If thoughtless in that one way, the
woman had fulfilled the letter of her
word in the other. It was with com
prehensive relief (since he anticipated
a caller) that he found the room once
again presentable.
But one thing surprised him; and
more surprising still was the fact that
hip ordinarily indifferent eye should
have detected it at the first glance.
He had indeed hardly entered before
he became aware of a square of white
paper tucked in the corner of the bu
reau mirror.
"The divvle, now!" he greeted it.
"That's curious. . . . Could one of
me many admirers have bribed the
femme de chambre to bring a note to
me?" He chuckled, holding to the
light a much soiled envelope, grimy
with the marks of many fingers, plas
tered with stamps and black with
postage marks and substitute ad
dresses, having evidently been for
warded over half the world before it
reached the addressee: who was,
in a bold hand, "Colonel Terence
O'Rourke."
He whistled low over this, examin
ing it intently, Infinitely less concern
ed with its contents than with the
manner by which it had reached him.
The first postmark seemed to be that
of Rangoon, the original address, the
Cercle Militaire, his club in Paris
Thence, apparently, it had sought him
in Galway, Ireland, Dublin. Paris again,
and finally—after half a dozen other
addresses —"C. of Mine. O'Rourke, Ho
tel Carlton, London." The London
postmark was indecipherable. . . .
He found himself trembling violent
ly. By one hand alone could this
have reached him, since the post had
not brought it to Monte Carlo. . . .
Ha recalled that woman's voice which
had so stirred him, the woman of the
Casino whose bearing had seemed to
him so familiar. . . .
Some one tapped on the door; he
smothered a curse of annoyance, and
went to answer, thrusting the letter
into his pocket.
A page announced Monsieur le
Comte des Trebes.
"Show the gentleman up," snapped
O'Rourke. He was about to add, "in
live minutes," when Des Trebes him
self appeared.
"Anticipating that message, mon
sieur," he said, moving into view
from one side of the door, "1 took the
liberty of accompanying this boy. 1
am late,l fear."
O'Rourke forced a nod and smile ot
welcome. "Not to my knowledge," said
he.
The Frenchman consulted his watch.
"Ten minutes late, monsieur; it is ten
past midnight."
"Then," said O'Rourke, "the top o'
the morning to ye. Enter, monsieur."
He stood aside, closing the door be
hlrn his guest. " 'Tis no matter; if
i thought ye punctual, 'tis so ye are
to all intents and purposes. . . .
A chair, monsieur." He established
Des Trebes by a window. "And a cig
arette? ... A drop to drink?
. . . As ye will. . . . And since
'tis to talk secret business that we're
liere —would ye like the door locked?"
"That is hardly essential!" Des Tre
bes reviewed his surroundings with
dwift, searching glance. "We are at
ieast secure from interruption; one
could ask little more."
"True for ye," laughed O'Rourke. He
moved toward the alcove. "Now first
of all I'm to submit proofs of me Iden
tity, I believe," he added, intending to
dig out of his trunk a dispatch-box
containing his passports and other pa
pers of a private nature.
But Des Trebes had changed his
mtnd. "That Is unnecessary, mon
Bieur. Your very willingness is sutfl
clent proof. 1 have your word and
am content."
"Thai's the way of doing business
that 1 like," assented O'Rourke heart
Ut. warming a little to the man as he
turned % ouair is-ciuk ite vj
comte. "Besides, I quarrel with no
man's right to be reasonable. . . .
i And now I'm at your service, mon
| sieur."
Des Trebes, lounging back, knees
\ crossed, thin white fingers interlac
ing. black eyes narrowing, regarded
the irishman thoughtfully for a mo
; ment. Abruptly he sat up and re
moved from an Inner pocket a long
thin white envelope, thrice sealed with
red wax and innocent of any super
scription whatever.
"Are you prepared, monsieur," he
demanded incisively, "to play blind
man's buff?"
"Am I what?" asked O'Rourke, star
tled. Then he smiled. "Pardon; per
haps 1 fail to follow ye."
"1 mean," explained the vicomte pa
tiently, "that i have to offer you a
commission to act under sealed or
ders"—he tapped the envelope—"the
orders contained herein."
"And when would I be free to open
that?"
"As soon as you are at sea—away
from France, Monsieur."
O Rourke considered the envelope
doubtfully. "From you, monsieur—from
the Government of France, which you
represent," he said at length, "y«s;»
I will accept such a commission.
France," he averred simply, "knows
me; It wouldn't be asking me to do
anything a gentleman shouldn't"
"You may feel assured of that,"
agreed Des Trebes gravely. "Indeed. 1
venture to assert you will find this —
let us say—adventure much to your
liking. . . . Then you accept?"
"One moment—a dozen questions,
by your leave. . . . When must I
start?"
"Tomorrow morning by the Cote
d'Azur Raplde, at ten minutes to
eight."
"And where will I be going?"
"First to Paris; thence to Havre;
thence, by the first available steamer,
to New York; finally, it may be to
Venezuela, monsieur."
"Expenses?"
"I will myself furnish you with funds
sufficient to finance you as far as
New York. There our consul-general
will provide you with what more you
may require. It is essential that your
connection with this affair shall be
kept secret; should you draw on the
government in this country, it would
expose you to grave suspicions, per
haps to danger."
"I understand that," assented the
Irishman. "But to obviate all danger
of mistake, would It not be well to
have one of your trusted agents meet
me on the steamer and provide me
,with whatever ye figure I might re
quire? Tis barely possible your con
sul general might not recognize me in
New York. Why should he? I never
heard his name, even."
Des Trebes meditated this briefly.
"It shall be as you desire, monsieur. It
shall be arranged as you suggest."
"Finally, then, what is to be my
recompense?"
That must depend. I am authorized
to assure you that in no case will
you receive less than twenty-five thou
sand francs; in event of a successful
termination of your mission, the re
ward will be doubled."
" 'Tis enough," said O'Rourke with a
sigh; "1 accept"
The Frenchman rose, offering him
the envelope. "You must pledge your
self, monsieur, not to break these seals
until you are at sea?"
"Absolutely—of course." O'Rourke
took the packet, weighed It curiously
in his hand and scrutinized the seals.
He remarked that they were yet soft
and fresh; the wax had been hot with
in the half hour.
1 will do myself the honor of meet
ing you at Che train to see you off, mon
sieur," said Des Trebes. "At that time,
also, will 1 provide you with the funds
you require."
"Thank ye."
Their hands met
"Good night. Monsieur O'Rourke."
"Good night , .
Half way to the door. Des Trebes
paused. "Oh, by the way." he ex
claimed carelessly, "I believe you art
a friend oi my old school-fellow, Cham
bret—mon cher Adolph?"
" Tis so," assented the Irishman
warmly. "The best of men—Cham
bret!"
"Odd," commented the vicomte;
"only this afternoon 1 was thinking
of him, wondering what had become
of the man."
"The last 1 heard of him, he was In
Algeria, monsieur—with some French
force in the desert"
"Thank you ..." On the point
of leaving the vicomte snapped his
teeth on a second "Good night," and
swore beneath his breath.
O'Rourke, surprised, 6tared. The
Frenchman was standing stiffly at at- i
tenttou, as If alarmed. His pallor was, j
If possible, Increased, livid—bis close- !
ly shaven beard showing blue black on
j his neavy Jowis and prominent chin. ,
VfillNG
"Monsieur, Your Nose Annoys Met"
His eyes blazed, shifting from the al
cove to O'Rourke.
"Monsieur?" he demanded harshly,
"what does this insult mean?"
"Mean?" iterated O'Rourke. "Insult?
Faith, ye have me there."
Speechless with rage, Des Trebes ges
tured violently toward the alcove; and
O'Rourke became aware that the cur
tains were shaking—wavering as
though a draught stirred them. But
there was no draught. And beneath
their edge be saw two feet —two small,
bewitching feet in the daintiest and
most absurd of evening slippers, with
an so of silken stockings show
ing above each.
Des Trebes' eyes, filled with an ex
pression unspeakably offensive, met
the Irishman's blank, wondering gaze.
"It Is, no doubt," the Frenchman stam
mered, "sanctioned by your code to
have me spied upon by the partner of
your liaisons."
"But, monsieur—"
"I compliment the lady upon the
smallness of her feet, as well as upon
ankles so charming that 1 cannot bring
myself to leave without a glimpse of
their mistress' features."
Des Trebes moved toward the al
cove. Thunderstruck. O'Rourke rap
ped out a stupefied oath, then In a
stride forestalled the man. With him
it was as if suddenly 'a circuit had
closed In his intelligence, establishing
a defiulte connection between the three
—now four—most mystifying incidents
of the evening.
"Less haste, monsieur," he coun
seled In a voice of ice. His hand fell
with almost paralyzing force upon the
other's wrist as be sought to grasp
the curtain, and swung him rcjghly
back. "Yourself will never know who's
there—whoever the lady may be<. . . .
Ah, but no, monsieur!"
Maddened beyond prudence, Des
Trebes had struck at bis face.
O'Rourke warded off the blow and in
what seemed the same movement
whirled the man round by his captive
wrist and caught the other arm from
the back. The briefest of struggles en
sued. The Frenchman, taken at a com
plete disadvantage, was for all his re
sistance hustled to the door and
thrown through It before he fairly com
prehended what was happening.
Free at length. If on all fours, he
scrambled to his feet to find O'Rourke
bad shut the door behind him, calmly
awaiting the next move.
"Haven't ye had enough?" demand
ed the irishman as the vicomte, blind
ed with passion, seemed about to re
new the attack. "Or are ye wishful
to be going downstairs In the same
fashion?"
Des Trebes drew back, snarling.
"You dog!" he cried Then abrupt
! ly, by an admirable effort, he calmed
I himself surprisingly, drawing himself
I up with considerable dignity and throt
tling his temper as he quietly adlust
jed tbe disorder of his clotbine Only
i la tus eyes, black aa sloes and small, ,
did there remain any trace of his ma
lignant and unquenchable hatred.
"I am unfortunately," he sneered,
"Incapable of participating in such
brawls as you prefer, Colonel O'Rourke.
But 1 am not content. I warn
you . . . My rank prevents me from
punishing you personally; I am obliged
to ilgnt gentlemen only."
O'Rourke laughed openly.
"But I advise you to leave Monte
Carlo before morning. Should you re
main. or should you come within "my
neighborhood another time —at what
ever time—l will kill you as I would a
rabtd cur—or cause you to be shot."
"There's always the coward's al
ternative," returned the Irishman.
"But ye mustn't forget ye've only the
one leg to stand upon In society—your
notoriety as a duelist. And 1 shall
take steps to see that ye fight me be
fore sunset Else shall all Europe
know yo for a coward."
Behind the vicomte the lift shot up.
paused, and discharged a single pas
senger. As swiftly the cage disap
peared.
Out of the corner of his eye,
O'Rourke recognized the newcomer as
au old acquaintance, and his heart
swelled with gratitude while a smile
of rare pleasure shaped Itself upon
his Hps. He had now the Frenchman
absolutely at his mercy.
"Captain von Einem," he said
quickly, "by your leave, a moment of
your time."
The man paused stiffly, with the
square-set and erect poise of un officer
of the German army. "At your service.
Colonel O'Rourke." he said In Impec
cable French.
But the Irishman had returned undi
vided attention to Des Trebes. "Mon
sieur," he announced, "your nose an
noys me." And with that he shot out
a haud and seized the offensive mem
ber between a strong and capable
thumb and forefinger. "It has annoy
ed me," he explained In parenthesis,
"ever since I first clapped me two eyes
upon ye, scum of the earth that ye
are."
And he tweaked the nose of Mon
sieur le Viscomte des Trebes. tweak
ed it with a will and great pleasure,
tweaked It for glory and the Saints;
carefully, methodically, even painstak
ingly, he kneaded and pulled and twist
ed it from side to side, ere releas
lng it.
Then stepping back and wiping his
fingers upon a handkerchief, he cock
ed his head to one side and admired
the result of his handiwork. •• 'Tis
an amazingly happy effect," he ob
served critically—"the crimson blotch
it makes against the chalky complex
ion ye affect. Monsieur des Trebes.
. . . And now I fancy yell fight.
Your friends may call upon mine here
—Captain von Einem, with your per
mission."
j "Most happy. Colonel O'Rourke." as !
sen ten tie Uerman, blue e>e» sparkling I
Hi an Immobile eounteaane*. "I
••wait the seconds of Monsieur des Trf
in my roomn."
'''he Frenchman essayed to spealr
choked with passion, and turning ab
ruptly, somewhat unsteadily descend
ing the staircase.
O'Rourke laughed briefly, offering
the German his hand. " 'Twas wonder
fully opportune, your appearance, cap
tain dear," said he. "Thank from
the bottom of me heart. . . . And
now will ye forgive me excusing uie
self until I hear from ye about the af
fair of the morning? I've a friend
waiting in me room here. . . . Par
don the rudeness."
CHAPTER IV. " '
It would be difficult to designate pre- |
cisely just what O'Rourke thought to
discover, when after a punctilious re
turn of Captain von Einem's salute, he :
reopened his door and. closing it quick- :
ly as he entered, turned the key in the
lock.
His mood was jxalted. his imagina
tion excited; the swift succession of ,
events which had made memorable the
night, culminating with his open in- j
vitation to a challenge from the most
desperate duelist in Europe, had In
spired p volatile vivacity such as not ■
even the excitement of the Casino had
been potent to create In him. Of all
n ad conjectures imaginable the mad- j
dest was too weird for him to credit In
his humor of that hour. Eliminating
all else that had happened, In tha |
course of that short evening, his heart |
had been stirred, his emotions played |
upon by a recrudesence of a passion j
which he had striven with all his j
strength to put behind him for a time; j
he had first heard the voice of the one i
woman to whom his love and faith and i
honor were Irretrievably pledgeu, he
had then §een her (or another who re- 1
markably resembled her) for the scant- |
jest of instants; and finally he had
mysteriously received a letter which .
could, he believed, have been convey- 1
ed to him by no other hand but hers. !
And now he was persuaded beyond a ■
doubt that the person of the alcove,
the eavesdropper for whose fair repute
he had chosen to risk his life, was no
body In the world but that same one
woman.
But tiore than all else, perhaps, he
expected and feared to find the room
deserted; for the balcony outside the
windows afforded a means of escape
too facile to be neglected by one who
wished not to be discovered. • • •
His first definite Impression was of
consternation and despair; for the
lights had been shut off in his ab
sence. Then quickly he discerned,
with eyes dazed by the change from
the lighted hallway to the lightlesa
chamber, the shadowy shape of a wom
an, motionless between him and the
windows, waiting. . . .
An electric switch was at his el
bow. With a single motion h» could i
uave drenched the place with >ight.
For an Instant tempted, some strange
scruple of delicacy, abetted It may be
by his native love of romantic mystery,
stayed his hand.
"Madame," said he, "or mademoi
selle, whichever ye may be —the win
dows are open, meself's not detaining
ye. If ye choose, ye may go; but
ye'd favor me by going quickly. . . .
1 give ye,' he continued, seeing that
she neither moved nor replied, "this
one chance. In thirty seconds I turn
on the lights."
The woman did not stir; but he
thought he could detect in the still
ness her quickened breathing.
"What ye've taken," he amended,
"I'd thank ye to leave as ye go—lf ye
came to steal. Tis little 1 have to
lose. . .
There was no answer.
He touched the switch with an Im
patient hand, stepped forward a single
pace, caught himself up and stopped
short, now pale and trembling who hail
a moment gone jeen flushed with
calm.
"Beatrix!" he cried thickly.
Dumbly his wife lifted her arms and
offered herself to him, unutterably
lovely, unspeakably radiant. . . .
It were worse than a waste of time
to attempt a portrait of her as she
seemed to him. Seen through her hus
band o eyes, her beauty was incompar
able. Immaculate, too rare and line, too
delicate a thing to be bodied forth in
words, dependent upon the perfection
of no single feature. Not in her hair,
fair as sunlight on the sea. not in her
eyes of autumnal brown, not in the
wonderful fineness of her skin or in
the daintiness of her features, not in
the graciousness of her body, did he
find the beauty of her that surpassed
expression, but in the love she bore
him, in the sweetness of her inviolate
soul, in the steadfastness of her im
pregnable heart. . . .
But it's doubtful if ever he had an
alyzed his passion for her so minute
ly. Mostly, 1 think, at that moment of
her abrupt disclosure to him, be long
ed unutterably for her Hps and the
proffered wreath round his neck of her
slim, round, white arms.
Yet be would not. Trembling though
he was, with every Instinct and every
flber of hts being straining toward her.
with the hunger for her a keen pain In
hts heart, he held himself back; or his
conception of honor held him back.
That which he had voluntarily forfeit
ed and put away from him for his hon
or's sake, he would not take back
though it were offered freely to him.
"So," he said, after a bit, shakily;
then pulled himself together, and
controlling his voice—"So 'twas your
self. after all, Beatrix! Me heart told
me no other woman could have sung
that song as ye did—"
The woman droj ped her arrna "Your
heart. Terence?" she asked a little bit
terly.
"What else? Do vt doubt KT"
I (TO HE L'UN'IINLUi..
n.
It's hai
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tired and sui.
back has a heavj
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I clous natuah Percy has!
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Reggy—Fwlghtful. I had some wordi
; with him today, and he deliberate!}
■weached out his hand and disawange''
my hair.
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