OCR Text |
Show V r r y bAJ RAY WSATER-T COPYRfOHT rODP,K9AD 1909 1 CHAPTER I. The Threshold of Adventure. The roar of State street filled the ears of Robert Orme not unpleasantly. He liked Chicago, felt towards the western city something more than the tolerant, patronizing Interest which so often characterizes the eastern man. To him it was the hub of genuine Americanism young, aggressive, pernaps a bit too cocksure, but ever bounding along with eyes toward the future. Here was the city of great beginnings, the city of experiment experiment with life; hence its incompleteness an Incompleteness not dissimilar to that of life Itself. Chicago lived; it was the pulse of the great middle west. Orme watched the procession with He had been strolling clear eyes. southward from the Masonic Temple, Into the The shopping district. clangor, the smoke and dust, the hurrying crowds, all worked into his mood. The expectation of adventure was far from him. Nor was he a man who sought impressions for amusement; whatever came to him he weighed, and accepted or rejected according as it was valueless or useful. Wholesome he was; any one might infer that from his tace. Doubtless, his fault lay in his overemphasis on the purely practical; but that, after all, was a lawyer's fault, and it was counterbalanced by a sweet kindliness toward all the world a loveableness which made for him a friend of every chance acquaintance. It was well along in the afternoon, and shoppers were hurrying homeward. Orme noted the fresh beauty of the women and girls Chicago has reason to be proud of her daughters and his heart beat a little faster. Not that he was a man to be caught by every pretty stranger; hut scarcely recognized by himself, there was a hidden spring of romance in his practical nature. Heart-free- , he never met a woman without wondering whether she was the one. He had never found her; he did not know that he was looking for her; yet always there was the unconscious question. A distant whistle, the clanging of gongs, the rapid beat of galloping hoofs fire engines were racing down the street. Cars stopped, vehicles of all kinds crowded in toward the curbs. Orme paused and watched the fire horses go thundering by, their smoking cnariots swaying behind them and dropping long trails of sparks. Small hoys were running, men and women were stopping to gaze after the passing engines, but Ormea attention was taken by something that was happening near by, and as the gongs and the hoof-beat- s grew fainter he looked with interest to the street beside him. He had got as far as the corner of Madison street. The scramble to get out of the way of the engines had here resulted in a traffic jam. Two policemen were moving about. Shouting oiders for the disentanglement of the street cars and vehicles which seemed to be inextricably wedged together. A burly Irish teamster was bellowing at his horse. The hind wheel of a smart barouche was caught in the fore wheel of a delivery wagon, and the driver of the delivery wagon was expressing his opinion of the situation But thank you Just the same. She in terms which seemed to embarrass gave him a friendly little nod and the elderly gentleman who sat In the turned to the steering gear. barouche. Orme's traveled There was nothing for it but to go, eye through the outer edge of the dis- and Orme returned to the curb. A moment later he saw the black car turbance, and sought its center. There In the midst of the tangle move slow'ly away, and he felt as was a big black touring car. Its one though something sweet and fine occujant was a girl and such a girl! were going out of his life. If only Her cloak was thrown there had been some way to prolong He knew intuitively open; her face was unveiled. Orme the Incident! was thrilled when he caught the that this girl belonged to his own glory of her face the clear skin, class. Any insignificant acquaintance browned by outdoor living; the de- might introduce them to each other. mure but regular features; the eyes And yet convention now thrust them that seemed to transmute and reflect apart. Sometime he might meet her. Insoftly all Impressions from without. Orme had never seen any one like deed, he determined to find out who her so nobly unconscious of self, so she was and make that sometime a appealing and yet so calm. certainty. He would prolong his stay She was waiting patiently, inter- In Chicago and search society until ested, in the clamor about her, but he found her. No one had ever befoie seemingly undisturbed by her own sent such a thrill through his heart. rart In It. Ormes eyes did not leave He must find her, become her friend, her face. He was merely one of a perhaps But, again he laughed to crowd at the curb, unnoted by her, himself, "What a boor I am! but when after a time, he became After all she was but a passing aware that he was staring, he felt the stranger, and the pleasant reverie into blood rush to his cheeks, and he mut- which his glimpse of her had led him What a boor I am!" And was only a reverie. The memory of tered: then, Hut who can she be? Who can her beauty and elusive charm would she be?" disappear; his vivid impression of her A policeman made his way to the would be effaced. But even while he b'ack car. Orme saw him speak to thought this he found himself again the girl; saw her brows knit; and he wondering who she was and how he quickly threaded his way intof the could find her. lie could not drive street. His action was barely con- her from his mind. scious, but nothing could have stopped Meantime he had proceeded slowly him at that moment. on his way. Suddenly a benevolent, You'll have to come to the station, man halted him, with miss, the policeman was saying. a deprecating gesture. Excuse me, "But what have done? Her voice sir, he began, but your hat " was broken music. Orme lifted his straw hat from his "Youve violated the traffic regula- head. A glance showed him that it tions, and made this trouble, thats was disfigured by a great blotch of what youve done. black grease. He had held his hat In I'm on a very Important errand, his hand while talking to the girl, she began, and and it must have touched her car at cant help that, miss, you ought a where the axle of the dray to have had some one with you that hadpoint rubbed. So this was hla one meknew' the rules." mento of the incident. Her eyes were perplexed, and she He thanked the stranger, and walked looked about her as if for help. For to a near-bhatters, where a ready a moment her gaze fell on Orme, who clerk set before him hats of all styles. was close to the policemans elbow. He selected one quickly and left his Now, Orme had a winning and dis- soiled haf to be cleaned and sent arming smile. Without hesitation, he home later. touched the policeman on the shoulbill In payment, Offering a der, beamed pleasantly, and said: he received In change a bill Pardon me, officer, but this car was and a silver dollar. He gave the coin forced over by that dray. a second glance. It was the first silShe was on the wrong side," re- ver dollar that he had handled for turned the policeman, after a glance some time, or he seldom visited the which modified his first Intention to west. take offence. "She had no business Theres no charge for the cleanover here." said the clerk, noting down ing, "It was either that or a collision. Orme's name and address, and handMy wheel was scraped, as jt was. ing the soiled hat to the cash boy. She, too, was smiling now. Orme, meantime, was on the point The policeman pondered. bill to put it He liked of folding the to be called officer; " he liked to be Into his pocket book. Suddenly he smiled upon; and the girl, to judge looked at it intently. Written in Ink from her manner and appearance, across the face of it, were the word.s: might wel be the daughter of a man Remember Person You Pay This To. of position. he said after a The writing was apparently a hurWell, moment, "be more careful another ried scrawl, but the letters w'ere large He turned and wrent back to and quite legible. They appeared to time. his work among the other vehicles, have been written on an uneven surcovering the weakness of his sur- face, for there were several jogs and render by a fresh display of angry au- breaks In the writing, as if the pen fawn-colore- d white-bearde- 1 r-- 1 ten-doll- five-doll- five-dolla- thority. The girl gave a little sigh of relief and looked at Orme. "Thank you," she said. Then he remembered that he did not know this girl. Can I he of further service? he asked. "No, she answered, "I think not. r had slipped. "This is curious," remarked Orme. The clerk blinked his watery eyes and looked at the bill in Ormes hand. Oh, yes, sir, he explained. "I re- member that. The gentleman who paid it in this morning called our attention to it. "If hes the man who wrote this, he probably doesnt know that theres a law against defacing money. But its perfectly good, isnt it?" inquired the clerk. "If you want an- other instead" "Oh, no, The laughed Orme. banks would take it. But, sir began the clerk "1 should like to keep it. If I cant get rid of it. Ill bring it back. Its a hoax or an endless chain device or something of the sort. Id like to find cut. He looked again at the writing. Puzzles and problems always interested him, especially If they seemed to involve some human story. Very well," raid the clerk, "Ill remember that you have it, Mr he peered at the name he had set down "Mr. Orme. leaving the hatters's, Orme turned hack on State street, retracing his steps It was close to the dinner hour, and the character of the street crowds had changed. The shoppers had disappeared. Suburbanites were by this time aboard their trains and homeward hound. The street was thronged with hurrying clerks and shop girls, and the cars were jammed with thousands more, all of them thinking, ro do.iht, of the same two things something to eat and relaxa-t.on- . I:rt a Live it was, this great street! And how scant the lives of the great majority!' Working, eating, mavrjirg and ghen in marriage, bearing children and dying was that all? "But growing, too," said fie-pin- Orme - to himself. "Growing, too." Would this bo the sum of his own life that of a worker in the hive? It came to him with something of an inner pang that thus far his scheme of things had included little more, lie wondered why he was now tecog-nizinthis scantiness, this lack in his life. He came out of his reverie to find himself again at the Madison street corner. Again he seemed to see that g beautiful girl in the car, and to hear the music of her voice. How could he best set about to find her? She. might be, like himself, a visitor in the city. But there was the touring car. Well, she might have run In from one of the suburbs. He could think of no better plan than to call that evening on the Wallinghams and describe the unknown to Bessie and try to get her assistance. Bessie would divine the situation, and she would guy him unmercifully, he knew; but he would face even that for another glimpse of the girl of the car. And at that moment he was startled by a sharp explosion. He looked to the street. There was the black car, bum; lag along with one flat tire. The girl thiew on the brakes and came to a s'.op. In an instant Orme was in the street. If he thought that she would not remember him, her first glance altered the assumption, for she looked down at him with a ready smile and said: You see, I do need you again, after all. As for Orme, he could think of nothing better to say than simply: I am glad. With that he began to unfasten the spare tire. I shall watch you with interest, I know how to run a she went on. car though you might not think it but I don't know how to repair one. Thats a mans job,' anyway," sa'd Orme, busy now with the jack, which was slowly raising the wheel from the pavement. Shall I get out? she asked. Does my weight make any difference? Not at all," said Orme; but, nevertheless, she descended to the street and stood beside him while he worked. I didnt know there were all those funny things Inside, she mused. Orme laughed. Her comment was vague, but to him it was enough just to hear her voice. He had got the wheel clear of the street and was taking off the burst tire. We seem fated to meet, she said. Orme looked up at her. 1 hope you wont think me a cad, he said, "if 1 say that I hope we may meet many times. Her little frown warned him that she had misunderstood. Do you happen to know the Tom he asked. Wallinghams? I know a Her smile returned. Tom Wallingham and a Bessie Of Im so sorry. Were going out with some new friends. Wish I knew them well enough to ask you along. Can you have some golf with us at Arra-dal-e tomorrow afternoon? Delighted! Say, Bessie, do you know a girl who runs a black touring car? What? "Do you know a tall, dark girl who has a black touring car? "I know lots of tall, dark girls, and several of them have black touring cars. Why? Who are they? There was a pause and a little chuckle; then: "Now, Bob, that wont do. You must tell me all about it tomorrow. Call for us In time to catch the That was all that Orme could get out of her; and after a little banter and a brief exchange of greetings with Tem, who was called to the telephone by his wife, the wire was permitted to rest. Orme pushed a chair to the window one-fou- of the sitting room and smoked lazily, looking out over the beautiful expanse of Lake Michigan, which reflected from its glassy surface the wonderful of early evening. He opalescence seemed to have set forth on a new and adventurous road. How strangely the girl of the car had come into his life! r Then he thought of the bill, with the curious inscription. He took it from his pocketbook and examined It by the fading light. The words ran the full length of the face. Orme noticed that the writing had a foreign look. There were flourishes which seemed distinctly He turned the bill over. Apparently there was no writing on the back, but as he looked more closely he saw a dark blur In the upper corner. Even in the dusk he could make out that this was not a spot of dirt; the edges were defined too distinctly for a smudge; and it was not black enough for an Moving to the center table, he switched on the electric lamp, and looked at the blur again. It stood out plainly now, a series of letters and five-dolla- left-han- ink-blo- numbers: Evans, S. R. Chi. A. T. d t. 100 N. 210 E. Coro-JAtf- he was to be found a place sufficient- letter. Now as to treasure? Or was Or true? it time? Orme had no way of telling. It might even be the initial of the person who had penned the instructions. ly indicated by the was it the T. Without knowing where "A was, Orme could make nothing of the For that matter, he cryptogram. realized that unless the secret were criminal it was not his affair. But he knew that legitimate business information is seldom transmitted by such mysterious means. Again and again he went over the abbreviations, but the more closely he studied them, the more baffling he found them. The real meaning appeared to hinge on the A. and the T." Eventually he was driven to the conclusion that those two letters could not be understood by anyone who was not already partly In the secret, if secret it was. It occurred to him to have the city directory sent up to him. He might then find the address of S. R. Evans, if that person happened to be a Chicagoan. But it was quite likely that the Chi. might mean something other than that "Evans lived in Chicago. Perhaps, in the morning he would satisfy his curiosity about S. R. Evans, but for the present he lacked the Inclination to press the matter that far. In the midst of his puzzling, the telephone bell rang. He crossed the room and put the receiver to his ear, Yes? he questioned. The clerks voice answered. Porltol to see Mr. Orme. Who? spelled the clerk. I dont know him," said Orme. "There must be some mistake. Are you sure that he asked for me? There was a pause. Orme heard a few scattering words which indicated that the clerk was questioning the stranger. Then came the information: "He says he wishes to see you about a bill." Oh! Orme realized that he had no reason to be surprised. Well, send him up. He hung up the receiver and, returning to the table, put the marked bill back into his pocketbook and slipped into a drawer the paper on which he had copied the inscription. (TO BE CONTINUED. So-n- or five-doll- The first thought that came to Orme was that this could be no hoax. A joker would have made the curious But cryptogram more conspicuous. what did it mean? Was It a secret Theyre good friends of mine. formula? Did it give the location of Dont you think that they might introRetort Courteous. a And why in the buried treasure? Two men were occupying a double duce us? name of common sense had it been seat in a crowded car. One of them "They might, she vouchsafed, if written on a bill? was a whistler and ths to see us both the at they happened More likely, Orme reasoned, It con- other was evidently annoyed. same time. for or about You dont seem to like my whistOrme returned to his task. The cealed information S. R. Evans, probably. ling? said the noisy one. after a crowd that always gathers was now some person continuous performance. close about them, and there was little And who was this S. R. Evans? I dont," was the frank reply. to the better The No, mystery, for study He talk. finished his opportunity Well, continued the other, maybe job neatly, and stowed away the old Orme copied the inscription on a sheet of note paper, which he found in the you think you are man enohgh to tire. She was in the car before he could table drawer. From the first he de- stop it? No, I dont think I am, rejoined offer to help her. Thank you again, cided that there was no cipher. The letters undoubtedly were abbrevia- the other, but I hope you are. she said. And the whistling was discontin"If only you will let me arrange it tions. Evans must be, as he had alued. a mans name. determined, with the Wallinghams, ready he faltered. "I will think about it. She smiled. "Chi might be, probably was, Chi100 N. 210 E. looked like He felt that she was slipping away. cago. The Philosopher of Folly. 100 (feet? paces?) north, 21C (feet? Give me seme clue, he begged. Don't marry your stenographer, paces?) east. advises the Philosopher of Folly. She Where is jour spirit of romance? The A. and the T. bothered him. belongs to the union and knows the she railed at him; then apparently relenting: Perhaps the next time we "A. might be the place to which S. rules and shell never let you hire R. Evans was directed, or at which another one. meet Orme groaned. With a little nod like that which had dismissed him at the time of his first service to her, she pulled the lever and the car Wall-ringba- five-doll- long-distanc- e five-minu- te moved away. Tumult in his breast, Orme walked on. He watched the black car thread its way down the street and disappear around a corner. Then he gave himself over to his own bewildering reflections, and he was still busy with them when he found himself at the entrance of the Pere Marquette. He had crossed the Rush street bridge and found his way up to the Lake Shore drive almost without realizing whither he was going. Orme had come to Chicago at the request of eastern clients to meet half way the owners of a western mining property. When he registered at the Annex he found awaiting him a telegram saying that they had been detained at Denver and must necessarily be two days late. Besides the telegram, there had been a letter for him a letter from his friend, Jack Baxter, to whom he had written of his coming. Jack had left the city on business, it appeared, but he urged Orme to make free of his North side apartment. So Orme left the Annex and went to the rather too gorgeous, but very luxurious, Pore Marquette, where he found that the stuff had Inen instrucud to keep a close ?e All this had hapon his comfort. pened but three short hours ago. After getting hack to the apartment, Ormes first thought was to teephone He decided, to Bessie Wallingham. however, to wait till after dinner. He did not like to arpear too eager. So he went down to the public dining room and ate what was placed btfore him, and returned to his apartment just at dusk. In a few moments he got Bessie Wallingham on the wire. Orme! she ex"Why, Robert "Wherever did you come claimed. from? Are you and The usual place. Tom at home this evening? |