Show One Wonderful Week id ra It tf TO TT BP IE TO C S FORESTER By S-iy 9 iP A Service Copyright by hy Bobb Merrill Co CHAPTER VIII-Continued VIII VIII Continued I 12 12 Moodily he he gel boun an aln entering Items up cp to date and Interest lie went wem on It It 1 lie he deposit ledgers S swallowed him whole hole slow slowly slowly ly Iy but Ine Inextricably iii Ill e a 0 quid quick quicksand sand our Four hours of continuous hard labor worked like a r I using with Interest tables find and the absorbing care to Insure neatness and antI nc ac curnc curac had drawn n the lie torment from Harold Harolds s soul and acid made a anew anew new matter of fact young man of hire him nd miraculously without his thinking about It at all he had conic to a decision regarding the letters his hie mind was has made up and no longer wavered u erell In uncertainty lie Ill was has going to himself ot at the same time as he unburdened himself f he lie was IS going to share his secret at the same time as he nis going to cast off his bib Harold knew now non tint t It was has hay lug Ing to hear bear his bis secret clone ilone which bad worried him as os much as an any anything thing else 11 ith his Ills new decisIOn he became a new man lumen lien hen Harold hrold entered the tea teashop teashop teashop shop for lunch his waitress altress set hI- hI hi before beCore him and then stood ed The attention of e esery everyone ery one In the tea tel shop was as caught at atthe atthe atthe the same came moment and every esery one looked to toward the door I 1 here were ere three men entering t two 0 of them were en holding open the swing suing s Ing doors while hill the third passed through h This Tills gentleman IS very sery tall and thin and his shoulders w were re beginning to be bebo bo bossed cd Ith age ite but his head held as proudly erect erelt and lie he looked round Ith supreme dignity dl as he passed the threshold His ills face was of a proud even esen arrogant Jewish Je cast and as ne nc politely removed remO ell his silk hat he lie resealed repealed a e of white whitehair whitehair hair beautifully brushed and part parted parted parted ed Of his two t companions one has as youn young dressed In the hel height ht of pel perfection In a black morning COlt coat and with Ith a n silk sill hat In his hand the other wore clothes of a foreign cut and ond a n 10 lower er grade Ind had a n howl ha haw I like profile which liar Harold old remembered 1 the lime he lashing Hashing brown bron bro n eyes beneath the e eyebrows s of ot the old gen gentleman gentleman mer met Harold s and fixed his gape and n Ith no more ado the theold theold theold old gentleman stepped for forward to Harold s b table tahle He lIe bowed courte oust and set et his hand on the back bach bachof backof backof of a chair You lou ou will pardon me It if I sit here lie he asked Naturally I Harold could find no reply worth orth mentioning he could only mumble ou flU ore are too kind hind apparently ant of Harolds s embar embarrassment I I will III sit cit here then hurt on my right Hirsch sit be beside beside beside side Mr Ir Atrid e If Mr does docs not mind The old sat down Ith Infinite grice gr Ill with the youn young man he Ind addressed as Kurt hurt besIde him I I 1 must roust ask your pardon lie he saId for Cor for Intruding un myself self upon you In this fashion Mr Ir but i I understood tha that t you vou ou are arc a busy bulY man and that this would be bemy bemy my best opportunity for an Inter InterI interview le May Mav I 1 introduce m myself mi self self M I Louie is He made the announcement In ine e the lie same sime fashion as one e an gentle gentle- gentleman gentleman gentleman man n tined med ard I it Howard toE to E a his mime has as I Ho 1 this his Is my eldest boy hurt Kurt Kurt hurt bo bowed boell ell from Crom hIS Ills chair in a aI af f I utterly alien to tea ten shops Harold knew now noss that thai he os sitting at i 1 marble topped table tahle In Inthe inthe Inthe the prE presence sence of the king and the n crown cron cro n prince of Europe in n finance of of Sol Solomon limon and Kurt hurt Who ho owned 0 ned h hilf of e Cr everything thing he be het t cen the Rhine and the Black Blacksea BlackSt sea Sll a and who ho were ere the life and soul of the I hand and kartel Who ho were scene ere the present employers ers of Percy St St Six 1 lour bright rl right ht Please Ilease Mr l cut cat your lunch and aud don t wait nit for us said Salomon I hope most sincerely that flint you do not mind a aCe afew fess Ce minutes com conversation about business during our mealtime No r said Harold that as the first articulate word ord he lie had uttered since Mr s amazing entry Tha That I Is very sery ery good of you iou ou I Mr r e Ile e cm can start nt lit once without scruple then If If you ou like ULc said suld Harold cling clingIng clingIng lag Ing wildly to his sanity Mi Mt bent hent hIs Ills head licad to toward ard him his mesmeric e eyes es seemed to pierce Harold through I I want to come comae sold cald Mr Ir Ru Hu ln to to a peaceful settlement regarding the lie disposal of ot some property of mine amine I Ir r- r r ies co said Mr Ir warmed to his subject ou 1 ou notice Mr he saId that I said some property of mIne lou ou 1 ou hold bold some let letters to which I 1 am entitled They sere ere purchased from the time original 0 ner by 03 m in son s on here here-he here he Indicated the young exquisite at nt his elbow and passed on to me How they came Into your possession Is Immaterial It Is necessary that you ou should ro re return return I turn them them to me Should vou re ra- ra re the admission of the possibility of u refusal was as a sur false fulce step for so old a there there there are se several l er courses courbes open to me roc I could take steps to toreco reco er my property by legal pros proc process process ess I Harold merely gaped I I could sue you for them In the tb courts sold Harold ot of I med led ell lint hut pokers and lead leaden leaden en clubs he felt suddenly Irritated and ond nn anxious lous to make himself un tin unpleasant as well hell lou ou oud d hn have base e to pro prove probe e your title he sold s boldly Have you got ot any receipts Of course Mr Ir had none and tie Ill showed shinned sho ell It In his Ills face lie He had hold made inside the ml mistake of con ring Harold too simple just as Bauer had Ind helle believed cd him to be deeper than Inn heas he was has 1111 h argue Irue Ill o e that he asked asked ou lou ou would ol I not face the publicity of an action Neither either would you vou snapped Harold hitting the mil nail on the as accurately as he hind had hit bit law Hawkins bins Mr sidestepped and the lie rally ralli It Ii It would be of some com II Inconvenience to us ue I 1 admit and because use of tha that t we Would be willing to make mahe some ad adjustment If the case were here ere settled out of court COUl t Shall we e say sly fifty pounds Solomon hid had climbed to his present position ely through his ability to o offer ITer straight faced lift fifty pounds for something he lie heas was sins prepared to ply pay fifty thousand for But he did not know that Harold knew knelt that he had offered right bright right the lie fi e thousand pounds for Harold s person liar Har a Harold Knew Now that He Was Sitting In the Presence of the King and the Crown Prince of European Finance old tore his eyes from he lilted w to think and he could not think like that For or half a aa aa na a second his gale ga rested on young oung Kurt s face That splendid ld young man was has not pos possessed sensed of his fathers s magnificent self control Solomon s casu il II offer olTer of fifty pounds for the thess orth ss of a kingdom tickled Kurt Ills His face t twitched Itched Ith amusement just as set eyes on It only n 0 t and twitch and It settled settle Into InLo Immobility a second but later but Harold noticed It and amid his spirit rose In furs fui fUl Harold would rather be clubbed than I made fun of And for once he lie hall halla a retort re rey ready y He lie Jerked himself out of or his chair My Iy bill please he said sl catch catchIng catching catchIng Ing the waitress e ae 03 e 1 Then hen the theten ten tea shop custom customers rs were cre treated to the spectacle of nn un inconsiderable man striding out of the plate e is while bile n a cringed ed at nt his elbow pillow pleading for consideration But rold H no iv is too riot hot under the cite lie collar to listen the accumulated d annos anno maces of the lie past week had hind It at la last t hUll hall th their lr result He lie put down hill bill and at nt tile the cash desk and thrust through h the S swing SIng Ing doors stamped tamped in Impotent rage Harold Harolds s bank was only fifty yards ards assay a away and Harold had hod gone In Harold was as b hick Ick In the hank and his fur Cur had In no way abated lie He was us sic sick I of everything e con meted with ith King t it or with Ith finance And he lie had hind b now matured n a pi pl in to to rid elf of nil mill responsibility In the mater matterand and to himself as as possible 1 llio he s symbolic fading of his black e eve ese e seemed deeply ll significant to him hint He lie was as going to shrug off ocr on the hok business First of ot nil all Harold had to con suit s along with other oilier works of reference Time The list of the cabinet told him tha that t tile the present foreign n secretary was the Marquis of Cairn Gorm A t little littlemore littlemore littlemore more research revealed re this gentleman gentle gentleman man further as ns the Most honor a the Marquis of ot Gorm K T G C B n G C V 0 etc Harold reached for a shed of bank banI paper dated It and began 7 1 Hie he Most Honorable the Marquis of C Gorm K T G C ll B BG O GC C V 0 Carlton House Terrace W 1 Sly My Iy Lord Marquis I 1 enclose letters of the king of I lesser ester Aana A which hose c happened to come Into my posses possession slon sion Circumstances c base led me meto meto meto to belle belle e e that considerable upon Importance Importance Lance tance is attached to them In that various arlous attempts base ha been made to obtain them Some of these at al attempts attempts tempts were ere carried as na far as per personal personal personal violence toward myself and moreo er I ha lia e case e been offered large sums of ot money In exchange for tor the I Because such sueh Importance Is at at- at ta to them and because 1 t um 1 In doubt as to who ho Is the rightful I owner I am nm anxious that your jour lord lordI lordship I chip should take tahe possession lon of them and if your lordship sees fit to make mahe use of them In any nn an nay wa which shish seems In au orrl mc with pith Ith your our lordships s forel foreign n policy 1 I 1 must ask sour our ur lordship lordships s p Ir Irdon Irdon don for thrusting this tills Ity upon you ion ou but 1 am nCr lid It Is Ismore ismore ismore more th m mu I can cope with pith Ith Also I would OU I d be grea obliged it If your our lordship would Il obe be Ired to to couch ouch for the soundness of oC the reasons for Cor the disturbance of my pork for Cor thIs tills bank during durang the last fen fe fed's s toss should rm ms ers be dissatisfied und mind also niso if ns as I 1 he he- helIe be believe lIe lieve liese e is pos your lord lordship could tal c e steps to assure the time peo pIe who nho hate haic been annoying me that the time letters ore are no longer er In my possession and that th further annoyance would be unprofitable I remain Your lordship lordships s most must obedient servant ser II li HOI litOt D N Ith this completed to hits his satisfaction faction Harold next nest ne t approached Mr Ir Knott the time cashier He lIe tool took tooka a form forma and filled It In and handed It o er rite n 1 e minutes later Harold was stuffing his Ills own letter and King Raphael s neatly into a n registered ens em elope and two minutes after that he was as In the post office nest ne t door o obtaining a receipt Harold came back to his desk deck Ith a lightness s of heart henrt quite un tin unfamiliar familiar to him He lie was free of his burden hurden he had done the right thing Of that he was sure Once more lie he would be able to settle down do n to a n righteous and sober soher life uninterrupted by and arguments He lie would be able Ible to drIft on through life In to the order orderly orderly ly Iy rut which appealed so definitely to him In n two to or three hours the letters of ot King Raphael would be beIn bein beIn In the time hands of the time secretary of state for foreign affairs at pres present present present ent they were in the equally safe saCe hands of the time postmaster general Harold was free William the commissionaire was standing beside him Gentleman wants to speak to you sir he said 11 ho ho is It asked Harold Don t know his name sir 1 cry ery fine looking gentleman foreigner I should think sir Harold would have said Oh Oh h I 1 If he had been accustomed to speaking about 1 lm h 1 As It was as he be put do down don n his pen pettishly an and threaded his way through the dell desi s sand sand and out past the counter There I beI was as u a big man standing there be be- behind behind be behind hind the row of customers a against I the counter A big man splendid splendidly ly dressed dresse with vast ast square quare shoulders shoulders shoulders ders and an on ob ob lous lous air of author authorIty Ity-a Ity a man inn with soldier written nil all 0 o er er him Harold looked at him Mr Ir he said c e es said Harold I I wand to h do you In Ite Iff I may mai ma That would not be easy elsy In the I m afraid ou II 11 have to do It here If you iou ou want to speak to me at nil said stid Harold Theres There's no here where here I can take tale you ou Dud Bud said the foreigner I am here here I Iss s my mv card He lie handed a n massive piece ot of to Harold It was WIS a 1 Wonderful thing tiling gilt ell ed with n a gilt gill coronet Inscribed M Ie le Comte de I I am ani grand equerry and marshal of the balace to his majesty time the l ing of the Runs Huns said the count of oC In n a low lots oice olce I do you Oh Oh come conic u cr us 0 er here Isaid I said nor liar old They The retired to the farthest corner 1 from the counter and the door Harold Indicated a 0 seat sent one one of time the lie shiny mind and uncomfortable m miho Iho in 11 benches banks keep heep app to Ill de deter ter their customers from sitting do loan don n limit Hut 1 refused I n a seat He lie fidgeted etell In an uncomfortable uncomfortable I fashion f clearly In III the grip of ot a n profound emotion lie He HerE retched rE out n a nast Last ast hairs hair paw pass and cd Harold by the breast of ot his con coa t t lou 1 ou hot hlf come some of ot my myro royal ro III roaster ter Nod so co soUm Urn Um-nh- said cold Harold His Ills majesty wands them bag I still hit for them Tr hut but but said HaroldI I can lf you a bankers banker s check chech now this tills mined said ar sl si 1 I and then thrusting his face closer to Harold s q he hissed Dirty do bounds I Harold struggled to break free I 1 don tant t want pant your thirty dirty dirty thirty thousand pounds he protested 1 lore said More 11 o C a can nod notI gut gif It y ou more od l more mone money Clearly was not a he he was ae too ready to lay his cards on the table Nod more one said i we We e haf no more Bud Durl you can cIn lint hat You can cnn pe pea pea a 1 round or n prince i you ou can cnn be a afield field a marshal marshal n 01 vol ode ode-If If you Ish Id III Ills His majesty will III gif sou soua oun ou oun n a brace blace at nt Gourd Mould you ou like to be a bishop n of the Greek church You could be thad it If iou ou like Id rd Is your chance In you life you could the clue creat est man mon In the Balkans Harold felt feU the queerness of the situation even at that tense time It was strange to be standing In Inthe |