| Show pace ry r- r y- y MOON HAROLD Rd turea CD 41 L RHOD I SYNOPSIS Eleanora do de T was sIngIng In ParIs whIch perhaps aps' aps accounted for or EdWard Edward Ed- Ed ward Courtlandt's 8 aPPearance there MultimillionaIre Mul- Mul i ho wandered about where fancy tancy dictated H lie He might be bc In Paris one day and Kam hatka the next Following the Opera a he goes to a cafe cate and Is ls a acCosted accosted ac- ac by yS a pretty young youn woman She gives him the thea address dresa of ot Flora Desimone vocal rival ot of Toscana an and Flora Fora gIves hIm the address of ot Eleanora whom he Is determined d to see seo- Courtlandt enters Eleanora's apartments She Sho orders h him m out and n nid shoots at nt hi him on The next day Paris s Is ls shocked by the mysterious dIsappearance disappearance dIs- dIs appearance Fl o ot the prima donna Realizing that he may be suspected of ot the abduction lion tion of r Eleanora Courtlandt arranges for tor forr o nn an nUb alibi Eleanora and r- r reappears accuses Courtlandt i ot of having abducted her His alibi IB is satisfactory to the police pollee and the charge ta Is dismissed e CHAPTER V V Continued and No c decidedly none at all aU monsie r 4 quickly I In my opinion then the whole affair affair affair af af- af- af I fair Is a hoax perpetrated to ve vex and annoy you The old man who employed employed em- em ems the chauffeur may not have been een old I have looked upon all sides of f the tile affair and it begins to look like a practical joke mademoiselle Ah ICAh angrily And am I to have no redress edress Think of the misery I have gone one through the suspense My voice is 3 gone J I shall shaJI not be able to sing rIng again gain for months Is it your sugg 6 stion s- s sm ion tion that I drop the Investigation Yes mademoiselle for it does not look ook as if It we could get anywhere with It t. t It If you Insist I will hold Monsieur Courtlandt but I warn you you the magistrate magistrate magis- magis rate would not hesitate to dismiss the he case Instantly Monsieur Courtlandt Court- Court andt landt arrived In Marseilles Thursday morning he reached Paris Friday morning Since arriving in Paris he has fully accounted for his time It ItI I is 3 impossible that he could have haye arranged arranged ar- ar art ranged for the abduction Still if you say ay I can hold him for entering your apartment That would be but a farce Nora rose ose Monsieur permit me to wish you ou good day For my part I shall pursue this matter to the end I believe believe be- be lieve this thie gentleman guilty and I 1 shall hall do my best to prove it Il I am a woman and all alone When a man has powerful friends it is not difficult to o build an ali alibi b i. i That is a refie reflection upon my word mademoiselle quietly interposed the minister Monsieur has been imposed upon Nora walked to the door Walt Wait a moment mademoiselle said the prefect Why do you Insist upon prosecuting him for something of which he be is guiltless when you could have him held for something of which be he is really guilty The one Is trivial the other is a serious outrage Good God morning The attendant closed the door behind herA herA herA her A very determined young oung woman mused the chief of police Exceedingly agreed the minister Courtlandt got up wearily But the chief motioned him to be reseated I I do not say that I 1 dare not pursue pursue pursue pur pur- sue my investigations but now that mademoiselle is safely returned I 1 prefer prefer pre pre- fer not to May I 1 ask who made this request asked Courtlandt Request Yes monsieur It was a request not to proceed further From where As to that you will have to consult con con- suit sult the head of the state I I am not at liberty to make the disclosure The minister leaned forward eager eager- ly Then there Is a political side to It There would be If everything hadnot had hadnot hadnot not turned out eo so fortunately I ICI believe I 1 understand now said Courtlandt his face hardening Strange he had bad not thou thought ht of It be- be His skepticism had blinded him to all but butone one angle Your advice to to drop the matter j js- js excellent The Tho chief of voice police elevated his brows Interrogatively For 1 presume continued CoUrt- CoUrt laudt rising that mademoiselles mademoiselle's abductor abductor ab izi ductor is by this time safely across the frontier CHAPTER VI Battling Jimmie rh There re is a n heavenly terrace flanked by marvelous clous trees To tb the left fardown fardown far fardown down below Is a curving shaded dark turquoise body of oC water called Lecco to the right there lies the queen of ot lakes the crown of It Italy l a flower corn sapphire known as Como it is the Place of Honeymoons RIch Illch lovers ers como come and Idle there and lovers ot ol modest means rush up to It and down I from It to catch the next steamer to tc o p glo Eros was vas as not born in is I Greece of ot all barren mountains un un- stirring or Olympus or 01 whatever they called It In the days I of the Junketing gods Is No Venus Venus' went to a-to a and abode a whilo upon this same gracious spot once dear to P-lIn P the younger Seated on one of the rustic benches his white tennis shoes resting against the lower iron of oC the railing a Bavarian Bava Bava- rian nan dachel snoozing comfortably across his knees was a man of fifty fin He lie was broad of shoUlder deep of chest and clean He had laid aside his Panama hat bat and his hair waR wan clipped cUpped closel closely and was pleasantly pleasantly pleas pleas- antly and honorably sprinkled with gray His face was broad and tanned the nose was tilted and the widemouth wide widemouth widemouth mouth was both kindly and humorous One knew from the tint of hie his blue blueeyes blueeyes blueeyes eyes and the quirk of his lips that when he spoke there would be a bit bitof bitof bitor of or brogue He was James Harrigan one time celebrated In the ring for his gameness his his endurance endurance endurance endur endur- ance Battling Jimmie Harrigan who when he encountered his first I knockout retired from the ring He had to his credit sixty one battles of which he had easily won forty He had been In some and had broken even In fn others but only once had he been railroaded into dreamland dream dream- land to use the parlance of ot the game That was enough He understood I Youth would be served and he was no longer young He had unlike the many in his peculiar service lived cleanly and with wisdom and foresight foresight fore fore- foresight sight he had saved both his money una anu fig nis Today he be was at peace with the world with three sound appetites the day and the wherewithal to gratify them Today Battling Jimmie was forgotten forgotten forgotten for for- gotten by the public and he was happy In the seclusion of this forget forget- A new and career had opened up before him he was the father of the most beautiful prima donna In the operatic world and difficult dim dim- cult as fiS the task was he lie did his best to live up to it It was hard not to offer to shake hands when he lie was presented to a princess or a duchess It ft was hard to remember when to change the studs in his shirt and a white cravat was the terror of his nights for his fingers broad and s tubby stubby and pow powerful rul had not been t trained rained to the delicate task of tying a bowknot By a judicious blow In t that hat spot where the ribs he c could right well tie his adversary Into a bowknot bo but this string of white l lawn awn was a most damnable thing S Still till the puttering of the two women t their heir daily concern over his deportment deport deport- deportment m ment ent was bringing him Into conformity conform conform- it ity y with social usages One thing he r rebelled against openly and with such fi firmness s that the women did not press h him im too strongly for fear of ot a general r revolt evolt On no occasion however impressive im im- im p would he wear a silk hat C Christmas and birthdays Invariably c ca called ed forth the gift of a silk hat for forthe forthe t the he women trusted that the they could overcome o resistance by persistence H He e never said anything but It was noticed no no- t that the hotel porter or the gardener r ga-r- gar gardener dener d ener or whatever masculine head hi his own was available came ame f forth orth resplendent on feast days and S Sundays Leaning bac back In an Iron chair with h his is shoulders resting against the oak was the Barone altogether a different differ differ- e ent nt type He was frowning Crowning over the pages ages p of Bagot's Italian Lakes ande and h he e wasn't making malting much headway Heas He w was as Italian to the core for all that h hn he e aped the English style and man man- n ner er He could speak the tongue with f fluency but he stumbled and faltered miserably over the soundless type His clothes had the Piccadilly cut a and nd his mustache erstwhile waxed and a nd militant was cropped at the corers corners corners cor cor- n ners ers thoroughly Insular He was t thirty hirty and undeniably handsome Near the fountain on the green was a third man He was In the act o of f folding up an easel and a camp camp- campstool s stool tool From a window In the villa came a v voice oice only a lilt of a melody no words half words half a a. a dozen bars from Martha but every delightful note went deep into the three masculine hearts Harrigan smiled and patted t the he dog The Italian scowled at the vegetable garden directly below Theartist Theartist The Theartist artist scowled at the Italian Fritz Fritz here Fritz The dog struggled In Harrigan's hands and tore himself loose He went clattering over the path toward the villa and disappeared into the door door- way Nothing could keep him when that voice called He was as ardent a lover as any and far ar more favored Oh Ob you funny little dog You merry little dachel Fritz mustn't let go Silence The artist know that she was cuddling cud cud- dung the puppy to her heart and aud his bis own grew twisted He stooped over his bis materials again and tied the box to the easel and the stool and shifted them under his arm Ill be up after dinner Mr Harrigan Harri Harrl gan gall he said All right Abbott Harrigan rigan waved his h hand band nd pleasantly He wan becomIng becoming becoming becom becom- ing so used to the unvarying un statement state slate ment meat that Abbott would be up after alter dinner that his reply was by now purely mechanical getting her er voice back all right eh cli Beautifully But Dut I really dont don't think she ought to sing at the Haines Haines' villa Sunday One song wont won't hurt her She's made up her mind to sing Theres There's nothing for us to do b but t to sit tight The artist took the path that led around the villa and thence down by many steps to the village by the waterside waterside wa wa- wa to the tinted cream cluster of shops and enormous hotels Below Delow In the Ill village ace a man entered tho the Grand hotel He was tall taU blond rosy Ho lie carried himself like one used to military service also abo like ono one used to giving peremptory orders The porter bowed the director bowed and the proprietor himself became a living carpenters carpenter's square hinged T The e porter and the director recognized a personage the tho proprietor the man it was of no consequence that tho new arrival called himself Herr Rosen He was assigned to a suite of rooms and on returning to the bureau the proprietor squinted his eyes ces abstractedly He knew every woman of ot Importance at that time residing residing residing re re- re- re siding on the Point Certainly It could be nono none of these HImmel He struck his hands together So that was it the singer He recalled the hints In certain newspaper paragraphs the little tittle littie lit tit tle tie tales with the names left to the Imagination So that was it What a woman Men looked at herand her herand herand and went mad And not so long ago one had abducted her In Paris The proprietor threw up his hands in de de- de What was was' going to happen to the peace of this bucolic spot The youth permitted nothing to s stand and In his way and the singers singer's father was waa wasa a 3 retired fighter with boxing gloves a S SIn S In the ballroom that evening that little son of Satan called malice afore thought took possession of NOla Nova and there was havoc If a certain AmerIcan Amerlean American Amer Amer- ican lean countess had not patronized her If It certain lorgnettes implements of torture used by said son of Satan had hadnot hadnot hadnot not been leveled in her direction if It certain fans had not been suggestively spread ad between pairs of feminine heads Nora headS Nora would have been as harmless as a playful kitten From door to door of the ballroom her mother fluttered like a a- a ahen hen with with witha a duckling Even Celeste was disturbed disturbed disturbed dis dis- dis- dis for she saw that Noras Nora's conduct conduct conduct con con- duct was not due to any light hearted f fun There was something bitter and andronic I Ironic cloaked by those smiles that tinkle of ot laughter In fact Nora from Tuscany flirted outrageously The I Barone sulked and and tore at his mus mus- tache He He committed any number of murders by eye and by wish When his time came to dance with the mis mis- maker chief he whirled her around savagely and never never said a word and once done with he sternly returned her to her mother which he deemed the wisest course to pursue Nora you are behaving abominably abominably abl ably whispered her mother pale with i Ind indignation Well I am having a good time Your dance Thank you And a a tender young American l led d her through the mazes of th the waltz as asso so some e poet who knew what he was about phrased it By Dy way of parenthesis Herr Rosen marched up the hill and down again something after the manner of a certain tam tain warrior king celebrated In verse Th The object of his visit had had gone gone to tot to the ball bail at At the hotel he demanded a motor motorboat motor boat There There was none to be had In a a. furious state of ot mind he lie engaged two oarsmen to row him across the lake And so it came to pass that when Nora suddenly grown weary of the tho play full of bitterness and distaste hating herself hersell and every jone one else jn In Inu u the world world stole stole out out to the the quay to to commune with the moon she saw him jump from the boat to the landing scorning the steps Instantly she drew her lace mantle closely about her face It was useless In the man the hunters hunter's hunters hunter's hunters hunter's hunt hunt- ers er's instinct was much too keen So I 1 have found you One would say that I had been In hiding coldly From me always I have left left- every everything ev ev- ev- ev ery duty duty hing-duty duty obligations to to seek you From any other man that might be bea a compliment I 1 am a prince princa he be said saM proudly She faced him with that quick resolution reso resolution reso- reso lution that swift forming of ot purpose which has made the Irish so difficult in argument and persuasion Will you marry me Will Wiil you OU make me your wife legally legall Before all the world Will you surrender for the sake of ot this love you profess your right to a great inheritance Will you risk the anger and the iron hand of ot your father for my sake Herr Gott 1 r am mad He cov coy covered ered his eyes TO BE DE CONTINUED |
