Show f STORY E TM X t ese A MEV Vc dSa 0 77 novelized from the comedy of the samo same name by illustrated rupert from plis 0 1 the lh play ilay 0 produced hughes ny by henry W sv seattle attle L 0 ciriot Is by br 11 K VV n V co u SYNOPSIS blout harry mallory Is ordered to th the philippines ile he and marjorie Marj orlo newton decide to elope but wreck ot of taxicab prevents their heeln K minister on the tha way to the ho train trans transcontinental co train la in tak trig IHK on porter has a lively 1 leh time with an englishman n afis iman and irn ira D luth rop a yankee business man the elo elopers pers ha have 0 ari an exciting time retting getting to the he train little jimmiw W wellington e 1 agton bound for or reno keno to get a divo divorce rc e boards tride in maudlin condition later mrs jimmie appears she la Is also bound for or ileno with same object likewise mrs sammy whitcomb latter blames mrm mra jimmie for or tier er marital troubles cla classmates s n tes of malory decorate bridal berth I 1 alev te y and mra airs emple start on a vacation they decide t to 0 cut loose and temple removes evidence of III ills calling marjorie Marj orle decides to let mallory proceed alone but train starts while they aro are lost in farewell kera gers join malloris Mal lorys ci classmates a in riving giving couple wedding hazing abing marjorie Marj orle Is distracted 1 ira lathrop woman hating bachelor lach ach elor discovers an old sweetheart anno anne gattle a follow fellow passenger ahful lory vainly hunts bunts for a preacher among th the passengers mrs afro wellington henra hears little I jimmies voice later she meets mrs whitcomb mallory reports to mar orl orle e him hl failure to find a preacher they I 1 decide I 1 i d 0 to pretend a quarrel and mallory finds a vacant berth mrs jimmie eps ea wellington on the train CHAPTER XVI continued eventually the car quieted avid any nothing was heard beard but the rumble and click of the wheels on the rails the crea creak k of timbers and the trog frog liko chorus of a few well trained snore scorers rs As the porter was turning down the lust last of the lights a rumpled pate was thrust from the stateroom and the luscious byod man whispered porter what time did you say we crossed the iowa state line two fifty five a m from within the stateroom came a deep sigh then with a dismal groan call me at two fifty five anve a m the door was closed poor mallory pyjama lesa less and night shirtless lay propped up on his pit pillows staring out of the window at the swiftly shifting ing night scone scene the state of illinois was being pulled out from under the train like a dark rug farmhouses gleamed or dreamed kamples a the moonlight rippled on endless seas of wheat and indian corn little towns slid up and away large towns rolled forward and were left iott behind ponds marshes brooks pastures thickets and great gloomy groves flowed past as on a river but the same stars and the moon seemed to accompany the train it if tho the flying I 1 witness had been less heavy of heart lie ho would have found the reeling scene seene full of grace and night beauty but ho he could not see any charm in all the world except his tantalizing other self from whom a great chasm seemed to divide him though she was only two windows away ile he had not yet fallen asleep and he was still pondering how to a attain his unmarried bride when the train rolled out in air above a great wide river very noble under the stars ho he know it for the mississippi sis sippi ile he heard beard a taint faint knocking on a door at the other end of the car lie he heard beard sounds as of kisses and then somebody tiptoed along the aisle stealthily lie he did not know that another bridegroom was being separated from his bride because they were too much married somewhere in iowa he fell asleep CHAPTER last call for breakfast it was still iowa when mallory awoke into his last moments moment 0 heavy steel sleep intruded a voice like a town criers voice crying lass call for break fuss in the itin trig ing aar and then again louder lass lasi call for break fuss in tar and finally and faintly lass call break fuss elrar mallory pushed up his window shade the day was broad on rolling prairies like billows established in the green soil lie die peeked pecked through his curtains most of the other passengers were up and about their beds hidden and beddings stowed away behind tho the bellying veneer of the upper works of the car all the berths were made up except his own and number two in the corner where little jim Welling tons nose still played a bagpipe monody and ono one other berth which ho he recognized as marjories Mar jorles hla HIS belated sleep and hers had spared them both the stares and laughing chatter of the passengers but this his bridal couples two berths standing landing like towers among the seats bad provided conversation for every tody fiody had already united the casual group of strangers into an organized gossip bee mallory got into his shoes and as much of his clothes as was necessary for the dash to the washroom and took on hi hn arta arm the rest of his wardrobe just as ho be lessed from his lonely chamber Mar marforio jorio appealed grom hers much disheveled arid and i heavy eyed the bride and groom ex changed glances of mutual terror and hurried in opposite directions the kest and sp annest of lieutenants soon realized that tie ho was reduced to wearing yesterdays linen as well us as yesterdays beard this was intolerable A bravo man can endure heartbreaks heart breaks loss of love honor bonor and place e but a neat nian man cannot abide the traces of ahne in his toilet lieutenant mallory had seen been rough berv lee in camp and on long hikes when lie he gloried in mud and disorder and he e was to see campaigns in the philippines 11 ip pines when ho he should nr not i t ak imo 0 0 ob IT tits his shoes or tits his uniform for ahrea days at a time but that was tho the held field and this car w was as a drawing room in this crisis in his affairs little jimmie wellington waddled into tho the mens room floundering about with every lurch of the train like a cannon loose in tho the hold of a ship lie he turn bled with the handles on a basin and made a crazy toilet trying to find some abatement of tits his fever by tilling filling a glass at the ice water tank and emptying it over hla his head these drastic measures meas urea restored him to some sort of coherency and mallory appealed to him tor for help in the matter of linen wellington effusively fu offered him everything he had and mallory selected from tits bis store half a dozen collars any one or of which would have gone round his bis nock neck nearly twice wellington also proffered tits his safety razor and made him a present ot of a virgin wafer of steel tor for his very own with this assistance mallory was waa enabled to make himself fairly presentable sen table when he returned to his seat the three curtained rooms had been whisked away by the porter there was no place now to hide bide fro from m the passengers he sat down facing the feminine end of the car watching for marjorie Marj orle tho the passengers gora were watching for her too hoping to learn what un heard of incident could have provoked the quarrel that separated a bride and groom at this time of all times to tho the general bewilderment when marjorie Marj orle appeared mallory and she rushed together and clasped hands with an ardor that suggested a desire for even more ardent greeting the passengers almost sprained their ears to hear how they would mako up such a dreadful feud but all they heard was well have to hurry marjorie Marj orle if wo we want to get any breakfast all right honey come along then the inscrutable couple scurried up the tha aisle and disappeared in the corridor leaving behind them a mighty riddle they kissed in the corridor of that car kissed in too the vestibule kissed in the two corridors or of the next car and were caught kissing in the next vestibule by the now new conductor the dining car conductor who flat himself that he know knew a bride abrl da and groom when he saw them atheni escorted them grandly to a table tor for two and the waiter fluttered about them with extraordinary consideration they had a plenty to talk of in pros hect and retrospect they both felt sure that a minister lurked among the tha cars somewhere and they ate with a zest to prepare tor for the ceremony arguing the best place for it and quarreling amorously over details mallory was for one of the vestibules vesti bules as the scene of their union but marjorie Marj orle was for tho the baggage car till she realized that might be unwilling to attend then she swung round to the vestibule but mallory shifted to the observation platform marjorie Marj orle had left with mrs temple who promised to hide bide him alna when the new conductor passed through the car and she reminded harry to get the waiter to bring them a package of bones for their only child so far on the way back from the dining car they kissed each other goodbye good bye again at all the trysting places they had sanctified before the sun was radiant tho the world good and the very train ran with jubilant rejoicing they could not doubt that a few more hours would see them legally man and wife mallory restored marjorie Marj orla to her place in their car and with smiles of assurance left her for another par son hunt through the train she waited for him in a bridal agitation tie lie ransacked the train forward in vain and returned passing Al Marj arJorie orle with a shake of the head and a sour countenance ile he went out to tile the observation platform where he stumbled on ira lathrop and anne gattle engaged in a conversation of evident intimacy for they jumped when he opened the door as if they were guilty of some plot hilory mumbled his usual excuse roe me whirled on his heel and dragged his discouraged steps back through the observation room where various women and a few men of evident un were draped across arm chairs and absorbed in lazy conversation or bobbing their heads over magazines that trembled with the motion t 00 of the train mrs wellington was busily writing at the desk but ho he did not know who she was and he did not care whom sho she was writing to lie he did aid not observe the baleful glare of mrs whitcomb who sat watching mrs wellington knowing all too well who she ene was and suspecting the correspondent mrs whitcomb was wag tempted to spell the word with one r mallory stumbled into the mens of the composite car here ho he nodded with a sickly cheer to the solo occupant dr temple Tern plo who was looking less ministerial than over in an embroidered skull cap the old rascal was sitting far back on his bis lumbar vertebrae one of his hands clasped a long glass tilled filled gitil with a liquid 0 of a hue bue that resembled some thing stronger than what it was mere ginger ate ale the other hand band toyed with a long black cigar the th smoke curled round the old mana roans head like the fumes of a sultans and through the wisps elspa hla his faco face was one of oriental luxury Sial lorys eyes were caught from this picture or of beatitude by the entrance at the other door of a roan man who had evidently swung aboard at the most recent arop for mallory had not seen him ills his gray hair was crowned with a soft black hat and his spare frame was swathed in a frock coat that had seen better days ills his soft gray eyes seemed to search timidly the smoke clouded at atmosphere MOB and ho he had a bashful air which mallory translated as one of diffidence dUn dence in a place where liquors and cigars were dispensed with equal diffidence mallory advanced and in a low tone accosted the newcomer cautiously excuse me you look like a clergy man the hell you cayll mallory pursued the question no further CHAPTER in the composite car it was the gentle strangers turn to miss his guess ile he bent over the chair into which mallory had flopped and said in a tense low tone you look like a sport im trying to make maho up a game of stud poker will you join me mallory shook his heavy head in refusal and with dull eyes watched the man whose profession he be no longer misunderstood saunter up to the blissful doctor from ypsilanti and murmur again will you join me join you in what sir air said bald dr temple with alert courtesy A little game 1 I dont mind the doctor smiled rising with amiable readiness the checkers aro are in the next room quit your biddi the stranger coughed how about a little freeze out freeze out said dr temple it sounds interesting Is it something like authors the newcomer shot a quick glance at this man whose innocent air ho he suspected but he merely drawled well you play it with cards would you mind teaching me the rules said the old sport from lanti the gambler was growing suspicious of this too too childlike innocence lie he whined say your little game eez eh but decided to risk the venture he sat down at a table and dr temple bringing along his glass drew up a chair the gambler took a pack of cards from his pocket and shuffled them with a snap that startled dr temple and a dexterity that delighted him go on its beautiful to see he explained the gambler set the pack down with the one word but since the old man made no effort to comply the gambler did not insist he took up the pack again and ran off five cards to each place with a grace that staggered the doctor mallory was about to intervene tor for the protection of the guileless physician when the conductor chanced to saunter in the gambler seeing him snatched dr temples cards from his hand and slipped the pack into his pocket the matter now dr temple asked but the newcomer huskily answered walt a minute walt a minute the conductor took in the scene at a glance and stalking up to the table spoke with the grimness of a sea captain say ive got my eye on you dont start 1 the stranger stared at him wonderingly and demanded why what you darivin at you know all right the conductor growled and then turned on the befuddled old clergyman and you too me too the preacher gasped yes you too the conductor repeated shaking an accusing forefinger under his nose your actions have hav been suspicious from the beginning weve nil all been watching you dr temple was so BO agitated that he ha nearly let fall his secret why do you realize that im a ah dont start that sneered the conductor 1 I can spot a gambler as far as I 1 can see one you and your side partner here want to look out all or ill drop you at the next tank then he walked out his very shoulder blades uttering threats TO BE CONTINUED |