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Show PARROTS CD flARQLD NACCMTftf m ) Aufhor ThcGaiT)GtIromDadadSl The Place f Honeymoons, eve. L A SYNOPSIS. 12 Wnrrlnftton, an American adventurer, J:inios. Ills servant, with a caged par-vt par-vt the trio known up and down the Ir-iuaikly Ir-iuaikly as Parrot & Co., are bound (or insuon. Elsa Chetwood, rich American -i'ri tourist. Bees Warrington and asks the Parser to Introduce her. He tells her that ivirrlngton has beaten a syndicate and iciJ his oil claims for :X,Ooo. Warrington wis Kajali, the parrot, through his tricks or Klsa and they pass two golden days oceiher on the river. In Rangoon, W'ar-iriien W'ar-iriien Interferes In a row over cards a;;sed by an enemy, Newell Craig. Elsa j annoyed by Craig and stabs him with a isipin. Warrington discovers Elsa on the sirinpore steamer. He avoids her. Craig g atxard and Is warned by Warrington tho cwisos to avoid Elsa. Craig stirs up vtl (rosslp. Elsa tells Warrington of the iatfin Incident and he hunts up Craig, on njrler bent. He finds him stretched out Imnk on deck and turns the hose on him. At Penang Mallow, who drove Warrlng-;pn Warrlng-;pn from his plantation when he learned i! story, comes aboard. Warrington tells E'si that Mallow and Craig both will tell :ft he spent money that did not belong to r.im over the gambling table to Craig, iri asks her not to speak to him again. baits Warrington, who keeps his ?rrper. At Singapore Elsa calls on her fair's fa-ir's old friend the American consul general. gen-eral. Mallow calls and relates the steam-r steam-r rossip about Elsa. Warrington also .V's una sends a cable to the Andes Construction Con-struction company, offering to restore the f. ;en money if they will lift the ban. Ea defends Warrington to the consul tir.eral, who Is dubloue. Elsa dines at consul general's and meets the old E-.slish colonel who cut her on the ship , He apologizes, talks with her about con- i rational society rules and tells her that Warrington's real name Is Paul Ellison. CHAPTER XV. A Bit of a Lark. Mallow gave CraUj cue of his favorite favor-ite cigars. Th gambler ttfTOed K over and Inspected tbe carnelkOa label, realizing that this iras expected of I him. Mallow smifced complacently. They might smoke 'as good s that at tie government bouse, but 'be rather ioubted it Trust a Britlstier'to'knerw i good, pipe-charge; but fcis selection of cigars was -seldom to "be depended open. "Don't see many of tbese1 out bere," was Craig's icarmmeDt, nd be 'Wicked iay thectgar In a vest pocket "They ootft me forty-thre cents piece, -rtTiriut duty." The TulgArian'B pleasure Ees not In tthe arfitta 'Itself to much es In the price paWfor It On the plantation Wallow -etn6ked Burma cheroots because he really 'preferred 'pre-ferred them. There, he -drank ' rye whisky, consorted wtih his rployees, lambled with them end -wasmfit-above cheating when he ifaad them ' drunk enough, iway fronc home, "however, he was th6 man of money; tkef bought Tintage whtes when he cotiid, wore ilka, jlagred the sovcrelgnBwhenever he thought -aomeone anight listen, bullied bul-lied the servants, all with the-cbildish belief that ifce was toHowinghe footsteps foot-steps of aristocracy, hoodwiaiiing no "i, not ewa his kiwi. 'T'm.-arth a quirter off million," be went on. 'Luck an4 plugging .(did it '.One of ttete fine ays I'm gelng to-call out nd take a whack at rthaf gay: Paris. There's the ip-lace to send yor pile. Ion can't gatjyour money's wortii.any Place else." Paris. Cray's thought flew back to 1 prosperotteays wbec he was, ply-loS ply-loS bts trade; .between Naw Yorkand Cherbourg, on Kte Atlantic llners,itbe wnual .fortnlg&t In Pas and ttbe swod??rix. He, i.d had hie diamonds, then, afcd his wajiet of yeUow-bachjo; .tod aa.he ad called lt,r vintage mes acj choice &avanas fc had beec genuite love of diiem. It ibis beart despiwrJ Mallpw. He kne bimsetf to be a , tague, , but Mallow , without 0rsy W0U4-J have.b?n a bo4C preda-"wy preda-"wy Jcoundel. Craig knew a&o that ie biuself wjlj at.Eoul ttoo cowaadly to be Pwre .thai! despicJ)ly bad. He sivlsd Mallcrw'Ki absolute fearlessness, 118 'raak brutality, ,bia strength on issipatjoiT had at yet left no fflark; mi MaiVew was 4sasily fott.y- "'nen JOu go ,tcParis, I'd Jike to g Wig." "Vou'v,e ,pyer Jet ia why (iy Bept biking cut beire' Ma,l,k sug-Jeatea. sug-Jeatea. t9 of my babits J keeping nay Bouth thut." Regarding your own Affairs, yes. E"t you're willing enoL'h to ,talfc ten It comes U) giving 'ay tb 3lter ouap." "Vou can play that hand as 11 as caa." Craig scowled toward" the JIHin room doors. "Ha! There they come," said Mal- w. as a group of men and women is-d is-d out into the cafe veranda. "By '""i she is a beauty, and no mistake. r'd will you look at our friend, the cc,jnel, toddling behind her?" " you could get a good look at her 'ase"" 8lle 8 an6ry' you'd change your Wallow sighed audibly. "Most worn-are worn-are tame, and that's why I've fought shy of the yoke. Vonder's the sort for me. The man who marries her will have his work cut out It'll take a year or two to find out who's boss; aud if she wins, lord help the man!" Craig eyed the group which was now seated. Two Chinamen were serving coffee aud cordials. Mallow was right; beautiful was the word. He poured out for himself a stiff peg and drank It with very little soda. "Haven't seen the crow anywhere, have you?" "No, nor want to. Leave him alone." "Afraid of him, eh?" "I'm truthful enough to Bay that I'm damned afraid of him. Don't mistake nie. I'd like to see him flat, beaten, down and out for good. I'd like to see him lose that windfall, every cent of It But I don't w ant to get in his way just now." "Rot! Don't you worry; no beachcomber beach-comber like that can stand up long In front of me. He threatened on board that he was going to collect that fifty pounds. He hasn't been very spry about 1t." 1 "I should like to tye with you when you meet" Mallow grinned. "Not above seeing a pal get walloped, eh? Well, you get a tingslde thjket. It'll be wortb it." "I dou't want to see you get licked," denied Craig irritably. "All I ask is that yoa shelve some of your cock-Bureness. cock-Bureness. I'm not so dead broke that I must -shallow all of it I've warned you tbat he is a strong man. He used to be one Of the best college athletes fn America." "College!" exploded Mallow. "What the devil does a college athlete know about a dock-fight?" "Ever see a game of football?" "No." "Well, take It from me that it's the roughest game going. It's a game where you put your' boot in a man's face when he's not looking. Mallow, they kill each other In that gam. And Ellison was -one of the best fifteen years ago. 'He used to wade through a ton of -solid, scrapping, plunging flesh. And' nine times out ot 'ten he used to set through. I want 'you to beat him np, and it's becacse I do that I'm warning you not to -nderesg-mate him. On shipboard he handled me as you would a bag of salt; damn him! He a surprise to me. He looks as if he 'had lived clean t here. There's tie booze sign hanging out on him, like tuere is on you ao4 e." "Booze. cever hurt me any." "You're galvanized iasifle," said Craig, staring again at EM 3a, He wished heiknew how to Inrrt ifcer, too. But be might as well throw stoaes at the stars. "How woUd you like to pat iae over on t&is chji Ellison ?" "to what way ?" Mallow smoked for a moroeat, then touched hls-i reast pocket significantly. "Mot for imine," returned 'Craig. ''Cants are- way long suit I m ico -sec-ond-eSory mac, not yet." TI fcnow. But supposing fvou.ould get It withoutitisk?" "In the first place, the bulk of ibis cash is tied up in letters of ere6it." 'Ah. you know that?" TWht good ould it do to pinch those? In Euncpe there would ibe some chance, butoot here where boats are two ceeks ap&rt. A cable to fxn-a-J goon woufd shut i-T. all drawing, irie ,1, could bare others anade out. In each i-tae mayihate a few hundreds." "All gamfclers are jore or less ycd-,tos7," ycd-,tos7," sneers! Mallow, "The streak la j-4 is pretty wide. J tell you, you ne4n't risk jour skin. 4re you game t gjit one ovr that wilt ost him a lot of,wwry and trouble?" "t Jong as I can stan .outside the ropes nd look un." "Ha yas a tn&jsand pounds In his belt, i No matter how I found out fHow'd yt;u like t& put your ihand on ,tt if yoct vere sure it would fcot burn yjr fingere?" "J'd like-.tc. all riglr.. But It's got to be -Mighty ccevtain. Aiwl the belt must be handed W e by sotieone else. I've half a wonder iS you're .not aiming to get rid of me," 'ith an 4vil glance at bis tempter. "If I wanted to gel rid of .you, this'd be tbe way," said MaJlow, owning and shutting hie oowerfui hands. "I'm just hungering for a bit of a lark. Come od A thousand pounds for tiking a little rickshaw ride. Brer hear of Wong's? Opium, pearls, oils and shark fins?" "No." "Not many do. I know 61ngapore like the lines on my hand3. Wong Is the shrewdest, most lawless Chinaman China-man this side of Canton and Macao. Pipes, pearls and shark fins. Big money. Wong's the man to go to. Want a schooner rigged out for Illicit shell hunting? Want a man shanghaied? shang-haied? Want him written down missing? miss-ing? Go to Wong." "See here, Mallow; I don't mind his being beaten up; but what you say doesn't sound good." "You fool, I don't want him out of the way. Why should I? But there's that thousand for you and worry for him. All aboard!" "You don't love Parrot & Co. any more than I do." "No. I'd sleep better o' nights if I knew he was broken for keeps. Too much red tape to put the United States after him, How'd you rig him?" "Karo and roulette. They never tumble. 1 didn't have anything against him until he ran into me at Rangoon. But he's stepped in too iwuy times since. Is this straight?" "About lifting his belt? Easy as falling off a log. Leave it to me. His room Is on the first gallery, facing southwest. You can chalk It up as revenge. re-venge. I'll take It on as a bit of good sport Wong will fix us out Now look alive. It's after nine, and I'd like a little fun first." The two left the cafe veranda and engaged a pair of rickshaws. As tbey jogged down tbe road, Warrington stepped out from behind the palms and moodily watched them until the night swallowed them up. He had not overheard their interesting conversation, conversa-tion, nor had he known they were about until they came down the steps together. He ached to follow them. He was In a fine mood for blows. That there were two of them did not trouble him. Of one thing he was assured: Somewhere In the dim past an ancestor ances-tor of his had died In a Berserk rage. He had been watching Elsa, It disturbed dis-turbed but did not mystify him to see her talking to the colonel. Table- chance had brought them together, and perhaps to a better understanding. understand-ing. Hoav pale she was! From time to time he caught the flash of her eyes as she turned to this or that guest Once she smiled, but the smile di-d not lighten up her face. He was very wretched and miserable. She had taken him at his word, and be should have been glad. He had seen her but once again on board, but she had looked away. It was best so. Yet it was as if fate had reached down Into bis heart and snapped tbe strings which made life tuneful. And tomorrow I What would tomorrow tomor-row bring? Would they refuse? Would they demand tbe full penalty T Eight thousand with Interest was a small sum to sadh a corporation. He had often wondered if tbey bad searched for him. Ten years, rn tbe midst of these cogitations he saw th-e group at tbe table rise and break up Elsa entered en-tered the hotel. Warrhtgton turned away and walked aimlessly toward town, fFor hours he wandered about seeing nothing, bearing nothing; and it was long ipast midnight when he sought his room, restless and weary but wide awake. He called for a stiff peg, drank it, and tumbled into bed. He was -whirled away into broken dreams. He was In the Andes, toiling with his -girders over unspeakable chasms. A shifting glance at tbe old billiard room in ;the club, the letter, and his subsequent wild night of intoxication, in-toxication, the one time In lals life when ohe had drunk hard and long. Back tto1 the Indian deserts and jungles. And be ' heard the shriek of parrots. The -shriek of parrots. H sat up. Even ita his -dream he reoognlzed that cry. sNight or day. Rajai always shrieked when -someone entered tbe room. Warrington ailently slid out of bed and dashed to the door which led to the gallery. A body thudded against ibis. He caught bold. Tbe body was nude to the waist and smelled .evilly ,of -sweat and fish oil. Something wbiplike atruck him across the face. It was a queue. W.arringjton struck out, but missed. Instantly a pair of powerful arms wound about him, .bearing and bending bend-ing bim backward. His right arm lay parallel .with the invader's chest He brought up tbe heel of his palm viciously against the Chinaman's chin. It was sufficient to break tbe hold. Then, followed a struggle that always remained nightmarish to Warrington. Hither and thither across the room, miraculously avoiding chairs, tables and bed, they surged. He heard a ring of steel upon the cement floor, and breathed easier to learn that the thief had dropped his knife. Warrington never thought to call out for help. The old fear of bringing people about him had become a habit. Once, In the whirl of things, his hand came into contact with a belt which hung about the other's middle. He cuiight at it and heaved. It broke, and the subsequent subse-quent tinkling over the floor advised him of the fact tbat it was his own gold. The broken belt, however, brought the fight to an ab.-upt end. The oily tody suddenly slipped away. Warrington beheld a shadow In the doorway; it loomed there u second against the skyline, and vanished. He ran to tbe gallery railing, but 'it was too dark- below to discern anything. He returned to bis room, breathing bard, the obnoxious odor of sweat and fish oil in bis nose. He turned on the Ughts aid without waiting to in vestigate, went into the snower room and stood under the tepid deluge. Even after a thorough rub-down the taint was In the air. The bird was muttering and turning somersaults. "Thanks, Rajah, old sport! He'd have got me but for you. Let's see the damage." He picked up the belt. The paper money was intact, and what gold had fallen he could easily find. He then took up his vest . . . and dropped it, stunned. The letter of credit for half his fortune was gone. He sank back upon the bed and stared miserably miser-ably at the fallen garment. Gone! Fifty thousand dollars. Someone who knew! Presently he stood up and tugged at his beard. After all, why should he worry? A cable to Rangoon would stop payments. A new letter could be issued. It would take time, but he had plenty of that. Idly he reached for the broken cigar that lay at the foot of the bed. He would have tossed It aside as one of his own had not the carnellan band attracted his attention. He hadn't smoked that quality of tobacco in years. He turned it oveiand over, and It grew more and more familiar. Mallow's! CHAPTER XVI. ? Who Is Paul Ellison? For some time Warrington sat upon the edge of the bed and studied the cigar, balanced it upon his palm, as if striving to weigh accurately Mallow's part In a scrimmage like this. The copra grower assuredly would be the last man to give a cigar to a Chinaman. China-man. Mallow, rich, was Mallow disposed dis-posed of, at least logically; unless Indeed In-deed it was a bit of anticipatory reprisal. re-prisal. That might possibly be. A drunken Mallow was capable of much, for all that his knowledge of letters of credit might necessarily be primitive. Yet Mallow was no fool. He would scarcely take such a risk for so unstable un-stable and chancely a thing as revenge of this order. Craig? He hadn't the courage. Strong and muscular as be was, he was the average type of gambler, courageous only when armed with a pack of cards, sitting opposite a fool and bis money. But Craig and Mallow together. ... He slipped off the label. It was worth preserving. preserv-ing. With an unpleasant laugh he began to get into his clothes. Why not? The more he thought of it, the more he was positive that the two had been behind be-hind this assault The belt would have meant a good deal to Craig. There were a thousand Chinese in Singapore who would cut a man's throat for a Straits dollar. Either Mallow Mal-low or Craig had seen him counting the money on shipboard. He looked at bis watch; quarter after two. If they were not in their rooms he would have good grounds for his suspicions. He stole along the gallery gal-lery and down the stairs to the office, just in time to see the two enter, much the worse for drink. Mallow was boisterous, and Craig was sullen. The former began to argue with the night manager, who politely shook his head. Mallow grew Insistent but the night manager refused to break the rules of the hotel. Warrington inferred that Mallow was demanding liquor, and his inference was correct. He moved a little closer, still hidden behind the potted palms. "All right," cried Mallow. "We'll go back to town for it." "I've had enough," declared Craig sullenly. "Let's cut out booze and play 1 ; . I v. AH . " "Fine!" Mallow slapped his thigh as he laughed. "Nice bird I'd be for you to pluck. Think of something else. The billiard hall Is open." Craig shook his head. When Mallow was argumentative It was no time to play billiards. "Bah!" snarled Mallow. "Since you won't drink like a man nor play bit Hards, I'm for bed. And just as the fun was beginning!" Craig nudged him warningly. Mallow Mal-low stalked away, and Craig, realizing that the night was done, followed. Warrington had seen and heard enough. He was tolerably sure. It might have been out of pure deviltry, so far as Mallow was concerned; but Craig bad joined in hope of definite profits. A fine pair of rogues! (TO BE CONTINUED.) |