| Show U L 7 M gnp I 1 fotr 4 VY aw e if and yet this moment he asked a hundred for it george percival SYNOPSIS val algernon jonee jones vice president ot of the metropolitan oriental rug company of new york thirsting for ro mance Is in cairo on a business trip horace azine arrive arrives at the hotel in cairo with a carefully guarded bundle dyanne sells jones the famous holy thi ordes rug which he admits having stolen from a pasha at bagdad CHAPTER IV continued Som elight steps a rustle and be he wheeled in time to r see ee a woman open a door stand tora fora minute in the full light and disappear it BBS mas she george G eorge opened the door of his own room threw the rug inside and tiptoed along the corridor stopping for the briefest time to ascertain the number of that room he lie felt eastly more guilty in performing this harm less act than in smothering his men tor A there was no one in the head par a bureau thus unobserved and un embarrassed he was tree free to inspect the guest list fortune Ched soye he had never seen a name quite like that its quaintness did not suggest to him as it had done to bryanne the pas toral the bucolic rather it remind ed him of the old french courts of rapiers and buckles of powdered wigs and furbelows masks astrologers love intrigues of all those colorful mutable scenes so charmingly of described by the genial narrator of the exploits Oe of dartagnan and abruptly out of 0 this age of lebrun mollere reached an ice cold band hand it that elderly codger wasn gasn t her father mho was he and what 9 the major for george had looked 4 him up also was as in excellent trim for his age something of a military dandy besides but as the husband of so young and exquisite a crea creature out upon the thought he ile might be her guardian or at most her uncle but never her husband yet 0 poisonous doubt at the table she had ignored the major both his jests and his at tensions tent ions he ile had seen many wives joyfully from a safe distance act toward their husbands in this fashion ob oh rot if his name was callahan and hers Ched soye they hey could not possibly be tied in any legal bonds he dismissed the ice cold hand and turned again to the comforting warmth of his ardor he had never spoken to young worn wom en without presentation and on these rare occasions he had broached the weather suggested the possibilities of the weather and concluded with an apostrophe on the weather at large it was usually a valedictory for he was always positive that he had acted like a fool and was afraid to speak to the girl again never it tailed failed ten minutes after the girl was out of sight the brightest and cleverest things crowd ed upon bis his tongue to be but wasted on the desm desert t air he was hot not barly afraid of women older than himself morl more a the pity and yet had he been as say toward them as toward the girls there would have been no etolen stolen Yh lordes no sad eyed maiden no such thing as the united romance and adventure company ltd and he 4 would have stepped the even tenor of his way unknown of grand passions swift adventure rite rife george was determined to meet for tune Ched soye and this determination the first of its kind to take definite form in his mind gave him a novel sensation he would find some way and he N owed lowed to best beat hia his old enemy diffidence it it was the last fight he ever put up he ile would maneuver to get in the way of the major he never found much trouble in talking to men once he lie exchanged a word or two with the uncle or guardian he would make it a point to renew the acquaint ance when he saw the two together it appeared to him as a bright idea and he was rather proud of it even now he was conscious of clenching his teeth strongly it a an old saying that he goes farthest who shuts his teeth longest he was going to test the precept by immediate practice he ile had stood before the list fully three minutes now he turned about face a singular elation tingling his blood once he set his mind upon a thing he went forward he had lost many pleasurable things in life because be he had doubted and faltered not because he had reached out to ward them and had then drawn back he ile was going to meet fortune ched soye when or how were but details and as he discovered the major him self idling before the booth of the east indian merchant he saw in fancy the portcullis rise and the drawbridge fall to the castle of enchantment he lie strolled over oner leisurely and pretended to be interested in the case containing mediocre jewels this is a genuine em brol dery 7 the major Maj ormas was inquiring oh yes sir how old the merchant picked up the tag and squinted at it it Is between two and three hundred years old sir to george georges s opinion the gods them selves could not have arranged a more propitious moment you ve made a mistake he inter posed quietly that is but the stitch is purely modern the dark eyes of the indian flashed the gentleman Is an authority sar caustically castl casti cally upon that style of embroidery ab sol george smiled and then without more ado he went on to ex plain the difference between the an tique and the modern tou you have one good piece of old but it fan t rare twenty pounds would be a good price tor for it the major laughed heartily and just this moment he asked a hundred toi fol it I 1 im in not much of a hand in 1 judging these things I 1 admire them but have no intimate knowledge re garding their worth nothing tonight he added to the bitter eyed merchant the oriental Is like the amateur fish erman truth Is not in him you seem to be a keen judge as they moved away from the booth I 1 suppose it a because I 1 in inor binately dina tely f and of the things I 1 ve really a good collection of em broide ries at home in new york you live in new york with mild interest the major sat down and graciously motioned tor for george to do the same I 1 used to live there awen ty odd year years ago but european travel spoils america the rush there the Q 0 ROLD ac G bior pf AND 5 cho MAN ON 07 THE BOX ar COP IGHT IT 1911 by y I ERRILL COMPANY hurry the clamor over here they dine dinc there they eat there a as much difference between those two perform ances as there Is between the mikado end and Flo florodora rodom from portland in maine to portland in oregon the same dress same shop same ungodly high buildings here it is different at the end of every hundred miles george agreed conditionally the major very original in his views lie ile would have shed bis his last drop of blood for his native land but he was honest in acknowledging her f faults suits conversation idled in various chan nels and ana finally became anchored at jewels here the major was at home and slid he loved emeralds above all oth er stones he proved to be an edgag ing old fellow had circled the globe three or four times and had had an adventure or two worth recounting and when he incidentally mentioned his niece george wanted to shake bis his hand would mr jones join him with a peg to sleep ona on mr jones certainly would and after a mutual health george diplomatically excused himself retired buoyant abild and happy how sim pie the affair had been A fellow could do anything if only be he set his mind to it tomorrow he would meet fortune Ched soye and may beelzebub de shrive him if he could not manage to control his recalcitrant tongue As he passed out of sight major callahan smiled it was that old ta fa millar smile which charged with gen tie tle mockery we send after departing fools it was plain that he needed another peg to keep company with the first for be he rose and gracefully wend ed his way down stairs to the bar two men were vere already leaning against the friendly inviting mahogany there was a magnum of champagne stand ing between their glasses the major ordered a temperate whisky and soda drank it frowned at the magnum paid the reckoning and went back up stairs again dont remember old friends eh eha said the shorter of the two men caressing his incarnadined proboscis A smile wouldn t have hurt him any do you think shut up admonished bryanne you know the orders no recognition on the public floors why I 1 meant no harm the other protested he took a swallow of wine but dash it I 1 here I 1 am more moren ai tour four thousand miles from old broadway and still walking blind when Is the show to start 9 not so loud old boy you ve got to have patience you ve had some good pickings for the past three months in the smoke rooms that ought to soothe you t here I 1 come from new york three months ago with a wad of money for you and a great game in sight it takes a week to find you and when I 1 do well you know no sooner are you awake than off you go to bagdad on the wildest goose chase a man ever heard of and that leaves me with nothing to do and nobody to talk to I 1 could have cried yesterday when I 1 got your letter saying you of d be in today well I 1 got it the yes it was wild but after what id I 1 d been through I 1 needed something wild to steady my nerves some big danger where I 1 id d simply have to get together and ou got it ita there was frank wonder and admiration in the pursy gentleman a eyes all alone and you got it if honest honest they nearly had my hide though where Is it 7 sold whoa percival horace you re a wonder if there ever ener was as one sold it to percival you beat that in a thousand years you re a great man praise from sir hubert chos who a hea he an authority on several matters how much did he give you for it tut tut it was all my own little jaunt wallace I 1 should hate to lie to you about it what about the stake I 1 gave you youa 9 bryanne made a sign of dealing cards threw it away on a lot of dubs after all I 1 ve taught you cards aren t my forte there a a yellow streak in your hide somewhere horace there Is but it Is the tiger s stripe my friend what I 1 did with my money la Is my own business will N ill she allow tor for that would it matter one way or the other no I 1 don t suppose it would some times I 1 think you re w ith us as a huge joke you dont don t take the game seri serf ous enough wallace emptied hia his glass and tipped the bottle carefully you re out of your class somehow so yes you have always struck me as a man who was bunting hunting trouble for one end and that bryanne seemed inter ested wallace drew his finger across his throat bryanne looked him squarely in the eye and nodded affirmatively I 1 don dont t understand at all lou ou never will wallace old chap I 1 am the prodigal son whose brother ate the tatted fatted calf before I 1 returned home I 1 had a letter today she will be here tomorrow sometime you may have to go to port said tt if my plan doesn doean t mature the ludwig yes say what a frau she would have made the right man bryanne did not answer but glow ered at his glass the united romance and adaven ture company wallace twirled his glass if you re a wonder she a s a marvel A napoleon in petticoats it does make a fellow grin when you look it all over but this Is going to be her austerlitz or her mr waterloo and you really got the rug and on top of that you have sold it to george P A jones here heres s many happy returns ironically they finished the bottle without further talk there was no convivial ity here both were fond of good wine but the more they drank the tighter grew their lips men alen who have been in the habit of guarding dangerous secrets become taciturn in their cups from time to time flittingly there appeared against one of the windows just above the half curtain a lean dark face which in profile resembled the kite the hooked beak the watch ful preyful eyes there were two hungers written upon that arab face food and revenge allah Is good he murmured he ile had but one eye in use the oth er was bandaged in fact the face ex habited general indications of rough warfare the skin broken on the bridge of at the nose a freshly healed cut un der the seeing eye a long strip of plaster extending from the ear to the mouth there was nothing of the beg gar in his mien his ills lean throat was erect his chin protrusive the set of his shoulders proud and defiant aroll bartly the few lingering guides would rudely have told him to be off about his business but they were ere familiar with all turbans and in the peculiar twist of this one soiled and ragged though it was they recognized some prince from the eastern deserts pres antly he strode away but with a stiff ness which they knew came from long journeys upon racing camels george dreamed that night of magic carpets of sad eyed maidens of fierce bedouins of battles in the desert of 0 genii swelling terrifically out of squat bottles and once he rose and turned on the lights to assure himself that the old Yh lordes was not a part of these vivid dreams he was up shortly after dawn in white riding togs tor for a final canter to mena house and return in two days more he would be leaving egypt be hind father glad in one sense rath er sorry in another where to put the rug was a problem he ile might carry it in his steamer roll it would be handler handier there than in the bottom of his trunk stored away in the shap a hold besides his experience bad had taught him that steamer rolls were only indifferently inspected you will observe that the luster of his high ideals was already dimming he ile rea that inasmuch as he was bound to smuggle and lie it might be well mell to plan something artistically he wished now that he was going to spend christ mas in cairo but it was too late to change his booking without serious loss of time and money he ile had a light breakfast on the veranda of the mena house climbed up to the desert bantered the donkey boys amused himself by watching the descent of some german tourists who had climbed the big pyramid before dawn to witness the sun run rise and threw pennies to the horde of blind beggars who instantly swarmed about him and demanded in the name of al lah a competence for the rest of their days he finally escaped them by footing it down the incline to the ho tel gardens where hia his horse stood waiting it N was as long after nine when he apol slid from the saddle at ai the side entrance of the semiramis he was on his way to the he bureau for his key when an exquisitely gloved hand lightly touched his arm don dont t you remember me mr air jones eald said a voice of vocal honey george did in his confusion he dropped his pith helmet and in stoop ing to pick it up bumped into the por par ter who had rushed to his aid remember her would he ever forget her he ile never thought of her with out dubbing himself an outrageous aei as he ile straightened his cheeks afire u t J ab U A this Is the gentleman I 1 ve often told you about blushing was another of those ancon troll able ot of his it was r really eally she come out ot of a past he had hoped to be eternally in the droll the witty woman to whom in one mad moment ot of liberality and Gala Galahad hadison ism he bad had loaned without se carity one hundred and fifty pounds at the roulette tables in monte carlo she for whom he had always blushed when he recalled how easily she had mulcted him and here she was serene lovely as ever unchanged my dear said the stranger greorge Cr eorge couldn coulden t recall by what name he had known her my dear to fortune Ched soye who stood a little behind her this Is the gentleman ive I 1 ve often told you about you were at school at the time I 1 borrowed a hundred and fifty pounds of him at monte carlo and what do you think when I 1 went to pay him bach back the next day he was gone without leaving the slightest clue to his whereabouts isn t that droll and to think that I 1 should meet him here herel that her name had slipped his memory if indeed he had ever known it was true but one thing lingered incandescently in bis his mind and that mas ft as he had written her following minutely her own specific directions and inclosing his banker bankers |
