Show it 7 19 S E RIAL L L STORY pool of flaime 4 A ti LOUN JOSEPH VANCE 9 0 by 1101 we b by louis josefk vaa s SYNOPSIS the story open opens at monte monts carlo with no ternie ter nie a military free not at loaning on the balcony lie ile tees a amoe oe rind of a gambler in hie file beautiful dutiful girl irl who antem the elevator and passes from eight sight at the ing table notice notices two men china him on ono to the lion dertle alynn n white while hie his companion is I 1 viscount Vie count D trelles x du lial ellit the viscount vie count telle tolls him m the krench wrench government hae has directed bir to ORo OHo urko urke an a man who would a ecret secret mission at ats apart cent ORo urko who had agreed to un fent the mission and a mysterious attar the viscount vie count ar arrived riven ven hands a it sealed package to ts who in not to open it until on the ocean A pair of dainty slippers are seen protruding from under a doorway curtain the Trish irishman nian ands the owner of th the e mysterious feet to b hin wife wits Den dentric trix from whom he lie had run away a year previous loue they are and opening the letter lotter he finds that n rangoon law lav firm offer offers him pound ands for a jewel known as the me pool 4 r I antim and left eft to him by a dy tax friend hut but now in keehln v of one named ambret Ch in algeria Ollo urke horstm the nobleman noblemen in a duel durl the wife wite bide bids farewell fr ewAll and he lie promises to oon soon return with the he lle dl ill in colors both glynn and the v vir count on board the alile As he lie finds Cli anbro I 1 4 there in 1 an attack by bandits ami and hie his friend end diee dies tellina tellina 0 rourke that he ilaa ha left ft the pool of clarno with the tho governor general who at eight sight of a signet aven the colonel colonal will over the tilt lewel arriving vinc at algeria Alf feria the irishman lehman Ir L i nd s the governor Ko vernor ge erral eral away ue des trebe ebes maken a mysterious appointment and tells that he is kiris pained Posse solon 1 of tho the jewel by ste alink it CHAPTER XI continued and yo ye have to propose plan attar your own oun heart I 1 do jour your cOti raKO the credit to believe it monsieur with another man whom I 1 hail studied 1031 1 exhaustively I 1 hould should propose a combi combination nallon of forces forcer a division of profits ORo urLe made an impatient gesture nut but with you colonel no I 1 esteem your address and determination too highly and pardon roo me if it I 1 speak plainly I 1 despise and hate you too tit utterly terly to become willingly your partner go on I 1 begin to like yo ye better ye grow gron interesting does not interest me the situation then Is sImplI Od Es en menti ally it involves two to propositions first we ne cannot combine second divided we nth boh fall while both of us live mon colonel the pool of flame will ner ne 1 r earn its value tie takes exception to that let lot me once get me hands on the atone stone monsieur and anti ill bick me self a icom tes and ahlo I 1 live lle the frenchman stat ed unruffled oti will ill not touch the pool of flame while you lle I 1 cannot dispose of it to the best of advantage it would seem that one or tho other of us roust must dio die 1 I am armed remarked lowly if it ye mean ce ee brought me here bere to murdo me monsieur speaks pardon crudely I 1 asked you you camo came of your own will to fight for tho pool of flame Olto urke started a glint of understanding danced in his eager eyes 1 I eee see you catch my meaning what I 1 have to propose Is 1 this you will inake pen and paper and write the name of the person who offers the re wo with his address you will t enclose in an envelope seal and place i in your pocket the rhe pool of flame Is you see I 1 trust you la is here iq s got upon his feet with an exclamation the was as playing i a bold hand band before the irishman had t I 1 grasped his intention he bad thrown n upon the table a ruby as large or cargor than an egg an exquisite jewel superbly euper bly cut and polished pull shed fascinated cina tina ted ORo urko remembered himself and sat down you soe see the cold inh cleive tones cut the silence slowly he extended a hand and took up the great ruby replacing it in his pocket there la Is be he said evenly a cevelo level stretch of grass beyond the veranda the night I 1 admit Is dark but tho the fight from these long windows should 10 be sufficient for ue us if it you slay me take the ruby and go in peace this not of with a contemptuous glance at the unconscious honorable will nevor r hinder 3 ou if you die I 1 take the i sou ot from your pocket the issue Is in air will you fight irishman ee bet crashed upon the table AI As bo be roee rose tight fight he cri cried ed faith I 1 did not think 0 a had thin this in yo Pl atole atols shall it be thank you said the vi comte with ft a courtly bow but I 1 am an indifferent shot had you chosen rapiers at monto carlo one of ua tas would never have havo left tho held field alive iio ila went to a eldo side table returning with a sheet of paper an envelope pen von and ink and when OHo urke had lipped slipped the paper into hia his pocket he saw the vic viconte onite waiting for him by one of tho the window windows two naked ra piers alendor slender cl gleaming and long beneath ilia his arm an the irishman lehman Ir car canio jj up nith a bow the irre frenchman richman presented 6 the hilts of both weapon weapons for his chalce together and in silence they lett left tho the dining room strode tho the veranda and down a abort step to the lawn the viconte stood aside quick ly bringing br hid him feet together and sa inting in the full glare of light whipped hilt to chin with consummate grace his heart singing work cuch such ai an thia this he loved the night wae was pitchy black ibe the windows barred it with radiance in the dark spaces between a roan man might cally easily blunder and run upon hie death somewhere in the shadowy shrub bory bery a night bird was singing as though its heart would break there waa was a it sweet smell la in the air ilia ills blade touched the with a shivering crash musical as glass CHAPTER XII parly farly in the dull hot dawn a clatter of winches and a bustle of shadowy figures on the deck of a small trad ing vessel which had spent the night between the molea motes of the harbor of algiers announced that the anchor was b being 0 aln g weighed while this was aas taking place a small harbor boat manned by two native watermen and carrying a single pas put out from tb the steamship quay the oarsmen rowing roving with a will that hinted at a premium having been placed upon their speed the coaster was barely under way ay moving slowly in tho water when the boat ran alongside a I 1 on galde A line was thrown from the ship and caught by ono one of the wa watermen termen the boat hauled close 1 in and its passenger taken on deck an hour later a pipe between hia his teeth stood by the helms man staring back over tho the heaving expanse swiftly widening that lay between the coaster and the algerian littoral the world norla behind was gray and wan van bat the skies ahead were golden A fair omen breathed the adventurer hopefully the bul of the great ruby in his pocket brought hia his thought back in 86 wibb s swing ing to the girl vi who ho would be waiting for him at rangoon faith and I 1 must bo be getting below and mailing a dab at writing a letter to her that was nothing he ile nodded with meaning towards the bold profile of algiers an til ill wind it was that blew blow colonel into athene athens Z jt it hit has blown elf out and been farb otten thie this many a day bel bul but dat once it whisked him thither immediately it subsided and stubbornly it refused to lift again and watt him forth upon hie ble wanderings in th thi 1 to bo be a matter watter ot at churro of or time came griedus ous conc concern ern to the irishman to aa saying ying all of which bich Is he of that the dropp dropping ing breeze finance finances died altogether arrival in the cap capital ital of a greece r ce ho ile disembarked from a coasting steamer la in the harbor of too the perseus engum or so an borod bared with a hundred trance francs and a invincibly invincible optimism a trunk bis hill kit box and a kings rani lom on of birson in the abapo of the pool to bo be flame which inter was wa hardly th thereafter ere asset esteemed estep med a negotiable while followed daye days of inaction hie his hopel hopes diminished had e lapsed nearly two months since ho he bad had prom bied two people himself and one more dear to him to bo be in rangoon in ninety day days in little more than a month hed shed be waiting tor for him there and where would be he be still was he far by many a long and weary mile from the first gateway to the eat t suez and still he lucked lacked many an aloof and distant dollar the funda to finance him thither if only he could contrive to get got to alexandria I 1 danny wa wits there danny he of the red red bead and the ready flats fiats danny who held the ne as only second to the pope in dignity and importance who had been O rourkey oe valet in a IL happier time and of lute itte in hie his humbler way an adventurer like hie his master lie was there in alexandria half partner in a tobacco importing house by virtue of money borrowed from OTIo Olto urke long since at a time when money was to be bad had of the man for the asking and danny would help you must see revolving in his mind this unhappy predicament of his on the last of the many afternoons after noone that ho he spent in greece draw down the corners of hie his wide ulde mobile mouth stir up the devils in his eyes until 11 they dicker flicker and hash flash their resentment place a pucker between the brows broas of hie his habitually serene and forehead and there you have him who mho sat beside the little table in the purple of the Zap clon with a head bead bared to the cool of the evening breeze alternately puffing at a it mediocre cigar and sipping black coffee from the demi deml tasee tasse at his elbow r whipped hilt to chin with consummate grace now just as the eun sun was N as sinking bo be hind the mountains and Hy IlY mettus was clothing its long slopes in vague iolet lolet light of mystery and enchantment for this view alone took himself to the Zap dally daily the irishman 8 somber meditations were ere interrupted phew phe attern Ot tern the seven brass inges of ell remarked a cheerful voice not two to feet from his ear turned with ith an imperceptible cep tible start he was net easily startled true for ye bo be I taking stock of him who gitil bis his er wise remark for an introduction calmly possessed himself of the vacant chair at the other side elde of the table tabi a and grinned a rubicund grin across it he showed himself a man mail in stature no whit inferior interior to the irishman to height and as an perhaps he ho waa was a atone stone the heavier of the two he lie lacked ct otherwise berwise alert habit babit wils of a IL slower more stolid and beefy beety build bui ald the yes eyes that met mgt ogro ur ke a were gray and bright and hard and set in III IL countenance blant ini ins reda rod color partly natural and jud partly the result 0 of hie his stroll through athens heated streets etre ete ilia ills dress wits rough and there waa was this and that about atin to tell toll 0 rourke more plainly than words that hie his profession was something nautical na he was most probably a cap tain fronca a certain rj air r 0 1 doberin termination jua and command that lurked beneath hia froe and easy mannor manner therefore Ther cheref eforo ore having summed tho the stranger ap up in a glance and whon did a get in captain inq aired Ollo urke the man jumped with surprise and shot a frightened frighten edat ailt least a 06 questioning glance at then le clug that be he wae was striling irl ling in a friend ly fashion calmed and continued to cool his face and heat beat hid his blood by fanning himself vigorously with a straw hat ow tho the doice do you know im a captain be he demanded with a slight lightly aggrieved manner it take a man an hour to guess that captain any more than it would to pick ye out for an eng liebman man the captain stared gray eyes widening an perhaps tell me my nyme yme r next he suggested lug rather truculently dewie a bit tie no clairvoyant I 1 am laughed OHo urke out 13 u t I 1 can tell ye yo me own tie ORo urko and delighted I 1 nm AM to meet a white man li in this heathen country sir your band hand I 1 he ile put his own across the table and gripped the captains heartily mines minos olo ole the latter informed him olo queried ole what not ole nothing bald baid the captain with ith some pardonable asperity 1 I by ole I 1 syd ole of course assented gravely im stupid captain hole and a bit deaf in me off ear this however was a polite polito lie that it agreed the mol ned fled man its ole plyn wliam ole master of the pelican just in from malta II alta A light of interest kindled in ee eyes he avle ad the man with ith more respect aa as due to one who might prove useful and bound t be he insinuated craftily alexandria I 1 just dropped in for a dy or two to alck 1 up a bit of cargo from a chap down at piraeus its dei allsot and I 1 thought as ow id tyke a run up and rind see the city abing a bit of time free surely sighed a faraway look ook in his Is eyes for A alexandria x eh faith id like to be a sailing ilia with ye again the captain eed askance wot for he demanded directly the pelicans a slow old tramp you can pick up a swifter pas sage on art arf a dozen boats a day that knows that sure 0 assented the irishman but a trifling difficulty about ready money that detains me he be pursued boldly ith a confidential jerk of his head bead theres a bit of stuff no matter w N ha hal that I 1 dont want to pass the custom custom house at ale alexandria X im not saying a word captain but it if I 1 could smuggle I 1 it into egypt the profit would be great enough to pay me passage money a dozen times over im saying this to ye in strict confidence for being an englishman ye wont let lot on never fear hole asserted stoutly er I 1 dont mind telling you mr I 1 sometimes do a little in that line myself being a casual tramp and sometimes lyd by for weeks at a stretch for want of at consignment not another word captain I 1 understand der stand perfectly will ye be having a bit of a drink now captain hole would it wont urt to talk this OA oi er he remarked perhaps we maht myke some isome sort of a dicker faith Us agreeable laughed the irishman lightly and when at midnight that he parted from a moist and sentimental sal sailorman sailor man whose capacity for liquor even including the able native ret and ma hn had proved enormous the arrangement had been arrived at signed s espied plad and delivered by a clasping of hands and it wa wai was the happy man 1 danny he be giving me the welcome elcome he assured himself sitting on vie edge of hie hn bed and staring thoughtfully into the dishevelled dishevel led depths of the battered steel kit box that housed everything he owned in the world for he wha packing to join the pelican at noon 1 I hope to alven he has five pounds announced later frowning froning dubiously five pounds baPpe happened ried to be the um sum he had agreed to pay captain hole tor for the accommodation it being further conditioned that the latter was to accompany the adventurer ashore at alexandria ar 8 not dot part from him till the money waa was forthcoming something which irked the irishman ans soul why could ho he not take me word tor for it ur he demanded at 0 midnight darkness dar kneis tempered by feeble but f faith a I 1 th I 1 forget forge t what im dealing with I 1 am to flod dud danny w lie ile arose and resumed his hi pj blowing nn an inaudible little air sir tbt 1441 his puckered rod lips if I 1 dont by the 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