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Show I The Pool of Flame B LOUIS JOSEPH VANCE II DlBstrallMa fcr EIlswsrlB Ymbi K Conrlht 1809. brLoul JoMtJj V H CHAPTER XV. H Tie 'Opened his eyes ngaln, nlono ot M tho cool, damp, earthen floor, hut ns H surcd that tho (emlnlno clement In hli H ndventure .had boon no hallucination H after all; Tor he could see the glr' H standing a little to ono side and look IH Ing down upon him, her face so deer H In Bhadow that ho could gather noth" H lng from Its expression, whether It B were of dlsplcasuro or of perploilty. H From this and that, however, ho de- H duced that she, discovering herself H ta-vlshlng -endearments on the wrong B man, wns not utterly delighted with Bfl the situation. The 'Circumstances tak- BS en Into consideration, such a state ot HK mind he 'thought -not unreasonable; B And being 'now to some extent recov- H -ered, he saw nonprofit in making her H suffer mare. So with a show of H falntness not wholly assumed, he H rolled his head to one side, opening jB vide his eyes and looked the woman B In the face, '.Inquiring with his faint, B thin brogue: "Vhat's this, now, me -deaf?" H The .girl's tf ace darkened. She shook H herJiead .Impatiently. "I have no Ens- H Jlsh;"jfh told Ihiraiin excellent French. H ''Who are .you? Why do you come Hj lere? Tou .are not Danny!" j "OhoT" 'Commented tO'Rourke know- H ingly, "and (that's Uhe .explanation, is H Jt?" He sat up, -embracing his knees H and drawing a rueful face. "Faith, me H 'dear," 'be admitted, 'II .concede ye the H best 'of -the .argument, tthus far. I am Hj not Danny 'ttsitrue.as Qospel." H She frowned. "Then what are you doing here, monsieur? How did, you Jearn 'Who .toldyou the signal?" 'Talth, from mo less a person than H Danny "Mahone 'himself. He showed me 'the -way and 'bade 'mo knock but H silver a word said ihe .of yourself, me -dear." H "Monsieur does -not recall that I ad- mltted him?" she persisted, but with -a lightening face, "nor :anythlng that H happened thereafter?" B "Not the least -In 'the world. What jff .did happen, now?" Hut she flanked that embarrassing Y'J question adroitly, evidently much reft re-ft -' llevcd by O'Rourke's reassurance. Which was Just what he wished her frame of mind to be. "Nothing that matters," -sTie -replied, -continuing to employ tho French tongue, and that very prettily, with a fetching littlo ac-r cent. "I think you fainted. Then but you know my Danny?" "Your .Danny!" said 'O'Rourke, his mood quizzical. "None better, me dear. I've known lilm since ihe was so high, or thereabouts."' And ho held a palm some six Inches .or so above tho floor. "And he ho brought you horc?" "Who olso? How else would I bo knowing the signal? Yo see, there was a bit of a shindig down tho street nud me In tho middle thereof and getting' all the worst .of It ilf ye must know when along aomes Danny and lends me a hand and whips me off hero and Bays holl bo back in a moment. He'll tell ye the details himself; but I" he eyed her quizzically "would now ask ye to overlook tho unceremonious manner of mo outran co nnd a certain lack of dignity an to me attire, which I beg ye to believe is not mo ordinary evening dress, and nnd faith 1 mo throat Is baked entirely, if me clothes aro not May I ask for a drink at mademoiselle's fair hands?" He was on his feet now and en-Joying en-Joying tho situation hugely. "And 'tis the Irish eye for beauty Danny has!" he told himself. "I commend hU taHte, the roguo!" For tho girl was exceedingly fair to see-; slender and straight and girlish and sweet; a Greek, If he were to Judge ot her features and her dress, and in that odd light, with perturbation perturba-tion In her pose, a smile half-perplexed trembling on her lips (because of O'Rourko'a conceit) and the shadow of anxiety clouding her eyes, she made a charming picture Indeed. Sho was quick to grant hU request. "Danny will explain." she agreed with (Conviction. "This way, then, If you please, monsieur, and" as they passed through a low doorway "If you will havo the patience to wait here, I will fetch wine." She smiled encbantlngly, dropped 2 him a bewitching little courtesy with L a deference evoked, no doubt, by the VV man's subtle yet ineradicable air ot lfj) distinction, and left him wholly capU- tf- rated. "Bless her heart and pretty V face!" he murmured, eyeing her re- treating figure "'Tin Danny who's m tho lucky dog ... not that he's j not deserving. . , ." Q He reviewed his refugo summarily, H dlieorerlng that ho stood in ono cor- ner of a email courtyard, tho center ot a hollow cube of masonry; a dwell-H dwell-H ing of two stories, rouud whoso upper H floor ran an Inner gallery to which atepa led up from the court and from H which access was to bo had to the ltv O ing rooms all dark und silent HI In the center of the courtyard a H little fountalu tlnkld, a tiny Jet ot j Stater rtjlngjiom. aintxenlraL upright HUmmmw of stono tdBprny th"o black, Btaf-smlt-ten pool beneath. Thero was a littlo . plot of grass, likewise, with flowers generous of their cordial perfume. The girl came silently out from tho shadows beneath tho gallery, bringing him a cup and a Jar of earthenware brimming with wine. Ho nccepted the servlco with a bow. "Mademoiselle is as kind aB she Is beautiful!" Bald he, and with the appreciation ap-preciation ot n connoisseur first watched her blush, then drained the Jug to Its last drop and felt tho grateful grate-ful fluid grapple with his fatigue, temper tem-per it. nnd send new strength leaping through his velnB. "And as good, I'm suro, aB sho Is kind," he added; and "Ah!" ho sighed, resuming his scat but rising again, and quickly, as n second summons clanged upon tho Iron door nnd sent the girl flying towards to-wards the rear ot tho house. "That will bo Danny now," O'Rourke opined as sho swept past him. Sho murmured n response- ho did not clearly catch. "What's that?" he called nftcr her. "Or, possibly," sho ropeated, pausing at tho entrance to tho rear chamber, "It may bo Monsieur, tho Captain Hole!" "Tho dlvvlc!" cried O'Rourke, nnd was on his feet In a twinkling, casting cast-ing about him for a weapon. "That can't be " Nothing offered Itself suitable either for offense or defense, save and except the Jug he had been drinking from, and the Irishman wns weighing this thoughtfully with a definite Intention of hurling It at Captain Hole's head, If indoed he had heard aright, when the entrance of qulto another person relieved his mind, however temporarily. tempo-rarily. , It. was Danny, plainly enough; Danny, Dan-ny, tho same .as ot old, with his halt-, sheepish, 'half-Impudent grin and his shock of flaming' hair, his upper lip that was long even for an Irish boy's, his roving and twinkling blue eyes, his tlp-tlltcd nose, his short, sturdy physique. "Faith," said O'Rourke, "the gods are not so unkind after all! 'Tls as welcome as the shadow of a great rock In a weary land, the sight of ye, Danny!" And "Danny!" he observed with some severity, "I'll ask ye to explain ex-plain what the dlvvle at all yu're doing do-ing here." Danny's assurance deserted him on the Instant. Ho had done his formor master a signal service that night, but in his estimation nothing more than was due tho O'Rourke. Whatever he felt, he looked to perfection a boy caught at mischief hanging his bead and eyeing O'Rourke under his brows, shamefaced and 111 at ease. "Aw!" he deprecated, "sure, now, yer honor, now " "Danny," demanded O'Rourke sternly, stern-ly, "does Miss Cleopatra here understand under-stand EnKliBh?" "Dlvvle a word!""tho ex-valet protested pro-tested earnestly. "Ileyond Greek and French and Arabic, sure, she's Ignorant Ignor-ant as Paddy's pig!" So much was plainly evident from tho girl's manner and expression of puzzlement. Reassured, O'Rourke proceeded: pro-ceeded: "'Tls good hearing. Faith, if she understood tho King's English, 'tis mo hair sho would be tearing out by tho roots In ono minute. Danny, I gnthcr that tho lady Is bo way of liking lik-ing ye moro than ye deserve. Is it in love with you she Is?" Danny stole a sidelong glanco at tho girl, "lleggln' yor honor's pardon," ho Btammercd, "nnd I bolnve sho Is that." "Umm!" snorted O'Rourke. "And what, If ye please, nbout poor Annlo Brngln, at homo? Is It marrying a Greek ye would be, and leaving poor Annio to cry her eyes out for ye, yo worthless scut?" "Dlvvle a bit, respects to yer honor! hon-or! Sure, 'tls only for nmusement " "And who may she bo, that ye make so free to amuso yourself with her?" "Tho daughter uv mo partner, yer honor, Noccovlo, tho Greek tobnecy merchant." , "This will bo his houso, then?" "No, sir, but a a sort nv a Bthoro-hogse, Bthoro-hogse, In a way av speaking. Tis Jist 'round th' corner they do be livin' in a gran folne houso, sir." "Then what's the young lady doing horo?" "Waiting for mo to tako her place, sir". Noccovlo is away and and," in a blurted confession, "'tis a bit oi hashish smuggling wo be doing on the aide. The stuff is always brought hero, sor; and tonight's the night? a consignment's duo." "Ah-h!" observed O'Rourko darkly. One by ono, It seemed, ho was gathering gather-ing the trumps again Into his own hand. He resumed his catechism ot tho boy. "Danny, is this tho way a decent man should be behaving hlraBelf?" he browbeat him. "Ib It your mother's son and tho sweetheart ot Annlo Flragln that's become no moro than an Idlo breaker of hearts? Danny, Danny, Dan-ny, what would Father Malachl bo saying If be could hear what ye've Just told me? Whin, boy, did ye confess con-fess last?" Danny cowered. "Aw, dear!" ho whimpered. "Aw, dearlodcar! And meself meant no harm at all!" "Thin take your llght-o'-lovo home, Danny, nnd come back to mo here at onco with a change of clothes I" "YIss, yer honor. I'll do that, yor honor. Dut will yo hark for tho signal attho door and et Cap'n Hole In?" It was true, then! "I will. Hut seo that yo don't forget for-get tho change ot clothes, Danny, and don't be lingering too long over your fond fnrowells with the lady, it ye're not looking for a hiding, and Danny!" "Ylo, sor?" "Have ye a revolver?" I "Here, sor," "Give It horo, and bring another back with ye. Lively, now!" Alone, O'Rourko seated himself on tho edge of tho fountain and considered consid-ered grnvcly the uncertainties of life. "'Tls fnte," ho concluded Bobcrly, nt length. "And 'tis hard upon cloven now. They will not dare to run that cargo before midnight; nnd meself sorely needs a bath." Dollbcrntcly he stripped off rags and tatterB nnd plunged Into tho fountain. Danny wns buck with tho promised wearing npparel ero ho had finished plashing. ' And while O'Rourko dressed, and for long thereafter, tho two snt and imoked and confabulated, talked of Men nnd Things nnd tho turn of the Wheel of tho World. CHAPTER XVI. At midnight the muezzin in n neighboring neigh-boring minaret turned his fnco to tho windswept sky and summoned the Faithful to prayer and meditation. O'Rourko pulled thoughtfully nt his plpo until the musical, melnncholy wall had been whipped away by tho breath of the khamsin, nnd there wns silence save for the dull, heavy roar-ling roar-ling ovcrhoad Then he resumed tho conversation where it hnd been inter-, rupted. "And yo sny yo love tho young woman, wom-an, Danny?" "I do that, yer honor." "And yo would marry her?" "Wid yer honor's consint I'm rendy, sor." "I bless the banns. Yo may have her on one condition." "Aw-w?" "I've need of yo, ns I've pointed out" "Sure, yer honor knows ye can count on me to the last breath In mo, sor." "Then yo'll come with me to Bur-mah?" Bur-mah?" "Do you think, sor, I could slape of nights, after hearln' from your own lips what ye've been through and bus-pectln' bus-pectln' what more ye must go through with before ye've won? Will I be comln', is ut? Faith, I'll go whether ye want me or not." "And afterwards ye can come back to Mtsi Psyche hero, or whatever her name may be." "Ylsa rer honor, and thank ye kindly." kind-ly." . . Abruptly Danny started up. "They'll be comln' now, sor," he said In an excited whisper. "I'm think-In' think-In' I hear thlm blundherlng down the alley." He turned toward the rear of the bouse, and as O'Rourke rose to follow him, the signal sounded on the metal door. Danny quickened his steps, and as he disappeared his master slipped quietly Into the shadows beneath the overhanging gallery. From this point of seclusion he could hoar distinctly the Jar of the bolts' as Danny opened the Iron door, followed by his hoarse whisper: "Whist! is ut yorsllves now?" Hole's voice answered him huBklly: "Who tho hell else would it bo? Lei us in, you damn' harp." Tae door creaked upon its hinges; and was cautiously closed. Tho bolt! rattled ngaln. Footsteps shuffled Hlowly, ns of men heavily burdoned, over tho floor of earth. Then, while O'Rourko gathered himself together, exultation In his heart, nnd tho fore-tasto fore-tasto of rovengo sweet In his mouth, two cloaked flgurcs scuffled Into the courtyard, breathing hard beneath their burdens of smuggled drug. Hole promptly dumped his sharo ot tho load down upon tho bench nnd swung upon Danny. "Whore's Nlc-covle?" Nlc-covle?" ho demanded, evidently in ns ugly n mood as ho could muster. "Where is 'e? Stop standln' there nnd starln' with yor balmy trap open, yer" "Thnt will bo about enough," suggested sug-gested O'Rourko pleasantly, in a conversational con-versational tone, stepping from his plnce of concealment. "Don't call names, Hole ye're too near your God If ye havo one, which I misdoubt." In the clear, bright starlight the pistols pis-tols In his hands were plainly evident; nnd ono stared tho captain In tho eye; one covered tho head of tho Pelican's first officer. "Yo will not move!" snid O'Rourke, sharply, "save and excopt to put your hands above your heads. So don't delay, Mr. Dcnnlson; I'vo never known me temper to be shorter." Hole began to splutter excitedly. "Save your brenth, ye wholpl" O'Rourko counseled him curtly. "Yell have need of It before I'm done with ye." He added: "Senrch and disarm dis-arm them, Danny." Tho aervnnt set about his tnsk wltli alacrity; It Is safe to sny that ho left not so much aB a match In tho pocket of either. While ho wns about it. Hole, with his eyes Bteadlly fixed upon tho unwavering muzzles of O'Rourke's revolvers, managed to master hlB emotion emo-tion enough to ask coherently: "What aro you going to do with us?" "Ye'll ace in good time," returned O'Rourke grimly. "Have yo found It, Danny?" Danny backed away from Hole, whom ho had senrched after Dennl-son. Dennl-son. "YIss, sor," ho returned. "At least, I think so. Is this ut?" "I can't look at tlifs moment, Danny. Is It a leather bag with something hard Inside, the size of a hen's egg, or n bit larger?" "Tho very same, yer honor." "Very well," O'Rourko suppressed tho tromblo of relief in his voice. "Put it In your pocket, Danny the very bottom of your pocket. Did yo find a gun on either of them?" "Ono on each, sor." "Loaded?" "YIss, sor." "Then cover them, Danny." For hlmsolf O'Rourko put down his pistols and calmly stripped off his coattroHJng up his sleeves. "Hole," ho enld, tcrsoly, "don't move. If ye do, Danny will puncturo ye. Your turn comes lust. Dennl-ion, Dennl-ion, yo may step out." "What for?" demanded tho Scot, ad-rnnclng. ad-rnnclng. i "To reecho payment, with Interest, (or thnt blow yo gavo mo this evening, even-ing, me man. Put up your hands. I'm going, In your own words, Mr. Den-alson, Den-alson, to hammer the fear of God Into as cowardly and despicable a pair Df scoundrels as I'vo over encountered. encoun-tered. And," reflectively, "I've met a good many. Dut most ot tho others were Men." CHAPTER XVII. Two battered and soro Bnllormcn tnt back to back, their arms lashed to one another nnd to tho ccntrnl upright up-right so thnt neither could move, both bait-submerged In tho fountain of NIc-covlo NIc-covlo tho Greek. "Ye'll find tho bath qulto refreshing," refresh-ing," O'Rourko told them, preparing to dopart, "ns well as n novel experience. experi-ence. 'Twill do ye a world of good, Cap.tnln Hole, as anyone will tell yo -who has over had tho mlsfortuno to "What For?" Demanded tht 8cot Advancing. stand to leeward of ye. Your money and other belongings ye'll find on the bench here, it ever yo are loosed, which I doubt. I call your attention to the fact that I tako nothing but me property, of which ye sought to rob me. On the other hand, because . of that attempted robbery, I hereby refuse re-fuse to pay my bill for passage from Athens to Alexandria. If ye caro to dispute It, me solicitors In Dublin will bo pleased to enter into litigation with ye. Gentlemen I" he bowed Ironically, "I bid ye good night." Ho was still chuckling over the outcome out-come when, twenty minutes later, he and Danny were trudging through the silent streets of Alexandria, a full mile , away from Danny's lodgings. Danny," O'Rourko pursued, with Just a hint of anxiety in his tono, : "would ye happen to be having a bit of lining In your pocket, now bo nccl-! dent,, as they sny?" ' Danny drew himself up proudly. , "I've eight hoondred and fifty pounds, j Ay-gyptlnn, sor, nnd two-hundred nv that is yours bo rights, beln' what j ye lent mo, yor honor, while nil tho rlst Is yours for tho taking." "That's flno, Danny, flno!" sighed O'Rourke. " 'Tls yourself will novcr ro-grot ro-grot Investing It In Pool of Flame, Unlimited. Un-limited. I'll personally guarantee tho income frdm it, Danny." "Shuro, sor, don't I know?" "And in tho morning, early, Danny, ye and' I will tako boat and go out to tho Pelican for me kit-box." Rut In the morning, ns It happened, tho Pelican had discreetly left tho harbor. har-bor. To He Continued. |