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Show l m iii ".u 't ' ' .', 11 ."' " ' M. .in . . . . - ' ' i . . .'. ' .." 1 i " ,' ' '" I iFffiROLD MACGPATH AutW o HEARTS M) USKS Ctf, AVAN ON THE BOX ct&. Illualraliorvs kr M.G.KrrrrNEi . . . COPYRIGHT 1911 Jjy PQP&a - -ICKRtU. COMPAQ V it irf "It It Bad News?" hould be. He threw off bis blaukst and ran to ber. "Fortune, you mustn't do that. You will catch cold." "I cannot Bleep," sb aatd limply. He took br by th band and led her to the tent. "Try," bo aald. Tbin b did something ha had never don before to any woman aav bla mother. He klseed her band, turned quickly, and went over to hla blanket. Sh remained motionless before the tent The band fascinated her. From the hand her gase trawled to the man settling blmaelf comfortably under bla blanket Pity, pity) that waa ever to be ber portion; pity! In Damascus the trio presented themselves it the one decent hotel, and but for Ackermann'a charges upon the manager, It la doubtful If be would have accepted them aa guilts;' for a more auiplrloua looking trio be had never at eyee upon. (A hotel man weighs a person by the quality of his clothes.) Moreover, they carried no luKKHge. Ackermann went sponsor; mid knowing something of the Integrity Integ-rity of the rughunter, the manager surrendered. And when George pre- 1 sented his letter of credit at the Im- i perlal Ottoman Hank, again It was Ackermann who vouched for him. It had been agr d to say nothing of the character of their adventure. None 1 of i hem wanted to be followed by cu- -rloua eyea. With a handful of Iirltlah gold In hla I pocket, George faced the future hope- I fully. He took hla companions In and about town, hunting the shops for I clothing, which after various difficulties difficul-ties they succeeded In finding. It was I III fitting and cheap, but It would serve (111 they reached Alexandria or Naples, i "How are ou fixed?" asked Ry-anne, Ry-anne, gloomily surveying George's I shoddy cotton-wool suit. i "Cash In hand?" ( "Yes. ( "About four hundred pounds. At Naples I can cable, Ik) you want my?" i "Would" you mind advancing me two months' salary?" i "Ryanne, do you really mean to i stick to that proposition?" I "It's on my mind Just now." "Well, well go back to the bank t and I'll draw a hundred pounds for I you. You can pay your own expenses i sa we go. Hut what are we going to I Jo In regard t) Fortune?" i he'd have been alive today. Oh, damn It all; let's go back to the hotel and order that club-steak, or the beat Imitation Imi-tation they have. I'm going to have a pint of wine. I'm as dull as a ditch In a paddy-field.' "A bottle or two will not hurt any of ua. We'll ask Ackermann. For Ood knows where we'd have been today to-day but for him. And let him do all the yarning. It will please lilin." "And while be gabs, we'll get the best or the steak and wine!" .For the first time In days Ryanne's luughter had a bit of the erstwhile rollicking tone. The dinner waa an event. No dell-racy dell-racy (mostly canned) was overlooked. The manager, as he heard the guln-ess guln-ess Jingle In George's pocket, waa filled with shame; not over hla original origi-nal doubta, but relative to hla lack f perception. The tourlsta who sat tt the other tablea were scandalized it the popping of champagne-corks Sanctimonious faces glared reproof. A Jovial spirit In the Holy Land waa in anachronism, not to be tolerated. And wine! Horrible! Doubtless, when they retired to their native back-porches, back-porches, they retold with never-end-ng horror of having witnessed sucb i scene and having heard such laugher laugh-er upon the sacred soil. Even Fortune lsughed. though R.T-inne's R.T-inne's ear, keenest then, detected the rague note of hysteria. If the meat ivaa tough, the potatoes greasy, the vegetables flavorless, the wine fiat, lone of them appeared to be aware f It. If Ackermann could talk be 'ould also eat; and the clatter of orka and knives was the theme rath-r rath-r than the variation to the symphony. George felt himself drawn deeper ind deeper Into those tragic waters rom which, aa In death, there Is no eturn. She was so lonely, so sad ind forlorn, that there was as much brother as lover In his sympathy, low patient she had been during all hose Inconceivable hardships! -How irave and steady; and never a mur-nur! mur-nur! The single glass of wine had rought the color back to her cheek ind the sparkle Into her eye; yet he n SYNOPSIS. area Ferrlval Ala.rnon Jonea. vice-praaioaat vice-praaioaat of tli MetropollUa Orlantal t aujany f New York, thlratlns fur eoeaeara, la la Cairo on a bualnvea trip, liarara ftyaane arrtvae at the hotel in CaJm will, a carefully cuarded bundle. Mraana aalia Jonea Ilia famoua hnly Yhl- I rua which ha 'Irnlla having etolen a paaha at lle-ded. Jonea mamla J"- Callahan and later la Inlrodured to wrlM Otettaoye by a woman tu a-hnm Bta had loaned UO pounds at Monte Carlo amna aaumha pravlnualy, and who turna wt la ba t-'urtuno'a mother, Jotifi taknk ra. CbnlMM and Kortuna to a polo ataiaat Kortuna raturna to Jonaa lha aoaay Wa-road by her mother Mr a. 1auVnra appeara to bm iicuaad In mini oyataxaiua entarprlae unknown to lha -- aUuarhter. Ityanna Intereaia Jonea In the Uuttaal Uotnauivt and Advantura com-ly. com-ly. a voniern wnlrh for a prlia will au'raaaa any kind of an ailvanlura to or- alra. Ckailaoya. her lirother. Major JaiUruui. Halla.e and Ityanna, aa Ilia (IntUd Hiiinaa.-v and Advanlura company. Vtaa a rtaky entarprlaa Involving Jonea Kyaaoa maiiaa known to Mrs, Chri'iya la tmandnn i marry Fortune. Mra. t'nedaoya dx-Urea aha will not permit It. 'laa aea laid o prevent Jonca aullliiif tar boom. Kyanita airxla Jmiea' leitrra aa raiale diapatrhea. He wires agent In ywr Vutk, In Joiiea' name, that ha la rrattajf Iiaimm la New Vork to soma frkmrta. Mahomed, keeper of the holy carp, la on Kyannea trail. Ityanna promaeea Korliine that he will aee that JonaoaiM lo no harm aa a reault of hla r'urraaaa of lit ruir. Mahomed a -eoata lyaana ami demamla the Ylihirdra ru. Ml anno ivlla him Jonea h the rn and uaweaia the atxlui tlon of tha New Tork fnarrrjant aa a meana of aei'iirliiK Its re. or a. The rug illaMppeara from Jonea' wwm, rortune guarrela with her mother hen tha latter refuaea lo explain her anyaierVHM ai-tlona. i-ortune ei a mea-ea mea-ea puporiln to ba from Ityanne aik- ber 1 1 nioel him In a aetrludi-d place tha eewnlnf. Jonea ret-elvea a menae ktaahlrn to meet Ityanna at the Kiijillah. lar the) a inn evening Jonea la earned Jff lain the iteaert by Maliomed and hla arvMKpHra after a deaperale IIkMI. lie riterovav that Ityanne and l-'nrume alao ateeraaillva. Uie foimer la badly ballered mud uiuuiMMioiui Ityanne rneovera eon-arlMMwai eon-arlMMwai and the aiaht nf Fortune In eapilvtty reveala to lilin the fiot that Maliiamed lilen.ta to get venaeanra rdi ailin tlirutiaii the girl. Fortune aiknowl-" aiknowl-" a that ale atole tha run from Jonea' rwan. Hle offera to return It to Mahomed , f If he mill free all three of them. Ma-IhhihhI Ma-IhhihhI axreea to IfWala Fortune and one I erf lha iiM-n In return for the ru. A rour-lee rour-lee la aeol tn Cairo for the ru. but r-turna r-turna with the Information that Mra. 'Kmtamre and her brol her have Balled for Keej Tear. Furtuiie apurna offered fre. atom Whlt-tl tinea not Itii'llide her two rom-fankwa rom-fankwa The caravan rontlnuea the Jour- i ay fwwartt liaadad. Ityanne telle Jonea that lira. Ctiedaoye la ttie moat adroit ewurah-e ef the asa, and la overheard bv I r'artune. The three raptlvea are reai'le-d hf Henry Arkermann, wloi la In rharve f a eariiet earavan. Mahomed eecapea i Mra. ("ranilaove dlacovera the aoaenie of l ortune and bavra for New York Inking he a-lrTa m lonirliiaa with her, Throimh foriraat U-tlcra Mia. Chedeoye. the major and thr aeeompllrea take poaaeaalun of Joawa" New 1 ork homa. CHAPTER XVIII. I ! j The Man Who Didn't Car. It waa the first of February when Ackermann'a caravan drew Into the orient city of Damascus. That part nt the caravan deserted by Mahomed put oat for Cairo Immediately they track the regular camel-way. For June, Ceorge and Ityanne were In a pitiable condition, heart and body wrmry. In rage and tatters. George, ww thnt tbe liav-en waa assured, trapped bis forced buoyancy, bla prat-JV prat-JV bla Jeata. He bad done all a mortal mor-tal man could to keep up the spirits of bla co unfortunates; and be aaw Ikat, moat of tbe time, be had wasted his talent. Ityanne, sullen and moms, mo-ms, often told hlrn to "shut up;" Vrblca wasn't exhilarating. And Tor-tne Tor-tne tlewed his attempts without swart it tbem and frequently looked at avtaa wltbout seeing him. Now, all this waa Bait particularly comforting to the ana who loved her and waa doing what he could to lighten the drearl-sea drearl-sea of (lie Journey. He made allow-aUaoea, allow-aUaoea, however; besides suffering un-jseal un-jseal privations, Fortune bad had a frightful mental shock. A girl of her depth of character could not be expected ex-pected to rise Immediately to the old lave!. Sometimes, while gathered avboat tbe evening fire, he would look up to find her and eyes staring at him. and It nattered not If be atared In return; re-turn; a kind of clairvoyance blurred IslbtllfJe. for she waa generally look-tag look-tag Into ber garden at Mentone and wwwoVrinx when thla horrible dream would pasa. Subjects for conversation conversa-tion werw exhausted In no time. Dig a be might, George could find nothing: noth-ing: ew; and often be recounted the mm tale twtce of an evening. Sardonic Sar-donic laughter from Ityanne. Aekarsiann had given them up as Impeleaa. He waa a strong, rain, dom-loeertas dom-loeertas man. kindly at heart, however, how-ever, but Impatient. When be told a atory. he demanded the attention of ail; so, when Ryanne yawned before hla eyee, and George drew pictures In the. amauj. and tbe girl fell asleep with her head upon her knees, he drew oS abruptly and left them to their oww derloes. He bad crossed and re- , c roast d the silences so often that be , waa no longer capable of Judging ar , catraiely another man's mental pro- , eeawis. That tbey bad bad a strange and notnbtng experience be readily understood; but now that they were , out of duress and beaded fcr tha roaat, he aaw no reason wky tbey , should not act Ilk human beings. They still put up tbe small tent for fortune, hut the reat of them alept ; trpo tba sand, under the s'ars. Once, Oeorge awoke as the dawa waa gild- , lag the east. Silhouetted against tbe , sy he a rortuna. Ebe was stand- log straight, her bands pressed at her , sklea, her Jed tilted back tense aatHtade. He i!d not know It. bat sUie wsajtskUf God why tbeee tilings George concluded that be muat acquire ac-quire patlenoe . She waa far too loyal to run away without first giving him warning. In the event of her refusing refus-ing Mortimer's roof and protection, be knew what his' plans would be. Some one else could do the buying for Mortimer Mor-timer A Jones; his business would b to revolve round this lonely girl, to watch and guard her without her being be-ing awar of It. Of .what ue were riches If be could not put them to whatever use he chose? So he would wait near her, to see that she came and went unmolested, till agalnat that tlmo when ahe would recognlxe how futll ber efforts were and how wide and high the wall of the world waa. Tha mother of hen! To bis mind It wa positively unreal that one bo charming and lovely should be at heart strong as the wind and merciless merci-less as the sea. His mother bad been everything; hers, worse than none, an eternol question. What a drama she had moved about In, without understanding! un-derstanding! George did not posac that easy and adjtis'able sophistry which made Ityanne look upon smuggling as a clever game between two cheats. His point of view coincided with Fortune's; For-tune's; It was thievery, more or less condoned, but the.thlci covering It were mundly established. He had come very near Wing culpable himself. him-self. True, he would not have been guilty of smuggling for profit; but none the lens ho would have tried to rhat the government. Ills aln had found him out; he had now neither the rug nor his thousand pounds. All these cogitations panned through his mind, dlsjolntedly, as the dinner progremied toward its end. They bade Ackermann good by and Godspeed, aa he was to leave early for Ilelrut, upon hla way to Smyrna. Fortune went to bed; Itysnne sought the billiard-room billiard-room and knocked about the balls; while George asked the manager If he could send a cable from the hotel. C'ertat' he could. It took some tiinefrAsjmpoa the cable to Mortimer; Morti-mer; and It required some gold besides. be-sides. Mortimer must have a fair rlew of the rase; and George presented It, requesting a reply to be sent to Cook's In Naples, where tbey expected to be wllhln ten days. "How much will this be?" The porter got out his telegraph-book telegraph-book and studied the rates carefully. "Twelve pounds six, sir." The porter greeted each sovereign with a genuflection, tbe lowest being the twelfth. George pocketed the re-rclpt re-rclpt and went In search of Ryanne. Hut that gentleman was no longer In the billiard room. Indeed, he had gone quietly to the other hotel and written a cable himself, the code of which was not to be found In any book. For a long time he seemed to be In doubt, for be folded and refolded refold-ed his message balf a dozen times before be-fore his actions became decisive. He lore It up and threw the scraps upon the floor and hastened Into the street, as If away from temptation. He walked fast and Indirectly,, smoking Innumerable cigarettes. II was fighting fight-ing hsrd, the evil In him agalnat the rood, tbe chanceaof the future against the Irreclaimable past. At the end of i in hour he returned to the strange hold. ho-ld. Hla lips were puffed and bleeding. bleed-ing. He had smoked so many cigarettes ciga-rettes and had pulled them so Impatiently Impa-tiently from his mt th, that the dry sper bad cracked the delicate skin, i He rewrote hla cable and paid for the sendlnga of It. Then he poked ! t bout the unfamiliar corridors till be 'ound the dingy bar. He sat down be- , 'ore a peg of whisky, which was fol owed by many more, each a bit stiff er ( than Its predecessor. At last, when , le had bad enoueh to put a normal , nan's head upon the table or to cover , ills fsce with the mask of Inanity, , rty.nne fell Into the old habit of talk- , ng aloud. , "Horace, old top, wb-t's the use? , We'd Just like to be good If w could, (h? Ilut tbey won't let us. We'd trow raving mad In a monastery. We , sere honest at the. time, but we , ouldn't stand the monotony of watch- , ng green olives turn purple upon th , illrery bough. Nay. nay!" , II pushed th glass away from Mm , ind studied the air-bubbles as they , foraed, rose to the surface, and were ilsslpated. "No matter wbat the game has , teen. somehow or other, they're , ihed us. snd we've lost out." , He emptied the gfas and ordered , mother. He and the bartender were lion. "After all. lore Is like money." It's i tetter to live frugally upon the later- I rst than to squander tbe capital and to bankrupt. And who cares, say- ior i He drank once more, dropped a half- i leverelgtf upon tbe table, and pushed i br bis cbalr. His eyes were blood- i thot now, and tbe brows of bis skis I had! become a sw?y- trot; hut he i silked steadily enough Into Its read- I Ryar Proposition V ' ! ing room, where be w rote a short letter. let-ter. It was not without a perverted sense of humor, for a smile twisted his lips till he bad sealed the letter and addressed the envelop to George I'erclval Algernon Jonea. He stuffed It Into a pocket and went out whistling "The Heavy Dragoons" from the opera of "Patience." IWfore the lighted window of a shop he paused. .He swayed a little. From a pocket of bis new coat he pulled out a glove. It waa gray and small and much wrinkled. From time to time he drew It through his fingen, itartng the while at the tawdry trinkets trin-kets In the shop-window. Finally be looked down at the token. He became very still. A moment passed; then he flung the glove Into the gutter, and proceeded to hla own hotel. He left the letter with the porter, paid bis bill, and went out again Into tbe dark, chill night He waa now wbat be had been two montha ago, tbe man who didn't care CHAPTER XIX. Fortune Decides. George and Fortune were seated at breakfast. It waa early morning. At ten they were to depart fcr Jaffa, to loke the tubby French packet there to Alexandria. They could Just about make It, and any delay meant a week or ten days longer upon this ragged and Inhospitable coaat. "Ryanne has probably overslept After breakfast I'll go and rout him Dut. The one thing that really tickles me," George continued, as he pared I he tough rind from the skinny bacon, "Is, we shsn't have any luggage. Think of the blessing of traveling without a trunk or a rails or a iteamerroll!" "Without even a comb or a hairbrush!" hair-brush!" "It's great fun." George broke bla toast. And Fortune wondered how Bhe rou)d tell bim. She waa without any loilet articles. She hadn't even s toothbrush; and It was quite out of the question for her to bother him ibout trifles, much as she needed Ihem. She would have tc live In tbe rlothes she wore, and trust that the hlp'B stewardess might help her out In the sbsolute necessities. Here the head waiter brought rjeorge a letter. Tbe address was mough for George. No on but Ry-inne Ry-inne could have written It. Without firming himself, be ripped off the envelop and read the contents. Fortune For-tune could not resist watching htm, for (he grasped quickly that only Ryanne could bar written a letter tier In Damascus. At first the tan upon George's cheeks darkened tbe ludden effusion of blood; tben It be-ram be-ram lighter, and the mouth and eyes ind nose became stern. "Is It bad news?" "It all depends upon bow you look it It. For my part, good riddance to bad rubbish. Here, resd It yourself." She read; -My Dear Perclral: Af'er all. I find tbat I can not reconcile myself to tb lullness of your olive-grove. I shall lend tbe Are hundred to you wben I reach New York. With tn It Is as It was with tbe devIL Wben he wss tick, he rowed he would be a saint; set when h got welt, dertl s saint was he. There used to be a rhyme about It, but I have forgotten tbat. Anyhow, there you are. I feel that I am conceding a point In regard to the money. It la contrary to tbe laws and by-laws of the United Romance and Adventure Company to refund. Still, I Intend to hold myself to It. With hale affection, "RYANNE." "Wbat do you think of that?" demanded de-manded George hotly. "I never did a good action In my life tbat waan't aerved 111. I'm a soft duffer, If there ever was on." "I shall never be ungrateful for your kindness to me." "Oh, hang It! You're different; you're not like any other woman la the world," he blurted; and Immediately Immedi-ately was eelied with a mild species of fright Fortune stirred her coffee snd delicately deli-cately scooped up th swirling circles) of foam. "Old malda call tbat money." be said understandlngly, eager to corer up hla boldneas. "My mother used to tell me tbat there were lots of wonders In a tea-cup." "Tell me about your mother." To him It was a theme never lacking lack-ing In new expressions. Wben be spoke of his mother. It altered tbs clear and boyish note In bla roloe; It became subdued, reverent He would never be aught than guileless; It w-ns not In bis nature to dlvln anything any-thing save bla own Impulses. While be thought he wss pleasing her each tender recollection, each praise, reaa In fact a nail added to ber crucifixion, self Imposed. However, she nerer lowered her eyes, but kept them bravely directed Into hla. In tbe midst of one of his panegyrics be caught aight of his watch which he bsd placed at the Bide of bis plate. "By Jove! quarter to nine. I've got an errand or two to do, and there's no need of your running your feet off on my account 111 be back quarter after." He dug Into Us pocket and counted out fifty pou&da in psper and gold. "You keep this till I Ret back." She pushed It aside, half rising from her chair. "Fortune, listen. Hereafter I am George, your brother George; and I do not want you ever to question say sctlon ' of mine. I am leaving this money In case some sccldent befall me. You never csn tell." He took ber hsnd snd firmly pressed It down upon the money. "In balf an hour, lister. IH be back. You did not think that I was going to run swsy?" "No." "Do you understand now?" "Yes." Wblle he was goo she remained seated st the table. She mad little pyramids of th gold, divided the even dates from tbe odd, arranged Maltese crosses snd circles and atars. . . . Pity, pity! Well, why tbould she rebel re-bel against It? Was It not more than she bad bad hitherto? What should it.e do? Sne closed ber eyes. She would trouble ber tired brain no nor sbout the future till they reached Naples. She would let this ewe week drift her how It would. TO BB COVTINVtn., Everybody says. "Oo up hta&e:" to the mas who ttlsg there. "See that she gets Barely back to Mentone." I "Suppose she will not go there?" c "lt'B up to you. Perclval; It's sll np i to you. You'rs tbs gay Locblnvar t from tbe west. I'm not sure no one c aver Is regarding s woman but I i think shell listen to you. She wouldn't I Ktvs an ear to a scalawag Ilk me. t This caravan business has put tn out- t ild the pale. I've lost caste." c "You're only desperate and dt scour- t iged; you ran pull up straight" t "Much obliged!" I "You haven't looked at life normal- t ly; that's wbat tbe matter Is." I "Solon, you're right. There's that I poor devil back tn Iiagdad. I've killed ' I msn, PerclvaL It doesn't mil well t In my dreams." ( "You said that It was la self -de- i fenie." I "And God knows It wss. But If 1 1 1 badal gone sfler tbst damned rug. , t ir as sure tbat behind this apparent ' Ivellness lay the pitiful desperation 1 if the helpless. He had not spoken 1 gain about old Mortimer. He would alt till after be had sent s long ' able. Tben be would speak snd ihow ber the answer, of which be 1 isd not a particle of doubt. Aa maters mat-ers now stood, he could not tell ber ' hat be loved ber; hi quixotic sense ' if chivalry was too strong to permit bis step, urge as his heart might 1 ipon It She might misinterpret bla 1 ore ss born of pity, snd that would ie tbe end of everything. He was eon- 1 ldent now tbat Ryann meant notb- ' ng to ber. Her lack of enthusiasm, 1 rhenaver Ryanne spoke to her In 1 heee days; the peculiar horiioctallty if her lip and brows, whenever Ry- 1 inne offered a trifling courtesy all 1 pointed to distrust. George felt a 1 tullty gladness. After all. why 1 i hould n't sh distrust Rysane? 1 |