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Show 7 SERIAL V I STORY j 1 EXCUSE 1 ' '"-'-'inTiiii k L '"Tt " " Novelized from the Comedy of the Same Name By ILLUSTRATED Rupert From Photographs of the Play Produced I Hugbea By Henry W. S.y.Je I Cop7r4ftt, UU, bj U. K. Ir'l lio. u SYNOPSIS. T.Ioiit. Tarry Mallory Is ornVred to the Philippine. His un Marjorle Newton tlccUic to ulopi. but wreck of taxlcab prevents pre-vents thtilr Ht-t'hiK minister on tlia way to the train. Transcontinental train la taking tak-ing on passengers Horter has a lively time with an Englishman and Ira Lath-top, Lath-top, a Yankee, business man. The elopers have an exciting tlnio Retting to the train. "Little Jimnlle" Wellington, bound for Keno tc et a divorce, hoards train in maudlin condition. Later Mrs. Jlmmie appears. She is also bound for lteno with name object. Likewise Mrs. Sammy Whit-comb. Whit-comb. Latter blames Mrs. .Jlmmie for her- marital troubles. Classmates of Mal-lory Mal-lory decorate bridal berth. Itev. and Mrs. Temple slart on a vacation. They decide to cut loose and Temple removes evidence ir hlH calling. Marjorle decides to let Mallory proceed alone, but train starts while they are lost In farewell. Passen-Kers Passen-Kers Join Mallnry'a classmates In sivlnff couple wedding hazlnK. Marjorle Is distracted dis-tracted rVa I.athrop. woman-hating mehelor, discovers an old sweetheart. Anno Cattle, a fellow passenger. Mallory Mal-lory vainly hunts for a preacher among the passengers. Mrs. Wellington hears Little Jimmie's voice.- Later srhe meets Mrs. Whltcomb. Mallory reports to Mar-Jorie Mar-Jorie his failure to llnd a preacher. They decide to pretend a qunrrel and Mallory finds a vacant berth. Mrs. Jlmmie discovers discov-ers Wellington on the train. CHAPTER XVI (Continued). Eventually, the car quieted, ami nothing was heard but the rumble and click of the wheels on the rails, the creak of timbers, and the frog-like chorus of a few well-trained snorers. As the porter was turning down the last of the lights, a rumpled pate was thrust from the stateroom, and the luscious-eyed man whispered: "Porter, what time did you say we crossed the Iowa state line?" "Two fifty-five a. m." From within the stateroom came a deep sigh, then with a dismal groan: "Call me at two fifty-live a. m.," the door was closed. Poor Mallory, pyjamaless and night-shirtless, night-shirtless, lay propped up on his pll- lows, staring out of the window at the swirtly shifting night scene. The state .of Illinois was being pulled out from Hinder the train like a dark rug. Farmhouses gleamed or dreamed lampless. The moonlight rippled on endless seas of wheat and Indian corn. Little towns slid up and away. .Large towns rolled forward, and were ieft behind. Ponds, marshes, brooks, pastures, thickets and great gloomy proves flowed past as on a river. But the same stars and the moon seemed to accompany the train. If the flying witness had been less heavy of heart, he would have found the reeling scene full of grace and night beauty. But he could not see any charm In all the world, except his tantalizing other self, from whom a great chasm seerued to divide him, though she was only two windows away. He had not yet fallen asleep, and ne was still pondering how to attain his unmarried, unmarriable bride, when the train rolled out in air above a great wide river, very noble under the stars. He knew it for the Mississippi. Mis-sissippi. He heard a faint knocking on a door at the other end of the car. He heard sounds as of kisses, and then somebody tiptoed along the aisle stealthily. He did not know that another an-other bridegroom was being separated from his bride because they were too much married. t Somewhere in Iowa he fell asleep. CHAPTER XVII. Last Call for Breakfast. ' It was still Iowa when Mallory awoke. Into his last moments of heavy sleep Intruded a voice like a town-crier's town-crier's voice, crying: "Lass call for breakfuss In the Kin-tng Kin-tng Rar," and then, again louder, "'Lass call for breakfuss in Kinin-rar," Kinin-rar," and, finally and faintly, "Lass-call "Lass-call breakfuss ri'rar." Mallory pushed up his wlndow-ehade. wlndow-ehade. The day was broad on rolling prairies like billows established in the green soil. Ill e peeked through his curtains. Most of the other passengers passen-gers were up and about, their beds hidden and beddings stowed away behind be-hind the bellying veneer of the upper-works upper-works of the car. All the berths were made up except his own and number two, in the corner, where Little Jlmmie Jlm-mie Wellington's nose still played a bagpipe monody, and one other berth, which he recognized as Marjorle's. His belated sleep and hers had spared them both the stares and laughing chatter of the passengers, fitit this bridal couple's two berths, standing like towers among the seats, tied provided conversation for everybody, every-body, had already united the casual gro'ip of strangers into an organized gossip-bee. Mallory got Into his shoes and as much of his clothes as was necessary for the dash to the washroom, and took on his arm the rest or his wardrobe. ward-robe. Just as he issued from his lonely chamber, Marjorle appeared from -hers, much disheveled and heavy-eyjed. Tho bride and groom ex changed glances of mutual terror, and hurried In opposite directions. The epickest and Bpannest of lieutenants lieu-tenants soon realized that he was reduced re-duced to wearing yesterday's linen as well as yesterday's beard. This was Intolerable. A brave man can endure heartbreaks, loss of love, honor and place, but a neat man cannot abide the traces or time In his toilet. Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Mallory had seen rough service serv-ice In camp and on long hikes, when he gloried In mud and disorder, and he was to see campaigns In the Philippines, Phil-ippines, when he should not Fke off his shoes or his uniform for .hree days at a time. But that was the field, and this car was a drawing room. In this crisis In his affairs. Little Jlmmie Wellington waddled into the men's room, floundering about with every lurch of the train, like a cannon loose In the hold of a ship. He fumbled fum-bled with the handles on a baBin, and made a crazy toilet, trying to find some abatement of his fever by tilling a glass at the ice-water tank and emptying it over his head. These drastic measures restored him to some sort of coherency, and Mallory appealed to him for help in the matter or linen. Wellington effusively ef-fusively offered him everything he had, and Mallory selected from his store half a dozen collars, any one of which would have gone round his neck nearly twice. Wellington also proffered his safety razor, and made him a present of a virgin wafer of steel lor his very own. With this assistance, Mallory was enabled to make himself fairly presentable. pre-sentable. When he returned to his seat, the three curtained rooms had been whisked away by the porter. There was no place now to hide from the passengers. He sat down facing the feminine end of the car, watching for Marjorle. The passengers were watching for her, too, hoping to learn what unheard-of Incident could have provoked pro-voked the quarrel that separated a bride and groom at this time, of all times. . To the general bewilderment, when Marjorle appeared, Mallory and she rushed together and clasped hands with an ardor that suggested a desire for even more ardent greeting. The passengers almost sprained their ears to hear how they would make up such a dreadful feud. But all they heard was: "We'll have to hurry, Marjorle, if we want to get any breakfast." "All right, honey. Come along." Then the inscrutable couple scurried scur-ried up the aisle, and disappeared in the corridor, leaving behind them a mighty riddle. They kissed in the corridor of that car, kissed in the vestibule, ves-tibule, kissed in the two corridors of the next car, and were caught kissing kiss-ing in the next vestibule by the new conductor. The dining car conductor, who flattered flat-tered himself that he knew a bride and groom when he saw them, escorted es-corted them grandly to' a table for two; and the waiter fluttered about them with extraordinary consideration. considera-tion. They had a plenty to talk of In prospect pros-pect and retrospect. They both felt sure that a minister lurked among the cars somewhere, and they ate with a zest to prepare for the ceremony, arguing ar-guing the best place for it, and quarreling quar-reling amorously over details. Mallory Mal-lory was for one of the vestibules as the scene of ' their union, but Marjorle was for the baggage car, till she realized real-ized that Snoozleums might be unwilling unwill-ing to attend. Then she swung round to the vestibule, but Mallory shifted to the observation platform. Marjorle had left Snoozleums with Mrs. Temple, who promised to hide him when the new conductor . passed through the car, and she reminded Harry to get the waiter to bring them a package of bones for their only "child," so far. On the way back from the dining car they kissed each other good-bye again at all the trystlng places they had sanctified before. The sun was radiant, the world good, and the very train ran with jubilant rejoicing. They could not doubt that a few more hours would see them legally man and wife. Mallory restored Marjorle to her place In their car, and with smiles of assurance, left her for another par-sou-hunt through the train. She waited wait-ed for him in a bridal agitation. He ransacked the train forward In vain, and returned, passing Marjorle with a shake of, the head, and a sour countenance. He went out to the observation ob-servation platform where he stumbled on Ira Lathrop and Anne Gattle, engaged en-gaged in a conversation of evident intimacy, for they jumped when he opened the door, as if they were guilty of some plot. Mallory mumbled his usual, "Excuse "Ex-cuse me." whirled on his heel, and dragged his discouraged steps back through the Observation Room, where various women and a few men of evident evi-dent unclericality were draped across arm chairs and absorbed in lazy conversation con-versation or bobbing their heads over magazines that trembled with the motion mo-tion of the train. Mrs. Wellington was busily writing at the desk, but he did not know who she was, and he did not care whom she was writing to: He did not observe ob-serve the baleful glare of Mrs. Whit-comb, Whit-comb, who sat watching Mrs. Wellington, Welling-ton, knowing all too well who she was, and suspecting the correspondent correspond-ent Mrs. Whitcomb was tempted to spell the word with one "r." Mallory stumbled into the men's portion of the composite car. Here he nodded with a sickly cheer to the sole occupant, Dr. Temple, who was looking less ministerial than ever in an embroidered skull cap. The otd rascal was sitting far back on his lumbar vertebrae. One of his hands clasped a long glass tilled with a liquid of a hue that resembled some- thing stronger than what it was mere ginger ale. The other hand toyed with a long black cigar. Ths smoke curled round the old man'i head like the fumes of a sultan'i narghile, and through the wisps his face was one of Oriental luxury. Mallory's 4yes were caught from this picture of beatitude by the en- trance, at the other door, of a man who had evidently swung aboard at the most recent stop for Mallory had not seen him. His gray hair was crowned with a soft- black hat, and his spare frame was swathed In .a frock coat that had seen better days. His soft gray eyes seemed to search timidly the smoke-clouded atmosphere, atmos-phere, and he had a bashful air which Mallory translated as one of diffidence in a place where liquors and cigars were dispensed. With equal diffidence Mallory advanced ad-vanced and in a low tone accosted tha newcomer cautiously: "Excuse me you look like a clergyman." clergy-man." "The hell you say!" Mallory pursued the question no further. CHAPTER XV1H. In the Composite Car. It was the gentle Btranger's turn to miss his guess. He bent over the chair into which Mallory had flopped, and said in a tense, low tone: "You look like a t'oroughbred sport. I'm trying to make up a game of stud poker. Will you join me?" Mallory shook his heavy head in refusal, re-fusal, and with dull eyes watched the man, whose profession he no longer misunderstood, saunter up to the blissful bliss-ful Doctor from Ypsilanti, and murmur mur-mur again: "Will you join me?" "Join you in what, sir?" said Dr. Temple, with alert courtesy. "A. little game." "I don't mind," the doctor smiled, rising with amiable readiness. "The checkers are in the next room." "Quit your klddto'," the stranger coughed. "How about a little freeze-out?" freeze-out?" "Freeze-out?" said Dr. Temple. "It sounds interesting. Is it something like authors?" The newcomer shot a quick glance at this man, whose innocent air he suspected. But he merely drawled: "Well, you play It with cards." "Would you mind teaching me the rules?" said the old sport from Ypsilanti. Ypsi-lanti. The gambler was growing suspicious of this too, too childlike innocence. He whined: "Say, what's your little game, eh?" but decided to risk the venture. He sat down at a table, and Dr. Temple, bringing along his glass, drew up a chair. The gambler took a pack of cards from his pocket, and shuffled them with a Bnap that startled Dr. Temple and a dexterity that delighted de-lighted him. "Go on, it's beautiful to see," he explained. The gambler set the pack down with the one word "Cut I" but since the old man made no effort to comply, the gambler did not Insist. He took up the pack again and ran off five cards to each place with a grace that staggered the doctor. Mallory was about to Intervene for the protection of the guileless physician physi-cian when the conductor chanced to saunter in. The gambler, seeing him, snatched Dr. Temple's cards from his hand and slipped the pack into his pocket, "What's the matter now?" Dr. Temple Tem-ple asked, but the newcomer huskily answered: "Wait, a minute. Walt a minute." The conductor took in tbe scene at a glance and, stalking up to the table, spoke1 with the grimness of a sea-captain: "Say, I've got my eye on you.' Don't start nothin'." The stranger stared at him wonder-ingly wonder-ingly and demanded: "Why, what you drivin' at?" "You know all right," the conductor growled, and then turned on the befuddled be-fuddled old clergyman, "and you, too." "Me, too?" the preacher gasped. "Yes, you too," the conductor repeated, re-peated, shaking an accusing forefinger under his nose. "Your actions have been suspicious from the beginning. We've all been watching you." Dr. Temple was so agitated that he nearly let fall his secret. "Why, do you realize that I'm a " "Ah, don't start that," sneered the conductor, "I can spot a gambler as far as I can see one. You and your side partner here want to look out, that's all, or I'll drop you at the next tank." Then he. walked out, hia very shoulder blades uttering threats. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Minute Men. The so-called organization of Minute Min-ute Men came into existence shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution. The patriots of Massachusetts and other New England colonies banded themselves together, obtained arms and pledged themselves to the defense de-fense of the colonies "at a minute's notice." From this pledge to take up arms "at a minute's notice" they got their name. The Minute Men were enrolled 'In pursuance of the act of the Provincial Provin-cial congress, which was passed on November 23, 1774. Many names that were destined to become famous in the Revolution appeared In this roster of patriots. In the beginning they were expected to serve only in the New England colonies, but when the conflict came no thought was taken of this. The Massachusetts Historical society has a list of the patriots who were enrolled as Minute Men. |