Richmond Palladium (Daily), 23 January 1906 — Page 3

'THE MORNING PALLADIUM TUESDAY, JANUARY 23", 1906.

PAGE THREE.

2Z.

' THE . MAN ON THE BOX

By HAROLD MacGRATH Author of "Tba Grey Cloak," "Th Poppet Crown."

1

Copyright, 1904. Tb SYHOPSis. ' CHAPTER . I. introduces the hero, Robert Warburton, a well to do West Point graduate on duty, in ArUona. After being wounded by an Indian resigns his commission in the army and leaves for European tour. CHAPTER II. Introduces the heroine. Miss Betty Annesley. daughter of a retired army officer living near Washington. A beautiful, representative young American girl, whom Warburton has seen in Paris, . is smitten, and follows to : New York. Seeks Introduction on board .steamer but fails. CHAPTER III. 1 ' THE ADVENTURE BEGINS. It was only when the ship was less than a day's Journey off Sandy Hook that the colonel came on deck, once more to resume his Interest in human affairs. How the girl hovered about him I She tucked the shawl more snugly around his feet; she arranged and rearranged the pillows back of his head; she fed him from a bowl of soup; she read from some favorite book; she smoothed the furrowed brow; she stilled the long, white, nervous fingers with her own small, firm, brown ones; she was mother and daughter in one. Wherever she moved, the parent eye followed her, and there lay in Its deeps a strange mixture of love. All the while he drummed ceaselessly on the arms of his chair. And Mr. Robert, watching all these things from afar, Mr. Robert sighed dolorously. The residue air in-his lungs was renewed more frequently than nature originally intended It should be. Love has its beneficences as well as its pangs, only they are not wholly appreciable by the recipient. For what Is better than a good pair of lungs constantly filled and refilled with pure air? Mr. Robert even felt a twinge of remorse besides. He was brother to a girl almost as beautiful as yonder one (to my mind far more beautiful!) and he recalled that In two years he had not seen her nor made strenuous efforts to keep up the correspondence. Another good point added to the score of love! And, alas! he might never see this charming girl again, this daughter so full' of filial love and care. He had sought the captain, but that hale and hearty old sea-dog had politely rebuffed him. "My, dear young man," he( said, "I do all I possibly can for the entertainment and comfort of my passengers, but In 'this 'case I must refuse your request" ' r "And pray, why, sir?" demanded Mr. Robert, with dignity. ' "For the one and simple reason that Col. Annesley expressed the desire to be the recipient of no ship introductions." "What the deuce is he, a billionaire?" "You have me there, sir. I confess that I know nothing whatever about him. This Is the first time he has ever sailed on my deck." All of which perfectly accounts for Mr. Robert's sighs In what musicians call the doloroso. If only he knew the colonel! How simple It would be! Certainly, a West Point graduate would find some consideration. But the colonel spoke to no one save his daughter, and his daughter to no one save her parent, her maid, and the stewardess. Would they remain In New York, or would they seek their far-off southern home? Oh, the thousands of questions which surged through his brain! From time to time he glanced sympathetically at the colonel, whose fingers drummed and drummed and drummed. "Poor wretch! his stomach must be In bad shape. Or maybe he has the palsy." Warburton mused upon the curious incertitude of the human anatomy. But Col. Annesley did not have the palsy. What he had is at once the greatest blessing and the greatest curse of God remembrance, or conscience, If you will. What a beautiful color her hair was, dappled with sunshine and shadow! , . .. Pshaw! Mr. Robert threw aside his shawl and book (it is of no real importance, , but I may as well add that he never completed the reading of that summer's most popular novel) and sought the smoking-room, where, with the aid of a fat perfecto and a liberal stack of blues, he proceeded to divert himself till the boat reached quarantine. I shall not say that he left any of his patrimony at the mahogany table with its green-baize covering nnd its little brass disks for dgar ashes, but I am certain that he did not make one of those stupendous winnings we often read about and never witness. This much, however: he made the acquaintance of a very important personage, who was presently to add no insignificant weight on the scales of Mr. Robert's destiny. He was a Russian, young, handsome, suave, of what the newspapers insist on calling distinguished bearing. He spoke English pleasantly but imperfectly. He possessed a capital fund of anecdote, and Warburton, being an army man, loved a good droll story. II was a revelation to see the way he dipped the end of his cigar into his coffee, a stimulant which he drank with Balzacian frequency and relish. Besides t these accomplishments, h& played a very smooth hand at the great American game. While Mr. Robert's admiration was not aroused, it was surely awakened. frJero. uo Iroufeje with tfcfe

Bobbs - Meirill Company. ' customs officials. X Tjrace of old French dueling pistols and a Turkish simitar were the only articles which might possibly have been dutiable. The inspector looked hard, but he was finally convinced that Mr Robert was not a professional curlo-collector. Col. Annesley and his daughter were old hands; they had gone through all this before. Scarce an article In their, trunks was disturbed. Once outside, the colonel caught the eye of a cabby, and he and his daughter stepped in. "Holland House, sir, did you say?" asked the cabby. The colonel nodded. The cabby cracked his whip, and away they rolled' over the pavement. Warburton's heart gave a great bound. She had actually leaned out of the cab, and for one brief moment their glances had met. Scarce knowing what he did, he Jumped into another cab and went pounding after. It was easily ten blocks from the pier when the cabby raised the lid and peered down at his fare. "Do you want f folly them ahead?" he cried ' "No, no!" Warburton was startled out of his wild dream. "Drive to he Holland House no to the Waldorf. Yes, the Waldorf; and keep your nag going?" "Waldorf it is, sir!". The lid above closed. Clouds had gathered in the heavens. It was beginning to rain. But Warburton neither saw the clouds nor felt the first few drops of rain. All the way up-town he planned and planned as many plans as there were drops of rain; the rain wet him, but the plans drowned him he became submerged. If he could find some one he knew at the Holland House, some one who would strike up a smoking-room acquaintance with the colonel, - the rest would be simple enough. Annesley Annesley; he couldn't place the name. Was he a regular, retired, or a veteran of the Civil War? And yet, the name was not totally unfamiliar." Certainly, he was a fine-looking old fellow, with his white hair and Alexandrian nose. And here he was, he, Robert Warburton, In New York, simply because he happened to be in the booking office of the Gare du Nord one morning and overheard a very beautiful girl say: "Then we shall sail from Southampton day after to-morrow." Of a truth, it Is the Infinitesimal things that count heaviest. So deep was he in the maze of his tentative romance that when the cab finally stopped abruptly, he was totally unaware of the transition from activity to passivity. "Hotel, sir!" "Ah, yes!" Warburton leaped out, fumbled in his pocket, and brought fourth a five-dollar note, which he gave to the cabby. x Warburton rushed into the noisy, gorgeous lobby, and wandered about till he espied the desk. Here he turned over his luggage checks to the clerk and said that these accessories of travel must be in his room before eight o'clock that night, or there would be trouble. It was now half after five. The clerk eagerly scanned the register. Warburton, Robert Warburton; It was not a name with which he was familiar. A thin film of icy hauteur spread over his face. "Very well, sir. Do you wish a bath with your room?" "Certainly." Warburton glanced at his watch again. "The price" "Hang the price! A room, a room with a bath that's what I want. Have you got It?" This was said with a deal of real Impatience and a hauteur that overtopped the clerk's. The film of Ice melted into a gracious smile. Some new millionaire from Pittsburg, thought the clerk. He swung the book around. "You have forgotten your place of residence, sir" he said. "Place of residence!" Warburton looked at the clerk in blank astonishment. Place of residence? Whyt heaven help him, he had none, none! For the first time since he left the army the knowledge came home to him, and it struck rather deep. He caught up the pen, poised it an indecisive moment, then hastily scribbled Paris: as well Paris as any where. ? ' Our homeless young gentleman lighted a cigar and went out under the portico. An early darkness had settled over the city, and a heavy steady rain was falling. The asphalt pavements glistened and twinkled as far as the eye s range could reach. : A thousand lights gleamed down on him, and he seemed to be standing in a canon dappled with fireflies. Place of residence! Neither the fig-tree nor the vine! Did he lose his money tomorrow, the source of his small Income, , he would be without a roof over his head. True, his brother's roof would always welcome him; but a roof-tree of his own! And he could lay claim to no city, either, having bad, the good fortune to be born in a healthy country town. Place of residence! Truly he had none; a melancholy fact which. he had not appreciated till now. .And all this had slipped hjg jslnj, Jjficause c & mr jjta jui

heavenly blue as a rajah's sapphire. ' "But there's always a", fatted ' Calf

waiting in Washington." he la joshed j aloud. , "Once a soldier, always a; solJier. I suppose I'll be begging the' colonel to have a chat with the 'president. There doesn't seem to be any way of getting out of It" III have to don the old togs again. . I ought to write a letter to Nancy, bat It will be finer to drop In on 'em unexpectedly. Bless herJaeart!1 (So say I!); And "Jack's, too, and bis little, wife's! And 1 haven't written a line in eight weeks. But I'll make it up In ten minutes." And if I haven't a roof -tree, at least I've got the ready cash and can buy one any day." f AH of which proves that Mr. Robert possessed a buoyant spirit, and fafused to be downcast for more than one minute at a time. He threw away his cigar and re-entered the hotel, and threaded his way through the appalling labyrinths of corridors till he found some one to guide him to the barber shop, where he could have his hair cut and his beard trimmed In the good old American way, money no object For a plan had at last come to him; and it wasn't at all bad. He determined to dine at the Holland House at eight-thirty. It was quite possible that he would, sec her. He left the hotel, hailed a cab, and was driven down Fifth avenue. He stopped before the fortress of privileges. From the cab it looked very formidable. Worldly as he was, he was somewhat innocent. He did not know that New York hotels are for midable only when your money gives out To get past all these brass-but toned lackeys and tj go on as though he really had business within took no small quantity of nerve. However, he slipped by the outpost without any challenge and boldly approached the desk. A quick glance at the register told him that- they had indeed put up at this hotel. He could not explain why he felt so happy over his discovery. There are certain exultations which are Inexplicable. As he turned away from the desk, he bumped into a gentleman almost as elegantly attired as himself. "I beg your pardon!" he cried, stepping aside. "What? Mr. Warburton?" Mr. Robert greatly surprised and confused, found himself shaking hands with his ship acquaintance, the Russian. "I am very glad to see you again, Count," said Warburton, recovering. , "A great pleasure! It is wonderful how small a city is! I had never expect' to see you again. Are you stopping here? " I had intended to try to reproduce the Russian's dialect, but one dialect in a book Is enough; and we haven't reached the period of its activity. "No, I am at the Waldorf."; "Eh? I have heard all about you millionaires." "Oh, we are not all of us millionaires who stop there," laughed Warburton. "There are some of us who try to make others believe that we are." Then, dropping into passable French, he added: "I came here tonight with the purpose . of dining. Will you do me the honor of sharing my table?" . ' "You speak French?" delighted. "It is wonderful. This English has so many words that mean so rnany things, that of all languages I speak it. with the least fluency. But It Is my deep regret, Monsieur, to refuse your kind invitation. I am dining with friends." "Well, then, breakfast to-morrow at 11," Warburton urged, for he had taken a fancy to this affable Russian. "Alas! See how I am placed. I am forced to leave for Washington early in the morning. We poor diplomats, we earn our honors. But my business is purely personal In this case, neither political nor diplomatic" The count drew his gloves thoughtfully through his fingers. "I shall of course pay my respects to my ambassador. Do I recollect your saying that you belonged to the United States army?" "I recently resigned. ,My post was in a wild country, with little or nothing to do; monotony and routine." "You limp slightly?" "A trifling mishap," modestly. "Eh, you do wrong. You may soon be at war with England, and having resigned your commission, you would lose all you had waited these years for." .Warburton smiled. "WTe shall not go to war with England." "This army of yours is small." "Well, yes; but made of pretty good material fighting machines with brains." "Ha!" The count laughed softly. "Bah! how I detest all these cars and 3hips! Will you believe me, I had rather my little chateau, my vineyard, ind my wheat fields, than all the orders. . . . Eh, well, my country: there must be some magic in that phrase. Of all loves, that' of country Is the most lasting. Is that Balzac? t do not recall. Only once. in a cen tury do we find a man who is willing to betray his country, and even then he may have for his purpose neither hate, revenge, nor love of power." peculiar gravity sat on his mobile face, caused perhaps, by some disagreeable Inward thought. "How long shall you be in Washington?" asked Warhurton. The count shrugged. "Who . can ay "I go to "Washington myself within i few days." "Till we meet again, then. Monsieur." The count lifted his hat, a courtesy which was gracefully acknowledged by '.he American; while the clerks at tbe lesk eyed wrta tolerant amusement these polite but rather unfamiliar ceremonies of departure. These foreignv were odJL differs z

"X very decent chap," mused Warburton. "and a mighty Bhrewd hand ctofcer fcr a foreigner. He is going "o Washington: we shall meet again. I wonder if she's in the restaurant now." ;i . Mr. Robert's appetite, for a healthy

young man, was strangely incurious. He searched the menu from top to bottom, and then from bottom to top: nothing excited his palate. Whenever persous entered, he would glance up eagerly; only to feel his heart sink lower and lower. I don't know how many times he was disappointed. The waiter ahemmed politely. , Warburton, in order to have an excuse to remain, at length hit upon a partridge and a pint of Chablls. Nine o'clock. Was it possible that the colonel and his daughter were dining In their rooms? Perish the possibility! And he looked in vain for the count A quarter-past nine. Mr. Robert's anxiety was becoming almost unendurable. Nine-thirty. He was about to surrender in despair. His partridge lay 6moking on his plate, and he was on the point of demolishing it, when, behold! they came. Tbe colonel entered first, then his daughter, her liand on the arm of the count! Warburton never fully described to me his feelings at that moment, but, knowing him as I do, I can put together a very respectable picture of the chagrin and consternation that sat on his countenance.' "To think of being nearly six days aboard," Mr. Robert once bawled at me, wrathfully, "and not to know that that Russian chap knew her!" It was almost incredible that such a thing should happen. The three sat down at a table seven times removed from Warburton's. He could see only an adorable profile and the colonel's handsome but care-worn face. The count .sat with his back turned. In that black evening gown she was simply beyond the power of adjectives. What shoulders, what an Incomparable throat! Mr. Robert's bird grew cold; the bouquet from his glass fainted and died away. How her face lighted when she laughed, and she laughed frequently! What a delicious curve ran from her lips to her young bosom! But never once did she look in his direction. At ten o'clock Miss Annesley rose, and the count escorted her to the elevator, returning almost immediately. He and the colonel drew their heads together. From time to time the count shrugged, or the colonel shook his head. Again and again the Russian dipped the end of his cigar into his coffee-cup, which he frequently replenished. But for Mr. Robert the gold had turned to gilt, the gorgeous to the SHE WAS GONE. gaudy. She was gone. The imagina tion moves as swiftly as light, leaping from one castle in air to another, and still another. Mr. Robert was the architect of some fine ones, I may safely assure you. And he didn't mind in the least that they tumbled down as rapidly as they builded: only, the incentive was gone. What the colonel had to say to the count, or the count to the colonel, was of no interest to him; so he made an orderly retreat. I am not so old as not to appreciate his sleeplessness that night Some beds are hard, even when made of the softest down. In the morning he telephoned to the Holland House. The Annesleys, he was informed, had departed for parts unknown. The count had left direc tions to forward any possible mail to the Russian Embassy, Washington. Sighs in the doloroso; the morning papers and numerous cigars; a whisky and soda; a game of Indifferent billiards with an affable stranger; another whisky and soda; and a gradual reclamation of Mr. Robert's interest in worldly affairs. She was gone. : (To be Continued.) The Diamond Cure. Tfce latest news from Paris, is, that they have discovered a diamond cure for consumption. If you fear consumption or pneumonia, it will, however, be best for you to take that great remedy mentioned by W. T. IeGee, of Vanleer, Tenn. "I had a cough forfourteen years. Nothing helped me, until I took Dr. King's New Discovery for Consurnption? Coughs and Colds, which gave instant relief,, and effected a permanent cure." Unequaled quick cure, for Threat and Lang Troubles. At. A. G. Luken & Co. 's drug store; price 50c and $1.00, guaranteed. Trial bottle free. ixi

SCALY ECZEMA ALL OVER BODY

Eruptions Appeared on Chest, and Face and Neck Were All Broken Out Scales and Crusts Formed Iowa Lady Has Great Faith i In Cuticura Remedies for Skin Diseases. ANOTHER WONDERFUL CURE BY CUTICURA "T VtnA on unmtirtii nnrvfir rn TY1V chest and body and extend upwards and downwards, so that my neck and face were all broken out; also my arms and the lower limbs as far as the knees. I at first thought it was prickly heat. But soon scales or crusts formedjvhere the breaking out was. Instead of going , to a physician, I purchased a complete treatment of the Cuticura Remedies, in which I had great faith, and all was satisfactory. A year or two later the ; eruption appeared again, only a little lower; but Defore it had time to spread I procured another supply of th Cuticura Remedies, and continued their use until the cure was complete, it is now five years since the last attack, and have not seen any signs of a return. I have taken about three bottles of the Cuticura Resolvent, and do not know how much of the Soap or Ointment, as I always keep them with me; probably one half dozen of each. " I decided to give the Cuticura Remedies a trial after I had seen the results of their treatment of eczema on an infant belonging to one of our neighbors. The parent took the child to the nearest physician, but his treatment did no good. So they procured the Cuticura Remedies and cured her with them. When they began using Cuticura Remedies her face was terribly disfigured with sores, but she was entirely cured, for I saw the same child at the age of five years, and her mother told me the eczema had never broken out since. e I have more faith in Cuticura Remedies for skin diseases than anything I know of. I am, respectfully yours, Emma E. Wilson, Liscomb, Iowa, Oct. 1, 1905." Complete External and Internal Treatment tor T Humor, from Pimple to Scrofula, from Infancy oAm, coniiatinc of Cuticura Soap, 85c, Ointment, We., ReaolTent, 40c. (inform of Chocolate Coated rule, aws. cm. ov of)), rotter (Green or Blaclt Importers of Tea know these teas to be ; the richest. One teaspoonf ul makes two cups. Steep five minutes in absolutely Boiling Water. These teas should never be boiled. ABE SOLD LOOSE OR IN SEALED PACKETS BY .GREAT ATLAN TIC & MAIN. PACIFIC TEA CO, 727 PU DUrt-9 BY AUTHORITY OFTHE 1AAND CEYLOrcOMMISSIONERF INOW

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