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Tm the intematibnal and inter
colonial peacemaker,"' says Mr. Itt,
who was a little, sandy, dried-up man.
"I make peace. Bring on your quar
rels. Now."
""Why don't he try to make up be
tween Jim Barnes and his wife?"
U shouted one of the wags. But Mr.
'' Itt took a serious view of the situ
ation. "This ain't no joke, ladies and
gents,'" he said. "It's a respectable
perfession, mine is. It's a necessary
one, too. There's far too much quar
reling in these days. I made peace
only last week between the mayor of
Deedles and his lady, and the town's
been clean of graft ever since. Now,
ladies and gents, my fee ii a dollar,
and my tent's open by appointment
at any hour after dark, when you
can come in quietlike and nobody
will see you."
Well, that raised a laugh, but,
would you believe it, Sadie Roach,
. our maid, declared that she saw Mr.
and Mrs. Barnes stealing away out
of Mr. Itt's tent, looking as pleased as
a courting couple the next morning.
And as the days went by and Mr.
Itt remained, it certainly seemed that
an improvement had come, to Surbi
ton. Folks who hadn't been on speak
ing terms for years i began to say
Hello!" to each other, and spite
fences were taken down, and nobody
complained when the neighbors'
chickens got into his garden any
more.
Well, what happened next scared
me. I was strolling near Mr. Itts
tent, just by chance, you understand,
when the little man came out and
' accosted me.
"Mademoiselle," he said, executing
a bow for that Is the only word suit
able for the absurd little bob he made,
"can I be of Bervlce to you?"'
My heart went Into my mouth and
I couldn't find any words with which
to answer him,
"If you was to come to my tent
about 8 o'clock to-night," said Mr.
Itt, "I might be. able to help. you.
know yourself You have trouble in i
your heart, mademoiselle. I can
trace it in the third line of your rightj
hand, running from the Mount of
Hercules tb the Oasis of Luna."
And with these enigmatical words
he beat a retreat Into his tent, leav-;
Ing me decidedly annoyed and a little ',
humiliated.
, I knew he couldn't possibly have
heard about me and George, because
our engagement had been kept a pro
found secret outside the family, and
only the relations and the servants,
knew about It and they wouldn't have
breathed a word to anybody. How t
ever, I began to get piqued by Mr.'
Itt's words, and about 8 o'clock that
night, finding myself quite r by
chance, you understand In the' vi
cinity of Mr. Itt's tent, I thought I
would drop In. to see whether there
really was anything in what he said'
about the Mount of Hercules.
Though it had begun to dawn on
me that I had had my hands in my
muff and that he hadn't seen them at
all
Mr. Itt seemed to have been wait
ing for me, for hardly had I drawn
near his tent when he was outside,
seizing me by the hands.
"You have come," he said. "I am
glad you have come. Mademoiselle,
you remind me of my dear friend His
Excellency Ching Foo, the grand vi
zier of Tartary, who had a fearful
quarrel with his wife last week over
he spending money. He came to me.
" 'Mr. tit," he said, I have had a row
with my wife and I wish I were dead.
She wants a hundred yen a week to
buy sher own clothes with. What
woulfijjou do?'
'38F8 her two hundred,' I an
swereaTand he saw the justice of It
and went away happy. They're
reconciled now."
Mr. Itt's views seemed sensible to
me, but all the while he was repeating
this absurd patter he kept glancing
nervously over his shoulder, as
though he were expecting somebody.
And as he ended-hamade an abrupt'
!ML3!'
