The sun. [volume], December 28, 1913, FOURTH SECTION PICTORIAL MAGAZINE, Page 13, Image 41

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13
E PECULIAR ADVENTURES OF THE LAXWORTHY TRIO
THE SUN, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1918.
H
i in nmn wus awaiting the service
df his dinner In the miignlllccnt
buffet of the dare de Lyon. He
sat lit n table laid for three, on
Uu. tight liand Hide of the entrance and
dose to the window. From below came
Ihc mnnoll of the train.
In appearance he was) of Homewhat
l,,? 1 1 nt it medium height, of unuthletlc,
lnit frail. hHlniie. His head wan
'(hi .i-t forward, mm though he
irtlletiil with a fhronle stoop. He
nii steel rimmed spectacles with the
ali .i, line who has taken to them too
lit. in life to have escuped the constunt
M"i ,lf peering, which had given to
i. U mi almost storklike appear-
am '
, A in. litre d'hotel, who wan passing,
I ami looked at the two as yet
uii .!'d places.
.Mioi'leiir desires the service of his
aim i " he Inquired.
.1 lu T. l.axworthy glanced U at
tin l"k.
In live mlnutex," he doclnreil, "my
fri inN will have arrived. The service
of dinner can then proceed."
Tin man bowed and withdrew. Al-nio.-i
,i.x he left the table the swinging
doois opened once more to admit an
oilnr traveller. Ills eyes fell upon the
roliMiv figure, now deep In a book,
,.iiid at the table on his right. With
the pleased smile of one who greets
tu ulil friend he approached the table
it which Mr. John T. Laxworthy sat
.itting.
Tin- Idiosyncrasies of grout men are
aHas worth noting, and Mr. John T.
I.ivworthy was, without a doubt, fore
deemed from the cradle to a certain
measure of celebrity. Kveu now. when
his ft lend stood by his side, he did not
at nine look up. Slowly, and with his
t)e. still riveted upon the panes he was
itud.vlng, he held out his left hand.
"1 nni glad to see you, Anderson," ho
Mid. "Shall It be white or red?"
Mr John T. Laxworthy closed his
look with n little sigh of regret and
placed a marker within It. He then
carefully adjusted his spectacle and
made a delltx-rate survey of his com
panion. Finally he nodded, slowly and
approvingly.
A joung man who had Just complct-
td a leisurely survey of the room
dropped his monocle .and came toward
them He was young, he was F.nutlsh,
he vv.i well bred, he was an athlete.
He beamed upon the two men.
How are you. Forrest? How do you
do. I.axworthy?" he exclaimed. "Look-
Inc jolly tit. both of you," he went on
amiably. "What a necktie, chief! You
twin to let me choose "em for you."
Mr. I.iivvorthy raised his glass.
Then he Inclined his head In turn to
eich of his companions.
"1 nm glad to see you both," he said.
"(Mi the whole. I think that I may con
rratulate you. You have done well,
t drink to our success."
There was a short pause. Presently
Mr I..txvvorthy commenced to peel an
apple.
"A great portion of this last year,"
he -.lid, "which you two have spent
appaieiitly with profit In carrying out
my Instructions, I have given to the
hi fiit ion of a certain pcholarly
tone which I feel convinced Is my
proper environment. Incidentally I
have devoted myself to the study of
r.inoti" schools of philosophy. I have
mered from my studies with a clearer
and more decisive outlook upon the
fpwi it scheme of life.
"In one very Interesting treatise I found
s-wr.d obvious truths Ingeniously put.
A certain decadence In the material
jropeiity of an Imaginary state Is
fir uly proved to lie due to a too blind
InllAivIng of the tenets of what U
Known as the hysterical morality, as
HEiiii'st the decrees of what we might
call expediency. A little sentiment, llko
pirhc In cookery, Is a good thing. Too
much I fatal. A little sufficient
mora'.ty Is excellent; a superabundance
disastrous.
"Society Is divided into two classes,
tho-c who have and those who have
decile to have. The one must always
ploy upon the other. They are there
fore .uways changing places. It Is this
cell' i ued movement which lends on
ertrx to the human race. As soon as
it i si-pended, degeneration must fol
low a matter of course. It Is for
tho-i w ho recognize this great truth to
follow and obey Its tenets."
Mr Lixworthy was. silent for several
moments. He was glancing In medita
tive fashion through the pages of the
book in which he had been engrossed
Jbefoie the arrival of his friends. Finally
tC Closed It.
"There are some sentences there," he
rem.li Led. "wonderfully Illustrative of
my meaning. Briefly the situation Is
this
Ib ie nm I. a man of singular in-tc-llenco
and much energy, willing to
as no myself with you two In any
enterprise likely to lead us out of the
coimn u ruck of life, adventurous or
mercenary, which may commend Itself
o tlx for that purpose I have trained
you .ill according to your capacities.
What j. hi are you owe, In some meas
ure ' me. In u lesser degree to your
whes In any case you are now fit to
take t u- tloor."
M we not hear more definitely
Me' ' is that you propose?" Anderson
ake,,
stand," Mr. Laxworthy replied,
"alwavs upon the. threshold of the land
of ad v 1 1 Mire. At no place are we nearer
to It ti ,u, in this room. It is our duty
to u .ur energies to assist In the
rrc.ii p melples of movement to which
I have ief erred, We must take our
part a, 'he struggle.
''i'n winch side?' you naturally ask.
'Are ui to in. among those who have,
triil i through weakness or desire,
mus' , ul to others? Or shall we take
fur . i among the more Intellectual,
.the i i highly gifted minority, those
ho u st the progress of the world by
hc'lpir inward the redistribution of its
wwi'o Sydney, how much money
haw v u
"TI i i. i tindred and ninety-five francs
ii'l i ft tv coppers."
"'l i Anderson?"
"W " the exception of a five franc
Pl"' ' admitted, "I am worth ex--tti
, i oh as I shall be able to hor-
row fi
",
drj
take
"i vou presently."
1 case," Mr, Laxworthy said
ir position Is preordained. We
r ace among the aggressors.
fi.,r
s," he announced abruptly,
1 1 wholly made. Wo wait
hall we call It an Inspiration?
a at this moment, It is not
Van
lu re f
I'irl ,
far fr
I'orris Anderson and his vis-a-vis
tiirm.i ilH though Instinctively, toward
the il. ..r t that moment two men who
tiad im ,kx,.,i through were standing
Upoi ll Ihleshold.
n lather past middle age, cor
puli i.i w ,, r,.(j f,.ntlm.H ,,f tt cimrse
II ompanlon, who was leaning
um i ,r,n, W11H rnu,., younger and a
yty diti rent sort of person. He wtt
" I v e.,nKy thin. His feutures
The Secret of the
were wasted almost to cmnclatlon, his
complexion was ghastly.
Slowly the two men came down the
room. They took possession of an empty
table close at hand. The young man
sank Into his chair with a little sigh of
exhaustion,
"A liUetir brandy, quick," the older
man ordered. "My friend h fatigued."
Sydney took thu Imttlo which stood
upon their table, poured out a wine
glassful and stepped across and ac
costed the young man,
"Do me the favor of drinking this,
sir," he begged. "I cun see that you
are In need of it,"
The young man accepted It with a
smile of gratitude. His companion
echoed his thanks.
Sydney stepped back and resumed his
seat. In u few minutes he leaned
across the table.
"The 1'aradlse Hotel, Hyeres," he said
under his breath.
Mr. Laxworthy shrugged his shoul
ders. "Kvcn you, my friends, are not wholly
deceived, I presume, by the young mini's
appearance."
They evidently were. Mr. laxworthy
sighed.
''Your powers of observation are,
without doubt, exceedingly stunted. Let
mo assure you that your syuiiathy for
that young man Is entirely wasted."
"You know who he Is?" Sjdney
asked.
"I believe so," lixvvorlhy admitted.
"I can hazard a gues even as to his
companion's identity. IJut- the Para
dise Hotel, Hyeres: Anderson, watch
the door. Sydney, watch your friends
there."
A tall, broad shouldered man. with
fair mustache and wearing a long trav
elling coat, had entered the buffet. The
majority of those present suffered his
scrutiny untiotlclng. Indifferent. Not so
these two men who had last entered.
livery nerve of the young man's body
seemed to have become tense. His hand
had stolen into the pocket of his travel
ling coat, and with a little thrill Sidney
saw the glitter of steel half shown for a
moment between his interlocked lin
gers. No longer was this young mnn'st
countenance the countenance of an In
valid. It had become, Instead, like the
face of a wolf.
The man came slowly down the room.
Laxworthy and his two associates
watched. Their two neighbors at the
next table sat In well simulated Indif
ference. The newcomer made no secret
of his destination. Ho advanced straight
to their table and came to a standstill
Immediately in front of them.
Of all the words which passed be
tween those three men, not one was
audible. Only at the last the elder man
touched the label attached to his bag,
and they heard his words:
"The Paradise Hotel. Hyeres We
shall be there for at least a month."
The newcomer stood perfectly still for
several moments, as though deliber
ating. Then this stranger raised his
hat slightly and turned away.
"The Taradlse Hotel at Hyeres," he
repeated. "I shall know, then, where
to find you."
"One might be Interested to know the
meaning of these things." Sydney mur
mured softly.
A woman, wrapped In magnificent
furs, who was passing their table, was
run Into by a clumsy waiter and
dropped a satchel from her finger, Syd
ney hastened to restore It to her and
was rewarded by a gracious smile.
"You seem fated to be my good Sa
maritan to-day," she remarked. "Per
haps we shall meet In the Luxe, If you
are going south. I am going to Hyeres
to tho Paradise Hotel. Why do you
smile?"
"My friends and I." he explained,
"were at that moment discussing a sug
gestion to proceed to the same place."
"I congratulate you," I.axworthy re
marked dryly as Sydney resumed his
seat. "A most Interesting acquaintance,
yours."
"Do you know who she Is?" the young
man asked. "I only met her on the
train."
'She Is Madame Hertrand. Her hus
band at one time held a post In the
I'oielgn Office under Fiiure. For same
First Futurist House and Garden Finished for Inspection of a Bewildered Public
J l "ST when every one thought the
Cubist fancy had received a body
blow through the action of the
directors of the Paris Salon In re
fusing to give a place to the weird
productions of the Post-Impressionist
painters a new phase of the cult crops
up in the shape of one of the most
amazing private residences ever con
ceived by human Ingenuity gone wrong.
The new futurist residence Is to be
seen a Chester, Pa. Visitors are Hock
ing there from near nna far to inspect
It, and the proudest man In Pennsyl
vania Is the creator of the Cubist struc
ture, Kdward Dlckerson. Mr. Dlckerson
is a business man of Chester, and his
new residence thrusts its unconven
tional architecture on the passerby In
one of the most classy neighborhoods
of the town. As the pedestrian ap
proaches the new house and grounds ho
sees what appears to be a handsome
.luatiuting the possibilities of
Lcfant stood as though turned to stone. "Am 1 in command
reason or other, he was discredited, and
since then he has died. There was
some scandal about Madame Hertrand
herself, hut nothing definite ever came
to light."
"Madame seems to survive the loss of
her husband," Forrest Anderson re
marked. Laxworthy held up his hand.
"We have llnlshed, for the moment,
with the Madame Dertrands of tho
world," he announced. "After all, they are
for the pygmies. Here comes food
for giants. You can both look. They
are probably used to It. You will see
the two greatest personages on earth."
His companions gazed eagerly toward
the door. Two men were standing there.
One was middle aged, gray headed, with
somewhat woin, but keen face The
other was taller, with black hair
streaked with gray, a face half Jewish,
half romantic, a skin like Ivory.
"The one nearest you." Laxworthy an
nounced, "Is Freeling I'o union. The
newspapers will tell vmi (hat his fot
tune exceeds the national debt of any
country In the wot Id. He is, without
doubt, the richest man that was ever
born. There has never yet breathed an
emperor whose upraised finger could
provoke or stop a war, whose careless
word could check tin- prosperity of the
proudest nation that ever breathed.
These things Freeling Pnignlon can
do."
"And the other?" Anderson whispered.
"It Is chance," Mr. Laxworthy sa d.
"which placed a sceptre of unlimited
power In the hands of Hlchard Freeling
Polgnton, It Is his own genius which
vvnll of stucco surrounding n substan
tial residence with columns of the same
material. When he gets sufficiently
near to dissect the material used In
the building the result is nmazing.
With sufficient means to gratify his
whim, Mr. Dlckerson decided that his
new residence should be constructed of
the most original material to be found
in the building business or nut of it,
and so be In harmony with the Fu
turist plan of his house. He looked
around the extensive estate thut be
owns at Chester and gathered the ma
terial from the collection of odds and
ends he had acqureil In n lifetime In the
contracting business.
Old sewer pipes, cobblestones, odd
bricks, paving stones, old bottles, rem
nants of doorsteps, stone Jars, broken
crockery, a heterogeneous collection of
second hand building material and own
remnnnts of Iron nnd steel work were
gnthered together to build tho house,
All were wedded by means of a mass of
old drain pipes, paving blocks and
M a g n i fa q u
has made the Marquis Lefant the great
est power in the diplomatic world."
"I never even heard of him," Sydney
admitted.
"These things are new to you," Mr.
Laxworthy continued. "The world's his
tory Is marked for you by what you
read In the dally papers. Fur every
great happening there must be an ob
vious cause. You arc one of tho vast
public, an acceptor of obvious caties
"Yet look at that man. It was his
decision which brought about war be
tween Itussla and Japan. It was he who
stopped the declaration of war agnlnst
Germany by our own Prime Minister nt
the time of the Algeciras dllllculty.
There Is little that he cannot do."
A maltre d'hotel paused and whispered
confidentially In Mr. Laxworthy'. ear:
"The gray gentleman down there, sir,"
ho announced, "Is Mr, Freeling Polgn
ton, the gruit American multi-millionaire."
laxworthy nodded slowly. "Ih he
going to Monte Carlo?"
The attendant shook his head.
"I was speaking to them a moment
ago, sir. Mr. polgnton and his friend
re going for a fortnight's quiet to the
Paradise Hotel at Hyeres."
A black cloud, long and with Jagged
edges, passed away from the face of
the inooii. Tho plain of Hyeres wn
gradually revealed, and beyond the
phalanx of lights on the warships lying
in the bay. The hotel on the hillside
stood sharply out against the dark
bai kgroiind,
L'pon the balcony of one of tho rooms
concrete, without much care being
taken as to the Juxtaposition of one
odd piece to any other odd piece. The
result can best be Judged by reference
to the pictures. As was said, nt a dis
tance It Isn't so bad, but a close Inspec
tion causes astonishment to give place
to amazement nnd amazement to amuse
ment. I tu t Mr. Dlckerson Is very proud of
hN creation nnd the number of visitors
that the place has attracted tickles him.
He has a story to tell concerning the
manner In which he conceived and con
structed the house,
"1 met n chap In Chicago who an
noyed mo considerably," said the origi
nator of the Futurist house. "He was
from New York and 1 took a dislike to
him from the start because of the way
ho referred to that village as the only
place worth thinking about. 1 was also
annoyed by the way he pronounced New
York; but let that pass.
"This man was the centre of crowd
cart wheels.
An interesting
e By E. Phillips Oppenheim
or you?" said Laxworthy.
upon the second floor a man was stand
ing with his back to .the wall. He
looked around at the flooding moonlight.
From the adjoining balcony n thin rope
was hanging. The young man gazed
helplessly nt tho end, which had slipped
from his fingers. He was face to face
with the almost insoluble problem of
how to regain the shelter of his own
room.
The man looked back Into the room
from which he had escaped and down
at the end of the swinging rope. To re
turn Into the room was Insanity. To
stay where ho was was to rlk being
seen by the earliest passerby or the
first person who chanced to look out
from his window. To try to pass to his
own veranda without the aid of that
rope which he had lost waj an Im
possibility. The silence of the night was strange
ly, almost harshly broken from the In
terior of the hotel. An alarm bell,
harsh and dlsoorthint, rang out a brazen
note of terror. Lights suddenly flashed
In the windows, footsteps hurried along
the corridor. The man outside upon
the balcony set his teeth and cursed.
The room behind him was speedily
Invaded. Mine. Hertrand, her beautiful
hair tied up only with pink ribbon, her
eyes kindling with excitement, re
ceived a stream of agitated callers.
"It was I who rang the danger bell,"
mad.ime declared Indignantly. "There
has been a man In my room. Not two
minutes since I opened my eyes, and he
disappeared Into my sitting room. I
saw him distinctly. I could not recog
nize him, for he kept his face turned
nt the convention I was attending. He
was telling all who cared to listen to
him that his designs for an original
looking bungalow had won him various
prizes. He had photographs with him
and was showing these In corroboration
of his claim to be the biggest man in
he bungalow architecture Held.
"When I got home 1 set nbout build
ing the house nnd wall that you sec.
I thought It quite line when It was
Mulshed, and I waited anxiously for my
Chicago friend from Noo Yawk to come
along. He didn't come and I had
about forgotten the Incident when one
day, while out driving, a policeman
stopped me and told me some one wanted
to see me at police headquarters.
"I drove there, and sure enough it
was my architectural acquaintance. I
drove him out to the house nnd never
enjoyed anything so much in my life as
I did his wonder and astonishment when
ho saw my modest attempt at orlgi
nallly In the building line. He had
detail of the wall odd piece in
away. Hither he has t waited through
the sitting room door and down the cor
rldor, or he is still there, or he Is hid
lug In this room,"
"The Jewels of mndamc!" tho man
ager gasped. "The pearls of madnmc,
tho string of pearls?"
"Tint Is safe," mailame admitted.
"My diamond collar too is In Its place."
The manager and two of the guests
searched the sitting room, which oHiied
to the left from the bedroom. Tho
search wus of necessity not n long one;
there was no one in the sitting room.
"Then the burglar has escaped!"
Mme. Hertrand cried. "Ho so good,
Monsieur lliiiler, as to nt once examine
the wardrobe and to look underneath
my bed. I shall never sleep soundly
again in this hotel."
M. Holder dived under the valance.
It was Just at that moment that Mme.
Hertrand, gazing Into the plate glass
mirror of the iwaiclrobe, received a
shock. Distinctly she saw a man's faco
reilected there.
She stood for a moment quite still,
her hand pressed to her side. Then sho
turned her head and looked out of the
French windows which led onto the bal
cony. There- was nothing to be seen.
She looked across at M. Heldcr, whoso
head had disappeared Inside the ward
robe. Then she stole up to the window
and glanced once onto the lialcony.
"Madame." M. Holder declared, "the
room Is empty. Your sitting room also
Is empty. There remains," he added,
"only the balcony."
He advanced a step. Mine. Hertrand
was standing in front of the window.
"The balcony I have examined my
self," she said quietly. "There Is no one
thete."
"Ill that case, mailame," M. Heldcr
declared, "we must conclude that the In
truder escaped through your sitting
room door Into the corridor. Madame
can at least assure me that nothing of
great value Is missing?"
Mme. llertrand, though pale, was
graciously pleased to reassure the in
quirer. M. Heldcr drew himself up on the
threshold and permitted himself a bow.
"Madame," he said, "will accept this
expression of my infinite regret that her
slumbers should have been so dis
turbed." "I thank you very much, Monsieur
Holder," she answered graciously.
"Clood night."
Madame paused for a moment to lis
ten to his footsteps down the corridor.
Then she moved forward to the door
and locked It. Then she walked deliber
ately to the French windows, threw
them open and stepped onto the bal
cony. "flood evening, Monsieur Sydney
Wing; or, rather, good morning."
The young man gripped for a moment
the frail balustrade.
"Madame!" he faltered.
'Insldel" she whispered Imperatively.
"You do not think of my reputation,
monsieur, that you show yourself so
clearly here, in nn hour the dawn will
come.'1
The young man stepped only too will.
Ingly inside the room. She followed him
and closed the windows.
"You will gather, M. Sidney Wing,"
she said, "that I am disposed to .-.pare
you. I knew that you were outside,
even while my room was being searched.
I preferred first to hear your explana
tion before I gave you up to be treated
as a common burglar."
The young man's courage was return
ing fast. He lifted his head.
"oh, madame," he murmured, "you
are too gracious."
He raided her hand to liN lips and
kissed it.
"You will come this way," she said,
leading him Into the sitting room and
turning on the electric light. "Now tell
me, monsieur, and tell me the truth If
you would leave this room a free man
and without scandal. When I saw you
first you were bending over that table.
Upon It was my necklace, my earrings,
a lace scarf, my chatelaine and vanity
box, a few of my rings, perhaps a Jew
elled pin or two. Now tell me exactly
what you came for, what you have
taken, and why?"
to admit that I had gone him many
better in originality. He nsked me
how much I thought he could duplicate
the material for. and I told him K',000.
"I had no set design in putting up
the columns and walls. Those demi
johns yes, they happened to be empty,
so I stuck them In with the rest. Then
thoae old stone doorsteps they were
lying around, doing no good, so I put
them together to make an archway ef
fect, as you see.
"The cobblestones lilted 111 anywhere
and the drain pipes nr.d various speci
mens of bricks added to the color
scheme, which is rather line, don't you
think? Nothing came amiss.
"I found an old broken down plough
around the place nnd added that to the
collection. The maker of that plough
came nil the way from Massachusetts to
see the wall that contained the relic.
He was iih much Interested In mv new
place oh the Chicago chap from Noo
Yawk."
centre is remains of a plough.
The young nan held himself upright.
''Madame," he said, "think. Was
there nothing else upon that table?"
"I can think of nothing."
"To-night," he continued, "you were
scarcely so kind to me. Wo danced to
gether, It Is true, hut there were many
others. There wus tho French Ad
miral, for Instance."
She was a coquette, and she shrugged
her shoulders us sho smiled.
"And you, M. Sydney Wing, what
have you to say that t should not dance
and be friendly with this gentleman?"
''Alas!" he said. "I have no right to
find fault. Yet two nights ago madame
gave me the rose I asked for. To
night you remember?"
Sho looked at him softly yet steadily.
"You told me," he continued, "that
tho rose bcdonned to him who dared to
pluck It."
'It Is a saying," she murmured. "I
was not In earnest,"
Sydney Wing sighed deeply.
"Madame," he declared, "1 come of A
literal nation. When we love, the word
of u woman means much to us. To
nlglit there seemed nothing dearer to
mo In life than the possession of that
rose. I told myself that your challenge
was accepted. I told myself that to
night I would sleep with that roe on
the pillow by my side."
Slowly he unbuttoned his coat. From
the breast pocket he drew out u hand
kerchief and unfolded It. In the centre,
crushed, lay u durk red rose.
"Monsieur!" sho cried Incredulously,
"monsieur, you mean to tell me that for
the sake of that rose you climbed from
your balcony to mine you ran these
risks?"
"For the sake of this rose, madame,
and all that It means to me," he an
swered. She drew a long sigh.
"Monsieur Sydney," she said, "I urn
very glad Indeed that when I saw
your face reilected In the mirror of my
wnrilrolic something urged me to send
Monsieur Holder away, I am very
glad."
".Madame' "
She held up her linger.
"Monsieur." she whispered, "not an
other word. I have risked my reputa
tion to save you. See, the door is be
fore you. Unlock It softly. He sure
there Is no one lu the corridor when
you leave. Do not attempt to close it.
I myself in a few minutes time will
return and do that."
"Hut, madame " he began.
She pointed Imploringly toward the
door.
Very noiselessly the young man
opened the door of the sitting room,
glanced up and down, and with swift,
silent footsteps made his way to his
own apartment. There were drops of
perspiration still upon his forehead aa
lie stepped out onto the balcony and
wound up his rope.
It was the most cheerful hour of the
day at the Paradise Hotel the hour
before luncheon. Every one seemed to
be out of doors. Mr. Laxworthy and
.Mr. Forrest Anderson had Just passed
along the front and Were threading
their way up the winding path which
led through the pine woods ut the back
of the hotel. Mr. Freeling Polgnton
and the Marquis Lefant were sitting a
little way up among the pine trees. Le
fant was leaning forward, ills eyes fixed
steadily upon that streak of blue Med
iterranean. "I am quite sure," he said, "that I
can rely upon my Information. At a
quarter past twelve precisely the tor
pedo Is to be tired."
"Which Is the Magnltique, anyway?"
Mr. Freeling Polgnton Inquired.
Lefant pointed to the largest of the
gray battleships which were riding at
anchor. Then Ids finger slowly trav
ersed tho blue space until It paused at
a black object set out very near tho
Island of Hyeres. He glanced at Ills
watch.
"A quarter past," he muttered. "Look!
Look ! "
The black object had disappeared. A
column of white water rose gracefully
Into the air and descended. It wits
finished. Lefant leaned toward his com
panion, "You and I," he said, "have seen a
thing which Is going to change the
naval history of the future. You and
1 alone can understand why the Fivnili
admiralty have given up building bat-tle-tilps;
why, even their target prac
tice hero and at Cherbourg continues
as a matter of form only."
Freeling Polgnton withdrew his cigar
from his mouth,
"I can't say." he admitted, "that I
have ever given any particular atten
tion to these Implements of warfare,
because I hate them all; but there's
nothing now, anyway. In a torpedo.
What's the difference between this one
and the ordinary sort?"
"This one," Lefant answered, "can bo
llred at a range of live i..lle.s and re
lied upon to hit a mark little larger
than the plate of a battleship with
absolutely scientltlc accuracy. There Is
no question of aim at all. Just ns you
work out an exact sot Ir. a surveying
expedition by scientltlc Instruments, so
you can decide precisely the spot which
that torpedo shall hit. It travels at the
pace of ten miles a minute, and It has
a penetration which has never t'en
equalled "
Freeling Polgnton shivered a little.
"I'd like to electrocute the man who
Invented It," he declared tersely,
"You nre wrong," Lefant replied.
"The man who Invented that torpedo Is
the friend of your scheme, nnd not the
enemy. It Is your desire. Is It not the
treat ambition of your life to securn
for the world universal peace?"
'Marquis,' was tho reply, "there Is
no nrm breathing who o.iuM, sav how
much I nm worth, Capitalize my pros
ettl Income, and you might call It five
hundred million pounds. Put a quar
ter or a million somewhere In the hank
for me, and I'd give tho rest to sen
every army in F.tiropo disbanded, every
warship turned into a trading vessel,"
"Just no," Lefant assented, 'Now
listen. The surest of nil ways to pre
vent war Is to reduce the art of killing
to such a certainty that It becomes an
absurdity even to take the field. What
nation will build battleships which can
be destroyed with the touch of a linger
at any time from practically any dis
tance? "I tell you that this Invention, which
only one or two people in the world
outside of that battleship yonder know
of at present, Is the beginning of the
end of all naval warfare, There Is
only one thing to be done to drive this
home. No nation must be allowed to
keep that secret for her own. It must
lielong to all."
"I begin to understand," Mr, Freeling
Polgnton remarked, "(iuess that's
where you come In, Isn't It?"
"I hope so," Lefant assented. "I hnve
already spent n hundred thousand dol
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