Gordon Craig | Page 2

"the
army--foreign service?"
"The Philippines three years; invalided home."
"By God, you don't look it," his eyes on me. "Never saw a more perfect
animal. Fever?"
"No, bolo wound; got caught in the brush, and then lay out in a swamp
all night, till our fellows got up."
He looked at his watch, and I climbed into my seat. "See here, I have
n't time to talk now, but I believe you are the very fellow I am looking
for. If you want an easier job than this," waving a gloved hand toward
the pile of lumber, "come and see me and we 'll talk it over." He took a
card out of a morocco case, and wrote a line on it. "Come to that
address at nine o'clock tonight."
I took the bit of pasteboard as he handed it up.
"All right, sir, I 'll be there on time."

"Come to the side door," he added swiftly, lowering his voice, "the one
on the south. Give three raps. By the way, what is your name?"
"Gordon Craig," I answered without pausing to think. His eyes
twinkled shrewdly.
"Ever been known by any other?"
"I enlisted under another; I ran away from home, and was not of age."
"Oh, I see; well, that makes no difference to me. Don't forget, Craig,
the side door at nine."
I glanced back as we turned the corner; he was still standing at the edge
of the walk, tapping the concrete with his cane. Out of sight I looked
curiously at the card. It was the advertisement of a clothing house, and
on the back was written "P. B. Neale, 108 Chestnut Street."
The mules walked the half dozen blocks back to the lumber yard, while
my mind reviewed this conversation. There was a bit of mystery to it
which had fascination, because of a vague promise of adventure.
Evidently this man Neale had need of a stranger to help him out in
some scheme, and had picked me by chance as being the right party.
Well, if the pay was good, and the purpose not criminal, I had no
objections to the spice of danger. Indeed, that was what I loved in life,
my heart throbbing eagerly in anticipation. I was young, full-blooded,
strong, willing enough to take desperate chances for sufficient reward.
There was a suspicion in my mind that all was not straight--Neale's
questions, and the private signals to be given at a side door left that
impression--yet I could only wait and learn, and besides, my
conscience was not overly delicate. I had lived among a rough, reckless
set, had experienced enough of the seamy side of life to be somewhat
careless. I would take the chance, at least, in hope of escape from this
routine.
All the rest of the day, for this meeting had occurred early in the
afternoon, I labored quietly, loading and unloading lumber, my muscles
aching from a species of toil to which I had not yet become accustomed,

my mind active in imagination over the possibilities of this new
employment. I was not obliged to live this sort of life, but the uneasy
spirit of adventure held me. My father, from whom I had not heard a
word in two years, was a prominent manufacturer in a New England
village. The early death of my mother had left me to his care when I
was but ten years old, and we failed to understand each other, drifting
apart, until a final quarrel had sent me adrift. No doubt this was more
my fault than his, although he was so deeply immersed in business that
he failed utterly to understand the restless soul of a boy. I was in my
junior year at Princeton, when the final break came, over an innocent
youthful escapade, and, in my pride, I never even returned home to
explain, but disappeared, drifting inevitably into the underworld,
because of lack of training for anything better. This all occurred four
years previous, three of which had been passed in the ranks, yet even
now I was stubbornly resolved not to return unsuccessful. Perhaps in
this new adventure I should discover the key with which to unlock the
door of fortune.
I possessed a fairly decent suit of clothes, now pressed and cleaned
after the rough trip from the coast, and dressed as carefully as possible
in the dingy room of my boarding house. A glance into the cracked
mirror convinced me, that, however I might have otherwise suffered
from the years of hardship, I had not deteriorated physically. My face
was bronzed by the sun, my muscles like iron, my eyes clear, every
movement of my body evidencing strength, my features lean and clean
cut under a head of closely trimmed hair. Satisfied