THF ROBE OF PEACE.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12647, 10 November 1906, Page 2

THF ROBE OF PEACE.

llv O. Henry. Mysteries follow olio another ko closely in a great city that tho reading ptibuc and the friends of Johnny llellchambers have cease.l to marvel at his sudden and unexplained disappearance nearly a year ;igo. This particular liivst-cry now has boon cleared up, but the solution is fto strange and incredible to their.md of the average man that only a 'select few who were in clow touch with Bellchambora will giro it full crodenco. Johnny Uellrlianibers, jifi is well known, 'belonged to tlio intrinsically inner circle of the elit-e. Without any of the ostentation of the fashionable onos who endeavour to attract notice by eccentric, display of wealth and show, lie still was au fait in everything that give deserved bistre to his high petition in the ranks cf society. Especially tli<l ho shiiw in tlie matter of dress. Jn this he wa.s tlio despair of imitators. Always correct, exquisitely groomed, and of an unlimited wardrobe, ho was conceded to be the best dressed man in America. Them was not a tailor in Gcth.im who would not have deemed it a precious lioon to have'been granted tho privilege cf I making Hellehainbei-s's clot lies without ! a cent of pay. As ho wore them, they j would havo been a priceless advertiw- [ ment. Trou.-ers wore JiLs especial pafision. Here nothing but perfection would lie notice, lie would h.ivo worn i a patch as quickly as ho would have • overlooked a wrinkle. He kept a man lin his apartments always busy pressing his ample supply. Hit* friends said that thieo hours"was the limit of time that he wotdd wear theso garments without exchanging. Bellchamhers disappeared suddenly. i For three days hie absence, brought no I nliirm to his friends, and then they to operate the u*iiai methodts of enquiry. All of them failed. Ho had left absolutely no traco behind. Then ', the search for a motive was instituted, but n-ani- w.is found. Ho had no enemies: he bad no debts; there was no i woman. There were, tvoveral thousand J dollarn in h:is- bn'ik to his credit. Ho hr.'l never showed any tendonry toward r.icn+al eccentricity; in fact, he was of a particularly calm and will bdunced temperament. livery nieaie of tracing tlio vanished man was made use of. but v ltliotit nv.ul. It wa.s ono of those — more- numeivue in late year—whero men siein to have gone 1 out like the flivnc of a candle, leaving not even a trail of smoke ac a witnetfi. In .May Tom Eyres and L:uiee!ot Gillifiin, two of Il<l!c!iamber , i"< old friends, I went tor a little run on the other side. While pottering around in Italy and Switzerland they happened cne day to !:o:ir of a mouiiAtery in tho £wi>s Alps that promised .«omethiii!? outside of the 'T.linary tourist attractions. The monastery was almost, inaeccesiblo to tho average sightseer, being on an extremely rugged and precipitous spur of the mountain , :. The at fractions it i>.vsessed, but did not advert*>e, were, fir.t. iiu cxclupivo and divine cordial snade by the monks that was paid to for siirpa,*s Henwlit'tine anl Chartreuse. Next, a huge braj-.s bell, fo purely aaid accurately cast that it had not ce-ased sounding since it first wr.s runjr, 300 vi'atti ago. Finally, it was 'h;it no Englishman over bnd «*>t fo*jt within ittj walls. Kyro.s and Gilliam decick'd that theso three caJled for investigation. It took them two days with the aid of two guides to reach tho m.mistery of St. Gondrau. It stcod upon a frozen, wind swept era? with i.he hjiovv piled abut it in treachei-ous, drifting maews. They were hospitably received" by the brother whose duty it to entertain :h'» iiifretjuent They drank of ' th<> precous cordi.i], finding it riuiy [><>t<;it and reviviiv;. Tnev li-tened to j tlie great, ever echoing boii, and learn- j vhl tliiit they were pioneer trav(-!ler». i:i tJi'«io prey htotx , walls, ovtr tii? F.ngliMiman w!ice*> re'.:tl(*«s foet have trod- '■ den nearly every corner of the earth. At :) o'clock on the afternoon they j arrived, the two young Gothamitcvs

stood with good Brother Criatofer in tno great, cold hallway <jf the monastery to natch tb* ifionks march past on "their way to the refectory-. They o-vino slowly, p-eing in twos, with their hoade bowed, treading noiselessly with sandalled foot upon the rough stone flairs. As the procession abwly filed poet. Kyrce euddeniy gnpi>ed l.iiliam , hv the arm. "Look,"' h« wlnspired. oJsorly. 'at the one just opposite you j r.o\v—t!'o one n:i this rklc with Ji:> ; han.- , . at h : .s waist-if that Isn't Jchnnyj B-dh-himbera then I never >aw Imn! ' Gilliim ctw and the lost , "law of fashion. , '* -Whit the deuce." said ho. wonderinHv. 'Isold Bvil doing here? "loniiny. can't U he! Never henrd of ■ ivjl luivin"- a turn for the religions. I Fact k>. Ire heart) him say things when ■ .-. four-ir.-hnnd didn't scorn to.tio up ju*t richt that would bring him up for ; cv'irt-inarti.d before any church, i "Its Ik'll. witTiont a douU, «sud ; Kvres. firnilv. "or I'm pretty badly in j i»;,m.l of an oculist. Hut think of Johnny n.l'clumbcrs, the royal .;nnr.c< 1 or , <-t swell t--s ami tn<« Mμhntma of pink teas, up he-re in col<l s:ora"0 doing pejmneo m :i snuftroloiired b.ithiobe! I cant fret it, .rrai-l.t in my mind. T-'t's nr'.: the; jully'old Ikiv th-it'sdcins the lioroiirs.' i IJrother Cristofer was appeal.xl to for infoni'atioii. Hy that time the monks had pa*«x] into tlio refectory. lI.M-ould not te 1 ! to which one thr-y referre*!. HcU-hambcrsr' Ah. the hrothere r.f .St. Coiidrau nbaiKioiMMl their worldly. names when they took ih« vows. Did tht> Kentli':i:e:i wish to epoak w.;h one of the brotlu>:-6? If thr>y would come, to the refectory and in-licnto the | thoy wit-hed to's'M', the reverend abbot j in authority wonl 1. doubtless, permit it. j Kvrcfi md Gillia-m went into the' dinir.c-hall and pointe<l out to Brother, CVstofrr the man tliey had eeon. Yen. it was Johnny He!!.■hambere. They saw hi* f-ieo plainly now as he Mit among the tliiitry brothers, p.ever lookin<; up oatiuf! broth from a <oar»e. brown bowl. I'ermi.seion to epeak to ono of tlio brothers war. grantwl to the two travel-loi-a by the abbot, and they waited in a reception room for him to come, i When he did oc-iic. treading Koftly in I his Fandak, both Eyres and Gilliani : looke<l at him in perplexity and. an-. to.nislunout. It was Jolinny Hellehainl),>rs, but l:e had a different Iwk. Upon | his smooth, ehaven face was an exp:*.*- j <-ion of ir.i'ffablo peace, of rapturous attainment, of perfect nnd <-onipk>to happiness. Hifi form was proudly erect, j his eves Mione with a serene ar.d ; graeioufi lisrjit. He was as neat and , well grornrod as in the old New York: days, but how differently was ho clad! New he Mvmed Hut bed in but a sin<;lo jrnrmeut—a long robe of roir'h brown cloth, patlierod hy a cord at the wnW, and falling in etrnifxht, lofifio folds; nearly to hie feet. Ho shook hands with hie visitors with hie old onse and , grflco of manner. If there was any j embarrassment in that meeting it was ; not manifestwl by Johnny Isel!chan:berß. | The rooms had no seatG; they etood to! converse. "Glad fo ccc you, old man," Mid | Eyres, awkwardly. '-Wasn't expecting ; to find you up here. Not a bad idea, j though, after all. Society's an awful fham. Must bo a relief to sliako the j Riddy whirl nnd retiro to—cr —contemplation nnd—er —prayer and hymns, j and those thincjJ." i "Oh, cut that. Tommy," snid Roll- i chambers, cheerfully. "Don't bo afraid | that I'll pn. c e around the plate. I >m : through thcfw thing-um-bol» with the j rest of these old boys because they aro I the mice. I'm Brother AmbroFc here, | you know. I'm given jurt ten minutcfii to talk to you fellows. That's a new j design in Avaietcoats you liave on, isn't j it. Gilliam? Aro they wearing those; things on Broadway now?" 'It's the fin tno old Johnny," eaid Gilliam, joyfully. "What tho devil— I nifan why Oh, confound ittj what did you do it for, old man?" ; "Peel the bnthrobe," pleaded Eyres. almost tearfully, "and go back with v*. j Tho old ciYvwd'll go wild to eeo you. This i<=n r t ia\vour line. Bell. I know half-a-dozen girls that woro tho willow on the quiet- whrn you shnok us in that u;ii?ccoiintablo way. Hand in your resignation, or get a dispensation, or whatever you liavo to do to tret a reler.ee from this ice far-tory. You'll get catarrh Foro, Johnny—and My God! you haven't any w>cks on!" Bcllrhamlvors looked down at his snndnllM foot nnd Kmile/.1. "Yon fellows don't , undoMmnd," he snid, soothingly. "It's , rice of you to wnnt mc to go baric but the old life will never know mc again. I have reached here the ire.nl of nil my ambitions. I Rin entirely lnppy nnd contented. Hero I filnll remain for the remainder of my d^vs. You poo this robo t!r»+. I wenr?" Bellfhambers touch"'] tljo rtriight hnncincr garment: "At Inst T have found (something that will net brig at the knees. I liavo attained —--'' At that moment the deep bn-om of I the great brnfw bell reverbornt-od through the Tt trnint have a simmons to immediate devo-tion-s, for Brother Ambrose bowel his head, turned and left tho chamber without another wonl. A slicht wave of his ha<nd ns lio twsscfl through the stone doorway foereed to p.iy a farewell to his old friends. They left tho monastery without seeing him again. And this is the story that Tommy Eyrci* and Lancelot GilHatn brought buck with them from their latest European tour.

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