ALEC BALL

NEW YORK
JOHN LANE COMPANY
MCMXII

CONTENTS

[I]THE ADVENTURE OF THE FAIR PATRONNE
[II]THE ADVENTURE OF THE ARLÉSIENNE
[III]THE ADVENTURE OF THE KIND MR. SMITH
[IV]THE ADVENTURE OF THE FOUNDLING
[V]THE ADVENTURE OF THE PIG’S HEAD
[VI]THE ADVENTURE OF FLEURETTE
[VII]THE ADVENTURE OF THE MIRACLE
[VIII]THE ADVENTURE OF THE FICKLE GODDESS
[IX]THE ADVENTURE OF A SAINT MARTIN’S SUMMER

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

At the Beginning of the Fourth Kiss Out Came Her Father[Frontispiece]
I Had Knocked Him Down on Purpose. He Was Crippled
for Life		[14]
Anything Less Congruous as the Bride-Elect of the Debonair
Aristide Pujol it Was Impossible to Imagine		[22]
Had Straightway Poured His Grievances into a Feminine Ear[32]
I Found Both Tyres Had Been Punctured in a Hundred Places[40]
“Madame,” said Aristide, “You Are Adorable, and I Love You to
Distraction”		[50]
“The Villain Was a Traveller in Buttons—Buttons!”[60]
He Burst into Shrieks of Laughter[64]
“And You!” shouted Bocardon, Falling on Aristide; “I Must Embrace
You Also”		[68]
Standing on the Arrival Platform of Euston Station[78]
“Ah! the Pictures,” cried Aristide, with a Wide Sweep of His Arms[88]
“I’ll Take Five Hundred Pounds,” said He, “to Stay in”[96]
Between the Folds of a Blanket Peeped the Face of a Sleeping Child[110]
He Demonstrated the Proper Application of the Cure[120]
It is a Fearsome Thing for a Man to be Left Alone in the Dead
of Night with a Young Baby		[124]
One of the Little Girls in Pigtails Was Holding Him, While Miss
Anne Administered the Feeding-Bottle		[134]
He Must Have Dealt Out Paralyzing Information[180]
Fleurette Danced with Aristide, as Light as an Autumn Leaf
Tossed by the Wind		[188]
Aristide Practised His Many Queer Accomplishments[200]
He Read It, and Blinked in Amazement[208]
He Might as Well Have Pointed Out the Marvels of Kubla Khan’s
Pleasure-Dome to a Couple of Guinea-Pigs		[216]
“I’ve Caught You! At Last, After Twenty Years, I’ve Caught You”[234]
There He Saw a Sight Which for a Moment Paralyzed Him[238]
Mr. Ducksmith Seized Him by the Lapels of His Coat[242]