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EVENINGh PUtfLlG LEDGERPpiLADELmA, FRIDAY, AtrGtJSO -IS, 1921
THE GUMPS
-Home Comforts
By Sidney Smith
-
V
I
t
fr By GEORGE GIBBS
Author of "The Splendid Outcast,"
" """"
Copyright, tttl, ill
Tillft BEGINS THE STOtaf
Ptter Xicholacvltch, Russian Grand
DAt, '"'i'' from Hs home bU
r ',.iul,i. ttorks his icay as a
usiltr on a nrltish ship to America;
.. - . - r
itllia vaiuaoie ruvy Tiny "1ji'
J:' ani oom ashore toith a fellow
tnn,anv nm-,f ron.f.
Kfliifr, i '-, ;;-.: .;. ,-"
Co",' teants him to Join him In an
jiirntlure against me mw,
SmHhM. r ttco months he played
Uhard luck and then gets a job as
J!ri,tr expert at the country rest
fence of Jonathan Kl McGuhe, and
Uitorts on his journey. lie is not
iteUno very chipper, t Hi is hink
lli of the last days. In Russia and
it Mends killed before his eyes.
AND HEr.E IT CONTINUES
-jETEU NICHOLS straightened and
Xpawed a lian(1 nrross M damP ore
lead. Through the perspective of this
nodern civilization what had been pass
ing before his vision seemed very vague,
jut dlstaut, hut he knew that It war
not a dream.
All about him was life, progress, in
duitry, hope a nntlon In the making,
proud of her brief history which, had
teen built around nn ideal. If he could
bring this same Ideal back to Hussln !
In blf- hrtrt he thnikcd God for Amer
ica Imperfect though she was, nnd
made a vow that In the task he had set
for Mnifclf he should not be found
wanting.
i Tlcc he changed trains, the second
time nt a small Junction amid nn ugll
nc of clay-pits nnd brickyards nnd
dut and heat. There were perhnpn
twenty people on the platform. He
iralkcrt the length of the station nnd
a he did so n man In n gray suit
dliappeared around the corner of tho
building. Hut Peter Nichols did not
tte blm, nnd In n moment, seated In
bu new train in a wooden car, which
reminded him of some of the (indent
rnlllne stock of the St. Petersburg nnd
Moscow Icnllroad, he wbr taken halt
italy and noisily along the Inst stage
cf h(s journey.
With a wheeze of steam nnd a loud
trickling of woodwork nnd crenking of
brakes the train came to n stop nnd
the conductor shouted the nnmc of the
tat)on. Itnthcr stiffly the traveler dc-
teendtd with his bag nnd stood upon
li imnll platform looking nbout him
furiously. The baggage mnn tossed out'
a bundle of newspapers and n pouch
of mall and the train moved off. Ap
parentlj , Peter Nichols wns tho only
passenger with rickcrcl Itlvcr ns n des
tination. The station was small, of but ono
room and n tiny office containing, ns
he could see. n telegraph Instrument,
a broken chair with a leather cushion,
a shelf and n rack contninlng n few
soiled slips of paper, but the office
had no occupant nnd the door was
locked. This perhaps explained the ah-
lencc of the automobile which Mr. Shel
don had informed him would meet him
in obedience to his telegram announcing
the hour of his nrrlvnl. Neither within
fie building nor without wns there nny
person or animate thing In sight, ex
cept some smnll birds fluttering nnd
quarreling along the telegraph wires.
There was but one road, n sandy one.
wearing marks of travel, which emerged
irom trie scrub oak nnd pine and defi
nitely concluded at the railroad track.
This, then, wns his direction, and nfter
reassuring himself that there was no
other means of egress, he took up his
black suitcase nnd set forth into the
wood, aivnrc of a bense of bcckonlnt:
adrenturo. The road wound In nnd out,
up and down, over whnt nt one time
must have been the floor of the ocuin,
wucii could not be far distant. Hnd
It not been for the ivnlorht nf liln Imp
Piter would have enjoyed the experi
ence oz mis complete isolation, the fra
jrant silence-, broken only by the whis
per of the lenves and the scurrying of
nny wna tilings among the dead tree
branches. Km ho hnd no means of
wowing how fnr he would have to
trttel or whether, Indeed, there had not
been some mistake on Sheldon senior's
patt Or his ilivn. Itltt tlin i1lrnlnu l.n.l
oeen quite clenr nnd tho rond must, of
nurse, lead somiuvlierc to some villnge
or settlement nt least where, he eoulrf
let a lodging for the night.
And 60 he trudged on through the
wus wuicn already seemed to be par
taking of some of the mystery which
surrounded the person of Jonnthan K.
McQulre. The whole incident hnd been
unusual and the more intorestlnc he-
Wise of the strange character of his
employer and the evident fear he had of
'omi latent evil which threatened him.
But Peter Nichols had accepted his
commission with a sense of profound
relief at escaping the other fate that
waited him, with scarcely u thought
the dangers which his acceptance
Might entail lie u ,mt niu. fH,.i,t.
ed and had welcomed the new ndven
re, dismissing the fears of Jonathan
K. HcGuire us imaginary, the emanu
uons of age or nu uneasy conscience.
But as he went on. his bag beenme
neavler and the perspiration poured
town hs face, B0 reaching a cross-path
teemed to show signs of recent
travel he put the suitcase down and sat
"It while he wiped his brow. The
SMdows were growing longer. He was
MJlnning to believe that there was
uu men n nee iik nnrV TlnnV ,,n .,,v,
Fk !S ,n,8 Jonnthan K. MctJuiro and
Mt Seldon, Senior, and Sheldon, Ju
nior, were engaged in a conspiracy
Hinst his peace of mind, when above
now familiar whisperings of the
west he heard a new sound. Faintly
it came at first ns though from n great
Jr. ,1; "BHns with the murmur of
Tc' singing.
It seemed a child's voice delicate,
hirS ' . i ll froe as tho note of a
wrd-unleashing Us joy to the heavens.
WW IntontU?101 n-i"'10'1 . UP' ,l(,"-'nlS
miV. k !'? ril rounds were coming
flreetlbut, bp roul'u't tell from which
UHr, n' t0S vcrj' ,enf wmed to be
"uMii" thr. InYoly, mel0'y W:h he
lr itn ?Vlfc clcu,-1" now- It was an
rT with iLhtitli l. ,i ,
Tilfe,0." "nt it was elemental in
,; """'" Cl and under these clrl'iim
Jte" ""Uns'y welcome. Ho waited
tie rliVJ. ' "10iet. nsteniug, founi
Bln ,to,n from whlch tho voirp w,,s
of hF..-i. ' "r""'.v iuneu tno swaying
UIb h" nil(1, ,ho nckllng of dry
;'"n in the null n(.n,-i.- f.v. ...i.ii.
a mm,-. I'"" "viuu.1, null! wmn
At firl !" 1 eirae fismo cmuigei
fl' llrst 10 thniiir if I, .. n .. i.. r.
,llt n uMn. n . . ,
m I ,.ti l'l,ri of bll,e ,!cuil" overalls
VeneaMV1!"1" tw hat. from
"111 (mill. i """" iimrn wuiu
."i emitted, but iih Mm )... i
.it.. " ..(iii'ii I nn nifn in ha..
were
,'wt,,a,t,hiIr11-,,f 8ti,rt,c" Mw'
'.i boii In,. "i;1""0!'' "nlil Peter Nich--i
willing from t m .,,,!., i.. .i i
Wfc . i"n,,l,eJBl miimw. You see
wriffon? i.K.i '"" .; "' e. b?: .th0
th li. .. " i'"viiiiiv(j iueii oe
7 f " ktraugo gormentu In unmlg.
"The Yellow Dove," "The Secret
Etc.
D. Avvlet6- d Co.
lovely tCrmS ,0 b both fcralnlne nnd
CHAPTER III
Tho. Overall Olrl
rTUIEY stood for n long moment re-f-
gardlng each other, both In curiosity :
Peter because of the contrariety of the
Rlrl s face nnd garments, the girl
becnuse of Peter's bow, which wns the
most extraordinary thing that had ever
n-ppened In U.i...i,Kton County. Alter
i pause, n smile which Feeined to hav
been hovering uncertainly around the
corners of her lips broke into n frank
grin, disclosing dimples and a row of
white teeth, tho front ones not quite to
gether. "Could you tell me," asked Peter
very politely as he found his voice. "If
this rfad leads to Black Rock?"
She was still scrutinizing blm, her
iichu. uircuiKe. upon ono side.
"That depends on which way you're
walkln'," she said.
She dropped her "g" with careless
ease, but then Peter hod noticed that
many Americans nnd English people,
some very nice ones, did that.
Peter glnncTcd at the girl and then
down the rond In both directions.
"Oh. yes, of course," bo said, not
sure whether she wns smiling nt or with
him. "I enmp from a station called
PlckerelIlivcr nnd I wish to go to Black
Rock."
"You're sure you want to go there?"
"Oh. yes."
"I guess t lint's because you've never
been to Ulnck Rock. Mlbtcr."
"No, I haven't."
The girl picked a shrub and nibbled
at It daintily.
"You'd better turn and go right
back." Her sentence finished In a
shrug.
"What's the mnttcr with Black
Rock?" lie asked curiously.
"It's just the little end of nothln'.
That's nil." she finished decisively.
The qunlnt expression interested him.
"I must eet there, nevertheless," he
snld: "Is it far from here?"
"Depends on whnt you calj far. Mile
or so. Didn't the 'Lizzie' meet the
fclx-thutj?"
Peter stared nt her vacuously, for
this was Greek.
"The 'Lizzie'?"
"The tin 'Lizzie' Jim Hagcrraan's
Ijus carries the mall nnd papers. Some
times he gives me n lift about here."
"No. There was no conveyance of
any sort and I really expected one. I
wish to get to Mr. Jonuthun K. Mc
Guire's." "Oh!"
The girl had been cxnmlnlng Peter
furtively, ns though trying vainly to
place him definitely in hor mental col
lection of human blpedil. Now she
stnrcd at him with Interest.
"Oh, you're goln' to McGuIre's!"
Poter nodded. "If I can ever find
the way."
"You're one of the new detectives?"
"Detective!" Peter laughed. "No.
Not that I'm nivnrc. I'm the new su
perintendent nnd forester."
"Oh!"
The girl was visibly Impressed, but a
tiny frown puckered her brow.
"What's a forester?" sho asked.
"A fellow who looks nfter the for
ests." "The forests don't need any lookln'
nfter out here In the barrens. They
just grow."
"I'm going to tench them to grow
better."
The girl looked nt him for n lone mo
ment of suspicion. She hnd taken off
her hat and the ruddy sunlight behind
her made a golden hnlo nil nbout her
head. Her hands, he had noted, were
small, the fingers slender. Her nove
wns well shnped, her nostrils wide, the
angle of her Jnw firmly modeled and
her slender figure beneath the ub.surd
garments revealed both strength und
grace. Hut he did not dare to stare nt
her too hard or to question her as to
her garments. For all that Peter knew
it might be the custom of Burlington
County for women to wear blue denim
trousers.
And her next nuutinn tnnlc Mm nff
bis gunrd.
"You city folks don't think much of
yourselves, do you?"
"I don't exactly understand whnt
you menn," said Peter politely, mark
ing uie satirical note.
"To think you can mnke these trees
grow better!" she sniffed.
"Oh, I'm just going to help them to
heln thfinselves."
"Thut's God's job, Mister."
Peter smiled. She wouldn't hnvo un
derstood, he thought, bo what was tho
use of explaining. There must hava
been n superior quality In Peter's smile,
for the girl put on her hut und camo
down into the rond.
"I'm goln' to Black Rock." she said
stiffly, "follow me." And she went off
with n quick Btrlde down the rond.
Peter Nichols took up his bag and
started, with difficulty getting to a
place beside her.
"If you don't mind," ho snld, "I'd
much rather walk with you than be
hind you."
She shrugged n shoulder nt him.
"hint jouiself," ahe snld.
In this position Peter made tho dis
covery that her profile wns quite as in
teiestmg as her full face, but she no
longer smiled. Her reference to tlu
Deity entirely eliminated Peter nnd the
profession of forestry from tho pale of
lueful things. He was sorry that she
no longer smiled because ho had de
cided to make friends nt Blnek Rock
nnd he didn't wont to mnke n bad be
ginning. "I hope you don't mind," said Peter
nt last, "if I tell you that von lmvn
one of the loveliest voices thnt I hnvo
ever nenru.
He maiked with pleasuro tho sudden
flush of color that ran up under her
delicately freckled tnn. Her 11ns parted
uuu am lurnru u nun ucttiiaung.
"You you heard mo!"
"I did. It wns like tho voice of nn
nngel in Hcuien."
''Angel ! Oh ! I'm sorry. I I
didn't know nny one was there. I just
sing on my way home from work."
"You've been working todny?"
Sho nodded. "Yes fnrmcrettln'."
Tarmer ?"
"Worklu" In tho vineyard at Gas
kiH'K." "Oh. I s.e. Do you like It?"
"No," sho said dryly. "I just do it
for ni health. Don t I look sick?"
Peter wasn't used to having people
mnke fun of him. Even as a waiter he
hnd managed to preserve his dignity
intact. But he smiled at her.
"I wiis wondering whnt hnd become
of tho men around here,"
"They'te so busy walkln' from one
place to another to see where they can
get the highest wages, that there' no
time to work In between."
"I see," snld Piter, now really
nmtibcd. "Ami does Mr. .Tonathnn Mc
On ho hnvo difficulty in getting men to
work for him?"
"Most of his hired help camo from
away like you But lately they
haven't been btnyiu' long."
"Wh?"
Sh'o slowed her pace a llttlo ninl
turned to look at him curiously.
"Do you menu that ou don't know
the kind of a job you've got?"
"Not much." admitted Peter. "In
addition to looking nfter the preset ve,
I'm to watch after tho men nnd obey
order, I suppose."
CONTINUED TOMORROW
T
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VCOMYOVtf ANp MSEX
BNCV; TO UfcOR m MJE
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PRK.VJ A GLASS- 0 VmE9 ICE WATtifc
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SOMEBODY'S STENOG
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TVIA.T OLD SILLY -HE'S .STILL
V0RRVIM6 ABOUT LEAVIMS MB. A1
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VACATION. ITS THE -SAME. EVERY
TEAR, BUT H& feOfcS
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( WHEM HE'S AWAV AMD ( g
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The Young Lady Across the Way
The young lad; across the way
says her father says Babo Ruth Is
n very valuable man at the gate,
but fthe should think he would bo
still more bo in the game.
PETEYOh, the Mean Thing
THE CLANCY KIDS Broke Up the Show
vtKX5eN Son ft II . ' : - .
- Xt COME
LAP OF LmJCV-
HO
ICE BOX ANt
HOUR. on. A
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TEWS -
Putting the Spurs to Him
OH Mio
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By FONTAINE FOX
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LAWDED IWATT2ICHSOV
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