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EVENING' PUBLIC !LBI)GER--PHI13AIEEPHIA SAITURD&Y, &TJGTTST 19; , 1922
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y Zena Gale
ILAUSON stepped from his
jV$ roadster nrnl held out his hand
Je Miss Kickson. But with a liana
eri either side of the epening: she
Bwiing herself down, landed softly,
Bave him a warm, hard little fist
find a thank you almost (rruff, and
Was up tlie steps of her bearding
eusc. The heuse itself looked as
f it had measles and Clausen drove
pn thinking what a frightful life
Miss Rickson lived; his stenographer
by day and a tenant of a Bcarred Bcarred Bcarred
loeking bearding heuse by night.
J.nd what a brick she Was brown,
fesy, businesslike little brick. A
eman, tee. Eyes that were deep
K'ith what could be tenderness.
"2sone of that," said Clausen and
fumed into his own street.
He put up his car, walked the
alf block te his apartment and
Zena dale is one of the most
"understanding" teamen in
America. She icritcs nearly
alirnys of the smalt teien and
tmnll-teun people, their trays
little and big: their faults and
their tine qualities, but into her
writing she neurs a ir ilth of
the splendid, kindly things
which make America irhat it ts
today.
"When one speaks her nam' it
recalls puigntintlii among her
tnanii books lire "friendship
Ytlh'ie," "'I he l.ni es of l'i Ileal
and r.turrc," and last and pcci
mere ntal than these that have
gene before- "M us Lulu licit,"
took, play and moving picture.
Though "The t'lausens"
eemes from the pm of one of
the fete authors in this scries
tche arc net married, all sche
read It irill agree that it gives
one of the points m married life
that may he numbered among
these that are termed universal.
hile he waited for the elevator
he thought which he had kept in
Iho background abruptly enveloped
im, seemed te rush at him from
lJutside: Suppose .Miss Rickson
tvere waiting for him up in fourth
peer front. Remance of a sweet
hess almost forgotten might be
possible with Miss Rickson.
He hurried down the tiled hall te
his own deer, burst in, sheuted:
I'Hclle, Jep!" He was genuinely
hocked at himself. He wanted te
nake amends by a tremendous
homecoming such as he had, before
the 'teki mi rw:
I) I V net ,-4.'.'V. fat.
OLO
ma'
lentlrr ,,f n eat-) u' cruttki. lift brein
OtarinriZ ' rtff t)t e a f nn or '.ues.
teiifil 'Jack r, J;4aui' i ' llfr srvr'al
Ct hf ' jiiml. 'l " '' "' nr' "' J
rtttiirrf te r -idl llv v.finii' rukfnj tht
Inw a pcna,'is. tlf trim te linarm 311' 311'
Ticiena untherlnrt uien id Mm by com cem
j7imit0 te
TA.rhOKlt IHSr, of thi I.orden Cri--tnnl
Int ll'grv,- Irc.
fix TO tllVi n t'wti tun nbeiif tern,
' lenr l.i rutin Mutt en mi aifr'ss. who
r'bufjl h tn. She n
IM.S: IVhITF. diiiQlifr nt "eVu WMfn,
curt of thr (imp i lie u'(t9 te retlrt.
t Hli i IS inlrrntnl il Stafferd
lOLlli: MMISII, a dall.fac'd but clrvrr
Cirl vhe nets as "tamp" of tht black'
tiieiliity acpi?.
r.'OOK riil.E, one a gentleman. reu
a tint'.
and iu:nn it continues
JnilH colonel pushed his chair back
from the table and looked up with a
juizzieal smile.
jJiiTi kJ J'UU'UrJiyiiiNl 1
"New you're net going te take It furniture Inte it. Why net wait '
tard, Solemon," he said. "We bad te "First I'll find whether you're speak
Hve you back nnd that was the only ig ti,e truth, and If you're net "
icheme we could think of. Yeu see, j "stay a while," said Boundary, "It
(here nic lets of little bits of business js etly jn ine
(bat have te be cleared up, business in j5ut white wns gene,
ivlilch iu Inn! u hand the same as my n, pushed pnst the servant, one of
ftber business nsvicintes." i t1P readiest ami most dangerous of the
"Where Is the g'rlV" as-ked the man ' t.oenels jnstrumPnt,( nn,i jnte the half
Iteadily. dark corridor. There was a light en the
"Will, I'm going te admit te you," iunjinR below, and as he ran down
laid the I'elmiel with a line show of tHI stnrs 10 thought he saw some seme
ruiikiie!?, "that I e put her away. bejy Btandlng there. It looked like n
s'e harm Ims come te her, you under- j wemnn) till the figure turned, and then
itnnd. She's nt n little place at Hut- I Solemon White". steed stock-Mill. It
ticy lleutli, a heuse I took specially for
jicr, Mineuudcd by loving guardians."
"Mke 1'inteV" asked the mnn, leek
ing down nt the silent Stlvn.
1 "Like I-ellie. New ou can't deny
Ihat I.ellie'n a very nice girl," said tlie
olenL'i. "Sit down, Solemon, and talk
things ever."
"When I've get my girl I'll tnlk
things ever with you. Where is this
jlaceT
It is en Putney Heath," nnld the
Colonel. "New uni I net being btrnight-
' lerwnrd v lilt you? If I had any bud
designs ngtiiust the girl should I tell
you; where bhe is? If ou go there,
lonien, take tome of your pelice
lendn"
."I nave no police menus, fcnm tne
a aiigriy; ''ou knew it wen cneugn.
Vte' tUat """"' ( f. M
new, carried off when he was tee
tired te mean it.
"Helle, darling," she said.
He had a fewift leek at the picture
which had greeted him se many
nights. The brownish room, the
heaped-up table everything Jep did
seemed te take se much cloth ej
wool or whatever it was and of
Jep herself in a street dress busy at
Lord knew what.
She was measuring something.
She put up her face te be hissed,
kissed him, smiled absently, said
without looking at him:
"They sent me up some that the
moths have been
in."
"Oh, they did,
did
they
said
Clausen grimly.
He made his preparations for
dinner and B3 he came up the
passage he sniffed distastefully at
an odor wax, rubber, gravy the
odor of home. The familiarity of
the pictures en the passage walls
oppressed him signed photographs,
a pergola, El Capitan. A little gong
was pecked at thrice by the maid
trying simultaneously te "dish it"
in the kitchen. Jep said "Ready,
darling?" and came toward him
picking threads from her skirt.
THEY Trent down the passage. He
lipped his arm about her. She hud
his hand under hers. And when they
sat at table Clausen looked at her across
the soup and asked :
"Did I have my arm around you
just new, when we came down the pas
sage?" "Why, yes, didn't you?" she said.
"Tes, I think you did. why?"
"Nothing," Mid Clausen, "I Jnst
wondered."
Frem time te time, at dinner, he
looked at her stca'thily. Fifteen years
they had had together. There were no .
children. Suppose there should he
twenty-five, thirty-five years mere. '
nd they loved c.irh ether. FJut hea
vein above them both, hew dull they
were. '
'T think I'll send that moth-eaten
stuff straight back te them," said Jep.
"Wouldn't you. dear?"
"I certainly would, darling," said
C'lnusen.
He thought of the sacrilege of using
holy words In that unthinking fashion.
He thought of the absurdity of nsseut
trip like a sheep te something which he
knew nothing whatever nbeut. He
thought of Mis'? Itlek'.en whnt If sem
morning she should bring In his letters
and tny "There, dear"
with that geed little way of dipping
her head and turning It Fldcwfse with
out turning her eyes.
Tliey considered the theatre and gave
up going. They considered telephon
ing for eomebedv te come In and make
tip a table nwl gave that up tee. Clmi.
-en built a hrc and smoked nnd Jep read
aloud. Then they sat talking. iimi
they disagreed en "the etlilc of a bit el'
gesMp nnd had n spirited ten m'niite..
He didn't quite like Jep when s-he ar
gued she had se gentle nn exaspera
tion. When they sat silent Clausen
thought of Miss Hlck-en's, restful viay
of rejoining "T'xactlj" te all his opin
ions. He suddenly imagined her saying
"lAiietly. dear:" imagined her sitting
lieie beside him: caught the zest, the
laughter, the thrill which talk with !r
".mid cen-elvably held Obedi
eiitly en ti.nt- lie halted big meditations.
He looked thoughtfully at Jep, Jep
police?
hands?"
"Well, that's a question I've often
asked myself." said the colonel. "I've
often said "
"What is the name of the lieiue?"
Interrupted White. "I want te see
whether you're playing pquare with me,
Boundary, and if you're net, by "
"Hen't threaten me, don't threaten
me, Solemon," said the colonel with a
geed-humored gesture: "I'm a nervous
man and I suffer from heart disease,
i Yeu ought te knew better than that.
I Hlshopihelme is the place. It is the
fourth big heue after passing Trcd-
' ennis Itend a fine villa htandlns In It-
, own Kreun(i,. jt leeks a bit deserted
I because it was empty until a few dnyw
age,
when I put a scrap or two of
was the first time he had seen Jack
e' Judgment, The shimmer of the black
silk coat, the cdrleus suggestion of pal
ler which the white mask conveyed, the
! Rml(.i, ., throwing a black bar of
hhndew diagonally across the face, lent
tl.e figure a peculiarly sinlbter aspect.
"Stand I"
The voice was commanding, the glit
tering revolver in the figure's hand
mere he,
"Who are you?" gasped Solemon
White. ,
"Jack e' Judgment! nnve you ever
heard of little JackV" ,
The figure chuckled. "Oh, here s n
new out Solemon White, tee, uinl
never heard of Jack e' Judgment!
Didn't seu tee me when the took ine
out of Snow (Irejery's pocket? Little
Jack e' Judgment!"
Solemon White btepped back, his face
twitching- . , ,
"I ha.'fleuilnr tq.ae wun mm, ue
Can I go te them with clean
was responsive, eha had humor, she
could be amusing. Cut he was se used
te her. Her hands, that gesture te her
hnlr, her absent leek, her little crooked
yawns. Net a surprise, net even a
variation. sh was Jep ferecr
At ntne ,'lausen roc and wound the
clock nnd observed ns usual that he only could let's leek tomorrow, dear
must have It regulated. i est, nnd If we can get one, let's move
"l'e heard you say that oceans of new."
time, dear," Jep remarked also as
usunl.
"Idar" again. What a continual
farce! And lie wished she wouldn't nl
waj "-ay "oceans." What a rotten go
eiervtiiing was. Hew hnd he get hlm-
elf Inte this miserable little jail of n j
llfe, full of clocks and keys ami Kettles. ,
What did any confounded thing mat-
ter? Ne wonder everybody was tired
of ever j body else.
He faced about nnd sold abruptly.
"I'm going out for a little while, Jep."
"Well, where en earth are ou
going';" she Inevitably asked.
"Tn take a turn around a .block or
two. I'm seedy
I'm seedy!" said he,
and went
Ten minutes latr he was back and
at tin- leek In his face Jep said: "My
darling' Is anything the matter?"
"I wi-h -u wouldn't call me Mar-
hug' when j ii don't mean it," he burst
out and edilrd : "I beg your pardon,
Yes. snmMhiiitf is the matter. I met
' ,, , , ,, ,.
Dibble d"n ii the office. He gave me
the tip that this building Is te be pulled
jilnwn."
I'i.lW.1 lnvn '." he repeated, and he
wishid irritably that she would net let
her-elf l"uk se burpn-ed Jep always
.1..I fi.r II. l-;i. I si'fti her de it In-
tiuiniMtiliic tunes i-ver nothing.
.-. pi. lied down." he repeated
sharply "We'll nil bae te get out by
'You'll spe-sli or jeu don't pas,'
said -licit e' Judgment
snid henreT ; "nothing te de with that,
de you hear?"
"Where nre you going? Won't you
tell Jack temethiiig. give him n bit of
news? Peer old .fuel, hears nothing
thc.-e days." The figure fclghed,
laughter bubbling between the words.
"I'm going en private business. Oct
out of my w.iy." hnid the ether, re
membering the urgency of his mis-den.
"But you'll tell Jack e' Judgment?"
wheedled the figure. "You'll tell peer
old JiU'k wheie jeu are going te find
, your beautiful daughter.'"
j "Yeu knew !" mid the man.
Ile took a htcp forward, but the
, melvcr waved him back.
I "You'll hpeak or you .don't pas',"
Miid Jack e' Judgment. "Yeu don't
i pan until eii r-peuk. De ou beur,
Solemon White'.'"
Tim man thought.
"11 is a place culled Bnhopshelme,"
I he tuid grulllv, "uu Putney Heath. New
let mi' puss."
"Wait, wait! i-aul the figure eagerly.
"Wait ler me only live minutes, l
won't keep en! But don't go. There',
dentil iluM't', Solemon White! It is
'waiting for J"U. Hen't ou feel it in'
ylll' bones?"
The voice Mink le a whimper, and in l
Milt" of him til' ii cehl Miivi-r passed
I down Wiles spine. He half turned te
I nn ttanlr.
v iy
r-i-ar
fall. Dibble heard it pretty straight.
SnjH he's cot his eye en a flat and he's
going te get out of here new and sub
let till his lcase runs out.
"Arthur." said Jep nbserbedly, "de
you think we could get one. of these
bungalows In the new addition? If we
"ISut I don't want te move at all,"
said Clausen bitterly. "I like this place.
I'm used te it. Whnt right has he get
te turn us out?"
"I saw ene of them last week," Jep
! went en absorbedly. "Darling little
cupboards and buch oceans of cles-
et?. '
"I don't want te move at all," Clau-
son repeated doggedly, "I'm used te
this place" His eye tested en the
deep fireplnce that never smoked, en
the faniilinr brown tile, en the shelves
that could be reached from his chair.
"Well, but darling!" Jep was be
ginning. A thousand times had he seen
her eettle down with the same gentle
exasperation te an argument.
"I'm gelntf te bed," said Clausen,
and went,
XTHXT day they drove out te leek at
IN (,0 bungalows in the new addition,
i It had been a terrlhle day nt the office,
'. appointments broken, a big contract
'lest ami Mls Kickson at home ill.
. w,pn he plc.M ljp Jcp waU,nj. en a
corner Clausen was In no mood te like
a. house en a street of nearl.
Yes. (he Imntrnlen's were nmlentalilv
nice, .le-i was in pcstiislc. ".See, dnr-
ling. Oceans of pantries." She put,
he tlinu"lit ilistnstefullv. rchlte Hlln!-
, and an niitside dner for the iceman nbove
every wltdy eonMderatlen. But even
he w"as forced te admire the closet room,
isAt rnnm
An Unusual Story of a Blackmailing Gang and a Mysterious Avenger, by the Auther
of "Green Rust," "The Daffodil Murder," "Clue of the Twisted Candle"
"Wait!" Mid the figure again
eagerly, fiercely. "1 shall keep you
but n minute n pecend !"
Solemon White steed Irresolutely, and
the mask seemed te melt into the dark-
ness. White strained his ears te hear
1 the soft putter of its checs as it mount
ed the Ftairs, but no sound came. Then
1 with a start he seemed te awake as if
from n bad dream, and without a word
strode down the remaining stairs into
the night.
On the landing above, tha strange
being who called himself ".lack e' Judg- i
raent" steed outside the deer of Bound
ary's flat. He had taken a key from
his pocket and hnd it peieed, when he
heard the clnltcr of the ether's feet.
Ile steed undecidedly, but only for a
second ; then the key slipped Inte the
lock nnd the deer opened. The butler
! from his little pantry taw the figure
nnd slsmmed his own deer, belting It
with trembling fingers.
In a second Jack e' Judgment waa
In trio room, facing the paralyzed trio.
He spoke no word, but cuddcnly his'
right arm was raised, teme shining
object flew from bis hand and there was
a crash of glass nnd instantly ft vile
(odor. On the opposite wall, where the
I bottle bad broken, appeared a dark and
' iAi,ln i. Ktnin.
Then, without te much as a laugh,
lie btepped back through the deiaj and
raced down the utalrs in purbuit of
White. It was tee late; the man had
disappeared. Jack e' Judgment btoed
for n moment listening, then ha slipped
off the black coat and ripped off the
I mask. Tlie coat was ei me uncsc mm,
for he rolled it Inte the bpace of a
pocket handkerchief and slipped it into
his pocket. The handkerchief went the
same way. If there had been observers
they would have caught u glimpse of a
mnn in evening dress as he went swiftly
down the half lighted stairway.
He turned nnd walked ln the shadow
of the building and nutted down n side
itrcet where a big closed limousine was
awaiting him. He Bave a murmured
direction te the driver, and the car
ped en its way.
fllAPTKK VIII
The Judgment of Death
Solemon White bad, a taxi waiting
J-y
One e the Evening Public Ledgers New Short Stories in the Series
of Unpublished Fiction by the Best American Writers of the Day
"I wish you
'darling when
the leaded windows, th compact
kitchen.
"Ne corners, theush," ha growled.
"Ne corners, I can't smoke unless
thcre's corners I tell you, Jep, I don't
want te move."
They went home In the rain and all
the way there Jcp was absorbed!' and
aloud Imagining furniture Inte that
bungalow. Clausen sat silent, hunched
nt the wheel. He was thinking hew
frightfully used he was te Jep's en
thusiasms. "Miss Rickson," he thought, "new
she'd be se different. Se btill and
nnd considerate. Thinking of n man's
comfort Instead of the closets." And
new for the first time he let himself
think of her without reproach.
While he was hanging up his coat,
Jcp cnlled te him from her roem:
"Darling," she said, "when we came
in tha heuse just new, did I kiss
you?"
"Why. yes, I think se," snid Clau Clau
eon. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I didn't think I'd
forgotten," she answered. "I never
mean te forget."
Claasen theught: "Geed heavens,
have we come te this?"
When he Joined her she was bending
ever tha living-room table, all heaped
up again wilth whatever it was nnd she
was saying absolutely that these looked
just as methy as the ethers did. He
wondered discontentedly if any ether
woman en earth found moths In every-
! thimr the way Jen did.
"I'll bet you'll find moths In the new
' bungalow," he told her. "I'll bet you'll
finil moths In I'nradist! "
Through dinner she talked of the new
, bungalow, nnd Ulausen, going in by the
rire rrenneri. lin niieu ins nine and
I fire, groaned. He filled his pipe and
' and gave his directions.
He was suf
flcicntly loyal te the band te avoid
' calling special attention te the house
i where the girl was lrnprisened, and he
i told his cab te wnlt at the end of
I Putney Heath. The night wns wild and
boisterous nnd very dark, but he
carried an electric tercli, and presently
he came te weather-stained gates bear
ing In letters, which had halt faded,
the name he teught. He pushed open
the gate with tome trouble. There' was
n curving carriage drive which led te the
front deer, which steed at the head
of a flight of steps under a square
and ugly portico.
He looked up at the bulldlnr, but it
wns ln darkness. Appnrantly it was
empty, but hi knew enough of the
colonel's methods te be sure thnt Bound
ary would net advertise the presence of
the girl te the outside world.
He steed hesitating wondering. The
whole thing might be a trap, but Solo Selo Sole
mon Whlte was net easily Ecared. He
A G'lVan te Bed Story : The Little Fish Nanwd
,
ONCE upon a time, dear children,!
there was a little fish named Hareld
who lived in a Inks near a bathing
beach. (Johnny, get off tha piano).
Hareld was carefully fetched up and
was net allowed te associate with min
nows who were flighty and had no
morals te speak of.
"One should be very careful,
Hareld," his mother used te tell him,
"and always de what's right."
"Why?" Hareld wcMld ask, but his
mother never could think of any geed
reasons, ether than one should de right
because it was the right thing te de.
Hareld didn't think that was much
of a reason. Neither de I.
BUT as time went en Hareld grew te
y6ung fish-heed, becoming mere and
mere baffled ubeut life.
The people who came te the bathing
beach puziled him most of all. What
curious fins they had! And practically
no M'UiCs at all except violently uilereil
ones that Hupped iireiind them us the,
swam, Aim new conceited tliey were.
There wasn't one of them wlu ..mir:
I swim as geed as a mjnnew uuU yet
t
wouldn't call m
you don't mean it"
thought about tha fireplaca which draw
se well and the old brown tile and the
bookshelves near enough te reach from
his chair. But It wasn't these things
which held him. It was their glorious
aceustemedncss.
"I don't want te leave this place,"
be Insisted. "I'm used te It I tell
you, Jep, I'm se used te It that I'm
I'm rooted. I'd be miserable anywhere
else."
"I'm used te it, tee," she admitted.
"Truly, for all my talk, I'm homesick
already."
"Then let's cut talking about It, for
new," said Clausen.
THE evening passed as all evenings
passed. They considered the the
atre and gave up going. They consid
ered telephoning for somebody te come
In and make up a table and gave that
up, tee. Clausen lighted the fire and
Gmeked, and Jep read aloud. Then they
sat talking. Once they disagreed. Then
they slipped into silence. And
Clausen fell te thinking of Miss Rick
son. He had heard her say Incredibly
little, nnd yet he could feel the zest, the
l laughter, the thrill which talk with her
could conceivably held. Dut he and Jep
had nothing te say te each ether, really,
which they had net already said.
He rose abruptly. "I'm going out
for n little while, Jep," he said.
"Where en earth are you going?"
she re-joined, as always.
This time as he went he did net reply.
k ix tiiuiuiab n lie irniitfi un rnn
scarred bearding house and asked for
Miss Ruth Rickson.
"I've something I want te talk nrrr
with you," he told her earnestly. "Are
you wen eneugu te nate a elta of sup-
i ner wnn me :
I per with me
took u revolver from Ids specket, drew
rmck the hammer and wnlked forward
cautiously. There was no sign of life.
The rustling of shrubs and trees was
the only mournful sound which varied
the rear of the storm.
He was opposite the deer, and one
feet was raised te surmount the first
step, when there came n sound like the
sharp tap of n drum.
"Hap, rap!"
Solemon White steed for fully a
!,eceml bpfer h crumpled nnd fell, and
he wns dead before he reached the
ground.
Still there was no sign or sound of
life. A church clock boomed out the
quarter te ten. A meter car went past,
and then the laurel bushes by the sldegat8 when iemethlng cold and hard wns
of the steps moved, and a man In a ! pu,hed ngaInst w, rnr nml he turnctl
black mackintosh stepped out. He bent I round.
ever the dend man, picked up the I "Put up your hnnds!" said a mock
fallen torch anil flashed the light en ' ing voice. "Put them up!"
the dead man s face; then, with a grunt The Frenchman's hands slowly rose,
of ratlsfnctien, Itneul Pontarlier un- "New turn leund and face the house.
I - U i
O e AS
n m
"One should he very careful, Har Har
old," his mother used te tell him
they bragged about their ability some
thing scandalous.
y
QNE day as Hareld was watching ingly, for his little ,ldcs all , .. '
l.rJfte!M ". M..I..I ou,
he noticed .cr "drop "Belnclhlni Tn he dea c hll ' en Isu'ln'5' ' "U merul'
vvntcr which bl.c had been chewing. De rig : or else don't e, i..
Consumed with curiosity he waited Uwiin ni T bed s ' t,l,lsl't'
"I am net. thank you," came hack
at him crisply. "Won't this wait until
morning? I'll be down at work then.
"It will net wait," said Clausen,
just as crisply. And then she said
that the landlady sometimes let her
use her own sitting-room and she would
sec. Ten minutes and Clausen wnB In
the landlady's sitting-room nnd Rutli
Rickson sat befere him. She was in
her office dress nnd she waited primly
and as if she were about te take dicta
tion j but with a faint, puzzled frown.
It was a terrible room, this in which
they were seated. The colors fairly
locked horns. Above Miss Rickson'.
head depended a bright oil of a deg
much tee large for his kennel. The
light iwoeped down from the naked
gas Jets. There was an odor of cold
storage.
"I can't get you out of my mind,"
Clausen began abruptly. "Loek here,
I want te help you." '
"Help me?" She looked still mere
puzzled. Her somewhat wary presence
was net as Clausen had Imaged It.
She made It a bit difficult for him te
go en. He was net very euro what
he Intended te say anyhow had net
been sure any of the time. He bad
depended en Inspiration and her man
ner was net Inspiring him.
"Yes. Help help you somehow te
get a better deal," be brought out.
"Thank you. That's very nice of
you. Hew?" Inquired Miss Rickson
rapidly. It was the exact manner
in which she sometimes said, "Will you
spall that name for me, please?"
Olauien floundered. "I don't knew,"
he Mid. "Ten tall mt. What de you
what de 70a want te de?"
Miss Rickson was watching him. It
cam te Clausen that she was enor
mously able te take car of herself,
te make her own deals. There In the
office, taking his orders In silence, defer
ential, gentle, she had never seemed
anything like se self-sufficient as she
seemed new.
St
"I want te be a stenographer," she
said. "" "That's fairly plain, isn't 'It,
by my taking the trouble te learn the
stuff?"
"Yes, of course. But haven't you
any ether ambition? Haven't you ever
wanted " Clausen was feeling
rather foolish, as If the only reason
which he could think of offhand for
coming te see her had failed.
"Why," said Miss Rickson, "I sup
pose I want te be married."
Clausen was stnrtled. "Yeu are go
ing te be married?" he Inquired.
"Nobody that I'd have has ever
aaked me. But," said Miss Rickson
gravely, "he may, ha may." She
smiled a little then and dipped her head.
It went through the mind of Clausen
that this bookkeeper, or whoever he
might prove, would be the one te hear
her agree, "Exactly, dear," or would
she agrce se very much? Really, she
was very different from the Miss Rick
son in his office. She sat there waiting
politely, te hear what he was going
te say next. Ana wnat was ne going
te say next?
"Yeu you wouldn't want te go te
college?" he asked her, looking mero
foolish still.
"Me? Net much. I'm no teacher
born. Thrcs and a bath that's my
measure. And my mother will live with
me when I get It."
Clausen arose. He looked around
him a little wildly. "But couldn't you
live somewhere new?" he wanted te
knew. "Where where such a cursed
deg wouldn't sit in front of a kennel lie
doesn't fit?"
She looked quite Wank. "What's the
matter with the deg?" she inquired,
and dipped her head, and turned her
face a mt wuneut turning ner eyes
and ran her hnnd up ever her bobbed
hair at tne Dacu. Hue was se utterly
irhnrminir wnen sne was silent ami
charming when she was silent and
By Edgar
screwed his silencer and slipped his
automatic Inte tha wet pocket of his
mackintosh.
Feeling ln nn Inside pocket for a
cigarette, he found one and lit it from
the smoldering end of n tinder lighter.
Then, carefully concealing the lighted
cigarette in the palm of his hnnd, he
walked softly nnd noiselessly down the
drive, keeping te tha shadow of the
bushes and watching te left nnd right
for signs of approaching pedestrians.
At two points he could see the heath
read, and nobody was ln sight. There
was plenty of time, nnd men had been
ruined by haste. He reached the gate
and carefully looked ever. The read
was deserted. His Imnd waa en the
Hareld
By J. P. McEVOY
I patiently until she had gene nnd then
,he sneaked up and grabbed it.
Net much taste te tliK" he bald,
and he chewed en it thoughtfully.
"Maybe I'd better chew it bome mere."
te he did. Still he Couldn't tnste any
thing, but it fascinated him just the
same.
Little did he think that it was chew
ing gum he had found, and still less did
he knew thnt his mother wns coming
around the corner te catch him. But
such wns the case.
"IJAROlft)!" she cried, "can I be-
lieve my eyes. Is it really you
and nre you really chewing gum? Oh.
Hareld, Hareld, and lifter the careful
fetching up I gave you."
Hareld stat ted guiltily nnd hwal-
levved the gum te cover up his bin. And,
ui course, no wu nun s u,l
firifis-ivil I
agreeing. She waa se utterly mttm ,:
when, new, she wheeled toward m. .
"Loek here, Mr. Clausen," Bh. L,
briskly, "Why did you come te Tea
tonight?" l Bw tt
She was looking at him aggressdwi.
And nbruptly-perhaps It was bccilu
he just noted the thinness of u
wrists Clausen was swept by t J.
Pity. 1W little thing, J J
suspecting everybody, quite en her ew
In this big town. Peer little thing i
this fearful bearding-house, just Ck
Ing ahead en the chance that ,!
bookkeeper or ether would marry h
out of things. A lonely, sordid exJ!
.-...-. V.WUUUIU nuie ming, ne new
He leaned forward.
saw.
"Miss Rickson," he said, "my .if,
and I have been married fn, .. H
years. We have only ourselves te loot
after. SltUng with her tonight ln Z
comfort and security and and com.
panlenshlp, I ln fact, as I told yea 1
couldn't get you out of my mind. And
I resolved te see If I couldn't brighten
up life a little for you as a sort of
er thank offering for the brightness If
my own I"
Fer the first time that evenin. u..
Rickson relaxed. The sweetness csme
back te her face, her head dropped
her eyes were liquid. '
"There Isn't a thing you can de '
she told him. "But my, what a prime,
you are."
rS A spontaneous word from him
y about a raise, they pal-ted. Under
the ej of the accursed deg ha took htr
hand ln a friendly, though formal leT.
taking. Tha bearding-house with tie
measles facade he left la a high though
Impromptu sense of having plgy ,, '
benefactor. Clausen hadn't anci
humor. Net enough te laugh at him.
self. With a measureless proclivity for
self-justification he almost theugnt
new, that it was expressly In order te
make this preposition that h hid
escaped te Miss Rickson.
All the same ha entered his enn
apartment quietly and rather u if it
thought or hoped that Jep might It
nsJeep.
She was net asleep. She cams flylaj
te meet him, her face radiant, and he
saw that something had happened;
sometblng that she liked; that thtj
would like.
"Oh, dearest," she cried, "what de
you think? It's nil a mistakeMr.
Dibble called up te say they aren't going
te tear down the building this year it
all. And we don't hnvc te move."
"Say," eald Clausen. "Say!"
He sat before the fire and filled hli
pipe. The fireplace that drew se well,
the book shelves near enough te le
reaencu lrem ins chair and the old
brown familiar tile wcre theirs for t
long time te come. He looked round en
these tilings. He liked them, he tvn
used te them. He looked across at Jep
and bmllcd. He was used te them it
he was used te her.
Thnt held him. He stared at her,
his pipe suspended. He was net likely
te think things out, but gently, a cer
tain satisfied sense of her very aocus aecus aocus
temedness assailed him. Of her fa
miliarity as of a well-loved home. He
cared nnd she cared nnd they alwnri
would care. It had always been and it
would nlwnys be. An eternity of twin;
accustomed te each ether. Se accus
tomed that ench hardly knew the eth'r
te be there at all.
He had no idea hew te voice what lit
wns feeling. Se he get up and weutil
the clock.
"It's get te be regulated, that thbg,'
lie heard himself mutter.
Jep smiled up at him lastly.
"If you didn't say that every wht
dear," she observed, "I'd miss It"
He steed looking down at her. Am!
then ha said in a vast centent:
"We certainly are used te each ether
dearest aren't we?"
Cevurtahl. Hit. tv Vnlltd ratr ftMitMf'.
XII rlehtJ reservti, llttreducHm trtMWfl.
Wallace
Quick!" said the voice, "rasrcaw!
Halt!"
Raeul stepped. If he could only get
his hands down nnd duck, one llghtnlrj
dive
His captor evidently read Mi
thoughts, for he felt a hand slip into
lllu mnnlrlnsteli nnrtbAf ni Ii tCUi Tt
licved of the weight of his nutemstlc.
.., . .... ....-in
ue lervvaru, up the steps, oiep'
The stranger had seen the huddlfl
figure of White, and steeped ever him.
He mnde no comment. He knew tin
man was dead before his hnndi had
touched him.
".Mount the steps, canaille!" "ii
the voice; nnd Itaeul walked slowly UP
the htepa of the heuse and halted wltb
Ills face ngainst the deer.
A hand came up under his uplift"!
arm and sought the keyhole. A tw
minutes' fumbling until the prenn et
the skeleton key had found Its corre
sponding wards, and then the deer
swung open, emitting a scent of reustb
nevn nml rlrumr
"Marcher. !" said (he strnnser, tail
Itneul walked forward ami heard tl
deer slam behind him.
The house was, net empty, in '",
sense thnt it was unfurnished. W
unknown was using nn eleclrit. torch
extraordinary brilliancy, and icvealcd
dilapidated lmllstnnd urn! a musty chair.
He took u brief survey and then Mid:
"Down these stuirs!" and the murderer
obeyed, ,
They weie in the kitchen new, ea
ngain tlie bright light gleamed abeu .
The windows wcre heavily "l'ut'er!ft
,i .. - .. ..,i.i ii lew v
pieces of china en the t-lilflwaru-dlrly.
There was u gas bracket '
center, ever a large deal table. nju
th
iv Hiiiiniii'r iiiiiiin uin - " ,i, nuu
Ins of escaping gas, rtrui'li a J ih
t It, and then ler the I rsl mc 'J b,
i -mi I., f.i.n- nml iibten Mimeiit ui'O"
hi
lit
:aze
man who held him. niinjrl
"Monsieur," he stammered, ""
U,'i'iic masked figure hlippt-.l hi J'JJ,,
into his pocket and flicked .; ' '1 '',,
the tabic, uinl Itaeul, leek i b u u,
Miw the jack of cltilh mid hiutt
his end was iii'iir. ,j
Te, he continued M'';,JL'
Caaurlaht. UtClurt Newsgwr """"Td
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