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three men
WGDBHOUSE
CHAPTER X— continued.
—ll—
is the gist of his remarks.
6i u Dld you tell him I was trying to get
to . S '"f sir. 1 understood him to reply
that h e should worry and get a pain in
Motown again and say that I insist
op his stopping the thing. Its an out
good, sir." „
in a few minutes, Webster, like the
cove dispatched from the Ark, was
"t Sr* my mission has been fruit
less, sir. Mr. Mortimer appears ada
mant on the point at issue."
“You gave him my message?
“Verbatim, sir. In reply Mr. Morti
mer desired me to tell you that, if you
did not like it, you could do the other
thing. 1 <iuote the exact words, sir.-.
“He did, did he?” '
■ "Yes, sir.”
“Very good 1 Webster I”
“Sir?” “
"When is the next train to London?"
“I will ascertain, sir. Cook, I believe,
has a timetable.”
“Go and see, then. I want to know.
And send Miss Wilhelmina to me.”
“Very good, sir.”
Somewhat consoled by the thought
that be was taking definite action, Mr.
Bennett lay back uml waited for BU
lie.
“I want you to go to London,” he
said, when she appeared.
"To London? Why?"
“i'll tell you why,” said Mr. Bennett,
'vehemently. ‘‘Because of that pest,
Mortimer. I must have legal advice,
i want you to go and see Sir Mallaby
Marlowe. Here’s his address. Tell him
the whole story. Tell him that this
man is annoying me in every possible
way and ask if it can’t be stopped. If
you can’t see Sir Mallaby himself, see
someone else in the firm. Go up to
night, so that you can see him first
thing in the morning. You can stop
the night at the Savoy. I’ve sent Web
ster to look out a train.”
“There’s a splendid train in about an
hour, rn take that.”
“It's giving you a lot of trouble,” said
Mr. Bennett with belated consideration.
"Oh, no!” said Billie. “I’m only too
glad to be able to do something for
you, father, dear. This noise is a ter
ete nuisance, isn’t it?”
"You're a good girl,” said Mr. Ben
nett.
; CHAPTER XI
“That’s right!" said Sir Mallaby
Marlotve. “Work while you’re young,
Sam, work while you’re young,” He
regarded his son’s bent head with af
feetioQ&te approval. “What’s the book
today?",
“Widgery on Nisi Prius Evidence.”
said .Saiji, witliout looking up.
"Capital !" said Sir •Miiilaby; ‘‘“Hi'gh
‘7 * ni P r .dving and as interesting as a
"I—some novels. There’s a splen
hit on, I think, page two hundred
■ I ! dry-four where the hero finds out
® !i,ni, j Copyhold and Customary Es-
It’s a wonderfully powerful situ
",n; H appears—but I won’t spoil it
. <!r . v u. Mind you don’t skip to see
11 ai! comes out in the end!” Sir
• dt suspended conversation while
:ll|,]r cssed an imaginary ball with
timshie which he had taken out of
sa j f -hag. For tliis was the day
, , ],e ; ' V( ‘Pt flown to Walton heath
his foursome With' three
■ ■"'iids. His tubby form 'was clad
'■ end °f n violent nature, with
and stockings. “Sam I”
abv i! man ' at club showed me
tlle other day. instead of
1 ei'ing the little finger of the right
by tile way, Sam?”
I lock *P r,le office today if
“ V m \ or onxious clients wilt he
youii^fi l^1 anfl aaki: ng for adtice, and
s!■ , n,: yourself in difficulties. I
hi„ ii.'.’v ar 'fl Inters is away on
Tou’d better lock the outer
. v -t, ’ said Sam, absently. He
- Widgery stiff reading. He
II 80t f ° Ibe hit about Raptu
krvi.v "bich, 11 sof course you
hfo ' R writ for taking away an
s ., ; ' :r, insocage.
•\y, 1. looked at his watch.
Inter, s ,,, 1 . ) luve t 0 be going. See you
“C.OOd-by,”
n | ari r .g M v'v by went out and Sam.
tv n i.t* L e! bows on the desk and
fr' n?ers * n s ' iair > returned
;. ' 11 °f concentration to his
r ‘ • h ”te * Vidcer * • For . Perhaps
e sl >uggle was an even
AND A MAID
Copyright by George H. Doran Cos.
one, then gradually Wldgery got the
upper hand. Sam’s mind, numbed by
constant batterings ngninst the stony
ramparts of legal phraseology, weak
ened, faltered and dropped away; and
a moment later his thoughts, as so
often happened when he was alone,
darted off and began to circle round
the image of Billie Bennett.
Sluce they had last met, Sam had
told himself perhaps a hundred times
that he cared nothing about Billie,
that she had gone out of his life and
was dead to him, but unfortunately he
did not believe it. A man takes a deal
of convincing on a point like this, and
Sam had never succeeded in convincing
himself for more than two minutes at
a time. It was usless to pretend tnnt
he did not still love Billie more than
ever, because he knew he did; and
now, as the truth swept over him for
the hundred and first time, he groaned
hollowly and gave himself up to the
gray despair which is the almost in
separable companion of young men in
his position.
So; engrossed was lie in his medita
tion that he did not hear the light foot
step in the outer office, and it was only
when it was followed by a tap on tne
door of the inner office that he awoke
with a start to the fact that clients
were in his midst. He wished that he
had taken his father’s advice and
locked up the office. Probably this was
some frightful bore who wanted to
make his infernal will or something,
and Sam had neither the ability nor
the inclination to assist him.
Was it too late to escape? Perhaps
if he did not answer tlie knock, the
blighter might think there was nobody
at home. But suppose he opened the
door and peeped in? A spasm of Na
'poleonic strategy seized Sam. He
dropped silently to the floor and con
cealed himself under the desk. Na
poleon was always doing that sort of
thing.
There was another tap. Then, as
he had anticipated, the door opened.
Sam, crouched like a hare in its form,
held his breath. It seemed to him that
he was going to bring this delicate
operation off with success. He felt lie
had acted just as Napoleon would have
done in a similar crisis.
“Good morning," said a voice.
Sam thrilled from the top of his head
to tiie soles of his feet. It was the
voice which had been ringing in his
ears through all his waking hours.
“Are you busy, Mr. Marlowe?” asked
BiliiS, addressing the boots.
Sam wriggled out from under the
desk like a disconcerted tortoise.
“Dropped my pen,” lie mumbled, as
lie rose to the surface.
He pulled himself with an effort that
was like a physical exercise. He stared
at Billie dumbly. Then, recovering
speech, he invited her to sit down, and
seated himself at the desk.
“Dropped my pen!” he gurgled
again.
“Yes?” said Billie.
“Fountain pen,” babbled Sam, “with
a broad nib."
“Yes.”
“A broad gold nib," went on Sam,
with the painful exactitude which
comes only from embarrassment or the
early stages of intoxication.
“Really?" said • Billie, and Sam
blinked and told himself resolutely that,
tills would not do. He was.not.appear
ing to advantage. It suddenly occurred
to him that his hair was standing on
end as the result of his struggle with
Widgery. He smoothed it down hast
ily,, and felt , a trifle, more composed,
The old fighting spirit of the. Mar)owes
now began to assert itself to some ex
tent-. He .must. make ; an effort to ap
pear ps little of a. foot as possible in
thisfgirils,eyes. And what eyes they
were! Golly! fJke starsJ Ukp two,
bright planets in . . .
However, that was neither here nor
there, . He pulled dowii his vest, and
became cold and businesslike the dry
young lawyer. . • • •
•*Er —how do you do, Miss Bennett?”
he said with a question in his voice,
raising his eyebrows in a professional
way. He modeled this performance on
that of lawyers he had seen on the
stage, and wished he had some snuff
to Take or something to tap against his
i front teeth. “Miss Bennett, I believe?”
Billie drew herself up stiffly. .
“Yes,” she replied. “How clever of
| you to remember me."
“I have a good memory.”
"How nice! So have I!’’
There was a pause, during which Bil
lie allowed her gaze to travel casually
about the room. . Sara occupied the In
i remission by staring furtively at her
profile. He was by now in a thorough
jv overwrought condition, and the
[ thumping of HMrt sounded to him
THE DANIELSVILLE MONITOR, DANIELSVILLE, GEORGIA.
as if workmen were mending the street
outside. How beautiful she looked,
with that red hair peeping out beneath
her hat and . . . However!
“Is there anything I can do for you?"
he asked iu the sort of voice Widgery
might, have used. Sam always pictured
Widgery as a small man with bushy
eyebrows, a thin face and a voice like
a rusty file.
“Well, I really wanted to see Sir
Mallaby.”
“My father has been called away on
important business to Walton heath.
Cannot I act as his substitute?"
“Do you know anything about the
law?”
“Do I know anything about the law I"
echoed Sam, amazed. “Do I know—l
Why, I was reading my Widgery on
Nisi Prius Evidence when you came
in.”
“Oh, were you?” said Billie, Interest
ed. “Do you always read on the
tlodr.”
"I told you I dropped my pen,” said
Sam, coldly.
“And of course you couldn’t read
without that! Well, as a matter of
fact, this has nothing to do with Nisi —
what you said.”
“I have hot specialized exclusively
on Nisi Prius Evidence. I know the
law in all its branches.”
“Then what would you do if a man
insisted on playing the orchestrion
when you wanted to get to sleep?”
“The orchestrion?”
“Yes.”
“The orchestrion, eh? Ah, h’ml”
said Sain.
“You still haven’t made It quite
clear,” said Billie.
“I was. thinking.”
• “Oh, if you want to think!”
“Tell me the facts,” said Sam.
“Well, Mr. Mortimer and my father
have taken a house together in the
country, and for some reason or other
they have quarreled, and now Mr. Mor
timer is doing everything he can to
make father uncomfortable. Yesterday
afternoon father wanted to sleep, and
Mr. Mortimer started this orchestrion
just to annoy him.”
“I think—l’m n* quite sure—l think
that’s a tort,” said Sam.
“A what?”
“Either a tort or a misdemeanor.”
“Why, you do know something about
it after all!” cried Billie, startled into
a sort of friendliness in spitd of her
self. And at the words and the sight
of her quick smile Sam’s professional
composure reeled on its foundations.
He had half risen, with the purpose of
springing up and babbling of the pas
sion that consumed him, when the chill
reflection came to him that thi3 g!r!
had once said that she considered him
ridiculous. If he let V'n.oelf go. would
she not continue to think him ridicu
lous? He sagged back into his seat
and at that moment there came an
other tap on the door which, opening,
revealed the face of the holiday-mak
ing Peters.
“Good morning, Mr. Samuel,” said
John Peters. “Good mornlhg, Miss
Milliken. Oh!"
Lie vanished as abruptly as he had
appeared. He perceived that, what he
had taken at first glance for the ste
nographer was a client, and that the
junior partner was engaged on a busi
ness conference. ” left behind him
a momentary silence.
“What a horrible-looking man I” said
Billie, breaking it with a little gasp.
John Peters often affected the oppo
site sex -like that at first sight.
“I beg your pardon?” said Sam ab
sently.
“What a dreadful-looking mi ni He
quite frightened me!”
For some moments Sam sat without
speaking. If this had not been one
of his Napoleonic mornings, rio doubt
the sudden arrival of his old friend.
Mr. Peters, whom he had Imagined at
his home in Putney packing for his
.trip to America, would have suggested
nothing to him. As it was It suggested
a great deal. He had had a brain
wave. and for fully a tnimftft he sat
tingling under Its Impact. He’was not
a young man who often had brain
waves, and, when they came, they
made him rather dizzy.
“Who is he?” asked Billie. “He
seemed to know you? And who.” s! e
demanded after a slight pause, “Is
Miss Milliken?”
Sam drew a deep breath.
“It’s rather a sad story,” he
“Ilis name is John Peters. He useA
to be clerk here.”
“But isn’t he any longer?”
“No.” Sam shook his head. “We
had to get rid of him."
“I don't wonder. A man looking like
that . . . •
“It wasn’t that so much," said Bam.
“The thing that annoyed father was
that he tried to shoot Miss Milllken.”
Billie uttered a cry of horror.
“He tried to shoot Miss Milllken i"
“He did shoot her —the third time,"
said Sam wanning to his work. “Only
in the nrin, fortunately," he added.
“But my father is rather a stern dis
ciplinarian and he had to go. I mean,
we couldn’t keep him after that."
“Good gracious!"
“She used to be my father’s stenog
rapher, and she was thrown a good
deal with Peters. It was quite natural
that lie should fall in love with her.
She was a beautiful girl, with rather
your own shade of hair. Peters is a
man of volcanic passions, and, when,
after she had given him to understand
that liis love was returned, she In
formed him one day that she was en
gaged to a fellow at Ealing West, lie
went right off his onion—l mean, he
became completely distraught. I must
say that he concealed it very effect
ively at first. We had no Inkling of
his condition till lie came in with the
pistol. And, after that . . . well,
as I say, we had to dismiss him. A
great pity, for he was a good clerk.
Still, it wouldn’t do. It wasn’t only
that he tried to shoot Miss Milllken.
That wouldn’t have mattered so much,
as she left after he made Ills third
attempt, and got married. But the
tiling became an obsession with him,
and we found that he had a fixed idea
that every red-haired woman who came
into the office was the girl who had
deceived him. You can see how awk
ward that made It.’ Red hair Is so
fashionable nowadays.”
"My lialr Is red I” whispered Billie
pallidly.
“Yes, I noticed It myself. I told you
It was much the same shade rs JYI' SI *
Milllken’s. It’s rather fortunate that
I happened to be here with you when
he came.”
“But he may be lurking out there
still 1"
“I expect he is,” said Sam carelessly.
“Yes, I suppose he is. Would you like
me to go and send him away? All
right.”
“But—but is it safe?”
Sam uttered a light laugh.
“I don’t mind taking a risk or two
for your sake," lie said, and sauntered
from the room, closing the door behind
him. Billie followed him with worship
ing eyes.
John Peters rose politely from the
chair in which lie had seated himself
for more comfortable perusal of the
copy of Home Whispers which he had
brought with him to refresh ids mind
In the event of the firm being too busy
to see him immediately. He was par
ticularly interested in the series of
chats with Young Mothers.
“Hullo. Peters,” said Sam. “Want
anything?”
“Very sorry to have disturbed you,
Mr. Samuel. I just looked in to say
goodby. I sail on Saturday, and my
time will he pretty fully tnken up all
the week. I have to go down to the
country to get some final Instructions
from the client whose Important pa
pers I am taking over. I’m sorry to
have missed your father, Mr. Samuel.”
"Yes, this is his golf duy. I’ll tell
him you looked in.”
“Is there anything I can do before
I RO?”
"Do?”
“Weil —”—John Peters coughed tact
fully —“i S oe that you are engaged
with a client, Mr. Samuel, and was
wondering if any little point of law
had arisen with which you did not feel
yourself quite capable of coping, ip
which case I might'perhaps he of as
sistance.”
“Oh, that lady,” said Sam. •“That
was Miss Mllllken’s sister."
“Indeed? I didn’t know Miss Milli
ken had a sister.”
“No?” said Sam.
“She Is not very like her in appear
ance.”
“No. Tills one Is the beauty of the
family, I believe. Avery bright. In
telligent girl. I wap telling her about
your revolver Just before you came in,
and she was most interested. It’s n
pity you haven't got It with* you now,
to show her."
“Oh, hut I have! I have, Mr. Sam
uel!” .said Peters opening a small
handbag and taking out a hymn-book,
half a pound of mixed chocolates, a
tongue sandwich, and the pistol, In the
order nnmed. “I was on my way to
the Rupert street range for a little
practice. I should. be glad to show
it to her.”
“Well, wait here a minute or. two,"
said Sam. 'Tfl have finished talking
business in a moment.”
He returned to tiie inner olilce.
“Well?” cried Billie.'
“Eh? Oh, he’s gone." said Ram. “I
persuaded him to go away. He was
a little excited, poor fellow. And dow
let us return to what we were talking
about. You say . . fie broke off
with an exclamation, and glanced at
his watch. "Good Heavens! I had no
Idea of the time. I promised to run
up and see a man in one of the offices
in the next court. He wants to con
sult me on some difficulty which has
arisen with one of his clients Rightly
or wrongly he values my advice. Can
you spare me for a short while? J
sluin'! lie more than ten'minutes."
“Certainly.”
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
GOOD Pi
ROADS
CONCRETE WINS IN
TEST OF MATERIALS
An interesting road experiment lias
been conducted in Illinois for llie pur
pose of ascertaining the facts concern
ing the wearing quality of different
road materials. This test road is
known as the Bates experimental road.
It consists of 63 sections of pavement
each 18 l'eet wide and from 100 to 250
feet in length. They are laid end to
end so that'they make a continuous
straight p. . cnient two miles long.
Twenty-two of these sections were of
brick, 17 of asphalt and 24 of con
crete. In each type of pavement the
sections varied in thickness from those
so thin that they were sure to break
under the lightest test loads to sec
tions which were considered strong
enough to support successfully the
heaviest load permitted by the state
traffic law.
All of tlie materials for the pnve
mqnts were made to conform to the
high standard as required by state
specifications, and the spirit of the
whole test was to learn t’he facts.
After this road had been constructed
army trucks made 23,200 round trips
over them. Each truck was loaded
differently as the test progressed,
starting with the lightest load pos
sible for them, and gradually Increas
ing the load until the greatest traffic
imposed’upon any such was 377,460
tons. Over 50 per cent of this was
the legal load limit for four.tons peg
rear wheel. After the test was com
pleted it was found that, the concrete
had stood the test best of any material
used. In fact, It was an overwhelming
victory for concrete pavement and tills
can be better understood when it l,s.
given in percentage. Only 4 1 /a per
cent of the brick pavement sustained
tills traffic without injury. Only 11 -’ft
per cent of the asphalt siistained tills'
traffic, whereas 41 2-3 per cent of the
concrete sections satisfactorily sus
tained the entire test. The test will
be still further continued this spring,
and new sections Of concrete have
been put down having the edges thick
er than the renter. It will lie interest
ing to note what the outcome of those
tests will lie. —E. B. House, Depart
ment of Civil and Irrigation Engineer
ing, Colorado Agricultural College.
Link National Roads in
West With Eastern Lines
Construction of highways in the
Western states to connect that terri
tory with the East and form trans
continental routes was approved by
a delegation of representatives in con
gress from that section meeting with
state and federal highway officials at
Washington.
A committee was named to confer
with the public roads bureau in the
formation of plans which probably
will call for government aid. Harvey
M. Toy of the California highway
commission presented the views of
the states.
Representative Colton of Utah was
named chairman of tiie committee tfl
formulate plans. Other members In
clude Representatives Summers, Wash
ington; Sinnot, Oregon; Fredericks,*
California; Leavitt, Montana; Smith.
Idaho; Richards, Nevada; Hayden,
Arizona; Winter, Wyoming; Vaile,
Colorado, and'Morrow, New Mexico,
k
Immense Sum Spent for'
Good Roads in Missouri
A. 0. IJngley, engineer, of construcr •
tlon of the state highway department,
gives out figures showing that since
the establishment of the department
there has been expended in the con
struction of roads'arid bridges the sum
of $25,284,000.
This represents completed work on
complete and Incomplete projects.
Tiie total mileage is 2,032, of which
there are 1,018 miles of graded earth
yet to be surfaced. The cost of com
pleted bridge construction was $1,792,-
O(XJ. Graded earth cost •$7,096,000, con
crete and brick $9,034,000, gravel
$6,384,000 and macadam and asphalt
$978,000. The hard surfaced roads,
1,014 miles, have cost $16,396,090.
Order Advertising Signs
From Arizona Highways
Advertising signs have been ordered
removed from tiie sides of all roads
that traverse tiie forest reserves of
Arizona and New Mexico. District
, Engineer E. S. Wheeler of the bureau
of public roads hereafter will permit
only roadside signs that have been
placed by highway organizations or
automobile clubs. There is sugges
tion that a bill be offered In the next
legislature prohibiting disfigurement
by advertising of any state highways,
hs well as of the erection of blll
j boards at intersections where they
; shut off the view and thus conduce to
ward accident.