Newspaper Page Text
Three Men
AND
a Maid
By P. G. Wodehouse
S
’“’""cspyright by George H. Down Cos.
CHAPTER Xl— Continued.
—l2
.■Here is something you may care to
look while I’m gone. I-don’t know
Jtu have read It? Wldgevy on Msl
i. r ius Evidence. Most Intel cSting.
iie went out. John Peters looked up
from ills Home Whispers.
••You- can gee in’now,” said Sam.
-Certainly, Mr. Samuel, •certainly.
Sam took up the copy of Honie W his
ners and sat down ..with his- feet cn
the desk. He turned to the serf a l story
and began to read the synopsis.
In the inner room, Billie, who had
rejected .the mental refreshment of
fered by- Widgery, and was engaged in
making a tour of the office, looking at
the portraits of whiskered, men whom
she look correctly to be the Thorpes,
l'rescetts, Winslows and Applebys men
tioned on the contents-bill outside, was
surprised to hear the door open at her
hack. She had not expected Sam to
return so instantaneously.
Nor had he done so. It was not
Sant who entered. It was a man of
repellent aspect whom she recognized
instantly, for John Peters was one of
those men who, once seen, are not
easily forgotten. He was smiling, a
cruel, cunning smile*—at least, she
thought he was; Mr. Peters himself
was under Hie impression that his face
was wreathed in a benevolent simper;
and In his hand he bore the largest
pistol ever seen outside a motion pic
ture studio.
"How do you do. Miss Mllliken?" he
said.
CHAPTER XII
EiHie lm<l been standing near the
wall, inspecting n portrait of the late
Mr. Joslah Appleby, of which the kind
est tiling one can say is that one hopes
It did not do him justice. She now
shrank back against this wall, as if
she were trying to get through it. The
edge of the portrait’s frame tilted her
hat out of tlie straight, but in tills
supreme moment she did not even no
tice It.
"Mr—how do you do?” she said.
If she had not been an exceedingly
pretty girl, one would have said that
she spoke squeakily. The fighting
spirit of tiie Bennetts, though It was
considerable fighting spirit, had not
risen to tlds emergency. It had ebbed
out of ber, leaving in its place a cold
panic. She had seen this sort of
thing in the movies—there was one
series of pictures, “The Dangers of
Diana,” where something of tiie kind
had happened to the heroine in every
reel—but she had not anticipated that
It would ever happen to her: and con
sequently she had not thought out any
Plan for coping with such a> situation.
A grave error. In this world one
should be prepared for everything, or
where Is one? The best' she could do
was to stand and stare at tiie intruder.
It would have done Sam Marlowe good
"he had now finished the synopsis
ai! ‘ was skimming through the current
installment—if he couid have known
now she yearned for his return.
Ive brought the revolver,” said
Sir, Peters.
; So—si, i see !” said Billie.
-'■ir. Peters nursed the weapon affec
houately In his hand, lie was rather
8 S| d man with women as a rule, but
'' “it Sam bud told him' about her be
ts interested in his revolver had made
his heart warm to this girl.
i, } " as °n my way to have a
u '" Phnctiee at tiie range,” lie said.
, , n ' thought 1 might as well look
W here."
I suppose—I suppose you’re a good
•not:' quavered Billie.
s<|,! 'n miss,” said John I’eters.
, , p ruddered. Then, reflecting
r !”' ', lie longer she engaged this nm
,v’ c . r '>nversatlon the more hope
* of Sam coming back in time
" or, she assayed further sifiall
“TtV,
s very ugly!"
j said Peters, hurt. "
perceived that site had said
tll,n s
mr- looking, I meant," she
~ herself hastily.
S’.. , have deadly work to do.
, snld Mr. Peters.
-uion languished again.
nf) f;, rther remarks to make
-•o interest, and Mr. Peters
j, ng with a return of the
shyness which so handl
capped him in his dealings with the
other sex. After n few moments, he
puKed himself together again, and, as
his first act was to replace the pistol
in the pocket of his coat, Billie became
conscious of a faint stirring of relief.
“The great thing,” said John Peters,
“Is to learn to draw quickly. Like
this I” he added, producing the re
volver with something of the smooth
ness and rapidity with which Billie, In
happier moments, had seen conjurers
take a bowl of gold fish out of n tall
hat. “Everything depends on getting
the first shot! The first shot, Miss
Mllliken, Is vital.” .
Suddenly Billie had an Inspiration.
It was hopeless, she knew, to try to
convince this poor demented crenture,
obsessed with his “Idee fixe,” that she
was not Miss Mllliken. Denial would
be a waste of time, and might even
Infuriate him Into preclpltntlng the
tragedy. It was Imperative that she
should humor him. And, while she was
humoring him, It suddenly occurred to
her, why not do It thoroughly.
“Mr. Peters," she cried, "you are
quite mistaken!”
“I beg your pardon,” said John Pe
ters, with not a little'asperity. "Noth
ing of the klrtd 1”.
“You are!”- >
“1 assure you I am. not. Quickness
In rhe draw is essential.”
“You have been misinformed."
“Well, 1 had It direct from the man
lit the Rilpert street range," said Mr.
Peters stiffly. “And if you had ever
seen a picture called Two-Gun Thomas
“Mr. Peters!" cried.. Ilillje desper
ately. He was ’ making her head
swim with his meaningless ravings.
“Mr. Peters, hear rue! I am not mar
ried to a man at Ealing West!”
Mr. Peters betrayed no excitement
■at the iyformation. This girl seemed
for some reason to consider her ritun
tion an extraordinary one, but many
women, he was aware, were in a simi
lar position.®ln fact, he could not at
the moment think of any of his femi
nine acquaintances who were married
to men at Ealing West.
“Indeed?” he said politely.
“Won’t you believe me?” exclaimed
Billie wildly.
“Why, certainly, certainly,” said
John Peters.
“Thank God!” said Billie. “I’m not
even engaged 1 It’s all been a terrible
mistake 1"
Wlien two people in a small room
are speaking on two distinct and dif
ferent subjects and neither knows
what on earth the other is driving at,
(here is bound (o be a certain amount
of mental confusion: but at this point
John Peters, though still not wholly
equal to the intellectual pressure of
tiie conversation, began to see a faint
shimmer of light behind tiie clouds,
in n nebulous kind of way he began
to understand that the girl had coine
to consult the firm about a breach-of
promise action. Some unknown man
at Ealing West had been trifling with
her heart —hardened lawyer’s clerk
as he was. that poignant cry, “I’m not
engaged!” had touched Mr. Peters
and she wished to start proceedings.
Mr. Peters felt almost in his depth
again. He put tiie revolver in his
pocket, and drew out a notebook.
“I should be glad to hear tiie facts,’
lie said with professional .courtesy.
“In the absence of tiie Guv’nor . . •
! “I have told you tiie facts!”
“This man at Ealing West,” said Mr.
Peters; moistening the pcint of bis
pencil, “lie wrote you letters propos
ing marriage?”
“No, no, no 1”
"At any rate,” said Mr. Peters, dis
appointed but hopeful, “lie made love
to you before witnesses?”
“Neverl Never! There Is no man
.at Ealing West! There never was a
man at Ealing West!”
It was at tiys point that John Pe
ters began for the first time to enter
tain serious doubts of the girl’s mental
balance. The ‘most elementary ac
quaintance with the latest census was
enough to tell him that there were any
number of men at Ealing West. The
place was full of them. Would a sane
woman have made an assertion t - ' the
contrary? He thought not, and he
was glad that he had the revolver with
liiin. She had done nothing as yet ac
tively violent, but it was nice to feel
prepared. He took it out and laid
it nonchalantly In Ills lap.
Tiie sight of the weapon acted on
Billie electrically. She flung out her
hands, in a gesture of passionate ap
peal, and played her last card.
“I love you!” she tried. She wished
she could have remembered his first
name. It would have rounded off tiie
sentence neatly. In such a moment
she could hardly call him ‘Mr. Peters.’
“You are tiie only man I love.”
“M.v gracious goodness!” ejaculated
Mr Peters, and nearly fell o\er back
wards To a naturally shy man this
-sudden and wholly unexpected decla
ration was disconcerting: uni the
I derk was, moreover, engaged f.o
! finished violently. And yet. even in
that moment of consternation, he
! could not check a certain thrill. No
i man ever thinks he is as homely as
i i,e really Is. but John Peters had nl
wnvs come fairly near to a correct estl
! mate of his charms, and if had alnn>
l seemed to him that. In Inducing h!s
| rian.’ee to accept him, lie hud gone
THE DAMELSVILLE MONITOR, DANIELSVILLE, GEORGIA.
some. He now began to wonder If he
were not really rather of a devil of a
clinp after all. There must, he felt,
he precious few men going about
capable of Inspiring devotion like this
on the strength of about six and a half
minutes casual conversation.
Calmer thoughts succeeded this little
flicker of complacency. The glri was
mad. That was the fact of the matter.
He got up and began to edge toward
the door. Mr. Samuel would be re
turning shortly, and he ought to be
warned.
“So that’s all right, Isn’t It 7” said
Billie.
“Oh, quite, quite!” said Mr. Peters.
“Er —thank you very much 1”
“I thought you would be pleased,”
said Billie, relieved, but puzzled. For
a man of volcanic passions, as Sam
Marlowe had described him, lie seemed
to be taking the thing very calmly. She
had anticipated a strenuous scene.
“Oh. it’s a great compliment," Mr.
Peter's assured her.
At this point Sain came in. Inter
rupting the conversation-at n moment
when It had reached a somewhat diffi
eult stage. He had finished the Instal
ment of the serial story in Home Whis
pers, and, looking at his watch tie fan
cied that he had allowed sufficient time
to elapse for events to have matured
along the lines which his imagination
Imd indicated.
The atmosphere of the room seemed
to him, as he entered, a little strained.
Billie looked pale and agitated. Mr.
Peters looked rather agitated, too.
Sam caught Billie’s eye. It had an
unspoken npjieal in.it. I]e gave an
imperceptible nod, a reassuring nod,
the hod of a man who understood nli
and was prepared to handle the situa
tion. ‘ 1
“Come, Peters," he said In a deep,
firm, quiet voice, laying a hand on the
clerk’s arm. “IPs time that you went.”
“Yes, indeed, Mr. Samuel 1 yes, yes,
indeed!” *
“i'll see you out,” said Sam sooth
ingly, and led him through the outer
office and onto tiie landing outside.
“Well, good luck, Peters,” he said, ns
they stood at tiie head of tiie stairs.
“I hope you have a pleasant trip.
Why, wiiat’s the matter? You seem
upset.”
“That girl, Samuel! I really think —
really, she cannot he quite right In
her head.”
“Nonsense, nonsense!" said’ Sam
firmly. “She’s all right! Well, good
by.”
“Goodby, Mr. Samuel."
“When did you say you were sail
ing?”
“Next Saturday, Mr. Samuel. But
1 fear I shall have no opportunity of
seeing you again before then. 1 have
packing to do and I have to see this
gentleman down in the country . . ."
“All right. Then we’ll say goodby
now. Goodby, I’eters. Mind you have
a good time in America. I’ll tel I my
father you called.”
Sam watched him out of sight down
the stairs, then turned and made ids
way back to the Inner office. Billie
was sitting limply on the chair which
John Peters had occupied. She sprang
to tier feet.
"Has he really gone?”
"Yes, lie's gone this time.”
“Was he—was he violent?”
“A little,” said Sam, “a little. But
I calmed him down.” He looked at
her gravely. “Thank God I was in
time!”
•’Oli, you are the bravest man in tiie
world!” cried Billie, and, buryir” her
face in her hands, burst into tears.
“There, there!” said Sam. “There,
t here! Come, come! It’s all right
now! Tliere, there, there!”
He knelt down • beside her. He
slipped one arm round her waist. He
patted her hands.
• I have tried to dfaw Samuel Mnr
lowe so that fie will live on the printed
page. I have endeavored to delineate
Ills character so that It will be as an
opep book. And, If, I have succeeded
in my task, tiie reader will by. now
’nave become aware that ho was n
young man with the gall of an army
nsuie. His conscience, If he ever had
one, had become atrophied through
long disuse. He bad given tills sensi
tive girl the worst fright she had had
since a mouse had got into her bed
room at school. He had caused John
I’eters to titter off to the Rupert
street range making Jow, bleating
noises. And did he care? No! All
he cared nbout was the fact that lie
laid erased forever from Billie's mind
that undignified picture of himself ns
he had appeared on the boat, and sub
stituted another which showed him
brave, resourceful, gallant. A!l he
cared about was the fact that Billie,
so cold ten minutes before, tiad al
lowed him to kiss her for the forty
second time. If you had asked him,
he would have said that he had acted
for the best, and liiut out of evil eom
etii good, or some sickening thing like
ri,ntr That was the sort of man .Sam
uel Marlowe was.
His face was very close to Billie's,
who had cheered up wonderfully by
tiiis rime, and he was whispering Ids
degraded words of endearment Into her
c .„r, when there was a sort of explo
sion in the doorway.
■Great Godfrey!” exclaimed Mr. Ru
fus Bennett, gazing on the scene from
!his point of vantage and mopping
vltii a large handkerchief u scarlet
face, which, as the result of ellmbrng
three flights of stairs, had become
slightly soluble. “Great Heavens
above!’’
CHAPTER XIII
Remarkable ns the apparition of Mr.
Bennett appeared to his daughter, the
explanation of liis presence ut that mo
ment in the office of Marlowe, Thorpe,
Prescott, Winslow and Appleby was
simple. lie had woken early that
morning, and, glancing at his watch
on the dressing table, he had suddenly
become uware of something bright and
yellow beside it, and Imd paused,- trans
fixed, like ltobinson Crusoe staring ut
the footprint in the sand. If he hud
not been In England, he would have
said it was a patch of sunshine. Hardly
daring to hope, he pulled up tiie
shades und looked out on the garden.
It vvus a superb morning. It wits us
if some giant had uncorked a great
bottle full of the distilled scent, of
grass, trees, flowers and hay. Mr.
Bennett sniffed luxuriantly. Gone was
the gloom of the past ten days, swept
away in a great exhilaration.
Breakfast had deepened his content.
Henry Mortimer, softened, by the same
balmy influence had been perfectly
charming. All their little differences
had melted away in the genial warmth.
Anil then suddenly Mr. Beunett re
membered that he’lmd sent Billie up
to London to enlist the aid of the Law
uguinst his old l'ricnd, and remorse
gripped him. Half an hour Inter he
was In llie train, on his way to Lon
don to Intercept her and cancel her
mission. He had arrived breathless
at Sir Mallnby’s otlice, and the first
tiling he had segn was his daughter In
the arms of a young man who was a
total stranger to him. The shock took
away Ills breath again Just as It was
coming back. He advanced shakily
Into the room, and supported himself
with one hand on Ihe desk, while with
the other lie piled the handkerchief on
his superheated face.
Billie was the first to speak.
“Why, father,” she said, “1 didn’t
expect you!”
As an explanation of her behavior
this might, no doubt, have been con
sidered sufficient, but ns an excuse for
It Mr. Bennett thought It Inadequate.
He tried to convey n fatherly reproof
by pulling like a seal uftor a long dive
in search of fish.
“This is Sam,” proceeded Billie, j
“Sam Marlowe.”
Mr. Bennett became aware that the
young man was moving toward him
with outstretched hand. It took n lot
to disconcert Sam, and lie was the
calmest person present. He gave evi
dence of tlds in a neat speech. lie
did not In so many words congratulate
Mr. L’-ennott on tiie piece of luck which
laid befallen him, but lie tried to make
him understand by his manner that lie
was distinctly to he envied as the
prospective fatlier-in-iaw of such a one
ns himself.
Mr. Bennett stared In a frozen sort
of way at Ihe hand. He luid placed
Sam by now. lie knew that Sir Mnl
laby bad a son. This, presumably, was
be. But the discovery did not dimin
ish bis lndigatlon.
“I am delighted to moot you, Mr.
Bennett,” said Sam. “You couid not
have come at a more fortunate mo
ment. You see for yourself how
things art*. There Is no need for n
long explanation. You came to find
a daughter, Mr. Bennett, and you have
found a son!”
Ami he would like to see th> man,
thought Sam, who could have put It
more cleverly and pleasantly nn<! tact
fully than that.
“What are you talking about?” s.d.d
Mr. Bennett, recovering Iris breath. "J
haven’t got u son.”
“I will be a son to you I 1 will be
tiie prop of your declining years. . . .’’
“What'the devil do .von mean, my
declining years?” demanded Mr. Ben
nett with asperity.
“He means when they do decline,
father, dear,” said Billie.
“Of course, of course," said Smn.
“When tiiey do decline. Not tlli (hen,
of course! I wouldn’t dream of It.
But, once they do decline, count on’
me!. And I should like to say for my
part.” he went on handsomely, “what
an honor 1 think it, to become the
son-in-law of a man like Mr. Bennett.
; Bennett of New York!" he added spa
| clously, not so much because he knew
what he meant, for he would have been
the first to admit that he did not, bur
because It sounded well.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Naboth’s Vineyard.
Naboth’s vineyard was a v'neya.u
In .Tezreel, greatly coveted by Aliab,
king of Israel. Naboth, the owner.
! declined, however, either to sell the
vineyard to the king or exchange it
for another, and was. In consequence,
cruelly murdered on a false charge of
blasphemy, trumped up by the Infa
mous queen, Jczeboi. Ahab thereupon
look Immediate possession of the vlne-
I yard, hut was met by the prophet
Elijah, who denounced the wicked
ness of the king and queen and fore*
! told the awful doom that awaited
Jezebel and her children. The phrase
“Naboth’s vineyard” is sometime*
need to denot any possession greatly
coveted by others,
orn
LOAD FOR HORSE
DEPENDS ON ROAD
That the size of the load horses or
mules can move depends upon the
road was determined in contests re
cently held at the lowa state fair. The
teams tested developed all the way
from B.G to 21.2 horse power and ex
erted from 2,000 up to 2,300 pounds In
tractive pull, but the pul! exerted by
the teams which developed a 2,300-
poulni tractive pull was sufficient to
start and pull 38.4 tons of coal over a
level concrete pavemenr.
These tests —the first ever held —
were made possible through the horse
and mule dynamometer, the Invention
j of Prof. E. V. Collins of the agricul
tural engineering section of the lowa
State College of Agriculture and ex
periment station at Ames, la.
Willi the Collins dynamometer, pre
determined loads can he Imposed on
i horses or mules for any required dls
| tance or time, and pair after pair can
| he tested witli absolute assurance that
| the load is the, same.
“Tractive pull” refers to energy ex
j orted. In 9 direct pull, and Is the same
' as the pull required to pull a weight
| out of a hole In the ground. The tnlc
| five pull required to pull an ordinary
j walking plow In stuble, turning a fur
row six Inches deep and 14 Inches
wide, is about 400 pounds; or, in other
words, the team has to expend the
same energy as It would In pulling a
400-pound weight out of a deep hole
In the ground.
The load a tractive pull will move
depends on other factors. To illus
! trade—demonstration load was
Roa is Determine Size of Loads.
shown in connection with the lowa
tests. Anew farm wagon was loaded
with sacked grain weighing 6,210
pounds —equivalent to 104 bushels of
wheat or 111 7-10 bushels of shelled
corn. To move this load which, plus
wagon, weighed 7,720 pounds, or H.BG
tons, required on concrete pavement
a tractive [Mill of 125 pounds, or
pounds per ton; on brick pavement a
Iruclive pull of 200 pounds, or 51.8 pet
ton ; on asphalt, 300 pounds, <>r 77.7
per ton, and on the dirt and cinder
surfaced road where the pulling tests
were being held it required 520 pounds,
or 534.7 pounds’ tractive pull per ton.
These results, corroborated by other
te.sls, show that It is easier to pull
three tons on a concrete road than one
ton on a firm dirt road, and Indicate,
forcefully, the value of hard roads.
Watt's definition of one-horse power,
laid down centuries ago, was approxi
mately correct In measuring the erier
gy which h horse can expend continu
ously Throughout a working day; hot
lie failed entirely to recognize the re
markable reserve power seasoned
horses or mules possess. AN hen a sin
gle pair of horses, rated at two-horse
power, can exert over 21-horse power.
It is obviobs-that they have a value
far above their .theoretical two-horse
power. Above till other ronsidet ations,
however, is the fact that draft horse*
I and mules can now be listed on a
hams of pi rfortuance, as dairy cattle
or race horses are tested.
Brake-Testing Proposed
in State of Washington
Adfoniobile brake-testing stations
„,id tlit* use of n little “moral suasion"
or, the part of the state* highway pn-
} j'o| to require drivers to hays their
brakes regularly tented. Is the next
development beina shaped by Director
L. D. McArdle, chief <f Ihe highway
patrol of Washington.
A plan similar to that used in pro
moting light-testing will he employed
where an arrest slip is Issued for some
minor Infraction, to he canceled only
upon securing the required certificate
of inspection.
Certificate of Inspection, dated, will
he attached to the outside of the car.
When a car is stopped for any rea
son, the patrolmen are to try the
brakes and If they are not good, the
arrest slip Is to be Issued to be re
deemed only by proper brake Inspec
tion certificate. In this way It Is
Planned largely to overcome the lack
of gprfltVc brake-testing legislation.