| Show thel r name was L e 1 on by COURTNEY RYLEY COOPER C dy the dell bell syndicate inc service CHAPTER I 1 no mortgage As act if by instinct burt bart ro rogers ars invariably hesitated as lie he reached tho the door which proclaimed on its glass panel that beyond lay the office of 0 f leon barrows attorney nt at law rogers never had sought nought to divine the reason he simply felt the pan pauli to be necessary in the some same sort of mnnuel in which one ofie pauses before opening the heavy door of a giant refrigerator friger ator and perhaps there was a similarity in tile alio ideas for tile the office of leon barrows was frigid just as he was frigid a great bare room of walls in keeping keening with the room boora was the attorney himself n white faced nar row eyed person whose long features were lengthened by the smoothness of a three inch bald streak which ran str straight night back from ills his fore forehead liend such was the alie at attorney who occupied the big uncomfortable chair nt at the orderly desk and because of whom bart rogers hesitated even with ills his hand an on tile the doorknob yet NIt withal lial lie ho resented the unconscious revulsion for in spite of the iciness of the man his thin lapped snappiness ills his general clamminess of appearance and of manner rogers could look upon him as nothing if not a berie benefactor factor it had been the money which had come from tits his lean hands which had filled tire the breach when rogers had come home to find ills his fit father ther suffering from the slow death of paralysis it hild had been tilt ahls money which had helped rehabilitate the small tract of irrigated land three miles froni from bel laine land which represented the savings tin and tile toll arid and the falth faith of both dart bart and ills his fattier father which find bought bough t tile the seed to sow arid and carried them both until tile the harvest could come in now that harvest had arrived nn ant s bart with his fits first check had hurried to the office of leon barrows to halt with his hand on the doorknob then at last to smile with the happiness of an approaching freedom from debt and to go in leon barro barrows ws looked up swiftly from ills his workless deak well what Is tt it lie ile asked the question ns as though he had find been disturbed bart rogers knew that he had not ile iio went forward happily and reached for the pen and ink 1 I want to indorse a check lie he announced noun ced lee go ahead the attorney watched him narrowly youve been out on tile the street yes hows the election going tom rom jordans winning how do you ou know the ques rogers looked up tip well I 1 dont know of my own knowledge im just going on what people are saying saving they seem to think beaten to a frazzle 11 the mie votes arent counted yet no chance for jordan to win I 1 then it you knew why did you ask me there was an exasperating air about leon barrows which always stirred a sleeping resentment 1 im I n only telling you what I 1 picked up all right then its wrong very well anyway it wont take long to find out the polls wilt will be closing in ten minutes they ought to know pretty shortly after that who the mayorall mayor ll be you vote for jordan oh aou ou did why the exasperation returned in the first place because I 1 wanted to in the second place because I 1 dont like bull till anyway that what I 1 come came here to talk about this check sir mr barrows Is 19 for you for what for what bart rogers stared why for part payment on that mortgage 1 the narrow eyes blinked quickly leon barrows came forward in his bl big chair youre talking riddles what morti ange on tile farm dad give you a mortgage when he borrowed that money lie ile signed notes so did 1 I iut but I 1 always thought they were secured by a mortgage did he fie ever say so of 0 course riot not in tile week or so after I 1 got home there was so much to talk about that we only went into things generally lie ile simply told roe me that lied hed gotten some money front from you to tide him film ivr and that it if I 1 needed any more I 1 could get it at tho the same place then that second stroke lilt hit him film arid and as you know lie he lost his vocal control cut but I 1 always supposed youve always supposed wrong theres no mortgage im glad of that kut but there are tile the notes I 1 want to take some of them up lip A thin smile pulled slightly at tile the corn comers era of the attorneys attorney a lips maybe paid already nut but not young man and the attorneys lean linger finger went nearer than ever to tile the desk the best way to handle a debt Is to anit until youre called upon to pay it you been dunned donned yet have you of course not then forget it the debts paid I paid laid why frank amazement wits was in the young mans eyes at least there was quick hedging in tile the attorneys voice us as fur far as aa A client he asked I 1 know its paid it my money ive a simply boon been the disbursing agent I 1 not your money then chos been putting up tip A friend of your fathers but who ask him an attorney tell the business of tits his clients but you know I 1 cant get any answer a er front from him film ile he cant speak and tie lie cant write how dont try to cross examine me I 1 wont tell an old friend of the family helped the two of you out your father was very grateful they made it n little pact between them which to tile me na its an attorney appears to bo be very foolish for for my client the man who Is putting up tile the money but lie he seems to think idsall It sall right my part of it Is simply the legal end which must be looked after by an attorney it Is up to me to protect ray my client against ills his own foolishness therefore I 1 ordered the notes signed by tile me and then transferred them to the nian man to whom they really belong so that if ho he does not care to tc collect them well and good if he fie and it if he wants to accept this other proposition in the eyes of the law when the right and proper time cornea comes very well my interest Is ended that Is tilt nil but who Is this man and what Is tile proposition ask your fattier father te ive already told you that I 1 cant to do that ve ive already told you all that I 1 can its as an attorney so theres an end to it hows flows that oil proposition getting along out your way been over there lately day before yesterday struck anything that looks like pay sand 1 I dont know the dr drillars drillers illers seemed pretty prett v interested in what was coming up amt you never can tell ouight ht to he doing something pretty soon been tooling fooling around with that lint thing for more than six 1110 nitis now longer than that I 1 was still in tin the I 1 at aurora when they seiti ted d my iny fattier wrote tile me about it that thai was us just before lie he had tits hla first stroke und been more than a year wo then they moved me down io to arizona and I 1 was there four malih 4 before they disch discharged urged me ine itose iii ess right tire the attorney torneY nt looked tit at him appraising ly youre nil all right now oli oh yes es fact l act Is I 1 was all right when I 1 gut got home from prance france but I 1 argue tile the doctors into it the trouble with you fellows leon barrows said it thinly sarcastically 1 I never inner saw a won man yet ever been in the army who have something to kick about abbout cant understand it it if youve got so many kleks kicks why do you wear that button 1 that button dar bart rogers looked down at ills his lapel toward the star of the american le legion glon which showed allowed there then for the first time dul during 1 the interview he grinned 1 I guess you dont know soldiers mr narrows barrows A man been in the army unless lies hes learned to kick against everything in the world what makes him bilm a fighter because lie carries a chip on his shoulder hut but just because lie he kicks that make him any the less pitt patriotic guess right but I 1 dont like kicking I 1 like a man to take ills his 1110 medicine dICIne arid and riot not mako make faces about it lie ile halted suddenly as the telephone jangled and swung about in lila its chair to answer it hello he called then leaned suddenly toward tile the transmitter beg pardon very sorry but I 1 cant see you now that yes A slight pause then about live five minutes id say hart bart rogers rose A client lie he asked yes res leon barrows turned back to tits ills desk in a fretful agitated mood yes a client coming up here in five minutes have to got get out let that money tiling thing go forget it dont come back here trying to give me any more money unless I 1 send for you understand all right get out certainly rogers already was ot at th the e door only I 1 think that it would be fair to tile me to tell me what tills this deal Is and let me know the identity of my benefactor 1 I know that when legal ethics penult me to tell now get out tile the door opened and closed A long moment passed while the lean faced attorney listened to the steps of the young man as they faded down the hall then hurriedly almost feverish ly lie he turned toward the telephone and called a number drumming excitedly upon ills desk as lie awaited swatted the tha answer at last it came and the attorney leaned close to the phone Il hello lello lie he called in a low voice talk a minute ago that party was in here you know the one I 1 mean now go ahead something streamed over the phone which caused the narrow eyes of the thin faced attorney to blink rapidly find and which slowly brought a steadily deepening flush of color to tits hla high cheeks ills his free hand seemed to twist and writhe then tits hla eyes set and the color faded giving ills hla features a ghastly pasty expression the thin lips seemed to lose themselves in the white of tits his face all right came at last 1 I understand youve got a little more than an hour plenty of time go ahead with that proposition weve talked over and work fasti understand me work fasti A second more he remained at the telephone to receive tits his answer from the other end then the receiver clicked into place and the tall man leaped from tits his desk that he might hurry to the window and stare into the street below in front of the main election booth was a knot of men one of them bart rogers and upon that figure the eyes of leon barrows centered eyes which suddenly had assumed a snakelike ellke glitter gl liter eyes which had become deep set and vicious eyes eyed which spelled for the moment the true story of the brain behind them and as those eyes watched the young man below the lean hands writhed awl and twisted twisted and writhed one into the other tile the thin lips drew draw back from heavy teeth and the unwholesome face seemed suddenly to contort in an agony of hate of fear and of v victory well heres heredi a mystery right at the start Is leon barrows a snake in the grass TO BE CONTINUED |
