OCR Text |
Show B WvmZzW BVBBk v B$ Br Be-3BBBpJIG3 n HHHIB&x V cES ( 01 r i Bj PART III Continued, H 10- Hr n minute nnd leisurely study the exltn fiom Mnnhuttnn. the D'otlios men hnil Riven It oh their opinion Hint Mr. Itnndolph limt HpoiuMng facetiously In Ills Inst- H remark and lind probably not H,l further south ttintt Cnnul H Tlio.v snlil If lie would only try Bncw York tlioy could And him K am) settled down on n policy Hiiful waiting for that event. efforts made by Mr. Mllyuns In Hoctlon of BprlnptiiR Miss Thorn Hwclety went equally awry, but Hot quite so fruitless. Ills nn- Hive of n smooth-running estnb- Hi on tlie slippery criiHt of Goth- Hnclfll plane would hnvo been Hi netere liuinp If American pa- Hcrc as careful to look up their H moral records as they are to Hi elr ratings hi Uradstreetum's. Hrtunately for Mr. Mllyuns, It eJ tlmt n certnln young scion Bnce gentlemanly house, was In- Bin the first large dinner-box- B;lvcn to meet Miss Itnogeno B Thornton. In the natural Hot !uii events, the pasty youth B up for presentation, register- -B" protuberant eyes a gleam of B turprlH'. What If ho should Belli YiWeimel" Would It ere-'Bontlon? ere-'Bontlon? t Bililbs else did; namely, Miss 'Bo's modulated but terribly jBt Mr Henmer," said, Pamela, Kliack quickly her half-extend-Bl, "alien I was a chorus-girl." Butd with a winning smile to Bull; Learning hostess. "I don't ' B kn0iv '''"' '" ptensnnter sur- iH" ime breathless second there BeJ one of those silences Hint tBpl disaster. Klleen took It 'Bh'lf to mash It In Its extreme U& a soft taP ot ncr elllclent Bj W-M you really go?" she re- H' "r- Henmer. H'pettncular debut strike the Blinot'ene Pamela from the lists B-atrvnty elllo of Manhattan? ' Invitations rained on her (nl her unresponsive. Her B lioli--ies would have gone P of submitting rostrums of fuests as though to roynlty, Br Hie fact that each and every I'Bioui wished, to put her own jBml dearest to the test of n meeting Wth f,0 most ex-jHf ex-jHf New York's Intest crop of iB B refused and accepted these tle In'ost thing In sensation 'it erratic manner. No .one m J"st why she snld, "No," i"H! im ully uo occasionally B" The mystery only ndded mnmls for her company and Boon began to show an over- ,B Preponderance over the liy? Simply becnuso It was ' V power of any of tho host-Brail host-Brail up the moody girl and dear, we are going lo liavo (B.aBl beans for dinner tonight. B Join us? Mr. Itohert Her- iBjoPli ald he would drop In Bck." Hery ,,mo Pamela had accept-tBHutlon, accept-tBHutlon, It was In tho rapidly pe that Mr. Itnndolph, be-m be-m onco at tho beck and call 'I very people, would appear ,'Bj '"to bis own. Could she 'Br i U ,m,t on two sepnratei 'H knight errant of her .Muni nctually seen her In her Bt i L"),eS8 evening tucker, I Br ,u'r to two famlllnr doors. IB? weney with averted face '"" Inspecting the "clock," iHpn'il 01l t0 gomo (luot gtam, mer her now glory and read z Hi'iiti'ii of nja cryng for now8 "BFw'I'outs and welfare of self BJ"' ''"ve known theso nppnr-!" nppnr-!" "ll,"t Items In tho dally iK kt,'ii CUy' sl, wou,d 1,nvc B!'UIJ' i ves out twice over. iBff' hr state of heart, lm-' lm-' .tx " 'pnt when Mr. Mil-iK1 Mil-iK1 ly n.ipointmont nnd ro-' ro-' ' ' w rd tho following con-B1 con-B1 ' l" '",(1 1nrtlclpatl In 'Br T '' wlt Miss Madgo ''r -t Ninth street: : ' ' " nro tou doing nil BE ,' r l-nbby Itnndolph?" H t I certainly uui, nnd If Bl, , '' '"lit pretty oon I'll BS' 'r" "' "' fo." 'H,' "'' r,"tng for his own 'K " 's -t Important to him I Bin , yo" ,0 lnd him? jH. nrfa"y nd truly glad to IBl "Sl,rst his will?" BM17"lt '-er ho would iBliLwtWn ntl8of n fool. an.' ' ,em "" " Uear' BBf 'nhLr,UtA p,onso repent." mZ!L10, ,n,,y iuesUon- BKleli ,; ai,n,lnl answered them BBer in i0". your humn e'f BKto biny, Place, would Bft' be found by you for the purpoju that you want to llnd him for?" Mr. .Mllyuns did not pretend for one second that he did not understand the preposterously worded query. "You bet I would 1" he unswered promptly nnd emphatically. "Now tell me what you've got up your sleeve. Please, Mndge; that's a dear girl I If you only knew bow I'm worried seven times a day" "I'm trying to tell you," broke In Miss Vnn Telller, "but you talk so much I can't get In anywhere. Last "Ight, a taxi brought me home from er from n drive, nnd tho cnbmon wns Hobby, looking simply stunning In one of thoso nwfully high-collared, khaki, waist-effect woolly coats, chauffeur's cap, ton puttees, boots, nnd all" "Yes, yes," Interrupted Mr. Mllyuns; "I know now Just how l- looked. What wns tho license-number of the car, and to which company did It belong?" A long pause. "Why, I didn't notice." "Thanks awfully, my dear." Sound of hanging up the receiver. "So there you nre," said Mr. Mllyuns to the very much excited Pamela. "We've got this far nnd, by n jluke entirely en-tirely unconnected with tho twenty-two Kleuths I have been pensioning In advance ad-vance of their lifelong service, Itobcrt Is driving one of the sixty-three thousand thou-sand taxlcabs that Infest the streets of New York." "Poor denrl" said Pamela, tears rising ris-ing to her adorable eyes. Then she dismissed dis-missed Mr. Mllyuns, who would glndly have lingered. "I have to go out now. I'm so sorry, but thank you very, very much." "Can't I drop you wherever you're going?" asked the very humnn mind of the leading legal authority on corporation corpora-tion hedge-rows nnd byways. "Oh, no," said Pamela, translucent as love Itself; "I shall go In taxis." How many vulgar vehicles for hire were blessed by tho transient presenco of Miss Thornton during the next seven hours Is n matter of gruss mathematics and consequently beneath the ken of an Intelligence (hat can dint along about nice Ihlugs like Piimeln and Hob- bftgSJ She Longed to Step Forward and Raise the Veiling Headgear. crt Itnndolph for pure plensuro and subsequently sell (ho remarks for cold cash. Five minutes to spot n lively cab, live minutes to ticket the driver nnd pile him on tho discard, two more to llnd her purse, three more to look Innocent ; then start nil over again. Divide seven times sixty minutes by all t'-at, nnd you'te got her number. 'ct uh lenve tho statistical flend nnd p iss on to beven o'clock of the near-Ohrlhtmos near-Ohrlhtmos evening when Miss Thorn-tan Thorn-tan wns momentarily out of a cab nnd strolling down the slope of the hump In West Flfty-sevontli street. A mushy snow-rnln had Just begun- lo mil. giving anyone with tho price n splendid excuse for taking a cab nny-whore nny-whore for nnywjiere. VoUre theiortul of tho Great Northern Lights fjtintml four tnxls In a line. In the driver's sent of tho rearmost of these, and consequently con-sequently the last on the rank, h lnnk human being wns burled In an enormous enor-mous turned-up collar roofed by n chauffour's cap set at an angle of slumber. Pamela, tho very moment her eyoH fell on tho recumbent figure, felt that short quick leap of the blood In her veins which Is ordlnnrlly tormed n "hunch." She longed to step forward and raise the veiling Iieadgcar, but she "dured not, for not only was the hotel-starter hotel-starter on the Job but also the window-shades window-shades of the Poppy club next door were still elevated by special request, owing to the slippery state of the side- wart-botmd strcara of drendU it nn(C0I!S0,.U.cnce' 8h9 wns necessar. for herself and stepping In. The starter nt tho head of the rank and Just as 1'olltely she informed him that her feet were wet enough as It was. In the meantime even her light weight on the ru.ml,,g-bmrd hsd sturt,ed u driver Into wakefulness nnd. without going through any motions, he had heard the unforgettnhW tones of hei voice. The Rtnrtcr shrugged his shoulders, harked out tin address In Fifty-ninth street and kindly offered to "turn her over for him." The driver laid trem-bung trem-bung hands on the wheel and cautiously cautious-ly drew himself up to a sitting posl- -Hon without disturbing the shielding ancle of his cap. Far frcm his troubled trou-bled mind were thoughts of snow, tho Hhish and skidding. He threw In his dutch, started her with a Jerk, round-ed round-ed the enb In front successfully, skid-ded skid-ded mightily thereafter, BtrnlghtencJ her out, skidded ngnln, and crashed, "Ith a great splintering of spokci, broadside front on the curb directly bofore the delighted windows of th Poppy club. Nothing would hnvo happened to Miss Thornton had she been sitting buck In n ladylike manner, but at the moment of tho cab's collision with tho Imperturbable curb, she wns otherwise occupied; In short, tho glufis being n bit frosted, she wns standing up and trying to peck through the speaking-slot. speaking-slot. As a consequence, when the door flow open with the shock, she also flew nnd volplaned to n landing on hands nnd knees In the very middle of the very wide sidewalk. With n cry of, "Oh, miss I" th driver sprang toward her, but when, still on hands and knees, she looked up. and gasped, "Oh, Handy Mr. Itnndolph Itnn-dolph I" he turned and fled down tho hill. "HI J You Slim Herveyl" yelled tho starter. "Come back here an sign up for the Junk I" In the meantime, which wasn't much more tnn the twinkling of nb eye, three percnnlnl near-youths dashed down the steps of tho Poppy club to the nsslstance of the loveliest trouble that had ever sent out an S. O. S. slgnnl In the face of ready help to the falling. Individually nnd collectively, col-lectively, they raised the curly-haired vision to Its feet. "It was Mr. Itnndolph," gnsped tho maiden, In evident distress, "and I've been looking for him for weeks." "Not Hobby I" exclaimed Mr. Near-ton. Near-ton. "Not Herv 1" ejnculnted Mr. Vcrrles. "Not Hnndyl" Interjected Mr. Berry. Pameln nodded three times, hut her cyefl failed to show wonder. Nowaday everybody she ran Into seemed to know everybody she knew by his first name. "Kxcuso me," said Jlr. Nenrton, Intent In-tent on gelling there first with n re-mnrk re-mnrk any remark ; "does ho owo yoii money, too?" The effect wns electrical. Miss Thornton assumed a freezing dignity. She fixed Mr. Nenrton with steady eyes. "How much does Sir. Hendolph owo you?" she asked. "Only tw-twenty," babbled Mr. Near-ton. Near-ton. "Well, here It Is," said Pamela, drawing draw-ing a yellowback froin her clmtelnlno and thrusting It Inlp Mr. Ncurton's nerveless hand. "I happen to owe Mr. Itnndolph n grent denl more than flint." Wherewith she turned nnd mude for the corner and the nearest telephone booth. Pamela wns short of breath when she reached tho telephone, hut she managed to get Mr. Mllyuns' residence on the wire and learned that, ho was detained at the nfllce. She culled up thot sofe den of the would-ko undisturbed undis-turbed nnd connected with n new nnd strange drnwl. "You've got tho wrong number, lady. This Mr. Mllyuns went home oarly to celebrate his silver wedding."' "Will you put mo through to Mr. Borden Mllyuns," asked Pumela, In a sugar-sweet voice, "or do you really wnnt to slnrl looking for another Job?" "How do T know you know him Miss Hurry, did you sny? Tho olllce-boy olllce-boy nln't here, so I can't ask him. Lenve me your number, un' I'll have him call you." "Know him!" gulped Pamela, lu a rage. "Why. I've k-klssed hlml" "Kissed Mr. Mllyuns I" responded the voice, taking sudden notice. "Well, dearie, why didn't you say so? I thought you was one of them highbrow high-brow dames. If It's a matter of klssln' the boss over the wire, why Just you go lo It. I won't listen oh, no J" And n moment Inter, Pamela, In a streamline body: "Oh. Mr. Mllyuns, this Is Pamela and I've found html , , , Yes; Itnndy Mr. Itnndolph. . . . No; he got nwny l . . . Yost. He's going unCer the name of Slim Jlervey and he wns driving the Village Cab company's No. 1808, nnd liw-sniBshed II on tho curb Just In front of that horrid Poppy dun. nnd when he sow ine. In run. . . . Oh, you will got him, wwn't you? Please hurry. And now, If you'll hang up, I have ti .few worijn to say to that new telephone tele-phone girl of yours. . . . Oh, no I you needn't tell her; I can feel her wigging on tho wiie. . . . Oh. will you? Oh, thank you I It Un't us If she dldu't deserve It." (TO HB CONT1NUHD.) |