OCR Text |
Show j - ztLclgiy.rjj r ia-ti , CHAPTER 35. "I leb fMiwth'e apnt lierea houts for insurances of U Kind." Toinpkln came lck at me proniptlj. .'"He's nl-Wftyf nl-Wftyf tnctfc care o' my needs and if I anied Hpy life Ins urance I' d ought t .1 l' him:" 'He's ne ir sold you anv , ihnugh, has he?" o., "Kxactly I aaul quickty "Mr. Smith's m very good neighbor no doubt and nan looked after what you tn'd him lo I suppose -he' Insured your house and your sttire and -ir atock. Hut the most Important Ihlng of all--your life -hen left unprotected. ow I'm t "She didn t fecin jo he in much of ! : hurry." smiled as T"tnpkiiia came ! hack to hrp I was Maudlin;. "No." he s.ud laconically. ' ahe weren't ; tn no ruMi exactly." I ;ood thing for you." I aid "that , vnii rh riot in the city. In town Ihey j aeem to mnkc r practice of quick aer- eervlhins ?icciiirt o he the Word of ; the hour.' "Voting fellr." naid Tompkins, e.ve-j e.ve-j irg shrew ll, "smul value's the het servirr.'' Just then thre people came tn t once, and realizing that Mr. Tompkins wms gntng to he kept hu for aome , time. I nvnde my excuse and departed. leaving some literature with him. But J from that little alore I tmik wv more j than I left. "tlrwvd value i the Iwet I service." Tompkins had sard. I he-1 he-1 gan tn meaHuro all hulnen t that phrase. j But an I strolled down the road In j the direction of the mlerurlmn trolley ; line, the peace and Uiet and beauty j of the country wove tneir apell alniut 1 me With all my heart I w ished Rettv I were strolling along the aw-eet scented ! ; rond with me. Here we could talk over) our different- and quickly arrive at t the iiiiitemtunditig so neceaaMry to our j happincKS 1 I glanced at mv watch- 3n Betty j wan Kill at the ffic t lowe hy the road a little inn em- ! howered in crimson ramMers geemed I to. het kon mr. for Into It there ran a telephone wire. Mount in g the Invlt- tng dtepp, I entered a (.harming halt- j way that waa half an off.ee. In one t ! "Certainly. Jack." rame the cheering cheer-ing response, and all my love for hr ' arone to reproach me for my former 'anger aa ahe aid sweetly: "You un-j un-j deratsnd, dnar. why I couldn't talk to : you thia morning w hen you railed 'up? I win busy In one of the private : office and w aa afraid you'd ak me 7ftl wllon f h a I I""Ju I co u To t'J a n -. awer oer the 'phone. You do understand, under-stand, don't you. dear?" 1 "Of course." I assured hr a she ! went on; I "You realise. Jarjjt. that I .lust can't j talk about our personal affairs h ; fore) other. Now, if you'll corn up tonight M J "1 will!" ! said eagerly, "Just aa quickly a the trolley can take me , hack to town." And I explained to I Betty where I waa and what I'd been , doing, taking particular care, however, how-ever, to say nothing about having I neen Bower and the elder froyr. I That, too. I thought, waa among the thing that Betty and T couldn't dis , cum about over a telephone. "Come to dinner," said Betty. "We'll wait for you. 1 accepted th Invitation eagerly with greater relief and happiness than perhaps even Betty knew. Paying the telephone girl and t ip ping her for her aid to me. I peered around cautiously and left the inn. as it was my Intention, if possible, to avoid meeting Grower and Bower. But neither of those gentlemen was anywhere any-where to be seen, though I caught a glimpse nf Bower'a car parked to one sid-e of the hostelry as I hurried down the pathway to the trolley. I w ondered if by any chance they jg special mt In only ony thing -life " Just then the door opened and a vo t man of about entered wtth a Htfle I tousled haired hoy Instantly Tump, j kins left me and greeted her: j "Mornin'. Mrs. 'Humphries. Hello, I Johnnie- getting t he quite a man.1 i ain't yer?" I "Ooodneos. ve'" sighed Mrs. Hum- j I phrles. ,-e aeems to grow faster 'n I ; can let out his clothes. Look at them! (there pants that I only g.-t him six i j months ago they're most to hi i shins : " I "They do be short." said Tompkins. 1 I eyeing thm critically, "hut thev ain't- wore much. They'll do fine for little brother, eh Johnnie?" Johnnie grinned with pleasure as Tompkins handed him a big red apple, while his mother shook her head. i don't know w hat I m agoln' to do about this bete one. though" she iniiled. ' He grows so fast -and I Jest can't Veep butn" him pants. Say thanks to Mr. Tompkins for tho apple. Johnnie ' Johnnie's face was so far buried In the Iiim uvjs fruit that the best he could iiMn.'se was a grunt. "Ail a H uniphries." hmmI Tompkins, '-The cheapest and lesl way to do I would b I' a! Johnnie Ions . ones " Johnnv stopped gorging the apple long enough to let out a whoop. At which his mother looked an hat. "U h. Zen Tompkins, what an idea: You thinkln" of -putting my little John- ' ma Into long pants Why-" i "Oh. do. Maw'" said the enthusia- , tic Hutnphrtea Jr. "Lota o the fellers wears m th:t ain't n' oldern me!" It took the better part of an hour. , during which Johnnie tried on thre , different stilts three separate times j and Mrs. Humphries and Tompkins , talked of crops, chickens, the weather rheumatism and many of Mrs. Hum- 1 phrles' friends-but finally Johnnie and Tompkins overcame prr I ce against "long ones." Then swiftly Johnni was -qniplied with a brand new suit, shirt rap and shoes. Sinkings Sink-ings hts mother claimed, he didn't nl, and auspenders Tompkins gave him aa a present to wear with the new s jii. ; , Meanwhile., Urown had packed hil samples and had left with .a hurried ; word to Tompkins as he handd h'm j a copy of his order. And then, at last. Johnnie In his first lono pants aaehed away, his mother following, leaving me i ane w 1 h Tompkms. . . corner was a telephone switchboard, at I which a girl presided. An Idea formed i In my mind - a way m assure a talk ! wtth Hetty. Id ask this girl to get Retty on 1 the telephone. The girl In FMty'a of- f ice would think her on of Betty's ( giil friends. Hetty would hare to talk w till me! CHAPTER 3. The g'rl at the telephone switch -' board In the little Inn smiled understanding!' under-standing!' when I a.xked her to help ' me get Hetty on the telephone in her ' office. AVith keen comprehension she asked the nary informal Ion and then she smiled: "Take the e ond lwoth." she amid, ln-urie te telephone booth wtth t lie 1 receiver tw my ear. f was wsitiag; anxiously (or the sound of Betty's ! voice, w hen through th giasn dior 1 I saw Momething that made ma start. 1 Two men werw parsing down the ! corridor engttged In earnest convema-: convema-: tion. Instinctively I drew further back Into the shadow of the telephone booth and watched them. i Wulokly my mind Jumped to aIl 1 sorts of p4rethle conclusions as to what there two were doing together way out here. For the men I was engrossed tn watching were Orover. senior, my oid hoes, and 1 lower. "Mower again'"' I thought. "And with Archie C rover's father, th!s tim. There's something on foot and I'd gle a lot to know what tt Is! They parsed o it of sight Just a ft welconre "hell.t'' came over Ihe wire. I thrilled with a start at the sopnd of Retiv'a vole;. He1H dear This fs Jack." T said quickly, and before she could have lime to hang tip. I addd: "1 must a you at on-e. the sooner the better". ' , had seen me. but decided they had not. "That's a pretty combination." t said to myself as I walked along. "Klther they're mixed up In some way with Archies visit to Betty or they're out here on seme business of their own." For a moment the foolish Impulse came to me to turn back and try to shadow them. But men. I -figured. ; thev would get awsy from me In Bower's Bow-er's machine before could ftnd out ! verv much, and my most Immediate desre was tn e Betty and gM some j ; sort of explanation of the episode of! t he night bofore. , Though the trolley made good time. ; il seemed to creep, an my mind, filled j ! with speculations of Bower and the j ' two Cm vers. I fidgeted in my seat. , ' I was going to demand an explanation explana-tion from Betty, but at the same. time carrp the disquieting thought that I. t owed her an explanation. For the hun-1 hun-1 dredth time It came to me that I really j should tell Betty that I had been re- i 1 Jected by the examining physician , i that the army wouldn't have me j that I wasn't a well man and for j the hundredth time I put the thought from mf. No. I wasn't ready to fce 1 j the prospect of losing rWtty1 yet. I At Betty'a corner I dropped off the j car before tt had fairly atopped and j made for Betty's house. Suddenly 'I stood stock Still. ( Hurrying out of the house and turn, j , ing dowa the street In the, opposite ' : direction from which I wag coming; waa 1 ' the figure- of a man. I I could hardls hellevo my eye yet ' I knew that I couldn't h mistaken this ! time. AM ton well 1 knew the droop ! of those shoulders. . For the man who had J"t come out . of . Betty's boose and who waa fast ' ; disappearing down lh street waa Ar- I I cbie f? rawer. ' j 1 , iffl continued.) - j |