Show one t a AL amax imax THE STORY hiram I 1 butterworth lutterworth utter lutter worth miser decides ald em to 0 beuve his fort fortune line to I 1 ulmer cearle ve me clark a poor young youna nephew he tell absolom Alc Peake his lawyer ft cl a deal forty years ago in he swindled a man out of 0 40 1000 00 and arranges for or p payment w with 1 th Iri interest terest butterworth d dies e suddenly nellie neallo cathcart I 1 elmers sweetheart tel tells 1 him his inheritance Is more than a rn million 11 lion colorado char ley and his hid partner mac alae decide to p pluck uck elmer unknown to elmer nellie Is s heiress ot of tile man butterworth dwindled and she figures theris there t Is about coming to her er elmer becomes a candidate for school tr trustee ustes posing BB as a newspaper reporter under tinder the tha n name a me of doris gatewood color colorado do charleys confederate calls on ulmer elmer nellie recognizes in her the adventuress type she sees elmer Is being played and takes steps to frustrate the plot CHAPTER X 9 arrived at doris home elmer soberly y announced ills his intention of departing for next lay day but promised to look lit in again on ills way north and say goodby the result was as that when ft lien lie d did id look in lie h found doris alone she was curled up on a dlan divan sobbing audibly when lian elmer walked up on the lie porch of the bit glanced in through the sr screen en door all and saw her with the license of nn an old friend lie entered unannounced sat down beside her and tenderly inquired abat the hie nutter matter might be oil oh tinier eimer darling I 1 cant heir bear it 1 I cant I 1 cant I 1 the girl sobbed ill be so lonely I 1 she seized its ills hand covered her tear stained face with it and kissed hissed it very humbly and benignantly an instant later slie she was in elmers arms aims and he was kissing her tears away and murmuring words of endearment presently tier her soft check was vas against ills his and she was according to her own statement the happiest girl in tile the world I 1 many a man has been captured less adroitly but nevertheless as securely miner elmer had three hundred undred li miles of motoring before him that day so lie did not linger long over his leave taking just long enough to swear undying love loie and promise fervently to write the light of his life dally daily until they should meet again foont soon As a curious commentary on the unfaithfulness of man and the general inconsistency of the creature it Is worthy of remark that thirty miles up the road elmer clarke quivered ul eid sighed dismally and murmured very distinctly oil lord what an ass I 1 ami am I 1 what a jam jain im in I 1 what am ain I 1 going to do about the same time doris perched on colorado charleys thin knees was telling him the inside story of her conquest colorado charley stroked her fair cheek youre papas lins little sweetheart he declared happily happl li were almost br broke 0 ke mae when youve hid 1 of lair half a dozen letters from him lie should be tou clied ed for a thousand 11 0 ulmer elmer clarke suffered every ft fot of the journey back to nt that he h reproached himself with hay hav ing made a mistake but lie faced face ab unpleasant issue find there was no possible chance of molding avoiding it it if lie ho purposed living with himself the r remainder e of his life rather than face nellie and tell her that the love lop it lie had formerly vowed to tier her had nil all been a mistake lie he won would cheerfully chebi fully have submitted to the bati bastinado nado nevertheless it had to be done even though ills his sense of chivalry and decency revolted levolt ed at the prospect lie ile took nellie out to JOP joe roid road house for dinner and tried dea pera tely to be ills his old cheerful clie erful self however no inan man has ever succeeded succeed d in deceiving a highly intelligent woman who loves him and from tile the mo ment at she I 1 e had got into the car nellie was aware that whatever it was that troubled him ile he was not going to keep it to himself forever all he required require of vas w a a decent opportunity to discharge his cargo of grief so on the way home nellie decided to be kind to him elmer she said suddenly youre loure cunha unha unhappy appy pv am I 1 the cause of your unhappiness lie he nodded afraid to trust himself to speak well were not engaged llmer elmer so speak freely Is there another girl unhappily there Is nellie unhappily for whom por for both of us lie finally ground out speak for yourself nimer elmer slie she countered are you very unhappy about it quite wily why you ought to know lie he corn com pla ined 1 I am not a mind reader eimer why I 1 ask questions now that you have decided on a new sweetheart are you dissatisfied with your selection noo no o ol I 1 lie ile was ready to weep it it lacerates me nellie but I 1 I 1 had to tell you A fellows got to come clean with a girl like you no use to play a double ganie game I 1 ive made a mistake took you out to night to tell you thanks tor for helping me with the dirty job please do not mention it elmer dear its my fault entirely nobody knew better than I 1 the risks I 1 was y 1 I Q by peter 13 bano laje service tuning anil and im I 1 n much too wise to think a mere inre in re man can be a paragon you ou were quite within your our rights in following the lie dictates of nf pur our wandering fancy I 1 thought you might want to some time lime so MI I 1 decided to give ghe you ou a free land hand and let it happen now I 1 entertain no resentment elmer and there the slightest necessity tor for you 1011 and me discontinuing our lovely friendship I 1 am of the opinion that you lou do nor know any more about women than a gopher eiler does about natron astron omy and I 1 am perfectly willing that you should lime have n wide experience before I 1 take on the job of educating you ou to date youre the finest ronn man I 1 have ever eer met and ira im not going to ruin my happiness by letting you escape ill get you yet vet elmer meanwhile enjoy inov yourself and youre joure not angry with me nellie ollie 11 not the hie least little bit youre positively wonderful youre positively childish but then roost most men are where women are concerned dear old booby 1 bhe murmured mur inured 1 I understand you so well 14 an instant later she was in elmers arms that lint explanations arent necessary cheer up elmer and ile be happy ny dy the way the town Is 19 agog with excitement cit ement over oer your 3 our threat to run for m byor did you mean it surest thin thins you know nellie 0 O greit great news I 1 well here we are nt at home good night elmer gods in ills his 11 kleinen men and nils alls right with the world she rive gave him hor ber hand band nt fit parting whatever you ou do elmer use lisp your head and not your our heart be sure youre right then lien go ahead 1 I want to kiss you lie he halt half growled glow led you are a philanderer arent you well a kiss more or less between friends and ex e swe eth carts there V I 1 she he was rone gone nimer elmer sat nt at the wheel of his e clench e imported anto mobile and watched the little white figure within the tully home without one backward glance well 0 over er he told himself and I 1 dont know whether im happy or brocken nellies so ev tacal acal and conservative slip slips s hard to understand but ill say elili of tier hori slaps something that mighty nils lity few woman anre and n true blue sport 1 lie ile went ont home bome and sleep a wink w ink for two weeks elmer fought the deadly life of the idle rich around and pach day of that awful two weeks lie wrote to doris gatewood As her accepted suitor lie he felt t incumbent upon him film to put a note of tenderness in his lengthy epistles hut but tor for the life of him film he be could not make that note ring true doris however low appeared to suffer from no such inhibition hera were sufficiently sentimental ti to suit the most exacting male also she was quick to note the restraint in elmers correspondence and chided him with it she bade him assure her that lie loved tier her and only tier lier thus cornered rimer elmer gme gave the lie assurance demanded in writing later inter upun upon request he sent hh 1114 photograph oil which appeared these words to doris from her devoted elmer eimer then suddenly altea swooping falcon enroe a heartbreaking letter poor lear fear lanney had invested oil all of his little principal in an enterprise which 1 lind find balled the shock of tills this terrible loss losa had sickened film lalni and at tho the moment he was according to no less than two doctors devel developing ig fin an abscess icess in ills ilia right liing due e to the 1 igni gassing ising lie had received in france fra nc e iler her own income earned as a correspondent for the american weekly als vi is insufficient to tol support them even in the humble style to which they had been accustomed and she faced the terrible necessity of seeing harvey bundled off to a public hospital if elmer eimer could send tier her a thousand dollars to tide them over et cetera 1 I knew it elmer eimer soliloquized 1 I smelled that touch coming only I 1 thought it would come from harvey well one thing is certain they need eliat thousand housand dollars badly or doris would never deer have asked roe me for it still wrapped rapped in the fogs of misunderstanding der standing and still in incomplete possession of ills his senses elmer I sent tier her a check on the Illar eltos commercial mor clil trust savings bank for the lie sum in question two days later the check w as returned through a los loa angeles bank for payment now it so happened that alice goodfellow had had nn an attack of the alle that lay and in consequence nellie Catl icart had to take over miss Good fellows task of posting the customers ledger naturally as she sorted the checks at the close of the lays business preparatory to charging in g thein up slie she came across elmer 11 1 Cl charkes clarkes arkes check for the sum of out one thousand dollars in favor of doris flator tood it had and been indorsed endorsed Indor sed by doris gatewood und and bore in addition the indorsement endorsement Indor of harvey gatewood Gate ond and the alie los angeles hank bank pasted to the check ans a small red label bearing tile words Plea please wire if le lerable table evidently the los angeles bank lind ind taken the check for collection only fast work doris darling nellie murmured from a slack of printed togs tags she selected one and checked off in red ink from a long list of standard excises for failure to honor a check chech the excuse which she knew would sta start rf q a riot between eimer and the payee without involving her to wit signature of In dorser irregular and that was absolutely true since nellie knew the names in both cases were fictitious with a little smile of malice she the lie rejected chock check in an envelope and shot it back to the los angeles bank and now she murmured to the adding machine we shall see that which we shall see this new love or of elmers will wire him for an all explanation and lie he will come over to t lie bank with blood in ills his lovelorn eyes and demand an explanation of anse ansa moody old anse will call me in and scold me for being stupid tind ill have to hand elmer jolt number after that the other jolts will follow in rapid succession alas ala poor polor elmerl elmer I 1 events fell out even een ng as nellie and li d foretold A devil dell with a whip ft hip of fire drove elmer clarke to the bank b ink varly early the next afternoon ills check lind had been questioned the love of ills life had called him hysterically on tile the telephone and lie he had to do or tile die only us lie he was figuratively lying lie cursed hini himself elf for ills stupidity in sending doris his own check why in the name of common sense pense had he not purchased a cashiers draft in ills his own ow name and indorsed endorsed Indor sed it to doris well there was nothing to do now save go through with alie awful operation so with a lashing flashing eye that belled belied ills his trembling soul lie stalked into old anse moods moodys ilo odys lair and in a thun thundering derin voice demanded of that astounded individual what tile devil lie he meant by refusing payment on one of ills checks dont know a thing about it 1 elmer 1 I old anse protested humbly allce alice goodfellow tends to all that slie she was sick yesterday an N nellie e life cathcart p posted osted tip the customers ledger I 1 reckon nellie knows why slie lie done it step over to her cage an ask tier lier boy nellie looked up from her work as elmeri face ace appeared at lier her window yes I 1 did it elmer she confessed 1 I thought perhaps you had a acted hastily tn in the matter and I 1 wanted to give you some time to think it over I 1 hoped you might change your mind before the check should be paid and tell us to stop pai payment paiement ment 1 I know what I 1 am about he replied quietly may I 1 suggest that hereafter you mind your own business ind and leave to methe me the minding of my own were perfectly regular and you know it I 1 want you to wire that los angeles bank to send the check back to this bank for payment why nellie you must be loony to do such a thing 1 sorry I 1 missed that one nellie replied complacently but watch me line out the next ball that passes over the plate run along now I 1 assure you I 1 have no desire to laugh in your youn face you big hoobs booch I 1 ills face turned white with fury disdaining further argument he left the bank abruptly while nellie wired the los ios angeles bank ito to return the check for further examination of the signatures of the In dorsers that night when his colored r retainer jasper summoned elmer to dinner the latter found a fat plain envelope beside ills his plate it bore a los angeles postmark after rending its contents elmers appetite failed him film completely lie sat motionless staring wildly into space presently elmers eimers fox terrier benjy becoming alarmed at ills his masters rigidity and silence came to the lat fat chair and uttered a short friendly little bark elmer paid no attention to him film so benjy favored his master with a little bite on the shin whereupon elmer butterworth Cutter worth clarke rose in his agony and with a well directed kick skidded the surprised benjy fifteen feet across the room the first thing nellie cathcart saw I 1 ns its the curtain w vent ent up tip before her window at ten oc aock net next morning was elmer butterworth clarke lie said very distinctly stop payment on that gatewood check please nellie nodded and elmer eimer strode out of the bank nor lid did he utter another syllable s liable nellie did not blame him in the least for there are moments when silence Is golden 1 it was not nn an easy task to frith frithsen ten eidnier clarke experts biad in tried that tant and failed nellie cathcart however ver had find succeeded not ony in frightening elmer but also in stampeding him a fact of which site she was fully aware when upon returning from tier her luncheon slip site was informed by mr fr crittenden the cashier that elmer must be il planning lanning to take a journey since lie he had bad just purchased two thoi thousand I 1 and dollars worth of travelers checks nellie left deft the hank bank find and walked swiftly up slain main street to the puli public telephone office and sought a booth nellie speaking elmer A are re you going awny away yes I 1 am elmers voice was iglio lugubrious u r I 1 0 us when five minutes from now im motoring to san francisco and will take the overland limited front from there whither away elmer to muscatine Muscat lne iowa to look after my interests and you were going away without a word of farewell to me yes I 1 was savagely 1 I had an idea I 1 deserve such treatment elmer eliner you dont youre an angel elmers voice had a |