Show the he handsome handsom Hund som 4 aan aatu in A Jaya fet tomhall cu ar h opt lonjo W v jy ff V w V A raz robert macbeth macdon i grasped the letter firmly Tin its where you would be woo such letters should be kept and used to trap the writer or writers ril ill send it to a detective agency it scandal im afraid of ive never idone done anything to be blackmailed for and neither has roberta then why should you bother macbeth turned an honestly worried face to the younger nan man im pretty sure that the writer of this letter has some connection with the difficulty ive been having with my payroll but I 1 cant convince the police payroll t sir george looked at him in astonishment do you mean the payroll for your employees in the city robert macbeth shook his head not the office A much bigger tiling I 1 the money for the men on the construction st gt lob job TOTI will likely laugh nt at the idea that this has anything to do with it but though ive tried to somehow ow I 1 cant succeed in laughing very hard I 1 have a feeling these letters have some connection with a gang of men who mean to have a try for that payroll again if they cant get at ne me arid and my money this way ile he shook the letter tut but surely youve taken precautions why not pay the men by check robert macbeth made a wholly contemptuous gesture with liis its hand which still held the letter use your head I 1 cant pay laborers by chieck lots of the foreigners dont know what to do with checks no weve got to mate make and keep things safe ourselves lie Ile looked at sir george and leaning toward him and in a low tone said its all right in new york I 1 can get protection armored cars 1 if need deed be but ive a hunch theres trouble brewing for me and ive got a great areat many thousands of dollars to 1 pay out on the big piece of construction work being done up the river its how to get the money there safely I 1 that Is puzzling me now lie ile paused a moment and said quietly 1 11 I dont mind telling you that I 1 have the surn sum deposited in the nearest local bank im going to send some one down to collect it from the bank later and that some one may be you ile he looked it at sir george georg ge questioningly yes ses of course but when and how bow what I 1 want you to tell me id like you to go down with roberta today and look over the lay of the land cant your man take me sir george asked slight glit find out more that way 1 I dont want the servants to know or suspect anything about it nor the people in the village in fact I 1 dont want anybody an body to know anything about it except possibly roberta must she know why drag a girl into thesel this roberta wont be dragged in tier her father promised him but I 1 want her to take you down the river to the tha bank and up the river to show you where the money is to be taken by motor yes tes but you you surely let the girl drive it if there was likelihood of 0 danger no but you could drive yourself ft once fou knew the way oh yes well go with her to the village and to the bank where she will cash a check and introduce sou to tho the cashier then tomorrow shell take you up the river nave have you told tier her tills not yet why its barely possible slie sile may have made arrangement tier own shell alian change e that it if I 1 ask her her father said easily ah sir george was not aware ot of how much he be put in that ah it was sufficient to make robert mae mac ibeth turn his head quickly ly and survey ahe the young man having turned it lie he eisaw that the young mans eyes were faed on a spot ot if blue Illa macbeth cBeth was presently able to observe that this was a car on the high road over on ithe abe mainland and that opposite that i car was a dim blur that had a bronze ocolor color ne ire remembered the color of the dress its his daughter had been wearing that morning and turned his head so that the younger man might not S tee see his face sir george continued to twitch bateh the bronze blur until it shape and outline and began to look j like roberta Ila macbeth Mac Ceth cBeth then lie started v aware that the silence had bad been long f you tou were saying that ill tell roberta what I 1 want t RS BS soon as she crosses the river or of y will you yott meet tier her and tell her I 1 want to see tier her and take yourself oft off tor for 0 A a time 1 l j absolutely y xa sir george georg sauntered toward the P jc er ct and met the pushed and exultant 71 aing girl 6 T ills look was enough to make feel fed ashamed of herself oh I 1 say ear she said that was unfair and I 1 really mean it sir george did not stop it matter he said stiffly your father Is waiting to see you the girl angrily kicked kicked a rock oft off the towpath into the canal well if you want to be hateful be hateful he turned it if you wout would only get it into your extraordinarily pretty little head bead he told her not unkindly that im here because I 1 have to earn earn my living and your father has been good enough to give me a post that As for you find and your friends at the risk of being thought rude I 1 tell you that I 1 dont give alyea a tinkers d n whom you meet or where you meet him and all of that there had been a quickly drawn breath and then silence and he had walked on over the canal bridge to the highway feeling completely ashamed of himself why had lie he lost his temper ills his remorse gaining on him he was about to turn once more when the sound of flying footsteps came to him dm ile he turned to confront an angry find and flame cheekes cheeked girl who told him blin vehemently youve just got to know this you dont liate hate me one degree less or more than I 1 hate you well since we know its mutual matual said sir george evenly suppose we go on hating each other as much as we like in private and keep a friendly smile to face the world he smiled at her now dow oh youre hate hateful full 1 the girl cried vust just when I 1 meant to be decent to you for fathers sake you make it impossible I 1 promise you ill do anything I 1 can to speed your return to bonnie scotland ali ah returned the homesick SI sir george his heart in his voice if yol you only could the girl looked at him speechless a moment and yet she did not go iii ha wondered why but almost before he ind had done wonting he suddenly saw answer to his bis question the blue ear car was some little way ahead of him on the tree shaded cross road to the highway ilg hway and its owner was struggling 1109 frantically cally to start it IL that was why she thought lie he was spying that was why she would not if t she could help it leave him alone he continued to walk toward the car and to speak so that the man whoever lie he was might hear bear surely you dont want to annoy your fattier father and have him question you do you As for the blue car and its owner he be continued it la is hardly my affair the man at the car jer jerked ked his bead up and nodded to the girl and then quietly quickly turned his back and busied himself with the car again sir george waited for a moment surely any decent sort would be likely to come over and speak make it easy tor for the girl to introduce him the man however after that one look hurried back to work at the car his face resolutely turned from sir george the girl looking first at one and then at the other slowly turned and went I 1 toward her fathers house sir george walked away past the car what sort of cheap and awful person that little devil had bad elected as hero here of her secret romance he now had a pretty fair idea the mans face though good looking in its way was an open book bookwo to sir george sir george wondered why the fellow had been so asinine as to try to tilde hide ills his face so anxious anslaus to avoid any speech with him ne he stopped dead in the middle of the road fora for a moment as the solution occurred to him it must have been that he was afraid since he had seen sir george first of recognition then the fellow must be some one whom he himself would recognize ne he walked on thoughtfully roberta arrived at her fathers chair and listened impatiently to his proposal her eyes blazing with indignation why cant some one else take him down to the village I 1 dont like him I 1 think lies the most disagreeable young man I 1 ever knew and I 1 simply dimply dont see why august cant drive him he looked at tier her a little sa sadly d IY surely roberta even the most modern of daughters would not think it extraordinary if her father who cannot do it himself asked her to introduce his secretary at the bank and also take him jip alp the river to show him the viaduct job it that roberta said sullenly sol lenly not a little ashamed of herself then what is it her father asked and there was a tired note in his voice as well as exasperation 1 I have an engagement tor for today Tl lats too bad im afraid ill have to ask ya you u to cancel it what I 1 ask wont wait its business 1 I 1 can cant ti roberta began and then topped stopped 1 I dont want to cancel it rather father cant we manage it some other way I 1 auld 9 get one of the boys down at green bend bedd to ta take ke mm he hesitated and then decided to trust her theres been a little difficulty about the payroll in the city and im not going to risk any outside knowledge of how much money I 1 have here or what I 1 am asking sir george to do for me roberta stiffened you mean you wont let me off her father shook hla his head wearily 1 I have explained why no I 1 dont think you have hare youve just U st given me an order and apparently business comes before anything else it does just now it slowly 1 I wish you could see sec it as I 1 ido do bobble the money just money and the loss of it be just the money loss I 1 have insured the payroll its ita a matter of keeping falth faith with the men the money means home and food and clothing for all these men and they depend on me to deliver it to them on the day ive promised it I 1 can remember when you were a wee thing bobble how much my weekly wage meant to your mother and to me lie ile had used the little old pet name that had been given her as a baby but it did not soften roberta she stood silently regarding him searching in her mind for some plea that would make him listen she knew now by the look in her fathers eyes that it vias as hopeless she roust must either do tills this thing or precipitate a final quarrel that would leave her nothing to do but go away at once she glie was not yet prepared for flight she might have to come to it some day and soon boon but not now she lifted her eyes and saw the blue car still stationary she raised tier her arm rm and waved twice over tier her head the signal they had bad both agreed upon as walt wait for me and then turned to her father ill go and break the engagement then but I 1 shant forget fattier father you owe ma something for this she was gone before robert iaac llac beth could say anything and the next minute was running down the bead to the bridge by the blue car a very angry young man stood waiting he snapped what do you want me to wait for it enough that im caught like tills this here 1 I cant help it jack jaci roberta said breathlessly its all oft off for today rather father wants me to take his secretary to the bank she blurted it out before she remembered that her fattier father especially wanted no one to know oh well jack count it would tell him nothing anyway betit did interest jack tie ile stopped his tinkering and fussing bind and looked at her what bank and why do you have to take him its the village bank and I 1 dont know why except oh yes I 1 do father wants them to know him so ao that he can cash checks and so forth Ill ellmin hmm min jack regarded her quietly well if not toddy levs lets ninke make it tomorrow roberta regarded him with troubled eyes slie she shook her head tomorrow he wants me to take him up the river to the viaduct construction camp 11 jack looked at her narrowly you mean you want to take him roberta shook her head not much I 1 can think of lots of pleas anter ways of spending my time than ink taking ing that english beanpole bean beRn pole about roberta looked at him and tier her face changed she was sure she had found the solution jack I 1 have it you come with us up the river tomorrow it be nearly early so stupid if you were along 0 what I 1 slowly jack brought his attention back to tier her and anil looked at her with will amazement tinged with susi T 1 dont choose to play second fiddle to sir george biclon great idea that Is I 1 must say cant be done I 1 dont choose to play second fiddle to sir george who told you his name came was sir george you did roberta shook her head bead of course you did you tim told me that das we indian lodge he fre had fiad overreached himself and roberta let him see that he had 1 I I 1 didat know lie was was coming comin Z or anything about him then well avell then you said something about him this morning roberta looked extremely skeptical and opened her mouth to protest when jack dropped ills pliers oh d n I 1 jammed my linger i see here tie he turned on tier her holding its his finger in his handkerchief what difference does docs it make that sw son have forgotten you told roe me ills name when I 1 say you did are we going to argue all morning about that I 1 have got to be off unless and he stooped and smiled at her unless you want to come with roe me and convince me I 1 am wrong roberta shook her head bead but she was puzzled she did not like jacks jack s way of saying baying things today well then ill just start the old bus and see you again when 1 I dont know majd robertn roberta then suddenly as she looked at him directly 11 jack why not come to the house it would make it lots easier tor for me and we could see each other oftener if just come along and bo be pleasant to father no jack answered so promptly that it was like an explosion of wrath then lie he looked at roberta and smiled showing its his perfect teeth 1 I dont mind the old man bobble bobbie but ut I 1 cant stand watching that englishman hanging banging around bluffing your father and trying to get at you when will he lo co to be continued apartment bowier a stout gentleman this sir Is one 0 of out our finest kitchenette apartments R tenant well come coma out a minute and let mie lae inside |