The Saint Paul globe., 1898-01-30

said No use making gossip for the
village folks. They have enough to
talk about as it is''
Not exactly seeing the force of this
reasoning, but quite willing, seeing
that he had 10 intention of taking me
back at once, that he should leave me
to my own devices as soon as possible.
L pointed to a locksmithS shop 1 saw
near by and bade him put me down
there.
With sniff I might have interpret
ed in any way, he drove up to the
spot L pointed out and awkWardly as
sisted me to alight
Trunk key missing?" he ventured
before getting back into his seat.
L did not think it necessary to an
sWer him, but walked immediately in
TO the shop. / though he looked dis
satisfied at this, but whatever were
his feelings he mounted presently to
his place and drove off 1 was left
confronting the decent man who rep
resented the lock fitting interests in X.
L found some difficulty in broachine
my errand Finally 1 said:
Miss Knollys, who lives up the
road over there, wishes key fitted to
one OF her doors. Will you come or
seno up there today? She was too oc-
cupled to see about il herself
The man must have been struck bv
my appearance, for he stared at me
quite curiously for a minute. Then he
gave hem and a haw and said:
certainly. What kind of a door is
1t? When 1 had answered, he gave.
me another curious glance and seemed
uneasy to step back to where his as
slslaht was working with file.
ou viii be sure to come in time
to have the lock fitted by night" I
said in that peremptory manner of
NINE which means simply 'I attend to
lhlngs When and where I promise and
expect you to do the same''.
His Certainly struck me as a lit-
tie weaker this time, possibly because
his curiosity was excited. Are you
the lady who is staying with ther1
from New York;" he asked. stepping
back, seemingly quite unawed by nv
positive demeanor.
Yes. SAID l, thawing a trife; st
am Miss Butterworth.'
He looked at me almost as if I were
a curiosity
And cid you sleep there" he urged,
last night?''
I thought it best to thaw still more.
Of course, L said. where do you
think | would sleep? The vorng la
dies are friends Of mine.''
He raped abstractedly on the coun-
ter with a small key he was holding
Excuse me-" said he, with some re-
membrance of my position toward him
as a stranger, hut weren't you
afrafd?"
"Afraid?" I echoed Afraid in Miss
Knollys house?''
Why, then, do you want a kew to
your door?" he asked, with a slight
appearance of excitment I'VE don't
lock doors here in the village; at leas,
we didn't
Il did not say it was my door" l
began; but, feeling that this was a
prevarication not only unworthy of
me, but one that he was entirely too
sharp to accept, [ added stiff1y: .It
is for my door. am not accustomed
even at home to sleep with my room
unlocked
oh" he murmured, totally uncon-
vlnced, Il thought you might have got
scare. Folks somehow are afraid of
that old place, it's so big and ghost
like. 1 don't think you would find any-
one in this village that would slee,,
there all night
"a pleasing preparation for my rest
there tonight" 1 grimly laughed
Dangers on the road and ghosts in
the house. Happily I don't believe in
the latter
The gesture he made showed incred-
ulity. He had ceased rapping with