The suburban citizen., 1900-07-07

Will sNud lbA ny AbAIAAAh oANa
ask him about it,"
Accordingly, Mr.. Hampton sent
word to his foreman that he wished
to see him in the office. When he
came he asked:
"John, what gas cylinders did you
send to Mr.. WhitcOmb, yesterday"
"They were Of the new lot received
Wednesday,"
HE says that there was no gas in
them-or that they were not full"
81 do not understand how that could
be- for you know what n lively time
we had when Sam let one fall and
break the valve off"
Yes, l know. How many did you
try, Mr.. Whitcomb"
"All."N
Huh. Something strange herew
Mr. Hampton replaced the defective
cylinders-gas, rather-but, to his sur
prise, Mr.. WhitcOmb made his appear
ance the next morning, and informed
Mr.. Hampton that thece last cylinders
contained no more .as than did th.
others.
This resulted in an examination Of
the cylinders remaining in the cellar
Not one of them contained enough gas
to charge over two or three fountains!
Mr. Whitcomb ordered some cylin-
ders from the Jones Brothers Gem
pany, and as they proved satisfactory
he continued to deal with them.
The next day complaints came pour
ing in from all sections, Mr.. Hampton
agreeing to make all damages good
He telegraphed to the gas manufact-
urer to send on his agent; and he Or
dered another car Of cylinders to be
sent at once, and another load to fol-
low the next day. In the meantime
the Joneses were supplying the de-
mand.
The gas company's agent arrived on
the scene. The affair puzzled him; he
had never heard of such a thing be-
fore, but here was the undeniable
proof.
When the new carload arrived, the
agent, Mr.. Blackstone, took one of the
cylinders, and opening the valve, al
lowed all the gas to escape. This cyl
inder was satisfactory. All the old
ones were removed from the cellar
and the new lot stored away.
The next day an uptown cOnfection-
er ordered ten cylinders to be deliv-
cred to him at once. Two hours later
he telephoned to Mr.. Hampton to
come for them; that they were not
fully charged.
"Did any person have these before
got themY he asked over the phone.
Another examination of the cylin-
ders in the cellar fonowed; they were
all nearly empty.
Mr.. Blackstone shook his head doubt
fully, and Oscar Hampton jerked at
the ends of his mustache; and again
the Joneses supplied the demand,
what do you make of it?' asked
Hampton.
Il do not know. But one thing is
certain: those cylinders l,ft our place
in good condition"
"They arrived here in good order
as well as these last ones, for it is
not likely that we picked the only
good one in the lot"
We'll, what are you going to doY'
That Is more than ! am prepared
to say; but meet me here after sup
per, and we will see what we can
make of it, Mr.. Hampton. l trust that
the cylinders the men are now unload
ing will not fool us in the morning"
AS agreed, the two men met at the
Office of the hampton storage rooms
at eight o'clock. Neither was any the
wiser at eleven, at which time Mr..
Blackstone suggested adjournment for
the night.
Just as Oscar Hampton placed his
hand on the knob to open the back
door, a sound like that Of escaping
steam greeted his ear. He motioned
his companion to be silent
Hiss! Hissw Now a dozen different
sounds filed the air.
Hush! Walk carefully and we win
go to the elevator shaft" whispered
Hampton.
The two men tiptoed TO tie place
mentioned, but here they were unable
to see anything. The sound, however,
was much louder.
The two men set the silent running
elevator into motion. Down they
went until the cellar floor was
reached. Then they made their way
to the door Of the room in which the
gas cylinders were kept. 1t was shut
tight, but Hampton placed his eye
to the keyhole. In that first glance
the mystery was no longer one, fer
there among the tiers Of cylinders
was Jake Wright. He was ju.r in the
net of opening one Of the valves. Gas
was escaping from " dozen others.
Mr. Hampton stood for a full minute
watching this interesting sight Then