The National tribune., 1901-04-18
to you and 1 can get a few days off, I'll
come up and lep9i oseF the ground myself.
Your obedient servant,
n MOSES HIGBEE.'

a. MUSES. hiG ID Ef1.
. Margaret dropped the letter in her laI
with a cry of joy. 1a4'hen. almost afraiC
that she had not understood it correctly
she read it over again. The next morn
ing there was light fof happiness on hei
pale face that had been missing many Z
day, when she called council of hci
friends and laid the expressman's letter
before them. 81
Wasn't it kind ef him to write she
exclaimed. almest brightly. DO yor
know, not one of our set, not one of thf
people whose good opinion we are taught
to value most, has sent me word. a
poor little girl in my class at college, who
is killing herself to support her mother
and sister, has written me such good
sweet letters. Anyone else, no, shrug
ging. But can't we telegraph Mr.. HiG
bee to come right awayF
| Certainly" said BettsOn. You know
what they say of dogs; they have to be
trained to track criminal, but no pup
needs to be taught to follow the man he
loves. Moses is evidently devoted to Gil
bert, and this Hosmer matter is very
Shrewdly reasoned out. | will confess il
never occurred to me, and, as Higbee
hints, Gilbert may have been decoyed-
Isandbagged-by parties interested in keep
ing Hosmer out of the game. L am sorry
| to say it, but such things are not abso-
lutely unknown in the baseball world.
They would be very careful not to run
! their necks into the moose if they could
help it, though. By all means, send for
| Mr.. Higbee."
Wouldn't it be very difficult matter
DIR. Ashbel, with a worried look, which
had lately quite driven the old habitual
expression of peace from his scholarly
| face. You know he did not drink e
True, ordinarily" interrupted the law
yer, with the smile that any reference to
brought to his face. But with the double
| exposure of that terrible night, coming on
| top of a scarcely conquered attack of ty-
phoid fever, he would have been justified
in taking stiff peg. In fact, should
feel much easier if l could think he had.
That, with Higbee's theories here, would
give a correlation to matters that has
| been lacking heretofore. Only-only''-
Mr.. BettsOn stammered in way quite TN
| usual for him.
'Oh, Mr.. Bettson,. what do you think
has become of him?' cried Margaret,
throwing up her hands with a despairing
wall.
My dear, my dearm said Mrs. Asbbel,
soothingly, taking her in her arms. The
two men exchanged an anxious look.
You mean that the search may be very
protracted, suggested DIR. Ashbel. "The
reason l mention it is that my vacation
is almost over. We couldn't think of
would be better for her to return to Sum-
merdale with us? l believe Mrs, Keep
has put off the trip abroad until Spring"
The dominic glanced at the lawyer mean
ingly.
1t was Margaret who answered. "You
are very kind, DIR. Ashbel. Everybody
is kind; but Gilbert wished me to stay
here until l heard from him, and-and-
don't feel as if | could go away as long
as-as'- She could not finish the SEN
tence. Its suggestions were too sorrow
fui. SsB
bel, furtiyely wiping his glasses, and
very natural If you like, Mrs. AshbeI
will stay. can return alone"
Thank you, dear Doctor" said Mar
garet, pressing his hand; but could not
ask that" Ts
Dear, DEAR" interrupted Mrs. Ashbei
with the deaf persons instinct of divin-
ing half-heard words 1--WE wouldn't
dream of leaving you, Margaret. Besides,
it's this way. Julius has a new idea He
came here full of the Ante-Nicene faith
ers, only to find them as dead as-well,
as they are! People are no longer inter
ested in the past except as it throws
light over very live present, and Julius
is just crazy to go home and work out a
theory on Christian Evolution. He has
patched mp this scheme of leaving me SOS
he can have the whole house to himself,
I'm willing. He'll fnd out how it is, not
having anybody to dust his papers. And
| should like to see if he has improved as
correspondent in the tWenty-odd years
since his courting days"
The Ashbeis had hardly gone out be-
fore card was brought to Margaret, on
which was written, John Smith, Lon
don, England" A glance assured Mar
garet that it was the same heavy and
careful chirography that had marked Mr..
Higbee's letter. With a wan smile she
asked the bell-boy to bring the visitor to
the piazza. Slipping through the window
of her room, she took her seat in one of
the large rOcking-chairs On the veranda
outside. In few minutes the worthy
ex-constable appeared. After one glance
at him, Margaret threw up her hands
and laughed until she could laugh no
longer.
Now, that's right" said Mr.. Higbee,
heartily. That's right; worth comm all
TINS !, way }est to hear ye enjoyin' it! fe
see" chuckliDg, tall the detective stories
lay great stress on being disguised-that's
always the word, disguised So | said
to myself, what's the uulikliest thing
you'd ever think to see Nose Higbee ms?
Then l answered, as a bloomir' Hing
lish swell And here you are. Why,
could walk clean from one eend o. Sum
merdale to the other without single kid
yellin' Hello, M0sep after me. How did
You tumble TO t, Miss MargaretY'
Instead of replying Margaret went of
into another spasm of laughter The
open mouthed bell-boy having disappeared
around the corner Of the balcony, Mr..
Higbee took his stand before the girl and
reyolyed proudly on his heels, so that she
might not miss any feature of his dis
guise. The outfit must have cost him not
little money. A well-cut travelling suit
Of the most startling tweed to be found
In the city of Boston clothed the express
mans almost three hundred pounds of
avoirdupois. His shirt was blue and his
shoes were yellow. He had shaved off
the heavy mustache which no one in Sum-
merdale ever remembered seeing him
without and revealed a long, shrewd up
per lip which was quite unexpected, yet
quite in character with his clothes. His
bushy eyebrows had been trimmed, and
the loss of these accustomed penthOuses
gave his fat-lidded blue eyes strange ex-
preston of severity His face was red,
but his jaws shut together firmly under
the fat. A cane with heavy bone handle.
| red dogskin gloves and a fore-and-aft
steamer cap, with the earflaps ostenta,
tiously tied around the button on the
crown by a piece of brown tape, com
pleted the costume, and made for anyone
| knowing Mr.. Moses Higbee, of Summer
dale, about the funniest picture that could
be imagined. al
AS soon as she could speak, Margaret
gasped an invitation to her visitor to sit
down. c5+
MIR. Smith, if you please, ma'am," re-
piled the ex-constable, solemnly, as he
took one of the roekinp-c -ch a ire beside bnr