Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1903-07-29
The Mystery anOldHat

Vincent Manning was sitting alone
in his parlor nursing a sprained ankle.
His young wife had been gone q week
for the first vacation" of their two
years of married life. Moping alone
in the empty house for four days was
beginning to try his nerves SO that
he was almost tempted to let Mrs.
Manning know, even at the cost of
suddenly spelling her holiday, that he
mad suffered an awkward fall two days
after she had started for New York.
The. house girl, who was treasure,
had gone with her mistress and the
baby. Being stranger in town, he
had few callers in the evening and
none at all during the day except for
the waiter who came with his meals
from the hotel around the corner.
Having read everything in sight,
played solitaire for an hour and tried
everything he knew on the piano, he
pulled out his watch and saw that
there was yet four hours OF daylight
before him. He was reaching for his
crutch with the sudden determination
to telephone for a carriage and have a
drive in the park, when he saw Geof-
frey Fairchild, one of his oldtime
friends, staring at the house numbers.
Manning tapped on the window with
the tip of his crutch and hailed him.
ooh, JEFF! Come in, old man.
Where on earth did you drop from?"
The visitor was in the hall before
Manning could reach the door to greet
him, and they shook hands and
laughed like genuine men who are
glad
You're a whole life-saving station,
that's what you are, jeff" said Man
ming, gloating over his friend.
you've got to send for you're bag
gage and keep bachelors hall with me
till Maud's come home-yes, she's gone
down to her mothers with the baby
you've never seen that baby, Jeff
where did you say you'd been? Texas?
Do you realize, jeff, that this only the
second time you've been in our house
since we were married
eyes, | know, Vince, but I've been
terribly rushed" laughed Fairchild,
settling down for chat, II don't even
write to my mother, fact! No, have
no sweethearts-at least none that
know Of.
And they chatted just as fast and
as a couple of women till the waiter
came for the dinner order. Manning
insisted that his friend could stay;
that he could have his luggage sent up
afterWard, and that it would be a
sheer crime to go away and leave him
alone like a sick man in solitary con
finement. And so it was arranged
While Faircaild was at the telephone,
Manning was choosing a dinner for
two and explaining to the waiter, who
didn't seem to understand, that there
after, until otherwise instructed, he
must bring food and service for two
instead of one.
We'll get through with this by Sat
urday," Manning exclaimed, when he
came in. Maggie, our revered domes
tic. will be back. She's a good cook
and we'll tax her talent and ner pa
thence to the limit, eh, Jeff?'
Godfrey Fairchild had been class
mate of Manning, and they had main
tanned a close and unruffled comrade-
ship till Vincent married Maud Cut
cliffe. Some said that Manning had
yanuuished a rival in Godfrey, but at
any rate the wedding was not SO in.
4olerable to the loser as to prevent him
from appearing as the most blythe
and happy of the groomsmen. He
kept I'D his visits, too, as long as the
Warnings remained in their New York
hotel but when they moved west, he
had called but once and written not al
all. If Manning had any suspicious
of a. lurking disappointment IN his
friends heart, he was soon pleasantly
undeceiyed, for Godfrey had never
seemed so rollickingly happy as now
He had been in the oil regions OF Tex
as for a month or more and was or
his way homeward, he said He hac
come purposely to spend lew DAYS
with Vincent and the wife to see the
son and heir. He asked dozen ques
lions about the child, laughed at tnf
paternal yarns about its precoclty as
no man can laugh but stanch FRIEND
and made himself so gayly at nome
that it was o'clock in the morning
when Manning babe him good night
the door Of his room.
It was 7 when the walter
came for the breakfast order, and Whei