Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-01-24
THE MAN ON THE BOX
By HAROLD MacCRATH Author of "Ths Grey cloak,s ' 7" The Puppet Crown"
Copyright. I9o4. Tho Bobbs- Merrill Company.
CHAPTER VII. A. POLICE AFFAIR.

OMCciS, dTicSI CHlS IellOW! com,
 manded the young woman. Her ges
 ture was Didoesque in it's wrath.
 That we will ma'am!" cried one
 of the policemen, f1inging. himself from ; his horse "So it's you, me gay buck
 Thirty days fer you, an mebbe more
 I didn't like yer looks from tn start You're working some kind of trick. i What complaint, ma'am?"
 Drunkenness and abduction, rub
 ping the>burning spot on her cheek. {
 "Thatll be rather serious. Yell
 have to appear against him in tn
 mornin', ma'am.'
 | "I certainly shall do so." She
 promptly gave her name, address and
 telephone number
 l Bill, you drive tn ladies home an
 I'll see this bucko to tn station. Here,
 you! Warburton, who was still
 dumb with astonishment at the extra
 ordinary denouement to his innocent l joke. "Git on that horse, an lively,
 or, or I'll rap ye with tn club" r "1t's all mistake, officer" Close yer face and git on that
 horse. Y can tell tn judge all that in tn mornin. ain't got no time t.
 listen. Bill, report just as soon as ye
 see tn ladies home. Now, off with y. Tn ladies'll be wanting somethin'
 t quiet their nerves. Git on that horse,
 me frisky groom; hustle!" Warburton
 mechanically climbed into the saddle.
 It never occurred to him to barley, to
 say that he couldn't ride a horse The inventive cells of his usually fer
 tile brain lay passive. Now" went on the officer, mounting his own nag,
 Twill ye go quietly? If ye don't I'll
 plug ye in tn leg with a chunk O
 lead I won't stan no nonsense"
 What are you going to do with me?' asked Warburton. with desper- ate effort to collect his energies
 Lock ye up; mebbe throw pail of water on that overloaded cocoanut of yours"
 But if you'll only let me explain to you! It's all a joke; got the wrong carriage"
 Marines, marines! D. ye think I was born yestiddy? Ye wanted tn ladies sparklers. or I'm doughhead The police are the same all over the world; the original idea sticks to them. and truth in voice or presence is but sign of deeper cunning and ,villainy. Anyhow. ye can't turn around i Washington like ye do in England, me 'cockney. Ye cant drive more'n a hun- dred miles an hour on these pave ments.". l ' But, I tell you" Warburtons real! 'izing where his escapade was about | to lead him. grew desperate The ig- nominy of it! He would be the laugh fng-stock of the town on the morrow. l The papers would teem with it. You'll find that you are making a great mis- take. If you will only take me to- Scott Circle"
 Where ye have a pal with a gun. eh? Git ahead!" and the two made oil toward the west.
 Once or twice the officer found him. self admiring the easy seat of his prisoner; and if the horse had been anything but a trained animal, he would have worried some regarding the ultimate arrival at the third precinct.
 Half dozen times Warburton was of mind to make bolt for it, but he did not dare trust the horse or his knowledge of the streets. He had al- ready two counts against him, disor- derly conduct and abduction, and he had no desire to add uselessly, a third, that of resisting an officer. which seems the greatest possible crime a man can commit and escape hanging. Oh. for a mettlesome nag. There would be no police-station for him, then. Police station! Heavens, what should he do? His brother, his sister: their dismay, their shame; not count ing that he himself would be laughed at from one end of the continent to the other. What an ass he had made of himself, He wondered how much money it would take 10 clear himself and at the same moment recollected that he hadn't a cent in his clothes. A sweat of terror moistened his brow.
 What are ye up to. anyway" asked the policeman. What kind of booze have ye been samplin'?"
 I've nothing to say"
 "Ye speak clear enough. So much th' worse, if ye ain't drunk. Was ye crazy [ ride like that? Ye might have killed tn women an had bill of man. slaughter brought against ye."
 'I have nothing to say: 1t is all a I got the wrong number and the wrong carriage, s
 '-Th' devil ye did. An where vas re eoin' to drive tn other carriage at -' hat thunderin' rate? IL won't wash. - His honor1l be stone-deaf when ye tell him that You're drunk or have been"
 Not tonight well. I'd give me night of t' know rhs; ye were up to. Don't re know lothin' about ordinances an laws7 An' I wouldn't mind havin' ye tell me rhy ye threw yer arms around tn lady [t m kissei her.--shrevdly.
 warbHrton stsrted in his saddle. He ,ad forgotten all abou; that part of he episode. His hlood warmed sud- Ienlv and his cheeks burned. He had Lissed her. kissed her soandiy. too. he most radiantly beautifuI uomsn in he world. Why. come to think of it. wss easily worth a night in jail Tez. by George. he had kissed her. iissed that blooming cheek. and but or this policeman. would have forgot |