Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-02-21
By BOOTH HARRINGTON,
CHAPTER TX.

HE any ecnO or d0uDt concerning HIS
 undesirable conspicuousness sound
 ed faintly in Joe's mind, it was sl- \ fenced eftsoons. Canaan had not forgotten him. Far from it, so far that 1t began pointing him out to strangers on the street the very day of his re- turn. His course of action. likewise that of his friends, permitted him little obscurity. and when the rumors of his finally obtaining lodging at Beaver Beach and of the celebration of his in stallation there were presently con firmed he stood in the lime light in- deed. as Mephistopheles upsprung through the trap door,
 The welcoming festivities had not been So discreetly conducted as to ac- cord with the general policy of Beaver Beach. An unfortunate incident caused the arrest of one of the celebrators and the ambulancing to the hospital of an other on the homeward way, the ensu- i1g proceedings in court bringing to the whole affair publicity deyoutly uasought for. Mir. Happy Fear (such was the habitual name of the imprison- ed gentleman) had to bear a great amount of harsh criticism for injuring a companion within the city limits aft CT daylight and for failing to observe that three policemen were not too dis tant from the scene of operations to engage therein.
 
 Happy, if he had it in mind to harm him." said the red bearded man to MT. Fear upon the latter's return to socie- ty, "why didn't ye do it out here at the beach?"
 Because" returned the indiscreet, che didn't say what he was goin' to say till we got in town"
 Extraordinary probing on the part of the prosecutor had developed at the trial that the obnoxious speech had re- ferred to the guest of the evening. The assaulted party, one Nashville Cory, was not of Canaan, but bit of driftwood haply touching shore for the moment at Beaver Beach, and-strange is this world-he had been introduced to the coterie of Mikes Place by Hap py Fear himself, who had enjoyed a brief acquaintance with him on day when both had chanced to travel in- cognito by the same freight. Natural ly Happy had felt responsible for the proper behavior of his protege-was, in fact. bound to enforce it; addition ally, Happy had once been saved from . term of Imprisonment (at a time when it would have been more than ordinarily nconvenienD by help and advice from Joe, and he was not one to forget Therefore he was grieved to observe that his own guest seemed to be somewhat jealous of the hero of the occasion and disposed to look cold ly upon him. The stranger, however, contented himself with innuendo (mere expressions of the face and oth- CT manner of things for which one could not squarely lay hands upon him until such time as he and his sponsor had come to Main street in the clear dawn on their way to Hap py's apartment variable abode. It may be that the stranger perceived what Happy did not-the three blue coats in the perspective. At all events, he now put into words of sim pie strength the unfavorable concep- ton he had formed of Joe. The re- suit was mediaevally immediate, and the period of Mir. Cory's convalescence In the hospital was almost half that of bis sponsors detention in the county Iail.
 When Happy Fear had suffered. with give and take simplicity of pa tience, his allotment of months in dcrarce and was released and sent Into the streets and sunshine once more, he knew that his first duty lay h the direction of general apology to Joe. But the young man was no lon- ger at Beaver Beach; the red headed proprietor dwelt alone there and, re- ceiving Happy with scorn and pity, Erected him to retracc his footsteps 10 the town.
 "Ye must have been in the black hole ef incarceration indeed if ye haven't heard that MT. Louden has his law of See on the square and his llvin' room behind the office. It's In that little brick buildin' straight acrost from the phcriff's door O the jail. We've been ,eighbors this long time. A hard time :he boy had persuadln' any one to rent :o him. but by payin' double the price ae got place at last. He's a practic. m lawyer now. and all the boys and .irls of our acquaintance go to him with their troubles. Yen see him with a murder case to try before long IS sure as we're not worth yer salt! But I expect ye can still call him b. lis name of Joe. all the same,-
 It was a bleak and meager little ot- Ice into which Mir. Fear ushered him. elf to offer his amends. The cracked easter of the walls was bare, save for lust. There were no shelves. The fat brown volumes. most of them fairly lew. were piled in regular columns tpon a cheap pine table. There was Tt one window. small paned and eadeicss. An inner door of this sad aamber stood half ajar. permitting ne visitor unrcserved acquaintance sith the domestic economy of the ten
 Tt. for it disclosed a second room.
 mailer than the office and dependent
 po1 the window of the latter for air
 nd light Behind a canvas camp cot.
 imly visible in the obscurity of the
 1ner apartment. stood a small gas
 tove surnounted by a stewp1n. from
 -hich projectcd the handle of a big