La Junta tribune., 1907-06-29

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the yours u,sn sat down with visions
OF policemen end prison bars ias'!f; 1
,cso,c his .ycs. .i'hc ;.ynt 10, Il s.
,.rsc:ly - front oi hin isnd ssa.. (,N
I'm l., :. eu.d. cruel way-a way Lax
ruy.. hin to understand that she would
let no guilty man escape. After three
or four minutes Winnie returned to the
room TO say:
That's always the way. Central
tells me that the line into the city !s
crossed or something and 1t may be
an hour or more before they md out
the trouble and remedy 1t"
"Then 1 will go back and tell your
father the situation said Mr.. Gray.
..Some sharper has the bonds. and the
r,o,ice should be notified at once
"You will sit right here until that
telephone wire Is in working ORDER
announced Aunt Ruth There are
men about the place. and we have dogs
and guns, and II you try to run away
It will lie the worse for you. Winnie.
notify the coachman that we have
suspicIous character in the house"
.She needn't do anything OF the sort.
I will sit here until you have solved
the mystery. am to blame for losing
the letter. but II the bonds are not re-
covered II will not be my fault.
"He doesn't look like a suspicious
person." whispered Winnie to her aunt,
but In tones loud enough 80 that he
caught the words and turned rei
again. 4
"He may not to you. who can tel ~
rpbber from church deacon. But no
does to me. and here he shall rtay unti'
we know all about it. You sit down IN
the hall and walt for the telephone.
and I'll keep him under my eyes
Amt Ruth leaned back in her chalf.
folded her arms. compressed her lips
and fastened her eyes on MI Gray
and had he been bunko man OF zen
years standing he must have peeh
disconcer;ed As 1t was. he coughed
and blushed and hitched around and
crossed and recrossed his legs. When
the aunt broke the silence, 1t was to
impart no cheerful Information. What
she said was:
"It makes you squlrIn TO renlize that
you've reached the end of your rope Mt
last. but you'll squirm more still when
the judge pronounces sentence. Whiie
I pity your poor mother. l hope you II
get at least ten years.
Mr.. Gray made no reply. He couldn't
find words. About every ten minutes
for the next hour he received a brief-
vigorous lecture until he WAS almost
worked up TO the point where he
thought OF jumping through window
and taking his chances. when mans
step was heard There ,Tas an "Oh,
papa from Miss Winnie in the hall,
and Colonel Graves stalked In to eN-
claim:
What in the devil is the matter
here"
There he sits replied Aunt Ruth
as she pointed to the culprit.
II took :rbout ten minutes to unravei
things-tlhat is. to establish Vincent
Gray's identity. Fortunately by this
time the telephone was working. and
Fortunately Mr.. Jones WIS in his o@d
1t took five minutes more to discover
that Winnie had given the false pes
sengar Honduras instead of Mexican
bonds and that the colonel was simply
relieved of some waste paper.
When 1t came TO apologies and inyit-
Ing Mr.. Gray TO forgive and forget and
stay to dinner. perhaps full quarter
of an hour was consumed. but 1t is not
on record that Mr.. Gray regarded the
time as thrown away.
Now when the colonel smiles and
throws out hints at his prospective
son-in-law Miss Winnie bushes and
protests. Aunt Ruth assumes one OF
her sweetest looks and says:
II don't say shall leave when he
becomes one Of the family, but ! do
say that ! shall always lock up my
jewelry when go TO bed and lock and
bolt the door,