Daily Arizona silver belt., 1908-12-30
When Betty
 Came Home. z By C. B. LEWIS.
By C. B. LEWIS.
Copyrighted. 1908, by Associated !
 Literary Press.

| ue arTunSeluent was SATISFACTORY all around Mrs. Hardin, the widowed mother. accompanied by her daughter Betty and maid, was to spend July and August at a seashore resort Will Hardin, the son, and his college chum. Frank Archer, were to keep bachelors hall in the Long Island manor house.
 The faithful old servant who had acted as cook for many years past was willing to remain, to care for their wants and keep the house from being | turned into stable, but she was given two months off with wages and told to make herself scarce.
 All went well at home and at the seashore for month. Then the time was ripe for something to happen, and something did happen. The mother met with fall. Miss Betty lost the only young man worth flirting with, | and the maid came so near being drowned in the surf that she threat ened to quit her job unless the family l retired to safe distance from the raging sea.
 Miss Betty wrote her brother WiD that they would arrive home on a cer- tain date, and the date was put far enough ahead to enable the two camp CTS to get the dishes washed up and their fish poles removed from the par Tor But what is the use of writing letters to brother who doesn't go to the postoffice for mail? The letter ar rived all right, but was not called for.
 Then, on the afternoon or the even ing on which the family were to ar rive home. Will had to go up to Brook lyn on pressing business. It was mid night before the young lady gave an answer to his pressing question, and it was two hours later before he dropped off freight train at the coun- try station half mile from home. Archer was left to fish the time away, cook his own dinner and go to bed at any hour that suited his con venience. That hour was o'clock, and he had sixty minutes to get to sleep when the family arrived No Will appeared at the depot to meet them. but fortunately they found a conveyance, and fortunately Miss Betty had carried her latchkey away with her and could now make use of il.
 As the hour was late no time was wasted looking around-just enough to be satisfied that brother Will wasn't In htu hA1 thuf ( faty robust women two weeks to put the house in its former tidy. shape. The arrivals had been abed for two hours when Archer woke up. He was dream ing that he had hooked fish five feet long and was playing it. when he found himself sitting up in bed with his eyes wide open.
 He felt that some noise had disturbed him. There had been great deal of the Rallies business in the country. The chums had talked the matter over and decided what was to be done in ease he invaded the house under their guardianship.
 They were armed, and they were to do their best to Kill or capture him. One chum and one revolver being ab sent cs this occasion made differ enee, but nevertheless the chum on the spot prepared to die for his host.
 Getting softly out of bed and partly dressing, he soon assured himself that W!ll had not yet returned. Just then he distinctly heard noise in the lower part of the house-the fall of some thing
 Rallies had effected an entrance and blundered over a chair '1he student of chemistry hesitated no longer. He softly opened his door, and. with a lamp in one hand and revolver in the other. he stepped out into the hall to descend the stairs.
 There had certainly been a noise- two noises in fact. Mother and daugh- ter occupied rooms at the front of the house. After sleeping for couple of hours the mother had awakened in a daughter This was number one.
 The daughter had answered, mixed "a sleeping draft and knocked the bottle off the stand to the floor. This noise had brought young Archer from lis room into the hall and he was just in time to encounter Miss Betty as she was returning to her own room.
 Of course she was startled. Of course he was startled as well. They were not ten feet apart, and as they stood there staring at each other she forgot that Will was to have his chum with him. and it went clean out of his head that Will had a mother and sister anywhere on earth.
 Some girls. under the circumstances, might not have been the first to re- cover their wits. Miss Betty was. She motioned the young man down the hall, and when he could back up no farther she advanced quite close to him and whispered
 Mother is very nervous, and if she knew you were in the house the shock might kill her"
 Yes" replied Archer in some won- derment.
 There Is some silver plate down stairs but Pm afraid it's not very