, 1908-05-14

pearance OF one side Of his face. his
clothes were rumpled and covered with
orlck dust. and his hands were black.
but mad rarely seen him so calm. He
r~ecrossed his legs, peered INTO the
powi OF his pipe for a moment, then
asked as quietly as though he were
sol1clting an opinion Of the weather.
VIII you tell me. Mr.. Pickering.
whether you yourself are a debtor of
John Marshall Glenarm's estater"
chickering's face grew white and his
eyes started. and when he tried sud
denly to speak his Jaw twitched. The
room was so still that the breaking of
a blazing log On the andirons was a
pleasant relief. We stood. the three
OF us, with our eyes on Pickering. and
in my own case l must say that nv
heart was pounding my ribs at an I'M
comfortable speed, for | knew Larry
was not sparring for time.
The blood rushed into Pfckering's
face and he turned toward Larry
stormily.
This is m%warrantable and in
famous! My relations with Mr.. Glen
arm are none Of your business. When
you remember that after being desert
ed by his W flesh and blood he ap-
pealed to me, going so far as TO in
trust all his affairs to my care at his
death, your reflection is an outrageou
insult. l am not accountable to YOU or
any one else!"
Really, there's a good deal in all
that said Larry. I'VE don't pretend
to any judicial functions. We are per,
fectly willing to submit the whole busi
ness and all my clients acts to the
authorities"
Il would give much II | could repro.
duce some hint of the beauty of that
word authorities as it rolled from
Larry's tongue!).
Then. in Gods lame, do it, you
blackguards," roared Pickering.
Stoddard, seated on the table.
knocked his heels together gently.
Larry recrossed his legs and blew a
cloud of smoke. Then, after a quarter
Of a minute in which he gazed at the
ceiling with his quiet, blue eyes, he
said:
Yes; certainly, there are always the
authorities. And as | have a tremen-
dous respect for your American insti-
tutions shall at once act on your sug-
g~estion. Mr.. Pickering, the estate 10
richer than o thought 1t was. 1t
holds. or will hold, your notes given to
the %decedent for $32O, 900"
He drew from his pocket a brown
envelope, walked to where l stood and
placed it in my hands.
At the same time ~Stoddard's big
figure grew active, and before l real
lied that Pickering had leaped toward
the packet. the executor was sitting In
a chair, where the chaplain had thrown
him He rallied promptly, stufiing his
necktie into his waistcoat: he even
laughed a little.
sc much old paper, You gentlemen
are perfectly welcome to it."
Thank you!" jerked Larry.
Mr.. Glenarm and | had many trans
actions together, and ne must have for
gotten to destroy those papers," con
tinued Pickering:
Quite likely" l remarked. st fl
interesting to know that Sister Tho
resa wasn't his only debtor"
Pickering stepped to the door and
| called the sheriff.
Il will give you until tomorrow
morning at nine O'Clock to AGA the
premises. Those claims are utterly
worthless, as l am ready to prove. The
court understands the situation per
fectly."
Perfectly, perfectly" repeated the
sheriff.
81 believe that is ALL" said Larry.
pointing to the door with his pipe.
The sheriff was regarding him with
particular attention.
What did ! understand your name
to be-" he demanded.
Laurence Donovan" Larry replied
cootly.
Pickering seemed to notice the name
now and his eyes lighted disagreeably.
II think | have heard of you friend
before" he said, turning to me. Il
congratulate you on the international
reputation of your counsel. He's
esteemed so highly IN Ireland that
they offer a large reward for his re-
turn. Sheriff, | think we have finished
our business for today"
He seemed anxious to get the man
away. n we gave them escort to the
outer ate where q horse and buggy
was waiting.
Nov, I'm in for It," said Larry. as l
locked the gate. We've spiked one OF
his guns, but I've given him a new one
to use against myself. But come, and
| will show you the Door of Bewilder-
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