The Washington times., 1909-07-08

- OR second the hMo ilS'i &c.
IL at each other, neither speaking |
then Corlett. prompt in an emer-
gency. broke the silence
Good heavens, man. W4efe are you /
injured" ne cried, anXiousiy 'll must /
be a severed artery 10 cause all that /
bleeding. Here. sit down minute uhlil
] call a doctor
he dashed to the telephone. and was /
already rumpling over the leaves or the l
directory in search OF a number before /
the lawyer. could reach him.
but 1 am not injured, protested /
Graham Look. you can see Tor your /
self; this blood Is only on the cum OF
my overcoat, and it is nearly dried.
At this assurance, the millionaire de-
sisted his frantic efforts 70 secure /
EirgicaI assistance; but he was SIM not
TO be satisfied until Robert had removed
his coat and vest TO show that there
was no stain upon his shirt, and had
reiterated over and over again that ne
had no secret wound.
Then where and how did YOU get
this?" demanded the old man. curious
= examining the coat under the drop !
light above the desk. He evidently mad
q lurking suspicion which was hard 70 /
shake that Robert. in his despair over /
the loss Of Gladys. had been attempting
''Ehg Where did you get it?' he re-
peated his question.
Graham flushed embarrasSediy under
that searching gaze, and dropped ms
ewes. He was lOath 10 confess as would
have been almost any young man 20 q
prospective father-in-laW that he had
recently sFffeTsd 2 mental alteration OF
several hours IN which he could not tell
81 don't know" he therefore mum
bled hesitatingly. 4 suppose j must
have rubbed against something
Rubbed against something! eXclain-
ed Corlett- ''Fhens II must have been
a slaughter house. Why this sleeve
IS soaked through and through"
That was ali the eXplEaauon mat
GrEham could offer, however so finally
the old gentleman, although stlh plainly
skeptiCal, was forced 10 accept II IN
lea OF { better. and somewhat CURLY
advised that they De on their way.
I'd recomn end though he suggest
ed pOintedly, with wave OF his hand
toward the coat, that you leave that
thing behind. Your probably be warm
enough without II in the cab; and
Gladys. as I told You. is already con-
EideTably upset Land knows. what
would happen. il she saw you come
walking in. smeared up like the villain
IN a wild west melOdrama.
There was but little conversation be-
tween she two men on the way uptown
The lover was of course engrOssed in
thoughts OF his fiancee, wondering ner-
vously If CoTlett might not have been
mistaken in his diagnosis of her feel
ings, and planning what he would say
and do when he saw her
The blood upon his coat sleeve was
already a forgotten incident to him; for
Re had no other t6Ea concerning il than
that which he had expressed and be-
sides II was matter Of such Infinitely
minor lmpOrta4.1s as compared 10 the
possibility Of a reconciliation with
Gladys.
The old man. On the other hand. was
Specializing good deal in regard to IL.
He was satisfied now that his earlier
suspicious concerning its origin were in
90 h.HFA hall. Ig
upon the lawyers strangely confused
manner and totally inadequate Axplana-
ton.
one thing he had always especially
liked and admired IN Graham was the
lads straightforward frankness. and il
hurt him now that Robert as he
thought, should attempt to deceive him.
Surely, he had shown himself a good
enough friend 10 be entitled 10 the
young mans confidence, unless indeed
the matter were so utterly disgraeeful
and discreditable as TO bar q confession.
Thoughts OF thss E-g5 Load sS- srhen
INDUCED In and IL was not long before
4lr. Corlett had convinced himself that
Graham had been involved in some dis
reputable brawl which would bring him
into scandalous uotoriety.
He began 10 wonder If he might not
have been mistaken I'm the character
Of the other, and a trtfle overprecipi-
tate In arranging for the reunion with
his daughter.
IT thought two years ought to be
long enough 70 get 10 know any man"
he meditateG. uneasily, but there are
wolves in Sleeps clothing that no one
ever does get onto, until the big eX-
posture comes"
He recalled many cases that he had
known OF trusted employees with records
Of years Of exemplary conduct who had
finally been discovered leading a double
ltfe-sJeady, industrious cashiers and
boolLkeepers by day. after-dark spend-
md H4-Ea an Il
cafes Of the theatrical district.
He glanced out Of the corner Of his
eye toward his companion. 1T do hope
am not receiving q Or. JeI-yI and Mr.
HYDE into my home" he brOOded-
Indeed so worked Up did the old man
become over his doubts and suspicious
that he was nearly ready 10 cali their
venture on; but when he suggested
that II was growing late. and perhaps
they had better defer seeing Gladys
until morning, Robert was up ia arms
At once.
The woman he loved was in distress
whether IL was through her own mis-
apprehension and mlsjUdgment or not,
his place. he vehemently declared, was
at her side 10 comfort her.
He would not walt a minute, ne as
serted For her sake. if for nothing
else, this unhappy Misunderstanding
must be cleared away ct once.
The father could not wei answer
this, when u was the very same
argument he had used to induce era
ham 10 accompany him in the nrst
place So as they had reached the
house by this time. he inJerpOsed no
further objection. but led the way
somewhat reluctantly into the house
: But nCW arose q difficulty which
neither Of them had anticipated or
taken into account
Gladys had retired TO her room. and
when she learned wh0 ~aS below ard
wished 70 see Der she resOlutely re-
fused to come down.
CHAPTER XIV
THE RING AT THE BELL.
1fNH ISIS GLADYS begs 10 be eX-
M - % -.--...---a At.