The Nevada County picayune. (Prescott, Ark.) 190?-current, 1909-04-15
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a pale blue envelope, which he handed
to Birdsall, at the same time taking
the motor handle. You see; type
written, very polite, chilly sort of let
ter, kind to make man hot under the
collar and swear at Keatcham's heart
lessness. Mr.. Koatcham unable to an
swer, having been i'll since he left San
Francisco. Did not see anything of
any boy Probably ran away Has
no information of any kind to afford.
And the writer is very sincerely mine.
The minute / read it l was sure Mer-
Ger wrote it; and he wrote it to make
me so Disguised with Keatcham
wouldn't pursue the subject with him.
Just the same way he snubbed my
aunt; and, for that matter, just the
way he tried to snub me on the train.
But he missed his mark; | wired every
hotel in Santa Barbara and every one
in Los Angeles; and Keatcham isn't
there and hasn't been there. He has
big bunch of mail at Santa Barbara
waiting for him, forwarded from Los
Angeles, but he hasn't shown himself"
Brdsall shot glance of cordial ad-
miration at the colonel. You're all
there, general" he cried with I'M
quenchable familiarity. 1--WE been try
ing to call up the Keatcham outfit, and
l couldn't get a line, either. They
haven't used the tickets they bought
their reservations went empty to Los
Angeles. Now, what do you make out
of that?"
II make out that Archie is only part
Of their game" replied the soldier.
Now see, Birdsall, you are not going
to get couple of rich young college
fellows to do just plain kidnapping and
soaring women out of their money"
Lord, general interrupted Bird
sail, those college guys don't turn a
hair at kidnapping; they regularly steal
the president of the freshman class,
and the things they do at their hazing
bees and limitations would make an
Apache Indian sit up and take notice.
tell you, general, they're the limit for
deviltry."
Some kinds. Not that kind; it's
too dirty. Arnold was one of the clean
est football players at Harvard. And
l don't know anything about human
nature if that other youngster isn't
decent. But Mercer-es I'm loco; you
can look out for anything from him.
Now, see the combination. Arnold was
at Harvard. | have traced the motor
car they used to him; and then, if you
add that his father is away safe
in Europe and he has an empty house,
off to one side, with a quantity of
space around it and the reputation of
being haunted, why"
1T looks good to me. And l under
stand my men have got around it on
the quiet all right. How's your man
Haley got on, hiring out to the Jap in
charger"
well enough; the Jap took him on
to NOW, but either Mr.. Caretaker
doesn't know anything or he won't
tell He's bubbling over with CONVEX
sation about the flowers and the coun-
try and the Philippines, where he used
to be; but he only knows that the hon
orable family are all away and he is to
shun the house. Aren't We almost
there?"
Just around the corner. l guess
when you see it you'll think it's just
the patio a spook of taste would
freeze to-"
why is it haunted?"
"Now you have me. l amt on to
such dream stuff. Gimme five cards,
Mrs. Arnold died off in Europe, so
faint her; and the house has only
been built two years; but the neigh
bors have seen lights and heard
groans and a pick chopping at the
stones. Some folks say the land be-
longed to an old miner and he died
before he could tell where he'd buried
his mazuma so he is taking a little
buscar after 1t. There's the house,
general"
The street climbed gentle hill, and
on its crest a large house, in mission
style, looked over a pleasant land. It's
position on corner and the unusual
size Of the grounds about it gave the
mansion an effect of space. OF almost
rawly recent erection though 1t was,
the kindly climate had so fostered the
growth of the pines, acacias and live
oaks. the eucalypti and the orange
trees, which made rich blur Of color
on the hillside, had so lavishly tended
the creeping ivles and Bougainvilleas
which masked the rounded lantern
arches of the stern gray facade, and
50 sumptuously blazoned the flower
beds in the garden on the one hand,
yet, on the other, had SO cunningly'
dulled the greenlsh gray of the cobble-
stones from California arroyos in Chin
ney and foundation, and had so softly
streaked the marble of the garden
statues and the plaster of walls and
mansion with tiny lilaments of lichens