Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1909-05-06

Gnent; Conkling, OF the third, had left
@ fortnight since to join a yachting
party on the Mediterranean; Bannister
and Wilkes, of the fourth and fifth
focrs, respectively, were TX Newport
and Buenos Aires.
odd" concluded Maitland.
So ii was. She had just closed the
door. one thought: and now stood
poised as IL in momentary INDIGESTION
on the low stoop, glancinG toward
Fifth avenue the while she fumbled
with refractory button at the wrist
of long white kid glove. Blurred
though 1t was by the darkling twilight
and n thin veil. her face yet conveyed
an impression of prettiness; an i'm.
preston enhanced by careful groom
ing. From her hat, small affair.
something green, with superstruc-
ture of gray ostrich feathers, to the
tips of her russell shoes--including a
walking skirt and bolero of simmer
ing gray silk--she was distinctly
smart" and interesting.
He had keenly observant eyes, had
Maitland, for all his detached pose;
you are to understand that he com
pretended all these points In the flick
ering of an instant. For the incident
was over in two seconds. In one the
lady's hesitation was resolved; in an
other she had passed down the steps
and swept by Maitland without giving
him . glance, without even the trem-
bling Of an eyolash. And he had a
view of her back as she moved swiftly
away toward the avenue.
Perplexed, he fingered upon the
stoop until she had turned the corner;
after which he let himself in with a
latch key, and, Diminishing the affair
temporarily from his thoughts, or pre-
tending to do so, assembled the single
fight of stairs to his fiat.
simultaneously heavy feet were to be
heard dumping up the basement steps;
and surmising that the janitor was
coming to light the hail. the young
man waited, leaning over the balus-
ters. His guess proving correct, he
called down:
" i1dSdH Is lHdL you.
9TH saints presarve us! But twas
yersilf gave me tn sthart, Misther
Maitland, sort" o'Hagan paused in
the gloom below, his upturned face
quantity illuminated by the flame of a
wax taper ia his gaslighter.
I'm dining in town tonight, OLA.
gan, and dropped around to dress. Is
anybody else at homer"
''NivVer wan, sor. Shure, tn house
do be quiets amy tomb"
Then who WIS that lady, O'Hagan?"
'Leddy, scr?"--in unbounded amaze
ment.
Yes" impstiently. "A young WON.
an left the house just as was com.
ing in. Who was she?"
"Shure an think ye must be
dr'amin', scr. Divvle female--ray-
spicts to ye!-has been In this house
for NANNY an NANNY tn wake, sor."
But, tell you"
Belize twas somewan jist sthepped
into the vesthibulo, mebbe to tie her
shoe, sor, and ye thought"
"Oh, very WELL" Maitland reIin.
pushed the inquisition as improbable,
willing to concede O'Hagan's theory a
reasonable one, the more readily since
he himself could by no means have
come out through the door. Such had
merely been his impression, honest
enough, but founded On circumstan.
tial evidence.
when you're through, O'Hagan," he
told the Irishmap, you may GOMEZ and
shave me and lay out my things, If
you will"
''Very good, sor. In wan minute"
But O'Hagan's conception of the
passage of time was q thought vague;
his one minute had heightened into
ten before he appeared to wait upon
his employer.
Now and again, In the absence Of
the regular man." O'Hagan would at
tend one or another Of the tenants In
the capacity of substitute valet; as in
having left his hosts roof without
troubling even to notify his body-serv-
ant that he would not return that
night, called upon the janitor to under
study the more trained employee;
which O'Hagan could be counted upon
to do very acceptably.
Now, with patience unrufIled, since
he was nothing keen for the evenings
enjoyment, Maitland made profit Of
the interval to wander through his
rooms, lighting the gas here and
there and noting that all was as 1t
should be, as 1t had been left--saye
that every article of furniture and
bric-a-brac seemed to be sadly in want
of thorough busting. In the end he
brought up in the room that served
him as study and lounge-the drawing
room of the fiat, as planned in the for
gotten architects scheme-a large and
well-lighted apartment overlooking the
street. Here, pausing beneath the
chandelier, he looked about him for
moment, determining that, as else
where, all things were in order-but
gray with dust.
Finding the atmosphere heavy, stale,
and oppressive, Maitland moved over
10 the windows and threw them open.
A gush of warm air, humid and redo
lent of the streets, invaded the room,
together with the roar of traffic from
its nearby arteries. Maitland rested
elbows on the sill and leaned out, star