The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-07-25
Page of
Interest
W[1ENAMANMARRIfS
1henUafumwhlh The py SEvENDNSwaS made
BYMARY ROBERTS RINEI1ART
Auihorol TlE0BQnR SIaRAge'' TlE fANN LOwRlN
CepyrisAt, 1909. Ths Bohss- Eerrin Company

Anne's parting shot. when Leila had
flounCed downstairs. Things were clos
ing in: / gave the situation twenty
four hours to develop At the end Of
that time Flanagan would accuse me
openly Of knowing where the pearls
were. I would explain my silly re-
mark To him. and the mine would ex-
plode--under Aunt Selma.
I Vas sunk tn detected reverie when
some one came on the roof. When
he was opposite the opening in the
tent ! saw Mr.. HARRISON, and at that
moment he saw me He paused un-
certainly, then ne made an evident
effort and came over TO nae.
You are--better to-day
quite well. thank you"
Il am glad you find the tent use
full Does II keep Off the wind -
1T Is quite d shelter''--frigidly.
He SIN stood, struggling for some
thing to say Evidently nothing came
to his mind for he lifted the cap he
was wearing, and. turning away. be-
gan to work with the wiring of the
roof He was clever with tools, one
could see that. If he was 4 profess
sional gentleman-b burglar, no doubt he
needed to be After bit finding il
necessary to climb to the parapet, he
Y
glance in my direction. and fell to
work vigorously.
r one does not need 10 like ii man to
admire him physically. any more than
one needs 10 like a raCe-hOrse or any
other splendid animal. No one could
deny that the man on the parapet
was splendid animal; he looked
quite big enough and strong enough
TO have tossed his slender bridge
tarlt II
out any difficulty. and coordinate
enough to have crossed on 1t with
/ flourish to safety
Just then there was n rending, tear
/ ing sound from the corner and NUT
tered ejaculation. l looked up in
time to see Mr.. HARRISON throw mp
his arms, make futile attempt TO
regain his balance and disappear over
the edge Of the roof. One instant he
was standing there, splendid, superb:
the next, the corner of the parapet
was empty. all that stood there was
broken. splintered post and tangle
OF wires.
! / could not have moved at first; al
least. IT seemed hours before the full
significance of the thing penetrated
my dazed brain When | got UP l.
seemed to walk to crawl, with leaden
weights holding back my feet.
When ! got TO the corner had to
catch the post for support / knew
somebody was saying. "Oh. how ter
riblei" over and over. II was only
afterward that / knew It had been my
self And then some other voice was
SAYING Don't be alarmed, Please
. don't be frightened I'm all right"
! | dared to look over the parapet.
I finally, and instead Of crushed and
unspeakable body, there was MIR. IIar-
bison, sitting about eight feet below
me. with his feet swinging into space
and long red scratch from the cor
ner of his eye across his cheek. There
was sort Of mansard there, with
/ windows. and just enough coping TO
/ keep him from rolling Off.
Il thought you had fallen--an the
! way" l gasped. trying 10 keep my
lips from trembling. "l--oh, don't
dangle your feet like that
He did not seem at all glad OF his
escape. He sat there gloomily. peer
ing into the gulf beneath.
, ''If II wasn't so--er--messy and
geenraly unpleasant he replied
without looking up. II would slide off
and go the rest OF the way
You are childish. | said severely,
See If you can get through the win
down behind you. II you can not III
come down and unfasten it" But the
window was open, and | had "A chance
to sit down and gather up the scat
I tered ends OF my nerves. TO my sur
prise, however. when he came back
he made no effert to renew our CON
versation. lie ignored me completely,
and went to work at once to repair
/ the damage to his wires with his back
to me.
Il think you are very rude" l said
at last You fell over there and |
thought yopewere killed. The nervous
shock / experienced is just as bad as
/ If you had gone-all the way"
I He put down the hammer and came
over to me without speaking. Then.
when he was quite close, he said;
Il am very sorry If | startled you.
| did not fiatter myself that you would
be profoundly affected. In any event"
"Oh. as to that" ! said lightly. 1T
makes me III for days. II my car runs
over a dog" He looked at me in ST.
fence. on are not going TO get
up on that parapet again?
Mrs. Wilson" he said, without pay
ing the slightest attention to my ques-
ton. will you tell me what | have
done?"
TO be Continued.)