Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-06-13

Election Of my own establishment, anc
tried to pull myself together.
Brace up, man." he said. pounding
me heartily on the shoulder Don't
look as If you saw Hamlet's grand
mother She's neither married mol
dead-he's only taken her home in a
hurry Good Lord, if I'd known you
were going to be so tragic I'd have
broken 1t as gently as sucking dove
BY that time found words I'm all
right" said, only you made me jump
with your ornamental way of putting
things. Who is he, anyway, and what
the devil right has he to come and
drag her away like this in the middle
of her visit?"
Reid? He's only her BROTHER
Her half-brother, you mean
II suppose SO, since the names diff.
ferent Anyhow, he's no relation to
Bluebeard, So you needn't go looking
for blood and thunder. know you. It's
just that somebody wasn't well at
home, and they wanted her. Nothing
at all serious, he said; only If Lady
was on the ground she could be useful.
Her mothers heart is little weak.
you know. suppose it's that
Look here, Bob" said I. There's
something mysterious about that fam
lily; and although it's none of my bust
ness, want to know whatever you can
tell me about them. want to tell you
first what know, and see If you can
help me clear 1t up"
NONSENSE! You never saw a wind
mill yet without swearing 1t was a
green dragon with yellow syes and a
three-pronged tail. They are not half
so mysterious as you are with that
hush-hush expression on your innocent
countenance. Tabor's an importer,
with fiourishing business In red ink
and spaghetti and other products of
Sunny It.. Mrs Tabor's dear little
soul with nerves and an occasional pal
pitation. Lady's pippin, and Reid's a
strenuous saw bones that lost half a
second once in his youth and has been
chasing 1t ever since You've been
reading too much classical literature"
Have you known them very long?"
Why, no. no. SO very. Oh, come in
out Of the sun and take sedative.
You won't be happy till you've re-
lieved your ford mind
followed him into his den and &C.
cepted cigarette and something cool
to drink. Then without more preface
told the tale of my adventure, be-
ginning with my arrival at the Tabors'
home.
"Fine!" was his unfeeling comment,
II shall lie awake nights waiting for
your next instalment of condolences.
What are you going to do next?"
That's what I'm trying to decide"
I growled. "And I wish you'd give me
a little serious thought. if you can
stand the strain like adventures, but
my end of this one is getting rather
unmanageable."
my dear man, I'm serious as a
Gagged owl. You've been treated out
rageously, If that's any comfort to you.
Only fail to see where the mystery
comes in. OF course, it's just as they
| said: Mr.. Tabor has heard some alb
surd SANDER. or got you mived up with
somebody else; and Mrs. Tabor wor-
ried herself into state about it, and
they turned you out. It's a shame-or
1t would be If the thought of you as a
desperate character who couldn't be
allowed overnight in a decent family
were not so ridiculous. I'll write to
Tabor myself and tell him that he's
got the wrong mule by the wrong leg;
or If you prefer, We'll delegate the
job to one Of your older and wiser
friends. That's all there is too it,"
you're leaving out altogether too
much How about my door being
locked? How about the dago sailor at
the inn? How about Miss Tabor's
warning me off for all time, and then
meeting me here as If she hadn't seen
me since Christmas?"
Bob smoked and frowned a moment,
they brushed the difficulty aside
Accidents. old fellow, accidents.
The locked door was mistake, unless
somebody thought you were too dan
gerous a reprobate to leave at large.
AS for Lady, she has a better head
than the average, but you can't get me
to waste any time figuring out how
woman's mind works. I've been mar
ried three years" ....
well, I'm going to find out what it
all means"
1T doesn't all mean anything. That's
where your Kaleidoscope imagination
gets to work, There isn't any con-
ceivable connection between these de.
tails, and you talk as if they were
yelled and awful hints all pointing one
way. Your dragons are windmills. |
tell you, and your helmets a copper
kettle
you'd think differently if you had
been there. Besides, l know"
stopped short Bob was my friend, and
whatever l chose to tell him was my