Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-19
We9z A f ;Ss'sSEL
STEERING
A0Efo~ Of
HAPPY
HAWKINS
CHAPTER XVI.-Continued.

| He had not gone to the trouble or erect
ing a pavilion on his side OF the fence.
A tree with leaning trunk, q small
grassy bank and a tangle of larch and
wild grapevine furnished all the COM
! forts and secluson which he demanded
i and until il was time for him to attend
the luncheon with the labor leaders and
the labor stragglers, a constant success
sion of notes passed in and out of the
! hollow oak Occasionally a strong brown
| hand met a slender one. but the owner OF
| the slender hand resisted pressure, even
| though she did not entirely flee its temp
tation. and when Dick was at last forced
| to tear himself away, she still refused TO
| grant him an interview at the exact spot
| where they had first met.
Dick was obsessed with this romantic
| fancy and he was little exasnerated as
| he ran along the path. ten minutes 100
late TO receive his guests. His last note
| had been a trife peremptory. and much
| of the discussion which took place at the
| luncheon escaped him because his nina
| kept wondering what effect TINS last nole
| would have on its recipient. Even dur
| ing his interview with his uncle, the note
| and its possible result insisted on claim
| ing as much of his attention as posslple
AS soon as he left his uncle he straight
way 1Org0t MIN, anu Will iiic SC>cfeiNeA'
but still hopeful Muligan at his side. sped
back to the hollow oak He found note
inside The note had neither beginning
nor ending. 1t merely stated: l shaii
accede to your wish
He read 1t through many times-it
seemed cold il seemed to hold a yelled
menace and again he considered the con-
tents of his own note. He had merely
pointed out that inasrnuch as he was leaV-
ing home for good. he felt that ne mao
tot m 9"
while trivial in itself. would mean so
much to him during all the rest of his
life.
Perhaps he had been preSuming, per
haps even overbearing. and he longed Tor
an opportunity to perfect the arrange
ments or even free her from her promise
if it was as distasteful to her as the tone
of her note implied. but she was not in
the PAVILION, and after waiting until 1t
began to grow dark, he regretfully left
his post and hurried to the bench upon
which they had sat on that wonderful
first day which seemed so long ago.
He threw himself heavily on the bench.
thrust his hands into his pockets. drop
ped his head forward and began to think.
He thought deeply. he thought rapidly.
but it must he confessed that the prole-
tariat was as far from his thoughts as was
the pterodactyl or the saber-toothed tiger.
Muligan drew nigh and rested heavy
chin on his knee, the while his soft brown
eyes sent forth waves of sympathy: but
Muligan might as we'll have been the
bench on which his master sat.
After a few moments spent in waiting
the strain became unbearable and Dick
sprang to his feet and hurried cautiously
along the path in the direction from
which the girl had originally come. the
detected Mulligan following doggedly.
very doggedly. after. When they reached
the point where the path branched into
three. Dick stepped into dense shadow
and again waited. Mulligan threw him
self on the grass with cultural sigh.
His master was not aware that an op-
portunity for dinner had been missed;
Mulligan was
Again the moments spent in inaction
tore at his nerves, and soon Dick was
walking swiftly. but cautiously, down the
path which led toward the Burton place.
The moon had risen and threw shadows
which played stra nge tricks with his eyes.
He was wearing his rough tweed suit and
puttees, and as he stole along with every
sense alert, an odd undercurrent OF
pleasure flowed through his anxiety. He
was so much alive that the body of him
re ioiced in spite of his mental state.
After exploring each of the paths. re-
turning to the bench, and still failing in
his quest, a wave of suspicion swept over
him. She had fooled him. she had never
intended to come, she had merely played
with him. Hot anger took possession of
him and he started toward the house, but
with every step the reaction grew apace.
and finally, his faith returning stronger
than ever, he paused and was on the
point of turning around when he heard an
indistinct noise. some distance ahead and
a little to the left.
He stopped and. seizing Mulligan by the
neck. he Whispered, hoarsely: Don't you
dare to make a sound.
Giving the dog a threatening toss, which
effectually impressed him with the seri-
BUSINESS of the case, Dick crept cautiously
forward. They We're close to a small
but massive stone building, in which had
been formerly kept a grizzly bear which
a misguided friend of his uncle's had sent
him when the bear was a roy-poly cub.
AS the bear was approaching maturity.
Dicks faculty for original research re-
suited in the escape of the bear, and when
he was finally recaptured it was con-
sidered to the hest interest of all con-
cerned that he take up his future resi-
dence in the Bronx Zoo. The openings
in the deh through which the cub had
passage to a small steel-barred yard had
been hricked so that the mushrooms
which at one time Dick thought he would
enjoy cultivating might have suitable
darkness and it was the cracking of the
rusty hinges the door to this stone
| building which had attracted Dicks at
! tention
| He stole cautiously forward. and from
| a dense shadow he saw one of the keep
| ers locking the ponderous lock, while the
| other keeper stood near. This aroused
| Dicks curiosity. but the next moment an
| emotion was aroused which hardened all
\ his muscles and made him take an in
| voluntary step forward. He distinctly
heard the Soice of the girl. the one girl,
| coming from the inside of the den and
pleading for freedom.
| For one brief moment an angry shout
| rose 10 Dicks lips. and then be became
| strangely COOL unnaturally deliberate.
| The shout did not escape his lips. He
| seemed to he sitting comfortably in a
| large Office while plan after plan pre-
| scented itself, argued its cause was re-
| fused and passed on to give place to the
| next plan. He must free the girl without
| disclosing her identity. In order to do
| this he must not appear in the case him
| self until after she had plenty of time to
| reach her own home. The keepers were
| Austrians of large size and obstinate
| tempers-these interesting facts he had
| learned from Ivan on his return, and he
| day keepers had been communicated to
| those who had the night shift and was
not very likely to Increase his popularity
| with them.
| II required some time for all the prompt
| plans to pass a given point; and in the
| me antime the keepers had separated and
| gone in opposite directions. He could not
| quite decide on future strategy, but there
| was no question as to the next Step-he
must reassure the girl.
| There were no windows in the den.
Light had formerly been admitted through
| horizontal Sits. six inches wide, but
| these, also, had been bricked up The
| moonlight, which was now fairly strong.
| filtered in through the branches and fell
on one of these Sits. showing where sew