Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1911-05-25

orner she had passed down the steps
and swept by Maitland without giving
him a glance, without even the trem-
bling of an eyelash. And he had
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, dismissing the affair
temporarily from his thoughts, or pre-
tending to do so, assembled the single
flight 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 hall, the young
man waited, leaning over the balus-
ters. His guess proving correct, he
called down:
"O'Hagan? Is that you?"
9TH saints presarve u.s. But twas
yersilf gave me tn sthart, Misther
Maitland, sor!" O'Hagan paused in
the gloom below, his upturned face
quantity Illuminated by the flame of a
wax taper in his gaslighter.
I'm dining in town tonight, OLA
gan, and dropped around to dress. Is
anybody else at home?"
'Nivver a wan, sor Shure, tn house
do be quiet's amy tomb"
Then who was that lady, O'Hagan?"
Teddy, sor?"-in unbounded amaze
ment.
'Yes," impatiently. "a young wom-
an left the house just as was COM
ing in. Who was she?"
"Shure an l think We must be
dr'amin', sor. Divvle a female-ray-
spicts to ye!-has been in this house
for nanny an NANNY tn wake, sol"
But, l tell you"
"Belike twas somewan jist sthepped
into the vesthibule, mebbe to tie her
shoe, sor, and We thought"
"Oh, very we'll" Maitland relin-
| 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
sworn that the woman had actually
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 Irishman, you may come and
shave me and lay out my things. il
you will"
Very good, sor. In wan minute"
But O'Hagan's conception of the
passage of time was thought vague
his one minute had heightened into
ten before he appeared to wait upon
his employer.
Now and again, in the absence oil
tend one or another of the tenants in
the capacity of substitute valet; as in
the present instance, when Maitland
having left his hosts roof without
troubling even to notify his body-serv
ant that he would not return thai
night, called upon the janitor to under
study the more trained employee;
which O'Hagan could be counted upor
to do very acceptably.
Now, with patience unruf1ed, since
he was nothing keen for the evenings
enjoyment, Maitland made profit o.
the interval to wander through his
rooms, lighting the gas here ant
there and noting that all was as i
should be, as it had been left-savs
that every article of furniture anC
bric-a-brac seemed to be sadly in wan
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 ant
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-bu
gray with dust.
Finding the atmosphere heavy, stale
and oppressive, Maitland moved ovel
to 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
ing absently into the night; for by
now it was quite dark. Without con
Germ, he realized that he would be late
at dinner No matter; he would as
willingly miss it altogether. For the
time being he was absorbed in vain
speculations about an unknown WON
an whose sole claim upon his consid
Grafton lay in certain but immaterial
glamour of mystery. Had she, or had
she not, been in the house? And, il
the true answer were in the affirma
tive, to what end, upon what errand?
His eyes focused insensibly upon q
rrnid Of nrlrrn hnr I, IL. 4