The Huttig news., 1912-04-27

not decrease as the hours dragged by.
 But it would have been well for Britz to have that knowledge in re- gard to the strange vanishment of the | Griswold note, it would have heen bet ter for Curtis Griswold If Dorothy March had not become conscience stricken in respect of him that same evening. For little Miss March. being of Puritan stock. as soon as she per. l suaded herself that she might have made trouble for Mrs Missioner's ad- l mirer by talking too freely 10 the bland man from Mulberry street In the cozv corner of the Forrest theater. resolved 10 repair the mischief as rap idly as possible. She, therefore. sen; little note 10 the elubman. asking that he make it point to see her in the course of the evening: and in the note she gave him list of the several functions she intended 10 take in The ball Mrs. Missioner attended. and at which Griswold scored what he re garded as distinct gain in parading the wealthy widow before many of their acquaintances as a receptive re- ctpient of his attentions. was only one of the affairs on Dorothys list. Gris- Uold received the note too late to come mp with Miss March before the ball, so he decided to meet her At A later dance. That decision upset one of his plans-the most important he had formed in many months, although he did not know it's importance at the time. II had been his intention to go rom the Fifth Avenue ballroom to the 3otel Renaissance, and if he had not received the note from Miss March. he you'd have done so even though he might have escorted Mrs. Missioner to Ter home and passed a short time with 4er in the interval
 DorOthy's request fattered the club aan's vanity so greatly. however that le did not hesitate to defer his visit a the Renaissance in order to keen the interesting appointment the debr- ante, with more conscience than dis >retiOn. made for him. The conse. ruence was that by the time Gris. wold's interview with little Dorothy March was at an end. the hoers hal passed beyond point to which even lis ingenuity could stretch eonven- 5innalitv far enough 10 make It praeti- cable for him to see Mrs. Deis-oche that night
 Dorothy was dancing ahstractedly when Griswold found her. She was SO impatient 10 adjust the harm she felt ebo from her partners shoulder before he picked her out from score of other comedy young women on the floor. Miss March instantly wearied of the waltz, to the dismay of the youth whose arm encircled her, and who rather fancied himself as dancer She lost no time in having herself es- eorted to small conservatory, where she dismissed her partner with scant ceremony. and where. a few moments afterward, she was joined by Gris- wold
 Even then the dehutante's unwilling tansling of the threads of Griswold's fate might not have had such influence upon his future If she had approached her subject with direetness. Had she told Griswold at once what she had l said to the detective concerning his 1 skill as a draughtsman. the ciubman 8 suspicious would have been aroused. and he might have taken steps tha, would have had a marked effect upon the development of the great Mission ar mystery. But Dorothy vas too fut.
 
 straight to the heart of the subject, and in her innocent endeavor 10 post Griswold in respect of her chat with Britz without making bim think she was gossiping little busybody. she protracted her interview with the club man through so many dances that when it ended Griswold persuaded him. self the morning would be ample time l to do that which he felt must be done to avert the probable consequences ot | Dorothy's girlish frankness His van l ity again played its part. too. for when he had thanked little Miss March for 1 what he pleased to consider her inter. est in him. and when Dorothy. having signally failed to impress upon him the
 
 1 stroke found herself in further fut- 1 ter of bewilderment, Curtis Griswold proceeded to parane her up and down the dancing floor as effectively as he had shown off the rich and beautiful widow in the larger ballroom & little farther up the avenue. Griswold l prided himself on his versatility. He argued that 1t was as easy for him. as he would have expressed il to his 1 club intimates, to put a Ally through her paces" as it had been to advertise ] the fact before fhe whole ballroom that Doris Missioner the tastidious l beauty and worshiped possesser of many millions apparently was on the l point of accepting him as her second l matrimonial venture
 l All of which resulted in Griswold a 1 long stay at the dance. in his ride with l Dorothy to her home In an automobile otherwise occupied only by satisfac- terily selfcentered ehsperon and in his waste of further time at one of his cluhs after parting with Miss March and her duenna-a a waste of hours any