Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1912-11-21

ergetic Aunt Anne liked to see people
busy. In her summons he read prom
ise Of occupation and welcomed 1t re-
CARELESS of it's nature. Nor was he
destined to be disappointed.
This is my nephew, Mr.. Scott" said
Aunt Anne, addressing group of la
dies, who acknowledged the introduc
ton by collective smile. And he'll
be delighted to do any little errands
for u.s." she added generously. Now.
Mrs. Anderson. tell him about your
spoons"
Mrs. Anderson beamed gratefully on
the young man. I'm sure it's awfully
kind Of you. Mr.. Scott. You see. we're
short Of spoons, and I want to send you
for mine. Do you know Fayette street!
Yes, it crosses Main at right angles.
and my house Is yellow cottage on
the right. with woOdbine over the
porch. You'll find the key under the
mat. Go straight through the hall into
the dining room. and the spoons are
in the left hand drawer of the side
board. It's just lovely of you to help
us out Mr.. Scott"
The other ladies murmured assent.
and one or two Of the younger flashed
appreciative glances in his direction
SCOTS spirits rose. He promised Il
speedy return and started on his er.
rand, rejecting as he went on the re-
freshing confidence Of Il community
which left it's keys under the door
mats and permitted strangers to have
access to its homes
He had no difficulty in finding the
yellow cottage. and the key was in its
place He made his way through the
silent hall into the dining room. and
here he encountered his first check
The spoons were not in the drawers Of
the sideboard. In fact, they We're not
in the sideboard at all, though he ran
sacked it thoroughly to make sure.
Opening the closet door. he was re-
warded by the sight of we'll stocked
silver chest. and he possessed himself
Of the spoons. promising himself II
laugh at the expense of the owner of
the silver. whose memory was so unre-
liable.
Hold up your handsv'
The request came in tones whose de-
termination could not be mistaken, and
Scott spun ON his heel to find himself
facing revolver. Back Of the revolver
was girl. She was rather tall girl
with very white cheeks and absurdly
long lashes. She wore garden hat,
beneath which little tendril-like curls
festooned themselves about her fore
head. Under other circumstances Scott
would have voted her charming.
Hold up your hands," said the girl
again. And Scott obeyed. rejecting
that it was better to hulnor her first
and explain afterward. The spoons In
his pocket seemed to weigh ton. He
felt hot and ridiculous.
"Your mother asked me- he began
The girl interrupted him. Il have
no mother. Your excuses will only
make bad matter worse
Scott bit his lip. Absurd as the stu
alton was, it had serious side. He
spoke with as much dignity as was
consistent with standing before beau
tiful girl with his hands on level with
his ears. II was requested to come
here by the lady Of the house," he in
sisted
"Oh, indeed. Then perhaps you will
tell me her name."
Scott racked his brain. In the dis
traction of that general introduction
Mrs. Anderson's. name had failed to
imprint itself on his memory.
II don't know her name." he ac-
knowledged. but she Is dark haired
woman. about forty-fve. should say.
with good deal of color" He would
have gone further with his descrip-
ton, but the young woman checked
him by gesture not to be misunder
stood.
81 prefer to know no more Of your
preposterous felton," she said wither.
ingly. Evidently you are not as
shrewd as you think yourself. 1t hap
pens that am the lady Of this house,
and l am going to keep you right here
until my uncle comes"
Scott cursed his folly Doubtless
there were yellow cottages on every
block and all the neighborhood kept its
keys under the door mat. He tried to
say something about mistake. but
she would not listen. Keeping her eye
upon him. she seated herself deliber-
ately. "Please do not move" she said.
ss~,V I chun ho 70 CHI
that would be very disagreeable for
me and considerably worse for you"
In the position he was compelled to
assume Scott had an excellent oppor-
tunity for studying his captor. She
was certainly a remarkably pretty
girl. The stern determination of her
eyes could not hide their depth and
luster. The pallor Of her cheeks failed
to disguise their exquisite curves. The
hand that held the revolver was very
shapely one. 1t panied him to notice
that the girl was gradually growing
nervous. Her hand trembled. Her
bosom rose and fell az II sobs were
struggling 10 escape. Once or twice
her eyes seemed almost to waver be-
fore his own. stop looking at me like
that!" she suddenly commanded.
Il beg your pardon" said Scott hum
bly, and looked at the floor. Now that
he no longer had her face to distract
him he realized that the unaccustomed
position Of his arms was q most I'M
comfortable one. A twinge Of pain
contracted his face. and he sighed