, 1912-02-22

plu III uODT. mere
was a suggestion of feline cruelty IN
thus abandoning him. He dared no,
call her back. What should he soy ia
the admiral? There was one thing he
knew absolutely nothing about. and
this was the duties of a private score
tary to a retired admiral who had
riches. a yacht, a hobby and n beauti.
ful' though impulslve. daughter His
thought became irrelevant. as is FIRE
quent when one faces a crisis. humor
GUS or tragic. Here. indeed. was the
coveted opportunity to study at close
range the habits Of a man who spent
less than his income.
Come. come; draw I'D your chair.
MIR. Fitzgerald Are you . sailor?"
mot In the technical sense an.
swered Fitzgerald. Il know a stanchion
from an anchor and a o from n
smokestack. But, as for travel. be.
lieve that | have crossed all the high
and middle seas"
Sounds good-Australia, East Indies
China. the Antilles. gulf and the south
Atlantic.
"Yes: round the Horn. too, and east
Africa" Fitzgerald remembered his in
structions and spoke clearly.
We'll, well; you are a 1nd In what
capacity have you taken these voy-
agesT'
Here was the young mans oppor
tunity. This was a likab BILE old sea
dog. and he determined not to impose
upon him another moment. Some men.
for the sake of the adventure, would
have left the truth to be found out
later. to the disillusion of all concern
ed. The abrupt manner in which Miss
Killigrew had abandoned him merited
some revenge.
Admiral. I'm afraid there has been
a mistake. and before we 20 any fur.
Their I'll be glad to explain I'm not a
private secretary and never have been
one. l should be less familiar with the
work than a Chinaman. | am a special
writer for the magazines and have
been at odd times a war correspond
emit" And her he went on to describe
the little comedy of the statuettes, and
1t was not without some charm In the
telling.
Plainly the admiral was nonplused
That girl. that mink. with her limo
cent eyes and placid face! He got up,
and Fitzgerald awaited the explosion.
His expectancy missed fire. The ad
miral exploded. but with laughter.
II beg pardon, Mr.. Fitzgerald. and
l beg 1t again OF my daughters be
half. What would you do in my
placer"
"Show me the door at n and have
done with it"
I'm hanged If | do! You shall have
a toddy for your pains. and. by cracky.
Laura shall mix it." He pushed the
buffers bell. Tell Miss Laura that /
wish to see her at once"
every well, sir
She appeared shortly. II Fitzgerald
admired her beauty he yet more ad
mired her perfect poise and
Many another woman would have
evinced some embarrassment. Not she.
Laura. what's the meaning of this
hoax?" the admiral demanded sternly
.'Mr. Fitzgerald tells me that he had
no idea you were hiring him as my
secretary"
II am sure he hadn't the slightest"
The look she sent Fitzgerald WIS ull
of approval. "He hadn't any idea at all
save that | asked him to come here at
S this evening And his confession
proves that | haven't made any mis-
take"
But what in thunder
"Father!'
..My dear. give me credit for resist
ing the desire to make the term strong
er. MIR. Fitzgerald's joke. take 1t.
bothered no one. Yours has put him
in a peculiar embarrassment. What
does it mean? You went to the city
to get me n first class secretary
"Mr. Fitzgerald has the making OF
one. l believe"
But on our word I sent a capable
man away half an hour gone. He
could speak half a dozen languages
.Mr. Fitzgerald is. perhaps. as ef
fcient."
Fitzgerpld's wonder grew and grew
But he doesn't want to be a secre'
tary. He doesn't know anything about
the work. And | haven't got the time
to teach him. even II he wanted the
place"
Father" began the girl. the fun
leaving her eyes and her lips becom-
ing grave. ~ do not like the noises at
niobt bnva not supppSted the police.
because robbery is not the motive
Laura. that's all tommyrot. This Is
an old house, and the Woo always
with a change of temperature.
But this doesn't seem to touch MT
Fitzgerald"
The girl shrugged
'well I'm glad | told that German
not to leave till he heard again
from me. ri hire him. He looks like