The Prescott daily news., 1912-04-17

tlbule, kissed in the two corridors of the next car, and were caught kiss ing in the next vestibule by the new conductor.
 The dining car conductor, who flat tered himself that he knew a bride and groom when he saw them, es- Corted them grandly to table for two; and the waiter fiuttered about them with extraordinary considera- tion.
 They had plenty to talk of in pros- pect and retrospect. They both felt sure that minister lurked among the cars somewhere, and they ate with a zest to prepare for the ceremony, ar guing the best place for it, and quar- reling amorously over details. Nal lory was for one of the vestibules as the scene of their union, but Marjorie was for the baggage car, till she real ized that Snoozleums might be unwill- ing to attend. Then she swung round to the vestibule but Mallory shifted to the observation platform.
 Marjorie had left Snoozleums with Mrs. Temple, who promised to hide him when the new conductor passed through the car, and she reminded Harry to get the waiter to bring them a package of bones for their only "chud," so far.
 On the way back from the dining car they kissed each other goodbye again at all the trysting places they had sanctified before. The sun was radiant, the world good, and the very train ran with jubilant rejoicing. They could not doubt that few more hours would see them legally man and wife.
 Mallory restored Marjorie to her place in their car, and with smiles of assurance, left her for another par son-hunt through the train. She wait ed for him in a bridal agitation. He ransacked the train forward in vain. and returned, passing Marjorie with a shake of the head, and a sour countenance. He went out to the ob- servation platform where he stumbled on Ira Lathrop and Anne Cattle, en- gagged in a conversation of evident
 
 opened the door, as if they were guilty of some plot.
 Mallory mumbled his usual, "Ex- cuse me-" whirled on his heel, and dragged his discouraged steps back through the Observation Room, where various women and few men of evi- dent unclericality were draped across arm chairs and absorbed in lazy con- versation or bobbing their heads over magazines that trembled with the mo- ton of the train.
 Mrs. Wellington was busily writing at the desk, but he did not know who she was, and he did not care whom she was writing to. He did not ob- serve the baleful glare of Mrs. Whit comb, who sat watching Mrs. Yelling ton knowing all too well who she was, and suspecting the correspond ent-Mrs. Whitcomb was tempted to spell the word with one IT."
 Mallory stumbled into the mems portion of the composite car. Here he nodded with a sickly cheer to the sole occupant, Dr. Temple, who was looking less ministerial than ever in an embroidered skull cap. The old rascal was sitting far back on hls lumbar vertebrae. One of his hands clasped a long glass filled with a liquid of a hue that resembled some thing stronger than what 1t was mere ginger ale. The other hand toyed with a long black cigar. The smoke curled round the old mans head like the fumes of a sultan's narghile, and through the wisps his face was one of Oriental luxury. Mallory's eyes were caught from this picture of beatitude by the en- trance, at the other door. of a man who had evidently swung aboard at the most recent stop-for Mallory had not seen him. His gray hair was crowned with soft black hat, and his spare frame was swathed in a frock coat that had seen better days. His soft gray eyes seemed to search timidly the smoke-clouded atnos- phere, and he had bashful air which Mallory translated as one of ditiidonce in a place where liquors and cigars were dispensed.
 With equal diffidence Mallory ad- vanced and in low tone accosted the newcomer cautiously:
 Excuse me-you look like a clergy man."
 'The hell you say!"
 Mallory pursued the question no further.
 CHAPTER XVIII.