The Springfield herald., 1912-04-19

HN of the club library and try
NNtIM ing to read them only to
& yM hurl them back with SO
0GONA much unnecessary noise
that said to him:
"See here, Brod, several OF your
humble fellow-members are trying to
read. What is wrong with you? What
has upset you? If you won't tell me.
at least stop your rumpus."
He turned on me sharply.
ut is the sight of you or rather the
remembrance Of what you stand for
that keeps me from forgetting what
is on my 7uind. Hang 1t! may as
well tell you"
A dozen other men about pricked
up their ears.
You and your partner Rand are
professional investigators of the prob
lens and puzzles of this troubled hu-
man life. He is the cleverest man
alive and you-well, you know how to
look wise. am tormented by de-
sire to tell you. or somebody who can
think it out, a perfectly foolish. en-
tirely absurd set of circumstances
which has come under my notice.
They amount to nothing at all and
yet they are arousing my curiosity"
The whole room was listening.
Curiosity is the broom of the mind
An unexplained fact passed over is
the beginning of mental untidiness.
said Lawrence Rand's quiet. distinct
voice from the doorway behind us
go on, Broderick perhaps the trivial
will lead to the important"
well, I will. on one condition. You
two are not in this business for the
entertainment you derive from it and
! suppose you know that l am not like
ly to embarrass myself when ! ask
you to undertake this case on gen
erous retainer and pursue 1t to fin
ish at my cost" .e,
Every WE'LL" said Rand. The listen
ing members, seeing badinage turning
into business, turned away and sever
al were about to leave the room.
mo. no. Don't go, you fellows.
want everybody to hear this. only
DON'T laugh at me. Last night just
fore six o'clock went into Lang
,Sdter's stationery store on Sixth
avenue just south Of Herald Square
and asked for a dozen paper nap
kins. / wanted Just that sort of paper
on which to lay some damp specimens
to dry, and 1t occurred to me that pa
per napkins were quite what wanted
A pretty little black-eyed woman be
hind the counter spoke up when
stated my requirements.
"I am sorry,' she said. but We have
Just sold every one We had
Nonsense. there are nine gross
down in that third drawer said 6
man behind the counter.
".No, they are all gone corrected
the woman; even the broken lots.
Young man came in here in a rust
Just before lunch today and asked fol
all the paper napkins 1 had. He go'
fourteen hundred and ten
of YOU will wait just minute
sir said the mamie may have beer
the proprietor OF the place. judging
from his manner-I will send across
the street and get some.
81 waited while the boy went out
He was gone an numerically lont
time and at last arrived on the run
out of breath, clutching the two-dol
lar bill he had taken to pay for hii
purchase.
"Dey amt none in no place around
been clean over to Ate Av'noo. Dey
saws some guys bought 'em all ou
today
I'VE all laughed and I walked out
hut 1t suddenly struck me as extreme
ly queer that any man who really
wanted large quantity of paper nap
kins should not telephone wholesale
house. He would have saved time
money and trouble. There was nt
excuse such as the wholesale store'
being closed. for it was Tuesday IL
the middle of the day that he was buy
ing and everything was wide open IL
ali New York. On my way home
nassed two places that might sell pa
ner napkins and went in. Both wer'
sold out. Both had sold to a hand
some Young man. The last place wa
on broadway close to Fifty-seventl
street. more than mile from Lang
stadter's. Now, Lawrence Rand
Prince of Pryers-tell me what tina
fellow wanted with all those broker
lots of paper napkins!"
There was a little nervous laughte
among the assembled men. but 1t wa
plsin to me that the simple problem
had sunk deep into their minds.
1t adds nothing to the main threa'
of this story to say that inside OF al
hour every man in the club had hear
the premises and that the most Inter
sat,ne evening we have ever had en-