, 1912-12-26

blown the feeble spark of. protest
against machine domination to a lame
We had sung a song to that very tune
and with this white faced girl across
from me its words came back with re
Voting truth.
Oh. once there was q capitol
That sat on q hill
As It's too big to steal away
It's probably there still.
The rings land in the treasury
And Fleming with q sack.
They take It out In wagon loads
And never bring II back.
II am more than sorry." I said. /
was too. Whatever he may have been,
he was her father. After all, there
may be a dozen simple explanations.
and there are exigencies in politcs"-
II hate politics. she, broke I'm sud
denly. when Tread Of women want.
ing toto vote and all that l wonder
If they know what it means to have to
be polite to dreadful people, people who
have even been convicts and all that.
Why. q last butler, had bean q prize
fghterr She sat upright with her
hands on the arms Of the chair. -sThat
Is another thing. too. Mr.. Knox. The
day after father went away, Carter.
our butler, left. He was not there that
evening to serve dinner. but-he came
back late that night and got into the
house. using his key to the servants
entrance. BE. slept there. the maids
said. but he was gone before the serv-
ants were up, and we have not seen
him since"
"Your father has not been III. has
her I mean recently"
81 cannot think Of anything except
that he had q tooth pulled" She WA
quick to resent my smile.
you have not noticed any mental
symptoms-any lack Of memoryr'
Her eyes Allied
ago" abe said. at was the first one
he had ever forgotten In nineteen Of
them"
Nineteenl Nineteen from t~hirtysnve
leaves sixteen!
what l meant was this" I explain
ed. people sometimes have sudden
and un~accountable Iapees of memory
and at those times they are apt to
stray away from home. Has your IA
ther been worried latelyT"
"He has not been himself at all. BE
has been irritable even to me and ter
rible to the servants. Only to Carter
he was never ugly to Carter"
You have no brothers or sistersr'
None. came to you"- there she
stopped.
please tell me how you happened to
come to me-" I urged
Il didn't know where to 60" she con
fessed, 80 I took the telephone direc'
tory. the classified part under 'Attor-
neys.' and. after I shut my eyes, I put
my finger haphazard on the page. It
pointed to your name"
1 Am afraid I flushed at this, but In
q moment l laughed. ?
I'VE will take It - an omen" I said.
''and i will do all that l car. But
am not q detective, Miss Fleming.
Don't you think we ought to have
oneT'
mot the policer' She s~huddered.
Suppose You tell me what happened
the day your father left and how he
went away. Tell me the 'Bttle things,
too"
I'm the first place." she began. I'VE
live on Monmouth avenue. There arr
Just the two of US and the. servants
a cook. two housemaids. a laundress. q
butler and u chauffeur. My father
spends much Of his time at the capital,
and In the last two years since my old
~governess went back to Germany al
those times l usually go to mothers
sisters at Redwood. Miss Letitia and
Miss Jane Maitland"
/ nodded. I knew the Maitland la.
dies well. I had drawn -four different
wills for Miss L.etitia in the last year.
my father went away on the 10th
of May, He got up from breakfast
picked up his hat and walked out OF
the house. He was irritated at a let
ter he had read.
"He took the letter with him. He did
not come home that night. and went
to the office the ext morning. The
stenographer said he Ind not been
there He Is not at P%lattsburg be-
cause they have been trying to call
him from there on the long distance
telephone every dav
In spite Of her candid face ! was
sure she was holding something back