Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1912-06-12
CHAPTER XIII. (continued.)


But when telephoned they stated
that Mr. Billings had not been at the
club since last evening. Some one
who answered the phone thought Mr.
Billings was with his friend, Mr..
Lightnut, in the Kahoka Apartments.
And, of course. 1 knew jolly well he
was not
AS l turned from the telephone,
something in Jenkins expression ar
rested my attention.
'Weu?" l said impatiently, for he
has so many devilishly clever inspfra-
tions. you know; and, dash it, like
10 encourage him.
Pardon, sir, but don't you think
Here he looked straight up at the
electrOlier and coughed. about Mr.,
Billings, sir; l was going to suggest
that though he isn't over at the club,
he's somewhere, sir"
Why, dash it, I thought that jolly
likely, myself l said So
Yes, sir" said Jenkins darkIy.
And Mr. Billings usually knows
where he is. l guess, sir, he's IN this
neigh borhOod-h'm!"
| lust sat staring at him minute,
thinking what a deyilish wonderful
thing intuition is for the lower classes.
BY Jove, Jenkins!' l said; then
you think"
Il think Mr.. Billings, sir, might pre-
fer to find himself-h'm! Yes, sir. p
Jenkins lifted the breakfast tray with
deltberation, removed it from the
room and returned, moving about the
furniture and busying himself with an
air of mystery. Dash it, l knew he
had up his sleeve some other devilish
clever notion, and SO presently l
spoke up just to touch him off.
by Jove!" l remarked.
Yes sir" Jenkins rested the end
of the thumb brush on the table and
considered me earnestly. You know,
Mr.. Lightnut last night as Mr.. Bill
ings was retiring he says to Ele:
Jenkins, Mr.. Lightnut has promised
to go up home with me tomorrow for
the week end There's a tenner COM
ing your way If he doesn't forget
about 1t. He's to go tomorrow, now,
mind you, Jenkins; and 1t don'f mat
ter what comes up. You see t1at he
goes up tomorrow.
BY Jove!" I said as he paused, and
I screwed my monocle tighter and
nodded. 4 see"
OF course | didn't see, but l knew
the poor fellow was driving st some
thing. and wanted to give hiIn run.
Exactly, sir" And he stood wait
ing so, shall l pack, sir You'll
want to take the fourteen express, l
suppOse?"
BY Jove, it was the most amazing
ly, dashed clever guess l ever knew
Jenkins to get off! Fact! | kaew
that If there was one thing more than
another in all the world that wanted
to do. 1t was to take that fourteen ex-
press. To think of seeing Frances
again. and today!
| left Jenkins to travel by later
train, and a little after four was
whirling above Spuyten Duyvil and
looking about the chair-car to see if
there was any one l knew. But, by
Jove. there was hardly soul in the
car-nobody except just women, you
know, and these filled the whole place.
by Jove, she could be spared" 1
thought, studying young woman who
stood in the aisle beside me. She was
rather heavy set-what you might call
egg-shaped Her face and her heavy
glasses seemed to proclaim a mission
in life, and the dowdyish cut of her
rig and the reckless way it was hurled
on made 1t plain that she was on to
the fact that nature had made blum
der in her sex, and she wanted the
world to know she knew.
She was talking to the lady imme-
diately behind me. At least, I discov-
cred after five minutes that she was
talking. By Jcve, up to that time, |
thought she was canyassing for a
book! The other never got in a word,