Putnam patriot., 1913-12-05
CHAPTER X.
In the Day of Battle.

ington. sat by the desk lamp in the
library of Mark Robertson's Hotel Kes
wick suit, reading-and here and there
altering-several typewriter sheets
| Across the desk from him sat Jim
Blake. cigar in one hand. telephone
receiver held to his ear.
The master of the machine was not
leading his forces in person tonight.
| He seldom did so. The commanding
generals place is on a convenient
| hilltop; not in the vulgar thick of the
fray. And. for divers reasons, Blake
had chosen his son-in-law's apartment,
on this night. as his hilltop. The tele-
phone admirably filed for him the dual
roles of spy-glass and courier. Just
now. he was listening intently to a
report from Tim Neligan at the Capt..
toll
Good old Tint" he broke out after
moments close attention to the re-
ceiver. What dye think of that, Van
Dyke? We get the roll-call.'
Good" pronounced Van Dyke,
glancing up from his reading.
"Standish still in his seat?" queried
Blake into the transmitter. Yes?
All right. Keep right en- with the pro-
gram / gave you. No need to change
1t unless something unexpected cuts
loose. And 1t won't. What? No.
Not yet Can't get word out of her.
But we will. Don't you worry. So
long"
Well" he added to Van Dyke, as
he hung up the receiver and pushed
the telephone back on the table-desk's
fat surface. This roll-call gives US
another hour to breathe in
We'll need it. And more" said Van
Dyke, returning to his reading.
Sure you're making that strong
enough, Van Dyke?" he asked. Don't
use the word utensir when spade
will do just as we'll. Cut out any
fowery stuff and bang away at the
point
Il have, replied Van Dyke, handing
Blake the edited pages. Look it over
and see how it strikes you.
Blake took tho manuscript and
scanned its contents from beneath his
dropped lids. AS he read, a look of
unqualified approval replaced the
doubt on his face. He nodded en-
phatieally, once or twice. In his in
terest he unconsciously muttered, half
aloud
'Standish, the arch reformer, he
murmured "a moralist dethroned-
scandalous past of a house leader
brought to light-disciple of purity in
politics convicted of dissolute private
life'-H'm! That's the stuff. It'll
make ,em sit up, I guess"
"If we can use it." corrected Van
Dyke CAS- II stands, 1t represents
nothing but three spoiled sheets of
white paper.
It'll represent one perfectly good
insurgent chief split up the back, be-
fore another hours past, retorted
Blake I'll have the Woman's name
by that time.''
What is that stubborn little tele-
phone girl holding out for, l wonder?'
ITS past mel" growled Blake. III
it was man could size up the game
at a glance and I'd know just what
move to make. Every man has always
had his price Except One. And we
crucified Him. But with women it's
different. You can't tell what a wom-
ans going to do. For the mighty good
reason that she doesn't know, herself.
This Kelly girls got me guessing. She
let me think could buy her dead easy.
Then she played for time. And now
she's thrown us down altogether and
won't say word"
you've sent over TO central for that
duplicate list of all the numbers that
were called up from the Keswick to-
day? Let me look at them"
They aren't here yet" replied
Blake. 81 only sent for them few
minutes ago. You see. ! thought l
could save lot of time by getting the
information. direct, from the girl her
self"
1.-The grill" echoed Van Dyke dis
gustedly We've already wasted too
much time on her. Can't we get hold
of Standish?"
Hell be along pretty soon.
you've sent for him? You're sure
he'll come for your sending?'
mo" drawled Blake, Il didn't. And
he wouldn't But Gregg started whis-
per in the house that scandal VIII
break before morning. And he threw
a hint of the same sort to the news
paper boys
ooh, if we can publish this as it's
written here" broke in Van Dyke,
we've got him. This story makes
him out the lowest BLACKBOARD I'M
hung"
and" amended Blake with in.
genuous elf-congratulation, there
isn't a word in it that hasn't got some
sort of foundation on fact. That's say.
ing a whole lot for campaign scan
dal. We've got facts-real facts. May.
be some of 'em are twisted around SO
that you'd have to look at 'em twice
before recognizing their dear familiar
faces. But they're facts, just the
same"
And they're useless" grumbled Van
Dyke, "just because the one fact we
need we haven't got"
"You mean the Woman"
"The Woman's name. We can't get
any one to believe word of the story
without that What time is 1t? on,
didn't notice the clock. The time
getting short-dangerously short IL
we want to get this story In any OF
tomorrow's papers We must have nef
name mighty quick. AS ii is, IN
afraid it'll be too late for anything pu'
the last editions of the morning pa
pers. What did the Associated Press
people say, when you-?"
Jennings promised TO hold wire
TN the last minute. Better take the
story around 10 him and tell MN u