Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-19

ever he might be, but threw the notes
upon the flames that blazed merty In
the fireplace.
suggested Immediately that a had
come to Hopeheld Manor to inspect the
fiues | should now be about my busk
ness, but to my surprise Miss Holltster
evinced no interest whatever In the
matter. Her tone and manner implied
that the condition OF her chimneys was
wholly negligible.
There is no haste, Mr.. Ames-
I have suffered all my life from the III
considered and hurried work Of pro-
fessional men. As for my chimneys, l
beg that you give me the result OF your
most serious deliberations. At this
hour | ride. Cecilia, will you dress i'm
mediately and accompany mey'
She disappeared at once, and 1 stared
mutely after her. l am by no means
an idler. and this cool indifference to
the value of my time would ordinarily
have enraged me, but believe laugh
ed. and when l turned to Cecilia l
found her smiling.
I'm glad. Mr.. Ames, that you are a
person of humor 1t is no Joke that
my aunt is a believer in thoroughness.
and one Of these days when she is
ready to talk Of chimneys she will
/ subject you to a most rigid examina-
don"
"One Of these days? Why, ! have
/ looked at the timetable. and 1t is my
I present intention to take the 1903
I into town. | have appointments at
/ nv Office for the afternoon. l assure
/ YOU. Miss Holister. that I'm a man Of
I engagements. particularly at this sea
1 SON"
remembered what Jewett had told
! me of Fortner. the painter, and his
( detention mt Newport by Miss Octavia
Hollister. had no intention of being
/ immured In any such fashion. and I
/ was about to protest further when
| Cecilia took step toward me and
| after a glance at the door spoke in q
/ low tone and with great earnestness.
mfr. Ames. | have every reason TO
/ believe that you are a gentleman. and
! In that confident belief I'm going to
! ask favor of you. You have said
( that you know Hartley Virgins we'll"
II know no man better. You might
/ not have inferred 1t from his manner
/ last night. bit he was undoubtedly
/ surprised and embarrassed. by my
presence and did not act quite like
/ himself"
Il think | understand the cause of
/ that. If should ask you to see him
today and give him a message for me
, could you do 500"
1T will be an honor to serve you
and very simple matter. as / should
see him on my own account If he is
still in the neighborhood."
He is doubtless at the Prescott
Arms. My message is a verbal one.
Please urge him not to make any eff
fort TO see me and not to call here
! again. But at the same time. as the
chimney smoked just as we were
about to be left alone last night.
] think-I think'-she hesitated a mo-
ment-"you may say that his interests
have not been jeOpardized by his te-
merity in calling"
In her pause before concluding this
curious commission her eyes searched
niue deeply. and | felt that she had
not lightly intrusted me with this
| singular errand. Her dark eyes held
mine an instant after she had spoken.
Then she smiled. and her face showed
relief
Ask for anything you want Aunt
Octavia despises motors. so there's no
car here. but you will End plenty of
horses and traps. Order whatever
pleases you. | shall expect TO meet
you at dinner II not at luncheon. and
so"-she smiled again-"will Aunt Oc-
tavia"
She nodded TO me from the door, and
heard her running lightly upstairs.
Left to my own devices l rang the
bell and ordered the library fire extin-
guished and the hearth cleaned This
required a little time. but the house
man obeyed me readily, and soen.
clad In my professional overalls and
jumper. 1 was going carefully over the
( hue whose behavior had been so uAac-
countable the previous night. Guided
I by the servant, inspected the three
hreplaces in the upper chambers that
were served by nues In this chimney
and finally dropped my torch and
| plumb line from the chimney pot.
Never in all my experience had / seen
better hues. But had the ashes
thrown out Of the dump In the cellar
and found the chute In perfect order.
learned by inquiry that the other
nues worked perfectly. but i never
theless scrutinized them carefully.
My freedom OF the house afforded an
excellent opportunity for a study Of
It's beautiful construction. II WAS
modern In every sense, with no dark,
mysterious corners In which COLLINS
might Turk.
My professional labors were finished
l was quite ready for Miss HOLSTERS
most searching inquiries AS for the
! library nue, had decided that a little
care in piling the logs in the hearth
would obviate the possibility of any
recurrence of the difficulty. And /
thereupon hurried TO my room and
after tub (my vocation encouraged
frequent tubbing) chose from the sta
bic neat trap for one horse Thus
equipped set out to find Virgins al
the Prescott Arms.
As ] drove into the entrance 1 saw
Virgins pacing the long veranda. He
h-n