River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-03-20

of tipping one of its foremost citizens.
And even il she had. she would not
have got the trunks taken upstairs.
The prospect of discarding Salie
Kingsbury's makeshifts and wearing a
dress which belonged to her had more
comfort in it than Agatha had ever
believed possible; and the reality was
even better. She made toilet, for
the first time in many days. with her
| accustomed accessories, dressed her
self in white gown. and felt better.
Are these the relatives you wer0
visiting, Miss Redmond?" inquired
Lizzie, eaten up with curiosity, which
was her mortal weakness.
Agatha paused, struck with the
form of the maids question; but,
knowing her liking for items of news.
she answered cautiously:
''Not relatives exactly. The Thay-
ers were old friends of my mother"
Lizzie shook out skirt and hung it
in the wardrobe in the far corner OF
| the room. She was bursting to know
everything about Miss Redmond's sud-
| QCA JOulAGyy Jul huGW DSllSt IIdu W
appear anxious.
"The message ct the hotel was so
indefinite that / didn't know at all
what | should do. After the excite
ment quieted down little, l went out
to visit my cousin Hattie, in the
Bronx
What sort of excitement"
ooh, newspaper men, and the man
ager, and Herr Weimar, Of the orches-
ira, and a lot of other people who
came, wanting to see you Immediate
ly. They seemed to think / was hid
ing you somewhere"
Agatha smiled. She could imagine
Lizzie in her new-fedged Importance.
talking to all those people
'You spoke of message" ven
tured Agatha.
Eyes; the one you sent the day you
| left, Miss Redmond. The hotel clerk
said you had suddenly left town on a
visit to a sick relative"
ooh, yes"
Lizzie's quick scent was already on
the trail of mystery, but Agatha was
in no mood just then to give her any
version of the events of that Monday
afternoon.
"Was there any other message, Miss
Redmond? Some word for me, which
the clerk forgot to deliver?"
mo, nothing else"
"Mr. Straker came Tuesday morn
| ing with some contracts for you to
sign. He said that you had an ap-
pointment with him, and he was near
ly crazy when he found you had gone
away without leaving your address"
Agatha smiled more and more broad
| ly, to Lizzie's disgust, but she could
not help it. II don't doubt he was dis
turbed. Did he come again?"
Come again. Miss Redmond Liz
| zie hung q blue silk coat oyer its
hanger, held it carefully UP to the
light. and turned toward her mistress
with the mien of a person who isn't to
be bamboozled. ''He came twice every
day to see if I had any word from
you; and when / went to Cousin Hat
ties he called me up on the phone
every morning and evening. Most I'M
reasonable, Mr.. Straker was. He said
there wasn't singer in town he could
get to fill your engagements, and he
was losing a hundred dollars a day.
He's very much put out, Miss Red
mond."
"Well. I was, too" said Agatha, but
somehow her tone failed to satisfy the
maid. To Agatha the thought of the
dictatorial manager futtering about
New York in quest of a vanished
singer-well, the picture had it's hui
morous side. It had its serious side,
too, for Agatha, of course, but for the
moment she put off thinking about
that. Lizzie, however, had borne the
brunt of Mr.. Straker's vexation, and
in that lumber-box she called her
mind, she regarded the matter solely
as her personal cue to come more
prominently upon the stage.
"Then your accompanist came every
morning, as you had directed, Miss
Redmond; and Madame Florio sent
word a dozen times about those new
gowns" Lizzie, with the memory OF
her sudden Importance, almost took
up the role OF baffled innocence. Il
declare. Miss Redmond, didn't know
what to do or say to those people.
The whole thing seemed so irregular,
with you not leaving any word of ex'
PLANTATION with me-"
CTO BE CONTINUED)