The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987, 1913-11-12
THE MAN WITH
THE SUIT CASE
a Story For Thanksgiving
By MARTHA V. MONROE

married"
Where did you hear that?"
"Oh. heard it month ago! 1 think
it was on Thanksgiving day. l dined
with the Atwaters. They said Clara
Webster was just the girl for you, you
being impulsive, she steady and eau
! tiouS."
Did they say that?'
Eyes
Listen. | have little story to tell
you. On the very day. Thanksgiving.
| that these persons were attributing
| these traits to us a little drama was
! being enacted.
My friend Billy Smithson invited
| Clara and me to spend the Thanksgiv-
ing week end at his house in the coun-
try, which he opened for the occasion.
/ The affair was got up to celebrate our
engagement. for Billy is an old chum
! of mine, and his wife is an intimate
! friend of Clara's.
CLARA and l were to go up on the
! train together, but just as | was about
| TO leave the Office to call for her a job
came into the office which nobody but
l could do. and | was obliged to re-
main over till the next day. I tele-
| phOned her to 90 on and l would az
rive the next day. | reached the house
the next afternoon to find the guests
gone out on an automobile ride Billy
had got up for them. There were
| three carloads, and they were not to
return till Z o'clock. About l dressed
for dinner and was going downstairs
! when | met man coming up with q
| suit case in his hand. Presuming he
was one of the guests who had just
arrived. | went on down into the Ii
| brary, thinking no more about him and
amusing myself till the auto party re-
turned.
This was the evening before Thanks
giving. The next day we We're getting
ready for the feast when Clara took
me off into quiet corner and said to
me.
VIII. | have very unpleasant
| communication to make. On returning
| from the auto ride yesterday several
of the girl guests missed articles Of
jewelry. Several boxes in which the
| closet i'll your room
Naturally | was a bit upset by this
information. but the principal cause
was that Clara didn't say this with
my hand in hers or her arms around
me, but sitting apart. and instead of
adding that she felt just absolutely
confident that | was not a thief she
looked very gloomy and waited for me
to say something.
CLARA | said astounded, do you
mean to say that you have the slight
| est suspicion that I stole these jew
cls?
sit is the bOunden duty of every
one she replied. to consider an ac-
,cused person innocent until proved
guilty. And as your fancee ] fee
obliged to do what can to influence
the others to give you every OppOrtu-
nifty to clear Yourself
1T was not SO much the position in
which ! was placed that troubled me
as the swapping Of the cord that
bound me to Cara. In twinkling my
feelings toward her were changed
from attraction TO rcpulsiOn. And yet
what fault could ! find with her?
What, right had | to expect her to
believe me innocent in face Of such
proof against me and before | had
brought forward any proof in my ia
yor? She was simply acting on that
trait in her character for which those
persons you have mentioned on that
very day were giving her credit.
This change in my feelings toward
her for awhile OVERRIDE every other.
Then the gravity Of my position rush
ed upon ne with full force But what
could | do? Ignorant as | was of how
the jewelry boxes got into my closet.
! didn't see that ] could do anything
but leave the house.
81 went to Billy. who begged me to
stay, saying that there was some mys-
terry about the matter which he hoped
would be cleared up. but l judged that
he didn't know what to make of the
matter. and at last he agreed with me
that l might as well go. On passing out.
Sue Wentworth. who. since her fathers
failure. has been making her own liv-
ing by teaching school. came out Of the
drawing room into the hall and said:
Mr. Thruston. This idea of your
having stolen jewels is absurd. There
are a hundred suggestions that can
be made. each more likely than what
appears on the surface. Some one
stole the jewels. took them into your
room temporarily and threw the boxes
down there That's one
There was something in her by
pOthesis that brought back the man l
had seen going upstairs with the suit
case. and it solved the problem for
me, for it occurred TO me that l had
not seen him since. But this was moth
ing to me compared with the comfort
l derived from Miss WentwOrth's faith
in me. just put my arms about her
and Rugged her
"She backed by my statement as to
the man with the suit case. changed
everything All came to me and beg
| ged me to remain. l did so and was