The weekly times-record., 1913-09-04

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house again"
..Then," said Miss HoIlister.. II can
not do less than express my gratitude,
though | regret that you did not frst
allow me to meet him. Still. dare
saw that we shall find his homes bur
led somewhere beneath INV founda-
tons. Please assure me tnat sucn IL
your expecta tion."
Tomorrow. Miss Hollister. I shall
take pleasure In showing you certain
! hidden chambers in this house which
| venture to say will afford you great
pleasure. ! have tonight discovered
link between the mansion as you
know it and an earlier house whose
timbers may indeed hide the bones Of
that British soldier"
"And rs for the chimney"
"And as for the chimney. give you
nv word as a professional man that It
will never annoy you again. and !
therefore beg that you dismiss the sub
ject from your mind"
saw that she was about to recur 10
the shoe she held in her hand and ut
which she glanced frequently. with a
quizzical expression. This. clearly,
was an issue that must be met prompt
ly. and ! knew of no better way than
by lying. Hezekiah herself had plain.
" stated on the morning Of that long.
eventful day. when she walked into
the breakfast room in her aunt's alb
sence and explained Cecilia's trip to
town, that it was perfectly fair to dis
simulate in making explanations to
Miss Hollister-that. In fact. Miss Oc-
tavia enjoyed nothing better than the
Injection Of fiction into the affairs Of
the matter Of fact day. Here. then,
was my opportunity.
Miss HOLSTER began boldly. "the
slipper you hold in your hand belongs
to me. and II you have no immediate
use for 1t l beg that you allow me to
relieve you Of It,"
1T Is yours, Mr.. Ames?"
"A lifting Of the brows. widening Of
the eyes, denoted Miss Octavia's po-
lite surprise.
Beyond my question it is my prop
erty," l asserted.
"Your words interest me greatly, Mr..
Ames. As you know. the grim hard
life Of the twentieth century pals upon
me, and l am deeply interested in ev-
erything that pertains to adventure
and romance. Tell me more, II you are
free to do so. Of this slipper which l
now return to you"
received Hezekiah's worn little
pump into my hands as though 1t were
an object Of high conservation.
"As l am nothing II not frank. Miss
Hollister. will confess to you that
this shoe came into my possession In
a very curious way. One day last
spring was in Boston. having been
called there on professional business.
In the evening left my hotel for
walk, crossed the common. took
turn through the public garden. where
many devoted lovers adorned the
benches, and then strolled aimlessly
along Beacon street.
II was passing house which l have
not since been able to identity exact
ly, though have several times revis-
tied Boston in the hope Of doing 30,
when suddenly and without any warn
ing whatever this slipper dropped at
my feet. All the houses In the neigh
borhood seemed deserted. with win.
dows and doors tightly boarded, and
my closest scrutiny failed to discover
any opening from which that slipper
might have been dung. The region Is
90 decorous and acts Of violence are
80 foreign to its dignity and repose
that l could scarce believe that held
that bit Of tan leather in my hand.
Nor did its unacc0untable preciptta-
ton into the street seem the act Of =
housemaid. nor could believe that q
nursery governess had thus sought d.
version from the roof above. l hesi-
tated for q moment, not knowing how
to meet this emergency. Then ! bold
~ attacked the bell Of the house from
which believed the slipper to have
proceeded. rang until policeman.
whose speech was fragrant Of the 1r-
ish coasts. bade me, .desist, Informing
me that the family had only the pre-
vious day left for the shore. The
house, he assured me, was utterly va
cant That, Miss Hollister. is all there
is Of the story. But ever since l have
carried that slipper with me. It was
in my pocket tonight as traversed
the upper halls Of your house. seeking
the ghost Of that British soldier. and !
had Just discovered my loss when l
heard you calling. In returning 1t you
have conferred upon me the greatest
imaginable favor. have faith that
some time. somewhere, l shall find the
owner Of that slipper. Would you not
infer from its diminutive size and the
fine, suggestive delicacy Of its outlines.
that the owner is person Of aristo-
cratic lineage and Of breeding? will
confess that nothing is nearer my
heart than the hope that one day I
shall meet the young lady-l am sure
she must be young-who wore that
slipper and dropped it. as it seemed.
from the clouds at my feet there In
sedate Beacon street. that most SOL