Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-03-08

your expectation"
Tomorrow, Miss HOLSTER, | shall
take pleasure in showing you certain
hidden chambers in this house which
/ venture to say will afford you great
pleasure. l have tonight discovered
q link between the mansion as you
know 1t and an earlier house whose
t1mbers may indeed hide the bones of
that British soldier"
"And as for the chimney"
And as for the chimney. I give you
my word as professional man that 1t
will never annoy you again. and |
therefore beg that you dismiss the sub
Ject from your mind"
saw that she was about to recur TO
the shoe she held in her hand and at
which she glanced frequently with Il
quiZzical expression. This. clearly.
was an issue that must he met prompt
ly. and knew OF no better way than
by lying Hezekiah herself had plain
ly stated on the morning OF that long.
eventful day, when she walked into
the breakfast room in her aunts 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 DC
tavia enjoyed nothing better than tho
injection OF fiction into the affairs OF
the matter of fact day. Here, then
was my opportunity.
Miss HOLSTER" l began boldly, 1.-The
slipper you hold in your hand belongs
to me. and If you have no immediate
use for it beg that you allow me to
relieve you of it."
at is yours, Mr.. Ames?"
lifting Of the brows, a widening Of
the eyes, denoted Miss OCtavia's po-
lite surprise.
Beyond any question it is my prop
erty," l asserted.
Your words interest me greatly, Mt.
Ames. As you know. the grim hard
life of the twentieth century pals upon
me, and / am deeply interested in ev-
erything that pertains to adventure
and romance. Tell me more, if you are
free to do so. of this slipper which |
now return to you"
received Hezekiah's worn little
pump into my hands as though it were
an object Of high conservation.
"As l am nothing if not frank, Miss
Hollister, / will confess to you that
this shoe came into my possession in
very curious way. one day last
spring l was in Boston, having been
called there on professional business.
In the evening l left my hotel for a
walk, crossed the common, took a
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 identify exact
", though / have several times revis'
tied Boston in the hope of doing so,
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 t. discover
any opening from which that slipper
might have been flung. The region is
| 80 decorous and acts of violence are
! so foreign to its dignity and repOse
that / could scarce believe that | held
! that bit Of tan leather In my hand
| Nor did its unaccountable precipitn-
| ton into the street seem the act of q
| housemaid, nor could / believe that a
| nursery governess had thus sought di
! version from the roof above. l hest
tated for a moment, not knowing how
| to meet this emergency. Then l bold
| ly attacked the bell of the house from
! which l believed the slipper to have
! proceeded I rang until a policeman
whose speech was fragrant Of the Ir
ish coasts. babe 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 / have
carried that slipper with me- 1t wa,
| in my pocket tonight as | traverset
the upper halls Of your house, seekinI
the ghost Of that British soldier, and
had just discovered my loss when
heard you calling. In returning it yol
have conferred upon me the creates
imaginable favor. | have faith tina
some time, somewhere, shall find tn
owner Of that slipper. Would you no
infer from its diminutive size and tn
fine, suggestive delicacy Of it's outlines
that the owner is a person Of sristo
cratic lineage and of breedingf / vii
confess that nothing is nearer IN.
heart than the hope that one day
shall meet the young LADY, am sur
she must be young-wbo wore tina
slipper and dropped it, as it seemed
from the clouds at my feet there IL
sedate Beacon street. that most sol
emn Of residential sauctuaries'
J Mr. Ames." began Miss HOLSTER in
stantly, with an assumed severity tina
her smile belied, Il cannot recall tina
my niece Hezekiah ever visited In Bea
con street, yet / dare say that II she
had done so and young man of VnuI