The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1914-10-23

studio was In Cn6r0! AT the CQOUgft
| he sprang up and flung the door wide
to discover if his memory of the night
was a vision or a reality.
| AS he stood upon the threshold he
seemed for an instant to see, not the
room before him, but the upright, fash
! ionably clad figure of Hill, leading a
bear off into the dark regions beyond
| Washington square. Then, throwing
back his head, he laughed, and stepped
| into the studio.
Once it had been the attic covering
the upper floors of two adjoining
| houses. In every sense the place was
, workshop, replete with the most per
| feet tools for the trade of the brush,
| and the only spot conducive to idling
| was the chimney corner. Upon the
smaller easel stood the half-fnished
| portrait of a man, while against one
their faces hidden.
Pedro drew long breath of delight
Then it was true; it had not been a
| dream, after all! He thought of Mr..
Jones again, and for a moment the
pang of that dear remembrance was
bitter How was Hill getting on with
Old Nita? he wondered. If only it
| were possible to be with them, and
here at the same time! All, we'll! one
could not serve two masters, and he
| had chosen and did not regret.
On the mantel shelf stood a letter
| that Pedro had placed there on the
previous evening. Hill had given it
to him with the injunction to deliver
| it at the earliest possible moment. He
read the superscription with interest:
Abraham Lincoln Leigh
An address on Tenth street followed
Pedro determined to deliver it at once.
The house in which Abraham Lin
coin Leigh lived, was, like almost ev-
cry other building in this neighbor-
hood, now being put to a use other
than that for which it was originally
intended, for once it had been a ware
| house for the storage of paper.
"Yep!" said the hallboy, in response
to Pedro's inquiry as to whether Mr..
Leigh was in. Third to your right.
| Last door!"
So Pedro mounted and knocked.
Gomez! said resonant voice,
| which was like the booming of great
bell. And Pedro, rejoicing at the mu-
sic of it, promptly obeyed.
| 1t was a large studio which he en-
| tered, large and crowded and disor-
dered beyond belief Several corners
| had been screened off for uses other
| than those of sculpture, which was the
| self-evident occupation of the proprie.
tor
At the moment of Pedro's entrance
| Abraham Lincoln Leigh was STOPPING
over a fryingpan full of bacon, which
was sizzling on the stove; and the in
stantaneous impression which his Wis
| itor received was that the mans name
| had in some curious fashion .inf1u-
enced his personal, appearance. He
| was very tall, and his leanness was
extraordinary. AS Pedro entered, he
| did not even turn his head for mo-
ment, but continued manipulating the
bacon deliberately. When it was re-
versed he looked up at his visitor, and
again the mellow voice rang out like
the slow chimes of church bell.
"Who are you?"
81 am Pedro" said the owner of that
name, flashing his white smile. 81
| have a letter from Sam Hill"
"Ah" remarked Leigh, not, how
ever, offering to take the mlssive, but
looking at the bearer, and, as was so
commonly the case, liking him; Then.
in response to that smile of Pedro's,
| Leigh smiled, a rare thing in him, and
an Illuminating.
"Have you had your breakfast?' hs
asked
"Why, no! 1 haven't" exclaimed the
boy, evidently surprised at the recol-
lection of his lack.
Leigh looked him over again, his
face grave despite the gathering up
of the little lines at the corners of
his eyes.
You're a friend of sam's?" he
asked.
81 am his most devoted one!" ex,
claimed Pedro fervently.
Again Leigh smiled.
mo, you are not he said. How
ever, the forks and spoons are in that
bureau, and you'll find cup on the
shelf behind that screen
Pedro stared at him for breath.
and then, with laugh. he threw his
hat and his letter down upon chair,
and went in search of the articles men
toned.
"Gracias!" he said, '1 am very hun
CRY. Maybe you know what that feels
like, eh?"
"You bet!" said Leigh solemnly.
(TO BE CONTINUED)