The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1914-02-09
CHAPTER ONE

The offices OF the Hon. Horace
parmenter were on the s2nd floor
Of the Smith building. one could
not enter them without being i'm
pressed. and perhaps a little op-
pressed. by their expensive el.-
gance.
The Persian rugs were thick and
velvety On the walls hung excel
lent landscapes in oil. The tables.
desks and chairs were mahogany.
In the outer office there was a
counter OF polished onyx. a barrier
thrown up 10 impede intruders upon
the privacy OF the Hon. Horace.
The Hon. Horace Parmenter be-
iieved that the setting should be
worthy. but should not outshine the
stone. He had nice taste In
values. He himself was the per
sonifica,ion Of expensive elegance.
Large. plump. genial. unctnous. he
moved In an atmosphere OF his own
creating. OF prosperity and joyous
wellbcing. Ills clothes. OF the best
material. fitted him 20 T. His
NaisltuAiHs uittf hAhthbt eht-
covered snugiy a well.rounded pro
,uberance. His boots we're natty.
his linen Immaculate and his ties
cost s. apiece.
When you had passed the onyx
barrier, had submitted yourself TO
the chilling scrutiny OF Miss F7ynt.
the Hon. Horace's stenographer. In
the outer office. and had been ad-
mitted. finally, 20 the presence o;
the gentleman himself. You felt you
were enjoying rare and delightful
privilege.
For al such times the Hon.
Horace. rising to greet you. would
flick the ash from a four-hit cigar
with a careless finger on which
shone a three-carat. blue-vhite dia-
mond OF the purest water.
Then he would grasp your hand
IN his own large. plump. white one.
and hold Il. and assure you in a
voice and manner geniaily feryent
that he was delighted to meet you.
and II he could serve you In any
way you had only TO command him.
Being a truthful chronicler. and
unversed In the tricks OF the fiction
lists. must tell you that the offices
OF the Hon. Parmenter were not a.
expensively equipped as they seem
ed TO the eye.
The onyx was imitation. the oil
paintings were copies. the mahog-
any was veneer and the Persian
rugs were made in Fall River. Mass.
OF all the receptions In those two
beautiful rooms. the cheapest,
meanest imitation Of all was tn.
Hon. Horace Parmenter himself
He was a snide. a cheat. a swindler
II you had known this when you
met him, You would have observed
that the tops OF his small. close-set
ears were full inch below the level
OF his eyebrows-s sure sign. as
any criminologist will tell you. OF
moral depravity- and that, though
the lips smiled, his eyes-pig eyes.
and set too close together-had In
them a hint OF furtlve cunning. and
that they Travelled over you In cold
appraisal as he talked.
He called himself a promoter.
Miss F'1ynt could have told you a
thing or two. You must not. how.
ever. misjudge her. Her air OF
chilling hauteur was her armor. She
was wise little girl. but good. She
knew how many beans make five.
Parmenter paid her sI2 week
And jobs job. so she kept her
eyes open and her mouth shut.
want you 10 think we'll OF Miss
FIynt. because ! tell you frankly
she 10 the heroine Of this story
AND A DARNED NICE JANE.
The Hon. Horace Parmenter
stood at one OF his windows, look.
ing into Second sv. and Yesler way.
far below. lie liked to watch
crowds There Ia sucker in every
crowd.
From that great height the city
seemed a web. the streets threading
away into the distance in delicate
tracery. The tiny. creeping things
below were files caught In the web.