Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1914-12-23

It Was Mr.. vanderpool-Iris' Father.
door. They stood for several moments
in the shelter of the vestibule. compar-
ing the English Of Oscar Wilde to that
of the King James Bible. Then Leigh
found his latchkey and Pedro turned
homeward. ~ &sTG s%'s; tE TX
But he was not destined to reach the
studio Immediately. T.. ,g,i 4
Before he had gone to the end of
the block he turned and stood quite
motion1ess, looking up at Leigh's win
dow, where dim light soon appeared
behind the cracked and yellow blinds.
Until this light had been extinguished
he waited, looking up with strange
expression In his eyes. Then, when
the window went dark, he buried his
face in his hands and seemed to purge
his, soul of some trouble. After a mo-
ment or two, however, he abruptly
squared his shoulders and resumed his
homeward way, only to be halted by
the sight Of two men, who issued from
the swinging door Of little subter-
ranean cafe and paused together I'M
der a street lamp. .'..a32.T r.
At his hrst glimpse of the taller of
the two men, Pedro's heart gave q
great thump OF surprise. 1t was Mr..
Vanderpool. Iris father! And who
was the disreputable-looking fellow to
whom he was talking? Why had the
chap such familiar look? Where had
he seen the fellow before? Impossible
to remember. But whatever their for
mer encounter, it paled In, interest be-
side the fact that the mystery he had
undertaken to unravel was probably
being enacted. in part. under his very
nose 70, -. * r We. d. r.. Is a
Clearly some mischief was afoot. BY
his tone and gestures the smaller man
appeared to be debating to the mil
lionaire, who followed his words anx-
ipusly. Assuming a careless manner.
Pedro pulled his cap far down over
his eyes and walked past the two. -
"A week is impossible; too long, by
far" the Misunderstanding person was
saying as Pedro passed. II warn you
it must be ready by three days from
now at the latest" l.,..s. *. ~
Vanderpool's low-voiced reply did
not reach the straining ears Of Pedro,
who had stepped into an areaway just
beyond, where'he could watch through
the railing without being seen him
self. But he could hear nothing fur
Their, owing to the direction OF the
Wind. What was to be done? How
strange that chance should have let
him stumble upon the action Of a mys-
terry which he had scarcely believed in
the existence OIL! And mystery there
was, beyond doubt, else why this
meeting in a little, unnamed wine eel
lar-why this hour of the night? But
how should he, Pedro, act? Follow
Vanderpool? Perhaps! In all prob
ability the millionaire would 60 d.
rectly home. Follow the other? That
might prove more fruitful While he
waited in perplexity his problem was
decided for him by the appearance OF
cab, which Vanderpool hailed, and.
getting into, drove OF. 40.
- After waiting a moment to make
certain Of the direction taken by the
cab, the man with whom Vanderpool
had been talking started OF rapidly.
On the instant Pedro was shadowing
him, lodging in and out of the darker
spots and keeping at discreet dis
lance.
After q few moments he realized
that they were bound in the direction
of his own studio! The man was evil
IDENTIFY in hurry and did not pause.
nor once look around. And all the
time Pedro puzzled his head as to
where he had seen the fellows back