The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1914-10-08

of it that I don't believe she'd dare
to put into print, although she reeled
them off to me without so much as
blush. Pom my soul, Mr.. Smart, l
never was SO embarrassed in my life.
She"
"Never mind" interrupted hastily
"Don't tell tales out of school"
He was silent for a moment, finger
ing his big eyeglasses nervously. "It
may please you to know that she thinks
you are an exceedingly nice man."
"No, it doesn t! -" roared irascibly.
I'm damned if I like being called an
exceedingly nice man."
"They were my words, sir, not hers, "
he explained desperately. 81 was mere
ly putting two and two together-form-
ing az opinion from her manner not
from her words. She is very particular
to mention everything you do for her,
and thanks me if call her attention to
anything she may have forgotten. She
certainly appreciates your kindness to
the baby"
"That is extremely gratifying" said
acidly.
He hesitated once more. "Of course,
you understand that the divorce itself
is absolute. It's only the matter of the
child that remains unsettled. The"
| fairly barked at him. "What the
devil do you mean by that, sir9 What
has the divorce got to do with it,"
"a great deal, l should say" said
he, with the rare, almost superhuman
patience that has made him so valuable
to me.
"Upon my soull" was all that l could
say.
Hawkes. raped on the door luckily at
that instance.
"The men from the telephone com
pany are here, sir, and the electricians.
Where are they to begin, siri"
"Tell them to wait" said I. Then I
hurried to the top of the east wing to
ask if she had the least objection to an
extension phone being placed in my
study. She thought it would be very
nice, so returned with instructions for
the men to put in three instruments
one in her room, one in mine and one in
the buffers pantry. 1t seemed very
jolly arrangement all round. AS for the
electric bell system, it would speak for
itself
Toward the middle of the afternoon
when Mr.. Poopendyke and | were hard
at work on my synopsis we were startled
by dull, mysterious pounding on the
wall hard by. We paused to listen It
was quite impossible to locate the sound,
which ceased almost Immediately. Our
first thought was that the telephone
men were drilling a hole through the
wall into my study. Then came the
sharp rat-a-ata-tat once more. Even as
we looked about US in bewilderment, the
portly facade of Ludwig the Red moved
out of alignment with a heart-rending
squeak and long thin streak of black
appeared at the inner edge of the frame,
growing wider-and blacker if anything
before our startled eyes.
care you at home'" inquired voice
that couldn't by any means Lave ema-
mated from the chest of Ludwig, even in
his mellowest hours.
l leaped to my feet and started across
the room with great strides. My secre-
tary's eyes were glued to the magic por-
trait. His fingers, looking like claws
hung suspended over the keyboard Of
the typewriter.
"By the Lord Harry" 1 cried.
"Yes!"
The secret door swung quietly open,
laying Ludwig s face to the wall, and in
the aperture stood my amazing neighbor,
as lovely portrait as you'd see in
years trip through all the galleries in
the world. She was smiling down upon
us from the slightly elevated position, a
charming figure in the very latest
Partisan hat and gown. Something gray
and black and exceedingly chic. I re-
member saying to Poopendyke after
wards in response to . question of his
ITO be continued)