Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1914-09-19
"STUNG!"
BY KENO w. PUTNAM.

wv oi"iP jungle VI th
telephone bell is rather a startlin,
occurrence, especially in the dead o
night when there is no other sound
John Mason came out of his doz
with start and in much the sam,
stage Of excitement which a crimina
would feel when caught red-handed
His hand even shook as he took dow
the receiver.
"Hellow
"Hello! Is this Mr.. Mason?"
eyes. Who is thisY"
"Not SO fast, please. Ny business
with you is strictly private. Are you
alone in the room?"
Coming to him as it did, the ques-
ton seemed bit uncanny.
81 am" he suggested, glancing
around a little apprehensively as
though he did not feel quite sure
about it.
"Well, this is from your business
Office. Understand ?"
81 do not understand. My Office
closed at six o'clock; l locked the
door myself, and no one else has a
key. Who are you, anyway"
"Ahl Softly, please. Don't be
inquisitive."
"Then what do you want?"
"Now you are talking. First,
though, let me tell you something.
You know that powder you have
stored in the basement ready for the
hunting season ?"
"Well, what of it?"
make quite an explosion, wouldn't
itY
"'Twould wreck the whole build
ing"
yes? Well, just at this moment
one end Of good quick fuse rests
in that powder and the other is in
your desk within three feet of my
hand. Do you follow? Hellol Hold
on, now. Don't get excited or act
hastily. A fuse doesn't hurt so long
as it isn't lighted. Just wanted you
to see what might happen if things
didn't please the people in control
here; that is all. Stop nowl Never
mind about Central. | want to talk
to you. We have a little work TO
do here that requires the opening of
your safe"
Hello! Are you there? All |
right. Well, we seem not to have
got the combination, and prefer call
ng in the engineer to blowing up
he boiler. am sorry to disturb
you, but we have tried to be as con-
3iderate as we could. You will find
4 cab at your door.
"By smart driving you can reach
here in between six and seven min
ltes from the time you leave the
phone; but, mind you, now, that
will not give you any time for any
'ide trips or nonsense.
"All right, I'll Gomez Mason |
and hung up the receiver.
What could he do? TO arouse his
household and make the necessary /
explanations would consume at least
i've of those seven precious minutes.
Should he try the police? They were
quite as unreliable in the time at his
AS the only chance, he called up |
Central, told the girl rapidly to send |
he police around to his office-no,
40, not the house the office-quick
as she could. Then he rushed for
he cab and allowed himself to be
driven away at breakneck speed.
The more he thought it over the
more he failed to see the funny side
IF his situation, if it had one-and
he was not sure that it had. If all
went well, he still would be at the
office, in the hands of his enemies,
within the time specified; but what
lid they mean to do with him?
Make him open the safe for one
hing, of course, and he thought with
regret of the good, fat collections
that had been turned in to him the
night before after banking hours. In |
spite of his worry over what was
going to happen to his property, he
could not help feeling a generous
over what was likely to hap