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

other one. His elbows were crooked at
the proper angle l noticed, so I must
have been doing him an injustice He
couldn't have had anything disre-
spectful in mind.
"Send Mr.. Poopendyke to me,
Hawkes., Immediately after I've fin
ished my breakfast"
"Very good, sir. Oh, l beg pardon,
sir. am forgetting, Mr.. Poopendyke is
out. He asked me to tell you he
wouldn t return before eleven"
"Out9 What business has he to be
out9"
"Well, sir, mean to say, he's not
precisely out, and he isn't just what
one would call in. He is up in the
ahem!-the east wing, sir, taking down
some correspondence for the--for the
lady, sir
/ arose to the occasion. "Quite so,
quite so. l had forgotten the appoint
ment."
| SSy thouSAe tou huN.
"Ahem! l daresay Britton will do
quite as WELL Tell him to-"
'Britton, sir, has gone over to the
city for the newspapers. You forget
that he goes every morning as soon as
he has had his"
"Yes, yes Certainly" l said
hastily. "The papers. Ha, ha! Quite
right
1t was news to me, but it wouldn It
do to let him know it. The countess
read the papers, did not. l stead
fastly persisted in ignoring the Paris
edition of the New York Herald for
fear that the delightful mystery might
disintegrate, SO to speak, before my
eyes, or become the commonplace scan
dal that all the world was enjoying,
AS it stood now, l had it all to my
self-that is to say, the mystGy. Mr..
Poopendyke reads aloud the baseball
scores to me, and nothing else.
| 1t was nearly twelve when my sec
retary reported to me on this particu-
lar morning, and he seemed trifle
hazy as to the results of the games.
After he had mumbled something about
rain or wet grounds, I coldly enquired:
"Mr. Poopendyke, are you employed
by me or by that woman upstairs9" l
would never have spoken of her as
"that woman" believe me, if l had
not been in a state of irritation.
He looked positively stunned. "Sir?"
he gasped.
did not repeat the question, but
managed to demand rather fiercely:
care youa"
'The countess had got dreadfully
behind with her work, sir, and l
thought you wouldn It mind if I helped
her out Bit" he explained nervously.
"Workf What work."
"Her diary, sir. She is keeping a
diary.
"Indeed!"
cit is very interesting, Mr.. Smart.
Rather beats any novel I've read late
ly. We-we've brought it quite up to
date. l wrote at least three pages about
the dinner last night. If am to be-
lieve what she puts into her diary, it
must have been delightful occasion,
as the newspapers would say
l was somewhat Modified "What
did she have to say about it, Freda"
l asked 1t always pleased him to be
called Fred.
"That would be betraying a conf.
dence," said he. ~ will say this much,
however: l think I wrote your name
fifty times or more in connection with
it."
"Rubbish!" said I.
"Not at ALL" said he, with agree
able spirit.
A sudden chill came over me. "She
ISM figuring on having it published,
is sheF'
~ can't say as to that" was his
disquieting reply. "It wasn't any of
my business, so I didn't ask"
"Oh," said I, ~ see.'
"I think it is safe to assume, how
ever, that it is not meant for publica-
tion," said he. "It strikes me as be-
ing bit too personal. There are parts