The Monticellonian., 1915-12-30

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 .,fr Hazard, waif' want to speak
 wiIn ,, Hasard had just descended the rea steps at Fifth avenue and Madison
 .st and was hurrying to his office ~. sutherland Detective agency, to na up the labors of the day. when s,s steps were arrested by soft femi- n,ne voice. He stopped instantly. and not without some surprise wheeled round and met the speakers anxious look He knew the voice.
 "Certainly, Helen," he agreed. You sound mighty serious"
 The two drew closer together and moved under the steps away from the jOStfiHB s1d6Mdlh tuTOUS.
 Nominally, Helen Bertel was a ste nographer at the Sutherland offices: but. besides being a strikingly pretty girl with Dianalike length of limb and litheness, she had on more than one occasion, when asked to meet an emergency, shown a capability and adaptability that placed her in the rank with the company's best opera tives. Accordingly, she drew an oper- ative's salary.
 Felix Hazard and Helen Bertel were good friends. Indeed, it was hard sometimes for the, man to smother the warm glow that 61s;wont to leap into his eyes at sight olFher; he made no attempt to hide hss admiration. how ever.
 The girl smiled faintly.
 Perhaps 1t is serious" she returned Anyhow. it's awfully queer-what l want to see you about. I'm glad we met here instead of having to wait till we got to the office.
 Last night. as maybe you remem Der, was beautiful-a full moon-and l was out lots later than I should have been, alone in my canoe. and l went out into the lake lots farther than l should have gone. {. . l had an ad- venture"
 Her fine gray eye were dancing with suppressed excitement
 'In the middle of the lake?" Hazard inquired
 Goodness, no, But I was far enough off shore to make it very strange and mysterious. The moon glare was behind me at the time. and once when l looked back l saw a row. boat. It was white-like a shell of alabaster on path of cold silver fire" !" Felix Hazard smiled whimsically and remarked
 The moons influence still fingers, I see. What a queer girl you are!'
 She made little mouth at him and went on:
 Tt was empty. or I thought it was, one doesn't find empty skiffs floating on the lake every night, you know; and of course I turned and padded straight to where 1t was.
 Well, it wasn't empty A man lay unconscious in the bottom, his white face turned up ghostly to the moon. I thought he was dead; but even while I was holding the two boats together and peering down at him. he opened his eyes and looked up at me.
 Tt was funny To save my life I couldn't think of a word to sayl We just stared at each other like two ninnies for all of minute. Then he all at once sat up and groaned He caught at his head with both hands and toppled forward over one of the thwarts.
 q knew then that he had been hurt and got busy. Would you believe it? He hadn't the slightest idea how he got injured, or how he happened to be out on tho lake in rowboat at nearly midnight.
 By this time l was making mental note of everything He had an un- buttoned appearance, if you know what I mean-shirt unfastened, shoes un- laced; his collar and tie were lying on tut 6ldtiAS, anu HIS Aat Mdo uuiSSluS utterly. Also he didn't have an oar to his name.
 He was too weak to help much, and there wasn't another boat ill sight any where-just us two away out in the silent, moonlit lake. 1 tied my canoe to the boat and lowed it back to the beach; not so easy to do with only a single paddle"
 Hazard was intensely interested. not alone because the episode was unusual in itself. but also because he knew that Helen Bertel would not be telling him about it with so much detail if she were not moved by some under lying purpose.
 Well" he prompted her. whats the answer?"
 Why. on the way to land I made another discoyery-several of them, to tell the truth. He is a young man bearing all the countless little marks of breeding and refinement that girl can't mistake. Yet somehow 1t i'm pressed me that he was not dressed for the part; his clothes were good, correct as to style, but they had not been chosen by him. They clashed with his personality-do you know what I'm trying to say?"
 T understand. Somebody had ex- changed clothing with him-either to hide the victims identity. to set the police on false scent, or for the