The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-07-10


by a pair of boring gray eyes and
revealing, when he pushed his soft hat
off his massive forehead, a closely
cropped head of aggressively red hair
Camping the pen with thick, hairy
fingers he ground into the page in
'ink-wasting lines, Raymond Malone,
Pittsburgh" When his right hand
was free, he had trick of caressing
an upper lip that bore every evidence
of having recently been adorned with
mustache.
Thanking the boy who guided him
to his room, and Tipping him bit
of silver, he proceeded to wash the
travel stains from his person showing,
in his undress, a neat gold badge
pinned to his suspender.. Then he
hurried to the dining-room, where he
put away one of those meals that
make a good man feel better and
dyspeptic man more dyspeptic. After
this, very much at ease with himself
and the world in general, he strolled
through the crowded lobby, around to
the glittering bar annex, and thence
to the street, now mass of garish
lights and bunting displayed in honor
of the distinguished-and profitable
guests. Everywhere were parading
delegates, respondent in holiday
finery and fluttering badges. In their
welfare he quickly evinced an inter-
est. Digging into the midst of group
of rustic looking delegates, the worse
for liquid refreshments, and beckon-
ing from it an officious and sophisti-
Gated individual who appeared to have
constituted himself the guide of per-
sonally conducted tour, he led him
INTERESTINGLY to the nearest city
officer. A short, uncomplimentary,
but wholly effective, biography of the
kidnapped one gained for the hapless
crook a swift ride to quarters, where
Mr.. Malone facetiously assured him,
"the cows wouldn't bite' For Ray
mond, otherwise Red" Malone, was
one of the men specially delegated
to round up the 'livers-off-the-weak-
ness Others"
It was near midnight and the
streets we're pretty well thinned of
fun-hunting delegates before Red
turned his steps to the Imperial. Be-
fore retiring he made several entries
in his notebook, felicitated himself
on his good luck, so far. and laid out
a campaign for the morrow as he
smoked his final cigar. He had
snapped out 7the lights and had made.
several steps toward his bed when
suddenly, above the din from the
happy delegates in the hall, there fell
on his ears an animated converse
ton. Not only that, it was as if the
participants were in the very room
with him-something he knew to be
impossible. Alert in an instant, by
instinct and training, he came to
dead standstill.
There were two, a man and
woman, in forcible and voluble argu-
ment-that is, the man was speaking,
but the woman had recourse to some
thing more powerful than words
tears. Red" stretched his hands up
and around him in the gloom and
Unanswered his body so as to catch
every angle in the room-he dared
not flash on the lights again-but in
vain. He had been all over it before
extinguishing the light and had locked
the door after him; no one could pos
sibly be sharing it with him. ANY
thing can happen in room No. 49," he
grinned to himself as he settled to
listen to the uncanny talk.
sIt's useless arguing, Gertrude" the
man explained impatiently and with
a weary information, keeping straight
isn't a winning proposition
81 know it, DEAR" came in caressing
tones through her tears. "But you
mustn't let this accident set you back
again" Red" could hear half-im-
patient sigh, as if the man were re-
straining himself with difficulty; then
there came the measured padding foot
steps across the carpet.
God knows I've tried, as prom
Used you would when we married"
came above her pitifnl sobbing. 1T
was no fault of mine that was put
away an innocent boy
Hush, hushi" she checked fiercely,
that has been cast out of both our
lives.