Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1915-11-04
CHAPTER XIV.
Marqery's Answer.

well, it has come at last" said
Raymer next morning, passing a new.
ly opened letter Of the morning de-
livery over to Griswold. The rail.
road people are taking their work
away from US. I've been looking for
that in every mail"
Griswold glanced at the letter and
handed 1t back. The burden was lying
heavily upon him. and his only COM
ment was a questioning. "Well?"
At this, Raymer let go again.
whats the use?" he said defect
eddy. We're down, and everything
we do merely prolongs the agony. Do
you know that they tried to burn the
plant last night?"
mo; I hadn't heard"
They did. They had everything
fixed; a pile Of kindlings laid in the
corner back Of the machine shop an
mex and the whole thing saturated
with kerosene"
We'll. why didn't they do IT,"
queried Griswold, half-heartedly. After
the heavens have fallen, no mere ter.
restrial cataclysm can evoke a thrill.
That's a mystery. Something hap
pened; Just what, the Waterman who
had the machine shop beat couldn't
tell. He says there was a fash Of light
bright enough to blind him, and then a
scrap Of some kind. When he got out
Of the shop and around to the place,
there was no n there; nothing but
the pile OF kindlings."
Griswold took up the letter from
the railway people and read it again.
When he faced it down on Raymer's
desk, he had closed with the conclu-
sion which had been thrusting itself
upon him since the early morning hour
when he had picked his way among
the sidewalk pools to the plant from
upper Shawnee street.
you can still save yourself, Ed
ward" he said. still with the colorless
note in his voice. And he added:
You know the way"
Raymer jerked his head out of his
desk and swung around In the pivot
chair.
See here, Griswold; the less said
about that at this stage of the game.
the better 1t will be for both OF us!"
he exploded. I'm going to do as /
said | should, but not until this fight Is
settled, one way or the other!"
Griswold did not retort in kind.
The condition has already expired
by limitation; the fight is as good as
settled now" he said. ~placably. I'VE
are only making a hopeless bluff. We
can hold our forty or fifty tramp work.
men just as long IS we pay their board
over IN town. and don't ask them to re.
port for work. But the day the shop
whistle is blown, four out of every five
will vanish. We both know that"
Then there Is nothing for 1t but a
receivership." was Raymer's gloomy
decision.
mot without a miracle" Griswold
admitted. And the day OF miracles Is
past"
Thus the idealist, out OF a depth OF
wretchedne9s and self-exprobration
hitherto unplumbed. But II he could
have had even a momentary gift OF
telepathic vision he might have seer
a miracle at that moment in the pre-.
liminary stage Of its outworking.
The time was half-past nine; the
| place a grottolike summe house on
the Mereside lawn. The miracle work.
ers were two: Margery Grierson, radi.
ant In the daintiest Of morning house
gowns. and the mar who had taken
her retainer. Miss Grierson was curl.
ously examining a Photographic print;
the pictured scene was a well-littered
foundry yard with buildings forming
an angle In the heal background.
Against the buildings a pile of shay
ings with kindlings showed quite clear.
ly; and, STOPPING to ignite the pile,
was a man who had evidently looked
up at, or Just before. the instant Of
camera-snapping. There was no mis-.
taking the identity of the man. He
had a round. pig-jowl face; his bris-
Ting mustaches stood out stiHly as II in
sudden horror; and his hat was on the
back OF his head.
1T amt very good" Brofln apollo
gized. THE sun amt high enough yet
to make a clear print. But you said
hurry and I reckon 1t will do"
Miss Grierson nodded. You caught