Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-11-17
P 1
THE STAR

CHAPTER 1
THE FALLING STAR
l was genuinely tired when 1 got
back to the office, the Wednesday aft
ernoOn, for it had been a irving day
the last of the series of trying laws
which had marked the progress of the
Minturn case; n my feeling of de-
preston was increased by the fact that
complete as 1 had hoped it would be.
Besides, there was the heat; always.
during the past 10 days, there had been
the heat, unprecedented for June, with
the thermometer climbing higher and
higher and breaking a new record every
day.
AS I threw off coat and hat and
dropped into the hair before my desk,
1 could see the neat-waves quivering
up past the open windows from the
fiery street below. l turned away and
closed my eyes and tried. to evoke a
vision Of white surf falling upon the
beach, of tail trees swaying in the
breeze, of a brook dropping gently be-
tween green banks.
Fountains that frisk and sprinkle
The moss they overspill;
Pools that the breezes crinkle,'
and then I stopped, for the door had
opened. / Enclosed my eyes to see the
office boy gazing at me in astonish-
ment. He was a we'll trained boy, and
recovered himself in an instant.
Your mail, sir" he said, laid it at
my elbow, and went out.
/ turned to h letters with an in
terest the reverse of lively. The words
Of Henley's ballad were still running
through my head
"Vale-lily and periwinkle;
We stone-crop on the sill;
The look of leaves a-twinkle
With windlets.'
Again I stopped, for again the door
opened. and again the office boy APP
peared.
Mr.. Godfrey, sir" he said. and close
upon h words. Jim Godfrey entered,
looking as fresh and cool and invigor-
ating as the fountains and brooks and
pools Ishad been thinking of.
How do you do it, Godfrey" I
asked. as he sat down.
DO what?"
Keep so fit"
BY getting a good sleep every night.
Do you?"
1 groaned as I thought of the in
ferno l called my bedroom.
Il haven't really slept for a week."
I said.
We'll. you're going to sleep tonight.
That's the reason I'm here. l saw you
in court this afternoon-one glance was
enough"
YES" I assented; zone glance would
be. But what's the propositions"
I'm staying at a little place I've
leased for the summer up on the far
edge of he Bronx. I'm going to take
you up with me tonight and I'm going
to keep you there till Monday. That
will give you five nights sleep and four
days rest. Don't you think you de-
serve it?"
YES" I agreed with conviction, II
do" and l cast my mind rapidly over
the affairs of the office. With the
Minturn case ended, there was really
no reason why l should not take a few
days off.
youth come, them" said Godfrey,
who had been following my thought.
Don't be afraid" he added, seeing
that I still hesitated. You won't find
1t dull"
1 looked at him. for he was smiling
slightly and his eyes were very bright.
Wont II"
NO" he said, for I've discovered
certain phenomena in the n~eighborhood
which I think will interest you"
When Godfrey spoke in that tone, he
last vestige Of hesitation vanished.
.All right I said; "Ill come"
Good. I'll call for you at the Mara
thon about 1880. That's the earliest l
can get away" and in another moment
he was gone
So was my fatigue, and I turned with
q zest to my letters and to the arrange
ments necessary for a three days
absence. Then l went up to my rooms.
put a few things into a suit case, got
into fresh clothes, mounted to the
Astor roof garden tor dinner, and a
Marathon. 1 had Higgins bring my
luggage down and sat down in the
entrance porch to wait for Godfrey.
Just across the street cleaned the
lights Of the police station where he
and 1 had had more than one adventure.
reporter of the Record: 1t was to him
that journal owed those brilliant and
glowing columns in which the latest
mystery was described n dissected in
a way which was a 10y alike to the in
tellect and to the artistic instinct. For
the editorial policy of the Record, for
its attitude toward politics. Wall street.
The trusts. Society" I had only aver
sion and disgust: but whenever the
town was shaken with a great criminal
mystery, / never missed an issue.
Godfrey and / had been thrown to-
cether first in the Holiday case. and
that was the beginning of a friend
ship which had strengthened with the
years. Then came his brilliant work
in solving the Marathon mystery, in
which 1 had also become involved. i
had appealed to. him for help, in con-
nection with that affair at Elizabeth:
and he had cleared up h remarkable
circumstances surrounding the death
of my friend. Philip Vantine, in the
affair Of the Boule cabinet. So I had
come to turn to him ~instinctively
whenever 1 found myself confronting
one Of those intricate problems which
every lawyer has sometimes to UNI
tangle.
sought my assistance; but, OF course,