The Washington times., 1915-12-19
Missing Heir

Copyright. 1915 by the STAR Co. AN
Foreign Rights Reserved0'
TY ow strange are the vaRaries of
IL fortune! At the very instant
when the ardent believers in
Little Joe were filling their
lungs for final shout of triumph. a
gay little red balloon darted out on the
track, where the horses were pounding
down the stretch whirled saucily in
front of the favorite's nose. shot
straight UP in the air. and sailed mer-
rily across the infield toward the green
hills and the blue sky. For only an in
finitesimal space of time the nervous
Little rJON had shied and checked his
speed: but that space was enough to let
a dun-colored stranger by the name of
Tippy fash under the wire at eighteen
to one
THE houndH' mumbled a small man
at the rail. and his face was so blank
in, the first moment of disappointment
that 1t brought chuckle from the ad-
Joining large gentleman with the round,
pink face, ''
-,"Cheer. up, neighbour he consoled;
~the Walkihg's good"
The small man. thus addressed. cast
on the tlolid big J. Rufus Wallingford
a .sideWise Elance-a slow glance and a
cautious one. Cordial of manner was
the florid one, and iovial of eye and
broad of white walstcoat. and in his
rich cravat giowed a 5000 diamond.
Quite reassuring-but. nevertheless, the
small man glanced once more to the
right and to the left before, he an
swered. IN
~MSd,a hundred on that rabbit" he
well, a hundreds a hundred"
Chuckled the big man 5'
SITS a thousand when you lose 1t on
red balloon" objected, the lean and
lank Blackie Daw. climbing down from
the fences where he had been perched
like. a jumping Jack on a stick. He set
on his head the silk hat which he had
Deen waving IN encouragement to Little
Joe. and smoothed his pointed black
lnustache. At that moment Blackie's
eye caught the glisten and CLINT of
something white in the crowd 1t was
the head of Onion Jones. so bald that it
looked freshly peeled: and Onion was
winking and making mysterious signs
at the rate of about seven to the second.
Giving jim the "high-sign" Blackie
slipped away and following Onion to
the Erandstand. found there Violet
Warden and her sister. Fannie. both
their pretty faces flushed with excite
There's the man" exclaimed Violet,
her blue eyes dancing as sne caught
Blackieis sleeve.
MIR. Hutch! You were standing right
by him. Percy w. Hutch. We followed
him out here,
"Oh, did your" and Blackie grinned
down at her appreciatively before he
paralleled her gaze to the small man
with the gay maitland. And is that
the shrimp who helped clean out the
Warden estate after the death of your
father, Well, it's punk for Percy. How
much did he get?"
brown-eyed Fannie who answered this,
and her. cheeks turned a shade pinker
asSJ. Rufus happened to look up and
catch her, musing gaze. He is number
frfo HKot tlA.A ligf Sln he =
little notebook and pointed TO a list
of names. Twelve had been SCRATCHED
out. The thirteenth was Percy W.
Hutch. He is a lawyer but. he is
much more about him.
Leave that to U.S. said Blackie
Wen tell you all about him when we
hand you that forty thousand. Me
back to the works on the jump. ladies.
kiss you chastely on the foreheads."
His long legs were springing down
the steps n second after, and noddinB
significantly toward the small man as
he. approached Wallingford, he came ZIP
to the rail on the other side of Mr..
Hutch and asked:
What 10 you think of the next race
Lady Lou, j. Rufus promptly re-
piled, waiting for his cue. II know
Lady Louis sure money, because she
was toutcd to me by a barber whose
cousin was a stable hoy ten wears ago. y
mo chance" was the conternptuous
answer as Blackie grinned at the small
man. TN tell you why. No Lady
Swiscoe came in last in the first race
today; Lady Sandy fell down yester'
day and broke her collar bone: Lazy
o. Dreams was ruled off the track fol-
staggering under too much hop. Never.
theless, Jin1sey, my boy, I'll let you De!
on her against the fteld-for a hundred
even" .'ti -
]. Rufus. was about to reject this out.
Huit INDIGNATION
but ne caught something in Blackte'
you poor lollop," he commlserated
Il hate to rob an imbecile. but you're
';Help yourself gayly returned
Blackie, and he winked, at the, small
man. "Better get in, atrsngeTP;;,, rh.
stranger was moist-lipped at the though
of a bet so attractive.
Once more j., Rufus. studied tha
flicker in Elackie's eye. then they bot
looked at Percy, w: Hutch with studl
Gus interest. His hat and his craya
were ton, years too young for him III!
pallid blue eyes were set too close 70
gether; his mouth was too close to hi
nose and his chin too close to III
mouth and his ears too far from tht
front of his face. On general primer
piles, the tlorJd big man frowned at him
but the black-muStached one laughed,
"Piker," he. tauated his friend Jim
it?"
Certainly" A slight flash. of temper
in the broad-chested Jim. for tauntinG
was q common diversion between these
two. He turned to the stranger. You're
on. neighbor for a hundred"
The pallid blue ewes almost sparkled
Make it two hundred"
Wouldn't YOU like to have my stick
pIn?" sarcasticallv rejoned the big man
Cant 1 donate something to your pc
charitY?'
Cam yourself Jimmy: cam your
self" soothed >the gFinning BlaCkie
THE gent knows a hick when he see
one. and give him credit Urge him
stranger: he'll bite"
The stranger hesitated: then, with al
uncertain smile. he walked away.
THE hundred goes. anyhow" he as
sured them over his shoulder. "Ill b.
hack In time for the race"
What kind of party Is Littl
nAMNIMn