The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-01-05
NINTH INSTALLMENT
CHAPTER XII.

The Triumyirate and Professor
Stilliter were together when kehr's
ciphergram was handed to Barclay,
and although they imagined that its
contents were important they couldn't
help laughing at its wording.
Suckers won't bite. Your muttering
carburetor Tommy has tickled Aphro-
dite. Please pound his whiskers
quick.
"Something about this blessed son
of mine" said Barclay. He opened a
drawer in his writing table and took
out a code book, and then with the aid
OF the others deciphered the message.
The plain English OF it, was this:
Strikers won't fight. Your adopted
son Tommy has spoiled our plans.
Please call him off quick.
"Wen," said Sturtcyant what will
you DOR
"Kehr," said Rarclay "is blood
thirstily anxious to teach the strikers
a lesson. lie being the man on the
spot, have felt Obliged to give him
a pretty free hand. But I'm glad
there has been no blood shed. 1t
seems to me that this is a matter for
Her to settle. Silliter-can you make
Her call this strike Off and bring
about state of amity in Bitumen?"
Sulliter simply reached for a tele-
graph blank and wrote:
Kehr, Bitumen, Pa.
Am sending Her,
and signed it Barclay.
What will you do about Tommy
he asked. He'll be even more in the
way when Celestia gets there
After a moments reflection Barclay
wrote a telegram to Tommy:
Come home at once, must see you
on important business"
These kilograms dispatched, Sturte-
want and Semmes took their leave,
while Barclay and Stilliter sat on for
a time in silence. Barclay was the
first to break it.
You will have no trouble in per
suading her to go?"
she dislikes me, but she does what
! tell her-only | don't tell her. l
don't understand her aversion to me.
She knows that | am with her heart
and soul for the common good. And
she is willing to work with me. But
i repel her"
Barclay smiled grimly.
"You have never made any great
effort to please the ladies" he said,
"A mistake of youth of which / be.
gin to repent in middle age. | have
made the mistake of imagining that
! could live and die an abstract in
tellect It's my eyes suppose. They
made me hypersensitive."
But you weren't born with weak
eyes"
"No-when l was at college a retort
burnt in my face. had splendid eyes
as a child. Nobody ever had better
physical equipment than | had-a
stronger body or a stronger brain.
am the kind of man who ought to
marry and have children
Both were silent again. Then Still
liter said:
1--WE been giving the matter more
and more thought. 1t seems TO me
sort of duty"
Stilliter sat gazing off into space
through the thick lenses which gave
him sight, and Barclay, a troubled
smile on his lips, sat and watched
Stilliter's face.
you must have someone in mind"
he suggested presently.
Stilliter gave a kind of guilty start.
And suppose l have?'
The smile faded slowly from Bar
clay's mouth.
'T do suppose that you have" he
said sternly: but don't tell me that
our plans are TO be wrecked because
you have turned amorous in your mid
die age"
81 thought" said Stilliter, that
had myself In absolute control"
This Is frightful!" said Barclay,
simply.
"Oh. don't worry" said Stilliter;
"the great work shall be accomplished
first. But it seems only right to tell
you what my intentions are-after the
work is finished. Has anyone so great
a claim on Her as T."
'Ycu repel her. You have said it..
81 have willed her to like me. IL
is the one thing l cannot successfully
will her to do. . I'm just say
ing what my ultimate intentions are.
Don't you think" said Barclay.
That when her work is done. the poor
child ought TO be turned free to live
10 love and to be happy"