Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-09-29
Continued from last week
CHAPTER I'LL
The Higher Service.

ance. 1t also prevented him
from pursuing further the purpose
which had led him to show the bomt
to Jim. He delayed only to put the
shoe box and its contents In a securs
place before he Joined the rest of the
family al the table
'I've landed q Job for you, Robert
said Nathan Ashby. the father OF the
family. HAS Nellie told your"
Wendell looked up. his lips pressed
tight together; then he smiled. why
no." he replied quietly. You haven
told me, have you, Helen?' he appeal
ed to his wife.
ST guess you'd manage to keep 1t OF
your mind If she had" Ashby return
ed heavily. It'll be worth $1,000 mex
year If the navy hasn't always got 20,
so used to loafng ant being paid fol-
It that you can't do any real work q
an. It'll allow you a drawing accoun
of $1,000 right away to start"
Bob's lips parted, then pressed to
gether again without speaking. Un
der the tablecloth a hand of Nelliet
caught his hand and squeezed 1t tight
you were very good to take tina
trouble for me-" Wendell said to Ma
than Ashby; "but, since all negotia
lions have been with you, would yo1
mind replying that / cannot take itT
In his rage wei this refusal NATHAN
Ashby was still more insulting. There
was silence In the room when the
maid entered trembling and said:
1.-The telephone, Mr.. Ashby. It's the
Waterman at the factory. He says
Mr.. Ingouf and Enl0e want to get In
to do some work In the laboratory to
night. He wants to know whether ht
should let them inf it's all right"
"Of course it's all right" Nathan
Ashby dismissed the matter violently.
What harm could they dor
The Ashby Brass company, like
many manufacturing concerns, had
the laboratory for the trying III of
new processes or devices, and men
who were experimenting with a new
device worked there also in the even
Ing. -Ingonf and Enloe -Were-Ba-
chinists who had been working to-
gether on a new type of valve, Jim
Ashby knew. Indeed, his father re-
Gently had relieved them of their reg
ular tasks to give all their days, at
the company's expense, to p~erfecting
the valve. 1t was not strange, there
fore, that they wished to use the labo-
ratory that evening. But, as Jim
heard the request, he started. He
could not see Bob's face at that mo-
ment, and the next Wendell was out
Of the room with Nellie.
Jim had told Agnes that he would
call that evening; and, since he had
been engaged, he usually had hurried
direct to her home after dinner; but
now, when he left the house, he took
his car OF the road toward the factory.
Bob's bomb was all foolishness, of
course. There could be no such or
ganization of spies in America even
If there was to be a war, and there
was not to be any war. The evening
bulletins were perfectly definite about
that. The bomb-if 1t were a bomb
had been made partly out of metal
cast at the Ashby works, but any one
might have procured the casting, and
the ~contraption must be the work of
some crazy crank. He was going to
the works to prove that
He knew perfectly well that Bob's
bomb never was made at the factory
when he was there. The only posi-
bility was that 1t might have been
made In the laboratory after hours.
But would 1t be made by Ingouf and
Enloe? Foreigners, to be sure, but
two of the steadiest and most depend
able men in the place and the best
wolkmen.) AS Jim entered the factory
the idea was so absurd that he felt
like a fool when he looked into the
laboratory where the two machinists
were working together at a lathe re
shaping some part Of their valve Jim
made an excuse for coming in, went
to his office as though he had for
gotten something, and, leaving the
building. he hurried away by another
road toward the Wares place
A youth Of eighteen was coming out
of the house as Jim left his car and
~ oP GAC 6AufCA ~GAhs ~ was
Martin, Agnes brother.
"Hellor' Martin hailed his prospec-
tive brother-in-law with more than
usual interest. Say, have you seen
Lieutenant Wendell recentlyT
Jim shook hands formally with the
boy. why, yes, Mart; 1 saw him
about half an hour ago"
"Say, what does he say about the
news from the other side?"
Jim, weary of the discussion, ges-
tured ~deprecatingly. ~Oh, the same
old scare stuff; that's all"
us Agnes home, MartT
-Agnes?" Martin recollected "Oh,
have you come to see herr Well, /
should say she's not home. Since you
ask me, she got a peek at you though
the porch pertscope and at once did
the retreat to the Marine out the back