The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-08-08

prietor and one of his employees,
well have to disappoint Miss Lew.
is this time-she'll have to wait till
morning." the latter was saying. THE
old rig we take her home in broke
down five miles from town. All the
other rigs are out till midnight, up at
the harvest festival at Durham"
"We must arrange it some way.
Miss Lewis is weekly customer and
we shouldn't disappoint her. I'll tele-
phone her and you can make the run
with the first machine that comes In"
"That may not be for five hours"
explained the hOstler and Leigh, obey
ing speedy impulse, stepped forward.
He was well acquainted with the pro-
prietor of the garage. He had no diff
ficulty in securing his assent to a
daring proposition. Thus the garage
man telephoned:
Sorry, Miss Lewis, but the regular
rig has broken down. 1 will send a
machine to take you over home. Call
for you in fifteen minutes" He smiled
as Leigh, insisting that it was going
to rain, enveloped himself in great
storm coat and with a cap coming well
down over his eyes resembled the con-
ventional chauffeur.
Leigh drove up to the house in the
village where Miss Lewis boarded
His heart gave a bound as she came
out, so pretty and dainty that he
wished he could claim her for his own
on the spot and fly with her to some
sunny cline!
please stop at the office of Mr..
Byram," she directed. This was the
leading attorney and real estate man
of the town. His office fronted on the
street and through broad plate glass
safe, take out large envelope and
hand it to Miss Lewis. She pinned it
carefully inside of her coat, came out
and the journey was resumed.
1t had grown dark and steady driZ-
zle of rain had begun, but Leigh
wished the ten-mile squirt was a CEN
fury run. Even after Miss Lewis had
thanked him in her pleasant gracious
way and had gone into the house.
Leigh feigned necessary adjustment of
the machine to delay and watch
through the windows the CHEEKY pic
ture of father and mother and daugh-
ter in nest of rare comfort and
peace.
Half way back to the village Leigh
halted at cross-road station to ad-
just the carburetor AS he did so, for
the first time he noticed lying in the
seat which had held his fair passenger
| an envelope-the envelope that Miss
| Lewis had brought from the town. A
! glance beyond its unsealed flap showed
bank notes of large denomination, u
goodly heap of them.
1t flashed across him that Miss Lew
is must have been bringing large
sum to her folks. The envelope must
have come unpinned. Her anxiety
when she discovered this would be in
tense. Leigh was glad of an excuse
to so soon again seek her company.
He leaped from the machine as he
| reached the old farmhouse. AS he
neared the open entrance he quick
ened his steps. An alarming situation
met his startled vision.
Vera sat spellbOund with terror be-
hind her father, whom man confront
ed, fierce and menacing of mien. Mrs.
Lewis lay In swoon. At the door
was second rufli1n with revolver ex-
tended. In an instant Lewis OWNED
that these thugs, with some knowledge
of the expected cash, were meditating
a robbery He stole as IL velvet shod
down the hall.
Three rapid movements; one, and
he had disarmed the sentinel; two,
and he thrust back the threatening
scoundrel from before the old man
three, and, his cap awry, he stood re-
vealed in propria personae to the as.
/ founded Vera.
So, Gordon Leigh had saved the
day. "But / don't understand how
you came to drive Vera here" OBJ,
served the grateful Mr.. Lewis. And
then Leigh blushed and stammered
Vera blushed, too. She understood.
She understood far better within
that same week, when in detail Leigh
confessed the dire straits to which
love had driven him-and was glad.
/