Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-10-12
MARY Roberts Rinehart' 81
Thrilling Mystery of
( "The Curve of the Catenarv"'
Continued From Yesterday

GO upstairs and change your
sscotaes. o.!ie." she said. 1--WE had
syour thingu laid out"
SHARP has gone," said the mater.
HE took a notion yesterday to go
back to England and enlist. Your
father felt that. if he felt it his duty.
he ought to be encouraged"
1 was annoyed. 1 liked Sharp. He
was an amusing old cuss, a socialist or
anarchist or something, against every
thing. Doesn't it beat anything how
the war has taken those revolution
airy chaps and made them good citi-
zens?
l went upstairs, and of course the
wrong things were out, and nobody to
fix my shower the way 1 like it, or
anything.
But / got dressed somehow. and I
looked out to see If the cars were
arriving. None had come, and as
wasn't keen on a chat with the mater.
I looked about for my card to the as
sembly
1t was gone. and when I got sis on
the house phone she said she hadn't
seen it. I got one of the housemaids,
and she declared she hadn't thrown
IT out. She'd seen it stuck in my
glass two or three days before.
Jove, it made me uncomfortable.
slipped down to the telephone and got
Charlie Thomas, who's always in
charge of the assembly invitation list.
They give it to Charlie to do be-
cause nobody who doesn't belong can
slip anything over on him. To get to
the assembly past him you have to
flash three forebears, d. A. r. in the
family, and a paid-up membership at
the two best clubs.
Who sends out the invitations for
the assembly. Charlie?" I asked. 'I
mean. who keeps the list, number, and
all that?"
Are you on that, too ?" he said.
THE police are doing it, you know"
do you know if my card is in ?"
Wait minute. I think it is. I've
been going over the list" He left the
phone and came back almost immedi-
ately
You're officially marked present.
Your tickets here"
Il wasn't there"
He whistled.
Sure your people didn't turn it is,
Sure your people didn't turn it in,
by mistaken"
I'll ask again. I think not
l hung up, and looked about my
room. My boots were in a row in the
closet, as Sharp had left them. Every
thing was in order, as Sharp had left
it. Sharp,
1t sounds reasonable, doesn't It? He
was a dignified looking fellow, very
gentlemanly. I'll bet, in evening
clothes, he could have gone any
where. Sharp!
And now he was gone. To serve
his country! Bosh, To sell the Jewels
When the thing had blown over. and
puy little place in Dorset, and settle
down to gentleman farming and writ
ah
istry.
Sharp!
Some time or other this may meet
your eye, Sharp. So l here and now
apologize. If you have read to this
point you know that, what with ex-
citement and loss of sleep. 1 was
laruiy ratlonal. You know I never
could stand loss of sleep, Sharp.
To get back to the curve of tho
catenary-Ive gone long way from
the curve, haven't 1? I'm Coming
TO II pretty soon. It's like all curves
NOT the shortest way to a given
point you know. But it's not cat and
canary. l think I've said that al
ready
Well. the women came. and ,bero
wasn't one smile to divide among the
crowd. Sore? They were the mad
dest lot of dowagers I've seen i'm n
long time.
1t hadn't affected their appetites.
however. 1 handed around endless
cups of tea and plates of cake. and
one silly old woman had brought her
daughter. and when they were gorg-
ed I had to sit and listen to her raving
over Anderson's dancing at the Ma
jestic.
I'm perfectly shameless about
him." she confided to me. IT almost
cried when 1 heard that he had hurt
his foot and had had to cancel the
engagement"
And a week ago I'd been rushing
that girl! That was the sort mother
wanted me to marry. nice girls in my
own class. Then l guess | had the
grace to get red, for it wasn't so very
many hours before that Lottie Murray
had kissed me over the footlights, and