Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-10-16

matter of the country club, you know,
and last Thursday night the parish
house burned down."
"Yes," said BorOday, politely.
"And now something else has hap
pened and" Suddenly the chief beat
his desk with his fist am pretty
sick of it,"
Under perfect control as he was at
critical moments, the Russians hands
had way of twitching. SO now he
flicked the ash from his cigarette and
was politely interested.
what happened last night?' he in
Quired.
II think you know. If you don't,
I'll tell you. Yesterday morning a
tremendous collection was taken up al
the church Of Saint Jude's to. build a
new parish house in place of the one
that burned down. The rector has
been away; the assistant rector took
charge of the money"
Il see.'
"Of course you see. What I would
like to know is why you fellows"
Boroday spread out his hands in his
foreign way.
II fear you give me great credit. !
do not deserve it."
why you fellows" the chief went
on resolutely, "waited to do this job
until the rector, who Is old and in
firm, had gone away and left husky
young assistant in his place. And that
isn't all want to know"
"In any way that l can assist you--"
"What the devil do you mean, ;
yelled the chief. "by shooting man
down and then going away and leav-
ing the money in his pockets? It's
it's crude--it's wasteful!"
The Russians fingers twitched in
spite of him. The chief saw it and
smiled under his heavy mustache.
"Do YOU mean that somebody shot
this--er--assistant you speak Of? Tha
Is rather sad. Was there--mucl
money"
"Seventy-eight thousand dollars,
said the chief, and put his cigar bacl
in his mouth. There is a story be
hind it. Boroday, and it's that story
am going to get. I'm warning you be
cause you've played pretty square witt
me. | needed that pearl in my bust
ness"
BOrOday rose.
"All right, chief" he said. 81 an
sorry about young Ward. l hope he
wasn't killed"
'IIe wasn't killed." replied the chief
"And | haven't said his name was
Ward. If you haven't had your break
fast yet, we might breakfast together
| oversight and haven't had time fol
anything"
Ward came back to consciousness in
the great four-poster bedstead in
which old Hilary Kingston had lain in
state. He felt very little pain and no
curiosity at all as to his surroundings
only an overwhelming IaSstude and
WEAKNESS of life Something--some-
thing that mattered very much had
gone out of existence. He could not
remember what it was.
There was uniformed nurse by the
bed He had curious antipathy to
asking her anything. He had made
a promise of secrecy to someone
about what?
Toward evening he had managed to
evolve out of his reviving conscious.
ness some faint memory of what had
happened to him. He remembered that
he was walking down hill and that
he had fallen forward. For quite a
half-hour. late In the afternoon, he
struggled to remember why he had
gone down the hill
Then he got ii. He had been up at
the hall to see Elinor. II was Elnor
who had gone out Of his life. Elinor
Elinor.
He slept very little during the nj ght
and as his fever rose, he called the
nurse "I1linor," and begged her fran.
ticalIy to tell him that something was
not true.
"Of course 1t Is not true" said the
nurse, who was accustomed to being
called various things.
"You did not mean It at all?" He
eyed her wistfully. The nurse was
large and plain. with wide, fiat face
you. with the eyes of Il saint" said
poor Ward, ito try to tell me that you
are wicked. | see that it is impos.
slble. think can sleep now"
The nurse put her hand which was
large and ill-shaped but very light and
tender, on his head. And so he went
to sleep.
When he was quite settled, the nurse
went out into the hall where Elinof
was sitting on straight chair. She
had sat there almost all Of the time
since Ward was carried up the night
before.
"He Is sound asleep" she said smil
ingly. "He thinks | am someone
named 'Elinor.' and he calls me that
As my own name Is Sarah, It's rather
pleasant"
(rO BE CoNTlNuED)
*s<s