The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1917-04-03

.oek with an analytical mind. She
nef ' IN the morning paper that Frank
I Is'lrv the partner of the late Rich-
hun Treneau, had decided to incorpor-
alu tho firm under the name OF Frank
ate Inc. 1t made her angry to
nu If this businessliiAe haste. But
M r,o1j1ed that, after all, she knew
snt .,ino Of Mulry and that he must
wv = great deal about her poor
n,nonoau. He was the first man to
go - She was happy in this deter
.1a+;on Her brother David dropped
r''.,, GOV. Lois and I had little mis-
- acr.tanding. but we have made up.
49,. u- Going to the country house for
now. honeymoon. Come along, you
two and have some sEatln2 ana SKI
;nr and tobog@an work.
r1oria shook her head. She had 9TH
r,->,,,- to do. Her father urged her
" mike the change Of scene. She
aoid che would think it over but she
Ain rnt intend to go, as she planned
~ c,ond her wits on Frank Mllry. AS
coon rs she could get rid OF her father
I'D brother she ordered her own car
cn+ for the long voyage downtown.
Fronk Mulry was not at his office
.-bon she arrived. He had been sum-
,oonoa to Doctor Royce's office by tel
a,hono Thinking that Royce prob
ohlv wanted a tip on the market, and
oorpr always for a new customer,
,Tnlrv lost no time in obeying the sum-
MONS He found Royce in grim hui
NOR and not at all polite.
"Nr. Nrulry," Royce began, every
word rs sharp as a surgeons knife,
"rou know more about Richard Fren-
cans affairs than you would like to
tell in the open court. Miss Stafford
10 snsnjcious of everybody who ever
knew Freneau. ] Imagine that she will
look YOU up. It is the wish of her ia
+bnr and of myself that she shall
not find out what scoundrel the man
was We want to spare her, at least
till she grows much stronger and time
has healed her wounds little. 1t is
TO YOUR interest as much as ours to
Keen her in the dark. Yon know how
those letters were mailed and those
kilograms sent. You know why
Freneau played that horrible trick on
the Door girl he was engaged to. l
merely wish to warn you that if You
see Miss Gloria Stafford coming your
WAY, YOU get oGt Of her sight, no mat
fer how or when. If you don't you'll
he mixed I'D III q murder trial that
NAV prove disastrous to you and your
business"
Mtllry'S usual smile was twisted into
a look Of terror. He had more reasons
than even Royce suspected for wish
inc to keep the searchlights Of the
press and the police out of his Office.
He was uncertain Of the manner OF
Freneau's death, but the published
hints Of suicide for financial reasons
had put Mulry into new financial diff
culties. He had used the money
Freneau had borrowed of Gloria's ia
ther to save himself from q crash
He was afraid that Stafford would de-
mand it back at any moment, and he
could not face such demand.
Furthermore, his part in the writing
of the letters and the sending of them
and the kilograms from the various
cities was one that he could not pleas
antly explain. He could think Of no
good lie to tell, and the last person on
earth he wanted to meet was Gloria
Stafford.
Fortunately for him, he was at
Royces office when Gloria arrived at
his. She was received by an imperti.
nent young stenographer who seemed
unable to spare time from her gum
chewing and her appraisal of Gloria's
looks and clothes to impart any use
full information.
Gloria said she would like to leave
note for Mr.. Mulry. The stenog
raphcr pointed to a table wherein lay
writing materials. Gloria sat down tt
invite Mr.. Mulry to call upon her.
Now Lois Stafford had also an i'm
portant errand ct this office. He1
whole future and reputation lay in the
packet Of letters that Freneau ha(
promised to return to her. She wa:
sure that they were not on his body
Tor had they been found the newspa