Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-02-09
CHAPTER Nv (Continued.)

He SAID goo0-by peeVlsnly.
went home and into my Office. l
showed Jack my drawings OF the hero
glyphics and he did not take much in.
terest' in them. But he was interested
In Miss Ponderbury's scrap with her
gutta-percha papa, and said that she
was treating him as he wanted treat
Ing,
'.Well, l hope helped to brighten the
silly old india rubber ball into some
out Of the way corner where he can't
bother me with his internal fussy let
ters," said.
cts possible. Let's hope for the
BEST" said Jack.
We discussed the question Cat least
! did: Jack did not seem interested
in it) of who was playing the trick on
Sir Marmaduke.
At last Jack said: "It might be any
body. If any one were introduced 10
the preposterous old idiot, the first
thing he would go and do would be 10
70 and scrawl hieroglyphics on his
porch wall"
"He is bouncing temptation to the
average sportsman" said.
It was plain that Sir Marmadukes
theory about anarchists was rubbish,
but to make quite sure, l went around
to see that rising young politician, my
cousin, Herbert Polkington and asked
him if Sir Marmaduke Ponderbury
were sufficiently important for anar-
chists to throw bombs at
Herbert is an austere fish, and meek
but at my question his eyes flashed,
his pasty face turned pink, he thump-
Cd his table and cried: important!
Ponderbury important? If being the
most pestiferous old busybody IN Lon
don, and badgering everybody to De
made q peer for it, Is being important
then he is important. He posters my
life out, since I'm one of the people
who look after the party rewards.
ret hundreds of letters from him, and
he's always forcing himself on me here
and everywhere. l wish to heavens
the anarchists would blow him up"
had not seen Herbert SO excited for
years; and spent good half hour
trying to persuade him that 1t was a
very serious matter and he ought to
come around to the Gardens and look
at the hieroglyphics himself. He grew
even more excited, refusing to waste
his time on doing anything OF the kind
and left him ruffled.
He had cleared my mind Of the last
bit of uneasiness about the hierogly-
phics: but I decided to back Ponder
bury to get his peerage every time
got the chance. A man who could so
infuriate Herbert that he turned rose
pink at Just the mention of his name,
vas dead certain OF it. He must be
perfectly pertinacious beggar.
:. -soon. had. proof Of it. I had five let
kers in the next three days, begging me
TO stand by my order and release him
from his tenancy Then he advertised
In the Daily Mail, offering hundred
pounds reward for Information about
the person who scrawled the figures on
the wall Of his porch.
lAughed when Jack showed me the
advertisement; but did not laugh
when the Ponderbury mystery, with
pictures and explanations Of the hero
Elyphics filled columns In the papers,
and the swarm of amateur detectives
settled in the Gardens. There were
scores of them. There must have been
forty clean shaver young men who
looked like the pictures Of Sherlock
Holmes; there were dozens Of retired
army and naval men, all trying to look
like born detectives and there were
about twenty young women, young,
middle aged and old-English and for
eign. I could not go out of the house
without getting nine piercing glances
from eagle eyes and being dogged by
half q dozen men and women to my
club. There was always a group
In the porch OF Number IL, examining
the scrawls, and twice l saw Muriel
Ponderbury in the window, watching
them with great enjoyment. learned
that Sir Marmaduke was having glor
lous time; his correspondence was de-
lvered in big sacks; and all the papers
called him 1.-The man who stands by his
Order" 1t really looked as II the gov
eminent would have to give him a
peerege at once.
went around and saw Herbert again
and asked him If this was not so. He
only turned rose-pink, like a blushing
as I told him - and cursed
ne.
Then I met Ponderbury coming out
of one of my clubs-the Palladium; he
bounced once and squeaked: England
has responded nobly to my peril, Lord
/ have had letters from all
over the country, bidding me fight on
against the food of anarchy"
I'm still laying five to four on the
flood. All this will make them keener
than ever to out you,' I said.
Never a word Of sympathy or con-
graduation from my own order" he
saneaked And he bounced, pouting,
down the steps.
There were no new hieroglyphics. for
there were always four or five amateur
in the porch OF Number IL.
They were a nuisance. They were all
over the place; they were always be-
ing turned out of the Numbers 10 and
II. One had to be removed by the po-
nee with f1re escape from the roof Of
10. They positively nestled in
the trees in the garden of the triangle
which overlooked the porch and they
fought one another for places in the
opposite it. But since they
were always there, on the watch. they
prevented any new h;eroglyphics being
written and began to lose their keen
ness. They grew fewer and fewer
quickly; and In few days the last one