The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-03-22
CHAPTER I.


man, opening the car door and
yelling his loudest, so as to be
heard above the rattle Of the train and
the shrek of the wind. "Ostable!'
The brakeman's cap was soaked
through, his hair was plastered down
on his forehead and in the yellow light
from the car lamps his wet nose glfs-
tened as if vanished. The windows
streamed as each succeeding gust flung
its miniature freshlet against them.
The passengers in the car did not
seem greatly interested in the brake
mans announcement. The red-faced
person in the seat nearest the rear
slept soundly, as he had done for the
last hour and half. He had boarded
the train at Brockton and after re-
Questing the conductor not to "lemme
git by Bayport, Bill" at first favored
his fellow travellers with q song and
then sank into slumber.
Mr.. Atwood Graves, junior partner
in the New York firm of Sylvester,
Kuhn & Graves, lawyers, stirred un-
easily on the lumpy plush cushion,
looked at his watch, then at the time
table in his hand, noted that the train
was now seventy-two minutes late and
for at least the fifteenth time mental
ly cursed the railway company, the
whole of Cape Cod from Sandwich to
Provincetown and the fates which had
brought him there.
The train slowed down in q ierky,
hiccupy sort of way and crept on till
the car in which Mr.. Graves was seat
ed was abreast the lighted windows of
small station, where it stopped. Peer
ing through the water-streaked pane
at the end of his seat, the lawyer saw
dim silhouettes of uncertain outline
moving about. They moved with pro-
voking slowness.
Then, behind the door which the
brakeman, after announcing the sta
ton, had closed again, sounded big
laugh. The heartiness of it grated on
Mr.. Graves nerves. What idiot could
laugh on such q night as this aboard
train over an hour late?
The laugh was repeated. Then the
door was flung briskly open, and a
man entered the car. He was a big
man, broad shouldered, inclined to
, stoutness, wearing q cloth cap with a
visor and heavy ulster, the collar of
which was turned up. Through the
gap between the open ends of the col
lar bristled a short grayish beard. The
face above the beard and below the
visor was sunburned, with little wrin-
kles about the eyes and curving lines
from the nostrils to the corners of the
mouth The upper lip was shaved, and
the eyebrows were heavy and grayish
black. Cap, face and ulster were drip
ping with water.
"Well, I tell you, Ezra" he called
over his shoulder, "if it's too deep to
wade maybe l can swim. Fat floats,
they tell me, and Abbie says I'm get
tin feshier every day. So long"
He closed the door and, smiling
broadly, swung down the aisle.
Hello, cap'nr' cried one passenger.
whats the south shore doin' over
here in this fiood?"
whats the matter, capn?" demand
ed another. Broke loose from your
moorins, have you? Did you ever see
such q night il your life?'
The man in the ulster shook hands
with each of his Guestioners, removing
q pair of wet, heavy leather gloves as
he did so.
Don't knows l ever did, DAN" he
answered. Couldn't see much Of this
one but it's color, and that's black. l
come over this mornin' to attend to
some business at the courthouse
deeds to some cranberry bog property
| lust bought-and Judge Baxter made
me go home with him to dinner. Stayed
at his house all the afternoon, and
then his man, Ezra Hallett, undertook
to drive me up here to the depot. Talk
about blind pilotin'! Whew! The
Judges horse was new one, not used
to the roads; Ezra's near-sighted, and
couldn't use my glasses count Of the
rain. Let alone that, twas darker'n
the fore hold of Noah'S ark. HO, no
Sometimes we was in the rutS, and
SOlIleIllutS We was III liiC
told Ez we'd ought to have fetched
along dipsy lead. then maybe we
could get our bearin'S by sOundin's.
Couldn't see 'em if We did get EN-.
saws he. No. says l, but we could
taste EN-. Man that's driven Though
as much Ostable mud as you have
ought to know the taste of every road
in town."
We'll, you caught the train any
hOw," observed Dan.
"Yup. If we'd been crippled as we'll
as blind we coGld bare done that"
He seated himself just i'll front of the
pair and glanced across the aisle at Mr.
Graves, to find the latter looking in
tently at him.
Pretty tough night he remarked,
nodding.
Yes replied the lawyer briefly. He
did not encourage conversation with
casual acquaintances. The latest ar
rival had caught his attention because
there was something familiar about
him. He must have seen him before.
Conversation across the aisle was
brisk, aud its subjects were many and
varied. Mr.. Graves became aware,