Williams news., 1918-01-03
CHAPTER XV-Continued.

 been decent enough to write more ex- plicit excuse to Dear Peter" instead of Dear Mir. Trait ;" but. then, a cor respondence card conveyed through the hands of a third person with whom the dear girl couldn't feel well acquaint- ed
 'Where to, sir?''
 Peter came out of morose reverie to find himself hesitating beside the taxi. 'Tll be darned if I dor' Peter replied hotly.
 'sWhat's that?'
 "Oh, beg pardon-no offense-was thinking. Just wait, please" Peter threw himself back into the cab, slam ming the door. Rotten fix" he grum- bled. ''Why, she said she'd come back" :" Regarding the note critically, he enun- ciated a somber doubt, Don't believe she wrote you. It's all a plant"
 The handwriting was unmistakably that of woman of culture. How was he to say it wasn't Lydia's hand, who had never seen a scrap of it?
 He would have kissed it, could he have been sure.
 Through the forward window he commanded perspective of the south erly sidewalk as far as to Madison ave- nue, where a surface car, swinging up- town, hesitated with grinding brakes, and then rumbled on.
 A moment later the shadowy shape of a man darted across the street and toward the taxicab, and Peter recog- nized Craven's characteristic gait. But for that he wouldn't have known the man, who was all but disguised to eyes that had never beheld him out of dress clothes after nightfall- wear ing bowler with a shabby, Tapping raincoat, at a midnight hour, was sight unprecedented.
 Peter sat up. Barely in time a devil ous thought engaged his fancy, and he acted on it promptly. Ready to his hand rested the mouthpiece of a f1ex- ible speaking tube, ending in fixed earpiece close by the chauffeur's head.
 'tFive dollars" Peter said distinctly into the mouthpiece, ''if you don't let on Pm inside, in case this man ques- tions'' s :''
 The chauffeur didn't even signify he had heard, so positive became his inn mobility at sound of those magic syI fables, "Five- dollars"
 Hastily Peter dragged his overcoat across the bosom of his shirt and crowded himself into the corner near est the curb.
 Bearing out his premonition, Craven stopped to speak to the chauffeur and the eavesdropper cursed bitterly to hear no more than the confused grumble of their voices
 Then without the least warning the car shot away at round pace west ward.
 Simmering with profanity, Peter seized the speaking tube to below a demand for incontinent halt; but on second thought permitted the car to round into Madison avenue before he gave the order.
 Again at pause, this time halfway down the avenue block, the cab ejected an infuriated fare.
 @What the blank did you do that for?'
 tfWhy in blank shouldn't I?'' the chauffeur demanded as hotly. "You told me not to let on, didn't you? Here come through with that five!"
 Choking, Peter found his money, dis bursed. 'How did it happen?''
 tt.Why the old gink says, did bring a young lady and was I waitin' for her, and%I says yes, an he slips me three bones-the clock says two-forty-and says to. clear. out, won't be needed. And what did you want me to do about that seein' you didn't want him to know you was inside?'
 "Oh, all right" said Peter wearily. ''You did precisely the right thing. Only -I didn't quite understand" He eyed perplexedly the colored lights of drug store across the way.
 "Well, what's the good word now, boss? If you're done with me, I'm on my way"
 "No,". Peter insisted, "Pm keeping you. Run across the block and wait just out of sight on Park avenue. I'll walk back"
 Buttoning topcoat to chin and sacri- fcing his Bond street topper to the elements, Peter trudged back to Sev- enty-sixth street, then eastward past number 9S, regarding the house aggres- sively.
 It looked down on him now, he thought defantly, with touch of con- temptuous pity for his impotence to read the riddle of it's staid, uncommuni- cative walls.
 Embittered, he walked on to Park avenue, and found his chartered car at the appointed place. Pausing beside it, and ignoring the chauffeur's well-meant advances (stimulated by the romantic notion that this swell young guy was tryin' to beat it with the old duffer's daughter, and had stubbed his toe in the getaway), Peter painfully excogi-