The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1918-11-01
feelings, he showed no sign of it in hi
cordial handgrip,

| feelings, he showed no sign of it in his
cordial handgrip.
I'VE were glad to get you, Wallace" "
he said. You'll excuse me for a mo-
ment, I'm sure"
He drew Colonel Howard aside in
conversation, while Mark twirled his
fingers and looked out of the window
into the busy hive of the capital, and
tried to make himself believe that it
was all true.
When Kellerman had gone the Colo
mel invited Mark to sit down, and
launched into business.
Il must tell you that it's a pretty
stiff job that we're tackling, Mark"
he said. "To begin with, we're a sort
Of nucleus of the whole organization.
We're in touch with every division.
We have to have the whole thing at
our fingers ends-and it's mainly a
matter of ships, animals, and trans
port. And, to cap the climax, you can
imagine what nest of intrigue and
espionage Washington has become in
these days. And, as neutrals-osten-
sibly neutrals-we can do nothing to
| put an end to it,
He stretched out his finger and
pointed toward the big safe between
the windows.
"Any one of some two hundred pa
pers >there, Mark, would give valu-
able clue" he said. every night, when
work is finished, your task will be to
/ open the safe, take out the inner case
containing these documents, add those
on which you have been working, in
Guiding every waste sheet and every
scrap of the days blotting paper, and
have the day porter convey them,
+, under your perSoLal supervision, to
| the strong room, where you and either
the General, myself, or Kellerman
will place them in the safety vault. In
the morning the same procedure is re-
versed. And that is why l insisted
on our getting you, Mark. l knew you,
and don't know the hundred of other
| officers of impeccable character whom
we could have secured. We can't run
| riSkS-we simply can't. That's why
il has to be just you and Kellerman
and 1. We had our lesson in the old
days, you know"
He frowned at the remembrance,
and then answered Marks unspoken
| question with another.
where are you staying, Wallace?'
''At the Congressional"
''Well, I want you to come and stay
with us as soon as we're settled. We've
rented house in Massachusetts circle,
and move in on the first of the month.
| Eleanor and Mrs. Howard are still in
| New York, but they're coming here in
about ten days time-just as soon as
l can get the house ready for them.
Eleanor is dying to see you, and Mrs.
Howard has the pleasantest remem-
brances, of course. And now I'm going
| to take you to the Brigadier."
The short interview with the head
of the department confirmed Mark s
impressions as to the buSineSSlike ma
| ture of the plans of the war office.
Mark went home. He was resolved, al
| though he had not told the Colonel,
unless he found that he could take up
his life again where he had dropped it.
years before. And then-but what
was the use of speculating? He went
home TO his hotel.
He was surprised to find how easily
he seemed to fit into his environment
when he donned his long-neglected
h1
dining room of the Congressional. AL
! most the first face he saw was that of
a man of his class; within Il few min
utes Mark Wallace was seated at the
dinner table with merry party of old
friends and new acquaintanceS. And
the years had slipped away from him
On the next morning, when he took
up his duties, it was with the sense
that he was no longer stranger.
! Washington was ready to extend her
| welcome to him. At the Army club
to which he was posted by Colonel
Howard, he found himself. much to his
surprise, often the center of Il respect
full audience, eager to hear of the work
of the army in the fOrlOrn OutpOSts of
the West He discovered, too, with
surprise, that he was by no means as
unknown as he had imagined himself
to be.
Then there were invitations that had
to be accepted, receptions and dinners
yet through it all Mark waited for the
charmed day when the house in MaSsa-
chusetts circle was to be opened, dis
playing the princess of his Imagination
the little child of the hillside, the
schoolgirl grown into the image of his
dreams.