Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-08-22

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm hot in
love with her.
"Can you speak with equal author
ity for Mr.. O'Dowd? He is 4 very sus-
ceptible Irishman, / am told
IT don't believe he will get much en-
couragement from her, Mr.. Sprouse,"
said Barnes stiffiy.
eff she is as clever as [ think she
is she will encourage him tremendous
~. / would if ] were in her place.
Mr.. O'Dowd is only human. He isn't
immune"
81 catch the point, Mr.. Sprouse,'
said Barnes, rather gloomily. He did
not like to think of the methods that
might have to be employed in the sub
jugation of Mr.. ODowd "There is a
rather important question I'd like to
ask. Is she even remotely eligible to
her country's throne?"
4fRemotely. yes" said Sprouse.
$50 remotely that she could marry
a chap like ODowd without giving
much thought to future complica-
tions?" he ventured.
''She'd be just as safe in marrying
O'Dowd as she would in marrying
you," was Sprouse's unsatisfactory re-
sponse' The mans brow was wrin-
killed. in thought. "See here, Mr.
Barnes, / am planning a visit to Green
Fancy tonight. How would you like
to accompany me?
It'd like nothing BETTER" said
Barnes, with enthusiasm.
"Will you agree to obey instruc-
tons? / can't have you muddling
things up, you know"
''The grounds are carefully guard
ed" said Barnes, after they had dis
cussed the project for some time.
Miss Cameron is constantly under
the watchful eye of one or more of
the crowd"
Il know. | passed q couple of them
last night" said Sprouse calmly "By
the way, don't you think it would be
very polite of you to invite the Green
Fancy party over here to have an old
fashioned country dinner with you to-
night?"
''It would be useless, Mr.. Sprouse.
They will not come"
II am perfectly aware OF that, but
it won't do any harm to ask them,
will it?"
Barnes chuckled. 81 see. Establish
ing myself as an innocent bystander,
eh?"
Get C'Dowd on the telephone and
ask him if they can come" said
Sprouse.
But there is Jones to consider. The
telephone is in his Office. What will
he think"
Jones is all right" said Sprouse
briefly. "Come along. You can call
up from my ROOM" He grinned slyly
'Such q thing as tapping the wire,
you know"
Sprouse had installed a telephone in
his room, carrying wire upstairs
from an attachment made in the eel
lar of the Tavern. He closed the door
to his little room on the top floor.
with the landlords approval" he
explained pointing to the instrument,
but unknown to the telephone com
pany, you may be sure. Call him up
about half past ten. O'Dowd may be
up at this unholy hour, but not she.
Now must be off to discuss literature
with Mrs. Jim COnley. The hardest
part OF my job is to keep her from
subscribing for set of Dickens. Con-
ley's house is not far from Green
Fancy. Savvy?"
Barnes, left to his own devices,
wandered from taproom to porch,
from porch to forge, from forge to
taproom, his brain far more active
than his legs, his heart as heavy as
lead and as light as air by turns
More than once he felt like resorting
to well-known eypedient to deter
mine whether he was awake or dream
ing. Could all this be real?
Ten minutes later he was in
Sprouse's room, calling for Green
Fancy over an extension wire that had
cost the company nothing and yielded
nothing in return. After some delay
O'DOWd's mellow voice sang out:
Hello! How are you this morn
ing?"
"Grievously lonesome" replied
Barnes, and wound up a doleful. ac-
count of himself by imploring O'Dowd
to save his life by bringing the entire
Green Fancy party over to dinner
that night.
O'Dowd was art-broken. Person
ally he would go to any extreme to
save so valuable life, but as for the
rest of the party they begged him to
say they were sorry to hear of the eX-
pected death of SO promising a chap
and that, while they couldn't come to
his party they would be delighted to
come to his funeral. In short, it would
be impossible for them to accept his
kind invitation. The Irishman was
so gay and gooCl-humored that Barnes,
took hope.
ssRV thp WOW Q,Dnud Til lilo 10