Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-04-10

callers at the barn home. one day Sid
ney Graham brings his mother out to
To IT. Mrs cS,r Ho|lists ,sm She i w1 H%ite II taken ken,
work one day Shirley overhears the con-
versation Of ~ strangers who are
waiting to see Shirley's employer.
xU.-Continued.
Well. we got them Graharns good
and fast now!" a coarse voice, that
she knew for that Of the man with
the loud clothing, spoke. The young
Teller bit all right! thought he
would. He's that kind" He stopped.
for a laugh Of contempt, and Shirley's
heart stood still with apprehension.
What could it mean? Was 1t some
thing about her Grahans? Some dan
ger threatening them? Some game
the kind of maj who lived on the
blindness Of Others What was 1t they
called such? A parasite? fnstinctively
she was on the alert at once, and
automatically she reached for the pad
on which she tool dictation and be-
gan to write down in shorthand what.
she had just heard. The voice in the
other room went on and her fountain
pen kept eager pace. her breath COM
ing quick n short now, and her face
white with excitement. Il
"He went out to see the place, you
know. examine the mines n all that.
oh, he's awful cautious! Thought he
took a government expert with him to
test the ore. We fixed that up all right
had the very man on tap at the
right minute. government papers all
from the real thing. It was Casey; you
know him; he's a crackerjack on a
Job like that-could fool the devil
himself. Well. he swore it was the fin
est kind of ore and all that kind Of
dope, and led that Graham kid
around as sweetly as a blue-eyed
baby. We had a gang out there all
and took particular pains so Graham
would so around and ask the right
ones questions-Casey tended to that
and now he's come home with the
biggest kind Of a tale and ready to
boost the thing to the skies I've got
his word for it, and his daddy issto
sign the papers this morning. When
he'll find himself minus a hundred
thousand or So, and nobody to blame
for 1t, because how could anybody be
expected to know that those are. only
pockets? He'll recommend 1t right
and left too, and We'll clean out a
lot Of other fellers before we get done.
Teddy. my boy, pat yourself on the
back! Well have a tidy littlea sum
between US when we pull out Of. this
deal, and take a foreign trip for our
health till the fracas blows over, Now
mind you, not a word OF this to Bar
nard when - m in. We're, only
going to pave the way this morning.
The real tip comes from Graham him
self. See?" as
Shirley was faint and dizzy with
excitement as she finished writing.
and her brain was in a whirl. She felt
as If h would scream in a minute
IL this strain kept up. The papers were
to be signed that morning! Even now
the deed might be done and 1t would
be too late, perhaps, to stop It, And
yet she must make no sign, must not
there and that they had been heard.
tShe must sit here breathless until
they were gone, so they would not
know she had overheard them, or
they might manage to prevent her
getting word to Graham. How long
would they stay? Would they talk on
and reveal more? The other man had
in reply, and then before more could
be said an office boy opened the out
err door and told them that Mr.. Bar
nard had just phoned that he would
not be back before two o'clock.
The men swore and went out
grumbling. Suddenly Shirley knew
her time had come to do something.
Stepping quickly to the oor she
scanned the room carefully to make
sure they were gone. then closing her
own door she took. up the telephone
on her desk and called up tho Gra-
ham number. She did not know just
what she meant to say, nor what he
would do II Sidney Graham were not
in the office-and 1t was hardly prob
able he would be there yet II he had
only arrived home the day before. He
would be likely to take a day of be-
fore getting back to work. Her throb-
her brain while she waited for the
number. Would she dare to ask for
Mr.. Walter Graham? And II h did.
what would she say to him? He did
not know her, and probably never
heard Of her. He might think her
crazy. Then there was always the
possibility that there wal some mis-
take-and yet it seemed q coincidence
that two men Of the same name
should both be going west at that
time. It must be these Graha,ns that
enough over the phone to- do any
good? OF course she must give them
a copy Of what she had taken down
in shorthand, but first she must stop
the signing of those papers, whatever
they were. at all costs.
Then all at once, into the midst Of
her whirling confusion of thoughts
came a voice at the other end OF the
phone, "Hello!" and her frantic
senses realized that it was q familiar
soh, is this-this Is Mr.. sidney
Graham. isn't it? This 10 Shirley Hoh