Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1919-07-25

playa four-act drama that Will pack
the biggest house on Broadway to the
| roof for as many months as we'd care
to stay. Perhaps you will allow me
to talk it over with you a little later
on. You will be interested, I'm sure.
Egad, sir, I'll read the play to you.
Tll-Wnat no, landlord. Have your
best automobile sent around to the
door as quickly as possible. A couple
of my men are going to Hornville to
fetch hither my
"Just a minute" interrupted Put
nam Jones, wholly unimpressed. IA
man just called you up on the phone
Mr.. Barnes. I told him you WAS en-
tertaining royalty at lunch and
couldn't be disturbed SO ne asked
me to have you call him up as soon
as you revived. His words, not mine,
Call up Mr.. O'Dowd at Green Fancy.
Here's the number"
The mellow voice of the Irishman
soon responded to Barnes call.
81 called you up to relieve your
mind regarding the young woman who
came last night" he said. 'You OBJ
serve that / say came She's quite.
all right, safe and sound, and no cause
for uneasiness. / thought you meant
that she was coming here as n guest,
and so I made the very natural mis-
take of saying she hadn't come at ell,
at all. The young woman in question
is Mrs. Van Dykes maid. But, bless
me soul, how was / to know she was
even in existence, much less expected
by train or motor or Shanks' mare?
Well, she's here, so there's the end Of
our mystery
Barnes was slow in replying, He
was doubling his own ears. 1t was not
conceivable that an ordinary-or even
an extraordinary-lady's maid could
have possessed the exquisite voice and
manner of his chance acquaintance Of
the day before, or the temerity to
order that sour-faced chauffeur about
as if The chauffeur!
'But I thought you said that Mr..
Curtis chauffeur was moon-faced
/ and"
"He is, bedad," broke in Mr.
| O'DOwd, chuckling. "Thats what de-
ceived me entirely, and no wonder. 1t
wasn't Peter at all, but the rapscallion
| washer who went after her. He was
instructed to tell Peter to meet the
four o'clock train, and the bloclzhead
forgot to give the order. Bedad, what
does he do but sneak out after her
himself, scared out of his boots for
fear of what he was to get from Peter.
! | had the whole story from Mrs. Van
| Dyke"
! "Wel I'm tremendously relieved 2
said Barnes slowly.
"And so am T." said O'Dowd with
conviction 81 have seen the heroine
Of our busted romance. She's a good
looking girl. I'm not surprised that
she kept her veil down. If you were
to leave it to me, though, I'd say
that it's a sin to carry discretion SC
far as all that You see what / mean
lon't your His rich laugh came over
he wire.
Perfectly. Thank you fnr letting
me know. My mind is at rest Gooli-
by" AS he hung up the receiver he
said to himself, "You are a most af-
fable, convincing chap Mr. ODOwd.
but I don't believe word you say.
That woman is no lady's maid, and
you've known all the time that sne
was there"
| At four o'clock he set out alone for
a tramp up the mountain road in
which the two men had been shot
down. His mind was quite clear.
Room and Paul were not ordinary rob-
bers. They were, no doubt, honest
men. He would have said that they
were thieves bent on burglarizing
Green Fancy We're it not for the dis
closures of Miss Th0ckeray and the
very convincing proof that they were
not shot by the same man.
1t was not beyond reason-indeed,
it was quite probable-that they were
trying to cross the border; ia that
event their real operations would be
confined to the Canadian side Of the
line. He could not free himself Of the
suspicion that Green Fancy possessed
the key to the situation. Room and his
| companion could not have had the
i slightest interest in his movements up
/ to the instant he encountered the
young woman at the crossroads. His
busy brain suddenly suffered the shock
of distinct conclusion. Was she q
fellow conspirator? Was she the in
side worker at Green Fancy in we'll
laid plan to rifle the place?
Could it be possible that she was
the confederate of these painstalZing
agents who lurked with sinister pa
thence outside the very gates of the
place called Green Fancy?
His ramble carried him far beyond
the spot where Rooms body was found
| and where young Conley had come
| upon the tethered horses. His eager,
curious gaze swept the forest TO the
left of the road in search of Green
! Fancy Overcome hy rash daring