Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-06-23

ssNTR. MERTON" he said, "for
1Fl Gods sake don't give me away
and I'll tell you the whole truth. My
cousin Philip can confirm it-or at least
part of it. | came up here because-well
I'd married the wrong woman and gone
off the rails bit and Philip settled me
here to keep me straight. I had debts
tool have them still, may tell you
! frankly. That's why l took in O'Brien.
| wasn't supposed to keep any liquor
in the house-that was one of the con
ditions. But damn it ! wasn't born to
be tcetotaler, and that's the plain
truth. Mr.. Merton. That devil O'Brien
found me out and started to blackmail
! me-
"Blackmail2" I asked.
"Jn his own way. He made me give
him liquor-and there we We're the pair
of us! That's why I pulled down the
blind. The decanter and glasses were
| all out on this table here! And that's
why O'Bricn was afraid you might be
sent by his relations. That was the one
thing he was afraid of-that he might
be found out and taken away"
I bent over him and shifted.
"You have had n dram now!" I
exclaimed.
"And it's not the first since you
been here either. You see I'm perfectly
frank with you, Mr.. Merton. If you
like to give me away to Philip-well
be id, you can if you like. But
you'll surely not? I've told you what
I've told to no one else"
There rushed into my mind confrma-
tion enough of part at least of the poor
DEVILS story. His curious moods, his
manner as he entered the room this
evening. O'Brien's impish illusions to
liquor when first visited the house, all
as this had exploded my hopes, I think
l was more glad than sorry to see the
doctor come out of the ordeal with only
this kind of stain on his character.
He was likab1e man. we had been
capital friends-and he was Jeans
cousin.
II promise you, DOCTOR" I said,
that ! shall repeat no word of this
story-except, Of course, in confidence to
those who are on the track of this
business in Ramsay. Only in return
you must tell me absolutely frankly if
you have seen any grounds for suspect
ing O'Brien of anything reasonable
anything Whatever
The doctor shook his head EN-
| phatically.
The only plotting the man was
capable of was to get liquor. Otherwise
he was just gas bag. I've seen him
| rNnta ,,,Ln H.
given everything away, if there had
been anything to give"
And then | remembered the pocket
book
but this entry! !" I cried. "How do
you explain thatT'
The doctor looked at it again and
his bewilderment was obviously sin
cere.
I'm frankly id if can make
head or tail Of it, he said. ''Bolton
must have got on the wrong scent ;
that's the only thing I can imagine
And then, like sharp smack in the
face, Jeans reading of that entry came
back to me. Could she have guessed
right after all? 1t looked uncommonly
| like it.
And yet" I"said to myself cts a
great thing to have tested the other
hypothesis
In fact. if one is not built to be
easily dispirited, well. it is not easy
to dispirit one. I looked at the doctor,
and something in my expression seemed
to make him smile. When he smiled
he looked so pleasant that my con-
science smote me. I told myself he GER
tainly deserved some reparation for the
ordeal had put him through.