Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-15
CHAPTER Nv
The Job

'HE room was full of tobacco smoke.
. through which Peter dimly made out
Mole with an oil lamp, beside which
VIZ chairs, sofa, ana beyond a steel
W s,Le between the windows. As Peter
ssnols entered. man advanced from
ANYHOW WINDOW at the side, the shutter OF
Mn,en was slightly MAR. 1t was evident
.h tas' not content to leave his safety in
ns ,ss nands Of those he had employed to
"sssrVe It. he had been watching, too.
,.1,s ne was In his shirt sleeves. q man Of
wsi .S'am a heightt. ,compactly built, and
S,s., u past the half-century mark. The
.tnsuishins features of his face were
: . .u"r! nose, heavy thatch of brows.
H. Nuare Jaw which showed the need OF
~ Imces OF razor and his lips wore
s,.i.t, iSno.t, square mustache somewhat
'~ined BY nicotine.
IN point of eagerness the manner NJ
~ erecting Of the newcomer left moth.
70 be desired. Peters first impres.
~Sa van was was that Jonathan X. Mcclure
M quite able to look out for himself,
Tn,en confirmed the impression that rho
iopeg'ion iaoi"S to which Peter had been sub
TSsa sa was nothing but a Joke. But
,',s tn ms employer began spcakinr
hsnan husr Jerkily, Peter noticed that his
tSa were unsteady and that neither
e Ss,a muscles Of his face nor of his bodv
mall. under complete control, Nor
Ma,y, nc would have seemed much os
= Aiaoh Senior, had described him
Oh nsted man, a close bargaincr
wss,.t haa won his way to his great
n.. sanh 6y the sheer force of n strone
nsss There was little of soft
insrinmnt,nh ~ MS face. little that was
At he tb Iynss was not man to be frightened
pot Unseen or to see terrors that aid
s.sm.s % Exist. Otherwise, to Peter he
Of fIIea Is,i, commonplace to the last deerec'
Of nas sn extraction probably, the kind
S,yr rsseoh one meets daily on Broad
bs t on the Strand. In a fur con,
IN tsnI tns nave been taken for n banker.
|in ii, Tor small tradesman. or
wris,s 3 shirt AZ Peter now saw him. the
f,'oahds f,on, and collar somewhat soiIaS
.II III perspiration, for a Iaboriny man
IN s MS rest after an arduous dav
vbst hher 1T words, he was very much
t,ss;his sst his clothes would make him No.
,oi.a MS origins in a rather strident
f,~s meant perhaps to conceal Tho
Nse state Of his mind. 'A'
Tnonn 10 see you, Mr.. Nicbo,s
jsrSes ~; you were never comm" he
p.I walked most Of the wsv from
VIM ,SSe,el ~ River. Something went wrong
A, ,H9h;,--er-'Lizzie.' The a,vv.r, RI
oUI. USI,an.t send my own car. Tye cot
f.H '"e down here and l might need
.ls.i 1T dc doesn't matter in the least
M.tiN,st,td s,t down, Mr.. Nichols" went on
Dseu w0, indicating a chair. "You w. w.
/ ~ h,Sse,l ge,l recommended by Mr.. Sheldon
tI,tsma"ssd tnasd to him yesterday over STe'IHn; lons
"s%se, "sosne, lie told you what I wanted ~
VIM something, Not much '" ssId ahipe Peto.
mat, @ a view to getting all the ,nfor er
sstsr.np9 tcn possible "You wanted a for.
s,,., s-er-yes, that's II. A for.
--.I And then he went on b"jt,noIv I
aer.s 70 70 got about twenty tbousanS
se,ssI % Inere,-mostly scrub oak-nina and
Smsus Ssnm I've sold of a lot 10 tha e can ano
iis,ns; iissns; A mess Of It has been s eut t
'ss been lot Of wssts--.and n.
N Msson is coming around. That's
c'y iob---the 1.-the year ;oh
M Asd sxperisncsis 80