The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1921-08-04
A PHONE SLEUTH.
BY ALICE mUNoRucu.

ny as she lald the magazine She ba5
Oeeh reading on the table. .s,Thera,s a
wonderful story about woman sIay+bi
VINO discovered a plot to rob a bank
anu trapped the bandits. Bur sncb q
Is not for me. I've got to keen
On answering calls in that sleepv old
g0ssips.' " '0' u
On, you never can TELL" drawIed her
DrOtaer' Joe, as he settled back in the
rocker his sister had vacated. lyon
=, may YET become a 'Stealthy Steve, or
sherlock Holmes Your Jobs inst the
piaee Tor leaks Listen in and vo,,
may discover conspiracy of the Reds
OF Ilie hiding place Of some real hoOze
On. have discovered something al
ready" he called after her. "onlv Tn,
nor going TO TELL. III let George do if
1hatIi, pheaSe you better"
Amy slammed the door and pretended
she dld not hear this last remark. Some
times J0e's references TO George "gOt
on her nerves" as she expressed it.
? AS Amy walked towards the tele-
phone Office To resume her duties at
me switchboard she suddenly realized
lhat young Campbell had not visited
them ;" frequently of late. Immedi-
ateiy she apnlOgiZed for him 10 her
self. pleading The necessity of study
ing Tor the midyear examinations as
excuse
Late the next afternoon there came
call for Georges number. AS she
made the connections Amy realized
that her heart was beating fercely.
But what was she hearing? The
speaker was young attorney who
mad recently settled in the town.
Say, George, what are you going to
do about the wife and child2"
Have a reconciliation. l supnose. ="
she heard Georges voice replying.
But how To bring it about stumps
me-
Yes. that's the only decent thing to
90. III try and think up some arrange
meht by tomorrow. Call you up then
I've got a client coming in now; at
least, hope he's a client. So long"
He rang off. and Amy sank back
weakly in her chair. George married (!
A wife and childl So that was the
explanation of his absence. How
foolish she had been!
After supper that night Joe began
his customary teasing.
When George arrived he turned to
Amy and said: Gee, I'm glad those
exams are over. l had to cram like
time, and at that I'll bet l f1unked
in that old theory of ethics'''
perhaps you fiunked in the practise
of ethics, ALSO" bitterly remarked the
girl.
Meaning what?
Your wife and child, with whom
you are seeking a reconciliation"
Wife and child-reconciiiatiOn-
What are you talking abOut?"
Simply telling you what 1 have
found out while you have been pre-
tending to all of us that you were
SINGLE
why, so | am. Whoever's been tell
ing you such scandaIOus lies-?"
"NobOdy's been telling me. heard
you acknowledge it yourself, this af-
ternOOn"
"Where?"
lover the phone"
L us
bewildered. Suddenly a vide grin
spread over his face. He sat down on
the couch and laughed so long and
uproariously that Amy began to fear
that the shock had affected his sanity.
Finally. when he could speak. he ex-
claimed $50 you heard me talking to
John and thought 1 meant myself.
Why. you dear girl, that wife and child
exist only in Imagination. and even
then they aren't mine, but belong to
Jim Casper. the hero of a novel John
and 1 are writing together.
You know people wonder how John
manages to live, he has so few clients.
Well. he keeps going by writing stories
and articles for newspapers. l wanted
to break into the writing game and so
we agreed TO cOllabOrate on a novel.
But we got stuck at one point in work
ing out the plot That was what you
heard US talking about. Not knowing
the circumstances. it was perfectly
natural you should think as you did"
"Oh, no it wasn't l ought to have
known better, but Joe had been teas
ing be about becoming a detective by
listening in and 1 guess that made
me excited and suspicious and ready
to jump at conclusions. Can you ever
forgive me?"
Forgive your he laughed. why
must congratulate you. You've detect
ed the solution of our difficulty. We
can use an overheard telephone con-
versation 10 bring about the recOncil-
iation in our story.
II tell yOu,' he cried enthusiastical-
". catching both her hands in his,
that book is going TO be the best
seller of the year now that it has three
coIlaboratOrs. instead of two"
Amy blushed. Was it at his praise or
for some other reason? She did not
withdraw her hands.
Presently his arms encircled her and
1OOLrod into her