Evening star., 1921-06-05

that he was Staying at the faculty
club, and thus implying that he eX-
pected to stay there all summer. He
secured a pile of the clubs station
cry, letterheads and envelopes. He in
terviewed Minis, who sat behind the
desk at the club and sold cigars and
attended to the forwarding OF nail.
He had to trust Mims-there was no
other way of concealinG from Dorothy
his absence from Monroe. And it was
necessary to deceive Dorothy. He felt
that Dorothy would disapprove of
what he was about to do. Dorothy
would cndeavor to diSSuade him. he
did not intend to be dissuaded.
In the afternoon of June - Trum
bull Gannett carried a small travel
ing bag 10 his locker in the engineer
ing laboratories. When he returned
to the faculty club the bag contained
suit of khaki-coiored overalls, con-
vincingly stained with cylinder oil
and cup grease. and pair of heavy
pliers that he had made himself, out
of exactly the right steel. and a curl
Gus socket wrench of his own design.
At the club he added two of the blue
chambray shirts that -workmen wear.
a grain sack. and the club stationery
kin heavy manila envelope.
4 He spent the evening writing two
letters to Dorothy. These he deposit
ed with Minis to be mailed at inter-
walls of twenty-four hours. The first
contained check for $50. half the
money he had received for the house
lightly. of not having received q
really satisfying letter from her He
knew in advance that Dorothy would
not have time to write a long letter
in the first two or three days.
At IL O'Clock he put on an old suit
of clothes with blue shirt and a
disreputable old felt hat. At a little
,, before midnight he slipped down the
stairs like thief and into the street.
He walked rapidly. The town had
were still running. He avoided the
main streets, cut across lots. struck
the railway a hundred yards above
the station. A small shop at the
street corner was still open. He went
in and bought plug Of tobacco. He
of sixteen. Naturally he had not
! chewed tobacco for years. But now
1t gave him a profound satisfaction to
bite of a corner of the plug and tuck
it away in his cheek.
He slipped down the tracks to q
shed and. standing in the dark shad-
ow, he opened his bag and took out
the grain-sack. He stuffed the overalls
and the shirts and the manila enyeI-
ope and the tools in it, tied the sack
with q cord and threw the cheap bag
away. The grain-sack. with it's con-
tents, made a small bundle that could
be carried under his arm or swung
over his shoulder. And now, with his
Idisreputable hat pulled down over his
eyes and his bundle under his arm, in
his blue shirt and his old clothes, he
might safely have braved the bright
lights of the station. No one would
have recognized him.
I The train for the west was nearly
due. but he didn't move. Instead he
put his bundle on the ground and sat
\down on it and waited. as il ne were
jreconsidering his adventure. When
the train pulled into the station he
walked slowly up to point opposite
the engine. AS the train started, he
and swung aboard the platform of the
blind baggage. He leaned his back
against the end of the car, braced his
i feet against the irons, pulled his hat
down more firmly over his eyes. AS
the train gathered speed, clicking
night, something like a grin animated
| the face of Prof. Trumbull Gannett.
tTHIRrY hours later tall. young
man, very pale under thick coat
| of cinders, registered at the hotel in
Pawnee, Kan. as T. Gannett, ate IN
enormous breakfast Of ham and eggs.
and went to bed. He slept heavily.
He did not waken until noon. Then
he arose, washed or some of the Gin
ders. ate q dinner that would have
staggered Dorothy Gannett. and
stro1led down the main street
He had seen mile after mile OF
wheat that morning from his van
itage-point behind the tender OF the
lexpress he had caught out OF Omaha.
He had heard nothing but wheat at
DINNER in the little hotel The town
Il \ vHy0 n q