Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-01-07

and Leone was hurrying to be there.
The wedding was scheduled for three
In the afternoon and 1t was two as
she approached the halfway point
where a new resort was springing into
existence. She had an hour to travel
the thirty miles remaining before her,
and 1t ought to be easy.
Leone's thoughts were of the firt-
ing captain as she approached a house
that was being erected beside the
road.
This wal the house that Fred Rich
ards had a contract to build. He had
been a builder all his life, following
in the footsteps of his father, and
when he laid aside his khaki he went
into business on his own account and
some within of fate sent him to Ken
nelworth county.
Fred was anxious ove the contract.
He was behind on his schedule, due to
a scarcity of carpenters. So he donned
an apron and went at driving nails
In earnest.
On the day of Jane Jarvis wedding
Fred hung out of a window in the up
per story of the new house n adj
justed some old-fashioned shutters
that the owner of the domicile in
sisted should be an adornment Of his
new abode.
1t was an awkward position Fred
was forced to put himself in in order
to perform the task, and perhaps h a
was the reason he lost his balance
and nearly fell when he pulled a ham,
mer from q pocket and the prongs
caught in his clothes. He managed to
regain his equilibrium, but in the
struggle he had detached a small trim
ket he had been wearing. This trim
ket, in falling, somehow managed to
receive considerable %propelling force.
Just as Leone Jarvis roadster
passed the house she heard an omi-
nous kissing, followed by a thump,
thump, thump.
The feeling of ~vexation developed
into anger when she discovered a bent
nail clinging to the fiat tire. She be-
came furious when she considered the
position :. placed her IN. She would
be late to her sisters wedding; for
she had no spare tire and it would
take some time to repair the damage
"Those carpenters are to blame"
she ragged, as she heard several ham
mers pounding in the new house be-
side the road. "They ought to help
me-"
She strobe toward the house and
accosted the first man she saw. He
was leaning out of a second story
window adjusting a green shutter.
81 have a puncture-and you're to
blame" she called. 81 picked up Q
nail you left on the road, and Tn
stranded and in a horrible hurry, too
What are you going to do about it?'
The man looked down at her, rather
whimsically it seemed.
"What'H we do about it?" he echoed
"Why, We'll fix the thing, of course
That's the only thing to do, isn't itT
He disappeared from the window
and presently came limping out of the
house.
His eyes became big and round a.
he looked at her, standing as though
dazed. But his eyes were no biggel
or rounder than Ieone's, and he wa!
no more dazed. However, by a struggle
they regained their composure an(
without uttering a word walked to thu
stalled roadster.
GanIa' -oH 1sloJA oo,.o A. ~
ture," he said, pulling it from thu
nat tire. "See, it scarcely penetrated
the surface of the casing"
He crouched on the road and ex
amined the tire carefully.
"Here it is" he said presently, ant
with the aid of a pair of pliers which
she handed him he pulled an objec'
from the tire and held it up. At frs
he looked puzzled, and then a broa(
smile crept across his face, and hel
c~ountenance assumed a duplicate of it
II told you," he said, Strengthening
up, his eyes bright with a strange
light and his voice sounding as must
cal as it did that night when the moor
was full, II told you it would hell
me track you, and then. Will you
will you forgive MI for the puncture?'
"Yes," she said, meeting his franz
gaze with one just as frank and al
sincere, II will. I'm-I'm glad it hap
pened-eyen if it does make me late
for sisters wedding.
1t was, of course, a tiny gold Dir
with a broken clasp.
He carefully attached the trinket. t.
the under side of a coat lapel.