The Elk Mountain pilot., 1921-05-26

The. boss didn't make any answer TO
Hatch's wind-up except to say. "Is
that ala"
The other two were out, now. and
Hatch turned to stick his ugly Jaw out
at the boss. and to say, JUST as II ]
hadn't been there to look on and hear
him.
"No, by Jupiter-it isn't all. In the
past six months you've made Gus
Henckel and me lose az cold half-mIl-
lion, Norcross. For less provocation
than that, many man in this neck
of woods has been sent back east in
the baggage car. wearing wooden
overcoat You climb down. and. do it.
while you can stay alive.''
For some time after the three men
went away the boss sat staring at the
slip of paper on the desk slide. At
last he got up. sort of tirediike,
l thought. and said to me: Jim
mie, you go down and see if you can
find taxi. and we'll drive out TO
Major Hendricks. l promised him
I'd go out to the house, you remem-
ber." SEX
W htu Oui AQAl SlOpBtu at tht Liza
jors gate. somebody was coming out
just as were getting ready to go in.
The man had the visor of his big fiat
golf cap pulled down well over his
eyes, but l knew him just the same.
1t was Collingwood
This looked like more trouble. What
was the presidents nephew doing
here? | wondered about that, and
also. If the boss had recognized Col
lingwood. If he had. he made no
sign, and moment later had pushed
the bell-pusl and Maisie Ann was
opening the door for us.
Both Of you? oh, how NIGEL" she
said. with smile for the boss and
queer little grimace for me- Come
In. This IS our evening for callers.
Cousin Basil is out. but he'll be back
pretty soon. and he left word for you
to wait If you got here before he did,
That message was for the boss, and
l Jagged behind in the dimly lighted
hall while she was showing him into
the hack parlor. had dropped down
on the hall settee. in the end of it
next to the coat-racli. and when Mrs.
Sheila came downstairs and went
through the hall, she didn't see me.
A second later heard the boss jump
up and say, "At last! 1t seems as
if you had been gone a year rather
than fortnight and then Maisie
Ann came lodging out and plunked
herself down on the settee beside me.
You needn't tell me that we had no
right TO sit there listening; know
it well enough. on the other hand,
l was just sh;rky enough to shift the
responsibility to Maisie Ann. She
didn't make any move to duck, so
didn't
You came out to see Cousin Basil?"
Mrs. Sheila was saying to the boss.
And then: "1e had telephone call
from the Bullard. aud he asked me to
tell you to wait" After that, guess
she sat down to help him wait, for
pretty soon we heard her say: cousin
Basil has told me little about the
new trouble: have you been having
another bad quarter of an hour?"
"The worst of. the lot" the boss said
gravely. and from that he went on
to tell her about the Hatch visit and
what had come of it; how the graft
ers had new claw hold on him, now,
made possible by an unwarranted piece
of meddling on the part of the New
York people in the political game.
1t was while he was talking about
this that Aaisie Ann grabbed me by
the wrist and dragged me bodily into
the darkened front parlor, the door to
which was Just on the other side of
the coat rack. l thought she had
come to her right senses. at last, and
was making the shift to break off the
eavesdropping. That being the case,
was simply horrified when found
that she was merely fixing 1t so that
we could both see and hear. The slid
ing doors between the two parlors
were cracked open about an inch, and
before | realized what she was do
ing she had pulled me down on the
floor beside her, right In front Of that
crack
IF you move or make noise, I'll
scream and they'll come in here and
find us both!", she hissed in my ear;
and because didn't know what else
W wv VIII ruCI iittiC tCihh-
CANT, l sat still. 1t was dastardly,
know but what was to do7
When the boss finished telling her
about the Hatch. talk, Mrs. Sheila
said: you mean that Mr.. Dunton
and his associates sent somebody out
here to influence the electlonf"
"Yes; that Is 1t. precisely. But how
did Won know?" W.
.You made the Inference perfectly
plain" she countered. II have a rea
soning mind. Graham !, haven't you
discovered It before this7'
# The boss nodded soberly. u have
discovered a. good many things about
you during the past six months: one
Of them Is that there was never an
other woman like you since the world
began"
knowing as did thaf she had A