New-York tribune., 1921-03-27

thereat. Instead, the morn
ing's mail on Paul's office desk was
CRYING for attention and not getting
it, and Paul himself was as glum as
though he were going to be hanged
at 10 o'clock sharp.
Paul was thinking Of a dinner that
he had gone to the night before at
Mrs. George Parsons. Paul didn't
like to go to Mrs. Parsons dinners,
and wouldn't have gone to that one
if Miss Polly Wesson had not been
going.
Mrs. Farson was undoubtedly
beautiful, woman of the world, chic
and ambitious. Taking her by her.
self, Paul would have smiled and
been Indifferent; taken with her son,
George jr., he disliked her. The real
trouble, of course, was the son,
George.
George Farson jr. was stock
broker. He lived with the market,
had profound economic views, knew
many men in high places intimately
"a little bit too intimately when
they were not about, Paul thought
smoked many cigarettes in fancy
holders and drank many cocktails.
He dressed with great care, had q
weakness for fiashy automobiles and
was handsome as the devil.
But whatever he was he wasn't
Paul Waters's sort, and Paul disliked
him and his type profoundly. He
hadn't liked him to begin with, and
when George had suddenly begun to
make fast and furious love to Polly
Wesson that moderate and unen-
thusiastic dislike had become good,
substantial hatred.
The trouble was that Polly Wes-
son not only seemed to like George
Farson, but seemed to like him much
better than she liked Paul, which
was, Of course, all wrong. If he lost
Polly to one of a dozen men he knew
Paul would have died of q broken
heart, but he would have died know
ing that Polly would be happy with
man worthy of her. To have her
marry George Farson would be a
horrible tragedy.
He had considered the matter of
money. He was junior member of
firm of insurance brokers and
earned an honest living, but no such
living as George Farson INDUCED in.
For one short instant he had, within
himself, accused Polly Of thinking of
the money and not Of the man, and
had Immediately blushed furiously
and been ashamed of himself.
"No,'' he muttered. "Polly'd never
do that. She thinks he's better
man than I am, that's all, and-and
he's a bounder!"
And that is why Paul, sitting in
his Office on that beautiful autumn
morning, didn't care whether school
kept or not.
PauPs telephone rang and reused
him from his melancholy reverie.
Mrs. George Farson was speaking,
and the moment Paul heard her
voice he suspected something was
wrong. There was, and Mrs. Farson
was so excited that she found diff
Guilty in explaining it clearly.
Paul finally got the facts straight.
The Farson house had been entered
and all of Mrs. Parsons rings, pins,
necklaces, tiaras and so on had been
taken in the Silly night. She herself
was at the moment prostrated in her
silken negligee, the loss having just
been discovered by her maid, who
had come in to remove Mrs. Farson' S
breakfast tray. 1t was, perhaps,
mere luck that she called Paul
Waters instead of the police on the
telephone. For some reason or other
she looked upon Paul as dear
friend, and undoubtedly forgot COM
pletely that he had taken out for her
$4,000 burglary insurance, and
that when she got over the first
shock she would expect Paul to see
that she was reimbursed for the
value Of her jewelry, if it was not re
covered.
~
Paul sympathized greatly with
Mrs. Farson, said nothing of his OF
his conlpany's need of sympathy, ane
promised prompt action, thus recall
ing the matter of the insurance tt
her mind.
\ lie telephoned the home Office O.
the company which had issued tn,
burglary policy and then telephone,
Mr.. Thomas Higgins, head of the de
tective agency which handled all O
the company's business in Alden.
The investigation made by Thoma
Higgins and by Inspector Glib o
the Alden police revealed but one i'm
portant fact: the sash of the bath
room window, which room adioine,
MrS Eorccrto