Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1921-09-28


glanced at the rows of letters. who
would have thought it, James?" he re-
marked. Great Scot / shall have to
get partner"
With disapproval showing in every
line of her face, Mrs. Denny entered
the room, carrying the kidneys, and
Drummond glanced at her with a
smile.
Good morning, Mrs. Denny" he
said. Wherefore this worried look
on your face? Has that reprobate
James been misbehaving himself?"
The worthy woman snorted. "He
has not, sir-not yet, leasttHise. And
if SO be that he does'-her eyes tray
eled up and down the back of the
haplesS Denny, who was quite unneces-
sarily pulling books off shelves and
putting them back again-'if so be
that he Does" she continued grimly,
him and me will have words-as I've
told him already this morning" She
stalked from the room, after staring
pointedly at the letters in Drummond's
another.
Its that there reference to crime,
sir, that's torn it," said Denny in a
hoarse whisper.
thinks I'm going to lead you
astray, does she, JameSW He was
opening the first envelope, and sud-
denly he looked up with a twinkle in
his eyes. Just to set her mind at
rest" he remarked gravely,' "you might
tell her that, as far as l can see at
present, / shall only undertake murder
in exceptional cases."
He propped the letter up against
the toast-rack and commenced his
breakfast where is Pudlington,
James? and one might almost ask
why is PudlingtOn? No town has any
right to such an offensive name" He
glanced through the letter and shook
his head. "Tush tush And the wife
of the bank manager toO-the bank
manager Of PudlingtOn, James Can
you conceive of anything so dreadful?
But I'm afraid Mrs. Bank Manager is
a puss-a distinct puss. It's when
they get on the soul-mate stunt that
the furniture begins to fly"
Drummond tore up the letter and
dropped the pieces into the basket be-
side him. Then he turned to his SER
want and handed him the remainder OF
the envelopes.
go through them, James, while as
sault the kidneys, and pick two or
three out for me. / see that you will
have to become my secretary"
do you want me to open them,
sir?" asked Denny doubtfully.
you've hit it, James-hit it in one.
Classify them for me in groups. Grim
inal; sporting; amatOry-that means
of or pertaining to love; stupid and
merely boring; and as a last resort,
miscellaneous" He stirred his coffee
thOughtfully. II feel that as a first
venture in our new career-ours, | said,
James-love appeals to me irresistibly.
Find me a damsel in distress; a beau
tiful girl, helpless in the clutches of
knaves. Let me feel that l can fly to
her succor, clad in my new grey suit
ing"
He finished the last piece of bacon
and pushed away his plate.
Denny was engrossed in a letter he
had just opened. A perplexed look
was spreading over his face, and sud-
denly he sucked his teeth loudly. 1t
was a sure sign that James was ex-
quickly, and removed the letter from
his hands. "Pm surprised at you,
James," he remarked severely. "a sec
rotary should control itself. Don't
forget that the perfect secretary is an
It; an automatic machine-a thing in
capable of feeling. :"
He read the letter through rapidly,
and then, turning back to the begin
ming, he read it slowly through again.
my dear Box X1O,-I don't know
whether your advertisement was
joke: I suppose it must have been.
But read it this morning, and it's just
possible, X10, just possible, you mean
it. And If you do, you're the man /
want. l can offer you excitement and
probably crime.
I'm mp against it, X10 For a girl
I've bitten off rather more than l can
chew. l want help-badly. Will you
come to the Carlton for tea tomorrow
afternoon? l want to have a look at
you and see if I think you are genu-
inc. Wear a white flower In your but
tonhole.
DrummOnd laid the letter down, and
pulled out his cigarette case. ITO
morrow, James," he murmured. "That
is today-this very afternoon. Verify
I believe that we have impinged upon
the goods" He rose and stood look
ing out of the window thoughtfully.
"You think it's genuine, sir" said
James.
His master blew out a cloud of
smoke 81 know If is" he answered