Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-05-13

ONEs 's'
J The car slowed up before the post
Office and Hugh got out. There were
one or two things he proposed to do
IN London before going to Goring, and
Il struck him chat wire to Peter
Darrell might allay that gentleman's
uneasiness If he was late In getting
down. So new was he to the tortuous
WAYS of crime. that the foolishness
Of the proceeding never entered his
bead:. up to date In his. .life,'.if he
had wished to send',a, wire! he had
sent one. And SO 1t may be deemed
sheer fl,ike on hfs"part, that a man
dawdling by the counter afodsed his
suspicious. ) BE. WAS: O. perfectly or
dInary man, chatting casually with
the girl on the. other -slde:s but it
chanees chat, justaszFiugh rwas hold
ing the oostof1ce :pencll-,up. and gaz-
lag at Its So called poiat with an air
OF resigned anguish, the perfectly or
binary man ceased s>;chattipg anu
locked at him. Hugh caught his eye
for fleeting second :. then the con-
versation continued. And as he turned
to pull out the pad Of forms, It struck
him that the man had looked away
just trifie too quickly .,.r.
A grin spread slowly over his face,
and after moments. hesitation he
proceeded to compose a short wire.
He wrote it in black letters for addi-
tional clearness; he also pressed his
hardest. as befitting blunt pencil.
Then with the form in his hand he ad-
vanced to the counter.
"How long Will stt take to-. deliver
In London?" he asked the girl. I
The girl was not helpful. 1t de-
pended, he gathered, on q variety Of
circumstances, Of which pots the feast
was~the perfectly ordinary man who
talked so charmingly.
t'I don't think III bother, then,"
he, said, thrusting the wire into his
pocket. "Good morning. ;, !. :"
He walked to the door, and shortly
afterward Shis Cdr rolteh down the
street.
With what the girl considered pecu-
liar abruptness, the perfectly ordinary
man concluded his conversation with
her. and decided that he too would
send wire. And, then,. after: a, long
and thoughtful pause at'the writing
bench, she distinctly heard an unmis-
taxable "D-n." Then he walked out,
and she saw him no more.
Moreover, it is to be regretted that
the perfectly ordinary man told lie
a little later in the! day, when giving
his report to some one whose neck ap-
parently incoDvenienced him greatly.
But then lie is frequently more
tactful than the truth, and to have
announced that the sole result Of his
mornings labors had been to decipher
wire addressed to The Elms which
contained the cryptic remark, "Sruns
again, stiff neck, stung again" would
not have been tactful. SO he lied,
as has been stated, thereby showing
his wisdom. -: -
But though Drummond chuckled to
himself as the car rushed through the
fresh morning air, once or twice a
CLEAN that was not altogether amuse-
ment shone In his eyes. For four
years he had played one game where
no mistakes were allowed; the little
incident Of the postoffice had helped
to bring to his mind the certainty
that he had now embarked on another
where the conditions were much the
same. That he had scored up to date
was luck rather than good manage
ment, and he was far too shrewd not
to realize it. Now he was marked,
and luck with a marked man cannot
be tempted too far.
Alone and practically unguarded he
had challenged gang of international
criminals gang not only utterly un-
scrupulous, but controlled by mas
ter mind. OF its power as yet he had
no clear idea; Of it's size and imme-
diate object he had even less. Per-
haps 1t was as we'll. Had he realized
even dimly the immensity Of the is
sues he was up against, had he had
but an inkling Of the magnitude OF
the plot conceived in the sinister brain
Of his host Of the previous evening.
then, CHEEKY optimist though he was,
even Hugh Drummond might have
warered. But he had no such inkling,
and SO the gleam in his eyes was but
tranSitory, the chuckle that succeeded
it more whole-hearted than before.
Was it not sport in a land flowing
with strikes and profteers; sport such
as his soul loved?
II am afraid, Mullings," he said
as his car stopped in front Of his
club, "that the kindly gentleman with
whom we spent last night has re-
pudiated his obligations. He refuses
to meet the bill I gave him for your
services. Just wait here, moment" )"
He went inside, returning in q few
moments with folded check.
"Round the corner, Mullings, and
an obliging fellah in a black coat will
shovel you out the necessary Brad
burys."
rCI,o MON t,,onnad ot tho cbpclS