The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1921-07-14

i ANAf me - ANAA AAAf hAtA kAdh ~
have perfect right TO risk II as yol
please But as the general manage
Of the railroad. with a lot Of you
friends holding Office under you, yol
can't say that. Besides. you are fight
ing for a cause. and that cause vii
stand or fall with you"
"You ought 10 be a member Of thii
new reform legislature that some o.
our good friends think is coming NJ
the pike" he chuekled but she ignoreC
the good-natured gibe and made hin
listen
Il was visiting a day or two al th'
capital last week, and there are In
fiuences at work that you d0n't know
about II the opposition can't make
your administration failure, II won''
hesitate TO get "a ot you = TIE easiest
wsy tsst offers
TLera was silence In the ms Ior'.
len for a minute or 50. ald then the
boss said.
"As usual. you know more than you
are willing to tell me"
"PerhGps not" was the prompt an.
swer Perhaps / am only the on.
looker-who can usually see things
rather better than the persons actual
ly involved. Hitherto | have urged
you 10 be bold, and then again 10 be
bold. Now am begging you to be
prudent"
'In what wayi"
Careful for yourself. For example:
you walked out here this evening;
don't do that any more. Come In a
falkland don't come alone"
| couldn't see his frown OF disagree
meut. but I knew well enough IL was
there
There spoke the woman In you,
he said. III | should show the white
feather that way. they'd have some ex-
cuse for potting me-"
There was a silence again. and |
got up quietly and crossed the dining
room 10 the big recessed window where
| stood looking out into the darkness
of the tree-shaded lawn. II was pretty
evident that Mrs. Shella knew a heap
more than she was telling the boss,
just as he had said. and | couldn't
help wondering how she came to know
II. What she said about the increased
number Of wrecks looked like pointer.
Was she in touch with the enemy in
some wayf
Then my mind went back In a flash
to what Maisie Ann had told me. Was
the husband who ought 10 be dead, and
wasn't, mixed up In IL In any way?
Could it be possible that he was one
O. those who were in the fight on the
other side, and that she was still keep
ing in touch with himi
Pretty soon | heard the murmur Of
their voices again, but now | was so
far away from the bambOo-screened
door that / couldn't hear what they
were saying. | wished they would
break ii off so the boss could 20. II
was getting late. and there had been
enough said TO make me wish we
were both safely BACK In the hotel.
Its that way sometimes, you know, in
spite of all you can do. You hear a
talk, and you can't help reading be-
tween the lines. | knew. as well as
| knew that l was alive, that Mrs.
Sheila meant more than she had said
perhaps more than she had dared to
say.
II was while | was standing there
In the big window that | saw the man /
on the lawn. At first thought II was
Tarbell. who was never very far out /
of reach when the boss was running |
loose But the next minute | saw /
was mistaken. The man under the !
trees had on long travelling coat 4
that came nearly to his heels. and his 4
cap was the kind that has two visors, 4
one In front and the other behind
Realizing that Il wasn't Tarbell. | 1
stood perfectly still The house was
lighted with gns. and the dlning-room /
had been turned down, 50
there was a chance that the skulker
under the trees wouldn't see me stand
ing in the corner Of the box window.
To make IL surer. | edged away until
the curtain hid me. was just in time.
The man had crept out Of his hiding
place and was coming up to the win
low on the outside As he passed
through the dim beam Of light thrown
ly the turned-slOwn chandelier. | saw
hat be had a pistol In his hand, or a
weapon Of some kind; anyway, ! /
taught the CLINT Of the gas-llght on
iull steel
That stirred me up good and plenty.
stll had the gun had taken out Of
Fred Mays drawer: I had carried Il
svsr since the night when IL had
uIghty nearly got me killed OF 10 the
Red Tower coal yard. ! fshed il our
md made ready. thinking. o. course
hat the skuiker must certainly b. one
4 Cianahan's gunmen. ! sfiu bad
nat idea when I felt. rather than saW,
nat the man was Pulling himself NJ
o the window - fhat te could take
. look into the dining roofl.
The look satisfied him. aTpareatly, +.
'er the next second I beard him drop
lmong the bushes; and when stood