Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-22
=, Of a mess you're making Of this

|
Peter straightened angrily, but man :
aged to control himself.
,,, Very well, Mr.. MCGUIRE" he said,
| lnen you'd better get somebody else
| at once" 0'N
He had never given notice before. mn,
me hackneyed phrase fell crisply from
MS lips. For many reasons Peter
didn't want to go, but he bowed and
walked quickly across the room. Good :
night he said
Before he had reached the door the
frightened man came stumbling after
him and caught him by the arm.
| No, no, Nichols. Come back.
| Dye hear? You mustn't be SO d
t"uchy: Come back. You can't go.
didn't mean anything. Come now !"
Peter. paused, his hand on the knob.
ana looked down into the mans fabby,
empurpled countcnance.
"No. II didn't. II like YOU.
| Nichols--liked you from the very first
yesterday. OF course you can't be
responsible for all the boneheads here"
| Peter had "called the bluff" Per-
haps the, lesson might have a salutary
| effect. And so, as his good humor came
back to him, he smiled pleasantly.
you see. Mr.. Mcclure. you could
| hardly expect Andy to shoot the
chauffeur They're on excellent terms. ("
Mcclure had settled down into n
chair near the table, and motioned
Peter to another one near him.
''Sit down. Nichols. Another glass,
Stryker. So" He poured the whisky
with an assumption of ease and they
| drank.
"You see, Nichols" he went on as
he set his empty glass down. 'I know
what I'm about. There is somebody
trying to get at mo. It's no dream
no hallucination. You know that too.
| now. ! saw him--I would have shot
him through the window-if it hadn t
been for Peggy--and the others-but
II didn't darc--for reasons. She
mustn't know" And then eagerly
She ,doesn t suspect anything yet, does
she. Nicholas?"
Peter gesturcd over his shoulder in
the direction Of the sounds which still
came from below.
No. They're having a good time. :"
That's all right. TomorroY they'll
be leaving for New York, hope. And
then we'll meet this issue sQuarely. You
say the man has gone. Why do you
think so?''
"Isn't II reasonable to think so? His
L
think he had probably been lying out
in the underbrush all day, getting the
lay of the land, watching what we were
doing--seeing where the men were
placed. But he must know now that
he'll have TO try something elsc--that
he hasn't a chance of getting to you
past these guards, il you don't want
him to-
But he nearly succeeded tonight"
mumbled Mcclure obviously.
Peter was silent a moment.
m not supposed to question and !
won't. But it seems to me. Mr.. Nc
Guire, that if this visitors plan were
to murder you, to get rid of you, he
would have shot you down tonight.
through the window. From his failure
to do so, there is one definite con-
cluson to draw-and that is that he
wants to see you-to talk with
Mcclure fairly threw himself from
his chair es he roared:
II can't see him. ! won't. won't
see anybody. I've got the law on my
side. a mans house is his castle. A
fellow prOwls around here in the dark.
He's been seen--if he's shot it's his
own lookout. And he will be shot be-
fore he reaches me. You hear me?
Your men must shOot-shoot to kill. If
they fail I'll-''
He shrugged as if at the futiity of
his own words, which came stumbling
forth, born half of fear, half of brag-
gadocio.
Peter regarded him soberly. 1t was
difficult to conceive of this man who
talked like madman and spoiled
child, as the silent, stubborn, friend
1n,s, a. l..
that Sheldon, Senior, had described him
to be! The love of making money had
succumbed to a mere primitive pas
sion, which, for the time being,
had mastered him. From what had
been revealed, 1t seemed probable
that it was not death or bodily injury
that he feared, for Peter had seen him
stand up at the window, fair target
for any good marksman. but an inter-
view with this nocturnal visitor who |
seemed bent upon bringing it about. In
deed, the childish bravado of his last |
speech had voiced wish, but beneath |
the wish Peter had guessed protest
against the inevitable.
Peter acknowledged McGuire's right |
to seclusion in his own house, but he
found himself wondering whether death
for the intruder as proposed by his en-
serving it, especially If the strange
visitor did not himself use violence to |
gain his ends. And so, when Mcguire
presently poured himself another glass
of whisky, and drank it. Peter took the |
liberty of asking the question.
Il am ignorant of your laws in this |
country, Mr.. Mcclure. but doesn't it |
seem that short Of forcible entry of this |
house we would hardly be justified in !
tho man
II take the responsibility for that"
II understand. But what ] was
going TO propose was n hunt through |
the woods tomorrow. A description of
this man would be helpful, For in
stance, whether he was smoothly shaven
or whether he had bcard-or--or u
Mcguire sCowlcd.
The man has slight growth Of
beard-of mustache. But what diff
ference does that make? No one has
A right hcre-without my permission"
Peter slipped at his glass. As he
lad suspected, there We're two OF them.
That's true. But even with this,
we can move with more intelligence.
This forest is your property. IL we
ind any person who cant give an ac-
,ount of himself, we could take him
nto custody and turn him over to the
proper authorities.
mo. No" cried Mcclure. "And
,ave him set loose after n trivial ex-
Little good that would
10. This man who is trying to reach
Mcclure stopped suddenly, glarng at
lis superintendent with bloodshot eyes,
md Peter very politely waited for him