Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-11

Ht WHutS II man
to take charge--sort OF forestry expert
ana general superintendent. money no
ooJect; L reckon you could cop out 5000
a month as starter"
That looks good to me-" said Peter,
delighted that the argot fell so aptly
from his lips. And then. You're not
spoofing. are you?'
~, Devil a spool. It's straight goods,
Nichols. win you take III"
;, Peter had vision Of the greasy
uishes he was to escape.
"CWni L. he exclaimed delishtedly.
Sure thing. Mcclure il n million
elre, made pot Of money somewhere
IN the West--dabblcs in the market,
lnat where Dad met him. Crusty old
rascal. Daughter. Living down in
Jersey now, alone with a lot of sery-
him-maybe not" ''"'
rster i.s clasped his friend by the hands.
Moloch himself would look an angel
OF mercy to me now"
DO you think you can make poodp,
And when?' 'ee'
can fix 1t up with Dad, I reckon,
lou better come down to the Office and
see him about 12." anu
ieter Sheldon. Senior. looked him over
ana asked him questions and the in.
'erVlew was quite satisfactory.
II tell you the truth. as far as
! know 1t. said Shelton, Senior (which
Whs more than Peter Nichols had done)
Jonathan Is. MrGuire il strange
character-k keeps his business to him.
self. How much he's worth no.
body knows but himself and the Treas.
ury Department. Does a good denl Of
puying and selling through this Office.
hard man in deal but reasonable In
0tner things. We had his acquaintance
aor nve years. lunched with him. dined
win him-visited this pace in Jcrsey.
put ! give you my word. Mr.. Niciols,
w never yet got the prick of a pin
piEneath Per, that mans skin. You may not
,ihr MN Few people do. But there
no harm In taking n try at this job"
IL shall be delighted" said Nichols.
Ioh know whether you will or
not, broke in Sheldon, Senior. frankly
something's happened lately About
enree weeks ago Jonathan X. McGuire
gumc ,c INTO this Office hurriedly. shut the
uoor oehlnd him. locked it-and sank
tho thoo a., chSir. putting hard, his face
the color OF putty. He wouldn't answer
any questions and put m" off, thomgh
nave gone out OF my way to helm
him. But after n while he looked
out OF the window. phoncd for his ear
nnu went again. saying he was going
down into Jersey"
Peter. "'u'eu
NJ, II was something worse than that.
Mr;: Nichols. He looked as though he
hod seen ghost or heard banshee.
Ihen this comes continued the
oroker, taking up letter from the desk.
ASKS FOR forester. good. strong
inah' 1ou re strong, Mr.. Nichols?
Er-and courageous: You're NOT ad.
'iicted to nerves? You sec I'm telling
You all these things so that you'll 20
Gown to Black Rock with YOUR eve,
open. He also asks me to engage other
men as private police or gamekeepers
VINO VIII act under your direction
Queer. isn't it? Rather spooky. I'd
say. but II you re game. we n close tho
bargain now. Three hundred n month
to start with and found. Is that salts.
"Perfectly,"' said Peter with a bow.
When do | Begin"
AT once il YOU like. Salary begins
now Fifty in advance for expenses"
That's fair enough. Mr.. Sheldon, If
YOU Will give me the directions I viii
go today"
Tomorrow will oe tim. enough.
sheldon, Sr.. had turned 10 his desk
nnd was writing upon slip of paper.
This he handed to Peter WIN cneck.
That will show You how to get
there. v he said rs he rose. pru~neIy.
Glad TO have met you. Good day
The Pennsylvania station caused the
new superintendent Of Jonathan K. Nc
Iiuire to blink and gasp. He paused
suitcase in hand. at the top of the dou.
bic flight Of stairs to survey the spIen-
nd pronorti0ns of the waiting room
where the crowds seemed lost in it.
great spaces. In Europe such building |
would be Il cathedral. In America it |
was a railway station. And the thought |
vas made more definite by the Gre
,orinn chant Of the train announcer |
which sounded aloft. its tones seeking
among their own echoes.
Az he descended the stairs and |
'cached the main floor of the station hiu |
glance caught the gaze Of a man star
ng at h i'm intcntly. The man was
'lender and dark. dressed decentlv
'nough in gray suit and soft hat and |
wore a small black mustache. All of
hese facts Peter took note of in the one
glance. ARRESTED BY the strange stara of |
he other. which fingered while Peter
glanced away and went on. Peter. who
lad an excellent memory for faces. was
sure that he had never seen the man
before. but nfter he had taken few
steps ii occurred to him that in the
eyes he hnd noted the
90 lnI tot ,,ti e I,,rp,,icn
ignition. And so he stopped and turned. |
nut as ha did so the fellow dropped his
,aZe suddenly. and turned and walked |
lway. The incident WIS curious aud
'ather interesting.
II Peter had had more time he would
ave sought out the fellow and asked
lin why he was staring at him, but
here were only few moments TO
pare and he made his way out to the
'OncOurSe, where he found his gate and
descended To his train. Here he rn
r0nred himself comfortably in the
mOking ear. and was presently shot
lndcr the Hudson River (as he after
ward discOvered) and out into the
sunshine of the fats Of New Jersey.
II last he found himself muttering to
himself in English, My home-my
lome Is mere
After a while the mood of depression,
moments of which had come |
10 him in New York with diminishing |
frequency. passed into one of contem- |
plation. of calm, like those which had |
followed his nights of passion on the |
Dnepcr, and at last he closed his eyes
and dozed. Visions of courts and
camps passed through his mind-of
brilliant uniforms and jewelcd decora-
tions: of spacious polished halls, re-
splendcnt with ornate mirrors and crys-
tai pendant chandeliers; of diamond
roroncts. Of silks and Satins and pow
lcrcd hunkcS. And then other visions
40 orov 6Vures CrOurhpd i'm the mud