New Britain herald., 1922-04-22
Has Madgc Made thf Correct Guess . Iillian's Rrusauc Words Deserve?


 l promptly took tho cue Lillian hal given nc athough l had to mak' an effort 10 bring myself back from the remembrance Of the terrible iim' through which the youth standing before me had proved so staUnch ar aid.
 No, shant ask MT Chester tc stay for nnchenn,' l said saylN stressine the verb. "l simply shall tell Katie to put another plate on and dare him not 10 stnY, ilc knows or should know thnt there ls no one ir the world moro welcome 10 our home than hc,'
 I spoke but rno ruth. though I realized, even ag 1 rohe that my enthusiasm must have sounded ful- some. exacgcrata1 But the young chap had rendered. ms such rsnal service in our time of awful ncoo that every onc of tho family held not only grati'gdo but genuine regard for him.
 MT Chester flushed from both em- barrassment and pleasure lf hls ex~ pressive face told tho truth, and he said hurriedly:
 T hope yon know that there is no home to which l like better 10 come" and there was hoyish earnest ness In his tone.
 Lillian clarprd her hands, and ] was sure I detected a note of i'm patience in the sound,
 "A very pretty speech" she said. "But 1 must listen to another kind Madge if youll just tell Katie about the extra plate. and then come hack here. m be much obliged There are some points I want to 20 over with you"
 l hurried away with a tiny feeling of chagrin. That Lillian had dismissed me a bit cavalerly I realized. and knew also that If we had been alone should have cared no whit, Bu; there was something in the honest, boyish admiration and sympathy which Tom Chester had given me dur ing our search for Junior which had appealed to me-and my vanity coald rot help tiny bit of resentment at being belittled in his eyes.
 Like Sentinel
 The unworthy little feellnc fvas aT- most instantly banished by another wondering curiosity as to Lillian's selection of Tom Chester as her medi- um of communication with the gov ernment operatives due in q few hours. At the time of Juniors kid mapping. Lillian had been desperately ill. and we had kept all Knowledge of the awful thing from her until after she had recovered. She had had no personal acquaintance with Tom Chester.
 Indeed, as I looked back, I was sure she had never seen him before this hour for we had kept her in almost absolute secllsion until her trip to the Cats1ils. And while I often had spoken ot'his Kindness and likable young personality. yet it had been Hugh Grantland to whom we all had given credit for the wonderful way in which he had tracked the criminals and had restored our boy to us.
 Hugh Grantland. of course
 The name was like a key to the little puzzle. He must be in com munication with both Lillian and Tom Chester, must have recommended the lad to Lillian. l stopped short on my way to the kitchen with almost an eerie little feeling at my heart.
 Never do l receive any communica- tion from Hugh Grantand save the conventional picture postcard with his trayeling address on the message space, and the single initial IT. which he mails me whenever he leaves his permanent address for any time longer than a day or two But from time to time. in odd bits Of revelation. there comes to me the at the CrossWays of my life, tha, there is no detail of my existence of which he is not Cogni2ant. and that he stands ready with royal aid and protection whenever I shall need it.
 Nadge is ComfOrted. Of course. l knew that this present | association of Lillian and Tom Ches- ter, through Grantland's recommends | tion, had nothing to do with me or my needs. But as well as if | had | heard the words from Hugh Grant | lands own lips. did l know that the army officer had kept in touch wirn | the younger man in order to have a