Williams news., 1922-08-18
CHAPTER /.
A
A Caller.

As the first of the month was ap
 preaching, WasSaquam had brought
 his household bills and budget to Alan
 that morning directly after breakfast
 To furnish Alan with whatever sums
 he needed, SherriIl had made a consid-
 erabIe deposit in Alan's name in the
 bank where he carried his own ac- count; and Alan had accompanied Sher-
 Till to the bank to be introduced and had signed the necessary cards in or der to check against the deposit.
 Alan had required barely half of the hundred dollars which Benjamin Cor vet had sent to Blue Rapids, for his expenses in Chicago; and he had brought with him from "home" a hun dred dollars of his own.
 The amount which Wassaquam now desired to pay the bills was much more than Alan had on hand but that amount was also much less than the eleven hundred dollars which the serv- ant listed as cash on hand. This, Was saQuam stated, was in currency and kept by him. Benjamin always had had him keep that much in the house; WassaQuam would not touch that sum now for the payment of current ex- penseS.
 On the first of the month, therefore, Alan drew upon his new bank account to Wassaquam's order, and tn the early afternoon Wassaquam went to the bank to cash his check-one of the very few occasions when Alan had been left in the house atone; Wassa- Quam's habit, 1t appeared, was to go about on the first Of the month and pay the tradeSmen in person.
 Some two hours later, and before Wassaquam could have been expected back, Alan, in the room which had be- come his, was startled by a sound of neavy pounding, which came suddenly to him from a floor below. Shouts heavy, thick, and unintelligible-min gled with the pounding. He ran swift ly down the stairs, then on and down the service stairs into the basement. The door to the house from the area way was shaking to irregular, heavy blows, which stopped as Alan reached the lower hallway; the shouts contin- ued still g moment more. Now that the noise of pounding did not inter fere, Alan could make out what the man was saying. Ben Corvet I"- the name was almost unintelligible- ''Ben Corveti Benl" Then the shouts stopped, too
 Alan sped to the door and turned back the latch. The door bore back upon him, not from a push, but from c weight without which had fallen l against it. A big, heavy man, with rough cap and mackinaw coat, would have fallen upon the floor if Alan had not caught him. His weight in Alan's arms was so dull, so inert, that, if vto- Hence had been his intention, there was nothing to be feared from him now. Alan looked up, therefore, to see if any one had come with him. The alley and the street were clear. The snow tn the areaway showed that the man | had come to the door alone and with | great difficulty; he had fallen once up | on the walk. Alan dragged rhe man l Into the house and went back and | closed the door. |
 He returned and looked at him. The | man was like. very like the one whom | Alan had followed from the house on | the night when he was attacked cer- | tainty that this was the same man | came quickly to him. He seized the | fellow again and dragged him up the | -airs ard to the lounge in the library. |