The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-08-17
The Paying
Guests
~ A DELAFIELD


UsSgSiEht issa. wsstsrn Newspaper union.
7 don't know what 1t was first made
mo suspect that Nj. and Mrs. Crane
weren't married. Maybe 1t was the
ettention he showed her. That ain,t
Natural Or proper between married
folks.
I would never have taken paying
guests on the farm, only the interest
was due Of the mortgage, and then the
COW died. 7 always knew Cy Hicks
poisoned her because I showed him ups
when he was counting Ada White for
her money. But / couldn't prove 1t,
and OF course q rich man can always
buy the courts. So / had to take
paying guests that summer.
Well, the Cranes was The first, and
i took q dislike to Mrs. Crane the
minute I set eyes on her. She wore
them smart city dresses and she used
90 wash her hair and set on the stoop
with It all hanging out to dry, and
dyed down to the roots, DO that you
could hardly tell It. And, as I was
saying, 1t amt respectable for decent
married folks to set holding hands On
the stoop after dark, and that's what
must first have made me suspicious.
! lay low and said nothing, but one
day when + was doing up their room
I letter caught my eye, and 1t showed
me my suspicious were correct. 1t was
written to a woman called Mary,
which Was what Mrs. Crane called her
tolf, and signed .syour loving husband,
Horace" Now Mr.. Cranes name was
Percy.
1t gave me q terrible shock, In par
ocular because I found out that she
was IN actress. It was all about parts
In theaters, and It I'd guessed I'd
never have had them. on the farm. But
they were too smart for me, and I'm
naturally trustful.
After that duty compelled me to
look In MI. Cranes pockets when he
was ont with that woman, and 1t
wasn't long before l. came across a
istter writtentby q woman In Elmira,
signed, "your loving wife, Maisie."
Now that Woman's name wasn't Maisie
-at least, she called herself Julia,
though of course it was an alibi.
Well, It was my clear duty to. stop
this wave Of immortality that was. sub
merging d village, and % + set down
and wrote in anonymous letter to the
eeal Mrs. Crane, which r signed "a
Friend and another to that wornan.s
husband, telling them what thar part
ners was up Ito. Then + waited and
watched them. Sure enough, a day
Or two later they began to lock wes-
tied, and / wasn't long in finding out
the reason. ss@. SS@E.x
There was an awful letter from that
N0man's husband, whose name was
Dickens, saying hs was coming on the
psxt train to. shoot Mr.. Crane dead
In his tracks. y
And there was q letter from the real
Hrs. Crane, saying that she was COM
ing too, and there wouldn't be much
hair left on that Woman's dyed head
when she got through with her. Coarse
but neat, / called Il.
Well, there was q pretty kettle OF
nsh. I waited till the night train
come in, and off / went to the depot.
There was a strange mar there, look
Ing black as, thunder, and a strange
woman, crying. And each says to
"Can you tell me the way to Miss
Ann Jones's farm"
I showed them the longest way
round, and I.run 10 hard as / could to-
the police station, and told Cy Hicks,
who's our police officer, TO come up to
the farm or there'd. be murder. y
Gusss / must have threw a scare into
%, for he turned white al a sheet,
and then got down his rabbit gun and
plirs Of handcuffs from the hooks, and