The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-01-06

rest" he remarked gravely. "you might
tell her that, as far as / can see at
present, l shall only undertake murder
In exceptional cases."
He propped the letter up against
the tOast-rack and commenced his
breakfast. where Is Pudlington,
James2 and one might almost ask
why is Pudlington? No town has any
right to such an offensive name" He
glanced through the letter and shook
his head. flush tush And the wife
of the bank manager too-the bank
manager Of Pudlington, James! Can
you conceive Of anything so dreadful {?
But I'm afraid Mrs. Bank Manager is
a puss-a distinct puss. It's when
they get on the soul-mate stunt that
the furniture begins to fly"
Drummond tore up the letter and
dropped the pieces into the basket be-
side him. Then he turned to his SER
want and handed him the remainder Of
the envelopes.
Go through them, James, while l as
sault the kidneys, and pick two or
three out for me. see that you will
have to become my secretary"
DO you want me to open them,
sirT' asked Denny doubtfully.
You've hit It, James-hit 1t in one.
Classify them for me in groups. Grim
inal; sporting; amatory-that means
of or pertaining to love; stupid and
merely boring; and as last resort,
miscellaneous" He stirred his coffee
thoughtfully. ~ feel that as a first
venture in our new career-ours, said,
James-love appeals to me irresistibly.
Find me damsel In distress a beau
tiful girl, helpless In the clutches of
knaves. Let me feel that can fly to
her succor, clad In my new grey suit
Ing"
He finished the last piece of bacon
and pushed away his plate.
Denny was engrossed in a letter he
had just opened. A perplexed look
was spreading over his face, and sud
denly he sucked his teeth loudly. 1t
was sure sign that James was ex-
cited, and Drummond glanced up
quickly. and removed the letter from
his hands. I'm surprised at you,
james," he remarked severely. "a sec
rotary should control itself. Don't
forget that the perfect secretary Is an
It; an automatic machine-a thing in
capable Of feeling. :"
He read the letter through rapidly,
and then, turning back to the begin
ming, he read 1t slowly through again.
MY dear Box X10.-I don't know
whether your advertisement was a
Joke: i suppose 1t must have been.
But read 1t this morning, and it's just
possible, X10, just possible, you mean
1t. And II you do, you're the man
want. can offer you excitement and
probably crime.
'Tm up against 1t, X10. For girl
I've bitten Off rather more than can
chew. l want help-badly. VIII you
come to the Carlton for tea tomorrow
afternoon2 l want to have a look at
you and see If think you are genu-
Inc. Wear white flower in your but
tonhole."
Drummond laid the letter down, and
pulled out his cigarette case. ITO
morrow, James," he murmured. "That
is today-this very afternoon. Verify
I believe that we have impinged upon
the goods" He rose and stood look
ing out Of the window thoughtfully.
You think it's genuine, sirT said
James.
HIS master blew out cloud of
smoke. II know 1t is" he answered
dreamily. Look at that writing; the
decision In 1.-THE character She'll
be medium height, and dark, with the
sweetest little nose and mouth. Her
coloring James, win be"
But James had discreetly left the
room.
TWO.
At four o'clock exactly Hugh Drum
mond stepped out of his two-seater at
the Haymarket entrance to the Carl
ton. For q few moments after enter
INK Jue HOLtl ue SlOUu at Tie up OI
the stairs outside the dining room,
while his eyes travelled round the ia
bles in the lounge below.
Slowly and thoroughly he continued
his search. It was early Of course,
yet, and she might not have arrived,
but he was taking no chances.
Suddenly his eyes ceased wandering,
and remained fixed on table at the
far end Of the lounge. Half hidden =,
behind a plant girl was seated alone,
and for a moment she looked straight
at him. Then with the faintest sus-
picion OF a smile, she turned away and
commenced drumming on the table
with her fingers.
The table next to her was unoccu-
pied and Drummond made his way to-
ward It and sat down.