Connecticut western news., 1922-09-28

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 the desk on which he sat and leaned against it, facing them more directly.
 "Oh, yes-Conrad," he said. His tone was hearty; in it Alan could rec ognize only so much of reserve as might be expected from Sherrilrs partner who had taken an attitude of opposition. The shipmasters, looking on, could see, no doubt, not even that; except for the excitement which Alan himself could not conceal, it must ap- pear to them only an ordinary intro duction.
 Alan fought sharply down the swift rush of his blood and the tightening of his muscles.
 T can say truly that I'm glad to meet you, MT. Spearman," he man. aged. .a. s.-
 There was no recognition of any, thing beyond the mere surface mean ing of the words in Spearman's slow smile of acknowledgment, as he turned from Alan to Sherrill.
 "Pm afraid you've taken rather a bad time, Lawrence. Can't we get to- SCLACA dAlSAhO0hH AOu IT be about here this afternoon7"
 "I think can be here this after noon." Alan said.
 Let's say two-thirty, then" Spear man turned and noted the hour almost solicitously among the scrawled ap- pointments on his desk pad; straight ening, after this act of dismissal he uyQ1lad xufth fhnpo fn hn ht~ hand on Sherrill's shoulder.
 "Circumstances have put us-Mr. Sherrill and myself-in a very diffi- cult position, Conrad" he remarked. We want much to be fair to all con- cerned-"
 He did not finish the sentence, but halted at the door. Sherrill went out, and Alan followed him; exasperation half outrage yet half admiration-at Spearman's bearing, held Alan speech less. If every movement of Spear mans great, handsome body had not recalled to him their struggle of the night before-if, as Spearman's hand rested cordially on Sherrills shoulder, Alan had not seemed to feel again that big hand at his throat-he would al- most have been ready to believe that this was not the man whom he had fought But he could not doubt that; he had recognized Spearman beyond question. And Spearman had recog- nized him-he was sure of that; he could not for an instant doubt it; Spearman had known it was Alan whom he had fought in Corvet's house even before Sherrill had brought them together. Was there not further proof of that in Spearman's subsequent man. nsr toward him? For what was all this cordiality except defiance? Power and possession-both far ex- ceeding Alan's most extravagant dream-were promised him by those papers which Sherrill had shown him. When he had read down the list of those properties, he had had no more feeling that such things could be his than he had had at first that Corvet's house could be his-until he had heard the intruder moving in that house. And now 1t was the sense that another was going to make him fight for those properties that was bringing to him
 
 had" something on that man-On Spearman. He did not know what that thing was; no stretch of his thought, nothing that he knew about himself or others, could tell him; but at sight of him, in the dark of Corvet's house, Spearnan had cried out in horror, he had screamed at him the name of a sunken ship, and in terror had hurled his electric torch. It was true, Spear mans terror had not been at Alan Con- rad; 1t had been because Spearman had mistaken him for some one else for ghost. But, after learning that Alan was not ghost, Spearman's at titude had not very greatly changed; he had fought, he had been willing to kill rather than to be caught there.
 Alan thought an instant: he would make sure he still had" that some