Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-21

20 the flesh lie dropped the stub, murmuFsd
confused n beg your pardon" and moved on,
lie WAS the only person on the street Lefty
listened TO his footsteps, They stopped fen
houses on where she eonjeetured he rsishisd
the neglected eisaret' The footsteps started
again, became slaeeato Ia their rapidly then
blurred OFF into the silence Lefty listened alsa
20 a nearby clock which almost Instantly struck
is, other clocks took up their midnight re-
sponslbiiities, and she listened 10 them. too.
i'ut all the time she was listening most inien,l,
10 the eiamor OF her own thoughts,
What they were saying she did not exactly
get She realized only that she felt extraor-
dinarliy light and cheerful, After while she
arose, stretched. yawned. smiled, You'd better
got 10 bed. miss" she advised herself. You're
sleepy and tired And remember. no foolish
ness about being alone in this angel OF house
Now go into the dining room and kitchen and
see that eyerything's locked there''
She obeyed herself,
Now try the front door and see that us
lcckcd."
Again she obeyed herself
Now take the screens out OF the windows
IN the front room; close windows; lock win
dows, Number one done, Now number two,
Ifullo. what's this?
This was something that her hand struck just
outside the window ledge-somethlnr small and
boNlike, cool and satin smooth. She lighted the
candle on a nearby table, II was eiearct case
II gun metal studded with turauoises.
20. Paul. I've certainly got one on YOU"
Lefty slbcd at her absent brother-in-law. What
n COOP! Think OF leaving such a lovely thing
where any passerby might steal IT, I suppose
he sat there smoking and just forgot all about
H."
She pressed tho spring. Inside lay n single
clgaret.
She took her find upstairs to her room-for
satekeeping she told hersclf-spread II open
on the top OF the oid-fashioned bureau. She did
not 20 to bed Immediately. however. For sud.
denly she found she not ceepy at ALL Re-
side. with equal suddenness. temp,ation-a
mighty one, gay one-swooped out OF the air
upon her She sat down at the mirror and eS-
nmined the case all over again.
She slept soundly until 9. Then, for some un-
accountable reason. she awoke with start
ahc tried to hypnotic herself into sleep again,
for she realized that a long day lay before her,
and for an equally unaccountable reason that
day looked lonely. But her system OF hypnosis
did not work. and presently she Jumped up,
dressed; drew on one OF the little gingham
gowns that hung in the closet.
Down stairs In the microscopic kitchen she
built a fire; put water on to boil She set the
ete-a-tete dining room table with scrupulous
care; one flowered saucer on a flowered plate
fer strawberries; second flowered saucer on
a 'flowered plate for breakfast food a flowered
egg cup three Of the slender, dented silver
spoons that Margaret and she had teethed on.
While she waited for the water to boil she went
into the drawing room, opened the windows
and put in the screens. The odor Of the linden
mingled with the syringa and poured heady
volume of perfume into the room. In the gar
den opposite a robin was calling. She leaned
out The narrow slit of sky showed warm
bueness, but the morning air struck cool on
4 atra yaI nn hn
houses were blanked by drawn curtains and
there was only one person In sight. Idly she
followed him with her gaze-a man? No, a boy.
He was coming slowly along. stopping at
each house and examining the lodges Of all the
ground floor windows. What AN extraordinary
ri oceeding! Yet there was something vaguely
familiar about him. Where had she seen him
before? On a flash she remembered 1t
tho young man who had lighted a cigaret under
her window. But what in the world was he
doing? Why--why he was looking for some
thing! What did he expect to find window
leGges? 49,.
Suddenly it came to her. OF course. The
cigaret case belonged not to Paul but to him.
1t was the touch Of the case against the screen
as he deposited it on the window ledge that had
awakened her.
She rushed frantically upstairs; tore fren-,
ziedy downstairs. She opened the front door
and stood on the threshold painting, listening to
the footsteps that slowly came nearer and
nc arer.
Closer he drew. She heard him stop at the
first of the drawing room windows; sthen at the
second. He passed the doorsteps; cast casual
glance upwards-stopped and stared Lefty
held out the cigaret to him.
'I-I beg your pardon Lefty faltered "are
--are-you looking for this?"
"Yes-I-I ami" The lad fatered, too. I'm