Evening star., 1923-12-23
THE DOGS OF WAR


home in the car, who is Paran
Cayley?"
That's the man. miss, who's just
bought Gray Cables" explained Ste
vens.
Il thought he'd be that type" an
nounced Alberta Orgaine, with unex-
pected spirit. He is, isn't he Ste
vens?"
What type, miss?" queried Stevens.
"Nouveau richie and everything that
is abomnible.' promptly explained his
mistress. remembering the mo Tres
up about the skating pond in the rear
of Gray Gables.
He appeared a very likable-look-
ing person. II may say So" ven-
tured the man at the wheel. And
your father remarked only yester-
day how he was glad Gray Gables had
fallen into the hands Of that kind of
a neighbor."
II hate him." promptly announced
the girl in chinchilla.
DURING dinner that night, Alberta
Orgaine sat unusually preoccu-
pied and silent. Instead of taking
library. she ordered out the landaulet
and quietly headed for wimblehurst
Station. In her limpid violet eyes
smoldered light which was not Gus
tomarily there.
The intensity OF this light did not
diminish when she traversed the lone
ly platform and found the dog-crate
and the two collies still standing just
beyond the windy corner OF the ex-
press room. But the robe Of plucked
beaver which she had so carefully
draped about the crate was gone.
And that added fuel to the flame of
her Indignation.
She found small consolation in the
fact that the sandwiches had been
eaten. So she prmoptly went back to
her 1andaulet and this time headed
for Gray Gables.
1t was a mannerly enough footman
who answered her ring, but she dis
liked the man, just as she disliked
everything about the place. When
she asked for Mr.. Paran Cayley she
was told politely that Mr.. Cayley was
not at home. This seemed to leave
her more indignant than ever. She
turned peremptorily away, climbed
back into her landaulet, and directed
her way once more toward the sta
ton.
There, having extracted the hub
wrench from her tool-box, she crossed
to the dog-crate. where she proceeded
to pound loose the Stats. She was
thinly disheartened, when she had
the crate open, to discover that the
two prisoners betrayed no outward
signs of gladness at the prospect of
release. But she grasped them firm
ly by their collars. spoke to them
soothingly, and was finally able to
lure them tremblingly over to the
open door of her car. While so en-
gagged, she saw tinted
head appear at a lighted window be-
hind her. It was the express room
youth. but he was beyond tho pale of
her interests. She was in no mood
stripping. So she bundled the collies
unceremoniously into tho car, stepped
after them and slammed shut the
door.
Once homo with them, she snapped
leashes on the collar-rings, tied them
up in the warmth Of the basement
furnace room, and once more prof
fered fbsn, food opd uyat>r ch> >,,>z
sought to bed them down on her
hastily commandeered last-year's
coon-skin coat. But the two colIies
were not at home, and they knew 1t.
They trembled and shifted and re-
garded their surroundings with
mournful eyes. When she returned
to them later in the evening, how
ever, and stroked their noses and pat
ted their shoulders and poured en-
dearing diminutives into their bewil-
dered ears. they melted sufficiently to
essay an infinitesimal tail-movement
of appreciation.
A Iberia ORGAINE did not permit
her resentment against her new
neighbor to interfere with her slum-
bers. She slept soundly that night,
as was her wont, conscious of having
performed an act Of kindness where
the end quite adequately justified the
means. She slept SO soundly, in fact,
that she heard none of the mournful
yowling which awakened her some
what mystihed and somewhat indiR-
f,,v
dawn. Hiram Argaine, having rune
his bell and commanded an equally
mystihed butler to investigate the
cause Of that early-mornine chorus.
promptly ordered the dogs to be re-
moved to the garage. There, three
hours later, Alberta found them, and
there she had the satisfaction of see
ing them fall unhesitatingly on the
breakfast which she carried out to
them. One Of the dogs even licked
her hand. And it seemed a friendlier
world to the misunderstood lady Of
mercy.
She was engaged in her customary
task Of feeding cracker-crumbs and
chopped suet to a colony Of plump
sparrows along the terrace balus-
trade. two hours later, when her
ministrations were cut short by the
approach Of two figures which In no
way appealed to Alberta.s scrutinix-
ing eye. One was a rubicund-faced
and slightly obese man and the
other was an even less prepossessinr
person in a shabby Norfolk jacket
with powder-hole in one shoulder,
tweed knickerbockers stained with
motor oil. and a knitted wooden muf-
der that had seen better days. AL
berta could see that he was a more