The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1924-01-11


hot stuff Assuming that It continued
as It began, twas about the warmest
thing Of Its kind that pen had ever
written. Webster had received one or
two heated epistIes from the sex In
his time your man. of gallantry can
hardly hope to escape these unpleas-
antnesses- none had got off the
mark quite so swiftly, and with quite
SO much frigid violence as this.
Thanks" said Sam, mechanically.
"Not at all, sir. You are very vel
come.
Sam resumed his reading. cold
perspiration broke out on his fore
head Els toes curled, and something
seemed to be crawling down the small
of his back. His heart had moved
from its proper place and was NOW
beating In his throat. He swallowed
once or twice to remove the obstruc-
tion. but without success. A kind Of
pail had descended on the landscape.
blotting out the sun.
OF all the rotten sensations in this
world. the worst Is the realization
that q thousand to-one chance has
come of, and caused our wrong-doing
to, be detected. There had seemed no
possibility Of that little ruse Of his be-
Ing discovered, and vet here was Billie
In full possession Of the facts. 1t al
most made the thing worse that she
did not say how she had come into
possession Of them. This gave Sam
that feeling of self-pity. that sense of
having been ill-used by fate. which
makes the bringing home of crime so
particularly poignant.
Fine dayl" he muttered. He had
a sort Of subconscious feeling that 1t
was imperative to keep engaging Web
ster In light conversation.
eyes, sir. Weather still keeps up"
agreed the vnlet suavely.
Sam frowned over the note. He felt
injured. Sending fellow notes didn't
give him a chance. If she had come
in person and denounced him 1t would
not have been an agreeable experience.
but at least It would have been pos
sible then to have pleaded and cajoled
and--and all that sort Of thing. But
what could he do now? It seemed to
him that his only possible course was
to write q note in reply, begging her
to see him. He explored his pockets
and found a pencil and q scrap Of pa
per. For some moments he scrubbed
desperately. Then he folded the note.
"Will you take this to Miss Bennett"
he said, holding It oct.
Webster took the missive, because
he wanted to read It later at his
leisure: but he shook his head.
useless, fear. SIR" he said gravely.
"What do you mean?"
II am afraid it would effect little
or nothing,~sir, sending our Miss B.
notes. She Is not in the proper frame
Of mind to appreciate them. / saw
her face when she handed me the let
ter you have just read, and / assure
you., sir, she Ii not In a malleable
mood"
"You seem to know lot about 1t I"
II have studied the sex, sir" said
Webster modestiy.
II mean, about my business, con-
found It'll You seem to know all about
It'll"
"Why. yes sir, think may say that
/ have grasped the position Of affairs.
And, If you will permit me to say so,
sir, you have my respectful sympathy"
Dignity is a sensitive plant which
fiourishes only under the fairest condi-
,tioils. Sans had persisted in the bleak
east wind of Billie's note In other
circumstances he might have resented
this intrusion of stranger into his
most intimate concerns. His only
emotion now, was one Of dull but dis
tinct gratitude. The four winds of
heaven blew chilly upon his raw and
unprotected soul, and he wanted to
wrap 1t up in a mantle Of sympathy,
careless of the source from which he
borrowed that mantle. Ii Webster, the
valet, felt disposed, as he seemed to
indicate. to comfort him, let the thing
go op. At that moment Sam would
have accepted condolences from a
coal HEAVIER.
II was reading stOry-one of the
Nosegay Novelties; do not know II
you are familiar with the series, sir?-
in which much the same situation oc-
CURED. 1t was entitled Cupid OF Mann
mon I The heroine, Lady Blanche Ire
fusis. forced by her parents to wed a
wealthy sutton. dispatches note to
her humble lover. informing him it
cannot be. believe it often happens
like that, SIR"
You're all wrong" said Sam. "It's
not that at ALL"
Indeed, sir? / supposed 1t was"
Nothing like it, IL"
Sans dignity, on It's death-bed, made
last EFFORT to assert itself.
Il don't know what it's got to do
with youi"
Precisely. sir!" said Webster, with
dignity. 'Just as you say! Good af-
ternOon STRIP