The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-08-20
The Alarm Over
the Phone
By MARY B. wooDsoN

again. LIKE one OI lHOSe Things we
think could happen to us.
They had finished dinner as usual.
and Nelson had told her he was wait
ing for the telegram that would settle
whether lie should go West that night
or not. And he had told her that.
pending the message. he had to bring
all that money home in his brief case.
And afterwards, he had gotten some
papers out of the case at the living
room table, and then had leaned the
case. with all that money, against its
leg on the floor, while he looked over
the evening paper.
And she had gone to the aleove back
of the portieres to call Louise and
see If she could come and stay with
her while Nelson was gone, if he had
to go. And the line had been busy,
and while she waited to try again, Mel
son had called out to her from back of
his paper:
Bandits again. BY George, and
near here. The C~auseland's this
time. About So 5000 worth of loot, too
And hen Victoria had tried TO get
Louise again. And just as Louise an
swered, the doorbell had rung. Vic
toria remembered how, as she had
chartered with Louise, she had peered
around the portiere and seer Nelson
shuffiing to the door in his house slip
pers.
Il guess l got my wish. 1 suppose
it's the telegram" he was saying. And
she had cried out with a sudden pre-
monition:
well find out first. before you open
the door"
SO Nelson had called out who is
IT." and a young voice had answered
"a message for you" And, treasured,
Nelson intent on his business, had
opened the door wide. And there
the bandits
The bandits had leveled revolvers
at Nelson. They backed him, swear
ing softly, toward the table, his arms
up. And there in the brief ease in
the shadow down ON the floor by the
table, was all hat money that didn't
belong tORNelson!
The bandits hadn't seen Victoria yet.
They didn't know she was there, and
Nelson was evidently not wanting
them to. But Victoria remembered
how, shivering with terror, she had
suddenly come to her senses, had sud-
denly realized that temporarily she
held the whip hand if she died for it,
that she could defeat the robbers.
She remembered how her voice, calm
and collected, had suddenly seemed to
boom u in the ~surcharged silence
of the room.
Louise! Call the poIieel We're
belng-held up" she said sharply.
The next instant the portiere was
down and the phone snatched from
her and she was staggering across the
bon in the direction she had been
hurled. The bandit put the receiver
back on the hook very softly. The
money in the brief case the money
that didn't belong to Nelson. they had
not found yet. but she knew it was
only a question of time. But one of
them went close to the table for some
thing and his toe hit the case. He
stopped to see what it was and sharp
ly Victoria's voice spoke out again in
a sort of desperate calm:
"That was not a fake call. warn
you the-the station is-only a few
block away. / was talking to-the
wife of the chief" which happened
to be true.
And just then the %pop-popping OF
a motorcycle came in through the open
door. faint but approaching, and sud-
denly dropping everything, the bandits
ran. And in running, the one by the
table stumbled over the brief case
and kicked at it ~viciously and sent it.
scattering all that money across the
room. He saw 1t and stopped. His
yes cleaned. but finally he fed after
the others through the back door as
the motorcycle stopped at the front.
Aud after all, it wasn't the police !
1t was the telegram The telegram
that had miraculously told Nelson he
didn't have to go that night. And
here they were, ~miraculously safe,
with little or no loss. And there was
Nelson now, out in the middle of the
street, telling the %neighbors and look
ing for the police who would surely
be coming, and here she was shivering
with reaction and calling Louise
again.
"Oh, my dear, what on earth would
we have done If II hadn't been talk
ing to YOU she half-sobbed hysterieal-
ly, when Louise had come to the
phone. How can L ever thank you
Did you call the police right away?
Are they coming"
THE police!" Louise's voice was
shrill with amazement.
Didn't you-didn't you-call
them"
Call them-what for?'
"Why-I-I# told you to call them-I
Il told you we were being held up
Held upl" Louise's voice was
shriller with terror. Il didn't call any
police. I'm coming right over. Why,
just before you-you hung up IL