The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1926-07-31
On Evidence
Unrnistakable
BY II. LOUIS RAYBoLD

AAItAC list Aucu S1c DVWCu nCE 4CAu
on her arms and burst into tears.
The contents of the note spoke for
themselves: MY dear James, hear
from perfectly reliable sources that
you had dinner with that old flame
Of yours, Genevieve Bixby, at the Blue
Parrot inn last night. II you want
G. B. instead of me, you're ever so 4.
welcome, and I'm breaking our en-
gagement. Dixie"
The wee small hours found her
weighing every scrap Of the evidence
and the worth of its origin. To begin
with, there was brother Chris who had
tossed out a careless: Nearly
smashed to pieces your beloved Jim's
car last night, Dix. Parked without
lights In front Of the Blue Parrot.
How'd / know 1t was his? l was so
mad hoped out to get the number"
Then there was naive little Mrs.
Smith, her employers wife, who must
always have her little joke. On her
way to her husbands inner Office, she
had paused a minute at the desk
where Dixie's nimble fingers were fly
ing over the keys. You want to
watch that handsome young man Of
yoursl" she had chuckled. Rather
risky letting him dine with Titan
haired beauties, even under the cir
cumstances !! Circumstances, Of
course, to Dixie meant their engage
ment and the Titian-haired beauty
could be but one person.
Yet when-and where had he seen
her recently? Then Dixie recalled
what her brother had said about see
ing Jim's car at the Blue Parrot. And
later in the day, her suspicious were
confirmed by hearing her employer,
as she went in to take his dictation,
telling somebody over the telephone
Of the well-served, splendid dinner he
and his wife had had last night at the
Blue Parrot.
Yet, even with all of this, Dixie was
rather loyal and would have thought
it kinder to go straight to Jim for
confirmation had not Jim himself
made that difficult. For Jim had
broken a promise to take her out to
supper and play afterwards by send
ing her a brief mysterious note.
Dixie, my dear, am having trouble
with car. Cancel tonight's date Will
call you as soon as l can"
But Jim hadn't telephoned that eve
ming. and by the following afternoon
Dixie was in no mood to answer the
~ fol hal
there was no explanation possible.
On the following evening, Dixie,
feeling altogether downcast, sat sort
ing out all the little souvenirs Of the
good times she and Jim had had to-
gether-menu cards and ticket stubs,
notes and letters. Suddenly she heard
some one fumbling at the knob Of the
front door. Botherationl She had
forgotten that Chris was out and had
slipped the night latch on. Jumping
up, she threw her lap full of favors
on the cold ashes in the crate and ran
to the door.
Chris it was, but not only Chris !;
for behind him doomed a pair Of ia
miliar broad shoulders. Chris
brushed by with a careless word of
greeting and went straight on to his
room upstairs, leaving his sister
stunned, indignant and altogether at
the mercy Of the man who stood look
ing grimly down upon her.
"Oh," said Dixie in a tiny voice,
hoping the villain couldn't hear the
beating of her heart. "Please don't
ask me to forgive you on top Of the
unmistakable evidence.
'You-you little goose 7" cried Jim,
and his voice wasn't altogether kind.
"What do you mean-unmistakabl
I've half a mind to let you believe
what you want to, If you are not loyal
enough to come to me before throw
ing me DOWN.
Yet he relented enough to put his
arm about her.
Dixie, ineffectively, tried to draw
away, and then looked up at him visit
fully.
Didn't you 20 to the Blue Par
rot innT she asked.
"Yes," said Jim. II did"
'Was your car broken DOWN.
mot at ALL" retorted her captor.
Didn't you dine with Gene
We've Bixby2"
81 did" said Jim, without hesita-
ton.
Then let me go, Jim Barnard. You
you simply can't explain now"
Jim laughed, released his hold, but
did not seem nonplussed. II did all
Of those dreadful things" he admit
ted. "None Of them very remiss at
that. 1 didn't say the car was brok-
en- down. Merely that / was having
trouble with 1t. The fact was, 1t was
stolen. The police telephoned me 1t
had been found near the entrance Of
the Blue Parrot inn. Friends Of mine
took me there to recover 1t. / found
the starter had been fooled with and
had to send for a garage man to fix it.
Meanwhile, the aforesaid friends
asked me to have supper with them.
Inside we met Miss Bixby and her
fiance and her sister and sisters hus-
band and we joined tables and dined
together. And-there you. are ~
Dixie sat silent for a moment.
"who were the friends that you speak
Oft" she asked finally.
John b. Smith and his wife," said
Jim. "Your employer. you know"
eyes, / know" said Dixie. THE
the old villainess I"
And some time later, together, Jim