The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-03-23


sixtyi
How long this blow left me speech
less and staring, l do not exactly
know. ] saw the white-bearded old
gentleman saunter out of the medical
alcove, cross the aisle into that OPP
posite, the law-book alcove, then
come out again directly and beckon
Emily James, who was then com.
Ing up the aisle with an armfuI
of books, to come and turn on the
light for him, as the law-book alcove
was dark. l saw him re-enter 1t,
watched her proceed placidly to her
work In the front of the shop, l saw
Professor Harrington siding toward
the front door and then out of 1t, with
pile of books and a quaint farewell
bow to me. Then / suddenly heard
Peter again. proceeding with his
Odyssey:
.. so. as there was no use put
ting 1t off, directly got back this
morning told Mr.. barrow what I'd
had to pay. and he gave Newell.
scolding. OF course | stood on my
orders. I'd been told to buy that book
whenever / found 1t, and he had
never set any price limit"
Peter" inquired suddenly, "why
did you buy that book?"
Peter, scarlet, glared at me. He
tdgeted; then he finally burst out:
Mind, I'm telling this 10 you. not
Mr.. Darrowl | bought IL because that
girl didn't want that fellow to get itP
"Whatr"
"At the auction she sat across the
aisle four rows ahead Of me. I've
never seen any one look so frightened
The first bid on the book was made
by the agent OF the auction firm who
acts for absent buyers who send in
written bids. | raised it, and was
thunderStruck to see that girl turn
around, and look right at me, with
absolute relief on her face! The
agent raised my bid; nobody else
made any, so, as | had seen that girl
bound away from that fellow that
morning, | naturally concluded, put
ting two and two together, that il
must be his bid which was opposing.
The bids-his and mine-kept jump
ing up ten dollars minute, like
taXimeter. Once for two seconds 1
hesitated, thinking of duty and OAR
row, / suppose, and the auctioneer
rOared out his second Going and the
girl locked around at me as If she
were dying. l knew something terri
BILE was the matter; snapped out
new bid, and kept on bidding until
everybody In the room was getting
breathless and jumpy. The other bid
der's limit must have been five hun
dred, which was the same as giving
an order for the book at any price.
Well, five hundred and ten landed II
In my net. That's all about that,
Constance.
I'm not a good liar" remarked
Peter, deprecatingly, $50 / will not
conceal the fact that something gave
me cold chills down my spine when
ever | thought of that pesky book.
And when was at dinner that eve
ming my room was entered, and the
lock of my suitcase broken"
Gracious And the book was"
'In the hotel safe. And as nothing
was missing, think II was the book
the visitor was interested In. After
my room was entered, | got 1t out OF
the safe and looked carefully all
through 1t. It's an exceptionally clean
copy; there was no old will or thou
sand-dollar bill, or, indeed, any other
property, orthodox or otherwise, be-
tween the leaves. 1t certainly Is mol
intrinsically worth so much effort"
"No," l agreed; seven the book
plate, by itself, should | be unusually
lucky in finding rather foolish pur
chaser, wouldn't probably fetch more
than seventy-five dollars. Where's the
book now?"
"dr. barrow has It."
Ibid you tell him anything about ii
besides"
1.-The price? Oh, no allusion can
hurt my feelings any more! No, moi
one thing"
"Why, Peter! in your place, l should
have explained to him about my greal
find.''
Eyes, you would! When you had
Just spent five hundred and ten dol
lars of his precious cash-sunk II H.
the sea. If I'd told him about the
bookplate, I'd have told him how /
really came to buy the book, and all
ha rir 4 70 lof
discover it himself; then he'll be
pleased to death, and fOrgei the past
and remember the future. The fu
ture!" repeated Peter, with sudder
anxiety, recalling something further
distracting. Listen, Constance: tn
! kid sister of mine, Nancy, will drive
me out of what's left of my mind /
told you once-didn't I?-that Nj
Roberts promised her a position here
as a stenographer, as soon as she
qualified for it? Well, at that bust
ness college of hers she met"
My desk telephone tinkled peremp
torily. Too bad, with Peters arrest
his little sisters escapade, the cinders
on his nose, all unexplained, that MI
barrow should be paging him through
the housed But perhaps, ! suggested
| hopefully, our cOmmander-in-ch {
had already made the Joyful dis",v
cry about the bookplate. Peter re
| fused comfort.
$50 fathers got married, Name,
hasn't, I've lost the only girl | couI,
| ever stand looking at twice. my bust
ness reputation is ruined, and" b.
concluded. rising, ''it's all the fault ri
| thai darned Colfax bookplatei Whar