The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-03-27

0.dy nave huOWA LuAt X4Gp dLldnu was
working for me but don't believe it.
/ don't believe she ever saw him in
her life. Anyhow, she didn't know he
came from California. She didn't
know that until you told her about 1t
while you were working up this plan
between you to blackmail me. Come
across now! Tell me the whole story,
and I'll let you 60. But If catch you
in any more lies you'll spend the night
in jail.-And to begin WITH" he wound
up after a long stare into her face,
"who are you, anyway"
Bewildered now by the suddenness
Of his attack she could only echo in
amazement, "Who am IT,
"Yes. Thought you'd cooked up
something pretty good, did you, when
you got together and snapped stories
with discharged employee of mine.
faxed up the red hair. and came
around here pretending to be Rhoda
Mcfarland"
II am Rhoda Mcfarland" she told
him furiously. st don't know who you
think I am. l don't know what you're
talking about"
II don't mind telling you what I'm
talking about. I'm talking about what
happened to Professor Mcfarland six
years ago, when he got on a train
here in Chicago to 60 back to the
coast. He'd been east to read a pa
per before the Oil Chemists institute.
and he found young girl on the train
across the aisle from him crying be-
cause she'd had her pocketbook stolen
after she'd got on the train.
"He was sorry for her and paid
her fare, pullman and all, so,
they wouldn't put her off the train.
According to his story that was all he
did. And she promised him her
friends would pay him back the money
as soon as she got to the coast. But
what she did was to make complaint
before the district attorney out there
that he'd taken. advantage of her.
"He claimed it was frame-up, and
when 1t went to trial the jury
acquitted him, although he couldn't
show any reason why anyone should
want to frame him that way and no
one else could, either. And the scan
dial of the trial cost him his job at the
university.
$50 he came back here and told me
his story, and believed him and gave
him Job. He felt disgraced about it.
He was like man hiding out from
the police; didn't want anybody to
know who he was or what he was do
ing. Well, could see how he felt so
1 never told soul anything about it.
even paid him his wages in cash
every week.
"Claire Cleveland couldn't have
found out anything about him, even If
she'd tried to. He never came near
my Office nor where lived. He
worked at a place fixed up for him,
and 1 used to go around there once a
week to see how he was getting on
and to pay him his money. I'm dead
sure he never told his daughter any,
thing about that California mess. She
was nothing but a kid. He'd have
kept it from her If he'd been telling
everybody else in sight. And if you
want to know who think you really
are, I don't mind telling you that
either. l believe you're the one per-
son alive today who really knows
whether Walter Mcfarland was telling
the truth or not"
Until he'd finished she hadn't seen
what he was driving at. And when
she did she could do nothing but stare
at him, COMPOUNDED by the mere mon
strousness Of his mistake. To COM
plete her discontinue she found she
was beginning to cry.
"You can cry, can you? Well. 1t
worked with him but it won't with me.
So you may as well :"
He broke off there and what had
interrupted him both made her blink
away her tears and checked their COM
ing. A sort of little trap-door in the
front of Napoleon had silently fallen
forward and revealed, as he reached
toward it, a telephone instrument
inside.
Forster seemed rather startled by
the message he was getting. "What's
that?" he barked. "Who does he say
he is? All right" after listening for a
minute, "I'll see him, but not in here.
Have him shown up to the library. I'll
see him there. And find DeGraw and
tell him want him."
He put the telephone back and
clicked the little trap-door shut upon
it. Then he pressed an electric but
ton on his desk.
I'm going to leave you here for a
WHILE" he said to Rhoda. ito think
things over, and you'd better think
straight, If you can. I'm going to get
this Cleveland woman. I've got her
now, as far as that goes. But I've
got nothing personal against you. And
If you can make up your mind, by the
time I come back, to come through
clean and tell me the whole conspiracy,
I'll let you CO."
His ring had been answered while
he was speaking, not by Conley. but
by a sort Of overgrown page in livery.
He helped the old man to his feet and
III. he