The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-04-03

hat on his head and brown over
coat on his back and a little leather
notebook in his hand, and recognized
him. He was the man who had come
to the studio last night, getting names
for the new city directory. And this
Identification led on so quickly to an
other that it was like firing the second
barrel Of shotgun. This was the
man whose voice he had just now been
trying to remember, the man on the
telephone who had been pretending he
was Forster.
It seemed reasonable guess that
the instructions Blue Serge was Civ.
ing the captain were that any reporter
or other inquisitive person asking
questions about G. ]. Forster or try
ing to get through to him was to be
dealt with in a special manner.
Satisfied that the captain understood
these instructions, whatever they were,
Blue Serge left him and crossed the
lobby to the desk. Here his business
was not with the clerk but with the
manager, who promptly came out Of
his little private Office to talk with
him. The manager was taking orders,
too, with an alertness which showed
he recognized their Importance.
Leaving the desk and a completely
instructed manager behind it, the man
In the blue serge suit now started
across the lobby in a new direction;
one that would bring him, unless he
veered off, intentionally close to Mar
tins chair. But before this embar-
rassment became acute he was divert
ed by one of the bellboys who crossed
his path. The boy seemed perfectly
unaware of him, but Blue Serge, after
sharp look, turned on his heel and
went back to the desk, summoned the
manager again, brought him out into
the lobby little way, and nodded
after the boy. Then he went off and
disappeared into an elevator.
The manager, returning to his office,
paused for word to the bell captain.
The bell captain spoke to the boy
Blue Serge had pointed out. The boy,
with look of surprise, went into the
managers office to come out again a
minute or two later flushed, indignant,
and, withal, profoundly puzzled. Some
thing had happened to him that he
seemed utterly at a loss to account
for; discipline, evidently, that he felt
to be undeserved. He was coming
along slowly in Martins direction.
That was luck.
But it wasn't until the boy was in
the act of passing his chair that the
significance of the little play clicked
into a pattern in the reporters mind.
That boy had seen something. He
possessed. probably without suspecting
1t, some piece of damaging Informal
ton, and they'd taken measures to pre-
vent his giving that information away.
Martin rose from his chair just
when his doing so intercepted the
boys progress toward the door.
81 guess you're looking for me-" he
said.
The boy stopped in surprise and an
swered, "I'm not looking for anybody,
that know of. What made you think
was looking for your"
Martin took the plunge. "If they
just laid you off," he said, II think 1
can tell you why they did. Who's the
hatchet-faced man in the blue serge
suit who works for Forster? He
pointed you out to the manager just
now"
do you mean Conley? 1 haven't
done anything to him. Say. who are
you? How do you know they laid
me Off"
"Conley's expecting a reporter
around here in few minutes. re-
porter from the Daily News who's
trying to find out about the disappear
ance Of girl. He had you laid of
because he thought you knew some
thing about her."