Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1937-03-20
READ THIS FIRST.
A cable from America exc1tes the in
terest of the stenographer in the dingy
law office of Stuckey & Stuckey, Lon
don.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY:
CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2
IN SOME unexplained wav law
gers, and particularly solicitors,
usually carry in their faces the I'M
mistakable stamp of their profess
sion. You can recognize them a
mile off.
Charles Oliver Stuckey, how
ever, was pronounced exception
to this rule. He bore none of the
generic markings of the legal pro-
fession. Of medium height, with a
sturdily built frame family sug-
gestive of approaching corpulence,
his hair was fair, curly, and album
dant, and, so far from there being
anything hawklike in his appear
ance, his nose was short, feshy,
and with a distinctly unlegal tilt.
The strength of the broad capa-
cious forehead was largely offset
by the smallness of his rounded in
determinate chin. For worldly sue
cess, a physiognomist would have
said, it would have gone better
with him had his forehead been
nodded along less generous lines
and his jaw made more prog
nathous.
AS he hung his hat and coat on
a peg behind the door of his Office
and sank into the dingy leather
chair in front of his desk, he gazed
around him with an air of obvious
distaste. Outside, the spring sun
shine was brilliant and rejuvenat-
ing; such diluted rays as managed
to seep through the murky window
behind him served only to accen-
ltuate the dismal atmosphere of his
official quarters.
With shrug he turned his at
ltention to the small pile Of letters
in front Of him. AS he read the
icablegram his eyes widened and
look almost of benevolence came
into his face.
He touched a bell-push on his
desk and a moment later the door
opened and Mr.. Bells came in fus-
silly, in his hand a sheaf of docu-
ments, behind his ear pencil and
on his face a look of absorption.
The lawyer looked up as he en-
tered.
Morning, Bells"
Good morning, sir. You saw
the cablegram 1 put on your
desk 2"
Eyes. I say, what a bit of luck
for Miss Smith"
Do1Io L; L,0oI
where are they now?" asked
Stuckey.
miss Smith and her mother are
at present staying in Vienna-the
Hotel DIES Etrangers," the clerk
said.
Stuckey smiled.
"You mean, suppose, that they
were there when last we heard
from them?"
"Quite, sir. It is, of course, pos
sible that by now Mrs. Smith has
found it advisable to-er@"
ooh, for Heavens sake talk Eng
lish!" snapped Stuckey irritably.
what you mean is that by now
the woman has exhausted her
credit in Vienna, issued few rub
Der checks and passed on to Buda-
pest or somewhere"
Exactly, sir"
what lifet' the solicitor NUT
tered. Lord knows how the girl
stands it," Aloud he said: "Well,
they won't have to chisel their way
through Europe any more. Miss
Jacqueline is worth a million and a
half dollars now"-he fingered the
cablegram-"and they can come
back to England and settle down
respectfully and live in comfort"
'In some nice cathedral city, I
would suggest, SIR" put in Bells.
ct know you would: it's what I
should have expected from you.
But from what I have heard of
Miss Jacqueline Smith, I scarcely
think that nice cathedral cities are
her proper setting"
"You have never met her, I be-
lieve, sir?" the clerk queried.
mo. Mrs. Smith was an old
friend of my mothers, and when I
started to practice on my own she
put her affairs into my hands" He
laughed mirthlessly. eff she knew
the type of business we specialize
in. =. She's about the only re-