THE BEE: OMAHA, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 192j.
2-M
1 1
By Hknry C. Rowland
. . , ... , . . t
Tonus Valine Hulmaa. wboae roarel It is
art upos lotpulee, U up M hit nk la trouble, HI
temporary huoctm u a noreUat bu flickered out.
Hie uncle, Jeremy Taylor, whom he bettered to be oa
bla deathbed, baa ruil ud mirtud hi pretty
nuree. Matt la la diaiaTor with both, duo to the
tan he bail mad preparation to conduct htmwU a
baSlled lb hair to a bur fortune. Wbea the alory
epeca ba la I acini the alleruaUTe of partus a larre
Income lax or (oinf to Jail. Dmpsrate, ba atari lor
i'ncla Jerrye. purpoaioi- to Intereat hint In a pataot
Sre extln-ulhr. Hut on tb way Malt a boat la .
wrecked, and when bo attempt to land at a far
btddlnr manaian known aa the " old Putney place "
he U rreeted by tlira Jrrortout doc and a ewarthy '
iortigner, who aUmlta ba kt Mett'e crloa tor halo ro
Unhealed. Matt tuxna bla exttnrulaher upon both
dot and nan. and anon ream far. piloted by ooa
Bill Emrraon. takee him away. Ha trlea to aula BUI
about tha myateitaa of lha Putney plao. but BUI
baa thrllltnt newe of another tort. Sylvia Galea,
daorhtrr of old John Gate, war millionaire, baa dla-apt-.-arrd
while out in her canoe. Sylvia waa enc ared
to Freddie Grtacom. a younr millionaire, and San
Bora-ue, a eturdy younr ehlpbullder, alao waa tn
tor trtth ber. Mocb to hia nurprleo. Matt la riven
cordial welcome by t'nrJe Jerry, who rerarde blm
aa a reacuer. It ammt pretty fancy, hla wife May' a
alater, la at Otter E ka. and la " runnln- the place."
Uancy appeara aa Matt la relatlnr bla adroit uree
with the Are extlnruieher. ..
SECOND INSTALLMENT.
' ' The Battle of V1 Begins.
MATT' 8 mind had reverted again to the
haughty tenants of the old Putney
place. He found his mind once more
dwelling on the singularity of his re
eeptlon. It was quite one thing for these
Intolerant fdlks to forbid their premises to
lobster-men or Sunday picnickers and anoth
er to treat with such dangerous hostility a
gentleman In distress arriving on their un
friendly shores In a sinking but stylish
peed launch flying the pennant of a promi
nent yacht club.
"Do you happen to know through what
agent they rented the place?' he asked.
"Luke Simmons, I reckon," answered the
boy. "He handles most of the big business
hereabouts. Or it mighta bin 'some Boston
agent." And again he dropped unwittingly
' a precious pearl of information.. "They let
old Putney's gardener go and brought a man
v of their own. JoMn- Dorrln, Putney's gar
dener, was right sore about It, 'count o' hi
havin growed up on the place. Folks say
" ol" man Putney done wrong- not to stipulate
their takln' John with the place to sorta
protect his Interests like."'y -i
' This was about all the Information that
Matt was able to extract, but he felt that he
' 1 had got his dollar's worth. The boy appar-
ently felt otherwise about IV for presently
' ' be said with some regret ; ,- .-
"Wish I could tell yer more, mister, bat
folks don't take much interest In them peo- -.
pie after the way they acted! But I .dont
. reckon you need worry about your boat.
They wouldn't dast do her any hurt, or yon
' could have the law on 'em," for the boy had .
not unnaturally attributed Matt's Interest In
-- the unpopular transients to solicitude about
Jiis damaged launch. " Wal here we be! "
As the flivver drove in, Matt saw his uncle,
7 ' a gaunt, big framed man of about fifty-five),
"with a craggy and forbidding face, standing
' at 'a corner of a new veranda leaning on a-
stout stick, with a light woolen scarf about...
his shoulders, for the day was cool. .
- Telling the driver to wait. Matt got out
-.' and walked toward his uncle in some con-
i " slderable doubt as to hla welcome. To his
Intense surprise the convalescent's keen but
sunken eyes showed a gleam of satisfaction
'. at sight of him. . - , ;
"How are you. Uncle Jerry?" said Matt
, cheerily. .."Mighty glad to. see you looking "
-so fit." '..:..;;...:"-
"That's more than you would have been
v. six months ago," growled the bridegroom
, with a smile of sardonic humor.; " Have you
'. come to visit or merely to pay a call with
the usual motive?" : ' '
Matt looked surprised. " Td scarcely com
to visit without an Invitation, uncle, now
that you're a benedict," said he. ,"How la
" ' my new aunt?" ;
Uncle Jerry ignored this polite inquiry.
He was looking at Ala nephew thoughtfully,
but not unple&antly, and Matt wondered i
'; ' ' why. : . - -
This unspoken query was immediately
aOlVed. ' ' ' V.r,
- j. well, Fm not sorry to see you, nephew.
' Just because I refused point blank to pay
' your silly bills and gave you to understand -
that you had nothing more to expect"- from
' me does not mean necessarily that I cherish .
. 1 any animosity against my sister'a foolish
..,. child. But if you want tostop. here wtth
; , us for a fortnight Pm sure that May and I '
.. . win be glad to have you."
Matt made rather an unsuccessful effort
to conceal his . astonishment at such unex
pected hospitality. It struck him that this
quality was a most uncertain one. 'Where,
about an hour before, he had looked with
perfect right for aid and succor and kindly
treatment he had encountered bared fangs,
and here, where he had expected a rebuff, a
' certain graciousness obtained.
The answer to the problem was immediate- '
' ty forthcoming. Uncle Jerry led him to a
rustlo bench placed In the son, and. seating
himself in a somewhat brittle fashion," bads -,
Matt sit down beside him.
" Tour arrival Just at this moment is not
HI-timed, nephew," said he. " May's younger
stater Is here fur a visit, and she's making a
confounded nuisance of herself. - She's a .
strong minded baggage Just out of college,
and thinks she knows it all, and shows a
v disposition to run the place. Ton may be
able to divert her zealous activities Into other
channels." . . . i
"Anything you say, uncle," said Matt
happily. " Pm a great UtUeJchannel pilot,"
his face fen. " I must say, I slipped up this
morning, though," and in a few brief words '
he described his recent contretemps. . -,
. - Uncle Jerry, himself a veteran fighter,
though chiefly in financial circles, listened
with astonishment which grew np to the
incident of Matt's final routing of the enemy
. when the older man burst into a harsh
cackle of laughter. . .;
.-Wen, PU be Jiggered." said he, "Who
are these people, anyhow?"
. "I can't imagine, sir," said Matt, "bat .
I take it they're rich South Americana of..
' the diplomatic crowd accustomed to rid
rough shod over people in their own rotten
country and can see no reason for not carry
tug on here in the same high handed way."
" Get your things and pay off your driver," '
Said Uncle Jerry, wiping is eyes. -
" I haven't any things but the extinguisher, '
-ancle,' said Matt. Pm Introducing it to
- tha market. Ifs really a wonder. A single
quirt will quench a blazing room or a pack - -of
dogs or a South American rotter without
the slightest damage to textiles or wall
- paper, or hide or hair, or flannel clothes. It
"L" my friend hadn't been in such a hurry I
t. . might have sold him an outfit for his place.
You really ought to be equipped, uncle. Let
- me Install one in your room. No doubt it
. would reduce the rates of your fire and
. . burglar Insurance."
. Mjs strode to the car, paid off the boy with .
i c
i A ""
-' I V
assi - Bfcfl- Mmm ftl TR not
another present, the more generous for hla
kindly reception, and returned with the ex-,
tlngulsher to where hia uncle was seated.
" You dont need to order hands np when
you turn this on a second story guy. He
win raise them of his own accord to hia.
..face." - r
Undo Jerry chuckled again' and wiped has
"That's the first laugh XT had since
Nancy arrived," he said. : : .
" If the worst comes to the worst we might
turn it on her," suggested Matt
"By gorry, I've sometimes felt Hk it,"
; growled Uncle Jerry. . " Even her sister's
getting fed up on' her. She pokes her pug
nose into everything. She's a sort of com-
blnatlon dry cleaner and furniture mover.
She tells me I've ruined May, and that ifs
only a question of time before May ruins
me. Pve got her to thank for all these
' cussed carpenters and painters and plumb
ers, and now nothing will do her but a tennis
court It la a serious business, nephew, be-.
. cause Pve got a hunch she's come to stay..
. But now you're here, we can try fighting
fire With fire." '
Matt gripped the extinguisher with a de
termined look.
"Well, I've come heeled, uncle," said he.
. "But I don't know how long I can stay, as
unless my income tax is paid I may be seised
and thrown in Jail."
, Unci Jerry grunted. " If you'll take that
(trl off my chest for the summer PU pay
your Income tax," said he.
"At that rate, uncle," said Matt, with a
moment's pans for calculation, "if I take
her off your hands for life it ought to b
wocth thirty thousand dollars a year."
- " Well," admitted Uncle Jerry, "I'm not
' sura but what- it might be worth it and
. you'd earn it all. Her she comes now."
Matt looked toward the side door of the
house and saw emerge a well developed girl
' ish figure in a middy blouse and white linen
skirt She stood for a moment as though
surveying the progress of the work upon
. the new veranda, and Matt thought that he
detected a certain increase in the activity
of the carpenters. Coming down the steps
- the girl paused for a moment to glano in
.' the direction of an elderly avrdenar, am-,
bung toward the house with a basket of
vegetable, and as this ancient henchman
. discovered her presence he appeared to step
upon his accelerator. A pah- of Airedales,
mole hunting- unobserved in a flower bad,
' Jerked up their heads at her sibilant hiss
' and retired in confusion.' Then a housemaid,
who had .thrust the buxom upper segment
of her through an open window to exchange
a pleasantry with a young painter Just undsr
lt caught sight of Nancy and popped it in
again.
" She appears to have a good tonic effect,
uncle," observed Matt, who had not n ilaaeil
any of these minor details.
"As a slave driver," admitted Unci Jerry
" I have never, seen her equal, . but the
trouha is, her discrimination between ma
Mat Btsppmnd with
difficulty a ttartled
yp at finding ha waa
all l
alone . . .
" Fm going, too," aaid
Nancy
ter and slaves is faulty."
, " At least" said Matt, " she is not unpteas-
tag to the eye."
"No," said Uncle Jerry grudgingly,. " sh
looks a lot better than she sounds. May has
; a mind of her own, but this sassy plec
doesn't stop there. She supplies the mind
. for everybody in sight She's Just the sort
of wife for you, my nephew, sine you'v
shown yourself a little hacking in your top
hamper" ;,. , ."
The young lady m question approached
' them with a stop which was no less graos
, fol than assured. As Matt ros sh favored
htm with a challenging stare, then glanced
at the extinguisher which he was holding a
little nervously in his hand. '
' "I dont think we car to buy any Are ex
tmgulshers,' do- we, Mr. Taylor?" said she,-
' " and I don't think that you are yet quite
strong enough to be annoyed by agents and
' peddlers and things."
"This is my nephew, ' Matthew Holmes,
Nancy," said the bridegroom. "Matthew,
this Is Miss Upton."
. v "Pve heard an shout Mr. Holmes'," Said
. Nancy, " and I've even read his last shilling .
shocker. ' Have you wisely abandoned litera-
' ture, Mr. Holmes, to sell extinguishers?" -
; "Pm trying to pursue both occupations, 1
Miss Upstage," Matt retorted.
: The girl flushed, the more so as Matt's
' eyes passed coolly the length of her, missing
apparently no detail from the coll of snugly
coiffed reddish hair to a pair of ankles which
left her low shoes to ascend some distance '
wtth every promise of perfection.
. " Well," she snapped, " then let's hope that
the extinguisher proves a success," and with
out bothering over further amenities she
said to her brother-in-law, " The most dread-. .
ful thing has happened, Mr. Taylor. I Just
. learned about it over the phone." Her voice .
seemed to break, and to Matt's surprise and
immediate concern the tears gushed into her
eyes, which brimmed over so that two ,
' astonishingly large . ones rolled down her
'. pink cheeks and hung pendant for a moment
' like a pair of gems, which flashed in the sun
light from either side of her combative chin.
" "Whafs the matter now?" grumbled Unci
Jerry, with a poor attempt at Jocularity.
" Has Mrs. Catt been pcfaoned?"
'' "Pleas dont Joke? Sylvia Gates went out
' test night in her canoe to paddle around for
- an hour and not tha slightest trace) of her
has been discovered." .
"Whafs that?" cried Unci Jerry, start- .
ing up,
"That's sH," said Nancy, and shook her
- bead. " Sh went out after dinner, as ah
often does, and that's the last they've seen ,
' of her. There's been a whole fleet of boats
of every sort out on the bay, and a launch
. .- has Just com in to the Gates' and reported
no trace) of her nor her canoe. At daylight
this morning they formed a line ten miles
long and went straight out in the direction
.- of the wind, keeping aa interval that must
have seen Us canoe if it had been capsized.
They went ' farther than It could poselbtr
have drifted, evea if she'd fallen out with
out ca palling if . (
Matt, glancing at bis uncle, was alarmed at
the mottled pallor which spread suddenly
over his face. "
" Good Lord!" groaned Uncls Jerry, Why
didn't Hy iet me know?" .
"He didn't want to shock you," said
Nancy. " May knew about It, but I'd gone
to bed and she did not tell me because Sylvia
and I were such chums at sohool that she
wanted to save mo from being upset 8h
thought surely Sylvia would be picked up by
this tlm."
" So that's where the launch went" said
Uncle Jerry, " May told me that she'd sent
Murphy to town to fetch the Cummihgs."
" The launch has been offshore searching
with the rest of th,em," said Nancy. " They
think that Sylvia broke her paddle and was
blown out into the bay with that puffy little
northwest breeze that sprang up last eve
ning. But now they are beginning to fear
that something else has happened her."
"What?" asked Matt sharply.' ,
Nancy shot him an angry look. "Well,
what would you think?" she asked. "You
write detective stories of sorts, and whatever
else your efforts may lack nobody has ever
charged you with falling short in far fetched
invention." .
"Thanks for those few kind words," said
Matt, "and I don't think that any of you
need be so terribly worried," for his quick,
versatile mind, already supplied with the
leading details of this mysterious disappear
ance, may have been working at the prob
lem subconsciously, and at this fresh presen
tation of it leaped to an immediate and .logi
cal conclusion. -
"I think that sbB beea ttmaped,"
said he.
This daring theory, so abruptly advanced,
produced a quick reaction tn both his lis
teners. .' ,
Uncle Jerry's craggy head turned sharply
on its lean neck like the head of an owl,
while Nancy's blue eyes opened very wide, as
did also her pink mouth. - - -
"Whafs that?" croaked Unci Jerry.
"I think that she's been kidnaped," Matt
repeated. "Let's consider the facts. Here's
an athletic girl who has grown up on the
water's edge and is a good canoist and ex
pert swimmer "
" How do you know that?" " Nancy de- .
manded. " Do you know Sylvia?"
"I've heard about her," Matt parried.
" This girl goes out In her canoe, in a puffy
offshore breeze, and fails to return. If she'd
fallen overboard or got capsized the chances
are ninety-nine in a hundred that she would
either have righted the canoe and swam back
into it, or els swam ashore." -,
"But hampered by her clothes," said--"Nancy,
who looked, nevertheless, more hope- -fuL
" The summer girls of today don't wear
clothes enough to hamper tbem at all," said
Matt " nor the winter ones, for that matter.
But in any case, the canoe would have
floated and must certainly have been picked
up in the smooth water we've had today,
even If it were awash. Since they have
found no trace of tim girl nor of the canoe
there Is only one conclusion to be drawn. '
Somebody who knew something about her
habits has been laying for her, and they've
got her."
Nancy, who had been holding her breath
during this declamation, now drew it so
deeply as to resemble a pouter pigeon. But
her piquant "face showed a tremendous relief. "
"Upon my word," said she. "it needs a
dime novel writer to explain th unexpUn
able." , -
Uncle Jerry drew down his bushy eyebrows
and surveyed her from th cavernous depths
beneath them. .
"Weil, then," said ha, " let's bean- a Vaaaar
B. A. improve on it"
Nancy flushed and tilted up her combativ
chin,
"It's absurd." said sh. "That sort of .
thing only happens in th movies and in
Cousin or Nephew, or whatever h Is, sttly
books."
' , "Well, then," said Matt serenely, "fori
, ahead and give us on of your own."
.. Nancy hesitated for a moment Matt was
rather pleased to not this hesitation, be
;'. oaus his Impression of people wer lmpul
. slvely and most times accurately formed,
and any hesitation on the part of this post
tlve young lady struck him as being alien to
her nature, like the tears. It lasted for a
Very brief Instant, and tha following expla
' nation of It gave him pause:
'.' "Well, then," said she, "I think that your
theory Is fantastic and absurd. But now that
i you've eliminated th possibility of an. acol
' dent or at least the probability of one, X be
1 ' llev that Sylvia has dona precisely what I
have feared for some time that she might do.
I think that sh has eloped with a man
named Sprague and that we shall hear all
about it tomorrow morning,"
1 Unci Jerry sat up straight " Sam
Sprague, the ship builder?" he demanded,
then leaned back and laughed softly at th
. sky. " By gorry, I believe you're right I
- hadn't thought of that I hope she has. Sam
-) is twice the man that this Grlscom milksop
. could ever hope to be. Won't John Gates be
wild? " He chuckled with that peculiar fiend
ish glee which sometimes Inspires older men
on learning of the discomfiture of a friend
whose sudden success has aroused a sort of
senile Jealousy. Then, turning to his nephew,
he asked: "Well, what do you know about
that, Mr. Story Writer? "
; Matt shook his head and glanced up to
find Nancy's blue eyes fixed upon him with
a sort of hostile challenge.
" Strikes me as rather weak," said he.
"For one thing, Sam went off mad when h
learned of Sylvia's engagement to Grlscom
left his yard In the hands of the foreman and
cleared for somewhere down east."
Nancy gave a gasp. It may have struck
her that here could be-"little short of clalr
voyance. " How do you know that? " she
asked. -
Matt shrugged. "We writers have a way
of interesting ourselves In human documents
at which we are permitted now and then a
glimpse," said he. "In the present case I
believe your surmise to be entirely wrong
because it is not consistent with Sylvia's .
character." " . ,
And proceeded entirely In the dark to set
forth his reasons for this .premise. Leaning
back on the bench. Matt toyed with the ex
tinguisher, which had a pleasant nickeled
polish and was the sort of object one rather
likes to handle.
" You see, Miss Uppity," said he, " your
, theory does your chum a grave injustice,
Sylvia may be headstrong a,nd temperamen
tal but she is devoted to her father" he
glanced at Uncle Jerry "and she would
never for an instant subject good old Hy to
any such, horrible anxiety as this. Besides,
why should she Hiram may have got set up
a little over his sudden increased wealth, but
at the same time he knows perfectly well
f olks say he's a profiteer,' and when all is
said and done Sam's just as good a man as
he. Is, or as his-father was, even if he did'
have the biggest sail loft in Boston and a
rope walk in Gloucester. Sam's all right
Everybody likes Sam, even if he is a mite
rough at times, and he's one of the very few
that did good, honest work for Uncle Sam
during the war. If Sylvia wanted to marry
Sam there's no reason under heaven why she
shouldn't tell this milksop of a Griscom to
go chase himself, and then up and marry
Sam. And deep down In hia heart good old
Hy would have been the last person to put
anything in the way of it." " -
The astonishment with which 1 Nancy
listened to this discourse (inspired as the
result of the half heard commentaries of the
loquacious driver impinging on prof ounder
meditation) was even surpassed by . the
amazement with whioh Uncle Jerry surveyed
this nephew whom he. had been previously
inclined to regard as a bit of an inspired ass.
The gleam of satisfaction In Uncle Jerry's
deep set eyes held also a new respect, as of
, one mistaken in his findings and almost
ready to admit his error.
" Where did you get all this about Hiram
Gates and Sylvia and Sam Sprague?". he
demanded. :
. Matt pursed up his lips and raised his eye
brows. " We writers," said he, " find it an
essential part of our profession to pick up
the loose ends of anything which promises
to be aii interesting suggestion for a roman
tic situation and try to piece them together.
During your illness, uncle, I came here off
and on, and in the course of these brief visits '
I could not help but hear a little of the gos
sip of the neighborhood. Putting two and
two together in the present -juncture, I am
1 convinced that Sylvia, who though possibly
a bit set up by her father's sudden accre
tion of wealth through turning his sail lofts
to the manufacture of tetjts for the gov-
ernmenf is nevertheless a devoted daugh
ter who would never willingly subject a kind
father whom she loves to any' such ordeal
as this." He fixed Nancy's blue eyes sud
denly with his piercing gaze. "You know
yourself she wouldn't" he shot at her with
t violence. ' : . i ;
" Well," faltered Nancy, " I reaHy never
would have thought it of Sylvia " .
"No more would I," said Matt sternly.
"Sylvia 'may have had her head turned a
bit but I am convinced that her heart Is
, in the right place. If I am wrong, then
she must be a very cruel, wicked girl. But
I am not wrong. She has not eloped. There '
was no reason for her to elope. She has
been kidnaped! " Matt barked out this state-.'
ment In a manner which made Nancy Jump, ,
Uncle Jerry looked puzzled, less perhaps
from an effort to grapple with this idea than
at the display of -so much acumen by a
nephew whom he had hitherto regarded as
brilliant of surface but of shallow depth.
" I must say, Matthew," said he, " you are
deeper than I had thought You seem to
have got a pretty good slant on th affairs
of this community." ,
Matt waved his hand with a deprecatory
gesture.
" Besides," said he, " from what I know of
Sam Sprague, he is not the sort of man to
lend himself to any such expedient even to
t gain a bride. You see, Nancy " he fastened
her with hla hynotic gaze " there are two
sorts of men in this woHd, as you may find
when you have been a little longer from the
bosom of your alma mater"
' " Pm learning it right now," Nancy Inter
rupted. "Those who mind their own busi
ness and those who don't" . ,
, "If that is a slap," said Matt, "permit me
to turn the other cheek. I might point out
' that it is the first essential of an author's
business to study human nature, its traits
and motives, and that cant be done from
. books."
-" Not from your books," said Nancy; " but
- do go on. You are at least amusing."
- WeH then," said Matt whoa mind w
forenslo In regard to sticking to a point.
" Ther are front door men and buck door
men, and, unless I am much mistaken, Bam is
th front door sort."
Unci Jerry nodded. "You're right
nephew," said ha " Bam might batter down
th front door with a maul or plxl to gut
his girl, but he'd never sneak her out th
back way. I knew his father, Jim Spragu.
and Sam's a chip off th old block." -
"Quite so, uncle," said Matt pleasantly,
"and I might add that the front door and
back door simile applies to girls as well "
he -turned hla serene gaze upon Nancy's
angry face. " Now, which sort do you con
sider your friend Sylvia to be? " he asked.
Nancy found herself trapped. She was "
bound to admit that it would be a very mean
, trick for Sylvia to cause her devoted father
. many hours of anguish of mind when as a
girl of high spirit th might hava said: "Z
find that I love Sam Sprague and I dont
love Freddy Grlscom. I'm going to marry
Bam and that's all there is about It," and, as
a matter of fact Nancy's knowledge of her
chum's character told her that this was pre
cisely what she would bav don.
Sh looked angrll7 at Matt to find his eyes ,
; resting exultantly upon her face. .
"WeU, what do you think yourself?" h .
' asked. ' , .
"I don't know," she answered shortly,
"You're so smooth and plausible that you
mix me up." . , . . . .
"Do you believe that she is drowned?
" Matt asked. .--
"I do not. Sylvia had the college cham- "
' plonshlp for swimming and diving, and sh
waa as much at home in a canoe as you
might be in a lady's boudoir."
" Then do you believe that she sneaked off
' to elope with Sam?"
: Nancy shook her head. "Not now," saM
' she. " I'm obliged to admit that you're proe .
ably right about that."
" He is about Sam,", muttered Uncle Jerry,
who, although inclined to quarrel with his
friends, waa loyal to them when attacked.
"Well, then," said Matt, "by a process
of elimination my kidnaping theory seems
to be the only one left unless a whale cam .
along and swallowed her, canoe and all.
. Why not, anyhow? . There are cases of kidr
, naping reported every few days In the papers, ,
Sylvia is the only and beloved daughter of .
a new made millionaire, and supposedly en-
gaged to marry another. Paternal love In
one case and lover love In the other would
seem to guarantee a prompt payment of th , .
ransom." -.
Uncle Jerry looked convinced. " Her
' t comes May," said he. " Let's see what she's
' got to say about It She's got a good clear
head." , ." . j. r ,
Matt rose, laying down the extinguisher. .
" How do you. Aunt May," said he affably.
Mrs. Taylor surveyed him coolly, then of
fered her hand. She was not a vixenish or
' revengeful woman, and, having occupied and
' entrenched herself In an invulnerable, stra- "
tegtc position, saw no good reason In bear
ing malice for her defeated adversary, .
" Good afternoon, Matthew.," said She; thca
glanced curiously at the extinguisher. " What
are 'you doing with that thing?" ;'
- "I have been testing the qualities of this
wonderful all round extinguisher, with a
view to Interesting myself, in lt- " Matt
began, when Nancy interrupted him Impa
tiently. ' . ; . '
" We've heard all about Sylvia, May," said
she. " You might have told us sooner."
. ' i "I had hoped that by this time there would
be some news of her," said May, "and I
thought I might as well spare you both
anxiety..- I've Just been telephoning from
1 the garage." ' - -
"That's how I happened to hear it," said
Nancy. "Mr. Holmes has got a crazy Idea
- that she's been kidnaped." 1
- May looked at Matt thoughtfully. "Well, '
said she, "I'm not sure that ifs so crazy.
The same thing has occurred to me." ,
" But how could she have been?" demanded
... Nancy. - -- -. '
"Easily enough," May answered. ; " Sh
has a habit of paddling along the shore at
night, and a speed launch might have been
. lurking in the shadows and slipped up along. .
side and grabbed her." -".
" Then chucked some rocks into the cano
and ripped a hole In it, and let it sink," added
' Matt .' . - .. '
, "Precisely," said May. ."But If that la
what has happened, it is a ransom-Job, of
course, and we should soon hear about it"
. "I think I'll get in the car and run over,
to the Gates," said Uncle Jerry. "This idea
may not have occurred to them, and while. ;
It's pretty bad, ifs better than believing her .. .
to be drowned. . Want to come. May?" . .
" I've sent Murphy off in the launch to Join . .
In the search," said May, "but Nancy can
drive you."
"Matthew is going to pay us a little visit
my dear," said Uncle Jerry a bit nervously.
May raised her eyebrows. " That will b .
very nice," said she, without enthusiasm.
" Where is his luggage?"
"I haven't brought any," said Matt ' You
see, I'd only come to call, but since you all
v Insist on my staying, I would be delighted.
There must be - few of my things somewher
in the house."
" I'm afraid that Nancy got them together .
' and sent them to your apartment In town,"
said May.
" That was very thoughtful of Nancy," said
V Matt " but no doubt I can borrow of Unci
Jerry until I have time td run in and get
' what I need. We are just of a size." '
Uncle Jerry's deep set eyes ran over the '
athletic proportions of his nephew with an " '
air of approval. "Just about" said he, in
a tone of satisfaction. "I won't be needing '
my golf and riding things for some time, I'm
afraid." - - . -
"Nonsense, uncle," said Matt cheerfully, "
" we'll have you out on the links before you
know It Nancy plays, of course, so we've
just got a good foursome. We can play a '
dollar a hole and keep all the money in the .
family."
" This is scarcely the moment to talk about .
golf," said Nancy. "It is dreadful to think .
, we can't do anything to help."
Uncle Jerry made an effort to rise briskly, .
then clapped his hand to the small of his
back, and sank back with a groan and a
strong but smothered word.
" That cursed lumbago again," said he. ,
"You sat here too long listening to Mr.
Holmes' amusing fiction," said Nancy. "It's
getting chilly and I think you'd better go
in." She looked at Matt "If Mr. Holmes ... .
has nothing better to do, we might run over .,
to Sylvia's and be can give Mr. Gates the ,.
benefit of his author's imagination. t ,
"The chances are they've thought of It
already," said he, " but it can't do any harm
to go." ,
fConllnoed Jxt Sunday. -'
Copyright, lill. by Henry C. Rowland.
