The Cass County Sun (Linden, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 4, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 22, 1924 Page: 3 of 8
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THE CASS COUNTY
1
I
1
Three Neil and a Maid
by P. C. WODEHODSE
Copyright by George H. Doran Co.
CHAPTER XVI—Continued.
—17—
<8o concentrated was Snm on his pri-
vate vendetta with the clock that no
ordinary happening would have had the
power to distract him. What occurred
now was by no means ordinary, and It
distracted him like an electric shock.
As he. sat on the floor, passing a ten-
der hand over the egg-shaped bump
which had already begun to manifest
Itself beneath his hair, something cold
and wet touched his face, and para-
lyzed him so completely both physi-
cally and mentally that he did no*
move a muscle but Just congealed
where he sat Into a solid block of Ice.
He felt vaguely that this was the end.
His heart stopped beating and he sim-
ply could not Imagine It ever starting
again, and, If your heart refuses to
beat, what hope is there for you?
At this moment something heavy
and solid struck him In the chest, roll-
^ Ing him over. Something gurgled asth-
matlcatly In the darkness. Something
began to ilck his eyes, ears and chin
in a sort of ecstasy: and, clutching
out, he found his arms full of totally
unexpected bulldog.
■ "Get out wjilspered Sam tensely,
recovering hlB faculties with a Jerk.
"Oo away!"
Smith took the opportunity of his
lips having opened to lick the roof of
his mouth. Smith's attitude In the
matter was that providence In Its all-
seeing wisdom had sent him a human
being at a moment when he had reluc-
tantly been compelled to reconcile him-
self to a total absence of such Indis-
pensable adjuncts to a good time, and
that now the revels might commence.
He had Just trotted downstairs in
rather a disconsolate frame of mind
after waiting with no result in front
of Webster's bedroom door, and It was
a real treat to meet a roan, especially
one seated In such a Jolly and sociable
manner on the floor. He welcomed
8am like a long-lost friend.
Between Smith and the humans who
rrovIded him with dog-biscuits and oc
zaslonally with sweet cakes there had
always existed a state of misunder-
standing which no words could remove.
The position of the humans was quite
clear. They Jiad elected Smith to his
present position on a straight watch-
dog ticket. They expected him to be
one of those dogs who rouse the house
and save the spoons. They looked to
him to pin burglars by the leg and
hold on till the police arrived. Smith
simply could not graBp such an attl-
;ude of mind. He regarded Wlndles
lot aa a private house but as a social
;lub, and was utterly unable to see
iny difference between the human be-
ngs he knew and the strangers who
lropped In for a late chat after the
ilace was locked up. He had no In-
entlon of biting Sam. The idea never
entered his head. At the present mo-
uent what he felt about Sam was
iiat he was one of the best fellows he
lad ever met and that lie loved him
Ike a brother.
Sam. in his unnerved state, could
*ot bring himself to share these
imiable sentiments. He was thinking
utterly that Webster might have had
'he Intelligence to warn him of bull-
Jogs on 'the premises. It was Just the
lort of woodenrheaded thing fellows
lid, forgetting facts like that. He
scrambled stiffly to his feet and tried
;o pierce the darkness that hemmed
'llm In. He Ignored Smith, who snuf-
Sed sportively about his ankles, and
nade for the slightly less black ob-
long which he took to be the door
leading Into the hall. He moved war-
ily, but not warily enough to prevent
him cannoning Into and almost upset-
ting a small table with a vase on It.
The table rocked and the vase Jumped,
and the first bit of luck that had come
to Sam that nlglit was when he
reached out at a venture and caught
It Just as It was about to bound onto
the carpet.
He stood "there, shaking. The nar-
rowness of -the escape turned him
cold. If he had been an instant later,
there would have been a crash loud
enough to wake a dozen sleeping
houses. This sort of thing could not
go on. He must have light. It might
be r risk; there might be a chance of
somebody upstairs seeing It and com-
ing down to Investigate; but It was a
risk that must be taken. He declined
to go on stumbling about In this dark-
ness any longer. He groped his way
with Infinite care to the door, on the
wall adjoining which, he presumed,
the electric light switch would be.
It was nearly ten years since he had
last been Inside Wlndles, and It. never
occurred to him that In this progres-
sive age even a woman like hla Aunt
Adeline, of whom he could believe al-
most anything, would still he using
candles Rnd oil-lamps ss a means of
Illumination. His only dou)>t was
whether the switch was where It was
In most houses, near the door.
It is odd to reflect that, as his
searching fingers torched the knob, a
delicious feeling of relief came to
Samuel Mnrlowe. This misguided
young man actually felt at that mo-
ment that his troubles were over. He
positively smiled as he placed a thumb
on the knob and shoved.
Jle shoved strongly and sharply, and
Instantaneously there leaped at him
out of the darkness a blare of music
which appeared to his disordered
mind quite solid. It seemed to wrap
Itself round him. It was all over the
place. In a single Instant the world
had become one vust bellow of Tostl's
"Good-by."
How long he stood there, frozen, he
did not know; nor can one say how
long he would have stood there had
nothing further come to Invite his no-
tice elsewhere. But, suddenly, drown-
ing even the Impromptu concert, there
came from somewhere upstairs the
ro r of a gun, and, when he heard
that, Sam's rigid limbs relaxed and a
violent activity descended upon him.
He hounded out Into the hall, looking
to right and to left for a hiding-place.
One of the suits of armor which had
been familiar to him In his boyhood
loomed up 1\ front of him, and with
the sight came the recollection of how,
when a mere child on his first visit to
Wlndles. playing hide and seek with
his cousin, Eustace, he had concealed
himself inside this very suit and had
not only baffled Eustace through a
long summer evening but had wound
up by almost scaring him Into a de-
cline by booing at him through the
vizor of the helmet. Happy days, hap-
py days! He leaped at the suit of
armor. The helmet was a tight fit,
but he managed to get his head into
It at Inst, and the body of the thing
was quite roomy,
"Thank heaven!" said Sam.
He was not comfortable, but comfort
Just then was not his primary need.
Smith, the bulldog, well sutlsfled
with the way things had happened,
sat down, wheezing slightly, to await
developments.
Episode Four.
He had not long to wait. In a few
minutes the hall had filled up nicely.
There was Mr. Mortimer In his shirt-
sleeves, Mr. Bennett In his pajamas
and a dressing-gown, Mrs. Illgnett In a
traveling costume, Jane Hubbard with
her elephant-gun, and Blllle In a din-
ner dress. Smith welcomed them all
impartially.
Somebody lit a lamp, and Mrs. Hlg-
nett stared speechlessly at the mob.
"Mr. Bennett! Mr. Mortimer!"
"Mrs. Hlgnett! What are you doing
here?"
Mrs. Hlgnett drew herself up stiffly.
"What an odd question, Mr. Morti-
mer! I am In my own house!"
"But you rented it to me for the
summer. At least, your son did."
"Eustace let you Wlndles for the
summer!" said Mrs. Hlgnett, lncred
ulously.
"Let us talk all that over cozlly to-
morrow," she said. "The point now Is
that there are burglars In the house."
"Burglurs!" cried Mr. Bennett
aghast. "I thought It was you playing
thut Infernal instrument, Mortimer."
"What on earth should I play It for
at this time of night?" said Mr. Morti-
mer Irritably.
It appeared only too evident that the
two old friends were again on the
verge of one of their distressing fall-
Ings-out; but Jane Hubbard Intervened
once more. This practical-minded girl
disliked the Introducing of side-Issues
into the conversation. She was there
to talk about burglars, and she In-
tended to do so.
"For goodness' sake stop It!" she
said, almost petulantly for one usually
so superior to emotion. "There'll be
lots of time for quarreling tomorrow.
Just now we've got to catch
these . . ."
"I'm not quarreling," said Mr. Ben-
nett.
"Yes, you are," said Mr. Mortimer.
"I'm not!
"You are!"
"Don't argue!"
"I'm not arguing P
"You are!"
"I'm not!
Jane Hubbard had practically every
noble quality which a woman can pos-
sess, with the exception of patience.
A patient woman would have stood by,
shrinking from interrupting the dia-
logue. Jane Hubbard's robuster course
was to raise the elephant-gun, point It
at the front door, and pull the trigger.
"I thought that would stop you,"
she said complacently, as the echoes
died away and Mr. Bennett had fin-
ished leaping Into the air. She In-
serted a fresh cartridge, and sloped
arms. "Now, the question Is . . ."
"You made me bite my tongueI"
said Mr. Bennett, deeply aggrieved.
"Serves you right 1" said Jane plac-
idly. "Now, the question is, have
the fellows got away or are they hid-
ing somewhere In the house? I think
they're still In the house."
"The police I" exclaimed Mr. Ben-
nett, forgetting his lacerated tongue
and his other grievances. "We must
summon the police I"
"Obviously I" said Mrs. Hlgnett, with-
drawing her fascinated gaze from the
ragged hole In the front door, the
cost of repairing which ah* had been
mentally assessing. "We must send
for the police at once."
"We don't really need them, you
know," said Jane. "If you'll all go to
bed and just leave me to potter round
with my gun ..."
"And blow the whole house to
pieces!" said Mrs. Hlgnett tartly.
She had begun to revise her original
estimate of this girl. To her. Wlndles
was sacred, and anyone who went
about shooting boles In It forfeited her
esteem.
"Shall I go for the police?" said
Blllle. "I could bring them back in
ten minutes In the car."
"Certainly notl" said Mr. Bennett.
"My daughter gadding about all over
tb« countryside In an automobile at
this time of night 1"
"If you think I ought not to go alone,
I could take Bream."
"Where Is Bream?" said Mr. Morti-
mer.
The odd fact that Bream was not
among those present suddenly present-
ed Itself to the company.
"Where can he be?" said Blllle.
Jane Hubbard laughed the whole-
some, Indulgent laugh of one who Is
broad-minded enough to see the hu-
mor of the situation even when the
Joke Is at her expense.
"What a silly girl I am!" she said.
"I do believe that was Bream I shot
at upstairs. How foolish of me mak-
ing a mistake like that!"
"You shot my only son!" cried Mr.
Mortimer.
"I shot at him," said Jane. "My
belief Is that I missed him. Though
how I came to do It beats me. 1 don't
suppose I've missed a sitter like that
since I was a child In the nursery.
Of course," she proceeded, looking on
the reasonable side, "the visibility
wasn't good, and I tired from the hip,
but It's no use saying I oughtn't at
least to have winged him, because I
ought." She shook her head with a
touch of self-reproach. "I shall be
chaffed about this If It comes out,"
she said regretfully.
"The poor boy must be In his room,"
said Mr. Mortimer.
"Under the bed. If you ask me,"
said Jane, blowing on the barrel of
her gun and polishing It with the side
of her hand. "He's all right! Leave
him alone, and the housemaid will
sweep him up In the morning."
"Oh, he can't be I" cried Blllle. re-
volted.
A girl of high spirit, It seemed to
her repellent that the man she was
engaged to marry should be displaying
such a craven spirit. At that moment
she despised and hated Bream Morti-
mer. I think she was wrong, mind
yon. It Is not my place to criticize the
little group of people whose simple an-
nals I am relating—my position Is
merely that of a reporter; hut person-
ally I think highly of Bream's sturdy
common-sense. If somebody loosed
off an elephant-gtm at me In a dark
corridor, I would climb onto the roof
and pull It up after me. Still, rightly
or wrongly, that was how Blllle feit;
and It flashed across her mind that
Samuel Marlowe, scoundrel though he
was, would not have behaved like this.
And for a moment a certain wlstful-
ness added Itself to the varied emo-
tions then engaging her mind.
"I'll go and look, If you like," said
Jane agreeably. "You amuse your-
selves somehow till 1 come back."
She ran easily up the stairs, three at
a time. Mr. Mortimer turned to Mr.
Bennett.
"It's all very well your saying Wll-
helmlna mustn't go, but. If she doesn't
how can we get the police? The house
Isn't on the 'phone, and nobody else
can drive the car."
"That's true," said Mr. Bennett,
wavering.
"I'm going," said Blllle resolutely.
It occurred to her, as It has occurred
to so many women before her, how help-
less men are In a crisis. The tem-
porary withdrawal of Jane Hubbard
had had the effect which the removal
of a rudder has on a boat "It's the
only thing to do. I shall be back In
no time."
She stepped firmly to the coat-rack,
and began to put on her niotorlng-
cloak. And Just then Jane Hubbard
came downstairs, shepherding before
her a pale and glassy-eyed Bream.
"Right under the bed," she an-
nounced cheerfully, "making a noise
like a piece of fluff In order to deceive
burglars." >
Blllle cast a* scornful look at her
fiance. 'Absolutely unjustified, In my
opinion, but nevertheless she cast It.
But It had no effect at ail. Terror
had stunned Bream Mortimer's percep-
tions. His was what the doctors call
a penumbral mental condition.
"Bream," said Blllle, "I want you
to come In the car with me to fetch
the police.
"All right," said Bream.
"Get your coat."
"All right." said Bream.
"And cap."
"All right," said Bream.
He followed Blllle In a docile man-
ner out through the front door, and
they made their way to the garage at
the back of the house, both silent. The
only difference between their respec-
tive silences was that BtUle's was
thoughtful, while Bream's was Juat
the alienee of a man who has un-
hitched his brain and la getting along
aa wall aa he caa without it
<'iy> •
In the halt they had left, J tut Hob-
bard once more took command of af-
fair! ;?'•( "
"Well, that'a something done," she
said, scratching Smith's broad back
with the muzzle of her weapon. "Some-
thing accomplished, something done,
lias earned a night's repose. Not that
we're going to get It yet. I think those
fellows are hiding somewhere, and we
ought to search the house and rout
them out It's a pity, Smithy, but
you're about aa much practical use
in a situation like this as a cold In the
head. You're a good cake-hound, bet
as a watch-dog you don't finish In the
first' ten."
"The first thing to do," continued
Jane, "is to go through the ground-
floor rooms + . She paused "to
strike a match against the suit ar-
mor neares' to her, a proceeding
which elicited a sharp cry of protest
from Mrs. Hlgnett, and lit a cigarette.
"I'll go first, as I've got a gun . . .
She blew a cloud of smoke. "I shall
want somebody with me to carry a
light, and . .
"Tchoo I"
"What?" said Jane.
"I didn't speak," said Mr. Mortimer.
"Who am I to speak?" he went on
bitterly. "Who am I that it should
be supposed that I have anything
sensible to suggest?"
"Somebody spoke," aald Jane.
MV t
X • e •
"Achoo!"
"Do you feel a draught, Mr. Ben-
nett?" cried Jane sharply, wheeling
round on him.
"There Is a draught" began Mr.
Bennett.
"Well, finish sneezing an(* I'll go on."
"I didn't sneeze!"
"Somebody sneezed."
"It seemed to come from Just be-
hind you." said Mrs. Hlgnett nerv-
ously.
"It couldn't have come from Just
behind me." said Jane, "beenuse there
Isn't anything behind me from which
It could have . . ." She stopped
suddenly. In her eyes the light of un-
derstanding, on her face the set ex-
pression which was wont to come to It j
on the eva of action. "Oh!" she said
In a different voice, a voice which was
coljj and tense and sinister. "Oh, 1
see!" She raised her gun, and placed
a muscular forefinger on the trigger.
"Come out of that!" she said. "Come
out of that suit of armor and let's
have a look at you!"
"I can explain everything," said a
muffled voice through the vizor of the
helmet. "I can—achoo." The smoke
of the cigarette tickled Sam's nostrils
again, and he suspended his remarks.
"I shall count three." said Jane
Hubbard. "One— two—1-
"I'm coming! I'm coming 1" said
Sam petulantly.
"You'd better!" said Jane.
"I enn't get this dashed helmet offr
"If you don't come quick, I'll blow
it off."
Snm stepped out Into the hall, a
picturesque figure which combined the
costumes of two widely separated cen-
turies. Modern as far as the neck, he
slipped back at that point to the Mid-
dle ages.
"Hands up!" commanded Jane Hub-
bard.
"My hands are up!" retorted Sam
querulously, as Ii0 wrenched at his un-
becoming head-wear.
"Never mind trying to raise your
hat." said .Tane. "If you've lost the
combination, we'll dispense with the
formalities. What we're anxious to
hear Is what you're doing In the house
at this time of night, and who your
pals are. Come along, my lad, make
a clean breast of It and perhaps you U
get off easier. Are you a gang?"
"Do I look like a gang?"
"if you ask me what you look
like . .
"My nnme Is Marlowe . . . Samuel
Marlowe . . ."
"Alias what?"
"Alias nothing! I say my name Is
Samuel Marlowe . . ."
An explosive roar burst from Mr.
Bennett
"The scoundrel! I know him I I
forbade him the house, and . . ."
"And by what right did you forbid
people my house. Mr. Bennett?" said
Mrs. Hlgnett with acerbity.
"I've rented the house. Mortimer and
I rented It from your son .
"Yes, yes. yea," said Jane Hubbard.
"Never mind about that. So you know
this fellow, do you?"
"I don't know him!"
"You said you did."
"I refuse to know him!" went on
Mr. Bennett. "I won't know hlml I
decline to have anything to do with
him I"
"But you Identify him?"
"If he says he's Samuel Marlowe."
assented Mr. Bennett grudgingly, "I
suppose he la. I can't Imagine anybody
saying he was Samuel Marlowe If he
didn't know It could be proved against
him."
"Are yon my nephew, Samuel?" said
Mrs. Hlgnett,
"Yes." said Sam.
"Well, what ara yon doing in my
house?"
"It's my house," aald Mr. Bennett
"for the anmmer, Henry Mortimer*
and mine. Isn't that right Henry?"
"Dead right," aald Mr. Mwrtlman
(TO u COMT1MVICU)
Hall's Catarrh
Ua<I2mSma will do what we
MeOIClllC claim for it —
rid your system of Catarrh or Deafness
caused by Catarrh.
Sold by druggists for over 40 y§ar$
F. J. CHENEY &. CO., Toledo, Ohio
w?m.
Tomorrow Alltehfc
KEEPING WELL An N? T.bl.t
<• vegetable aperient) taken St
night wilt help keep yea welt, br
toning and strengthening your 41*
■eetion Mid elimination.
Qet a
ss'Box
Chips
Nt JUNIORS—Little Ma
One-third the regular doee. Made
■SB SOLD BY YOUR DRUOOISTs*
YOUR BLOOD NEEDS
THIS IRON TONIC
GUDE'S Pepto-Mangan providea
iron in just the form most
readily assimilated — a form
which will not irritate the weakest
atomach nor injure the teeth, but
which effectively enriches the blood
and invigorates the body. At your
druggist a in liquid and tablet form.
Free Trial Tablets the health-building
value of Gude'e Pepto-Mangan, write today
tor generous Trial 1'ackage of Tablets. Send
no money — Juat name and address to
M. Je lireitenbach Co., 63 Warr«n St,, N. T.
Glide's
Pepto-Mangan
Tonic and Blood Enricher\
Says the Philosopher.
When the world turns round we'll
get on the brighter side, but—let's
belp the world to turn!
MOTHER! GIVE SICK BABY
"CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP"
Harmless Laxative to Clean Liver
and Bowels of Baby or Child.
Even constipat-
ed, bilious, fever-
ish, or sick, colic
Babies and Chil-
dren love to take
genuine "Califor-
nia Fig Syrup."
No other laxative
regulates the ten-
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so nicely. It*"
sweetens the
stomach and stnrts the liver
bowels acting without griping. Con-
tains no narcotics or soothing drugs.
Say "California" to your druggist and
avoid counterfeits! Insist upon gen-
uine "California Pig Syrup" which
contains directions.—Advertisement
Ancients Used Ginger.
Ginger Is mentioned in the ancient
Roman tariff lists and was introduced
Into the island of Jamaica from the
East Indies by the. Spaniards.
When You Catch Cold
Rub on Musterole
Musterole is easy to apply and it gets
in its good work right away. Often it
prevents a cold from turning into "flu"
or pneumonia. Just apply Musterole
with the Angers. It does all the good
work of grandmother's mustard plaster
without the blister.
Musterole is a clean, white ointment,
made of oil of mustard and other home
simples. It is recommended by many
doctors and nurses. Try Musterole for
■ore throat, cold on the chest, rheuma-
tism, lumbago, pleurisy, stiff neck, bron-
rosted feet—colds of all sorts.
To Mother*: Musterole ia now
mad* in mildar form for
babiea and small children.
Ask for Children's Muatarola.
35c and 65c, jars and tubes; hos-
pital size, $3.00.
Matter than a mattard plmiUr
KEEP EYES WELL!
Dr. Thompson's are Wtter will
m
W. N. U., DALLAS, NO. 3-1924.
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Banger, J. E. A. & Erwin, W. L. The Cass County Sun (Linden, Tex.), Vol. 49, No. 4, Ed. 1 Tuesday, January 22, 1924, newspaper, January 22, 1924; Linden, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth340874/m1/3/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Atlanta Public Library.