10
THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 8, 1916
He had a lot of time on his hands
and he liked to sif on the brow of the
hilt and take views of' the city.
I'd seen the bridge-playing,
cocktail -drinking sort until I
was sick of them, and her
was a real girl, the kind to
check meup-when I took hold
of the road and wanted to
step out a bit too fast. And
she belonged to somebody else.
It made me sore. Well, that's
not the way to put it. It hurt.
If caring had had anything
to do with it, I thought I'd
have, been a good husband.
The old man. came out to
the porch and called hor
querulously,
"Coming, father,"
she said. And got. up.
"You said yo u
would do anything to
you have done, what you ar going to
do"
Her voice broke. "Good night, OHie."
she said. And that time she knew she
said it.
I kissed her hand. I couldn't help it.
I might see- her again, but this was our
goed-by. Into that bit of a klas I tried
to put something of what I felt I
couldn't tell her I loved her, but It
wouldn't hurt to, let. her knew it, and'
that she could, count on me to the" finish.
Well!
" . I robbed the house I'.mi rather a-nifty
little robber. I- learned, something, too,
doing it.
Crime la like golf. If you try too
hard, yeu cramp- your form.
I didn't care a whoop in hades that
night what happened to me, and I
ea. jwp M
mude the old roan promise,,
wont to-bed-early. But a good
wind came up at half past 10,
a'nd he sent the kites out. lie
believed in the new wire, of
course,; and he was as impatient as
child.
At halfi past 11 he wakened, her, and
'said the wire had gone again, and. some
cf the- city lights war out. He had
started the motor as soon as the wire
broke and .brought it in, but the ramera
and the kite were gone, as usuah
His. loss was his chief concern. But
Hazel was frightened.. The streets' were
full of people leaving the theaters, and
if anyone in an open. car. had: run Into it,
Martin had told her, it $uld cut a head
oft' as clean as an ax.
SHE had a vision of fearful tilings as
she- dressedi Her anxiety, since it
was too latei to- avoid, trouble,, was,-. If
anything had happened, to keep the old
man out of 4t. Thee, messenger was not
so Important. It was unlikely that any
c ne would know what it was. It was a
.square of canwvs on: a wire frame with a
center hole top the. wire;
But the camera waa different. The
old gentleman was known to some of the
dealara ia town. He had. made the cam
era himself,, and: suspended; it from: the
carrier by four small springs.. But it
was known,, among a- limited ffew. that
ha was taking aerial- pictures. It looked
very bad, any way. you- take it.
"I don't know whether he was fright
ened at the. possibilities or not," she said.
"I waa terrified. But. he Is- not' young,
and I did net. teii him what I fearaL He
let me- go; when-1 insisted but I think
he was only afrald.eome.one would steal
the cafaara. H 'knew where it had fall
em . It was near Bolsseaa'a,. or in. the
paxk.; I wandered around all night,, but
it wets. dark that I might asweU have.
been aft hoiaa. I did- not sit down, for
faan I iraukl. think. I, kept saying over
and over, It happened before) and. no one
was hurt.' But the night, before, it had
been later. It, was diffenemfc.."
"Then, when you- saw, Che.- paper in
Boissaau'a "
"I knew.. We lmd. killed, two people
and-injured a third."
"The - DoHcemaniT'
.. "lather, reeled ia; the- wire at once.
and. it must have-been-the-end-that cut
like- a moving knito,"
X think it helped1 her to. talk about it,
io get- It, off, her chest,, so to f$ea-k. , I
told her how I had traced the eamesa,
aw I caltednnyseli a few -pleasant truths
for having left the camera to be
repaired. If we'd pot it ami
bwned it there would have been
no proof against the' old man.
"Not that they- could' do much
tO)hira, anyhow," I ad3ed. "The
thing was an accident."
"But he dosen't know anything
happened. It would kill him to
know."
Well, he looked as able to
stand it as she did, to my mind-.
But it she felt that way
"Then the. thing yo threw over tlx?
hill, waa the motor, engine, whatever-ywu
cail: it?
"Yes. We cannot afford another, and
thera will bes no more kite flying." The
grit of her No wonder she had breathed
hard.
"I used a pole as a lever. When-1 got
it started I was frightened. I'm always
being frightened. Suppose there- was
, somebody an the river in w small boat
underneath,"
"Amt ttiis cut of mine?"
"You said it waa brush,"
"Something struck me. It's not much
of. a; cut. Probably an end o the wire."
And to this day I do not know: I am
aware that In a stocy of thi sort it's
rattling bad form to leave any taoseends,
but! I can only write' what I know, r do
not-know what struck m& in the face:
There ane other things that- I do mot
know, or at least I can only surmise.
The identity of-the- blithe, bandittis one.
And until two day-ff ag0 I never- knew
what became of OHVe- Taojaaa satrphire
bsacelfefc. I'll tell- you about that: later.
"We must destroy the camera," Hazel
saidi. "He-must never do-this sort of
thing-again, Olliei"
"We must get -the camera and then
destroy, iti'" I corrected her. I had a per
fectly distinct idea that if P ever got: it,
it would be over the N; C.r,a dead' body.
Hazel never knew that she'd called me1
"Ollie" that- night. It gave me a secLof
achelo have to. sU; there: after, she'd said
and- not d&ra to notice it. In spite of
what I'd juat heard,. I kept thinking what
a- pal- she would be. to the. fellow that
married her. interested: in; things; you
know.
help. Would you commit a robbery?"
It startled me. rather.
. "I'm not' experienced," 1 said humbly.
"But-1 could", leani:"
"Are you in a hurry?"
"Hurryf No."
She outlined the crime to me. The old
man had a room full of apparatus, dif
ferent lenses, cameras in the making,
formulas, a tot of junk. She wanted it
stolen.
"The way things are now," she said
with a sigh, "we can't replace them. J'll
pack them all in an old suitcase and
leave it just inside the window. In a
half hour you can break the glass, un
lock the. window; andi get. it"
"And; thiiow it in: th river? Why not
send? them after the engine?"
SHIi hesitated. 'Tie--loves them;" she
said. "In a way, they are his chil
dren, the things he lives for. And when
we go- to- the country " -
"You are going to the- country?"
"Oni ot town," she said quietly. "I
am going to be married next week."
Were you. ever In love with a girl, the
real thing; s that, you broke out in- a
perspiration, at the thought of meeting
her, and did, you ever have her tell you
she was going, to marry somebody else
next week?
I'd- known I couldn't have her. In a
way, I'd known somebody else would.
But I'd put It In the indefinite future,
like dea&i. Next weefcl I couldn't
breathe.
She- held out her hand. "You don't
like to- be- thanked. I won't even try.
But I'll never forget you. Nevw. All
couldn't even make a noise! I put my
hand against the pane to find where to
smash it with a brick, and the whole
glass fell in on a pillow or something
without a sound.
Can you beat it? . -
I got the suitcase and carried it out to
ray car. It was heavy, but I didn't no
tice it. With what brains I had left I
was trying to picture Hazel married to
Martin, and the rest of the worl'da sort
of empty place, with me In the middle.
I had an idea, for a while, that I wa
being watched. It wasn't a matter of
noise. I didn't hear anything except my
own footsteps on the pavement.
Once I stopped suddenly and looked
back: There was nothing in sight, and I
went on.
I had plenty to think of. For one
thing, it was clear, tr I thought it was.
that' after all the holdup- at Bolsseau's
had. had nothing to do with the other
event of that ghostly night. " If Fd had
any idea, of making a grand stand play,
and- dropping the mater's pearls- In her!
lap, it. had vanished.
I say. I was thinking of that But in
the: back bf my brain there was only one
thought, and if you've ever been 25 and
have seen, the only girl: about, to marry
v-uu v. J vuusy w iimi JMm VMI ,
even try to make a case for yourself,
you'll know what that therught was.
I'H tell' you, the river looked good to
me-that night. Foolish? No. Twenty
three. My car Is a roadster. I reached in and
dropped the suitcaae, started the engine, ,
and walked around and kicked, the tires
to see if they were all right; Then I
got in.
I had just put my hand on the gear-