THE COQUILLE HERALD. TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1916. PAGE POUR to MB.VIS0N AUTHOR OF "THE SILVER BUTTERFLY,” "SALLY SALT,” "THE BLACK PEARL,” ETC NOVELIZED FROM THE SERIES OF PHOTOPLAYS OF THE SAME NAME RELEASED BY PATHE EXCHANGE. lCOfv*IGHT. 1916. BY MRS. WILSON WOODROW. hers. "Tom !” she walled. “Oh, Tom! You poor, poor boy! I’m so sorry! Truth Crushed to Earth. feut why did you tell him it was you th a t broke the vase? W hy didn’t The champion, sword In hand, was you say it was H arry?" defending his lady love from the m ur­ "I—I had to tell him th e tru th ,” derous attack of the dragon. panted th e boy. "T here w asn’t any­ The group o . nurses lounging on the thing else to do.” • • • • • • • park bench saw only five-year-old Tommy Blake and four-year-old Mar­ From th e days when he had defend­ jorie Lampson, playing with a very ed her from the collie-dragon, Tom big and very friendly collie. But Tom Blake had loved M arjorie Lampson. my, the cham pion, knew better He And now, a t twenty-one, it was no knew the dragon would surely swal longer the affection of a child for s low M arjorie or drag her away to its child, but the whole-souled adoration lair, unless her defender could fright o i a man for a woman. en away 'h e m onster with hla sword. And one evening be told h e r so. So while M arjorie squealed with do It was during his senior year a t th e light. Tommy wielded the wooden university. He had but th ree m onths sword right doughtily, shaking It in m ore to study. A fter graduation he front of the barking collie's nose and w as to go Into business w ith his fa­ assu rin g his little playm ate be would ther. save her. H e and H arry Lampson were in It was a wonderful game. But pres th e sam e class at the university. But ently the collie tired of It and trotted th e ir childhood acquaintance had not away. Tommy (thrilled a t the tri­ ripened Into friendship. um phant thought th at he had van­ It was on the evening a fte r his fa­ quished the dragon) gave chase. He th e r had prom ised to take him Into had not run three steps before his th e business th at Tom called on Mar­ foot slipped and he tum bled face jorie with th e good news. downward In a very large and very "And, dear,” said Tom, a f ti r a half sloppy mudpuddle. hour of the delicious Idiocies th a t The nurse swooped down upon him lovers consider such infinitely wise and dragged him homeward. conversation. "It won’t have to be Mrs. Blake was a t th is m om ent en­ a long engagem ent, either. F ather gaged In preparing an address which prom ised me today th a t he—” she expected to read tw o nights later M arjorie darted away from the before the P a re n ts’ club. clasp of his arm. A shutting door, a sound of weep­ "D ad’s coming In," she warned him. ing, the hurry of footsteps checked "I heard hla key in th e front door. h e r flow of Inspiration. She laid down I know he won’t approve. Don’t let's h e r pen and turned with a frown tell him—yet.” tow ard the library doorway. "W hy, little sw ee th ea rt!" Tom re­ On the threshold appeared the assured her. "H e won’t bite us. Be­ nurse half leading, h alf dragging the sides, It’s th e only square thing—the tearful and muddy child. At sight of only tru th fu l thing—to do. We can't th e havoc w rought on Tom m y's new live a lie. He has the rig h t to know.” su it Mrs. Blake called In sudden loss "But—" Mr. Lam pson hearing voices In the of tem per: "You bad, bad boy! See w hat you've living room, strolled in. H arry, at his done! You ought to be whipped and heels, caught sight of Tom and halted se n t to bed! How did th is happen?” Irresolute, Just outside th e doorway. "Good evening, Tom," Mr. Lamp- "W hy, you see, m a’am ," began the son greeted th e «alter, not o ver nurse, "he w as—” "I asked M aster Tommy not you, cordially. "Mr. Lam pson," spoke up Tom, nurse," Interrupted the vexed m other. "Tommy, tell me how this happened! nerving him self for th e ordeal. "My T ell m e the tru th , mind you, or I'll—" fa th e r prom ised today to take me into "It—It w as th is way," faltered Tom ­ th e business with him in June." "I congratulate you," said LampBon my, m anfully choking back his sobs, "I was playing Saint Qeorge and the perfunctorily. "T hat will m ean," w ent on Tom, Dragon. And M arJ'rlr was being the Malden In D istress—like—like the "th a t I'll have good pay from the sta rt; way you read to me. And Laddie was with a prospect of a raise as soon as the dragon. And I m ade him run I m ake good. And I'm going to m ake away. And I chased him. And I fell good. Not only for fa th e r’s sake and down and got all muddled up. And m ine, but for M arjorie's, too." "M arjorie's?” repeated Lampson In I'm awful sorry, mamma. I didn't mild displeasure. “W hat has Mar­ m ean to fall down. And—" Mrs. Blake Interrupted his pitiful jorie to do w ith it? ” "I hope she will have everything defense by catching his shoulder In her strong hand and Jerking him to do w ith It,” answ ered Tom. ”1 don’t understand you.” along In h e r wake as she m arched across to the library book closet and "Mr. Lam pson." said Tom. "I have locked Tommy In. Just asked M arjorie to be my wife. • • • • s e e Will you m ake us both very happy Tom Blake had reached th e m ature by giving your consent? If you will age of eleven. M arjorie Lam pson and let us m arry as soon as I go to her brother, H arry, had come one af­ work—” ternoon to th e Blake house to talk "I am afraid I cannot consent to over a m a tte r of trem endous Im port anything of the sort." said Lampson, to all three of them —no less an event stiffly. ”1—” th an Tom’s birthday p arty which was "But Mr. Lam pson! You know all to take place on the following week, about me. You know m y parents. "S ay!" Tom greeted them . "I’m go­ You know M arjorie cares for me, th a t ing to have a bicycle for m y birthday! I shall be able to support her, th a t—” H onest I a m !” "I do not care to go Into th a t ques­ "N o!” exclaim ed H arry Lam pson tion a t all," said Lam pson. “It Is In open-eyed envy. enough for m e to say th a t I cannot ‘Yes, I am, too. P apa says I am. sanction any engagem ent betw een Isn’t th a t grand?” you and my daughter." "Isn’t It wonderful th a t you’re going "T hat m eans,” flashed M arjorie, to have a bicycle?” laughed M arjorie "th a t you’ve been listening to more In delight. "I’m going to ask p a p l of H arry's stories about him. H arry's to get me one, too. T hen we can take Jealous of Tom, because Tom Is popu­ rides together.” la r and—” "H uh!” grunted H arry In derision. "T hat will do, M arjorie!” said h e r "You’re too m uch of a cry-baby to ride father. ”1 don’t care to discuss the a bicycle, Marge. You'd snivel every m atter. I positively forbid the en­ tim e you fell off.” gagement. And I forbid you to see ■*Leave h e r be.” commanded Tom. Tom again, for th e present. “If you don’t I’ll—” "Mr. Lam pson!” broke out Tom, ’W ry showed his disregard for the \ »min* by giving M arjorie’s curls a "this Is unfair. If you have any ob­ sharp tug. The little girl cried out jection to me, It Is only honest to te!l Jn pain. W ith a yell of fury Tom m e w hat It Is. I—” "I am not compelled to explain my launched himdelf on h e r torm enter. Around the library table dashed the m ottvaa to every scatter-brained col­ pursuer and the pursued. H arry lege boy,” said Lampson. "My daugh­ dcdged as Tom caught up with him te r Is not yet of age. and is therefor« subject to my wishes. I to-bid her b : h 1 ducked under the la tte r's oulflung to see you again. And I forbla you arm. Tom’s flat, m issing Its m ark, struck to call here. Good sig h t.” Tom stalked angrily out of tk* full against the side of an antique olsonne vase that stood a t one room. W hen he cam e hom e from college end of the table. The vase—w orth Its weight In gold—was the pride of net* afternoon—he lived only about a mile from th e university—Tom Mr. Blake's heart. At the Impact of Tom Blake's fist found waiting for him a letter from th e ra se flew into the air, crashed M arjorie. Kagerly h a opened It a ad d lwn upon the hardwood floor and read: flw e a t h s a r t - D a d la still fe a r fu lly an gry lay there, sm ashed into fragm ents. H e th r e a te n s to sh u t m e u p In th e h o u se Mr. Blake, drawn th ith e r by the or sen d m e to h o a rd in g sc h o o l o r ev en to < ash. sauntered into the library In a co n v e n t If e v e r I d a re sp eak to you . h.msecoat and slippers. T here on the You see. h e Isn't u sed to h a v in g p eo p le 11 tor lav his priceless vase in atoms. ta lk back to h im a s you did la s t n ig h t. It's m ad e him a ll th e m ore h itter 'Who did th at? ” ho demanded, a A g nd a in s t you. (H e'd be t h e s a m e w a y . I'm I olnttng dram atically a t the ruined su r e, w ith a n y o n e w h o tried to m arry m e a n d ta k a m e a w a y fro m h im .) B u t I'm \ ase. I did. sir!" said Tom. ”1 w as chas­ n ot g o tn g to g iv e you up, T om . SEVENTH STORY slty w ere gathered a t a counter, laugh­ ing noisily over som ething. H arry Lampson was am ong them. Before Tom could w ithdraw one of| the lads hailed him, calling: “Look here! See what we’ve got.” H e held up for Inspection a sign­ board on whose black surface was chalked In w hite the werd "U nder­ ta k e r.” "W e’re going to hang It under Dr. L entz's shingle, around th e cprner yonder," explained the youth. "The old guy will be sore as blazes when he sees It in the m orning.” Tom nodded and turned away. The boys, with th e ir sign, presently trooped out. Tom w aited a m inute or so longer, then left the store. Ho cam e face to face w ith M arjorie who w as entering. An uproar fc half block below brought them to an abrupt halt. They turned to locate th e turmoil. A hundred feet away, under the glare of an electric light, a knot of six or seven people were engaged In a decidedly lively tussle. One of th e group was a policeman. Tom, a t a glance, understood th e situation. "They were going to hang a n un­ d e rta k er’s sign under Dr. L entz’s nam e,” he explained to M arjorie, "and th a t cop m ust have caught them a t It and tried to rtin them in. T hey’re beating him up, the idiots! T hat'll m ean a night in the 'hoosgow’ for some of them . They—’’ “T om !” she cried, shrilly. “Oh, Tom! One of them la H a rry !” H e's "But, T om !" cam e the quavering reply over the '/Ire. "I can’t, dear. I can ’t! T he p.esldent knows Dad. H e’d be certain to m ention It to him. And then I’d be In awful trouble. T h a t’s why I didn't Interfere last night. H arry threatened to tell Dad I w as w ith you. And—’’ "All right, sv e e th e a rt,” said Tom gently. “Don’t be frightened. I'm not w orth It. I’ll maniyfe somehow w ithout your testim ony.” H e returned to the president. “I regret, sir,” said Tom. "T hat my w itness cannot testify. But I have given you my word of honor th a t I—’ "T h at will do,” th e president cut a im short. "Cood day.” A t a m eeting cf the faculty th a t af­ ternoon Tom Blake was duly and pub­ licly expelled from th e university. He him self brought homo the news. H is m other burst Into a flood of te a rs. H is father, as stirred as she, took the m a tte r more stoically. "H ere !" he said, curtly. "T ake thlo money. It Is $100. T ake it and get o u t I don’t want a black sheep in m y fold. You have m ade your bed. Lie In It. I’m done with you.” "But, F a th er!" persisted Tom. ‘T v e done nothing wrong. I'm innocent.” “T hey don't expel innocent boys from college," retorted his father. W hile Tom was m iserably packing his few belongings a note was deliv­ ered ?o him. It was from Marjorie. Tom read: let me know.” Tom opened a draw er of his desk; then reconBldered, and decided the money would be safer In his own keeping. Office th e fts were not uncom mon and th ere was alw ays the danger of fire So he took out a long envelope, w rote bis nam e and the firm's a d d ress on It, put the money In the envelope, sealed It and placed It In th e Inside pocket of his vest. Then he locked the office and w ent out Into the street. The hour was late and he w as sleepy as well as hungry, so he took a short cut through a netw ork of squalid stre ets to bring him to his own boarding place. He had gone only a few blocks when he noticed on a cuts talned stre et window th e sign: "H arding’s cafe." T he window was not over-clean and; the stre et was uninviting. But hunger Is seldom fastidious. Choosing a m eal from the list dis­ played on the greasy and much- thumbed menu, he gave his order and sa t back to wait. • • • • e • • Lizzie Relsen was a lady who lived by h e r wits. And she had good sharp wits to live by. She did not care for her patronym ic, and early In h e r hec­ tic career she had changed It to "Lu- lette Fortescue.’’ But an unapprecla-, tlve police force had renam ed her “Light-Fingered Liz." Liz entered the m ain room of the cafe and glanced around with a seem ­ ing carelessne-** which, none the less, took In every detail and every patron of the place. H er roving glance a t l a s t ' paused — a t sight of som ething th a t prom ised to be Interesting. At an alcove table sa t a well-dressed young man In front of whom a w aiter was Just then settin g a cup of coffee. As the w aiter leaned over him, Liz saw the young man raise his hand nervously tow ard one side of his vest. T hat tip was quite enough for Light- Fingered Liz. She crossed to the alcove. "Pardon m e,” she said, politely. "Do you mind if I sit here? T he o uter room Is so smoky." “Not a t all,” said Tom absently. The girl picked up the m enu and studied it. But her fingers seem ed to be awkward. F or she let th e greasy card fall to the floor. It struck n ear Tom 's feet. He stooped to pick it up. During the fraction of a second th a t his head was below th e table edge, Liz’s hand shot forw ard w ith unbe­ lievable sw iftness, dropped som ething into the cup of coffee and retu rn e d as quickly to her own lap. • • • • • • • Tom Blako was aw are of a racking headache, a rankly bad ta ste In his m outh, a sense of nausea. He s a t up and blinked. H e—yes, he m ust have been fast asleep. H is w atch was gone. So w as his "I Cannot Employ You Any L ongsrl” chain. And his vest was unbuttoned. certain to be arrested . And Dad will D e a r e s t—I 'm a c o w a rd , a n d I d o n 't s u p ­ H is fingers flew to the inside pocket. never forgive him. He said If H arry p o s e y o u c a n e v e r fo rg iv e m e. B u t y o u ever got into anoth er scrape he— d o n 't k n o w w h a t D ad Is, w h e n h e ’s In o n e I t was empty. A gurgling cry, like th a t which Is Tom, please—please, for my sake, go o f h is r a g e s . T h e re is n o th in g h e w o u ld n ’t d o If h e fo u n d o u t I ’d d iso b e y e d h im . ■wrung from th e dying, b u rst from over and get him away.” I c o u ld n 't h e lp y o u , T o m . I J u s t c o u ld n ’t. T om ’s dry lips. "B ut—but—’’ B u t t h e r e 's s o m e th in g I c a n do. A nd I 'v e W hat was to be done? And. from "Please, d e a r!” she entreated. d o n e ft. L’n clo tt o v e r w a s m y g o d - f a th e r , And, stirred by the hint of tea rs a n d h e lo v e s m o b e t t e r th a n a n y o n e else long habit, conscience answ ered: I ’v e J u s t b e e n to h im a n d to ld h im "T ell the tru th !” But his cooler Judg­ In h e r entreaty, he reluctantly obeyed. R unning a cro ss.th e street, he plunged t h H e e w h w o a le s s sp to le ry n . d id a b o u t It. H e s a id : m ent realized th a t In the presen t case Into the jostling group, arriving ju st “ I 'll h e lp v o n b o th o u t. S en d T o m B la k e the tru th w as th e one thing he could as lla rry struck the policeman a to m e a n d I ’ll g iv e h im a c h a n c e In m y not tell. glancing blow on the back of the neck. ow n office. S in c e y o u b eliev e In h im , s o "All my life," he m uttered to him ­ In a y e a r y o u 'll b e o f a g e . "Get away from th is !” ordered T o m ,' T w h ill e n I . y o u A nd c a n m a r r y a n y o n e y o u w a n t to . self in sick resentm ent, "I’ve told the seizing H arry's arm and flinging him B y t h a t tim e, if h e ’s a n y goo d , h e ’ll b e tru th . And all my life I’ve gotten m a k in g a m a r r y in g s a la r y . T e ll h im to Into trouble by doing It. H ere goes back out of the Struggle. m e an ti se e m e to m o r r o w .” P le a s e g o for my first lie !” As he did so. the policeman turned co to h im , T o m . I t 's o u r o n e c h a n c e .— to grapple w ith th e m an who had H e a rtb r o k e n ly . R etracing his steps, he m ade for the struck him. Tom w as w here H arry M A R J O R IE . office and stealth ily let him self In ” P . S .—I lo v e y o u .” had been standing and the bluernat •with his key. Going stra ig h t to his • • • e e e e grabbed him. H arry, seeing w hat had own desk, he locked every draw er in The next y ear w as one of tire less happened yelled: It; then, w ith a chisel broke all the "B eat It, boys! H ere come the re­ work and steady achievem ent for Tom locks. Blake. He m ore th an justified the serv es!" After which he strew ed papers In a m om ent th e group had sc a t­ "chance" th a t R oger Lampson gave about the floor and left th e top draw er tered, leaving Tom a captive. Tom him by bringing to his new Job a re ­ wide open. He perform ed th e same sistless energy, enthusiasm and adapt­ m ade no resistance, saying m erely: feat with th re e o th er desks. T hen he "You've got hold of th e w rong chap, ability that quickly won his employ­ w ent home, leaving the office' outer e r’s approval. Officer. A nother case of a rre stin g th e door unlocked. ”1 thought 1 w as doing you a favor, ‘Innocent b y s ta n d e r!'” Next m orning as Roger Lampson Marjorie,” Roger Lam pson said to the "Yeu’re th e lad th a t h it me,” de­ neared the office Tom caught up with girl one day, “by hirin g young Blake. clared the policeman, puffing from him and they e ntered together. his hard light. "I’ll sw ear to that. But it was you who did me a favor “I put th a t Sullivan Aioney In tb« by getting me such a m an to work for Come a long!” me. He's had tw o prom otions this M arjorie, seeing her lover’s plight, ran across th e stre e t to his rescue. past year. And h e ’s going to get a Before she could reach %lm H arry third and bigger raise next m onth.” "Next m onth?” echoed Marjorie. ffarted out of th e shadow s and caught "Why th a t’s June. The m onth of hold of her hand. "Come away from th is !” he said, weddings.” "And the m onth of your birthday," harshly, "and come quick! I'm hot going to have my sister mixed up in supplemented h e r uncle. "You'll bo • police court case!” “ If you don't of age the first of Juno, won't you? come. I’ll tell Dad you w ere with Tom Well. ta';e my advice—m arry Tom B lake a fte r you’d been ordered not to. Blake th at day. And I’ll m ake your And you can figure out for yourself peace with your fa th e r afterw ard.” What Dad will do, then.” Marjorie sped to Tom with this in- W eeping, she surrendered; fear spir I suggestion. And the wedding overcom ing loyalty. date was accordingly fixed for June 1. I The university tow n's two m orning Tom. aglow w ith delight a t the papers next day contained lurid ac­ prospect, and a t th e prom ise of a raise counts of wh:1' 1 1 r\ term ed “a stu ­ in pay, hurried back to the office dent rio t;” an 1 ” ■