Heppner gazette-times., July 25, 1929, Page PAGE THREE, Image 3

HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1929.
PAGE THREE
yv4w ijr ILLUSTRATED BY FRANK P. PtW, j
FINAL INSTALMENT
"Wait a minute," I said. An idea
had struck me. "I have a friend up
in the next cuacn wno will pay my
fare."
"All right. Let me meet him."
The conductor was frankly scepti
cal. I led the way with some misgiv
ing across the swaying platform to
the smoking car ahead.
Yes, Julius was still there, his
back turned toward us. Evidently
he was greatly contented with his
lot in the world.
I crowded into the seat in front
of him.
"Suffering cats." The cigar fell
from between Julius's lips.
"Yes, It's your old pal, Tom Bll
beck," I said reassuringly, at the
same time drawing down my left
eyelid.
Mystified, he preserved a discreet
silence. He had no way of knowing
what my next move was going to be.
"Julius," I said heartily, "I find
that I have come away from home
without any cash, and I want you
to pay my fare."
Julius laughed a hearty, ringing
laugh.
"Me pay your fare? I don't know
you from Adam."
I leaned over and whispered In
his ear. "There is a sheriff in the
next car behind," I said. "If you
pay my fare I won't tell him you
are on the train."
It was a long shot, but he had no
means of knowing whether I was
telling the truth or not and it won,
"Why didn't you say that in the
first place?" Julius said heartily,
reaching down In his pocket and
producing a roll of bills, one of
which he handed to the conductor.
"Where do you want to go to?"
asked that worthy.
Julius looked inquiringly at me.
"I am going with this gentleman,"
I said to the conductor.
Julius grinned his appreciation
jWhile the conductor made change,
and when he was gone he eyed me
sardonically.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"You or the pearls," I replied
evenly. "I am not very particular
which, except that if I get you I
will get the pearls anyway."
He sat in silence for some time
digesting this. Finally he grinned.
"How do you think you will get
the pearls?" he asked at length.
"Perfectly simple, my dear Ju
lius." I answered, patronizingly. "All
I have to do is to go to the post
master of your town as soon as this
train gets in and ask him to hold
all mail addressed to a man by the
name of Julius something or other.
There can't be many Juliuses, and
I will be pretty sure to get the right
package."
"Darn clever," he admired. "It
would work, too, If I had addressed
that package to myself, but I didn't.
Besides my real name ain't Julius."
He leaned back and surveyed me
with an impudent smile. My face
must have shown how crestfallen I
was at having my scheme over
thrown. I wasn't much of a detec
tive after all, not to have thought
of this simple device for evading
me. Now I had betrayed my plan
to him and it was worthless,
"Don't be down-hearted, pal," he
said encouragingly. "You've done
pretty good for an amateur, but I
am too old a hand for you. I have
been up against this game too of
ten." He was still telling himself how
good he was when our train came
to a slow stop. We both looked
out to see If It was a station. It was
not We were in the midst of a
snow-piled prairie.
"What the deuce is the matter?"
Julius Inquired anxiously.
Every one was asking the same
question, turning to one another In
the aisles.
Finally some one got out to see,
and returned shortly with the in
formation that we were stuck in a
snow-drift with every probability of
being there some time.
After we had waited quite a while
I hnd a new Idea. I got up and
started down the aisle. "You ain't
going to leave me, are you, pal?"
asked Julius. "You better keep an
eye on me if you ever expect to see
mo again."
"I'll take a chance on that," I as
sured him. "You've got a fat chance
of getting away in this kind of a
country with the snow eight feet
deep."
My action in deserting him evi
dently puzzled him, but he did not
follow.
With most of the other male pas
sengers I got out and walked tow
ard the head of the train. They
went on to see how badly we were
stuck, but I stopped at the railway
post-office car. The mail clerks In
the car apparently welcomed
slight vacation before they got to
the next town, and they were not
averse to talking to a picturesque
stranger like myself.
I gained their attention by an ex
planation of how there came to be
only one leg to my pair of trousers,
and I kept them interested by tell
ing them about the robbery of the
pearls. When I explained that the
booty was in their own car in a par
cel-post package mailed at Fair
Oaks, they were eager to help me.
It will be a comparatively simple
matter," said one of them, "to find
all the packages which were mailed
from Fair Oaks. It will be against
the law for us to let you examine
them, but you can make a memor
andum of where they are being sent
and you can trace the address that
way."
That was even more than I had
dared hope. It is rather difficult to
get Uncle Sam's clerks to do any
thing out of their routine business,
and the mail is an especially Inviol
able department.
After a few minutes' search they
showed me a dozen packages which
had come on at Fair Oaks. All but
three of them were addressed to a
mail-order company in the city, and
two of the remainder were obvious
ly books.
That left only one package under
suspicion. It was about six Inches
long and eight inches wide, with a
depth of two or two and one-half
inches. It was a little bit heavy,
but it was doubtless well-packed
both to insure its arrival in good
order and also in order to escape
detection.
"All you have to do," said the
railway clerk, "is to take this ad
dress, and when you get to the city
go to the postmaster and have him
hold this for identification."
I thanked the boys and returned
to my car.
As I had rather more than half
suspected, Julius was not there, nor
did I ever set eyes on him again. I
did not care. I had the pearls once
more; or at least I had them where
I could get them. They were really
safer in the mail-oar than they
would have been in my own posses
sion. After half an hour of delay we
got under way once more, and short
ly arrived in town. I went direct to
the post-office just as I was.
CHAPTER XV.
The Pearls at Last
Although the postmaster at first
regarded me with suspicion, owing
to my motley garments. I explained
my connection with the Daily Mail
and gave him enough of my story to
arouse his interest
He sent for the package under
suspicion and assured me that he
would keep it personally until I ar
rlvde with Maryella to Identify the
pearls.
I went to my own room and
changed to a suit of regular clothes.
Then I telephoned the Old Soldiers'
Home to see if Maryella had gone
back there. Colonel Stewart In
formed me that the entire party
had left to catch the afternoon
train and that Maryella was in
Fair Oaks waiting to be joined by
the others.
When the train came in I was
down to the station to meet them.
Maryella was expecting me, and
her eye sought me anxiously in the
throng that was waiting In the sta-
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Operating between Heppner and Portland and
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DAILY SERVICE
Prompt delivery, rates reasonable
plus personal and courteous service.
$10,000 cargo insurance.
CITY GARAGE, Local Agent, Phone 172
tion. I greeted the others per
functorily and drew her to one side.
"I have located them at the post-
office, but you have got to come over
and identify them."
She squeezed my hand. "Oh,
lorn, sne said sweetly, you are
wonderful!"
I swelled with pride as I disclaim.
ed special credit for helping her
out of her predicament I hailed a
cab and together we went to the
post-office. The postmaster was ex
pecting us and we were readily ad
mitted.
The box lay on his desk, and af
ter a short explanation from Mary
ella he opened it.
It contained twelve beautiful, big
eggs!
We left the post-office absolutely
crestfallen. I had been so positive
that that package contained the
pearls that I would have staked my
life on it. How had Julius fooled
me again?
Maryella was crying softly at my
slue.
"What shall I do?" she moaned.
"How can I ever tell Mrs. Hemming-
wayY"
I was too humiliated by the fail
ure of my plan to be very fertile in
offering suggestions. I felt that I
was in disgrace with Maryella once
more, and I had planned to ask her
to marry me when I restored the
necklace.
"I just can't face her, that's all!"
Maryella stated mournfully.
I'll tell her if you want me to,"
I offered. "At least I can do all the
disagreeable work, even If I wasn't
very bright."
"Oh, will you?" Maryella smiled
wistfully. "That will make it a lit
tle easier. I dont know how I can
replace them, but I supppose that
if I work my fingers to the bone all
the rest of my life, like the woman
did in the story about the diamond
necklace, I can replace them before
I die."
"But the diamonds in de Maupas
sant's story were only paste. May
be Mrs. Hemmlngway's pearls were
imitation."
No such luck," moaned Mary
ella. "These were real ones."
We took a cab to the Hemming-
ways' house to get it over with as
soon as possible.
We got there almost as soon as
they did. They appeared very hap
py, and were even nice to me; which
was more than I expected, consid
ering the way they had felt toward
me during the last couple of days.
While Maryella stood tearfully by
I told them the story of the neck
lace and how we had traced them
and discovered only the package of
eggs.
Mrs. Memmingway Heard me
through without Interruption, smil
ing smypathetically. At the end she
laughed.
I gazed at her anxiously. Was
she going Insane at her loss?
No; her amusement was genuine.
"Oh, I am sorry," she said at last,
"that I caused you so much trou
ble; but here are the pearls."
She reached in her hand-bag and
produced the strand, lustrous and
shiny against her throat, around
which she clasped It
"Why, how did you get them?"
stammered Maryella, confused.
"I saw them lying on your dresser
the night that John came back to
the Old Soldiers' Home, and as
knew you were through with them
I picked them up!
It seemed simple enough, and
Maryella and I laughed with relief
as we went down to our cab once
more.
Once inside, she laid her hand on
my arm and said : "Anyway, Tom, it
was splendid of you to make the ef
fort you did, and I will never forget
it"
"Never?" I asked.
"No."
"Not even after you are married
to Jim Cooper?" I asked gloomily.
She laughed. "No, because I am
never going to marry Jim Cooper!
Not marry Jim Cooper!" I re
peated. "Then whom are you go
ing to marry?"
"That depends entirely upon you,"
she said, and I startled a traffic po
liceman by making my next re
marks In pantomime.
We went out together the follow
ing week after the snow had melted
and operated on Grandmother Page
ror a new pump-gear. She was ab
surdly grateful, and didn't stop once
all the way home, although it took
us nearly three hours to make the
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(THE END)
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Thompson and
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and are guests at the home of Mr.
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Their wise buying means your wise SAVING!
MILK
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10 CANS .. 99c
Macaroni
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5 LBS 39C
RAISINS
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Package ..md&
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Spuds
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Fancy Quality, 22 Tins
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3 LBS $1.45
Special Blend
1 LB 39c
3 LBS $1.10
Salad Oil
BULK
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PACKED IN PINT
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Phone 1082
STONE'S DIVISION Hotel Heppner Bldg.
OPEN EVERY EVENING UNTIL NINE O'CLOCK