The Argosy, March 1907 — page 94: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

» diabolical inspiration. Nor did either of the searchers sus- pect for an instant the nature of the sub- terfuge which had been practised upon them.. They accepted the piano-player as Mrs. Knipes’s without question, and, although considerably crestfallen over the collapse of their theories, showed by their manner toward Dave that they had not the slightest doubt of his good faith in the premises. Indeed, he had almost the grace to be ashamed of the trick he had played them, when at their departure they be- came profuse in their apologies for the trouble they had caused him. “ And, oh, by the way,” cried Ted, halting at the door, ‘I forgot to tell you before, but dad left word just before he took the train this morning that he had decided a piano-player would be the nicest wedding-present he could give those friends of his up in the country, and that he wished you would get him one as near like Mrs. Knipes’s as pos- sible. He said he would have urged you to try and buy hers in if it were not for the suspicion attached to it. “You might mdke a try for it now, though,” Ted added with a somewhat rueful glance back at the instrument which had so cruelly punctured his swelling reputation as a sleuth. ‘“McNa- mara and I will both guarantee that it has a clean bill of health.” The suggestion gave Dave a sudden Mr. Green, with his fatuous belief in his son’s powers of discernment, had been in a way responsi- ble for all the worries and annoyances of that day. Well, here was a chance to pay him back and to teach him a lesson he would not soon forget. Acting upon the impulse, Dave picked up his hat and followed the others out toward the elevator, intent upon a visit to the telegraph office. In the corridor he encountered the chambermaid for that floor. “Yes, Molly, you can go right in now,” he told her in answer to her ques- tion, “although,” he added with a quiet smile, “ I doubt if you'll find very much to do in there to-day.” Then he went on light- heartedly to despatch his message. At the telegraph office he spoiled quite a number of blanks before he seemed able + THE ARGOSY. to express what he had in mind; but finally he drafted out the following and handed it in for transmission: Mr. Ezra GREEN, RIVERHEAD, MASS. Can secure for forty dollars Knipes piano-player duly inspected and _ pro- nounced free from extraneous articles. Shall I close bargain, and ship machine as it stands? Davin Martin. And in the course of time, an acqui- escent reply having come to hand, Mr. Martin withdrew his collection of “junk” from its temporary storage-place under his ‘bedclothes, and having dumped it higgledy-piggledy into a large box, nailed down the cover and turned his ‘old man of the sea’’ over to the tender mercies of the express company. hae questioned Ted Green with his usual curiosity, happening to stroll up as the bulky outfit was being loaded on to the wagon, “ what is that?” “The piano-player your father com- missioned me to get for him,” vouchsafed Dave shortly. It was more prudent, as he knew, to give Ted an answer than to start him off on his deductions. “Well,” in surprise, “‘ you didn’t lose much time over it, did you?” “No,” laughed Dave; “but then all I had to do was a little talking over the telephone. I took your advice, you see, and bought the machine from Mrs. Knipes. Consequently, all the trouble required was to put it in a box and send for the wagon.” : He thought little of this conversation at the time, but later he had occasion to recall it and regret that he had been so frank. ~At the present moment, however, he naturally considered that all his troubles were over; and consequently, in the ex- uberance of his spirits he felt a friendly spirit toward even Ted Green—so friendly a spirit, indeed, that suspecting the other might be a little dashed by his fiasco of the afternoon, he invited him out to dinner. ‘““But where’s Hal?” interposed Ted in astonishment, knowing that it was the invariable custom of the chums to dine together. “Isn’t he coming along with usr Gomichbookszco im