Detective Bob Bridger — page 206: what you’re looking at

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

DETECTIVE BOB BRIDGER. peeve under the sunshine and hope that help sway her glad heart. Meg, in whose hands a document had been placed re- leasing to her all claim to the estate of her late husband, carried her head erect, ever mindful that she was soon to assume the role of landlady in Bolard’s hotel. She occupied her time studying a fashion-book, and de- termining on the purchase of sundry articles of finery by whose assistance she proposed to squash sundry females of Garson, whose indulgent husbands had permitted them to outdress her during the reign of the late lamented land- lord. “Silly” Billy walked the streets of Alton expending the change which Dr. Macy freely furnished him. He visited every bar room and candy store in the town. The bartenders called him ‘‘Coal Oil Johnny.” He also became a great favorite with nurse-maids, wheel- ing about their charges, for he never passed a baby with- out placing a piece of candy in its chubby fists. Dr. Macy declared that he felt twenty years younger than he had done twenty years before in London, showing a clear gain of forty years in his heart’s feelings, which, by the way, is the true gauge of any one’s age. The day previous to the departure from Alton, Meg pur- chased a huge, green ostrich feather which she added to the decorations of her rakish brigand hat. That night Annette playfully reminded her that perhaps the good people of Garson might expect to see color, some- what more somber than green, upon a lone widow’s hat. But Meg responded, with a toss of the head: _ ‘‘Thrue for you, Annette, if it be thrue they are to behold alone widow. but, in faith, if they do or no is at prisint a dape mystery.” ‘Why, Mam Meg, is it possible you think of marrying again ?” “And why not? Sure I’m as young and full of giddiness as ever I was.” Whereat Annette burst forth in such a merry peal of laughter that the musical sound thereof, reaching the hotel’s office, caused the clerk’s half dozen canaries that had placed their heads beneath their wings for the night, to brighten up, and trill forth in responsive song. At the time Dr. Macy, the Scotch detective, and Bridger sat quietly conversing in the office. Fandon turned his handsome face toward the stair-way, Eomilecbooks: €o m