Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

er The Secret of Caprice = “Yes,” It was Carl who answered, but Ward im- mediately supplemented it with— ~ “Ffow did you know he was here?” “He stopped at the office before he left Sea View and said there might be a message for him. Found out I had a motor-cycle and said he’d give me five dollars to rush his messages down to him. Where can I find him?” Ward turned to Carl. “Take him to the yacht, Carl,” he said quietly. The mechanician led the man away and - Ward went thoughtfully into his tent. Somehow he felt that this message was fraught with significance to both him and Nellie Blaydon, yet, so suspicious had he become of every one and everything about him, that he caught himself wonder- ing whether it might not, after all, prove to be only another move in the game that ie Blaydon and Mrs. Herriot were playin Carl came back to him after a seemingly interminable wait. The mechanician en- tered slowly, his face wearing a puzzled frown. “That operator’s in the tent with the aeroplane,” he explained. ‘He wanted to see it close to, so I told him to help himself. Say, Chief, there’s something wrong.” “What is it?’ Ward demanded. “T don’t know. I took this fellow to the yacht and called Mr. Blaydon. He came up on deck with the fat party that puffs so, and this fellow gave him the telegram. He ripped it open, read it and then jumped back the way they do in the movies, like this——’” Carl imitated an actor going through the business of being greatly upset by bad news. ; “Then,” he continued, “he handed the message to the fat lady and she read it and says, ‘My God!’ and falls back into a chair like she’d been shot.”’ “Well,” urged Ward as Carl paused, “what happened next?”’ “Then Blaydon gives her the once-over as if he’s scared at the way she’s carrying on. He says, ‘Now, now, Vi,’ like he was trying to comfort her and then peels a V from his bank-roll and hands it to»the oper- ° ator. ‘Ill have an answer ready as soon as I ’tend to the lady,’ he says. ‘You go up to the tents and wait for it.’ So the oper- 99 ator and me come up here. But it was rot- ten acting, Chief—honest.”’ “Acting?” Ward said interrogatively. “What makes you think it was acting? It might have been genuine bad news.’ | “Yes, it might. Also, it mightn’t. I don’t like this man Blaydon any more. I guess he’s a crook all right, even if you haven’t told me much about your clues. But I’m not-taking much stock in him, and I'll believe it was acting until he proves dif- ferent.” “Your friend, the operator, is to wait for the answer, then?” “Yes. I thought you wouldn’t mind if I gave him a bite of lunch before he goes back. It’s getting late and he says he’s hungry.” } “By all means. I had intended sending a telegram myself to Mr, Conway, and his being here will save the bother of a trip to Sea View. Don’t let him go until I see him. This message to Mr. Blaydon may change mine to Mr. Conway.” “All right, Chief. TI entertain him in the other tent until you call me.” Ward went into his own tent and sat for a long time at the rough table, considering the wording of the summons he had prom- ised to send to Phil. He knew that Conway would revolt at being called off of the New York end of the case, yet he felt certain that the conference that Nellie proposed would serve to clear up many pores at present baffling them. The element of secrecy was another shieip that puzzled him. He knew the proneness of the ali telegraph operator to talk, and, if he made his message too strongly sensational, this man of the motor-cycle would find it impossible to keep quiet about | it, no matter how honest his intentions. As he sat there, he heard the voice of Stephen Blaydon booming from the yacht. “Oh, Loder!’ Blaydon called. And when Carl answered, “Ask Mr. Fenton to come over here a few minutes, will you?” Ward rose with a tensing of the muscles. He felt that he was about to face another crisis in the story of Caprice, and he made up his mind as he walked out of the tent | that he would do the listening and let Blay- don do all of the talking. The man was standing at the head of the steps as Ward approached. Standing be- hind him on the after-deck, straight and fine and regal, with her head held proudly erect — Gomichooks (E (E@) ' b , Pos) a +) TE ty te bens ed Vince 4 ¥ wn wear Tele. ay alee. ; A ETAT Pre See at Se 7 ese ' \ 473 TRIN Sp Ms tS fy Bs Og er O hy dan ty