The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

AS midnight encounter. Not until these pre- cautions were observed did he sit down to think out the immediate problem. It would be natural and probably right, he mused, to report all the circumstances to the police at once, but his inclination to do so was not strong. As far as he could learn the man had taken nothing. If robbery had been his motive, he had scorned to take the available plunder, even to a purse containing a small amount of money, and it was evident that he had gone away empty handed. He had told something of the truth, it seemed; he was looking for another man, it was obvious that Exmoor was that man. Here, then, was a mysterious triangle, Jerry reflected whimsically; the unknown man was spying upon the Delroy house and seeking entrance to it, and was ap- parently no less desirous of finding Ex- moor, or something that was in his pos- session; Delroy, as it had early developed, was on @ determined hunt for Exmoor, and the latter had entered Delroy’s house by force and burglarized it. The respective attitudes of Delroy and Exmoor toward the unknown man re- mained matters for conjecture, but it was inconceivable that they would prove to be indifferent or benign. The grandmother called Jerry to break- fast, and he shook himself together and went down-stairs resolved upon one thing at least; that he would not communicate with the police until further developments warranted such a movement. The old lady’s cheery morning manner verified the guess that she had not been disturbed during the night. She remarked that Jerry looked tired and nervous, and that he needed a rest after all the gadding about that he had done for their recent guest. Jerry agreed with her good humoredly at every point, and kept his inmost thoughts to himself. His conscience wel- comed another and stronger reason for his inaction with regard to the mysterious disturber of the peace: if the old lady learned that the house had been raided by THE ARGOSY. a burglar, she would not rest easy again for many a day. His hands were tied, and _he was content to sit and wait for the problem in geometry to work itself out. The morning was not far advanced when the farm was honored by a visit from Milton Delroy. He “just dropped in,” he said, to pay a long intended call on Mrs. Hampton and review the agricultural ac- tivities of her grandson, which always ex- cited his admiration and envy. The old lady was flattered, and she did: the honors of the house for an hour. Jerry sat through it, vaguely ill at ease, but Delroy maintained a bland good humor which Jerry knew he did not feel. The guest rose at last and suggested a visit to the poultry-yard and garden, and in a moment the two men were alone. “Vou may have guessed that I am not here this morning merely for social rea- sons,” said the visitor, with unblushing abruptness. Jerry nodded. ‘After all that happened last night,” he replied, “I don’t see how you could feel very sociable this morning.” Delroy assumed an air of man-to-man directness. ‘Tell me, Hampton,” he said, “‘how did you come to know Exmoor?” “Exmoor!” Jerry exclaimed, unable to conceal his surprise. “Why, how do you happen to ask me that? How should ‘pane?’ “There is no sense in dissembling either on your part or mine, Hampton,” Delroy said, with unusual determination. “TI didn’t have to look at you twice last night to see that you recognized him. Neither are you obtuse enough to have missed the fact that I recognized him. To go fur- ther, you must have a fair idea of what the recognition meant to me. “T am a man of some poise, and I am not without a certain amount of courage; I don’t go all to pieces even at a burglary in ordinary circumstances. I am frank to say that the sight of Exmoor and the later discovery of what he had done gave me a bad turn,. The man is my enemy. Go 0)(0\(0) AAC S (C@