The Great
Mr. Ord
%
He Turns Amateur Detective
By CLARISSA MACKIE
j . A : . • "
Copyright by American Press Asso
ciation , 1911.
Henry Ord lighted another cigar and
!*raited impatiently for the reappear
ance of his chief clerk. Every three
Routes be consulted his watch and
compared it with the electriif time
piece on the wall between the win
dows. He had an important engage
ment at 11 o'clock, and it was now
10:30. Smithers was getting more
> stupid every day.
He brought his feet down from the
desk with a thump as the secretary
B returned with a worried expression on
his long, pale face. Mr. Ord reached
for his hat and held out his hand.
"Givo me the securities, Smithers,"
he said.
' "I can't find them, Mr. Ord," said
the clerk diffidently. "1 thought per
haps you might have them in here."
"Here!" snorted Mr. Ord impatlent-
Ily. "If 1 had them in here why did I
send you to the vaults after them?"
"I have looked everywhere, sir.
They are not in the vaults nor any
other place in the office. 1 will ques
f tlon"-
Li "No need to question anybody," cut
y I in Mr. Ord. sinking back in his chair
and tossing his hat into the ticker
if basket. "I gave you those securities
I day before yesterday, with instruc
l tions to lock them in my private box
In the vaults. You returned the key
J to nip then, and I have Just handed it
to you now. I haven't had occasion
I to go to the box since Thursday. Now.
where are those securitiesV"
"I dou't know, sir," returned Sinlth
[: ere respectfully. . -
I j "Give me the key to the box. Now
k come with me and show me where
ft you placed them."
Drawers snapped open, papers rus-
A tied, and Mr. Ord's boot heels sapped
m out on the metal flooring as he went
j from shelf to shelf, from box to draw
■ er and from drawer to cupboard.
I Once move he opened his own prl
] vato box and ran over the papers con
' tained therein.
"Where the dickens are they?" ho
j demanded savagely when his last ef
f forts provml in vain.
"I really don't know, sir," replied
Bmlthers. "As I said before, I thought
| It possible that you might have taken
ithem out. and It slipped your'mind
that you had done so."
"Huh! Perhaps you took them out
yourself nnd it slipped your mind, eh?
, ' Ever forget anything, Smithers?"
"Not very often, sir."
Smithers faithfully followed his ein-
Iployer back to the' private office and
folded his long thin arms behind his
back preparatory to -listening to the
lecture that ho knew Mr. Ord had in
store. And this time*-well, those L.
D. bonds were worth SIO,OOO today,
and it-was kuown that tomorrow they
might not be worth the paper they
were written on because—but that has
m nothing to do with this story,
a "Please call up Hughes.& Carrawny,
and tell Mr. Hughes 1 shall be unable
\ to keep that engagement with him. 1
will talk with him later on the phone.
Now, Smithers, this is the third time
this has happened- securities have dis
appeared in this same way during scv
i* eral days until the market Interest in
7 them has abated, It's an old gag and
I won't work again. Now,*who lo you
think Is at the bottom of this?"
Smithers fidgeted nervously and
l looked out of tho window at the blank
' \vall of another building. "P.eally, Mr.
Ord, I haven't forme® an opinion," he
said, rather mlnciiigly.
"Haven't, eh? Well, I have," thun
dered his employer, living the chief
i clerk with a hard stare.
Smithers jumped nervously. "In
deedl sir!" he said.
' "Yes, indeed, Mr. Smithers. I'm go
[ ing to ferret this mystery out before
I 2 o'clock. See! This office is the
• worst managed affair In the city of
New York, and you are the most in
efficient cfcisf clerk I ever employed.
Got that?" *
"Yes, sir.'^
"See that row of books on the shelf?"
Mr. Ord pointed his ruler at a narrow
shelf laden with cloth bound copies of
Conan Doyle's books.
Smithers t>owcd respectfully.
"Detective stories, every one of 'em.
I've reed 'em nil," said Mr. Ord. I
\ shall solve the mystery of the dis
appearance of those securities by the
same methods as those employed by
that noted detective," went on Mr.
Ord, forgetting in his excitement to
compare his watch with the timepiece
on the wall. His searching glance'
t fell on an advertising blotter that lay
on his desk. It bad become mixed in
his personal mall, and he had not toss
. Ed it in the waste paper basket until
. now. He threw It in and crossed his
hands on his plnmp waistcoat.
j ' "Do yon wear plasters. Mi. Smith
era?" he asked coolly.
1 The chief clerk stared at this per
sonal question, fired so abruptly from
the lips of the great Mr. Ord—great
in the financial district.
"Sometimes," he said guardedly.
"Have you one on now?" snappSl
Mr. Ord.
I "Yet, sir." blushed Smithers. '
1 Mr. Ord smiled with satisfaction.
"Mr. Smithers. slr,#rou have been with
me for three years, and up to this time
' I have never detooted you in a grave
f error. I have trusted you .implicitly, j
and I have always found yon faithfu
and hpnest. In fact, I have no fault
to find save that office has no sys
tem whatever, ana I "can never find
anything when I wnnt it Got that?"
"Yes, sir," Smithers replied dazedly.
"Now, sir, you admit you are wear
ing a plaster. HoVr do I know that
those securities are not concealed
within ypur plaster, huh?" Mr. On\
looked from his astonished clerk to
the red bopind volumes of Sherlock
Holmes' adventures and patted his
•:hest knowingly. "How do I know,
sir?" he repeated.
"Really, I couldn't say, Mr. Ord." be
gan Smithers, and then, ns If "the real
meaning of bis employer's insinuation
had pierced some sensitive spot, at last
he add£d forcibly, "But I wouldn't do
such a thing, you know, Mr. Onl, beg
ging your pardon."
"Yott wouldn't, eh? How do yon
know yon wouldn't?" i
"I couldn't, sir," protested Smithers
Warmly. "You see the plaster I'm
wearing is a bunion plaster, and I
couldn't get the securities"—
Mr. Ord raised a fat forefinger. "I
didn't ask you for details regarding
your personal ailments, Mr. Smithers,"
he said icily. There was silence for a
few moments while his little eyes
roamed from his three foot shelf of
wisdom to Smithers* now agitated
countenance. He pulled the ticker
tape toward him and studied the fig
ures as they slipped through his fin
gers. He had made rather a fool of
himself and the L. D. bonds were as
far from discovery ns more
he turned to his clerk.
"Did you mention to anybody that
those bonds were In the vault?"
"Not a soul knew of their presence
there except yourself nnd me, sir."
'?D!d you check oyer all the other
securities in my box?"
"Yes. sir, and every other security In
the vault," returned Smithers earnest
ly. "Begging your pardon, Mr. Ord,
you might recollect that In every other
Instance of loss of papers, they were
afterward found to have been mislaid
either by Mr. Carson or yourself."
"Enough!" said Ord sternly. "I have
no such recollection, young man|
Now," pointing an accusing finger in
the face of his uncomfortable c-lerk,
he continued with measured accents,
"those bonds bore a date stamp Im
pressed with purple Ink. How did
purple ink come to be on your hands
and face. Mr. Smithers?" Mr. Ord shot
a glance at his bookshelf nnd then his
eyes came back to the face of his
clerk.
For the first time Smithers' face
wrinkled into a faint smile. "I was as
sisting Miss Fenn to adjust a new rib
bon In her type machine," he sab
primly. "Before I had time to remov
these stains you called me." j
"Is it one of the duties of my chief
clerk to assist the stenographers with
such duties?" thundered Mr. Ord fierce
ly. "What do I hire office boys for,
eh?" ' „
In Mr. Smithers' opinion office boys
were hired to loaf around the corri
dors and discuss baseball topics. He
merely cracked another deprecating
smile and did not answer the ques
tion.
"Huh! I don't approve .of courting
In tbd office, Mr. Smithers," remarked
Mr. Ord, his critical eye still on his
employee's pink face. He pressed a
button beside his desk, and the door
opened promptly, admitting a tall, slen
der girl whose IJack hair was twisted
In the latest fashion and whose bright
brown eyes seeded to take In every
detail of tho situation in "one swift
penetrating glance. Her gaze swept
her employer's desk and then came to
attention at Mr. Ord's curt accents,
v. "Sit down. Miss Fenn."
She did so, flapping open a notebook
and poising her pencil.
"I don't wish to dictate. Have you
seen or heard any thing of the L. D.
bonds since they were put in the
vaults day before yesterday?"
Miss Fenn nodded. "Why, yes, Mr.
Ord. Don't you remember you sent
me to the vault for them this morning
after you talked with Mr, Hughes over
the telephone? You'were reading when
' I came back, and you used the bonds
as a bookmark-as you closed the book
to resume dictating. Why, (here tlHty
are!" She picked up a red covered
book from under his nose and removed
several beautifully engraved certifi
cates from between the pages of "The
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
There was a sickly smile of enlighten
ment on Mr. Ord's face.
"Thank you. Miss Fenn; you may
go now," he said, with an effort. When
the door had closed behind her trim
fignre Mr. Ord recovered his self pos
session. He picked his hat out of the
basket, placed it on his bead, compared
his watch with the clock, nodded ap
proval'at the hour of 1- And drew the
telephone receiver across the desk.
"By the way, Smithers," he said gen
ially without turning his head, "I
suppose if you're going to get married
you'll need a little more money, eh?"
"I really couldn't say-That I'd thought
about it, Mr. Ord." said the clerk
meekly.
"Well, just tell the cashier to add
another hundred to your salary. I'll O.
K. it. Don't mention It! Hey! Cen
tral! Give me 33G9 Livingston. Hello!
Hughes & Carraway? Ah, Hughes;
about that L. Now"—
Smithers closed tho door softly be
hind him and paused in the tiny outer
offlee where Bessie Fenn sat before
her machine staring dreamily at a
blank sheet of paper on the roller. The
young man leaned over nntll his breath
fanned her cheek. "Besjde," he whis
pered, "he's raised me another hun
dred. I'm sure I can, take care of
your mother ns well as you. Will you
marry me soon?"
, "Bessie's nimble fingers rapped out
three letters and an exclamation point,
and then on the fair felsnk sheet there
Appeared a word written in purple let
ters:
I "Yes!"
0 ' Philosophy I 1
A *y9\fftCAJ* It, SMITH \
PERT PARAGRAPHS.
TF the average person worked only j
when he felt like it the world j
would starve before Christmas.
The man who is miserable because ,
a black cat crossed bis path Friday j
always did bate cats anyway, so he '
excuses himself for his superstition
- -
Marrying seems to be a religion with
some people.
*
The spider which tried seven times
succession isn't in it with the ex
ploiter who scents a rich graft.
Getting away with a lie would be a
much simpler matter If It were not fat
the numerous persons who are always
around keepiug tab.
Thero is no more ridiculous spec
tacle than to see a slow, stupid man
trying to be a sport.
The Book of Nature.
At times ot books' 1 weary,
For reading makes ma full
Of twisted, warped Ideas
Not ripe enough to pull.
Arid then I turn to naturo,
Its pages bright to scan,
Or In the crowded city
I read the book of man.
The sprightly printed pages
Present In full to mo
A very fine Idea
Of life as It should he,
But In the other volume
That men before me act
I get life stripped and naked
And as it Is In fact
The very fine romances, .
The tale of love's young dream,
May start off with some trouble.
But end with pie and cream.
In life the paint and powder
Are very ap't to rub.
The dainty little maiden
May finish at a tub.
Between the frames and covers
In fiction and in art
You get a race of people
Who live a life apart.
But In tli© book of natUre," i
Where truth on facts must wait
For all of Its adornment,i,
They give It to you siralght.
1 The Reward of Perseverance.
"Where Is tittle Willie?"
t"Alns, he has
gone from us!"
"How did It
happen?"'
"He found an
old revolver."
"And be tried
to shoot It off."
"But it wottid
s"! not work."
L! vWeil?"
"So he tried, tried, tried again."
Striking an Average.
"Why does a handsome man always
marry a homely woman?"
"For two reasons."
- "What are they?"
"One is because be wants all the
compliments that come to the family."
"And the other?"
"Because he wants "to even things
Up." I
Neutral.
"Who goes there, friend er foa?*'
"Neither."
'♦Yoji must be ono or the other."
"Not necessarily. Why should I bo
your friend? " I can't borrow any
money from you. And why should I
•be your foe? I don't owe you any
money."
Always Follows.
"He is a very promising young
man."
"Promising, is he?"
"Yes."
"How much has be promised?"
"What?"
"I merely was asking how much h?
owes."
Misunderstood.
"Boys aren't what they u«»d to be
when I was a lad."
"Aren't they?"
"No."
"Great improvement now do you
like it?"
Unappreciated.
"She Is trying to be - a poetess." >
"Have any luck?"
"Oh. yes."
"What was It?"
"No one would print her poems."
But Ha Does It All the Time.
"What do you think about the high
cost of living."
"Me?"
"You."
"Mighty little, I tell you."-
— t
Unwilling Miss.
"We kissed and made up last night."
"Different with Maine and me."
"How was that?" y
"We kissed and fell out."
Lowly.
"What have you on your mind?"
"My corns " ,
"Where ore you carrying your mind
now?"
Good Reason.
"Why worry over trifles?"'
"They are not so expensive as some
thing larger."
Spoils the Flavor.
She said as he about his pipe
In cheerful manner Joked,
"A husband Is not like a ham;
He should not be well smoked."
111''. ..V" .' ■ K
Oof •■■ • .?■: >. r ■-. ■ • •: ■„%)
ii' ii .i>
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jL j? THE GIRL. We have THE BUGGY with the famous
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*Then there is Die AUTOMATIC BALL BEARING Y
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REPAIRING department is unexcelled and we
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jMfc Yours to pltase,
a j j The Martin County Buggy Co. |■ ■ $
I Asa T. Crawford ii W, 1,. St.ills. Managers |
Williamston, - North Caroliha tfiiif •
lH
a o
i \
§€•€*€ CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCC CggC
Notice
. . v
Having qualified as administrator upon
the fist at;* of \V. R. Malls, deceased;
Notice i ■ beret)}' to all persons
bnldiny t laitna against said Estate to
present tl.etn to the undersigned for pay
ment >■ "f befpre the iStli day of April,
|ijl2, o; tiii* notice will be plead in bar
of their ovety.
All j -litis indebted to said Estate are
requested t") tnake immediate payment.
This : th day of April, 1911
4-2> W. L. STALLS, Adninr.
1
ICHICHESTER SPILLS
DIAMOND /S(V 4 BRAND
• 0 -'j
a
tAi>rr: , • "*> r
A-k r««r 1 r , K f„t t'jT Cm-CHtfS-TERM A
DlA't-'- !; ftKATm rri.T." In Frn nrrt A\
COI.D in-' 1 ic boxes, SEALFL tviili Bltinyj
Itibix >n. 1 KO NO C'Tin n. H«y or Your i
an I QAtf f'»r * *
IIIIA S l> fM1.1.-i, f »r twntv-flvj
ye , 1 ?" • »r r ! vn Best.Sa.cj*, A Way* Reliable.
SOLD 3Y ALL DRUGGISTS
EVERYWHERE Si
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%x Granite v*
REV. RUFUS BRADLEY, Agent
: Wiiliamston,
JPerfect Printing:!
« "PRACTICE MAKES J*S()MK !•()() IJSII
PERFECT. We are jp S OI'ESTIONS; ••Who
sure that you have often IJ o Irn Wannamaker ?"
heard the above. There "Wliyis his name fami
is more truth than po'etry | ——- —Bar to eighty per cent of
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practicing the Printing States?" "Does, it pay
Business for years and to advertise?"
are that -ive can •An ad in JHIi EN
— pleas.e--yf.in. ,It vuu wapt —: TERPRISK tviil-bring
_ • ,
any printing call, W results.
r wr » te or 'phone Manning & Hassell
» 1 L_M 4
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1