son came out of the booth, hesitated, and
then put in another call. He found relaxation in the vaudeville
picture he had of the spindle-shanked hypocrite fretting in the cold so
many miles distant. He was morally certain that the old fellow had
robbed the dying Burnham of half his scant property. If he had had the
time he would have started a lawyer upon an investigation. As he did
n't, and he saw nothing more entertaining ahead of him until morning,
he took satisfaction in pestering him as much as possible in this
somewhat childish way.

"Keep at him until he answers," he ordered the girl.

It took ten minutes to rouse the deacon again.

"Is this Deacon Staples?" he inquired.

"Consarn ye--"

"I was n't sure you said good night. I should hate to think you went
to sleep in a temper."

"It's none of your business how I go to sleep. If you ring me up again
I 'll have the law on ye."

"So? I 'll return good for evil. I 'll give you a warning; look out
for the ghost of old Burnham to-night."

"For what?"

There was fear in the voice. Donaldson smiled. This suggested a new
cue.

"He's coming sure, because his daughter is a widow, and needs that
money."

"I held his notes," the deacon explained, as though really anxious to
offer an excuse. "I can prove it."

"Prove it to Burnham's ghost. He may go back."

"B--back where?"

"To his grave. He sleeps uneasy to-night."

"Be you crazy?"

"Look behind you--quick!"

The receiver dropped. Donaldson could hear it swinging against the
wall. Without giving the deacon an opportunity to express his wrath
and fears, Donaldson hung up his own receiver and cheerfully paid the
cost of his twenty-minute talk.

In spite of the fact that on Thursday night he had slept only three
hours, that on Friday night he had not even lain down, his mind was
still alert. He did not have the slightest sense of weariness. It was
rest enough for him to know that the girl was asleep, relaxation enough
to recall the maiden joy that had freshened the eyes of Mrs. Wentworth.

It was too late to get a money-order, but he secured a check from the
hotel manager for the amount, and finding in the Berringdon paper the
name of a local lawyer whom he remembered as a boy, he mailed it to him
with a letter of explanation. The deed was to be made out to Mrs.
Alice E. Wentworth, and was to be held until she called for it. In
case of any difficulty--for it occurred to him that the