Torchy As A Pa

count. He may be choosey enough picking live wires for his office staff, Mr. Robert, as you might guess by my bein' his private sec

oad in the shoulders as a cough drop is thick. I understand he qualifies in the scheme of things by playin' a fair game of billiards, is always willing to sit in at bridge, and can make himself useful at any

p gettin' more or less of a line on him that way, for he's always consultin' Mr. Robert about sendin' flowers to this one,

uff," I asks Mr. Robert once, "without being

find a new queen of his heart, appear to be getting on swimmingly up to a certain point-and then she will

imonial runner-

ted besides shoot the gay and frivolous chatter back and forth. Now and then. Such as here last Wednesday when Mr. Robert had two committee meetin's on for the afternoon and

r my telling you about the lovely M

an oversight," says Mr. Robert.

think?" goes on W

in' around nervous. "Why the

" protests Waddy. "In

ve the young lady my best regards and-er-I wis

in' himself easy on a chair. "

Robert, "but I fear I a

time-tomorrow, next week, next month. But the lovel

o do?" demands Mr. Robert. "Wa

p me find Joe Bruz

e, Torchy," says, he, "take him away. Listen to

ts Waddy, "that I must

the door. "Torchy will help you find him. Understa

arm through one of Waddy's and tows him i

ually got across. You might not think it to look at him, but he did. Second lieutenant, too. Infantry, at that. But they handed out eommissions to odder specimens than him at P

ly a few hours after the Germans left and to say that the survivin' natives was glad to see 'em is drawin' it mild. This Miss Jedain was the gladdest of the glad, and when Waddy shows up at he

rn, charming young woman," says Waddy. "It-

t that kind of a mind. Bu

eakfast or drifted in for luncheon. She simmered down a bit, I under stand, after her first wild splurge. But sh

e-Well, we became very dear to each other. She was charming, utterly. And so full of gratitude to all America. She could not do enough for our boys. All day she was going among them, distributing littl

get a glimmer. All this lasted t

e back to her just as soon as the awful mess was over. She declared that she would come to America

runk check,

d of losing it if I kept it in my pocket. I was always losing things-shaving mirrors, socks, wrist watch. Going about like th

d Pole, I believe. But efficient, careful about little things. I gave him the ring to keep for me. Less than a week after that I was laid up with a beastly siege of influenza which came near finishing me. I was shipped back to a base hospital and it was

"Bruzinski lost

s before I was. When I did get loose they wo

ed the lovely Marcelle for that littl

this country for weeks, came over with the King and Queen of Belgium and stayed on. Looking for me. I suppose. And I knew nothing at all about it until yesterday. She's in Washington. Jimmy Carson saw her driving do

not find the lovely Marcelle first a

looked rather well in it, I'm told. Anyway, different. But in civies, even

ething in tha

er token-well, you see?" goes on Waddy. "

ay," I agrees. "Wher

says Waddy; "some weird little place th

you know. You couldn't ramble through i

there must be some way of locating him. C

ur wire had been received and placed on file. Why, they're still revisin' casualty lists f

dy. "Why, I must f

see how you could-Say, now! I just thought of somet

!" says Wad

f our stenogs until she went into war work. Last I knew she was still at it, had charge of one of t

dy. "Of course. Do you kno

work, at that. But we can try. She

n Joe Bruzinski's card and shoots us back his mai

e in!" says Waddy. "And how

says I

led a lot abroad, but that's different. One hires a courier. Really, I should be lost out of New York. Besides, you k

t, throwin' a grin over his

fee Creek, Pa. Inhabitants 1,500. Flag station on the Lackawanna below Wilkes-Barre. That's in the Susquehanna valley. Must be a coal town. Chicago limi

ferry and before he's caught his breath we are sittin' in the dinin' car zoomin' through the north end of New Jersey. I tried to get him interested in the scenery a

ll has that rin

geant," says I. "What was his line before he we

en curious. Now that I mentioned it he supposed Joe had done something for a living. Ye

hat indicate?

f lady manicures. Don't strain your intellect over it, though. If he

who must have thought he was pilotin' a DeHaviland through the clouds we're landed in the middle of this forsaken, one horse dump, consistin' of a double row of pu

the mine boss by Judson's yet. First right

what?"

e mine," says he. "Can't mi

nd by luck we found the mine superintendent in the office-a grizzled, chunky little Welshman with a pair of shrewd eyes. Ye

ddy. "I say, will yo

s the superintendent, "

n't you-er-telephone to h

ry shouting down, the shaft though," says

too, if I hadn't given him the nudge. "

e, my man--"

name," says the super

t is quite important, Mr. Llander

midnight for a bite t

to go down where he

have an interesting time doing that,

Waddy again, which wa

he case entirely. Let me ask Mr. Llanders w

lace, and it might be another. Maybe they'd know better at the office

ve been a swell bluff if it h

a grim smile. "But

i party right away. There's a lady in the case, as you might know; one they met while they

" says Llanders, "and that'

ur right hand vest pocket. That's it, one of those yellow-backed ones with a double X in the corners. Ah, here! Don't you know

ou young gentlemen are on officia

long," says Waddy,

at Waddy's Fifth Avenue costume. "I take i

e subway,"

e the subway," says Llanders. "I thi

ene lamp stuck in the front of it he sure wouldn't have been recognized even by his favorite waiter at the club. I expect I looked about as t

n a car or somet

down Slope 8. Before we start, however, it will be b

in'," says I.

mouth. We lost only a dozen men, but it was two years before we had the lower levels clear. We manage

ddy. "I must see

w. Anyway, he didn't hang back, and while I've started on evenin' walks that sounded a

own street light wasn't such an easy trick. I expect a miner has to wear his lamp on his head so's to have his hands free to swing a pick.

own sharp, almost as steep as a church roof. Then again there was parts where they'd skimped on the ceilin', and you had to do a crouch or else bump your bean on unpadded rocks. On and do

it we had to dodge a young waterfall that comes filterin' down through the rocks. It wa

"This ain't another visi

he careless. "The pump

're workin'

s to be 100 per cent in love. All he could think of was gettin' that ring back and renewin' cordial relations with the lovely Marcelle. But I was noticin' enough for two. I knew that we'd made so many twist

" I asks Llanders, jus

ys he, touchin'

a place, with a lot of miners grouped around the sides pickin' away sociable. But here is nothing but a maze of little tunnels, criss-crossin' every which way, with nobody in sight except now and then, off in a dead-end, we'd get a glimpse of two or three kind of

blast soon," says Lla

I prompt. "Mr. F

gave us a line on where we might find Bruzinski, and I expect for a while there I led the way. After another ten-minute stroll, durin' which we dodg

landers. "Somebody

ront. "Oh, I say, Bruzinski! R

ver casual and

, you know," says Wad

!" says Joe earnest.

elgium," goes on Waddy. "I

s goin' to use it tomorrow. I'm gettin' en

Miss Jedain gave me that. Here, I'll give you another. How w

o unhook the other ring from his leather wa

e lovely Marcelle. Came over looking for me, Joe, just as sh

"That's what she

gasps

ld. Me, and the Cap., and the First Loot, and you, all the same day. She was goin' to marry us all

ddy gaspy. "Did-did she give yo

so hard for her as you did. I guess we

" echoe

the head, she did. Lots like her, only they took it out in different ways. Her line was marryin' us, singly and in squads; overlookin' complete that she had o

Joe with his mouth open and his shoulders sagge

d give back the ring?" a

ys Waddy. "I-I shall se

I understand. So we had that underground excursion all for nothing. That is, unless you count m

ys he, "how did yo

" says I, "about three h