Involuntarily the menacing hand clutched in open
hatred.
Then he turned in the other direction and, going up the steps of
the Dodge house, rang the bell.
"Telephone inspector," he said in a loud tone as Michael, in
Jennings' place for the afternoon, opened the door.
He accompanied the words with the sign and Michael, taking care
that the words be heard, in case anyone was listening, admitted
him.
As it happened, Aunt Josephine was upstairs in Elaine's room. She
was fixing flowers in a vase on the dressing table of her idolized
niece. Meanwhile, Rusty, the collie, lay, half blinking, on the
floor.
"Who is this?" she asked, as Michael led the bogus telephone
inspector into the room.
"A man from the telephone company," he answered deferentially.
Aunt Josephine, unsophisticated, allowed them to enter without a
further question.
Quickly, like a good workman, Clutching Hand went to the telephone
instrument and by dint of keeping his finger on the hook and his
back to Aunt Josephine succeeded in conveying the illusion that he
was examining it.
Aunt Josephine moved to the door. Not so, Rusty. He did not like
the looks of the stranger and he had no scruples against letting
it be known.
As she put her hand on the knob to go out into the hall, Rusty
uttered a low growl which grew into a full-lunged snarl at the
Clutching Hand.
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