nery and it is just possible that wasn't a fake."

In a few moments Mr. Stanlock was talking with Mills on the phone. The
latter was astonished, declared that he had no idea of calling a
meeting that night.

"Well, it's lucky I kept the notice," the mining president muttered.
"That'll be something interesting to show to the police tomorrow."

* * * * *

CHAPTER X.

MR. STANLOCK AMUSED.

"I understand now how a mathematician could write 'Alice in
Wonderland'," Helen Nash remarked to Marion after Mr. Stanlock had
withdrawn to the diningroom and his belated meal.

"How is that?" the hostess inquired, looking curiously at her friend.

"Why, your father, I suppose, has been thinking in terms of tons of
coal all day--"

"Carloads," Marion corrected, with a toss of levity.

"Well, make it carloads," Helen assented. "That's better to my
purpose, more like a multiplication table, instead of addition. But it
must be about as dry as mathematics."

"Oh, I get you," Marion exclaimed delightedly. "You mean that it is
quite as remarkable for a coal operator, with carloads of coal and
soot weighing down his imagination all day, to come home in the
evening and spin off a lot of nonsense like a comedian as it is for a
mathematician to have written 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'."

"Precisely," answered Helen.

"Well, I don't know but you're right. Anyway, I wouldn't detract from
such a nice compliment paid to the dearest daddy on earth. Still,
after leaving the atmosphere of his carloads of coal he had
experienced the diversion of being held up."

"By two masked men with guns on a lonely highway," supplemented Helen.

"Yes."

"And later found that his driver had turned traitor and planned to
deliver him into the hands of the enemy."

"Yes."

"I don't see any diversion or inspiration in that sort of experience.
Many a man would have come home in a very depressed state of mind
after such an adventure. And yet he came home, found everybody scared
to death, and before he even began his story had us all laughing just
as Alice would at some of the contortions behind the looking glass.
And he kept us smiling even when he told of the masked would-be
kidnappers standing in the middle of the road and pointing pistols at
the driver of his automobile."

"Kidnappers," repeated Marion in puzzled surprise. "Why do you say
kidnappers?"

The two girls were alone in the library when thi