Page:The purple pennant (IA purplepennant00barb).pdf/252

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THE PURPLE PENNANT

surprised eyes to Mr. Addicks. "It m-m-m-must have b-b-been the other one!" he said.

Mr. Addicks obligingly bared the right arm. Neither one showed any sign of a scar! Fudge was plainly dazed.

"B-b-but I s-s-s-saw it!" he muttered. Mr. Addicks laughed.

"So did I, and it must have been the day you were here that first time. I upset the tooth-powder that morning—my toilet accommodations are a bit sketchy, you see—and got some on my arm. I found it there that night. I guess that was the scar you saw, my friend."

Fudge gazed helplessly from Perry to Mr. Addicks and back to Perry. His expression was too ludicrous for Perry to view with a straight face and suddenly the latter burst into a laugh. Mr. Addicks joined him. Finally Fudge followed suit, although a bit sheepishly. And when the merriment was subsiding he pointed an accusing finger toward the table.

"How about th-th-that?" he demanded.

"That" was a luxuriant brown false mustache lying on the table.

"Eh? Oh, the 'disguise,'" chuckled Mr. Addicks. "Well, I'll tell you. That did look bad,

I guess. You see, I was pretty nearly broke when

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