"Two-legged parcel; insufficient address; 99 Linwood
Street! Jim, what ever come to that letter that went to
99 Linwood Street with insufficient address six weeks
ago?"
"Linwood Street? Insufficient address? Foreign
letter? Why, of course, you know, went back to the
central office."
"I guess it did," said Harrington, grimly; "so I must
go there too."
This meant that after Harrington had gone his rounds
again on delivery route No. 6, four more miles and nine-
tenths more of a furlong, 313 doorbells and only 73 slit
boxes, snow now ranging from 6 inches to 12 on the
sidewalks, and breast-deep where there was a chance for
drifting, when all this was well done, so that Harrington
had no more duties to Uncle Sam, he could take Nora
McLaughlin's work in hand, and thus defeat the prince of
evil.
To the central office by a horse-car. Blocked once
or twice, but well at the office at 7.30 in the evening.
Christmas work heavy, so the whole home staff is on
duty. That is well. Enemy of souls loses one point
there.
Blind-letter clerks all here. Insufficient-delivery
men both here. Chief of returned bureau here. All
summoned to the foreign office as Harrington tells his
story. Indexes produced, ledgers, journals, day-books,
and private passbooks. John McLaughlin's biography
followed out on 67 of the different avatars in which his
personality has been manifested under that name.
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