The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-07-07

ana HSnted ner nre, the SMOKE was WOrs'
than ever. Half sufocated, she flung oper
her door and stepped out into the landing
At the same moment-so close upon i
that it almost seemed as if the opening o.
her door had been the signal for him t.
open his-the young workman appeared ii
his doorway Janet recognized him through
the wreaths of smoke rolling up between
them. She shrank back under the shock
of his unexpected presence.
'Is your room on fre?" he asked
"What smoke !"
"No." She had recovered herself. "It
is my chimney"
She laughed, but shivered at the same
moment as if with cold" He knew that
it was not physical cold that had made her
shudder, but he glanced up at the open
trap-door overhead. It was left open to
allow the smoke from her room to escape
Through it could be seen the broken roof,
from which the rain was dropping to the
landing where they stood.
His face blackened.
sits infamous The house isn't fit for
a dog"
"The landlord apparently thinks it is
fit for human beings" she said bitterly.
And then in kinder tone, ~ am afraid
you find that open trap-door disagreeable.
But am obliged to have it open or we
should be suffocated with the smoke"
"0hl l don't mind. But you-you
must have been perished these last bitter
days"
She made an impatient movement.
"One gets used to everything"
PHILOSOPHY" He laughed, wondering
again as he had so often wondered during
the past fortnight when he had secretly
watched her comings and goings and listen
ed to her voice, how it happened that a
woman of such refinement should be living
in her position. He had been educated in
a different position himself and knew that
these rough work-people about her were
not of her order "Let me come in and
look at your chimney" he added. II am
a Jack of all trades"
She hesitated second, then without
speaking led the way into her ROOM He
followed. The room was full of smoke,
and just as they entered q violent gust of
wind brought down an avalanche of SCOT
and rubbish on the fire, extinguishing the
feeble flames which were already almost
succumbing to adverse circumstances.
With dismayed cry they both rushed to
the fireplace He insisted upon clearing
up the place for her, and they grew quite
sociable as they laughed and talked over
the catastrophe in her exquisitely clean and
neat room.
When some sort of order was re-estab-
lished he would take no denial to his re-
quest that she should come in and have
cup of tea by his fire. She yielded at last
She was cold and tired, and had come
home from her work with all of woman S
longing for cup of tea. The boiling of
her own kettle looked hopeless, and he had
been very kind. Yet it cost her terrible
effort to cross the threshold of that ROOM
Though he talked away cheerfully, and
did not seem to look at her, he saw the
faint shuddering hesitation in the doorway.
He put her chair near the fire, and max
ing his tea poured her out cup and cut
her some bread and butter. She sat lean
ing back in her chair watching him. 1t
was long since she had been waited on
like this. 1t took her back to old DAYS
when
She relentlessly drove back the thought.
She was workingwoman now. He sat at
the table drinking his own tea and talking
sensibly and pleasantly upon various
topics; but he was gradually leading up to
one.
eyes, one might really think poverty a
crime. it takes man into such strange
places. For instance, my coming to this
room. 1t is not pleasant, exactly, but the
landlord has taken off little of the rent
owing to recent event, and dead men
don't trouble the living. And you too
you have not felt it necessary to change
your roomY'
GAS you say, poor people cannot always
follow their fancies."
"You are sensible. Why should you go
to the expense and bother of moving?
The dead man is at peace So apparently
is his murderer! 1 wonder what the police
are about"
".fhe police, like agood many other peo-
pie, may make wrong start to begin with;
and each step naturally only leads them
further from their goal.
"You mean that they may base their
conclusions on an error" he said, abstract
edly.
''The first thing is, doubtless, to find out
the right motive for the crime" he went
on. In the case of this Patrick 0'Connor
it was certainly not robbery; was probably
personal revenge"
"Probably, as the murderer took moth
ing"
''0r there are such things as secret so.
cieties; for this man, from all accounts,
could scarcely have had personal enemy.
He may have failed the society he belong
ed to, and was, therefore, marked out for
vengeance"
She answered him quietly, her manner
being perfectly selfpossessed. But he saw
by her eyes that he was torturing her.
They were the windows Of her soul, which
was rebelling, tiptteriug, crying out against
his merciless treatment He had seen
enough-for the present-and he let her
20. ne tuTneu tne cOnfeIsdtlOu. one
talked few moments more and then rose.
He rose, too, and, as he bade her good
bye, sudden discovery he made fell on
him like shock. She was beautiful
woman. Up to this moment he had seen
in her only tired, haggard faced woman
with heavy eyes and pale lips.
Now, thoug she was outwardly SO quiet.
her cheeks and lips we're tinged with a
crimson Of intense excitement, and her
eyes were brilliant with that same suppress
ed pain and fear. The manhood in him
was suddenly stirred to its foundations by
her beautiful, suffering womanhood.
II was right" he said, as he stood alone
staring into his fire "She knows all about
it. 1t was wise thing coming here.
She has some motive, too, for staying in
the house, that motive may guide me to
the plans of the murderer"
Nothing showed more clearly how pow
erfully she had moved him than the fact
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