The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1890-10-16

easiness. She advanced quietly to Hen
shall and said, with an indifference
which was unconvincing even 20 the
young man:
DO you know him."
He answered at once: Il do not know
him. wish did, for I believe be Is
a--as-
He paused in embarrassment.
Go on" she said
Il was going TO say he resumed,
''that believe he Is villain"
You are right, she said deliberately,
fixing her blue eyes ON Henshall's white
face. He is a villain, and 1t is his wife
that says So"
Henshall recoiled. Intense surprise
momentarily bewildered him. then came,
like a ray of sunshine, the knowledge
that here was clew TO the recovery Of
his ideal. Not n thought of Lena Hart
man entered his mind to thwart his plans.
You know his wifeg" he asked.
Again she laughed mirthiessly. II am
the woman unfortunate enough to bear
that relation to him." she said. Then in
alarm: 'Mr. Henshall, l do not wish TO
acquaint you with my past life. You.
have come into possession of a secret
through no fault of mine. beg Of yon
not to betray my confidence"
Her evident sincerity overcame his an
imosity to the woman.
Mrs. Smith, he said, ''your secret is
safe. Tell me, / implore of you. as much
about this man as you conscientiously
can. To show you how much in earnest
am ! will tell You my reasons for asking
this"
He then related to her the story of his
journey in the Wagner palace car, omit
ting no detail likely to interest her.
He then told her (and strange to say,
he really believed it himself) that his
object was to find the girl, although en-
gagged to Miss Hartman. He would be
perfectly loyal to Lena, but he felt that
he could not go through life without hay
ing met his ideal, if only to speak with
her briefly, to study her beauty for one
hour.
He must see her. He would perhaps
forget her if his curiosity were satisfied.
All! how easy it is to ''talk ones self
in,' as the saying is. What delightful
thing an eased conscience!
Mrs. Smith was woman of tine world,
and she understood the complexion of
the case far more thoroughly than did
young Henshall. But apparently it
served her purpose to crafty him.
'Do you know the names of the peo-
| pie with whom you saw himY" she asked.
Crawford" he answered.
''Did you learn that they stopped at
No. West Thirty-eighth street,"
YES" in intense surprise, Il called
there
$50 did T. she said quietly, ''but the
bird had flown
''Have you any idea who the Craw-
| fords were!' Tt was his turn to question.
''None at ALL" she replied bitterly. 81
| need hardly say that Watson is not my
| husband name. He has assumed many
| aliases, but the name to which he was
| born is Leopard. He is an Italian by
birth. He has called himself Rimaldi
Duval,. Schimmerlein, Henshaw and
| Watson, as far as l can remember.
met him two years ago. | knew him as
DR.. Henshaw, the mind reader.
'tHypnotism was subject in which
was deeply interested. attended all the
lectures on the subject that could pos
sibly find. l met DIR. Henshaw at his
| house. l was rich. had money and
| jewels.
| ''How it came about can never thor
oughly understand, but we We're mar,
ried. Two months later he left me pen
| niless. waited for his return, and wait
ed in vain. A child was born to me
Thank goodness it died. I took this
position temporarily. Ilivefor revenge
and" fiercely, Il will have it."
Grave fears for the safety of his idea
surged up forcefully in the bosom o.
Henry Henshan as he listened to thii
story. That she was in danger was
now very evident. His mind was mad,
up.
"a man and woman, both in earnest
and working together in unison, ough
TO be able to accomplish great deal.
want to find this man for chivalry'
sake" he said, again furnishing excuses
to himself ''You want to find him as
wronged woman. Shall we join forces:
i She hesitated for one moment. Thel
her mind was made up.
NWillingly,' she said.