The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-02
THE WOMAN IN BLACK.
WRITTEN FOR THE MORNING CALL.

saw her bosom heave and the breath come
! fast. Tears gistened in the eyes which had
| already made me captive.
Yes, / said. "N on see, an anonymous
note reached the Office last evening foretell-
ing your visit this morning. Then, wonder
| ing whether were doing right. but caring
little. l handed her the note. Perhaps she
| might recognize the handwriting.
She seized IL eagerly ;sclutiniZed ii closely
again aud again. / remained standing.
But it bears no date" she finally said.
| Are you quite sure it arrived yesterday 2"
Very sure" l said. and then repeated to
| her the circumstances under which l OBJ
! tanned the missive.
| A troubled. puzzled expression crossed
| her face, then again that hunted, fearful
| look, which seemed to speak OF unknown
| torrors and hidden foes. ! turned my eyes
| away for an instant, and when l looked al
| her again she was weeping, and through
| her sObs and choking came cry that went
| to my heart as nothing ever had or has:
Il am lost! Lost! No one can help me %
let mo helD you," l said, only half
! knowing what 1 did say, ana wondering
| how / should have said so much. | sat
| down beside her. The wonder is that did
not kneel before her. take her hands and
tell her that l loved her. Il would have
| been the truth. But l only waited till she
had stayed her tears. Then she thanked
| me, but repeated that no one could help her.
After a pause she said: And you say
the note reached your Office last night?"
Last evening" l replied, "a little before
6 o'clock"
Now could that be? 1 had not the
| slightest notion of going TO San Quentin
| last evening. All yesterday and the day
! before l was in the greatest perpleXity
about certain family matters. There were
papers, legal papers, to be disposed of, and
! questions arose that l alone could OF an
| Swer. did not know where 10 20 or who to
| turn TO. am all alone in the world-since
father died l have no one dare confids
IN but the one at -; he is not bad-the one
! l Just saw. Not till this morning did | real
iZe that it would be possible for me to visit
| him. The thought came TO me as a great
relief and ] decided TO go at once. | can
hardly believe that the note was sent yes
teTday. Even this morning l spoke to no
one of my intentions"
Then she pleaded with needless vehem-
ence that l should say nothing about her IN
the Taper- 1t would Kill her, she said, to
have her name dragged into print. l readily
promised all she required, and l think she
believed me. At any rate, she spoke by
and by with less reserve, and before the
boat reached the Market-street slip knew
the greater part of her history.
She had been the only daughter of g we'll
known physician in San Francisco who had
been dead two weeks. Her mother she had
never known. Death claimed her when
Lois-for that was the Vei'ed Woman's
Christian name-waTAb but an in FAINT. There
was an older brother, but | did not learn
what became of him. She, Lois, was now
an orphan and an heiress. Enemies were
about her. had been about her father and
she feared would give her no rest till she
died.
l tried to reassure her and again offered
her my friendship and aid.
Il have mind to put you to the test at
once" she said
DO so. by all means" l cried, with more
eagerness than discretion.
She hesltated only a moment. "If YOU
would serve me find out the author of that
note VIII you undertake the task?"
Readily" | said, though | could not but
admit that the enterprise was no light one.
by ONT OF little maneuverinS we easily
gave Joe Irons confederate the slip n the
ferry-hOuse in San FranciscO-if there were
confederate OF his there-aud | said fare
wei to The Yelled Woman on the dummy of
Market-stTeet cable-caT. Before she was
seated IN the car she made me promise over
again that | would keep her Identity a
secret in the columns of the Annals. 1t
would be death 10 her. she reiterated, or
worse than death, TO have her name pub
lisEed in such connection.
Again | promised to be faithful, and
when she had given me the address where
might call soon 10 report my success in find
Ing the author OF that mysterious note l
returned to my desk in the local-rooms OF
the Daily Annals.
Write it up first and tell me about 1t
| afterward," said the City Editor, who had a
constitutional reDugnance to long explana-
| tiOns and short stories.
was ready enough to obey the injunc-
! ton this time, for, truth TO tell, | had re-
| solved 10 so alter the facts and situation Of
| the story l should write that no one might
| by any possible chance suspect that the
beautiful Yelled Lady played any part in it,
was rounding out my second mouth as a
| III
had meant To do my best with this impor-
| tant detail when it was given me- But
| now-Well. must write what, in the par
lance OF the local room, is known as a
lake. This was bad beginning for a
new man, and might have disastrous re-
suits fer me; but there was no help for it,
| For no consideration would have BETRAYED
the confidence bestowed upon me that
| morning.
The next days Expositor contained a
| story that was even more OF flake" than
| the one published in the Annals. But it
was more interesting and dramatic in its
| construction and better written than my
own. Joe Iron had laid himself out, and
! my only professional consolation was that
he had as many years experience as l had
| weeks.
Not even the City Editor noticed the very
wide dissimilarity in the names used in my
story, which had been written TO hide the
! truth, and those in the Expositor's article.
| ignorance of the truth.
And all the while for the next week the
sad, fearful. beautiful face of the Won an
in Black was ever before mine. Aud the
moments / did not spend in dreaming oil
Lois | utilized in trying TO think of some
| plan by which could discover the author
| OF the mysterious note.
/ never once thought of doubling the ex.
Dlanation the Yelled Lady had given NE
about her visit to San Quentin. bence
! nUVTlp1 brain a nOoi in f.
| figure out by what secret process one could
| foTetell a thought that was not born vet
The conclusion finally came to was that
Lois had been made the victim of a hypno.
| tie suggestion, and that the person who
wrote or inspired the note sent to the City
Editor OF the Annals was the one who exer
clsed the mesmeric power and gave the
suggestion. There could be no other explain.
| alton, l reasoned.
But, Of course, | gained no knowledge Of
the personality Of that writer. Tie note
had been left on the city editors desk by 8
| small boy, and | could find no one in the
office who remembered even the most in.
definite thing about the messenger, except
that lie wore no uniform and was not EN-.
pioyed by any OF the messenger companies.
l resolved 10 see the Yelled Lady again
however. at all hazards, and finally work. cd
myself up 10 the belief that l was as much
in duty bound to report TO her the failure
of my mission as its success.
On the evening Of the sixth day after hel
strange visit to San Quentin stood on the
broad stone steps of large house on Suffer
street, not far from Laguna 1t was the
address she had given me.
French maid opened the door for me,
and the reception-room l was shown ipt
and asked to walt for the young mistress OF
the house was as elegantly furnished as any
had ever seen. AT least thought SO a
the time, though it is more that possible
that l saw things with more ardent eye
than il it had been the home OF some prom
inent citizen" ! had been sent to inter view
The Yelled Lady, no longer yelled but still
in black, greeted me warmly and was kind
enough to say that she had expected-me
a monster st. Bernard dog followed hel
into the room and stretched himself out a
her feet, and moment later big English
mastiff strobe in and laid himself near her
They are my pets that papa brought NJ,
from Europe" she said. Neither one O.