The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-04-20
shall be absent from her henceforta
and forever
CHAPTER ~.
An Interrupted Visit.

the first place | doubt whether you
could persuade Laura to close her doors
against Count Souratkin; in the second,
| don't think YOU would be able to
thrash him; and in the third | am quite
sure YOU would not be able to frlghttn
him. There is only one way OF relcaS-
ing Laura and that is to oppose
stronger will than his own to the count.
1t is a forlorn hope, | fear but 1t Is
worth trying; and there is just this in
your favor that Laura herself will fight,
consciously or unconsciously on your
side. If you can get her to refuse him
anything no matter how small, you Will
have gained great victory. Now DO
YOU think YOU have patience and
strength enough to undertake. this stru2-
Gle? 1t will be a long one and the
chances are against YOU
Eycrard was pacing UP and down the
room with his hands in his pockets. Il
Should prefer a rougher and reader
method lie remarked.
There is no such method
so be it, then But if your plan
fails shall take the liberty Of revert
ing to mine. The fact is that | don't
know much about my adyersaly's wea-
pons, whereas / do know how to use
my fists
The clearnesS and decision with which
Mrs. Patterson had stated her case inn
pressed Everard Il good deal more than
the supposition upon which it was
founded 1t yeXcd him to think that
Souratkin's tricks-for as such he re-
garded them-should have inspired the
woman whom he loved with awe. and
he was personally convinced that the
count was more or less Of an imposter.
In the meantime Eyerard thought
that it could do no harm to get a little
more information about this inystgr
ious parsonage SO he applied to a friend
Of his in a foreign office. who promised
to make inquiries at the Russian en-
bassy. In the course of a few days this
gentleman sent in his report.
1t seems" he wrote, that your man
is deuce Of fellow. They call him
exceedingly dangerous. and if ever he
crosses the Russian frontier again he
will find himself at the bottom of the
deepest dungeon in St Petersburg ne
fore he knows where he is. He be-
gan life as a man of fortune and a
stanch supporter Of the dynasty, but
he gambled away the last Of his money
some years ago, and since then he has
been wandercr upon the face Of the
earth, and has espoused advanced lib
eral ideas. 1t is not certain whether
he is actually member Of the Terror
ist party but there seems to be no
doubt that his sylnpathies are with
1t. If he has not assassinated any ren-
erals or projects Of police with his own
hand, it is probably because he has al
ways found it easy to get others to
DO such jobs for him. for his personal
influence is said to be extra ordinary
This seems to show that he is no fool:
and as he is reputed to be first-claSs
player at games of skill and chance
ithis is my informants description Of
him. and he gave it without Il smile,
/ don't think I should cultivate his
acquaintance If | We're YOU
The above communication was rather
pleasant to Evcrarsl, since, when sum
med up, 1t amounted to Il confirma-
ton of his own opinion that Souratkin
was a clever scamp
Walking down Oxford street the next
day, on his way to inquire whether
Miss Denham had recovered from her
fatigues, he was a good deal astonished
at meeting the object of his solicitude
near the Marble Arch. She was al Dne:
she was Fastening eastward with an
odd, uncertain gait, as if She did not
quite see whittier she was going; and
indeed the vacant expression Of her
eyes seemed to show that she had not
all her wits about her. She would have
passed Eyerard without noticing him
had he not intercepted her, and when
she recognized him she only smiled
have pursued her way
But he had no idea of allowing her to
do that Il was intending to call upon
you, Miss Denllan." he remarked.
Where arc you going in such a hurry,
If l may ask"
'.To the Langham hotel" She answer
ed. ".At least. l think soyes, it must
be there She paused for moment.
then seemed to collect herself Il must
90 now EverarI,' she said Perhaps
you could come anil see us tomorrow -
Indeed said Eyerard, Il think you
had better let me take you home You
ought not to be walking through these
crowded streets all by Yourself
What does it signify She returned.
rather impatiently. '.At any rate,
must go on, whether it is proper or
not
why must yOus
Because use-because-oh. I can't tell
you why; only must 1t is impossible
to 10 anything else
ITO be Coniinued)