Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1896-09-03

brought herself to sleep alone She
had Shuddered SO when Amelia sug-
gested that they resume the former ha-
bit Of occupying separate chambers
that her cousin withdrew the sugges-
ton without argument
Il want somebody near me-" said
Louise
In that desire she summt~I up
great part Of her character She
needed compauionShip. and her attea-
ton was 50 easily taken by people
around her that there was no room for
morbid thoughts or unpleasant reti,v-
tions, Compantonship she had had in
abundance ever since the days Of
Starkweatn Ms death. and As that sub
.iect was seldom or never mentioned N
her presence. and As she never invited
it. the first impressions of tragedy and
mystery had faded away They We're
all brought back by the scene in Squire
raNlor'S court, for which the doctors
kindly forethought had i'll prepared
her.
But it was not only that the Wit
ueSseS recalled the hooking features Of
the tragedy and the apparently m
tathomablc mystery that attended it,;
the spectators themselves. by their
side glancNS at her and their half sup.
pressed remarks, gave her a glimpse of
the matter that had not. heretofore, 50
much as come to her III the guise Of a
dream fantasy. AS the light began to
break she shut her eyes to it; she
would not have it; it was horrihl2,
wicked, impossible. Her father but
this was light that drtied all barriers;
ii was flame that burned its way to
the consciousness, and At last, when
Delos Hawkins asked his suggestive
question. she saw and understood IT
all. She knew then that these vii
layers had iammed themselves into the
suify courtroom from more than NOR
bid curiosity about the death of IA man
almost unknown to them. They be-
lieVed that murder had been COM
mitted. 1t was no comfort that tech
nically no charge had been or could be
made as yet; her father was accused of
the crime rs clearly now as if he had
been called to the bar to plead.
Amelia instinctiNcly perceived the
change stealing over her cousin, and
when Delos Hawkins asked his QucS-
tion she felt Louise start and saw her
fix her eyes in stony stare upon the
doctor He did not venture to look her
way until the announcement Of the re-
cess had been made They We're but Il
few feet apart, and though the doctor
saw at once that she had been greatly
affected by what had TRANSFERRED he was
far from guessing just what she felt.
He went close to her and said.
We'll, they have let me off the rack
in order to make 1t worse for me when
they begin again, | suppose"
He smiled as he said 1t, as if to
make light of n disagreeable matter.
Louise's face remained hard and ex-
pressionless.
Il shouldn't think you'd care" she
responded, and then turned away and
slipped her arm through her cousin $
A look of intense pain crossed
Amelias face. She looked helplessly at
the doctor. who seemed stunned. He
dimly perceived the dreadful meaning
back of I.Ouise's words. She felt that
he was making the case look MS badly
for her father as the known facts
grasp the significance of the facts that
not an inkling Of the doctors efforts to
would permit. SO imperfectly did she
shield the professor appeared to her
If she could have expressed the feel
ing that he'd chilled her heart she
would have said:
why did he tell 50 much? why
could he not keep silent?"
Every word he had uttered appeared
to her now like blow aimed directly
at her father. Amelia, who understood
the doctors attitude, thought she knew
little of what he might have told the
court had he chosen to speak freely felt
as If she. too. had been stabbed, Tor
she had not dreamed that Louise would
SO misinterpret the doctor; all too
clearly She ,aW Eow lopcIcs was the
situation she had created for neither
she nor the doctor himself could eN-
plain to Louise how loyal he was t.
their interests without setting before
her the facts in such IA light that ah'
too must feel that there was reason to
suspect her father.
Regret, regret that she knew 10 be
vain, overwhelmed Amelia. She knew
not what to say or what to do. The
doctor, toe, while he longed to assert
his loyalty, 10 explain himself and 1T
the same time to comfort Louise, saw
the utter hope essness of any such al
tempt If his lips were sealed as 10
what he knew to the court, a thousand
times more 50 were they to her. More
over the time and place precluded the
possibility Of explanation.
Temporary relief and escape from
possible scene" came through good
Parson Whitaker, who pushed through
the crowd and suggested that the young
la lies 20 to his house during the ree"ts
hour Amelia promptly accepted Tie
kindly invitation for herself and Lou
igg and they started ont with the .Ja