Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-08-10

!.
"You are right. Hush!"
Demetrius will take your place; and 1
shall relieve Mr.. Livingston. Perhaps
youwillbe kind enough to ask the Greek
to come to me at once. l expect the
nurse in half an hour"
I glanced at my watch as Nancy
obeyed. 1t was six o'clock, and the
household was already astir. De-
metrius, I knew, was no sluggard, no
lie-abed. He would answer the sum-
mons promptly; and upon my imme-
date action might hang the life of Bur-
lington.
Distracted by doubt, 1 walked to the
window and flung up the lower sash.
The fresh air flooded the room; with it
came the sounds and odors of spring.
The full-throated meadow-larlls (Cal-
ifornia has few singing birds) had be-
gan their roulades, to which the staccato
notes of the gulls and the myriad-voiced
of the sand-dunes furnished a curious
and effective accompaniment. The
scent of the violet, heliotrope and
iasmines hung lightly on the breeze.
The lawn sparllled with dew. The
lanceolate leaves of the eucalypti quiv-
cred against an opalescent sky. Lean
ing out of the window, my tired eyes
rested upon the Pacific, which wooed
me to its embrace with tender MUIR
muir of welcome. For the multitude OF
sea-birds could prophesy that the
mackerel and sardines were in the bay.
The cormorants were hard at work,
piunging with mighty splashes into the
water. I caught now and again the
CLEAN of a macllerel in their monstrous
beaks. and noted idly the parasites
Shaping up the morsels of fish care
lessly dropped by their patrons. What
paradise! To me garden of Eden,
with its tree of knowledge of good and
evil, its serpent, its Eve, and, alas! the
angel with the flaming sword.
1t falls to the lot of all sons of Adam
to wander once down the enchanted
glades of Eden. How many recognize
the place too Late, when the gate is
closed against them foreyer
My thoughts were put to fight by the
sound of Nancy's voice. She beckoned
eagerly from the passage.
"An extraordinary thing has hap
pened," she gasped. "Demetrius has
gone. lie never went TO bed at all. And
and he has taken Mark with him!"
Come" | calculated. So the fellow
had turned tail. His nerves at the crit
zeal moment had failed.
"He has left letter for mamma. She
is reading it now. Unjust go to her"
Flingirg these disjointed phrases at
my head she left me. and l returned
thoughtfully to the bedside of Bur-
lington. AS yet he had shown no dis
position to talk. The Doctors second
examination had provoked groans and
affirmative rods in response to impor-
tant questions. The man was terribly
bruised; but his bones, mirabile dictu.
were still intact. Quiet, of course, was
imperative; and any excitement might
prove fatal. l led the doctor to the Win
dow and told him briefly that
Demetrius had LETT the house. ANY
thing you need, doctor. | can get. Pray
command me-" The doctor, however,
refused my services, and went himself
to prepare lin;mept. ! accompanied
him to the door and when turned con-
fronted the melancholy eyes of Bur-
hngton. The fire was out of them; in
its place was & question.
"Am in the house of Mark Gerard 2"
he asked, harshly.
"You are in the house of Mrs. Ger
ard" l replied. 1t was futile to evade
the truth, but wondered how he would
take it.
He took it, as might be expected,
hardly-in silence. The hot blood
famed across his forehead, and ebbed
instantly, leaving the pale complexion
livid-a danger signal which quickened
my own pulses. The situation was in
tensely dramatic. His next question
surprised mes,
us the Greek here?"
"He was here"
"Curse him! Don't let him come into
this ROOM"
lie closed his eyes and said no more.
Alter all, he had said enough. The
mere words, coupled with the tones of
his deep voice, Mortified me. Manifest
ly, his appetite for blood was not yet
glutted. And this man was the father
of Nancy!
An hour later the letter of Demetrius
was placed in my hands. had finished
a hasty breakfast, and was sitting,
smoking, upon the veranda. The doc
tor and the nurse were with Burlington.
The letter ran thus:
"Dear Madame: Acting in accordance
with the instructions I received from my
master, have been compelled to leave your
house and take your son with me- We can
camp at the hut on the island" mark had
described this hut to me with enthusiasm
1t had been built by his father and was we'll
proVisioned for the purposes of duck shoot
ing), and Mark. as you know, will be
safe and happy there with me. dare not
take the chances of exposing the boy to
the fury of powerful mailman Yours re-
spectfully, madame. DEMETRIUS."
Nancy brought me this carefully writ
ten epistle, and with it a message from
her mother. Mrs. Gerard was pros
trated by the events of the past "a hours
and 11nabla to leoya Iar ,oo,,, cLa -,