Catoctin clarion., 1897-06-10

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the devil, and that will be my address,"
Saying which this enigmatical person
age turned over in his bed and went to
sleep.
Meanwhile it had not escaped the
count that if Sallie Matchin had wished
to avenge herself upon him in the most
effective manner conceivable, she could
not have hit upon method SO effective
as this. No doubt she would willingly
have spirited Olympia away had she
been able to do SO, but it was impossible
to imagine how she could find the means.
Investigation showed that no person had
been admitted to the house during the
period between ten and eleven o'clock on
the first Of May. Olympia must there
fore have gone forth of her own vo!i-
ton. Nor was it creditable that suppos-
ing her to have intended going to the
church, she could have been waylaid
upon the way thither? The distance was
but quarter of mile, the sun was
shining, the avenue was full of people.
No, the idea was not to be entertained,
and yet it was just as difficult to sup
pose that the girl had hidden herself
away. Only downright insanity could
account for her doing such thing, and
even assuming that she had done it,
some one must be aware of the fact, and
the reward that had been offered would
long since have led to her bringing back.
He was obliged, consequently, to ac-
quit Sallie of having had any hand in
the disappearance, and where else to
look he knew not. But on Saturday, the
ninth day after the calamity, he received
a letter from Sallie herself, which he
read with a mixture of hope and fear
that almost broke his heart.
"Dear sir" it ran, II have, of course,
heard of your loss, and l can say, with
out fear Of your misunderstanding me,
that it interested me. Let me also re-
offer would not be acceptable to me,
even were to become entitled to them.
But, as you may easily imagine, my
mind, since our last meeting, has not
been entirely at ease; and if were able
to forward your efforts in this affair |
should feel justified in hoping that any
hostile designs you may have against Inc
would undergo some modification. 1t is
for this reason that address you. do
not wish to exaggerate the value of the
information | possess-it may lead to
nothing. But, at any rate, believe |
have come into possession of something
that may turn out clew; and if you
will call at my house alone at noon to-
morrow will tell you what it is. must
stipulate, however, that you show this
letter to no one, nor intimate that you
have received it, for will not run the
risk of being forestalled or interfered
with in the matter. You can, of course,
disregard this letter if you choose, or you
can attempt to draw my secret from me
by force; but if you know me well You
will do neither of these things but ac-
cept my invitation under the conditions
that have imposed"
There might, no doubt, be personal
danger to the count in going to this rem
devious. Sallie Matchin and he were
on terms of deadly enmity, and Meth
ing would suit her better than 20
have him out of the way. Going alone
to her house he might easily fall into q
fatal ambush; for, peyilous though it
would be to commit violence upon a
man of his social prominence, Sallie WAS
a desperate woman and was capable Of
anything.
If he hesitated, however, it was by no
means on account of any considerations
as to his own safety. If he had known
that he We're going to certain death he
would still have been prompt to the
hour, provided only that he was assured
that Olympia had been placed in safety.
But this was very far from certain. The
"clew" might be merely bait to draw
him to distinctions; and his destruction,
SO far from benetitins Olympia, might
remove the only chance remaining to
her to escape. And since no one was to
know on what erraud he had gone, the
chances were against his fate being dis
covered.
Nevertheless, after weighing all con-
siderations, he resolved to go. 1t was II
chance, and the only one that had Of
fere1 itself. Were he to neglect it he
might repent it forever. The only pre-
caution he took was to place a revolver
in his pocket, and at twelve o'clock the
next day - rang the bell at Sallie
Matchins door.
Sallie, of course, was far too clever to
think of attempting to influence her Wis
itor by accentuating the seductiveness
of her beauty. She had already expert
enced the i'll success of such an effort,
and even had it been otherwise a man
in an agony about one woman is not in
humor to be attracted by another, apart
from the question of previous cnmity.
But Salle enjoyed her beauty on her
own account, and took pleasure in adorn-
ing it. So the tiger seems to feel pride
in her glossy stripes and the coral snake
in its gaudy scales. This woman had
never felt so sweet a satisfaction with
herself and her prospect as when she
bade her visitor welcome that day; and
she looked as she felt. AT the first
glance there seemed to emanate from
her the pure bloom and freshness
of May itself; but as one looked
more closely he became conscious Of
behind this innocent and
balmy aspect which was as poisonous
and cruel as sin. The rich, glowing
color, the queenly grace, the dark, daunt-
less eyes, the smiling, curving lips, the
sparkle of jewel here and there, and a
certain oriental luxuriousness of cos
tune and demeanor, all contributed to
render her splendid, pestilential Great
ure, such as the women of medieval Italy
might have been, or Cleopatra. There
she stood, like queen in her kingdom;
and she greeted the count with smile
Of pleasure SO bright and spontaneous
that, had he been in a mood to speculate