The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1899-12-08

through the silent air, to echo round
the dusky lawn! A moment before
horrible fear had possessed her, a fear
which had sent all the blood cours-
ing wildly through her veins; and
then Oh, impossible! Major Brown
forger! 1t was impossible! Mr..
Falkland always had disliked him.
From the very first he had been
prejudiced about him, and had done
his utmost to make both Lady How
ard and herself share in his suspie-
ions.
1t was too terrible! In that one
moment it seemed as though she lived
through all the past fortnight again.
One after another the various events
OF the we'll remembered days passed
in rapid succession through her mind,
whilst above all, as a climax, crown
ing point to the whole, certain af-
ternoon, scarcely thirty-six hours be-
fore, stood out clear and defined from
the confusion of the various occur
rences. Every syllable which had been
spoken, every subject which had been
preached, came back to her as wildly
as though once more she was sitting
in the forsaken library, pen In hand,
with Major Brown standing attentive
ly by her side.
Oh, why had she been so dense, SO
blind as to see neither through his
evident manoeuvers nor the strange yet
palpable eagerness of his manner? II
nothing else had reused her suspicious,
she ought at least to have realized
that Major Brown was not at all the
kind of man to waste his energies up
on simple birthday book. A birthday
book How could she have allowed
herself to be so easily taken in? She
had certainly expressed some astonish-
ment upon the occasion-she was I'M
doubtedly somewhat dubious at first
but how quickly he had overruled her!
Without appearing the least perturb-
ed, he had explained away everything
yes, everything! He had even been
able to find an excuse for the blank
ness of the pages, and she had act
ually believed him, had believed the
whole of his fabrications, though in
reality that horrible book had been
purchased simply as means for secur-
ing her signature!
"You hear what Mr.. Falkland is
saying, Eve?"
How far her thoughts had carried
her, or how long she had been stand
ing with her hands clasped tightly to-
gether, gazing out straight before her
at the shadows growing deeper and
deeper, Evelyn had no idea.
Did she hear what Mr.. Falkland was
saying? No, she had not heard
word, and, what was more, she was
utterly Indifferent as to what it might
be; yet it was with a gesture sugges-
tive rather of acquiescence that she
sat down on the low bamboo chair
and waited resignedly for anything
further that had to come.
"You see Miss Luttrell"-it was
Falkland himself who claimed her at
tention this time-"we can do nothing
without the check; we have no proofs
whatever as to the forgery. Brown IS
safe as if he had never put pen to
paper at all"
as he?" observed Evelyn calmly.
His words seemed to Undue her with
a sense of strange undefinable relief
"Ah, yes-I suppose that would have
been the only evidence against him!
But of course it does not matter. 1t
is really not of much Importance" she
added in voice particularly free from
any suspicion of regret.
ut does not matter! Why, Miss
Luttrell, 1 have just been pointing out
to you the greatest Importance of this
affair." and have been saying how cas-
lily the whole thing can be managed!
But no time must be lost. You ought
to ask the Major for the check this
evening without fail"
ITO ha continual