Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-05-14
You have done wen. should Be glad

= w nav UNIV well. 0uouIu DC S1du
Of your assistance again. Start for
London at once. Tomorrow night at
same hour and same place as before,
you will be met and brought to house
for business chat with me. See my way
to Offering higher terms, but must deal
with you personally and alone. No use
bringing anyone else in.
SMITH"
Between the lines of. this l read that
the same hanson which had so strange
ly picked me up at Stanhope Gate be-
fore would be waiting for me once
more; not tonight, but on the follow
ing night, at twelve; that Mr.. Smith
was satisfied with the way in which he
believed / had accomplished his err
rand; and that he either had a new
one on which to send SO valuable an
adjutant or else that he had needed me,
in the beginning, for some other rea-
son unconnected with Lance Seaford,
which was now to be brought forward
again. / saw also that Mr.. Smith was
determined to prevent my adopting his
policy, and employing detectives, who
might track him to his lair. If I went,
was to go alone.
I was somewhat reflective, as the aft
ernoon train sped along, carrying me
to London; and from the contempla-
ton of the responsibilities which now
devolved upon my shoulders my
thoughts turned to Lance.
1t was difficult to believe that two
days ago there had been no such girl in
the world for me. Now the earth
seemed to revolve with her for its axis
Of course l was not such fool as
to be in love with her, after having
worshipped tie statue-like beauty of
Marjorie Tessett for year, and throw
ing my life before her altar as a sac
rifce. | would have laughed the sug-
gestion of such madness to scorn had
it entered my mind, which, naturally,
it did not, full as it was of other mat
tiers more pressing than love dreams.
Possibly the very fact that it was so
full, accounted for my neglect of Mar
iorie. Until yesterday, even when 1
was not consciously thinking of her,
her picture had been painted in radiant
colors on the background of my brain;
but now l beheld it strangely and sud
denly faded; or rather, did not SER
iously question myself regarding it at
all.
| had constituted myself Lance Sea-
fords knight and servant, while she
needed me, and her service would oc-
cupy me, while it lasted, body and soul.
l hardly thought Of her as a woman
She was fairy thing, that had come
to me out of box, as winged Hope had
come, in the midst of troubles innum-
cradle, to Pandora. She was mine, al
most as Galatea had been Pygmalion's
only my sister, of course. Still, she
could never be less than she was now,
while l lived; she had made her own
place in my heart, and her magic touch
had given me back hope, and pride, and
the wish to live. 1t would have been
strange if I had not felt gratitude.
AS to my rendezvous with Mr.. Smith,
so strangely did l incline towards one
decision, that | distrusted my own
judgment, and told myself that reason,
if | could but see it, probably pointed
to another course. What l keenly de-
sired to do was to take the old man at
his word, and go to his house as he had
suggested. Whether it should turn out
to be the same house | had explored
before was detail. | wanted to DO
this, and yet l realized that thus to go
my own way would be more or less
deliberately placing my head in the
lions mouth, to deal with as he saw fit
| attempted to argue with my in
clinations as if with another person,
who must be brought into the light of
commonsense; yet / found the argu-
ments on the side of my wishes con-
tinually overbearing the oposition.
If I did not wish to drag the red tape
of Scotland Yard at my heels, and so
probably be thrust outside the affair
altogether, | might at least, l wisely
informed myself, play at Mr. Smiths
game, and advise a private detective
of my own. He expected to be taken
IS before to that mysterious gentle
mems equally mysterious residence;
and if anything should prevent my re-
appearance at a given time, he might
report to the police.
This or some other plan OF the same
sort, was the best common-sense
arrangement to make, if COM
nonsense could be said to enter at
all into such an affair Yet | could
not bring my mind to consent to the
adoption of it. So enormous was my
respect for Mr. Smiths" astuteness,
and his peculiar power (Which | had
seen strikingly ilIustrated) Of making
himself well-nigh omnipresent, that |
believed he would in his turn detect my
detective, and | should instantly lose