Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1900-09-13

would be difficult to obtain proof. Be-
sides. he had not forged the name, And
now that she had bidden him hope.
could she again relegate him to des-
pair? But how to obtain the sigma
ture? Well, she must trust that to her
woman's wit.
She had reached the square when
she had gained this stage of her solilo-
guy. and finding it, as he supposed, de-
serted, she sat down on one of it's
benches, in a spot as secluded as she
could select. Lifting her veil, she let
the cold air blow upon her brow.
The short afternoon was fast draw
ing 10 close. Already darkness was
gathering. Quiet and motionless, she
seemed part of the falling shadows.
A light wind blew through the bare
branches of the trees. She drew her
furs more closely about her, but other
wise stirred not.
At last step sounded at the extreme
end of the walk She cOuli distinguish
the figure OF man coming toward her
"a man her quick glance declared un-
known TO her. and so she sat quietly
until he should pass bv.
He was of medium height. broad
shouldered, thick-set. His dress was
seedy and worn, though a diamond
flashed in bright -coored scarf loose
ly knotted about his throat
His head was bent as If In thought
and between his lips he held a cigar
He did rot seem even to see the silent
figure on the bench.
He had nearly passed her by, when
h
eyes met.
A change, awful In it's suddenness
and character. swept over both faces.
both grew ashen, with livid lips. But
the woman was pale with the pallor of
a hideous fear: the man white, with
the white fire OF pitiless triumph.
He stopped abruptly in his walk, and
for full moment their eyes unfiinch.
ingly met; then. with a harsh, low
laugh. he took short step forward,
and abruptly laid his hand on her
shoulder.
"At last, my lady--at last" Were the
words with which he broke the silence.
which, in reality, had lasted scarce
sixty seconds, but which to her. at
least had heightened themselves Into
an eternity of torture.
She stroye to speak, but. though her
lips moved, she could articuate no
sound. Her heart. which at first had
beat in maddest tumult, now stood al
most still. She could have counted its
measured pulse.
Repulsion. fear. horror. all had rob-
bed her face of it's well-nigh unnatural
beauty, and left 1t hagsard and aged.
The grasp upon her shoulder tight
ened until its pressure caused her phys
ical pain. The mans hot breath she
felt uron her cheek; the cigar he still
held between his now set teeth mingled
It's fumes with the air until 1t suffocat-
ed rather than revived her.
"The surprise of seeing me isn't alto
gether welcome one-eh, my girl?"
As he spoke for the second time, she
shuddered.
Ell thought you were dead-mur-
dered" she finally gasped out.
Grace had said, when first she heard
the voice of Harry's wife, that Ii held
more music than any voice to which
she had ever listened.
Could she have heard It now she
would not have recognized IL.
1t seemed to come from some vault.
and ring with the metallic echoes of
the. sepulchre.
"Oh, God!" breaking the horrid spell
which bound her, and burying her face
in her hands to hide this terrible flesh
and blood spectre Of her dead past
"oh, God. let me wake and find that
this is all dream!"
80 find you here!" asserted the
man. unheeding her words. $50 at last
my long search is rewarded. In the
moment that I despaired, my end Is
achieved; and here--here of all places
where I least looked Cor you! Six
hours more. and I should have turned
my back upon this place. not dream.
ing in my widest Dreams that II held
you, Six hours only, and you would
again have been lost to me, this time.
perhaps, forever. How have tried to
track you! How cunning you have
been! And now chance-this poor ac-
cident Of chance-has done for me what
all my skill-what all my counter-cun-
ming failed to do. Once more, Helen
Window, we stand face to face"
He could have stabbed her no more
cruelty than by his words. In six hours
he would. by his own confession. have
left the city. She would have been safe
from him forever-safe, and believing
him dead.
And but for Harvey she would at this
hour-at this moment--have been safe
ly Sheltered and protected beneath Ed
gar Reynolds roof.
Already her absence might be noted
already some anxiety might arise con-
cerning It.
In imagination she saw the room with
all It's luxurious belongings. where she
and Harvey had talked and plotted and
scnemed. The lights were lit ere now,
the curtains drawn, the fire shed It's
brilliant warmth upon the pretty pic
ture. and she was away from IL all, oui
here in the cold and growing darkness.
How cold It vast She had not felt IL
before. She must go Monochrome!
Had she home?
She almost forgot. as her fancy
painted the we'll known picture. that
between her and it had risen sudden
barrier-the barrier formed OF the
feshless bones Of the skeleton OF her
long buried past.
"How many years had It been?" went