Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1901-06-02
WEN CURTIS took his hat
from the rack in the hall, and

WEN CURTIS o his hat
from the rack in the hall, and
in SO doing saw his face re-
Aected in the round mirror. He re-
NAMED for some seconds staring at
the image, and then he turned away
with a shudder.
MS thing is telling on me-" he
.auttered. .T'm not built for it. I
haven't the nerve"
The air without was warm and sweet.
Curtis beheld the familiar beauties OF
the trees and inhaled the delicious
pdor OF the breath of May. He coutd
remember wnen he had lelt akin to
ali this peace and harmony, but that
seemed long ago.
1t was very still, except for the faint
sound of faraway drums hearalding
the ceremonies of Memorial day. Then
In the southern chamber Alice began to
sing, and ~presently she looked out of
the window, checking her song and
calling to him cheerily.
Curtis replied he knew not what; 1t
was scarcely articulate. He stood
Anere, with clinched hands, the nails
biting into the palms.
II can't lose her; I can't lose her"
ne was saying to himself. Il am
scoundrel, a criminal for the love of
ner, and it shan't be in vain"
Alice left the window, taking UP her
song again, and Curtis knew by the
round Of her voice that she had passed
into the eastern room, which was her
tunts.
Bare feet battered on the boards OF
HE sidewalk, and curtis, turning. saw
, little boy at the gate.
Here's a TELEGRAPH" said the boy,
painting. mfr. Davis Nj me up with
It. It's for Alice Wrightington."
The urchin made a great pretense Of
reading the name, stumbling on the
long word what it was. Curtis ex-
tended his hand and took the enve-
lope.
"It's all right" he said. You can
run along"
With the message in his hand, Cur
It's glanced hastily at the house, but no
one was visible at the windows. He
walked into the parlor, examinneg the
envelope meanwhile. It was very
lightly sealed, the mucflage being not
quite dry. Curtis ran a knife blade I'M
der the lappet, and instantly the tele-
gram was in his hand.
Arrived on Eenoma. this morning. Greet
ing and owe viii be with you to-mor-
Few. FRANK.
Franklin Bryce had returned from
Manila on the transport Sonoma. He
mas at that moment in New York.
within "a hours he would be in Graf
ton, and the game that Owen Curtis
had played would be worse than lost.
Curtis restored the message to it's
original condition and put it under a
book on the parlor table. Then he ran
up stairs to his room and locked the
aoor behind him. From a cleverly
made hiding place under a broad win
dow seat he took a bundle of letters-
eight Of them-Frank's letters to Alice.
1T had been perfectly easy to sup
press them. Curtis had a key of the
box at the postoftice, and NO n else
knew that he had it. He had secured
1t because there were some letters COM
ing from New York hat he did not
wish any one to see-stockbrokers' let
tiers, with the names of the firm in the
corners of the envelopes.
1T seemed to him that he had drifted
had not intended ITO suppress the first of
Franks letters that he had taken;
only to read it, which was bad enough,
but not Qll1.e the same thing. He had
apened the envelope clumsily and had
not dared to show 1t afterward. And
SO the whole plan had developed to the
point where he had even succeeded in
stopping two of Alice's letters to Frank
which the girl herself would have tes-
titled that she had seen him drop into
the hole in the postofice door. Those
he had destroyed after iAhaming his
jealousy by reading thets The others
be had kept with a vague thought that
tey might help him throw the crime
upon some n else in case he should
be suspected. In his first panic, after