The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1902-09-18

0roaned
until she has had q career OF Der OVID
q year or two before she effaees her.
self by marriage"
1T seems to me" satd he, that In
trying to be fair to this woman. In try
ing to set aside all prejudice and nat
ural resentment, sou have gone to an
absurd extreme upon the other side.
You can never have anything In coHr
mon with her. There cal be no ques-
tion Of friendly relations
But there can" replied Brenda
Forgive me for contradlcting my dear
old father, who is always so worried
about me and always 80 good to me. !
shall make her my friend. II l can. and
you will be glad when you know her"
M~aclane raised his hands toward
heaven, sprinkllng the floor with frag-
ments Of newspapers as he did so 1t
was his usual gesture Of defeat
And now" said Brenda. Ito use
your favorite expression, let's get down
to business. am here to take care OF
Miss Miller, and you will not ask me
to desert her when you learn that DR..
Kendall says I am a wonderful nurse.
By the way, you see l Inn In the very
best society, for there can't be any
thing above the old Philadelphia Ken
dalls. However. to return to business,
l see clearly enough where all this Is
tending. The papers speak only good
Of me this morning. Private gossip
will scarcely know what to say for q
day or two. but in the end. unless some
thing Is done to prevent II, shall be-
come Identical with this mysterious
woman and the actual object Of suspi-
cion. That. l admit, would be a mis-
fortune. for II the case remains q mys-
terry, as | think It may. I shall never
be clear Of the faint OF IL"
But doesn't the girl know who did
TIP demanded Maclane. They hint
that she Is shielding some one. end you
will find some very unpleasant things
about Alden"
HE Is entirely innocent" said Bren-
da- "Of course you know that as well
as ! do. The best thing for all OF us s
70 establish the fact Immediately that
the crime was the work Of q th!es"
"But suppose It wasn'tT
Then" said Brenda, ~ must be
made to appear so"
81 see what you mean" replied be,
and I will consult my lawyer about It
| have already discovered that be un-
derstands the polke thoroughly. Per-
haps something may be dene By the
use Of plenty Of money. Meanwhile |
would like to he satisfied about Mr.. Al
den. 1t Is not fair to you that he
should conceal his defense, II he has
one. The sooner the case Ks thoroughly
cleared Of that mystery the better for
tw."
Reduced to O theft. said Brenda.
the papers will cease to print much
about IT,"
you are quite right" replied Mr..
Maclane. "But my first move will be
In Alden's direction ! must know
where he stands. or there will be no
safety for you In any line Of action II
he Is guilty. we must not appear rs bis
accomplices after the faet'
THAT Is mcnstrous" Insisted Bfen-
da. DO not consider IT.
They spoke for some minutes Of NH
nor matters. turning over the papers
together. while Brenda selected such
portions as she thought that DR.. Ken
dali might permit Elsie to see. The
sight of these stories with their abun-
dant illustrations set Mr.. Maclane's
nerves on edge again, and he was N O
most wretched frame of mind when he
left the hospital
1t Glanced that as he emerged from
the structure be encountered Alden,
who had just come from kendalls
room and was full Of good will to al
mankind as the result OF the converse
ton with the doctor. lie felt that Mac
lane had q just grievance against him,
and he began at once q most earnest at
tempt to repair the injury. Maclane
was relieved to find Alden In q plant
mood-the rarest Of all his moods, by
the way-and the two walked toward
the avenue together in an atmosphere
Of cordially such rs surrounds some
times the unfriendly victims Of q coln-
mon misfortune.
Upon arriving 1T his office Alden met
Detective Elmendorf. with the result
already disclosed. Profiting by the ad-
vice received in the course Of this IN
terview and by his memories Of many
stories Of crimes, criminals aEd Sleuth-
hounds Of the law. Allen succeeded In
eluding both the shadow OF trouble
and the shadow CT business AID his
doings for al bour or two were wholly