Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1902-04-24
CHAPTER III.
The Voice in the Darkness

David was silent for long time. The
strangeness of the situation had shut
down OH him again, and he was think
ing of nothing else for the moment. In
the dead stiffness of the place he uld
hear the quick breathing of his COM
panion; the rustic of her dress seemed
near to him and then to be very far off.
Nor did the pitchy darkness yield a jot
to his now accustomed eyes. He held a
! nothing.
''Well?" the sweet voice in the dark
ness said, inpa tiently. "Well?"
"Believe me, 1 will give you all the
assistance possible. If you would only
turn up the light
word Of honor not to violate the seal of
secrecy. You may say that we have
been absurdly cautious in this matter,
but you would not think so if you knew
everything. Even now the wretch who
holds me in his power may have
guessed my strategy and be laughing at
me. Some day, perhaps
The speaker stopped, with something
like sob in her throat.
eve are wasting precious time" she
went on, more calmly. 81 had better
tel: you my history. In your story
woman commits q crime; she is guilty
of a serious breach of trust to save the
| life OF the man she loves. BY doing so
| she places the future and the happiness
| of many people in the hands of an
abandoned scoundrel If she can only
| manage to regain the thing she has
| parted from the situation is saved Is
| not that SOP
| 80 far you have stated the case cor
| rectly.' David murmured
| AS l. said before l am in practically
a similar case. Only, in my sitution, I
| FASTENED everything and risked the
| happiness of many people for the sake
of Il little child
"Ah!" David cried. your own child i?
| No! The child of one very near and
dear to you, then. From the mere nov
elist point Of view, that is far more
artistic idea than mine. I see that I
shall have to amend my story before it
is published.
| A ripping little laugh came like the
song of bird in the darkness.
| "Dear Mr.. Steel,' the voice said II
irlplore you to do nothing Of the kind.
You are man of fertile imagination--a
| plot more or less makes no difference to
you. If you publish that story you go
| far on the way to ruin me-"
II am afraid that am in the dark in
more senses than one,' David muir
| INJURED.
'"rhen, let me enlighten you. Daily
your books are more widely read. My
enemy is a great novel-reader. You
publish that story, and what results ?
You not only tell that enemy my story,
| but you Show him my way out of the
difficulty, and show him how he can
| checknate my every move. Perhaps,
after have escaped from the net
You are right" Steel said, promptly.
From a Professional point of view, the
story is abandoned. And now you want
me to show you rational and logical a
human way out?"
eff you can do so, you have my ever
lasting gratitude"
'"rhen you must tell me, in detail,
| what it is you want to recover My
heroine parts with a document which
the villain knows 10 be a forgery. Mon
ey can not buy it back, because the vii
lain can make as much money as he
likes by retaining it. He does as he
likes with the family property: he keeps
my heroine's husband out of England
by dangling the forgery and it's conse-
quences over his head. What is to be
into false seI.sc OF security by the one