The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-06-02
!. THE WOMAN IN WHITE
(CONTINUED)

could bring IL 10 you, AS was passing
by TO my ROOM
Her face, naturally pale. had turned tc
such a ghastly whiteness that | startled
at the sight OF II. Her hands. so sure and
steady at all other times. trembled vio-
lently. and her eyes looked wolfishly pas,
Laura
She had been listening before she
knocked! ! saw IL In her white face: ]
saw 1t I'm her trembling hands: saw II
I'm her look at Laura.
After waiting an instant, she turned
| from me In silence. and slowly walked
away.
Laura! We shall both rue the day when
you called the Count q Spy"
You would have called him so your
| self. Marian. IL you had had known what
| know. Anne Catherick was right. There
was third person watching us In the
plantation yesterday. and that third per-
SON"
Are you sure IT was the Count7"
II am absolutely certain. He was Sir
Percivafs spy--he was Sir Perciyals In
former-he set Sir Percival watching and
waiting. all the morning through. for
Anne IatneT1Ck anO 1Or me.
lis Anne found? Did you see her at the
lake?"
mo. She has saved herself by keeping
away from the place. When got TO the
ooat-house. no one was there"
Yes? yes?"
II went in. and sat waiting for a few
minutes But my restlessness made me
get up again. TO walk about a little. As
| passed out. | saw some marks on the
sand close under the front OF the boat
house. l stopped down to examine them.
and discovered a word written in large
.etters on the sand. The word was
Look"
And you scraped away the sand. and
lug a hollow place in it?''
How do you know that. Marian?"
II saw the hollow place myself when
followed you TO the boat-house. Go on
go on!''
Yes. l scraped away the sand on the
surface, and in a little while i came 10
a strip OF paper hidden beneath, which
lad writing on IL. The writing was
.igned with Anne Cathericks initials
Where is it?'
Sir PeTcival has taken 1t away from
ne"
can you remember what the writing
was? Do you think YOU can repeat II TO
me"
I'm substance / can. Marian. 1t was
very short. You would have remembered
u word for word"
Try TO tell me what the substance was,
before we go any further
She complied ! write the lines down
here. exactly as she repeated them TO me.
they ran thus:
II was seen with you. yesterday. by a
tall stout old man, and had TO run to save
myself. He was not quick enough on his
Feet to follow me- and he lost me among
the trees. ! dare not risk coming back
- Ia
this and hide II I'm the sand. at I'm the
morning. to tell you so. When we speak
next OF your wicked husbands Secret we
must speak safely or not at all Try 10
have patience. / promise you shall see
ne again: and that soon.-A. c."
The reference 10 the tall stout old
man" (the terms of which Laura was GER
tain that she had repeated TO me correct
ly) left no doubt as TO who the intruder
had been. l called 10 mind that had told
Sir Percival In the Counts presence. the
day before, that Laura had gone to the
boat-house TO look for herbrooch. In all
probability he had followed her there
in his officious way. to relieve her mind
about the matter OF the signature, i'm
mediately after he had mentioned the
change in Sir Percivals plans to me in
the drawing-room. In this case he could
only have got TO the neighborhood of the
boat-house at the very moment when
piciously hurried manner in which she
had parted from Laura had no doubt
prompted his useless attempt TO follow
her. OF the conversation which had so
previously taken place between them he
could have heard nothing. The distance
between the house and the lake. and the
drawing-room as compared with the
time at which Laura and Anne Catherick
had been speaking together. proved that
fact TO us, at any rate, beyond doubt.
Having arrived AT something like a
conclusion, so far. my next great inter-
est was to know what discoveries Sir
Percival had made. after Count Fosco
had given him his Information.
How came you to lose possession OF
the letter." | asked. What odd you
do with Il, when you found 1t in the
sand?'
After reading II once through" she
replied. II took IL into the boa shouse
with me. to sit down and look It over a
second time. While l WAS reading a
shadow fell across the paper. I looked
up. and saw Sir Percival standing in the
doorway watching me-"
Did you try to hide the letter."
II tried: but he stoppei me. You
needn't trouble TO hide that. he said.
i happen 10 have read It, I could only
look at him helplessly--I could say moth
Ing. You understand he went on; 4
have read IL. dug IL up out OF the sand
two hours since and buried II again. and
wrote the word above IL again. and left
IL ready To your hands. You can't lie
yourself out of the scrapc now. You
saw Anne Cathericy In secret yesterday.
and YOU have got her letter In your hand
at this moment. have not caught her
yet, but ] have caught you. Give me
the letter lie stepped close up to me-
! was alone with him. Marian-what
could DOL gave him the letter"
What did ale say when you gave II to
him."
AT first he SAID nothing. He took me
BY the arm, and led me out OF the boat
house. and looked about him. on all sides
as II he was afraid Of our being seen or
heard. Then. he clasped his hand fast /
round my arm. and whispered to me. /
What did Anne Cather.ck say to you
insist on hearing every |
word from first TO last "
Did you toll him7"
81 was alone with h.sn. Marian-his 1
cruel hand was bruising my arm-what /
could 1 dor"
.,.ark a, ,.o,,. 49,.