Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1904-05-12

you muSt-Walt a moment While
get a light" same the voice of Roger
Hawley out of the darkness. IF you
hear a rat or two moving about be
hind the walls of my palace" he add.
ed, with a laugh, don't be alarmed"
81 won't" replied Jaggard, with a
laugh. 1--we been used to bigger ami
mails than rats in the place | came
from" he added, somewhat grandilo-
quently.
And travel armed, I'll warrant
said Roger Hawley, as he struck a
light and applied it to the wick of a
candle. "'Pon my word, it's refresh
ing to meet a man like you; | think
we shall be useful to each other, after
all. Now you may come in"
Jaggard wen in, looking sharply
about his as he did so-perhaps be-
cause the life he had led taught him
to be suspicious of every man. Quite
unconsciously, as he walked into the
place, he had one hand behind him,
and mis- fingers had closed on the butt
of the revolver in his hip pocket. Rog-
er Hawley noticed the movement and
laughed.
Nothing to be afraid Of" he said,
IF We fight, you and /, Mr.. Jaggard,
we shall probably fight with more sub
tie weapons. Why. what's the mat
teri" he asked, stopping suddenly and
watching the other mai
Its all very we'll to call your place
a palace, in a one which seems to
suggest that IL isn't-but | notice you
are particular as to the quality of the
scent you use" said ~Jaggard. standing
still, with his delicate nostrils moving
uneasily, like those of some sensitive
animal.
Scent? I don't understand" re-
piled Hawley, with a suspicious frown.
There's nothing effeminate about me.
I don't use scent"
mo? Then you've had a visitor
who does, and pretty strong scent at
that. l wasn't born in the open,
among Indians and wild men general
ly, for nothing; that's why | was feel
ing for my gun when | came in, be-
cause | thought you'd trapped me. I'd
have sworn there was a woman here"
With a sudden exclamation Roger
Hawley caught up the light, pushed
roughly past his companion, and went
up the bare, uncarpeted stairs to the
room above; Jaggard could hear him
moving swiftly about there. Coming
down again, he placed the candle on
the table and looked at the other man
in some perplexity.
I'm growing as suspicious as you
are" he said, with an uneasy laugh,
although I wasn't born in the wilds
and haven't lived there-until lately.
I shouldn't think it possible" he add
ed, musingly, that any one has been
here; the place has been shut up and
left to go to decay for years"
II take 1t you don't want to be
seen?' said Jaggard, with a grin.
mot at present. | want to see how
things are going FIRST" replied Roger.
II believe it was only your fancy that
made you imagine any n had been
here; there are a hundred scents and
smells and musty odors in a place like
this"
What makes you live here?" asked
the other.
'In the first place, there's no rent
to pay; in the second, no n has been
near it for years, and no one Is likely
to come neal il. And / don't want 1t
to be known at present that Roger
Hawley. elder son of the house, who
should have been taking his place in
that house. is hiding, as it were, in a
ruined gardeners cottage. Now, sit
down and make yourself as comforta-
BILE as you can, and let us hear all
about the two Grace Yarwoods. in
whom you seem Interested"
He produced from a cupboard a
wicker-coyered bottle and a couple of
thick, common tumblers; from be-
meath the table he drew a jar Of wa
ter. There you are" he said: now
we can talk at our ease. Even IL any
one should come in this direction they
wouldn't see the light. The shutters
are sound enough for that. | can't
say that this would be a comfortable
place in the winter, because I don't
think the panes are quite sound; but
il serves now. Come want to hear
about the two Grace Yarwoods.
It happened that Owen Jaggard's
keen scent had not been at fault. At
the very moment that the two men
came crashing through the under
growth and through the broken fence.
a woman had actually been In the cot
tage, and that woman was Joyce
Bland. She had heard their incau-
tiously raised voices in time and had
slipped out In the wilderness OF I'M
trimmed bushes and shrubs about the
old cottage 1t was an easy matter for
this woman, who had led q wild life
for 50 long in the wild places OF the
earth. to drop down like , rabbit and
lie still and hidden.
Truth to tell. Joyce Bland had be-
gun to get a little tired Of the game
already. even In this matter OF days.
True. there was all she needed, and
there was plenty Of money; but the
deadly monotony Of It had begun to
gct upon her nerves. The callers had
been a. well groomed and well trim
med and respectable and dull q the
landscape itself: she had wanted to
spring up and shout out blasphemies
49, - l.