Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1904-08-13
Mrs. B|uebeard
BY lola L. ForreSfer
Copyright, 1904. by T. c. Mcclure
"Ia II nntiullpi'

"ls II nntiQuPT
Suzanne traled her fingers idly over
the piano keys In Il little impromptu
prelude OF troubloUs chords before she
answered the query.
IL suppose 1t Is" she salh GROSSLY.
"I'm sure l can't tell whcthc- IFS real
antique or not. 1t looks old :.nd dusty
and is nll covered with heavy carvings.
II you meant that sort of thing. Why,
Bpss" - she turned to the ,l,I"., ,,iOner
with sudden encrgy-"I wouldn't have
thought thing about II If he had
shown 1t to me or even mentioned 1t.
He told me about everything else in
a thing about this If hadn't told Nora
to clean out that catch nll.' us she calls
1t, at the turn of the garrpt stairs
There IL a large wind0wless space over
the dining room wing. and it was In
there
And locked" concluded Bess posi-
lively.
Every drawer. l asked Nora how
long it had been there. and she said
It Ind come with BOb'a trunks from
home while we were on our honey
moon. I'm not n bit curious She
paused.
"Of course not" assented Bess warm
ly, cor suspicious"
"Only Interested"
Bess nodded her head wisely over
the interested sigh.
at Is kind Of mysterious Rob's not
telling you n word about II md hiding
It in there out OF sight. and then the
fact Of 1t being locked shows that some
one didn't want 1t opened"
AS she gave her conclusive point Of
logic Bess rose. She was pretty and
petite, with a decisive tilt to her chin
and the confidence Of eighteen In her
blue eyes.
"Of course you'll do rs you please.
Sue. You always did. But II | had
only been married month and hnd
found a locked desk In my house that
l knew nothing of ! know whnt I'd
do"
Young Mrs. Sheldon left the piano
with an impatient movement. She was
tall nnd slender beside her sister. AMI
the indefinable charm of bride was
visible in her dainty npgllgee toilet Of
white crepOn.
IL believe absolutely in Rob-" she de
clared.
Bess raised her eyebrows md smiled
mischevously.
M
some old love letters or souvenirs that
he doesn't care to part with. DO y"n
remember Adelaide Gifrord?"
THAT was two years ago"
Bess laughed.
"Goodby. ais. believe In Bob NIL y"u
want to. He's dear. and IL 1t were
I Id hunt locksmith nll the same"
Mrs. Sheldon stood at the window
and watched the small, RirlIsh figure
as 1t vanished down the street among
the fiuttering snowflakes. 1t was dusk.
The room was unlighted ns yet. and n
sudden sense OF loneliness stole over
her in the semigloom, the first she had
experienced since the joyous wedding
Of n month agO. II the affinity of
moods and colors were true. she was
in harmony with the soft violet gray Of
the twilight tone that was stealing
over the world.
New Years eve and Bob away. The
tears blinded her eyes. or course II
was business. Merely n flying trip to
New York for the firm. made all the
more imperative by his neglect OF bust
ness during the honeymoon. but she
felt vague rebellion In her heart
against even the separation Of n few
days.
And there was the locked desk.
Bess words and arguments ran
swiftly through her mind. Come to
think, Bob had told her not to tire
herself out rummaging while he was
away. Rummaging! That meant hunt
ing In the garret and running the risk
Of discovering the desk.
And Bess had spoken OF Adelaide
Clifford There had been talk OF Il
summer engagement. she remembered.
Adelaide was older than Bob. Some
way. she had always blamed her for
the romance and had looked upon Rob
as an impressiOnable yOungster. But II
he had cherished her letters and keep
sakes then he must have loved her.
Adelaide was engaged to old Mr.. Thur
stOn now. Copper Thurston. the boys
called him. Perhaps after all Bob had
been jealous OF the copper made mil
lions and had married her In fit of
pique.
She turned from the window with
sudden determination. 1t lacked half
an hour Of dinner time. A lonely din
ner for bride. she thought. as she
went upstairs, her first New Years eve.
Perhaps by the time the midnight bells
rang out she might be making few
strange resolutions for the coming year
1t was dark on the garret stairs. She
stopped Mt the door of BObs dressing
room and took a candlestick from the
mantel. 1t was wedding gift. n jap
anese bronze griffin with Outspread
wings and spiral, sinuOus tail.
As she held 1t to the gas Jet to light
the candle something fell on the rug at
her feet. and she picked 1t up. II was
small, old fashioned ordinary brass
key. She looked Mt II hesitatinGly. II
had never been on Bob's ring. she
knew. The space between the wings
of the bronze griffin was Il clever idea
for concealment
She set her lips closely and went up
fhe uDrret stairs with the canllpStick