The Western news., 1904-07-20

as ain lfhDfess7o..::DTe youngsrar -bur IT
he had cherished her letters and keep
sakes then he must have loyed her
Adelaide was engaged to old 0r. 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 tt Of
pique
She turned from the window with
sudden determination. 1t lacked half
an hour of dinner time. A lonely din
ner for a 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 Clark on the garret stairs. She
stopped at the door Of Bob's dressing
room and took candlestick from the
mantel. 1t was wedding gift, Jap
anese bronze griffin with outspread
wings and spiral. sinuous tall
AS she held it to the gas jet to light
the candle something fell on the rug at
her feet. and she picked it up. 1t was u
small, old fashioned ordinary brass
key. She looked at it hesitatingly. 1t
had never been on Bob's ring, she
knew. The space between the wings
Of the bronze griffin was clever idea
! for concealment
She set her lips closely and went up
the garret stairs with the candlestick
IN one hand and the key in the other.
| Halfway there was a turn Mt small
| landing, and it was ut the angle made
by this that she had found the little
low door leading to the "catch ALL"
She opened it now and entered. half
closing the door after her.
The desk was pushed to one side
With some trunks and boxes. 1t was d
quaint, antique affair of mahogany. Sc
verely colonial in style. The main
| body was crescent shaped supported
on hand carved legs. There were four
drawers, two on each side. and
small, low cabinet of pigeonholes Oh
| top.
! Suzanne stood motionleSs before it
for several minutes, trying to make
up her mind to insert the key. When
| she did so in the lock Of the nearest
top drawer, her hand trembled slight
ly, and she held her breath The key
turned easily, and the drawer was
ready for inspection, but she did not
open it. Thoughts whirled like the
fluttering snowtakes through her mind,
and she stood again irreso,lte
She had told Bess that she believed
absolutely in Bob. Higher than her
fnr hS 1,s,S
ing belief and confidence in him. 1t
was the very keystone of her marriage
faith, and yet ut the first blow of sus-
picion it gave way.
Bess was child, with the impulsive
Judgment Of child. She had been
wrong to even tell her Of the desk,
wrong to discuss Bob or his motives
stant to any doubt of him. even in jest
She must have faith and wait. He
had probably locked the desk against
the curiosity of the servants and had
forgotten 1t in the hurry and excite
ment Of the wedding. She must be-
lieve in him. The mere fact that they
Were married did not give her q coro-
ner's right to hold a postmortem over
his dead past
There was the sound Of footstep
on the stairs, and she relocked the
drawer quickly.
iii be down in moment, Nora"
she called. You may serve dinner"
The voice that answered was famil-
lar and masculine. She nearly let the
candle fall in her surprised recognl
ton Of 1t.
Its only l, Sue. What ON earth are
you doing in thereY'
She stood mute and motionless as he
bent his head and entered the low door
1t was Bob, and he was smiling and
happy, his clear eyes seeking for the
glad welcome he expected.
II only ran down for tonight" he
added. II couldn't let you face the
first new year alone. sweetheart"
His arms reached for her, but she
shook her head and handed him the
key.
Il haven't used it." she said broken
ly. "But, oh, Bob, l came SO near It.
You don't have to tell me what's in
the old thing. I'll believe you Just
the same, and don't want to know"
know what?" he demanded. Don't
cry, Sue" He drew her to him ten
derly. whats up, anyway
THAT desk" she sobbed. Its lock-
ed"
"Is it," He stared at the desk In
bewilderment. "Well, the key was on
my mantel, dear. You found it all
right, didn't your Couldn't you un-
lock it?".