The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-04-16

and taken her to meas mine, I meant
to keep her, whatever they were to
say, whatever they were to prove!"
Beatrice came nearer. She did not
know what emotion was strongest in
her-terror at the discovery Of the
tenacity Of his purpose with regard to
the child; perplexity as to whether he
would now even admit the possibilityl
of her not being his own; gratitude |
for his steadfastness and generosity or
remorse for her sin against him.
She tried to speak, but could utter
He laughed at her kindly and bade
her sit down.
NO." stammered she, brokenly, 'Iet
me take her upstairs. It's late; she's
sleepy; let me take her"
He gave UP the child and she cud-
eager possession. He smiled approx
That's right, that's right. While
you're with her, she'll never know the
loss Of a mother.
she s5essY eoasa up e5 be b shGg as
chance Of claiming possession Of her
Il am her mother" said she, sharp
ly.
you are, indeed" replied the Wis
count, with equal promptitude.
her to go UP quickly, as he heard the
bell ring, and saw that one Of the
servants had just brought a police-
man to the door.
Lord Catherington thought 1t as
we'll to have a search made round the
for footprints to be easily discerntble
on the strip Of gravel which the man
would have had to cross If he left the
house by the window. as they sup
posed. But he gavezthe officer full
description of the mad artist. showed |
him the knife which he had evidently
dropped, and said that, while he be-
lieved the poor fellow to be an OBJ
ject Of pity, it was clear that his mind
was unhinged, and that the only
safety for him was within the walls of
an asylum. -
Can you tell me his name, my
lord ?'' asked the officer.
by Jove! no, can't. Only that he
spoke of himself as Bob" said Lord
Catherington, wondering why he had
never put this elementary question to
the stranger.
The policeman made note Of that
small item Of information, in addition
to the description he had already TAX
en- down, and expressed the opinion
that it7would not be long before they
found man of such striking and Pc
culiar appearance -
But when he was alone again, Lord
Catherington walked up and down, UP
and down, till far into the night, with
an instinct that this man, whose pas
sions were SO strong and whose intel
ligence, whatever /" his eccentricities
might be, was by no means weak,
would not be SO easy to find as they
supposed. TE Es
On the following day, Lord Gather
ington gave orders that preparations
should be made for an Immediate
-
telegraphed to the housekeeper in
charge there to open the place and to
be ready to receive himself, his daugh-
ter, her governess, and two servants
that evening. But. soon after break
fast, he received a message from Mrs
Froyle to the effect that the child was
not very we'll, and when he had seen
Ermyn himself and consulted with
Beatrice, it was resolved to put off the
journey to Hampshire until the fol-
| lowing day.
There was no cause for anxiety
about the little one, as her indisposl-
| ton was only slight; but neither Bea-
trice nor Lord Catherington thought it
wise to risk the danger of her catching
cold on the journey, so the latter sent
| a second telegram to Stone Court, and
the day passed uneventfully until the
| evening.
It was half-past seven o'clock, and
Lord Catherington had finished his
| solitary dinner, and had begun to walk
up and down the library, smoking a
| strong cigar, in a state Of restless ex-
element which he himself could hard
| ly account for, when some impulse
or whim made him open the door into
the disused smoking room, and peer
into the gloom.
| And in the distant corner he saw
| figure move. -
| Who's there?" he cried, sharply.
| fr1pa snrapo I'm and stood
trembling before him. 1t was Bea-
| trice Froyle.
His tone changed in a moment, as
he came quickly towards her, while
she, nervous and uncertain, seemed to
! be debating within herself whether
she should run away or stay and ac-
count for her presence.
What. are you doing here, Mrs.
Froyle, ?"
"I-I--oh. I'm SO sorry to have
disturbed YOU soae began she' in a
f'You didn't disturb me. I didn't
hear you. I'd no notion you were
here"
Indeed, I thought you never came
in here" said she, earnestly.
you were right. I never do.
don't know what impulse made me
come in just now. But, tell me, won't
you tell me why you cameo"
His voice was gentle, inviting. But
she was shy, nervous, unwilling to
speak.
"well?"
He stood before her, making 1T i'm
possible for her to escape until she
had answered him.
"Oh, I was eavesdropping, + sup
pose," said she at last, trying to speak
lightly and f1ippantly.
He raised his eyebrows.
you came, then, to this room, be-
cause I was in the next?"
well, yes, did," she said. defiant
ly. II came down to find out whether
you were safe, because ever since that
man came in last night, I'm haunted
by the thought that he means to do
you some harm. Look. the police
haven't found him, as they thought
they would. He is still wandering
. about, watching his opportunity.
couldn't sleep for thinking about It,
, and wondering where he was. And
I kept imagining that he would get
into the house again, and attack you
when you were alone in here. And al
last I left Ermyn with Harvey and
came down to make sure you were
all right
| Lord Catherington's voice was very
gentle, as he knew how to make II
when he pleased.
TITS very good Of you to trouble
your head about me-" he said.
"Oh, no, no! It's quite natural
isn't it, that should wish you to re.
.. main alive and well?" said she, in as