The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-04-22
CHAPTER XIV.

Hour after hour I lay tossing about
in a sleepless, mental agony. Clara was
undoubtedly in the same house with me,
exposed to heaven knows what sufferings
and prosecutions; and yet, for any hope
Of seeing or succoring her, might as
we'll have been hundreds of miles away.
At last, unable to lie there any longer,
rose and dressed myself. A fire was
still smoldering in the huge crate, and a
night light was burning upon the table.
The nurse, by her hard. regular breath
Ing, seemed to be in deep sleep, and l
moved about cautiously. Her face was
turned to the open side of the sofa. l
crept behind it and inserted my trem-
bling hand beneath the pillow, feeling
further and further until my fingers
touched a hard substance-it was the
ward key. Little by little I drew it
away-she still sleeping profoundly
fitted it noiselessly. in the lock. turned it,
and the next moment found myself in a
large, dark hall, at the foot of an i'm
mensely wide staircase.
I closed the door softly behind me.
A long window, that stretched upwards
from the first landing. admitted sufa-
ClCAI ASAI " SuAu0 AO, anu '" I'LL -
noiseless step, crept up the stairs. At
the top Of the first fight was a long
corridor, on each side Of which, as far
as I could see, for the further end was
lost in obscurity, was a line Of doors.
Now came my difficulty; the slightest
error would not only defeat my present
object. but consign me to a stricter sur
veillance than ever, and perhaps bring
about Clara's removal to some spot to
which l could obtain no clue. Suppose,
by chance, that 1 should go to Judith g
chamber door? I shuddered at the
thought.
/ I stood for some moments at the head
Of the corridor irresolute what to do,
listening eagerly for the slightest sound
that might guide me. But the silence
was deathlike. Down the corridor I
moved noiselessly. Through the crew
ices of the third door came faint streaks
Of light and faint muffled sounds, either
means or a low, monotonous singing
the walls and doors were SO thick, that
it was difficult to distinguish which.
1 listened more eagerly, until l fan
cied could distinguish Clara's voice.
paused for a moment, and then, with
my heart beating in my throat, tapped
gently. Breathlessly 1 waited for sew
eral seconds. No answer. Then 1 tap
ped a second time a little louder. A
sound Of moving, and then a soft, trem-
ulous voice, that thrilled my very soul,
asked family. who is there?'
l could doubt no longer. The key
was in the lock outside. tried it-turn-
ed it-opened the door-met her whom
l sought-heard low cry of astonish-
ment, and my darling was in my arms.
At that moment fancied that heard
a sound like the click Of a lock in the
corridor l suddenly turned, disengaged
myself from her arms, and looked out.
All seemed precisely as I had left it
no light. no object, no sound; it must
have been fancy. l gently drew the
key from the outside, and. reversing it,
locked the door from within. We were
alone-no one could surprise Us now.
To her eager questions, how had dis
covered her, I scarcely knew what to
answer; for, the first excitement of our
meeting over, l repented that had ever
sought it. Could I have freed her from
her enemies then, and then only, would
it have been justifable? As it was,
was feeding my own hopeless passion,
and engaging more and more closely the
affections of a simple-hearted girl, be-
meath the very roof that sheltered the
implacable woman who claimed as her
husband. Oh, all this was weak, GRIM
inally weak; and l felt it 30. and yet l
had not the courage to end 1t honestly.
After a while asked her what hap
pened upon the fatal night that we lost
her-how she came to be separated from
us.
She told me that rush Of people had
suddenly impelled her forward, and that
by the time she could turn her head to
look round. she found that she had been
carried out of sight of Mrs. Wilson.
AT that moment young man, evident
~ the same who had delivered Montgom-
ery's message to me, touched her upon
the shoulder, and said that I was wait
ing for her in cab little way down
the street
He was hurying me along all the
time he was speaking" she went on
and l was too bewildered by my situa-
ton to offer the slightest resistance.
There was long line of cabs and car
riages; the one he pointed out as ours
was the last Of all, and stood up an un-
freQuented side street. He opened the
door and pushed me in; at the same
moment a strange man jumped in past
me, the door was slammed, the windows
raised, and the horses were of at full
speed. before could recover my breath. y
From her description, discovered
that this man who accompanied he,
| waa MnntUomarv