Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-19
THE 81 AVE OF SILENCE
BY FRED NJ. WHITE.


| ing his heart great too much to do. This
thing has got to be prevented tell YOU"
VERY sorry, SIR" the inspector said po-
| litely, ''but it is already out Of private
hands Both Dr. oswin and DR.; Andrews
have suggested an inquest; they have mott
fed us, and II they wished to change their
minds now doubt if my chief would per-
NIT them"
| some passionate outburst, but he checked
| himself. He laid his hand more or less
Familiarity on Beatrice's arm and she could
feel his fingers trembling.
Every welI,' he said sulkily. STf you
have made up your minds as to this course
| have no more to say But there Is moth
ing to gain by standing here all day. Be-
atrice, have something to say to you"
II am quite ready" Beatrice said. Il
have also something to say to you. We
will go on asafar my sitting room. Please
don't leave the hotel, Col. Bennington. I
may want you again
The hard corners Of Richford's mouth
| trembed, but he said nothing. He did not
utter a word until the door Of the sitting
room had closed upon Beatrice and himself
He motioned the girl to a chair, but she
ignored the suggestion.
1T is a very awkward situation" Rich
ford began. LAS my Wife"
Il am glad you have come so quickly to
the point" Beatrice said eagerly. Am I
your wife? doubt it. 1 do not think 1 am
your wife. because the ceremony was not
quite completed and We did not sign the
register. You know what my feelings
have been all along. 1 have never made
the slightest attempt to disguise them. If
| that he had died on the way to church,
| should never have become Mrs. Stephen
R1chford. To save my fathers good name
l had consented to this sacrifice. My
father is dead, beyond the reach of trouble
II 1 had only known. If 1 had only
KNOWN
The words came with a fierce whisper
They stung the listener no outburst Of
I'm
clearly how the speaker loathed and de-
spised him.
Nobody did know" he sneered mo
body could possibly have known
THAT is not true" Beatrice cried. She
had come a little closer to Richford; her
cheeks were blazing with anger, her eyes
famed passionately. cit is a cowardly lie
There was one man who saw my father
after his death, and l am going to prove
the fact in a way that cannot possibly be
disputed One man was In my fathers
room after his death. That man saw my
father lying there, and he crept away with
out giving the slightest alarm. You may
sheer, you may say that such thing Is i'm
possible; that the man 1 allude to would
have nothing to gain by such course; but
as l said before, l am going to prove 1t.
Look at this telegram l hold in my hand
1t was sent before 10 o'clock today to the
person to whom it is addressed. 1t evil
IDENTIFY relates to some stock exchange bust
| ness The address is quite clear; the time
the telegram was delivered is quite clear,
tOO, anu ny the size OF my 1aCner 8 DOQy
l found the telegram, which could only
have been dropped there by the party to
whom 1t was addressed So that party
knew that my father was dead and that
party made no alarm. Why?'
Why" Richford stammerd why be-
| cause-well, you see 1t is quite possible to
explain"
ut is not" Beatrice cried. "The tele-
gram is addressed to you. 1t was you who
called on my father you who found him
dead; and in your agitation you dropped
that message. Then you grasped the fact
that II the marriage was postponed it would
| never take place; that 1 was In a position
to defy you. You locked my fathers door;
you said nothing; you made up your mind
to let the ceremony go on. That accounts
for your agitation, for the fact that you
have been drinking. Cowardly scoundrel
what have you to say to ths?"
What are you going to do?" Richford
asked sullenly.
UNLESS you release me here and now,'
Beatrice cried, II swear by heaven that
am going to tell the TRUTH
Go be continued tomorrow)