Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-05-11
CHAPTER XII (Continued.)

1t IS difficult to describe the shock
that ran through me, that left me
numbed and helpless. For an instant
I stumbled on, half dazed: then grad
ually my self control came back and
with it a certain fierce Joy. hot exul-
tatioa. Here at last was something
definite. tangible. clew ready to my
hand. IL only were clever enough to
follow 1t up; ray Of light in the dark
ness. could feel my cheeks burning
and MY heart leaping at the thought.
Bet what had been his part In the
affair? For moment CROPPED blind
ly in the dark. but only for a moment.
Whatever his share in the tragedy, he
had plainly been left behind to watch
Us; to make sure that we did not fol-
low the fugitives: to warn them In
case Of danger. l understood now his
solicltude for Miss Holladay-'in her I
take such an INTEREST," It was i'm
portant that he should know the mo-
ment we discovered her absence. And
he had known: he knew that I was
even at this moment commencing the
search for her. My cheeks REDEEMED
at the thought Of my indiscreetness;
yet he was a man to command conf
dence. Who would have suspected
him? And an old proverb which be
had repeated one evening flashed
through my mind.
'Silly Is the sheep who to the wolf
herself confessed" had translated II,
1yltS, <S,o< m lv,%,vl V<n~n lvn~r nS.> m ~xov
istic Of the beginner. Well, I had been
the sheep and silly enough, heaven
knowsi
I had reached Broadway, and at tho
corner paused to look at q display Of
mems furnishings In a window. Far
down the street on the other side. al
most lost In the hurrying crowd. Mar
tigny was buying a paper Of q news
boy. He shook 1t out and looked quick
" up and down its columns, like q
man who Is searching for some special
item Of news. Perhaps he was q spec
ulator; perhaps. after all. was de-
ceiving myself in imagining that he
was following me. had no proof Of It;
II was the most natural thing in the
world that he should be In this part Of
the town. I must test the theory be-
fore accepting it. 1t was time I grew
wary Of theories.
entered the store and spent ten
minutes looking at some neckties.
When I came out again Mart1gny was
Just getting down from q bootblack's
chair across the street. His back was
toward me, and I watched him get out
his little purse and drop a dime into
the bootblack's hand. I went on up
Broadway, lettering sometimes, some
times walking straight ahead; always,
away behind me. lost In the crowd.
was my pursuer. 1t could no longer be
doubted. He was really following me,
though he did it 80 adroitly. with such
consummate cunning, that I should
never have seen him, never have sus-
pected him, but for that fortunate in
tuition at the start.
A hundred plans flashed through my
brain. had this advantage could
not know that I suspected him. II
could only overmaster him in cunning.
wrest his secret from him-and then,
as I remembered the strong face. the
piercing eyes, the perfect self control,
I realised how little possible 1t was
that I could accomplish this. He was
my superior In diplomacy and deceit:
be would not pause now at any means
to assure the success Of his plot.
Yes. I could doubt no longer that
there was a plot, whose depths I had
not before even suspected. and drew
back from the thought with q little
shiver. What was the plot7 What In.
tricate, dreadful crime was this which
he was planning7 The murder Of the
father. then, had been only the first
step. The abduction Of Frances Hol-
laday was the second. What would
the third be7 How could We pro.
vent his taking it, Suppose we should
be unsuccessful? And, candidly, what
chance Of success could we have, fight
Ing in the dark against this accom-
plished scoundrel? He had the threads
oil In his fingers; he controlled the
situation; we were struggling blindly.
snarled In a net Of mystery from
which there seemed no escaping. My
Imagination clothed him with super.
human attributes. For a moment q
wild desire possessed me to turn upon
him, to confront him. to accuse him.
to confound him with the very GER
tainty Of my knowledge, to surprise his
secret, to trample him down!
Eut the frenzy passed. No, he must
not discover that l suspected him. I
must not yield up that advantage. I
might yet surprise him. mislead him,