The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-08

at oer disposal At the mo-
~ ment of Loder's disclosure time
was denied to Eve. for scarcely had the
words left his lips before the thought
| that dominated him asserted it's prior
claim. Blind to the incredulity in her
/ eyes, he drew her swiftly forward and
/ half impellng. half supporting her
! forced her to descend the stairs.
! Never in after life could he obliterate
the remembrance of that descent,
Fear, such as he could never expert
| ence in his own concerns. possessed
him. One desire OVERRIDE all others,
the desire that Ewes reputation, which
he himself had so nearly imperiled,
should remain unimperiled. In the
shadow of that urgent duty, the de-
spair OF the past hours. the appalling
fact so lately realized, the future, with
its possible trials, became dark to his
Imagination. In his new victory over
self the question of her protection pre-
dominated.
Moving under his compulsion, he
guided her hastily and silently down
the deserted stairs. drawing a breath
Of deep relief as one after another the
landings were successfully passed. and,
still actuateI by the suppressed need
of haste, he passed through the door
way that they had entered under such
different conditions only few min
utes before
To leave the quiet court, to gain the
Strand, to hail q belated hanson, was
the work of moment. By an odd con-
trivance Of circumstance the luck that
had attended every phase of his dual
life was again exerted in his behalf.
No one had noticed their entry into
Clifford's inn: no one was moved to
curiosity by their exit. With an invol-
untary thrill of feeling he gave express
sion to his relief.
Thank God it's Overt. he said as a
cab drew up. You don't know what
the strain has BEEN
Moving as if in a dream. Eve stepped
into the cab. As yet the terrible de-
nouement to their enterprise had made
no clear impression upon her mind.
For the moment all that she was con-
scious of, all that she instinctively ac-
knowledged, was the fact that Loder
was still beside her.
In quiet obedience she took her place.
drawing aside her skirts to make room
for him, and in the same subdued man
ner he stepped into the vehicle. Then,
with the strange sensation of RELIEVING
their earlier drive. they were aware of
the frightened rein and of the horses
first forward movement.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Eve, shutting out all other thoughts.
sat close to Loder, clinging tenaciously
to the momentary comforting sense of
protection. Loder, striving to marshal
his ideas, hesitated before the ordeal
of speech. At last, realizing his re-
sponsibility, he turned to her slowly.
Eve" he said in low voice and
with some hesitation, Il want you to
know that in ali this-from the moment
l saw him-from the moment / under
stood have had you in my thoughts
you and no one else
She raised her eyes to his face.
do you realize''- he began afresh
do you know what this-this thing
means:'
Still she remained silent
1T means that after tonight there
will be no such person in London as
John Loder. Tomorrow the man who
was known by that name will be found
in his rooms; his body will be removed,
and al the post norton examination ii
will be stated that he died Of an over
dose of morphia. His charwoman will
identify him as a solitary man who liv |
ed respectfully for years and then sud |
denly went down bill with remarkable |
speed. 1t will be quite common case. /
Nothing Of interest will be found in his /
rooms. No relation will claim his body /
After the usual time he will be given |
the usual burial of his class. These de-
tails are horrible. but there are times /
when we must look at the horrible side !
of life. because life is incomplete with /
out it.
These things I speak of are the
things that will meet the casual eye, /
but in our sight they will have very
different meaning
Eve" he said. more yehementiy, "a
whole chapter in my life has been clos
ed tonight, and my first instinct is to |
shut the book and throw 1t away But
I'm thinking of Fou- Remember, I'm
of you Whatever the trial.
whatever the difficulty, no harm shall
come to you. You have nv word Dor
that